Chapter 60: Zombies, Secrets, and Science

When Yang Sheng was eating, we realized what it meant to not worry about trivial matters.

The rice grains flew everywhere, covering the glasses, clothes, pants and the floor.

I deeply regretted why I had cooked the white meat. Yang Sheng ate it without even looking at it, just putting the meat in the dipping sauce and then shoving it into his mouth.

“Brother Sheng, I guess you’ll have to take a bath again,” Su Rou sighed helplessly.

Yang Sheng gulped down the rice and asked in a mumbled voice, “Why?”

“Why? You look like this after eating, why don’t you take a bath?” Su Rou felt that he was already ‘messy’ enough, but now he had met a master.

Yang Sheng smiled embarrassedly, but his behavior remained unchanged. I was a little mad at myself. He was such a handsome and gentle person, and he was obviously a high-achieving student. How could he eat more ruggedly than the men who worked in the fields?

Ling Ruyue smiled and said, “There’s nothing I can do. Go get a handkerchief and give it to Yang Sheng.

Yang Sheng took the handkerchief and lowered his head again, becoming shy.

I asked helplessly, “Brother Sheng, is the food I made delicious? What do you usually eat?”

Yang Sheng patted the rice grains off his body, wiped his mouth, and then said very seriously again, “I actually don’t know if it tastes good or not, because I’m always in a hurry and don’t have enough time. I eat very quickly. The key is to fill my stomach, nutrition is secondary, and taste is not important.”

With a ‘pop’, the crispy pork couldn’t help but spray rice, and many grains of rice happened to be sprayed on Yang Sheng, who was sitting across from him. But Yang Sheng didn’t care at all and casually wiped it off.

It is estimated that for a foodie like Su Rou, Yang Sheng’s words are absolutely incomprehensible.

Seeing the look on Su Rou’s face, Yang Sheng was stunned for a long time before asking seriously, “Is there anything wrong with what I said? Please correct me.”

“No, no, no, what you said is all right. This is how scientists should be.” Su Rou realized that he and Yang Sheng could not communicate.

And, isn’t this brother Sheng’s reaction a bit too slow? Su Rou had been laughing for a long time, and he had already blown off the rice grains, but he still froze for a long time before asking Su Rou.

However, we have to admire Yang Sheng. He is definitely a smart person. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to be a postdoctoral fellow at the age of 23. He just puts all his thoughts into scientific research, which is why he has such an extraordinary life.

This kind of serious spirit is something we don’t have.

After dinner, when we finished cleaning up, none of us felt sleepy. Even Yang Sheng, who was holding a notebook and writing and drawing on it, frowned and didn’t know what he was thinking.

Ling Ruyue was more interested in the zombies in the tomb and couldn’t help but ask Yang Sheng, “Brother Sheng, how do you judge that there are zombies in the tomb?

Yang Sheng looked up, and it took him a long time to come to his senses. He then slowly put his glasses back on and answered, “There have actually been many incidents of zombies in our country. Some have left no trace, but some have had to go to great lengths to cover them up. In the areas where zombie incidents are more common, I have used my identity to investigate with several teachers and come up with a few rules, but I haven’t completely grasped them. The only thing that can be said with some certainty is that the graveyard is the biggest rule.”

Yang Sheng spoke out a scientific truth, and the three of us were dizzy again.

“A place to raise corpses? What is that?” I asked.

“The corpse-raising ground, where there are many zombies, is because the soil is extremely unbalanced in terms of acidity and alkalinity, and is not suitable for the growth of organic matter, so it does not breed ants and bacteria. Even if the corpse is buried for hundreds of years, the muscles and hair will not rot, which provides the necessary external conditions for the formation of zombies. As for the internal conditions…” Yang Sheng’s eyes began to become blurred, as if it was the mystery he had been pursuing: “What I just told you is that there are some internal conditions that are not regular. We can’t grasp the rules. There was actually a chance.”

“There was a chance?” I was confused. In fact, the zombie master was reluctant to talk to me more, but I often looked through his library. I remember a short passage about the Maoshan corpse cultivation technique, which is the artificial creation of zombies.

Can science really achieve this?

However, when Yang Sheng mentioned this, he waved his hand, obviously indicating that he could not say it. This person is too direct, and the expression on his face tells you directly that he cannot say it.

