Su Muqing was truly disgusted this time, even spitting out bile. Finally, her stomach was empty, and there was nothing left to vomit. The churning stomach acid finally subsided a bit.
"How is it? Feeling better? Have some water to rinse your mouth!" Huo Qiyuan quickly offered the water he had taken out earlier when he saw Su Muqing had stopped vomiting.
Su Muqing took it and rinsed her mouth, finally regaining some spirit. "I've already checked. The problem lies in this well."
Half a month had passed, and they had finally found the source of the virus. "What caused the bacteria and viruses in the well? Why are they so potent!"
Su Muqing took another sip of water and then slowly said, "It's a rock. I saw a strange rock at the bottom of the well that looked like a meteorite."
"What is a meteorite?" A poisonous rock? Huo Qiyuan had never heard of rocks being poisonous in his life.
Ugh... Explaining biology concepts like bacteria and viruses had already given Su Muqing a headache. Now, she had to explain astronomy. She once again sighed at how little she knew when she needed it!
"A meteorite is a small asteroid, comet, or rock from outer space. When they approach Earth during their orbit, they are captured by Earth's gravity and fall into the atmosphere. They burn up due to friction with the atmosphere and eventually land on Earth. These meteorites generally originate from the asteroid belt in the solar system, or from comets passing near Earth, and also from asteroids outside the solar system."
Huo Qiyuan became more and more confused as he listened. These strange words combined made it even harder for him to understand. "What are Earth and comets? What are the atmosphere and asteroids? Where are they?"
Su Muqing scratched her head, feeling that another hair-pulling moment had arrived. Huo Qiyuan was good in every way, except for his strong thirst for knowledge and his excessive eagerness to learn. If he had been born in modern times, he would definitely have been a lifelong scholar.
"How can I put it? A meteorite is a special type of stone that falls from the sky. Generally, their composition contains a lot of energy. And this energy is random; some can help people heal, and some can kill them! Unfortunately, the energy contained in this meteorite is precisely the bad kind, the lethal kind! Do you understand it this way?"
Huo Qiyuan nodded seriously. As for whether he truly understood, Su Muqing didn't know. "So there is such a place in the world? Did this meteorite fall from the modern world you mentioned?"
"Not necessarily! You know, the universe is vast. Besides the world we live in now, there are many other unknown spaces. And this stone just happened to fall from another place unknown to us. Anyway, this is a profound subject. When I have time, I'll find some books for you to read. You're such a smart person, maybe you can learn a lot by reading yourself."
Su Muqing thought to herself that advanced knowledge like astronomy couldn't be explained clearly in a few words. Forget it, she had to find more books for Huo Qiyuan when she had free time, otherwise, he would definitely come to ask her.
Huo Qiyuan was very happy when Su Muqing said she would find books for him. Although he hadn't finished reading the basic biology and physics books, he still looked forward to learning new knowledge.
After sending the eager learner Huo Qiyuan away, Su Muqing was also in a good mood. Now that the source of the virus had been found, and after her careful examination, she had a new guess in her heart.
As they walked, except for scattered bacteria and viruses in places where water had spilled, she didn't see them elsewhere. This was clearly the source of the poison, yet the surrounding bacteria and viruses were not even a tenth of what was in the West District.
Could it be that only where there was water, there would be those bacteria and viruses?
Su Muqing recalled the situation she had seen in the West District. Whether it was on the walls or on the withered grass, bacteria and viruses were floating everywhere. And the places with viruses were mostly wet, without lime.
And in the places where lime had been sprinkled and dried, there were no traces of bacteria or viruses. She had thought that the lime powder could prevent infection, but now she realized it was because the lime covered and absorbed all the moisture! Therefore, the bacteria and viruses lost their conditions for survival and could not survive!
This explained that the outbreak and spread of the virus in the West District was because they discovered this water source and eagerly used it, leading to water stains all over the West District, which caused the virus to spread so quickly!
It seemed that these bacteria truly depended on moisture for survival. From now on, as long as they were exposed to sunlight or quickly dehydrated, all the viruses could be killed.
This meant that the disinfectant could not be sprayed for now. Even if it had to be sprayed, it should be done after all these bacteria were eliminated! Thinking of this, Su Muqing quickly waved to the soldiers behind her.
She ordered them to run back to the West District quickly and inform Leng Ren and the others to suspend the plan to spray disinfectant throughout the entire district and await further notice. Then, Su Muqing waved again, asking soldiers with poor resistance to stand back to avoid contact with the water vapor.
After everyone else retreated far away, Su Muqing took out the mechanical arm she had just purchased from the future mall and a sealed box made of special material.
Su Muqing closed her eyes. The space detector quickly measured the size of the meteorite in the well and its convenient angles for gripping. This mechanical arm was connected to the data in her mind.
It was a fully automatic model that could adjust its data according to Su Muqing's instructions. She only needed to set it up around the well, adjust the size of the box to be similar to the stone, place it next to the mechanical arm, and let it operate by itself.
After completing these preparations, Su Muqing and Huo Qiyuan found a spot where they could see without obstructing the mechanical arm's operation and waited to watch the process.
The mechanical arm hanging above the well, which was originally a closed iron claw. Suddenly, it seemed to come alive. The cylindrical part at the front, originally the size of a fist, quickly separated into three triangular branches. Then, the three triangular branches further divided into seven.
The entire mechanical arm extended to about twice the width of a human palm and then stopped. The gaps between each branch were not equal, which was also precisely adjusted according to the shape of the stone at the bottom of the well. After adjusting the angle, the mechanical arm slowly descended into the well.
Looking at Huo Qiyuan, who had his eyes wide open beside her, wishing he could jump into the well to see clearly, Su Muqing was defeated by his eager and curious expression, yet unable to see anything!
