Mu Lin never expected that the origin of prions actually dated back 5000 years, created by people back then. At that time, when talking about prions, aside from scholars engaged in academic research who understood them thoroughly, ordinary people had no idea what they were.
But if you mentioned the disease’s other pathogen, people would understand immediately—this was none other than mad cow disease, later feared across Europe and America. Even today, people still haven’t figured out the source of prions. Their origin has long puzzled future generations. One theory claims that cannibals in Australia, America, and Africa carried and spread them. Another theory suggests that comets or other extraterrestrial bodies struck Earth, leaving behind remnants containing these viruses.
Yet no one ever proposed that prions were originally native to Earth, existing for over 5000 years. Previously, mummies carrying these viruses and their internal organs had been sealed tightly inside pyramids, so they never escaped to plague humanity. However, over 300 years ago, when people began excavating pyramids, they gradually released these viruses.
Fortunately, they hadn’t been activated until Mu Lin unintentionally did something, combined with Westerners’ casual use of animal organs, which eventually led to their activation. Now that Mu Lin knew it was a virus, he still couldn’t bear to discard the substance he had already placed inside a ring—it might prove useful for his future research or poison-making.
As for the leftover organs on the ground, Mu Lin had completely lost interest in studying them. Initially, he had hoped that something preserved for 5000 years might contain something useful for him, especially if it required activation through his spiritual awareness—it must have been valuable. But who knew it turned out to be a virus that attacked him, which completely diminished his interest.
Mu Lin never imagined that the origin of prions actually traced back to people from 5,000 years ago. At that time, when it came to prions, apart from scholars who specialized in academic research, ordinary people had no idea what they were.
However, if another name for its pathogenic form was mentioned, everyone would understand—it was the infamous “mad cow disease” that later struck fear into the hearts of people in Europe and America. Even today, the origin of prions remains unclear. Scholars have racked their brains over it—some speculate it was spread by cannibalistic tribes in Australia, the Americas, and Africa, while others believe it was carried by extraterrestrial comets or celestial bodies that crashed into Earth.
Yet, no one ever suggested that it was something inherently present on Earth, existing for over 5,000 years. The only reason it hadn’t wreaked havoc before was because the mummies and their internal organs carrying the virus had been sealed inside pyramids. But ever since people began excavating pyramids over 300 years ago, the virus was gradually unleashed.
For a long time, it remained dormant, and without Mu Lin’s accidental actions and the Western habit of indiscriminately using animal offal, it never caused a large-scale outbreak. Now that Mu Lin knew it was a virus, he couldn’t bring himself to discard the sample he had stored in his ring—perhaps it would be useful for his future research or poison-making.
As for the remaining offal on the ground, Mu Lin lost all interest. Initially, he thought anything that could survive for 5,000 years must contain something valuable, especially since it required his spiritual sense to activate. But in the end, it turned out to be a virus that attacked him, leaving him thoroughly disappointed.
He packed up his bioanalyzer, leaving the troublesome mess on the ground for the Y-country government and police—a small “interest payment” for their hostility toward him. Otherwise, it would have been a waste of his hard-earned spiritual energy. After signaling to his companion outside, the two crushed their Earth Evasion Talismans and vanished from the farm in an instant.
Mu Lin was gone, but the virus he left behind in the petri dish grew rapidly. The piece of offal gradually regained the shape of a human lung, as if freshly extracted from a body. Soon, the culture medium spread throughout the room, and the remaining organ fragments, like foam filled with air, quickly expanded into complete organs.
Had Mu Lin stayed a little longer, he would have witnessed a miracle—this virus attached itself to offal to rapidly repair damaged organs, but only after being activated by a cultivator’s spiritual sense and provided with sufficient nutrients.
If he had discovered this, he could have revolutionized the history of organ cultivation and transplantation. Humanity has long sought to grow artificial organs to replace damaged ones, but this dream remains unfulfilled. Sadly, this groundbreaking discovery was lost in the blink of an eye.
The next day, the farmhand cleaning the room found the organs. Since nothing else was disturbed, he assumed it was a prank—after all, he was used to seeing slaughtered cattle organs. Without a second thought, he tossed them into the pile of offal meant for cattle feed, never reporting it to the owner or the police.
Westerners generally don’t eat animal offal; instead, they dry, grind, and mix it into livestock feed as a nutritional supplement. This farm had a small beef cattle operation, raising 1,300 head annually, requiring vast amounts of processed offal for feed.
The fate of these organs was no different—dried, ground, and mixed into feed. A month later, the cattle that consumed this feed began showing symptoms: unsteady gait, loss of balance, itching, agitation, and death within 14 to 90 days. Soon, the entire farm’s herd started dying en masse.
