Chapter 164
Chapter 164
Chapter 164
Dissection.
Dissection.
The gleam of the knife.
Chest opened, abdomen dissected, neck and head dissected. Observing the organs, observing the blood vessels, retinas, subcutaneous tissues—
In times of unknown causes of death, the surgical knife is a torch illuminating the fog in the darkness.
Garrett Nordmark is fully focused on dissecting and investigating. The rabbit’s lungs, organs, blood vessels, all covered in scattered bleeding. Extensive bleeding with no adhesions, inflammation, or other organic lesions. No sharp wounds, which essentially indicates... ultrasound magic.
"Hmm, Bernard... Bernard?"
Garrett puts down the surgical knife, ready to call the barbarian over to stew or roast this rabbit, whatever suits. As he turns around, the barbarian is holding another rabbit, looking at him with eager anticipation.
The new rabbit’s abdomen is shaved clean, revealing a slight pink color, contrasting with the surrounding black fur. Held in Bernard’s hands, it kicks its legs vigorously, appearing lively as if it hadn’t succumbed to heatstroke.
Garrett sweats. One rabbit is not enough for you to eat! I didn’t plan on having rabbit legs for dinner!
"Bernard, let’s not eat this rabbit for now... no, let’s not experiment either. I need to think about... what went wrong with this experiment. I need to think for a while..."
After Garrett finishes his routine meditation at home, he molds another bone with his mental power, only eight more to complete the set. He then directs his focus back to ultrasound magic. He contemplates, meditates, and muses...
Hmm, after thinking it over repeatedly, he still can’t pinpoint where the problem lies. Helpless, he concentrates and goes through the description of ultrasound in "Medical Imaging":
"Ultrasound utilizes 1 to 10 megahertz ultrasound waves to propagate in human tissues... um..."
1 to 10 megahertz?
That’s 1,000,000 hertz to 10,000,000 hertz?
What frequency do bats emit ultrasound at?
Oops, can’t remember...
However, during this contemplation, Garrett remembers something:
The higher the frequency of ultrasound, the lower its tissue penetration ability, but the higher its resolution for nearby objects. Lower frequencies penetrate tissues more effectively but have poorer resolution for nearby objects.
So when he released echo magic earlier, he could "see" through the rabbit to the rabbit cage, table, and floor below but couldn’t "see" the rabbit’s internal structure. Is it because the ultrasound frequency was too low?
How can he increase the ultrasound frequency?
Find an ultrasound probe?
Thinking too much!
Find a tuning fork?
A tuning fork probably can’t produce ultrasound.
Is there any magic to adjust sound wave frequency?
Some images and sounds pop into Garrett’s mind: ore radio, knobs, "Welcome to FM89.7 megahertz..."
Stop, stop! That’s for listening, not emitting!
Anyway, finding the reason for the magic failure is good. The next day, after class, Garrett rushes to the laboratory, takes out five different bats, and lines them up. He picks up a rabbit, applies sweet almond oil, and begins—
Indeed, there is a difference!
The fox bat, the largest and with the widest wingspan, emits the lowest ultrasound frequency, and the visual scene in his meditative field is the most blurred;
The most common and cheapest black bat, with a slightly higher frequency, has a clearer resolution but still doesn’t meet Garrett’s requirements;
The smallest gray bat, only as big as Garrett’s palm, covers only the rabbit and the rabbit cage with its ultrasound scene...
Reducing it by one more circle according to the rabbit’s size, it’s probably enough to examine the internal organs.
The idea of switching bats is correct! Garrett is greatly excited. However, the last time he experimented, the Magic Council provided only five types of bats. He... must go out and buy more.
Oh Buddha, God bless, may the gods of nature and magic bless—bats shouldn’t be too expensive!
It’s still not affordable if they are 5 gold coins each!
He heads straight to the shop where he inquired last time. The young clerk who promised to hold the bats for him when he paid a deposit seems to vaguely remember Garrett. Seeing him come in, the clerk’s eyes light up:
"Mr. Mage, you’re here again! Do you still want bats?"
How do you know I want bats?! Garrett is surprised: "How much for each?"
"...5 copper coins each, whether alive or dead."
The clerk’s voice is gloomy. Garrett is shocked: "Has the price dropped that much?"
"Isn’t it...?" The young clerk sighs in frustration. With the shop owner absent, he leans on the counter, chin resting on folded arms. From skull to spine, he looks like a complete "loss," with the word written all over him from top to bottom:
"I don’t know which mage wrote an article saying that researching bats is dangerous and can cause illness. Now, many customers who ordered bats don’t want them anymore, and some who bought them are returning them. Our shop is stuck with several thousand! If we don’t figure out a way to sell them, we won’t be able to afford to take care of them..."
And this month’s salary will also be discounted. Not only this month, but the next, the next next month, and maybe even the next next next month, it might be cut in half...
"Um..."
The instigator of the drastic price drop on bats feels a bit guilty and a bit pleased. He blinks, getting closer:
"Is your shop’s bat variety complete? If it is, I’ll buy them here instead of going elsewhere!"
"We have a complete collection!" The young clerk jumps up. "We have over ten varieties! Even if they’re not complete, I can go to other shops to restock! Mr. Mage, you just sit here; I’ll go gather them all for you! How many of each do you want?"
5 copper coins each, 20 varieties, that’s one gold coin. Garrett pinches his wallet, pulling out half of his gold coins and pushing them onto the counter:
"See how many varieties you can gather. If you get 20, I’ll buy 5 of each. Buy more of the one I need when you find it."
"Alright! Mr. Mage, rest assured—otherwise, do you want to leave your address? I can deliver them to your doorstep."
In the late afternoon, when the sky darkens, Garrett receives a basket full of bats. Various sizes, neatly categorized, around forty to fifty varieties. All dead, each wrapped in a grass bag with a note attached, indicating the name of each bat.
Considering that in his previous life, there were only over 900 species of bats worldwide, Garrett suspects he has collected bats from all over the country.
...Wallet bleeding heavily.
Enduring the heartache, Garrett takes out half of the gold coins from his wallet, pays the young clerk, and sends him away. Turning around, facing this big basket of creepy-looking creatures, he sighs deeply:
"...Ah!"
How long do I have to experiment?
I have a limited number of spells every day!
Although experimenting with various materials is necessary for
research—like when Edison invented the light bulb, he tried nearly 1600 filament materials— but he had a team underneath him! What about me?
I rely on myself entirely!
I need an assistant! Assistant!
"Garrett, don’t rush, let’s try slowly," his only assistant, the barbarian Bernard, consoles him, looking understanding:
"After all, I can’t eat ten rabbits in a day..."
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