A Hospital in Another World?
Author: 加兰2020
Chapter 740: Find a Warrior to Cut the Corpse into 5000 Pieces!
Grand Mage Belsa’s face instantly became stiff.
Stiff as it was, he couldn’t explode with anger immediately. The skeleton outside the window, bumping its forehead against the glass with a "bang bang" sound, was no ordinary figure—it was the spokesperson, or rather, the "speaking skeleton" of the Sleepless Tower next door.
Whenever a grand mage in the Sleepless Tower was busy with experiments, socially anxious, or for various reasons didn’t want to go out, they would send this skeleton flying around to deliver messages.
The top of Igor Peak, from the Star Dome at the top of the Tower of Heaven to the eight sub-towers, had all been knocked on by its forehead.
Theoretically, a mage of level seventeen or eighteen had the qualification to control it for delivering messages. In reality, who knew who was behind it? Perhaps it was the duty of a legend from the Black Crow Swamp, or even the Immortal himself?
Grand Mage Belsa had heard that the Immortal had shown particular interest in the mage Nordmark before, attempting several times to compete with the Lord of Thunder to recruit him but had failed. There was no way, Nordmark held tightly to the legs of the sculpting department and refused to let go even at the cost of his life.
Now, the tone of this skeleton’s speech did not seem like it was controlled by a legendary mage. But who could say for sure? What if the Immortal was watching from behind the controller?
The nickname "Plague Lord" was not given for nothing...
He casually waved his hand to open the long window. The skeleton immediately flew in, first nodding at him with a tilt of 30 degrees, then spinning around the mages in the room with a 15-degree tilt.
Then, the skeleton turned to Garrett, its jaws clattering lightly in a quick rhythm. Grand Mage Belsa thought that if the skeleton’s eye sockets could move, they would be squinting with a smile:
"Master Nordmark, don’t forget about us when you’re doing your research! We can provide unlimited corpses of various kinds, do you need them?"
"Indeed, I do," Garrett nodded earnestly. Although, you guys at the Black Crow Swamp are a bit slow on the uptake.
If you had gotten involved before the briefing started, everyone could have discussed and negotiated together;
If you get involved after the briefing and contracts have been signed, you can still join the second wave. With the curse department, prophecy department, transmutation department, and the sculpting department all contributing, we would still need to have another discussion.
But you’re joining at this point, which...
He could only smile apologetically at Grand Mage Belsa and the present grand mages from the medical branch, explaining:
"The key to the CT magic is using the different densities of human tissues. The same light source will produce different shading effects when passing through different tissues. Having many tissue slices is crucial for the Tower Spirit’s self-learning and data accumulation."
He casually waved his hand, and a "Silent Illusion" rose, summoning an anatomical image of the human body. The horizontal transverse plane split the body into front and back sections, the coronal plane into left and right sections, with three colors overlapping, standing illusively in the image:
"The raw data received by the CT magic is these vertical images, while the output data is a series of horizontal slices combined into a three-dimensional image. So, if we cut the tissue horizontally after scanning—"
The three-dimensional anatomical image split into two at the chest area, the middle section rising and falling. This section flew out separately, standing upright and facing the grand mages:
"Scanning with the CT again will yield more intuitive data. Comparing the two should help the Tower Spirit calibrate its calculations and learn quickly."
This explanation was clear and concise, causing Grand Mage Belsa’s expression to soften unconsciously as he nodded lightly. Garrett quickly added more:
"If possible, I hope the Tower Spirit can display various tissues such as bones, muscles, blood vessels, airways, and internal organs, instead of just simple black and white three-dimensional images. This requires the Tower Spirit to accumulate enough data on the densities of various tissues."
He smiled wryly:
"Previously, I could only buy some animals and magical beasts, slicing them one by one for the Tower Spirit to study. This research project ultimately serves us humans, so having human corpses of various levels and professions as research subjects would be excellent."
"Exactly!" The skeleton spun around again, loudly continuing:
"We have all kinds of corpses! From level 1 to level 10, up to level 15, warriors, spellcasters, assassins, archers, you name it, we have it! We can even help with slicing! How thick do you need the slices?"
"0.5 millimeters per slice, or 0.33 millimeters per slice," Garrett answered seriously:
"A single person, sliced into 5000 pieces."
With a thud, the skeleton dropped onto the table, making a dry thud.