To minimize losses, the farmer slaughtered the remaining cattle and sold the meat to the market. The offal was bought by other cattle farms, quickly processed into feed additives, and before long, mad cow disease spread across the island nation.
By the time the Y-country government realized the virus in the infected beef was harmful to humans, the disease had already swept across Europe, becoming a term that struck terror into people’s hearts.
This was like a biological cycle—an ancient legacy meant as a treasure for future generations. But because local scientific knowledge lagged far behind the West, these remnants of ancient civilizations were plundered.
Yet, due to their own short-lived civilization, Westerners resorted to looting other cultures, imposing their so-called “modern civilization” to erase the long-standing histories of other nations. Modern humanity, blinded by short-sighted materialism, quickly forgot its own ancient heritage.
Thus, more and more mysteries of ancient civilizations remain unsolved, even with today’s technological advancements. The mad cow disease incident was merely triggered by Mu Lin—had it not been him, it could have been someone else, like Li Lin or Smith.
At this moment, Mu Lin had no idea he had inadvertently opened Pandora’s box, unleashing the prion demon upon the Western world. All he wanted was a small “interest payment” from the Y-country government and police—never imagining that this “interest” would far exceed what he demanded, inflicting colossal economic damage on Western nations.
If the leaders of Y-country and Europe ever learned that this catastrophe stemmed from Mu Lin’s accidental mistake—making them collateral damage—would they be furious enough to spit blood?
Mu Lin left, but the virus he left behind in the petri dish grew rapidly. The organ fragment gradually regained its original shape—a human lung, as if freshly removed from a body. Soon, the culture solution spread throughout the entire room, and the remaining organ fragments, as if filled with foaming agents, quickly grew into complete organs.
If Mu Lin had stayed a little longer, he would have witnessed this miracle. It turned out that this virus attached itself to organs to rapidly repair damaged ones. The conditions required were first activation by a cultivator’s spiritual awareness, followed by sufficient nutrient solution.
Had Mu Lin discovered this breakthrough, he would have revolutionized human organ cultivation and transplantation. Unfortunately, such an important discovery for all of humanity vanished in an instant. Humanity had long pursued the ability to cultivate artificial organs to replace damaged ones, a dream still unfulfilled today.
The next day, a farm servant followed his usual routine and began cleaning the room, discovering several organs inside. Since nothing else in the room appeared disturbed, the man, accustomed to seeing animal organs from the farm’s slaughtered cattle, thought someone was playing a prank on him. He casually picked them up and threw them into the pile of organs destined to be ground into cattle feed, not bothering to report the incident to the owner or the police.
Westerners generally avoid eating animal organs. Typically, they roast the organs first, then grind them into powder to be added into animal feed as nutritional supplements.
This farm itself had a small cattle breeding operation, constantly raising 1300 beef cattle. Every year, it required massive amounts of animal organs to be ground into feed additives. These organs met the same fate as other animal organs—first roasted to remove moisture, then ground into powder, and finally added into cattle feed.
One month later, this batch of feed was fed to the cattle herd. After consuming the feed, the cattle soon began showing symptoms: unsteady gait, balance disorders, itching, and agitation. They died within 14 to 90 days, and large numbers of cattle across the entire farm began dying off rapidly.
To minimize losses, the farm owner slaughtered some of the cattle that hadn’t yet died and sold the meat on the market. The cattle organs were collected by other farms, quickly processed into feed additives. Soon, mad cow disease began spreading across the island nation.
By the time Y country’s government discovered that the virus in the diseased meat could harm humans, mad cow disease had already spread across the entire European continent, becoming a term that evoked fear and dread.
This was essentially a biological chain reaction. Originally, it was a treasure left behind by an ancient civilization for future generations. However, because local scientific and technological development lagged far behind the Western world, these treasures left by ancient civilizations were looted by Westerners.
Due to their short historical development, Western civilizations resorted to plundering other cultures and then used their so-called modern civilization, developed over a brief period, to invade and eradicate other ancient civilizations. However, because modern people lacked foresight and focused only on pursuing material gains, they quickly forgot their own long and rich cultural history.
This left behind more and more ancient civilization mysteries. Although later generations benefited from modern scientific and technological advancements, they still couldn’t solve these historical enigmas. The mad cow disease incident was merely a catalyst. Even without Mu Lin, someone like Li Lin or Smith might have eventually triggered the virus.
At this moment, Mu Lin had no idea that he had unwittingly opened Pandora’s box, releasing the prion devil upon the Western world. At the time, he merely wanted the Y government and police to pay a small interest fee, never expecting that this small interest payment would far exceed anything he had demanded from the Y government, causing immense economic damage across the entire Western world. If the leaders of Y country and other European and American nations discovered that this was merely an unintentional mistake by Mu Lin, and they had become the innocent victims caught in the crossfire, would they be furious enough to spit blood?
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