Chapter Twenty-Four: Research

Beilonghe Military District Research Institute.

Ding Xuewen was leading his research team, preparing to conduct live experiments on the blood of a black dragon.

“Academician Ding, these white mice are far too small. They simply can't withstand the violent energy contained in dragon blood. I suggest we switch to larger animals, like cows or sheep.”

A researcher looked at the trembling mice in the cage and couldn’t help but make the suggestion.

“I know,” Ding Xuewen nodded. “The toxicity of black dragon blood is extremely high, and it’s true that these mice can’t possibly digest it. But the main purpose of this experiment isn’t to expect some positive chemical reaction between them and the dragon’s blood.”

“What we want to understand is: what exactly happens when black dragon blood enters the bodies of native organisms? How does it destroy protein structures and the nervous system? Only with clear data can we further analyze and research, looking for ways to effectively inhibit or block these reactions, so that dragon blood can be safely absorbed and utilized by the human body.”

“So, whether we experiment on mice or livestock, there’s not much difference.”

“I understand,” the researcher nodded repeatedly. Even abroad, high-grade dragon blood was an extremely valuable and dangerous magical material that required the utmost caution.

And for a country like Xia, which was only just beginning to explore this field, caution was even more necessary. They needed to proceed step by step, thoroughly investigating the properties and secrets of dragon blood, so that they might one day achieve their ultimate goal: developing a safe, gene-based dragon blood medicine to improve the health and constitution of their people.

...

“Academician Ding, everyone is ready—we can begin the experiment.”

“Good!” Ding Xuewen nodded calmly. “Let’s start.”

“Draw 0.5ml of black dragon blood, inject it into subject mouse number one.”

“Observe and record the reaction.”

“Subject one shows no obvious signs of struggle and dies within two seconds, the body stiffening rapidly.”

“Dissect the mouse and determine the cause of death.”

...

“Dissection reveals that mouse number one died of organ failure, with severe hemolysis observed. Under the microscope, the majority of red blood cells had suffered structural destruction…”

“My goodness, this toxicity rivals that of a rattlesnake!” Ding Xuewen couldn’t help scratching his head. The result was clearly troubling.

Just half a milliliter was enough to fatally poison a mouse this thoroughly—it was clear how dangerous dragon blood was to native organisms. This also meant that scientifically developing and safely utilizing dragon blood would be an enormous challenge.

...

“Continue the experiment. Take 0.5ml of dragon blood, deactivate it by boiling, then feed it to mouse number two and observe any reactions.”

“Yes, Academician Ding.”

The staff complied, preparing the dragon blood for heat inactivation, only to quickly discover a problem: the dragon blood could not be effectively deactivated.

The black dragon’s blood was astonishingly stable—even after exposure to nearly two thousand degrees of heat, it remained unchanged, impossible to boil or destroy.

“This is incredible!” a researcher exclaimed. “Ordinary blood starts to coagulate just minutes after leaving the body, but Mr. Huang Ze’s dragon blood has been outside the body for almost two days, and it’s still so stable—can’t even be deactivated…”

They were not entirely ignorant of the power of high-level dragons. These creatures bathed in magma and drank it as easily as water; it stood to reason that their blood and body fluids would possess extraordinary chemical stability.

But these samples had already left the dragon’s body, and were now within Xia’s borders, where the laws of the world were especially unfriendly to them—yet they still defied explanation. It made no sense.

“Old Ding, with our current abilities and resources, I’m afraid it’s impossible for us to unravel the mysteries of dragon blood purely through science,” said Academician Zheng. “Magical problems are best solved with magic. It’s said that some ancient families and powerful alchemists abroad have mastered secret methods to refine dragon blood into potions—even ordinary people can quickly gain traces of dragon blood, transforming into formidable dragon-blood warriors.”

“I think we should try to obtain those secrets first, then gradually work out the scientific rationale and proof.”

“It seems that’s our only option,” Ding Xuewen agreed after a moment’s thought. “Time isn’t on our side, and those hostile foreign forces won’t give us much peace to develop. The sooner we yield results and create fighting power, the more confident we’ll be.”

“As it happens, a mature red dragon recently appeared near the southwestern border, planning to sell dragon blood to some domestic criminals. It probably knows some methods for making dragon blood potions. Perhaps we can set up a sting operation and capture it.”

“Capturing a mature red dragon abroad? That might be difficult,” Zheng said doubtfully. Mature red dragons possessed high intelligence and tremendous combat power, and abroad, where magical creatures reigned, capturing one alive would not be easy.

Success would be excellent, but failure could spell real trouble—dragons were notoriously vengeful creatures.

“It won’t be difficult at all. Don’t forget, we have Mr. Huang Ze,” Ding Xuewen said confidently. “A mature black dragon is already stronger than a red dragon. Besides, we can equip Mr. Huang Ze with advanced weaponry—an idea inspired by Lieutenant Colonel Liu Weihan from the military.”

“He asked me whether we could mount a few PL-15 air-to-air missiles beneath Mr. Huang Ze. I believe it’s entirely feasible!”

“With a few J-20s in support and Mr. Huang Ze fully armed, I’m sure we can bring down a red dragon!”

“A few more J-20s?” Zheng laughed and shook his head. “If Air Force Commander Wang heard you, he’d have your head. The environment abroad is far too hostile for advanced jets like the J-20—the engines need an overhaul after every flight, and after two, they’re basically scrap metal. There’s no way they’d risk their best planes just to help you hunt a dragon.”

“But I do agree that capturing that red dragon is a worthy goal. A mature red dragon likely knows the magic to transform into human form—then Mr. Huang Ze can learn it from him.”

“And once Mr. Huang Ze masters the art of returning to human form, we can finally think about finding him a girlfriend.”