Su Muqing sighed softly and, in a very understanding manner, took out a pair of smart glasses and handed them to the anxious person beside her. She believed that if Huo Qiyuan couldn't personally witness the entire process of the mechanical arm lifting the large stone this time, he would definitely have a sleepless night.
These glasses could satisfy him. Although he couldn't see the very fine bacteria and viruses, they could penetrate more than ten meters of water and clearly see how the mechanical arm lifted the large, gleaming stone at the bottom of the well!
The two stood by the well, concentrating on everything happening at the bottom. The mechanical arm first slowly approached the stone and then adjusted its angle to place itself.
Upon contact with the meteorite, the iron fingers of the mechanical arm, which were only two palms wide, grew longer. Finally, they wound around the several angles of the stone in a circular motion, connecting at the bottom of the stone before completely enveloping the entire stone.
Huo Qiyuan couldn't help but exclaim in admiration at this miraculous sight. No matter how many times he had seen the magical items in Su Muqing's hands over the years, each time he saw them, he couldn't help but be amazed.
This must be the power of science that Su Muqing spoke of. Although he didn't yet understand what science was, he had witnessed its miracles and infinite power quite a bit in recent years.
The artificial eyes of the disabled children harmed by the Thousand Poison Sect, the prosthetic limbs for soldiers who had lost hands and feet, and the ability to reshape bones and transplant new skin – weren't these all the wonders and power of science?
Having witnessed this high technology, Huo Qiyuan secretly vowed that if he had time and opportunity in the future, he would definitely ask Su Muqing to teach him some scientific knowledge so that he could better benefit the people of the Huaxia Heavenly Kingdom in the future!
Well, he hadn't even learned astronomy yet, and Huo Qiyuan had silently added another course for himself. If Su Muqing knew his thoughts at this moment, she would definitely give him an adjective – awesome! He was truly a top student!
In the well, after the mechanical arm grasped the stone firmly, it began to drag it slowly. The bottom of the well, which had been still for a long time, was churned up by this sudden movement. In a short while, the water, which had been clear to the bottom, turned extremely turbid.
The mechanical arm slowly retracted, and the meteorite was pulled up bit by bit. Su Muqing and Huo Qiyuan saw that after the surface of the stone left the water layer, its originally shiny surface quickly turned black.
It was like a crystal-clear and plump grape, still covered with water droplets, suddenly having all its juice sucked out, turning into a dull, shriveled, dry skin.
However, in places where Huo Qiyuan's smart glasses couldn't see, Su Muqing's expression changed from initial shock to surprise!
Because she saw that the bacteria and viruses at the bottom of the well began to chase towards the direction of the stone, scrambling and following each other after the meteorite was moved. Soon, the very bottom layer of the turbid well water had no bacteria or viruses left!
And as the meteorite was slowly pulled up, the bacteria and viruses jumped onto the stone. Su Muqing was once again surprised to find that the bacteria and viruses that jumped to the top of the stone dissipated on their own as the water evaporated from the meteorite's body!
Could it be...!
This meteorite was the mother body of these parasitic bacteria. After being separated by relying on moisture, if this water source had not been discovered and then carried to the West District for use, generally, the bacteria viruses would follow the mother body wherever it went and would not spread on their own.
However, the separated bacteria and viruses could survive with moisture and grow into pathogenic bodies that harmed humans, animals, and plants. But these bacteria and viruses still in the well remained in the form of eggs.
And they would always follow the mother body. Once the mother body left the water, its own moisture evaporated rapidly, and the released energy was recovered, those bacteria and viruses would dissipate.
And once the meteorite left the water surface, it could retrieve all the bacteria and viruses that had been released! It was truly the stone that made them and the stone that defeated them!
This was great news, at least faster than filling the well, disinfecting, and taking medicine for prevention! Thinking of this, as the meteorite was about to completely leave the water surface, Su Muqing sent new instructions to the mechanical arm.
This time, the mechanical arm stopped retracting and did not lift the meteorite quickly. Instead, it left a small angle, allowing it to continue to soak in the well water.
Huo Qiyuan looked at the stationary mechanical arm with confusion, then turned to look at the frowning Su Muqing. He thought, could this thing called science have broken down so quickly? It was too unreliable!
For Huo Qiyuan, who was thoroughly enjoying watching, the sudden halt made him itchy. He couldn't help but ask Su Muqing, who was lost in thought beside him, "Why did this thing suddenly stop?"
"Good news! The meteorite is absorbing the bacteria and viruses in the water. It seems our luck isn't too bad this time!" Su Muqing had been busy controlling the mechanical arm with her mind earlier, so she hadn't had time to explain her discovery to Huo Qiyuan.
"Really? So, as long as the viruses in the well are sucked clean, and then the stone is taken back along the way to the West District to circle around and suck all the viruses back, will it be solved?" Huo Qiyuan was also very happy to finally have a complete solution.
Although it was a great regret in his heart not to see the miracle of the meteorite absorbing poison, as long as this virus could be eliminated, and the people would no longer suffer from the torment of the virus, it didn't matter if he could see it or not.
"Yes! I think it can be operated this way. After the viruses in the well are absorbed, we will try it in the isolation zone!" Su Muqing was also very happy to have such a result. After answering Huo Qiyuan's question, her gaze became dazed again.
The mechanical arm had stopped moving. In fact, Su Muqing had re-entered the future mall of her space, wanting to find a pair of smart glasses for him that could allow humans to see microorganisms with the naked eye.
Although Huo Qiyuan looked happy after learning that there was a solution to the virus problem, Su Muqing could see the obvious regret in his eyes.
After all, he was the future emperor's consort. As the empress, she naturally had to dote on him as much as she could!