But the three of us were interested. Ling Ruyue held onto Yang Sheng, coaxing him, insisting that he tell us.

Yang Sheng was embarrassed by the 11-year-old girl, and said, “At that time, I was still in the junior class, and I only heard my mentor talk about some vague things. In short, there was indeed an opportunity at that time, but I felt that it was taboo, and heaven took back the key. After I entered the special department, I realized that my horizons were narrow. Many things were even more unbelievable than what I saw in the Hungry Ghost Tomb today. The secret specimen room had bones…”

Yang Sheng felt that he had said something inappropriate, so he simply stopped talking. But I knew that my master must have known even more than what he knew.

Ling Ruyue and I have more or less a vague feeling about some things. Who can blame our master for being a comrade-in-arms? So, we don’t ask. As for the crispy meat, he is even more slippery than we are. He knows that as an ordinary person, the secrets he knows are already against the heavens, and no one will believe them if he tells them.

So, he also formed the same tacit understanding with us. Of course, he was more capable of handling some things. He simply pretended not to hear and changed the subject directly: “Brother Sheng, why did you say that there are vampires in the Hungry Ghost Tomb?”

“I just answered. Because it was a corpse-raising ground, I collected a soil sample there for research before entering the tomb and found that it was a corpse-raising ground. Zombies are dangerous, so Master Jiang told me to leave, and I had to leave.” Yang Sheng adjusted his glasses again.

“What do you think of the Hungry Ghost King?” In fact, I find it very enjoyable to chat with Yang Sheng. My master once said that there are some things that he knows how to do, but not why he does them.

Yang Sheng is the kind of person who deliberately seeks out the reasons behind things. His insights are very unique.

“To understand the view of the hungry ghost king, we have to start with history. In fact, the earliest images of ghosts and monsters did not come from ghosts, but from demons. Many fierce totems, many pictures depicting hell, all the images, even in ancient times, are you not aware of, are they more consistent?” Yang Sheng asked us.

We were taken aback. Indeed, they were quite similar. Almost all of them had big eyes like copper bells, big noses, hooked noses, fangs, and horns…

“That’s right. In addition to the official history, there is also the history of the sorcerers of the past. There are records of some things in it. This is not something that is made up. Things that are made up have no basis for spreading among the people. To spread this kind of thing, the very least is to cause people to resonate. To put it simply, when it comes to ghosts, people resonate very much because many people have more or less had more spiritual experiences. Even if some people are thick-headed and ignore the past, when they mention it, they will always think of something. But in the modern era, if you say ghosts, some people may agree, some may be skeptical, but the absolute minority will not believe it. If you say demons, people will say you are talking nonsense. Yang Sheng began to explain to us in a scholarly tone.

“So what?” Su Rou didn’t grasp the key point, but Ling Ruyue and I understood what he meant.

“So what? It’s very simple. In ancient times, how did the image of the devil spread so widely among the common people? It can only mean that it existed! Now, because it has disappeared, its existence has been forgotten and it can no longer spread. This is the attitude I have towards the hungry ghosts in the Hungry Ghost Tomb. Even if I haven’t seen them, I will still explore them with the attitude that there must be a reason for their existence, and I won’t jump to conclusions. Then, when I saw it, I wasn’t surprised. It was just a biological manifestation of life. Just as aliens must be the same as us, what are their images like? Yang Sheng is so eloquent when talking about academics, and it has nothing to do with his previous dumb and slow appearance.

“Do you study hungry ghosts?” I asked Yang Sheng.

“Yes, so I brought back two hungry ghost eggs. But not all results can be applied. Some results are false results, that is, they only have a certain effect under certain conditions. Then it is just a scientific conclusion, and it is a secret scientific conclusion.” Yang Sheng said seriously.

“But what is the purpose of your research?” I asked.

“We will explore generation after generation, and one day, some secrets will be revealed to the people and used by mankind. Although at present, the consequences it may cause are likely to be panic, this is my lifelong pursuit. Science always needs sacrifices to pave the way,” Yang Sheng said.

The three of us were awed.

Yang Sheng did not feel our emotions, but continued to say, “Science is not about denial or exclusion. It should be inclusive.”