Grand Mage Belsa couldn’t help but curl his lips into a smile.
"Uh..." The skeleton rolled around on the table:
"We’ll ask the followers of the grand mages to see whose hands are steady enough to cut the slices evenly... If not, we’ll discuss with the transmutation department about making a slicing machine..."
"I’ll leave it to you!" Garrett bowed respectfully and cheerfully. The skeleton drooped its head:
"Alright... We’ll try our best..."
With a clatter, it fell apart completely (honestly, it’s quite challenging for a precisely interlocking skull to fall apart like that), spreading out on the table. After a while, it slowly pieced itself back together.
Cutting a person into 0.5-millimeter thin slices, continuously for 5000 slices, without tilting or scattering, is an extraordinarily high difficulty!
One slice would cut through skin, muscle, and bone, all with different hardnesses, causing varying forces on the blade tip and body. Cutting through the bone might cause the flesh to scatter...
How precise must one’s eyes be, how steady must one’s hands be, and how focused must one’s mind be to slice a person into 5000 even and stable pieces?
How did Master Nordmark come up with such demanding research conditions?
Could a level 10 great swordsman achieve this?
Maybe level 15?
Surely it wouldn’t need a legend!
—Not to mention, if the corpse is above level 10, a high-level warrior would definitely be needed for the cutting. Or perhaps, is there any cutting-type ray that can be precisely controlled?
Others’ pain is one’s own happiness... Seeing the skeleton in such a pitiful state, cough, although describing a skeleton this way feels odd, Grand Mage Belsa’s mood shifted from cloudy to partly cloudy, then to sunny:
"Then it’s settled. Master Nordmark will provide the plan and final calibration, the medical branch will be responsible for the main research, and the Black Crow Swamp will provide the corpses and slices. Any objections? If not, let’s sign the contract!"
He personally drafted the magic contract, signed his name, and left his arcane mark. The medical mages lined up to sign below his name, Garrett started a new line, and as for the skeleton...
"Can you sign?" Garrett hesitated, unsure whether to hand it the feather pen for it to bite and sign. The skeleton flipped over, knocking its head on the parchment with a thud:
When it floated up, a "Y"-shaped suture mark from the left and right parietal bones and the frontal bone was imprinted on the parchment. It looked particularly familiar to a surgeon.
Then, a beam of light shot from its eye socket, leaving a deep black arcane mark on the magic contract.
Garrett silently turned his head, trying hard to suppress his smile. Can’t laugh, must not laugh, we are well-trained, no matter how funny, we will not laugh... Skeleton bro, your signing method is really unique ah, pfft...
Grand Mage Belsa, however, had no intention of laughing. His face changed slightly as he retrieved the contract, staring deeply at the mark on it.
It wasn’t a private mark of any mage or a symbol of any faction. That mark was a complete skeleton with a small snake peeking out from its eye socket, flicking its green tongue before retreating into the other eye socket.
This arcane mark represented only one organization anywhere:
The Black Crow Swamp itself.
So, the one behind it was indeed the Immortal?
He took a deep breath, arranged for the contract to be sent to the review committee for archiving, and began allocating personnel to start the research. When Garrett returned to the Mage Tower, there were already two burlap bags lined up at the door.
Inside the bags, square and flat, as if frozen in coffins.
Garrett: "..."
"Master Nordmark, these are the first delivery of two corpses, one adult male and one adult female, neither of whom are transcendent," the necromancer tasked with delivering the bodies explained, bringing two servants to help. "The higher-ups said you can dissect them however you like, slice or cut them into pieces. If not enough, we have more. We are selecting someone to cut the corpses, and once chosen, we’ll deliver them to you immediately. Shall I bring them in for you?"
"...No need." Garrett inhaled, exhaled, inhaled again, and exhaled. Having so many corpses to dissect at will was such a luxury he wasn’t used to:
"The corpses need
to be pre-treated before slicing. Let me think about how to process them..."
Hmm, in the previous life, making tissue slices required soaking in formalin, then dehydration, and finally embedding in paraffin. How to make formalin?
And what about paraffin?
Formalin is an aqueous solution of formaldehyde. Does the transmutation department have pure formaldehyde now?
Paraffin is a product of crude oil distillation. Has the transmutation department started refining crude oil yet?
If neither is available, what methods, magical or otherwise, can be used as substitutes? Perhaps petrification? Rapid freezing?
