Chapter 212
Garrett was overjoyed.
Disinfectant! Disinfectant! In clinical settings, there are various disinfection methods: alcohol, iodine, high temperature, high pressure, ultraviolet light... But the cheapest, most freely splashed around without a care, is disinfectant!
In hospitals, in operating rooms, the smell of disinfectant permeates every day. Without this smell, performing surgery feels unsafe...
It feels more unsafe than wearing less clothing. After all, during surgery, it’s common for pants to fall down, and the circulating nurse might not always help you pick them up; it’s absolutely impossible for the operating room to not be disinfected after a day’s use!
Garrett had long wanted to make disinfectant. However, he only knew that electrolyzing saline solution produces chlorine gas, which, when passed into lime water, produces disinfectant; but electrolyzing saline solution requires direct current, and the method of generating electricity, he only understood alternating current...
How to convert alternating current to direct current? Sorry, I don’t know.
But now, thanks to the research task given by the Magic Council, Garrett finally had readily available electricity he could use openly and honestly!
His plan to develop electrolysis had finally paid off! What’s metallurgy? That stuff has nothing to do with him; disinfectant is what’s urgently needed right now! Properly disinfecting the operating room and wards can save many lives!
Garrett didn’t know whether this stuff, crackling with sparks and contained by force fields, was considered direct current or alternating current. But since electrolyzing saline solution was successful, it probably was direct current. He worked tirelessly, making two large buckets of disinfectant, carrying the buckets until his arms went soft, then breathed a sigh of satisfaction:
It should be enough for now!
Making too much of this stuff isn’t good; putting it in a spatial bag, who knows if it’ll evaporate...
Oh, it’s best to also get some bleach! Last time there was a cholera outbreak in Hartland City, if there was bleach, things wouldn’t have been so troublesome; just sprinkle some bleach and it’d be fine!
Garrett rolled up his sleeves and continued working. Making bleach wasn’t particularly difficult; it was simply calcium hydroxide—also known as slaked lime, heated to produce quicklime, then mixed with a little water to form lime water, and vigorously passed chlorine gas into it. What’s that? You say there might be too much chlorine gas and it could be poisonous?
Just connect another tube and continue delivering it into the lime water, and another bucket of disinfectant is made...
The laboratory in the Tower of Heaven, for the most part, didn’t have windows leading to the outside of the tower, at least not Garrett’s lab. He worked tirelessly all day, only feeling satisfied when he left with three large buckets of disinfectant and a big bottle of bleach, swaying as he went back to rest. And as soon as he left, Aurora Worton, a fifth-level mage, who had been slouching in the corner, immediately jumped up like she’d been electrocuted and rushed to the experiment table.
Aurora Worton was the youngest disciple of Grand Magister Kairel. To become a disciple of a 14th-level grand mage as a mere fifth-level mage, one can imagine his talent—indeed, since entering, Aurora Worton had been smooth sailing, being called a genius youth by those around him, leaving his peers far behind.
From studying on his own to becoming an apprentice, to advancing to a fifth-level mage, he had only spent five years, and he was only 20 years old this year. Along the way, he had never encountered any obstacles, even though he had been locked in the mage tower for five years, reading books and doing research, never venturing out for adventures, he had smoothly crossed the first major milestone.
And in these five years, he had also published several good papers, improved several new spells, and was now a third-level arcane scholar. Among the young mage group of the same age, everyone praised him as the future grand mage, even the seed of legendary mage.
This genius youth had just had some enlightenment recently and had plunged into the laboratory, intending to combine the "Ether Prison" and the "Ring of Electricity" to create a new spell. Busy halfway, he was suddenly dragged out of the laboratory by his teacher and made to be a bodyguard for a second-level mage...
Aurora Worton: "??? Teacher, I don’t want to go! I’m only halfway through improving the spell!"
"Go!" Grand Magister Kairel just waved his hand, and a transparent force field hand lifted him out of the laboratory:
"Teacher won’t harm you! Look, even though he’s only a second-level mage in terms of rank, he’s a third-level arcane scholar! Third level! And he’s three years younger than you! Making good relations with someone like him will bring many benefits in the future!"
Aurora Worton was thus thrown over.
After arriving, he realized that his fellow disciples, the apprentices of his seniors, and the mages under his seniors, as long as they could spare the time and their spell levels were sufficient, were all locked in the three adjacent labs, experimenting to the point of life and death. Listening to his seniors, the experiments, which filled large sheets of paper, were all designed by the little mage he was guarding...
Aurora Worton really wanted to go over. But it wasn’t possible. He could only squat in room 6, monitoring Garrett, refreshing his mage armor and arrow protection every half hour, and refreshing the protection energy every 50 minutes. Apart from that, he was always ready to cast a force field hand to pull Garrett out of danger...
However, the experiment went smoothly without any hiccups. All he heard from the next room were explosions and sparks, but in room 6, everything was calm, and none of the protective measures were used even once.
From morning till night, he only saw the young mage busy, moving shelves, moving sinks, pouring water, pouring magical materials... He secretly identified those magical materials and found they were just salt and lime, completely ordinary.
However, with these salt and lime, Garrett made something he had no idea what it was, something that the identification spell didn’t give an answer to.
Aurora Worton was curious. But since Garrett didn’t speak to him, he didn’t dare to ask, so he could only squat in the corner and watch with wide eyes. The experiment wasn’t difficult, and Garrett’s movements weren’t particularly fast; it was the kind where you understand after seeing it once, become proficient after seeing it twice, and after seeing it three times, I’m sure I can do better than him...
Starting from the third time, Aurora Worton had nothing to do except keep time and refresh Garrett’s spell protections on schedule.
Boring.
