Experiment in Progress, Part One

Although they had a perfect start, the subsequent experiments didn't go so smoothly.

Afterwards, Rowan first tested his ability to survive in cold environments.

He naturally possessed cold-resistant genes, allowing him to easily withstand ordinary cold environments. However, the low temperatures of outer space are not the same as the cold on a planet. Rowan Wen only vaguely remembered that it was around minus two hundred degrees Celsius; he couldn't recall the exact temperature.

Due to limitations in industrial manufacturing capabilities, the Rat-folk's laboratories can only simulate environments down to around -150 degrees Celsius.

Even this alone caused Rowan a huge setback. Shortly after entering the simulated environment, his body began to lose a lot of heat, frost began to form on his body surface, and then his bodily fluids began to freeze.

At this point, the body's emergency mechanisms activate, entering a dormant state for protection. Metabolism begins to decline rapidly, bodily fluid flow almost stagnates, and the body begins to feel numb.

If Rowan hadn't become a "Net-person," his consciousness might have been forcibly shut down for protection and entered a dormant state.

However, hibernation could not prevent the damage caused by hypothermia to the body. Five minutes later, Rowan's body began to be damaged at the cellular level. In the past, Rowan, who was forcibly taken offline by hibernation, could only die in a painless sleep.

But now, he can promptly notify his "own people" outside the experimental chamber to stop the experiment and remove his physical body.

Afterwards, the main body spent three days cocooning itself to repair the damage it had suffered during the experiment. This, in turn, left those who were "half of their own" in disbelief.

During the time his body was repairing itself, Rowan thought things through carefully. He felt that the anaerobic experiments had inflated his ego. No matter how powerful his talent was, it still needed time to evolve.

However, if he were to suddenly place himself in an environment that exceeded his capacity, his body would collapse before his talents could even be put to use.

To put it simply, it means taking too big a step at once.

Learning from this experience, the temperature of the experimental chamber was adjusted to between minus fifty and sixty degrees Celsius in the second experiment.

After energizing his Tail Fat Organ, Rowan climbed into the experimental chamber. The lowest temperature he had ever experienced in the natural environment was probably minus twenty or thirty degrees Celsius. This time, the temperature was lowered by thirty degrees, and although he was still somewhat uncomfortable, he could bear it.

The hibernation genes within him kept trying to force him offline. Rowan moved slightly, feeling his limbs gradually becoming numb, and without much resistance, entered a hibernation state.

The body gradually forms a cocoon, while consciousness returns to the Swarm Network.

Two days later, the main body emerged from the cocoon.

Then the third experiment began. This time, after entering the experimental chamber, Rowan's hibernation system did not alarm. This time, he fused several genes during his hibernation, but he couldn't remember exactly which ones they came from, since he had collected too many genes over the years.

The fusion of these genes is now causing Rowan's body to secrete an oily substance. This oily substance dissolves into the body fluids, lowering the freezing point of Rowan's body fluids. Moreover, as it continues to be secreted, its concentration in the body fluids continues to rise, and the freezing point of the body fluids continues to decrease.

Last time in this environment, his bodily fluids would have started to crystallize, but this time, due to the oily substance, this did not happen; the normally flowing bodily fluids supported his body's normal functions.

In subsequent experiments, the temperature of the experimental chamber was further reduced, and the concentration of oily substances in Rowan's body continued to increase. Finally, at minus 100 degrees Celsius, the oily substances could no longer hold on and began to crystallize.

As the temperature continued to drop, Rowan's hibernation system started alarming again and began forcing him offline. The temperature continued to drop, and his body finally entered hibernation mode, but he did not form a cocoon.

His body's gene pool no longer contained genes capable of resisting such low temperatures; however, as the temperature continued to drop, his body remained undamaged.

This is his talent continuing to evolve into a dormant skill. As it evolves, the cells in his body begin to shrink, expelling unnecessary substances from the cell walls.

By the time the temperature dropped to the limit of the Rat-folk's technology, his cells had expelled 90% of their internal substances, leaving only the most essential components.

The expelled substances crystallize outside the cell wall, encapsulating the cell and providing some protection.

At this moment, his consciousness forcibly returned to his body, but because the bodily fluids inside his body had stagnated and stopped functioning, he was unable to drive his body under these circumstances.

At his instruction, the experimental chamber stopped supplying energy, and the internal temperature gradually rose. The ice crystals outside the cells gradually melted and were reabsorbed by the cells, which began to regain their activity.

After the temperature rose to below 100 degrees Celsius, oily substances began to be secreted, bodily fluids resumed circulation, and his body gradually returned to normal.

After examination, it was found that his body had not suffered any harm from the low-temperature experiment. However, this did not make him happy, because he lost the ability to move after the temperature dropped to minus 100 degrees Celsius.

He didn't go to outer space to sleep; this outcome simply wouldn't meet his requirements.

However, oily substances themselves have limitations; this path has no potential for further evolution. Therefore, it is necessary to find another way to combat the low-temperature environment.

However, he didn't need to fight the low temperatures to the bitter end right now; he could put the project on hold for a while. While the Rat-folk continued to improve the performance of the experimental chamber, he would also send a large number of insects to the planet's poles to search. Perhaps in some remote corner, there were some rare creatures that could survive in extremely low temperatures and move freely.

After a few days' rest, Rowan began his experiments on adapting to space radiation.

Although it's described as simulating space radiation, the specific types of radiation in space are beyond Rowan's knowledge. Furthermore, the Rat-folk have never had a spacecraft leave the atmosphere and are unable to detect it.

This means that the radiation sources for this experiment were mostly minerals or byproducts of other experiments. The radiation in space was certainly not these; he simply wanted to use this radiation to find ways to counteract it.

In fact, everything in nature that has a temperature above absolute zero will emit radiation to its surroundings in the form of electromagnetic waves and particles.

What Rowan needs to protect himself from are those radiation levels that exceed a certain standard, which are harmful radiations that can cause physical decay and lead to diseases in the nervous system and other organ systems.

In the first experiment, after an hour of continuous exposure to harmful radiation, Rowan Wen began to form a cocoon. However, this time the cocoon's protection was completely ineffective in preventing the radiation from penetrating.

As time went on, the temperature inside the Insect Cocoon rose higher and higher under the radiation. After more than twenty hours, the cells of the Rowan began to suffer irreversible damage.

Thank you Gongzi Qi for the 5000 Qidian Coins reward, thank you Dongfeng Zhifeng for the 1000 Qidian Coins reward, thank you guwangjinlai for the 500 Qidian Coins reward, and thank you Control, Containment, Protection, and Runaway for the 100 Qidian Coins reward.

Thank you so much for your subscriptions, monthly tickets, and recommendations!

PS: It's too hard to come up with chapter titles.