"Bernard, accompany me to the Alchemy Council for a stroll..."
Stiff as it was, he couldn’t explode with anger immediately. The skeleton outside the window, bumping its forehead against the glass with a "bang bang" sound, was no ordinary figure—it was the spokesperson, or rather, the "speaking skeleton" of the Sleepless Tower next door.
Whenever a grand mage in the Sleepless Tower was busy with experiments, socially anxious, or for various reasons didn’t want to go out, they would send this skeleton flying around to deliver messages.
The top of Igor Peak, from the Star Dome at the top of the Tower of Heaven to the eight sub-towers, had all been knocked on by its forehead.
Theoretically, a mage of level seventeen or eighteen had the qualification to control it for delivering messages. In reality, who knew who was behind it? Perhaps it was the duty of a legend from the Black Crow Swamp, or even the Immortal himself?
Grand Mage Belsa had heard that the Immortal had shown particular interest in the mage Nordmark before, attempting several times to compete with the Lord of Thunder to recruit him but had failed. There was no way, Nordmark held tightly to the legs of the sculpting department and refused to let go even at the cost of his life.
Now, the tone of this skeleton’s speech did not seem like it was controlled by a legendary mage. But who could say for sure? What if the Immortal was watching from behind the controller?
The nickname "Plague Lord" was not given for nothing...
He casually waved his hand to open the long window. The skeleton immediately flew in, first nodding at him with a tilt of 30 degrees, then spinning around the mages in the room with a 15-degree tilt.
Then, the skeleton turned to Garrett, its jaws clattering lightly in a quick rhythm. Grand Mage Belsa thought that if the skeleton’s eye sockets could move, they would be squinting with a smile:
"Master Nordmark, don’t forget about us when you’re doing your research! We can provide unlimited corpses of various kinds, do you need them?"
"Indeed, I do," Garrett nodded earnestly. Although, you guys at the Black Crow Swamp are a bit slow on the uptake.
If you had gotten involved before the briefing started, everyone could have discussed and negotiated together;
If you get involved after the briefing and contracts have been signed, you can still join the second wave. With the curse department, prophecy department, transmutation department, and the sculpting department all contributing, we would still need to have another discussion.
But you’re joining at this point, which...
He could only smile apologetically at Grand Mage Belsa and the present grand mages from the medical branch, explaining:
"The key to the CT magic is using the different densities of human tissues. The same light source will produce different shading effects when passing through different tissues. Having many tissue slices is crucial for the Tower Spirit’s self-learning and data accumulation."
He casually waved his hand, and a "Silent Illusion" rose, summoning an anatomical image of the human body. The horizontal transverse plane split the body into front and back sections, the coronal plane into left and right sections, with three colors overlapping, standing illusively in the image:
"The raw data received by the CT magic is these vertical images, while the output data is a series of horizontal slices combined into a three-dimensional image. So, if we cut the tissue horizontally after scanning—"
The three-dimensional anatomical image split into two at the chest area, the middle section rising and falling. This section flew out separately, standing upright and facing the grand mages:
"Scanning with the CT again will yield more intuitive data. Comparing the two should help the Tower Spirit calibrate its calculations and learn quickly."
This explanation was clear and concise, causing Grand Mage Belsa’s expression to soften unconsciously as he nodded lightly. Garrett quickly added more:
"If possible, I hope the Tower Spirit can display various tissues such as bones, muscles, blood vessels, airways, and internal organs, instead of just simple black and white three-dimensional images. This requires the Tower Spirit to accumulate enough data on the densities of various tissues."
He smiled wryly:
"Previously, I could only buy some animals and magical beasts, slicing them one by one for the Tower Spirit to study. This research project ultimately serves us humans, so having human corpses of various levels and professions as research subjects would be excellent."
"Exactly!" The skeleton spun around again, loudly continuing:
"We have all kinds of corpses! From level 1 to level 10, up to level 15, warriors, spellcasters, assassins, archers, you name it, we have it! We can even help with slicing! How thick do you need the slices?"
"0.5 millimeters per slice, or 0.33 millimeters per slice," Garrett answered seriously:
"A single person, sliced into 5000 pieces."
With a thud, the skeleton dropped onto the table, making a dry thud.
Grand Mage Belsa couldn’t help but curl his lips into a smile.
