Ya Ya watched Chen Xiao scream in pain; a thin cut had appeared on his finger. Fortunately, it wasn't deep, but blood was still flowing. Chen Xiao sighed and turned to get a band-aid, but then he saw Ya Ya staring at his finger with a strange look in her eyes!
"What's wrong?" Chen Xiao frowned. "This is blood... You've never even seen blood before, have you?"
Ya Ya shook her head, but glanced at Chen Xiao cautiously: "May I ask a question?"
"Can."
"Excuse me..." Ya Ya seemed a little worried, "Why is your blood red? Have you also been infected with the virus? Will you die soon?"
"..."
Taking a deep breath and trying to remain calm, Chen Xiao looked into Ya Ya's eyes and said in a calm voice, "First, human blood is naturally red..."
Seeing that Ya Ya seemed about to say something, Chen Xiao waved his hand and said, "Let me finish speaking first."
He looked into the girl's eyes: "Second... since you've said that, what color do you think blood should be?"
"Blue," Ya Ya answered quickly.
As if to prove herself, she quickly picked up the kitchen knife from the counter, and before Chen Xiao could react, she had already gently pricked her fingertip!
Chen Xiao's pupils suddenly contracted! Whether he believed it or not, the fact was undeniable: the blood flowing from Ya Ya's fingertip wound was a deep, eerie blue!
Just like the icy blue of her eyes!
Blue-blooded people?!
He vaguely remembered that he had once read a popular science magazine, which seemed to have some strange descriptions about blue blood, but it had been so long that he had forgotten it.
Chen Xiao paused for a moment, concealing his excitement, tore off a band-aid and wrapped it around Ya Ya's finger, then quickly ran back to his study, turned on the computer, logged onto the internet, opened Google, typed in "blue blood," and searched!
The search results were somewhat troublesome: most of them led to the novel "The Blue-Blooded Man" by the famous author Ni Kuang. However, Chen Xiao still found some useful information.
Quickly browsing through the results, closing some useless web pages, Chen Xiao focused his attention on an article that had appeared in the search results:
"...Some rare organisms lack a special enzyme in their bodies, which causes their blood to be blue. Such organisms, such as a certain mollusc that lives 3,000 meters below the surface of the deep ocean, have a blue protein called hemocyanin dissolved in their hemolymph. The blue protein is also the main oxygen-carrying component, so it appears as blue blood."
For a century, the existence of a blue-blooded race has been a controversial topic. Speculation suggests that, for example, analysis of blood samples extracted from known blue-blooded organisms shows that blue blood cells have a much lower oxygen content than red blood cells. If blue-blooded humans truly existed, the extremely low oxygen content in their blood would be insufficient to meet the body's normal needs. Therefore, the academic community has consistently denied the existence of blue-blooded humans.
However, another conjecture is that, similarly, if blue blood cells are indeed hypoxic cells, then we can also deduce that one of the main reasons why the human body ages is that the "oxygen" contained in cells leads to aging, which is called "oxidation." Just as metals deteriorate during the oxidation process, so too does the human body.
If blue-blooded humans truly exist, then because the oxygen content in their blood is lower than normal, their metabolism is much slower than that of normal people, resulting in slower physical development and aging.
Whether blue-blooded people truly exist is currently inconclusive. However, I have consulted materials and found that in the early 20th century, some scholars claimed to have discovered a blue-blooded race in a certain mountainous area. Unfortunately, due to the passage of time, no verifiable records have been found…
The article is authored by a German biology professor.
Chen Xiao's academic performance was quite good; at least his biology class was excellent. Therefore, he knew a basic fact: when a person breathes, they inhale oxygen, ensuring that red blood cells receive enough oxygen to maintain normal bodily functions.
Similarly, oxidation is also a form of corrosion: this applies to metals, such as silver and iron. Metals exposed to air for extended periods will rust, which is essentially a process of oxidation.
If blue blood truly existed, it could enable the body to function normally... and also have antioxidant and anti-aging properties...
In other words, people with blue blood...will live forever?
Well... the idea of "immortality" might be a bit of an exaggeration, but aging more slowly than a normal person is possible.
Seeing this, his heart pounded: Ya Ya, the blue-blooded person, actually exists! Right here in his own home, standing alive beside him!
Seeing Chen Xiao rush back to his room and sit at the computer staring blankly at the screen, Ya Ya quietly followed him and stood beside him.
Seemingly hesitant for a moment, Ya Ya asked curiously, "What's wrong? Are you really infected with the virus?"
Virus?
Wait, wait a minute!!
Chen Xiao's heart skipped a beat!
Putting aside the fact that Ya Ya doesn't know the common knowledge that "human blood should be red," what she just said also seems strange!
Ya Ya's original words were: "Did you also get infected with the virus? Will you also die?"
The seemingly simple sentence gains a deeper meaning with the addition of the word "also"!
Staring at the girl, Chen Xiao's expression was very serious: "What did you mean by 'also' just now? Besides you, do you know any other people whose blood is also blue? Why do you think that red blood is due to a viral infection?"
Upon hearing this question, a faint sadness appeared on Ya Ya's beautiful face. From the side, her facial features were shrouded in sorrow, and her long eyelashes trembled slightly.
“Before… Number Six, Number Eleven, and Number Fourteen were all like me, with blue blood, but later their blood turned red…” Ya Ya’s voice was filled with sorrow: “They told me that Number Six, Number Eleven, and Number Fourteen died because they were infected with a virus.”
Chen Xiao keenly noticed that when Ya Ya mentioned "them" again, her body trembled involuntarily, and her tone revealed a deep fear that she couldn't hide.
Chapter Six: Money Over Life
Chen Xiao had too many questions in her mind, so she could only try her best to control her thoughts and ask carefully one by one: "Who are you referring to as number six and number eleven? Is it the same as you?"
Ya Ya's answer was the same as Chen Xiao's guess: the so-called No. 6, No. 11, etc., are living in "Biological Warehouse No. 6" and "Biological Warehouse No. 11".
In that case, Ya Ya claims to reside in "Biological Warehouse No. 16"...
"Then shouldn't you be called 'Number Sixteen'?" Chen Xiao asked.
Ya Ya nodded, but then she shook her head: "I don't like the name 'Number Sixteen'."
"Then why do you have the name 'Ya Ya'?"
This time, Ya Ya seemed stunned for a moment. She tilted her head and tried hard to think for a while, but her face was full of distress: "I think I've forgotten." She frowned and pondered, but a painful expression gradually appeared on her face: "I...why don't I remember? This should be my name, but why don't I remember it?"