Boredom combined with curiosity, and after Garrett left, he took out the alchemy equipment he carried with him and also went up to the experiment table...
It’s just salt, right? It’s just passing electricity through, right? Oh, there are no graphite rods; let’s go to the next room and get a couple...
Aurora W
orton quickly set up the experiment table. Soon, bubbles began to bubble up from the graphite rod...
The bubbles on both sides were different colors. One side was colorless and transparent, and the other side was a faint yellow-green. After patiently waiting for a while, he first collected two bottles of yellow-green gas and placed them aside for later use, then went to deal with the colorless and transparent ones.
The identification spell was cast, but there was no information;
The toxicity detection spell was cast, showing no toxicity;
When opened and smelled, there was no odor;
When the cold ray spell was cast...
"Boom!!!"
An unprecedentedly violent explosion. Fortunately, Aurora Worton reacted quickly and raised his shield in time, avoiding being injured by sparks, shockwaves, and shattered glass fragments. He was drenched in cold sweat, and when he regained his senses, he saw the mess on the experiment table, no different from if a hurricane had passed through.
Bottles.
The graphite rod was crooked.
The glass sink had a crack, and the saltwater in the sink was bubbling, already spilling out halfway.
And the two bottles of gas that had been set aside beforehand, along with their caps, were shattered into pieces, and the yellow-green gas inside was rising in thin wisps, becoming thinner and thinner...
I haven’t figured out what that is yet!
When Garrett returned, he was met with a scene of chaos.
Aurora Worton lay on the ground, clutching his chest tightly, curled into a ball;
The experiment table looked like a hurricane had passed through;
Shiny water stains and broken glass littered the table and floor...
"Help!!!"
With a deep breath, Garrett shouted at the top of his lungs. Then, he brushed aside the laboratory’s force field barrier and rushed in. Taking a step forward, he immediately halted, retreated, and jumped out of the room, encasing himself in a bubble spell...
Why is someone collapsed! That smell inside, that... that’s chlorine gas!!!
"Help—"
Garrett shouted again, rushing in under the protection of the bubble spell, desperately dragging the person out. After a couple of steps, the surrounding laboratories began opening their doors, and mages rushed out one after another. Without lifting his head, Garrett shouted at them while observing the patient:
"Don’t come in yet!"
"Blow the air out of the room! Blow it outside the mage tower! The air is toxic!"
A strong wind blew through. The wind manipulation spell cast by high-level mages was much stronger than Garrett’s, and the powerful gusts stung as they swept past. Garrett dispelled the bubble spell and, relieved not to smell chlorine gas anymore, he let out a sigh, gently placing the patient down and continuing to command:
"Get a high-level healer!"
"Bring a new sink! Fill it with clean water, add a bit of soda ash, but just a bit!
—Stick the graphite rod back in, electrolyze it, and collect the gas coming off it! Hurry!"
As he spoke, his eyes darted around, assessing Aurora Worton’s condition. Severe coughing, pink frothy sputum, obvious cyanosis of the nail beds, signs of lung damage and hypoxia were apparent; conservatively estimating, it was a moderate chlorine gas poisoning. Hopefully, it wouldn’t progress to pulmonary edema right away; if it did, my healing spells won’t be enough to save him...
Quickly, Garrett flipped Aurora Worton onto his back, tilting his head back to open his airway. Then, he shouted:
"Can you hear me? Can you hear me? —Good! Open your mouth! Wider!"
Aurora Worton struggled to open his mouth. Garrett swiftly cast a flash spell into it, inspecting with the aid of the light source — oh no, the throat was already swollen, and if it continued, the swelling would obstruct the airway in minutes. He hesitated for half a second between performing a tracheostomy and a cricothyrotomy, swiftly and deftly rummaging through his supplies.
As he dug, he stared into Aurora Worton’s eyes, speaking loudly. Speaking for the patient to hear, but also for the mages present to hear:
"You’re poisoned! The trachea here—"
Garrett extended his hand to gesture around the patient’s throat:
"It’s already swollen. If it swells a bit more, you won’t be able to breathe, and you’ll suffocate!
If you agree, I can make a small incision below your throat, insert a tube for you to breathe, don’t worry, I won’t cut any blood vessels, a minor healing spell will fix any damage later!
If you don’t agree, I’ll use healing magic to keep you stable, but I’m only a second-level priest, I don’t know how long I can sustain it, and I don’t know if a high-level healer can make it in time!
If you agree to the incision, tell me, or nod!"
Aurora Worton neither nodded nor shook his head. His fingers spasmed and trembled, desperately trying to grasp his own throat, but his lips moved soundlessly. Inside and outside the room, there was chaos—some were tidying the experiment table, some were rushing out for help, and others were gathering around Aurora Worton, their faces filled with concern.
A tall, silver-haired mage stood out from the crowd and proclaimed loudly:
"Cut him open!"
"What?"
"Cut him open! I’m the master’s senior disciple, I’ll take responsibility!"
Garrett glanced up. The silver-haired mage met his gaze and nodded solemnly. Garrett took a deep breath:
"Don’t be afraid, don’t move! —Cast a paralysis spell on him! Don’t let him move!!!"
The spell was cast. Aurora Worton stiffened in place, and Garrett lowered his head, clasping his hands together, holding a tiny seed in his palm, silently praying—
"Grow, tracheal tube! Grow for me—now!"
Tender green tendrils swayed. Hollow, soft, smooth yet resilient vines snaked out from Garrett’s palm. Then came the routine of an emergency room doctor, practiced and fluid: alcohol to disinfect the skin, sterile tools, incision, separation of the tissue in front of the trachea, a flash of the blade.
The vine-made tracheal tube smoothly inserted!
No more relying on chicken bones, thank the gods!
"Is everything over there yet?"
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