"Uh..." The skeleton rolled around on the table:
"We’ll ask the followers of the grand mages to see whose hands are steady enough to cut the slices evenly... If not, we’ll discuss with the transmutation department about making a slicing machine..."
"I’ll leave it to you!" Garrett bowed respectfully and cheerfully. The skeleton drooped its head:
"Alright... We’ll try our best..."
With a clatter, it fell apart completely (honestly, it’s quite challenging for a precisely interlocking skull to fall apart like that), spreading out on the table. After a while, it slowly pieced itself back together.
Cutting a person into 0.5-millimeter thin slices, continuously for 5000 slices, without tilting or scattering, is an extraordinarily high difficulty!
One slice would cut through skin, muscle, and bone, all with different hardnesses, causing varying forces on the blade tip and body. Cutting through the bone might cause the flesh to scatter...
How precise must one’s eyes be, how steady must one’s hands be, and how focused must one’s mind be to slice a person into 5000 even and stable pieces?
How did Master Nordmark come up with such demanding research conditions?
Could a level 10 great swordsman achieve this?
Maybe level 15?
Surely it wouldn’t need a legend!
—Not to mention, if the corpse is above level 10, a high-level warrior would definitely be needed for the cutting. Or perhaps, is there any cutting-type ray that can be precisely controlled?
Others’ pain is one’s own happiness... Seeing the skeleton in such a pitiful state, cough, although describing a skeleton this way feels odd, Grand Mage Belsa’s mood shifted from cloudy to partly cloudy, then to sunny:
"Then it’s settled. Master Nordmark will provide the plan and final calibration, the medical branch will be responsible for the main research, and the Black Crow Swamp will provide the corpses and slices. Any objections? If not, let’s sign the contract!"
He personally drafted the magic contract, signed his name, and left his arcane mark. The medical mages lined up to sign below his name, Garrett started a new line, and as for the skeleton...
"Can you sign?" Garrett hesitated, unsure whether to hand it the feather pen for it to bite and sign. The skeleton flipped over, knocking its head on the parchment with a thud:
When it floated up, a "Y"-shaped suture mark from the left and right parietal bones and the frontal bone was imprinted on the parchment. It looked particularly familiar to a surgeon.
Then, a beam of light shot from its eye socket, leaving a deep black arcane mark on the magic contract.
Garrett silently turned his head, trying hard to suppress his smile. Can’t laugh, must not laugh, we are well-trained, no matter how funny, we will not laugh... Skeleton bro, your signing method is really unique ah, pfft...
Grand Mage Belsa, however, had no intention of laughing. His face changed slightly as he retrieved the contract, staring deeply at the mark on it.
It wasn’t a private mark of any mage or a symbol of any faction. That mark was a complete skeleton with a small snake peeking out from its eye socket, flicking its green tongue before retreating into the other eye socket.
This arcane mark represented only one organization anywhere:
The Black Crow Swamp itself.
So, the one behind it was indeed the Immortal?
He took a deep breath, arranged for the contract to be sent to the review committee for archiving, and began allocating personnel to start the research. When Garrett returned to the Mage Tower, there were already two burlap bags lined up at the door.
Inside the bags, square and flat, as if frozen in coffins.
Garrett: "..."
"Master Nordmark, these are the first delivery of two corpses, one adult male and one adult female, neither of whom are transcendent," the necromancer tasked with delivering the bodies explained, bringing two servants to help. "The higher-ups said you can dissect them however you like, slice or cut them into pieces. If not enough, we have more. We are selecting someone to cut the corpses, and once chosen, we’ll deliver them to you immediately. Shall I bring them in for you?"
"...No need." Garrett inhaled, exhaled, inhaled again, and exhaled. Having so many corpses to dissect at will was such a luxury he wasn’t used to:
"The corpses need
to be pre-treated before slicing. Let me think about how to process them..."
Hmm, in the previous life, making tissue slices required soaking in formalin, then dehydration, and finally embedding in paraffin. How to make formalin?
And what about paraffin?
Formalin is an aqueous solution of formaldehyde. Does the transmutation department have pure formaldehyde now?
Paraffin is a product of crude oil distillation. Has the transmutation department started refining crude oil yet?
If neither is available, what methods, magical or otherwise, can be used as substitutes? Perhaps petrification? Rapid freezing?
"Bernard, accompany me to the Alchemy Council for a stroll..."