Chapter 3

In the laboratory, the white mice, to put it nicely, are generally more docile, or to put it bluntly, they are collectively rather stupid, perhaps due to inbreeding.

Recently, Zheng Tan often heard Father Jiao mention these in his genetics course slides, so when he saw the cage of white mice, he couldn't help but feel that it was indeed as Father Jiao had said. He didn't see any fear in the eyes of those few white mice; they might even think the caretaker had come and were busy trying to get some food.

Father Jiao took a white mouse out of the cage and placed it on the table, saying to Zheng Tan, "Watch it, don't let it run around."

Zheng Tan looked at the little white mouse, which had no idea of the impending doom, and raised a paw to press down on its tail. The white mouse, with its tail pinned down, didn't struggle much, just showing a posture of trying to crawl forward.

Look, this is the difference between wild and domesticated. If the wild rats had their tails pinned down, they would either struggle fiercely or bite back.

Father Jiao put the cage with the remaining four white mice into an empty cardboard box so they couldn't see what was happening outside.

"I don't know how you cats catch or kill rats, but I'll tell you about the common methods we use."

As he spoke, Father Jiao took the white mouse from under Zheng Tan's paw.

"Let me tell you, in domestic laboratories, the cervical dislocation method is commonly used, which is the least painful way to euthanize white mice. If done skillfully, they won't feel any pain, and it also aligns with the concept of animal welfare abroad..."

Zheng Tan squatted beside and watched quietly. He knew Father Jiao was in teaching mode. Sometimes at home, after preparing his teaching slides, Father Jiao would give a trial lecture, with Zheng Tan as the listener. So, when Zheng Tan heard Father Jiao say, "Let me tell you," he knew he was back in teaching mode.

"Cervical dislocation, in simple terms, is a dislocation of the cervical vertebrae, severing the spinal cord from the brainstem. One hand holds the mouse's neck with a tool or directly, while the other hand grabs its tail. Both hands pull forcefully, and that's it. This is one method. There's another method we often use, which you can try. Watch..."

As he spoke, Father Jiao used his left hand to grab the white mouse's tail and his right thumb and index finger to press down on its neck.

Then, nothing more happened.

Zheng Tan looked at the motionless white mouse on the table and then at Father Jiao, who had a "I believe in you" expression on his face, and twitched his ears.

"See, the operation is actually quite simple. Even if you've never caught a rat before, it's fine. Practice a bit, and you'll get it. I've seen how fast you can hit Ah Huang, so catching a rat shouldn't be a problem."

Ah Huang, mentioned by Father Jiao, was a yellow tabby cat, one of Zheng Tan's acquaintances after he turned into a cat. Unlike "Chief," Ah Huang often did things that made people laugh and cry. Many times, Zheng Tan just wanted to beat him up, but Ah Huang hadn't shown up much recently, and he didn't know why.

Father Jiao caught another white mouse and let Zheng Tan try it himself.

Zheng Tan had to press three times to finally euthanize the poor little white mouse.

When killing the second white mouse, Zheng Tan used too much force, but at least the white mouse didn't feel any pain before it died. Zheng Tan was increasingly grateful that he had turned into a cat rather than a rat, as each step down the food chain pyramid meant facing another level of hell.

"Cervical dislocation is quite easy. The cervical vertebrae of white mice are very fragile. You just need to practice more," Father Jiao instructed from the side. "Don't hesitate when you act; it's best to succeed in one go. Otherwise, the mouse will suffer. However, note that you need to sever the spinal cord from the brainstem, not just pull off the head. This requires controlling the force. You need to break the cervical vertebrae without pulling off the head. Some of my former students, due to improper force, caused the white mice's eyeballs to burst due to high internal pressure."

Zheng Tan: "..."

What a terrifying thought!

Zheng Tan looked at Father Jiao's calm face as he spoke and suddenly felt a cold light in his eyes.

Zheng Tan remembered a topic his friends discussed when they went to nightclubs. One person said, "The most skilled killers aren't those who look fierce, or those who carry big knives and have tattoos and nose rings, or those who always show off their weapons. They are the ones who look completely normal but can easily take a life and remain unperturbed."

So, in a certain sense, some experienced lab technicians have a similar aura to killers.

Lab technicians in experimental mode are truly terrifying!

Zheng Tan thought, perhaps Associate Professor Jiao is the only person in the world who teaches his cat how to euthanize mice with cervical dislocation?

When killing the third and fourth white mice, Zheng Tan's technique improved significantly. At least, these two white mice had a more dignified death compared to the first two.

Five white mice in total: Father Jiao demonstrated with one, and Zheng Tan killed the other four.

After clearing the five dead white mice, Father Jiao went to the inner room and came back with a larger cage containing five more white mice, but they were much bigger.

"These are large rats. The large white rats used in the laboratory are a white variant of the brown rat. Use the same method, but with more force. The key is to find the right technique and control the force, and you'll succeed in one go. Do you need a demonstration?"

Zheng Tan shook his head.

"Good boy."

Zheng Tan: "..."

As Father Jiao said, the large rats were a bit more challenging, but after trying with five of them, Zheng Tan became proficient.

"Do you want to practice more?" Father Jiao asked.

Zheng Tan shook his head.

"Very good. We'll stop here with killing rats. Let me tell you..."

Zheng Tan twitched his ears: "..." Here we go again.

Although the rats were already dead, Father Jiao's teaching mode was clearly not over.

"In our laboratory, besides the cervical dislocation method commonly used for euthanizing small and large rats, there are other methods such as decapitation, exsanguination, blunt force trauma, anesthesia, and gas euthanasia. For amphibians, we use the spinal cord destruction method, which only requires a needle. Next week, I have an animal anatomy class where we'll dissect a bullfrog, and I can bring one back to demonstrate for you. Oh, and you should pay special attention to this: the method most commonly used to euthanize cats and dogs in the laboratory is air embolism." Pausing, Father Jiao looked at Zheng Tan and asked, "Do you understand this?"

Zheng Tan shook his head, his muscles a bit stiff, and his fur on his back and tail bristled, feeling the temperature around him drop.

"To put it simply, this method involves injecting air into the vein."

Zheng Tan shivered. He understood this; even without much knowledge in this area, he knew what would happen if air was injected into a vein.

"The air enters the circulatory system and blocks the pulmonary artery, causing severe shock or death. For example, when you swim from deep water to a shallower area, the pressure change can cause the gas in your lungs to expand, leading to over-expansion of the lungs. If the excess gas isn't expelled or can't be expelled in time, it can be very dangerous. Some passengers who fell into the water during the Titanic disaster died this way."

Father Jiao, realizing that talking about the Titanic to a cat might not be very useful, returned to the main topic and summarized, "So, you should always be careful and stay away from dangerous things, and know how to save yourself."

After practicing the rat-killing technique, the goal for tonight was achieved, and Zheng Tan felt more confident. Although he was reluctant about catching rats, since he was now a cat, he believed that only a cat that could catch rats would be recognized. Even Ah Huang, the fool, could do it, so Zheng Tan was sure he could too.

When Zheng Tan returned to the East Family Compound, he saw a car parked on the open ground, a familiar face with a military license plate.

So, the fat guy must have finished visiting his relatives and returned.

Taking advantage of Father Jiao parking the car in the garage, Zheng Tan jumped onto the first-floor balcony and took a look inside.

On the desk by the window, a bag of instant noodles was placed, and a slightly plump tabby cat was sitting on top of it.