Metal crack

98.6 degrees Fahrenheit

Li Hui's voice was loud and clear. Ling Xiao, who was on the verge of anger, was stunned, as were Dan Qiuyu and Zhan Wenyì.

The patch loosening... this possibility indeed existed. Everyone felt something was amiss, yet couldn't find any evidence.

"Ling Xiao, let go!" Dan Qiuyu reprimanded sharply.

Regardless, Li Hui was the leader of the technical team. Even if an accident occurred, it wasn't appropriate to resort to violence.

Ling Xiao angrily released Li Hui, gritting his teeth: If Ou Fei was fine, so be it. But if anything happened to him... Bah, bah, bah, impossible, absolutely impossible!

Li Hui's gaze flickered between the monitor and the sleep pod. An irresistible urge welled up within him: he wanted to measure Ou Zhanpeng's body temperature!

Li Hui knew very well that the chance of the patch malfunctioning was extremely, extremely, extremely small. Without measuring it himself, he felt an unresolvable knot in his heart.

But what if it was really only 9 degrees? What if his brain and internal organs had already suffered irreversible damage?

Responsibility?

This was a decision from superiors. Even if blame was to be assigned, it wouldn't fall on him, a nobody. He was worried about those people with eyes as red as bulls beating him on the spot!

Time slowly passed in anxious waiting. Li Hui finally couldn't hold back. He quietly called over a technician and whispered a few instructions. The technician nodded and left.

Shortly after, another technician openly approached the sleep pod, carefully observing Ou Zhanpeng's condition. Finally, he took out an infrared thermometer, checked the temperature, and nodded with satisfaction.

The entire process was very natural, and no one detected any flaw.

After this person left the sleep pod, he didn't approach Li Hui but relayed the message through others—the subject's body temperature was only nine degrees, truly only nine degrees.

Li Hui's expression changed slightly, his heart throbbed uncontrollably, and he began to ponder what excuse he could use to leave smoothly and reasonably when the pod was opened.

His fate wouldn't be good if he stayed here.

Ou Zhanpeng's body temperature was too low. Li Hui wasn't the only one panicking; the other technical staff were also very anxious. They continuously adjusted the equipment, hoping to wake the person up earlier.

But all their efforts were in vain. Not only did the temperature not rise, but forcing a temperature increase would cause all sorts of physiological readings to become uncontrollably chaotic.

Li Hui suddenly thought of a possibility: couldn't this person be too well-adapted to the hibernation drug?

The technology for low-temperature sleep wasn't developed out of thin air. It came from studying various hibernating mammals, isolating natural hibernation drugs from their blood, carefully analyzing them through various means, and finally synthesizing the hibernation drug artificially.

Next was to improve the hibernation drug to make it effective for humans.

In fact, the research team had already succeeded, injecting the improved hibernation drug into mammals that did not normally hibernate.

However, animals that didn't need to hibernate suddenly entering a hibernating state couldn't adapt to the bodily changes, leading to a series of accidents. Hundreds of experimental animals had died from various causes.

The research team eventually discovered that the body temperature of non-hibernating animals could not be lowered too much and must be maintained above 14.7 degrees Celsius.

Hence the sleep pods and a series of auxiliary technologies.

The body temperature of some animals during hibernation was indeed 9 degrees, which perfectly matched this person's physiological state!

He suddenly became excited again. If this person could wake up smoothly, wouldn't it point to a new research direction for the research team?

But with that came worry and unease, because temperatures above 15 degrees Celsius allowed for lossless hibernation. Temperatures below 15 degrees Celsius not only posed risks of damage to various organs but also irreversible harm to the brain. Memory loss and headaches were minor issues; it could even trigger epilepsy and other neurological diseases.

9 degrees? This was already a fatal temperature for humans!

The person had emerged safely, but had transformed from an elite astronaut into an idiot unable to care for himself... No, he couldn't stay here!

A strong sense of crisis prompted Li Hui to decide to distance himself from the trouble. He made up an excuse and slipped away.

A full seven hours later, Ou Zhanpeng's body temperature finally began to rise naturally.

The technicians quickly adjusted the equipment, but they were surprised to find that even without equipment assistance, the subject's physiological indicators were exceptionally stable.

"Interesting," a technician's eyes gleamed.

The hibernation drug was an external substance that metabolized slowly in the human body. After one injection, it took about eight hours to take effect. To maintain long-term low-temperature sleep, one had to continuously monitor the drug's metabolic state and inject supplements in time.

In other words, by continuing to inject Ou Zhanpeng with the sleep-inducing agent, he could maintain his current state and continue to sleep.

His heart stirred, an uncontrollable urge gradually dominating his mind. His restless fingers quietly pressed towards the screen.

Just as his fingertip was about to touch the injection frame, a hand suddenly grabbed his arm.

"What do you think you're doing?" an angry voice questioned.

The person's gaze flickered: "Nothing, nothing. The temperature is rising, it's time for a supplemental injection!"

"Supplement your ass!" Ling Xiao raised his fist to strike, but his comrades quickly pulled him back, preventing a bloody incident. However, everyone looked at that technician with strong vigilance and condemnation.

Li Hui, who had already retreated, received the news and had to brace himself to rush back. He reprimanded them angrily and repeatedly assured everyone that this was just the technician's personal problem. But no matter how he explained, the seed of doubt had been sown.

When Ou Zhanpeng woke up, he heard a commotion outside the cabin. A thought suddenly popped into his mind: Had something gone wrong?

The last vestiges of sleep in his mind vanished. He pushed open the cabin door and sat up. The first thing he saw was Ling Xiao, with a ferocious expression, being held back by several comrades.

Ou Zhanpeng quickly jumped out: "What's wrong, what happened? Ling Xiao, are you alright?"

The noisy scene instantly quieted down. Everyone stared blankly at Ou Zhanpeng, somewhat at a loss.

Ling Xiao angrily recounted the events, embellishing them. Only then did Ou Zhanpeng realize that his brief sleep had caused so much trouble.

Li Hui's situation was entirely different. He knew Ou Zhanpeng's actual body temperature, but seeing Ou Zhanpeng's condition, he showed no side effects at all. This was truly a miracle, wasn't it?

He couldn't help himself and lunged in front of Ou Zhanpeng: "Comrade, your situation is very special, truly very, very special. It has extremely important research value. I will immediately submit an application to transfer you to our institute..."

"Hold on, what is all this nonsense? I'm not interested in your research, nor do I want to be transferred to any institute!" Ou Zhanpeng refused righteously.

"Yes, who cares about your lousy place? Stay away!" Ling Xiao stepped forward to block Li Hui, his eyes filled with caution.

Li Hui was still unwilling and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Hey, hey, no, the conditions, we can discuss them –"