Chapter 2908: 2708 Plastics Everywhere (Alliance Leader Huo Wu, Lian Xin Extra Chapter 3)

Zheng Ren smiled; Su Yun's chatter with the driver seemed fine, so he hurried to the System Space.

He took another look at the task, confirmed there was no energy value reward, and Zheng Ren felt a little disappointed.

He selected to purchase surgical training, and Zheng Ren arrived at the System Operating Room.

The experimental subject lay still on the operating table; Zheng Ren didn't rush into surgery, but first glanced at the CT and cholangiography images.

On the image, the bile duct was blocked, leaving only a narrow passage for the fine sand-like stones.

Seeing this image data, Zheng Ren began to worry a bit.

Normally, internal biliary drainage is used for late-stage cancer and jaundice patients; after bile duct exploration, over half are external drains, which can be relatively simply removed.

This indwelling drainage requires a relatively long observation period; many late-stage cancer patients keep it mainly to prolong life.

But this prolongation is excessive—14 years…

Really not knowing what to do, Zheng Ren rested his chin on his hands, examined the images carefully. After gaining some understanding of the patient's imaging data, he began to try interventional surgery treatment, but he couldn't budge that indwelling tube.

Unlike stents, indwelling tubes rarely end up like this; Zheng Ren felt a little gloomy inside.

He tried other methods, and Zheng Ren began researching in the System Operating Room.

……

……

"You have to eat it even if you don't want to; there's no way around it. In 2017, Malaysian researchers found that plastic waste entering the ocean eventually breaks down into tiny fragments that end up in the table salt we use daily."

When Zheng Ren came out of the System Operating Room, Su Yun was still discussing the plastic issue with the driver.

"Uh...", this time the driver was stunned; salt also contains it, meaning we'd definitely be eating plastic every day? Plastic bags can be avoided, but salt cannot.

Just thinking about plastic in the salt made him feel nauseous.

"Plastic products in the marine environment, under solar radiation, chemical degradation, wave impact, and ingestion by marine organisms, gradually break down into countless microplastics. Their tiny size makes them hard to notice, but they certainly exist." Zheng Ren gave a faint smile and said, "Don't live so meticulously; it's not that meaningful."

"Boss, you're being self-destructive! That's wrong." Su Yun said scornfully.

"It's not exactly self-destructive; recently, American scholars studied 150 tap water samples from 14 cities worldwide and found that as many as 83% contained plastic micro-particles." Zheng Ren said, "It's unavoidable."

"Sir, I have a water purifier at home." The driver muttered in defense.

"Ordinary water purifiers are ineffective against microplastics." Zheng Ren said, "On October 22, 2018, at the European Gastroenterology Conference in Vienna, researchers announced they detected microplastic components in every fecal sample from a small group of global test subjects. Microplastics can penetrate the purifier's filter—don't listen to salespeople."

"……"

The usually talkative driver was confused by Zheng Ren's words, unable to eat or drink, wondering how to go on.

Moreover, what does that young man's words mean? Plastic was made by humans to be a container, yet humans have become the container for plastic.

Research confirmed people's long-standing guess—that plastic eventually enters the human gut; simply put, the human body becomes the container.

Really… damn it.

"It's fine, don't worry." Seeing the driver already lost in philosophical rumination, his driving a bit unsteady, Su Yun quickly advised, "Plastic isn't really harmful; at least there's no definitive evidence yet."

"But you can't say that either; microplastics can linger in the gastrointestinal tract, causing mechanical injury, blocking food passage, creating a feeling of fullness. This reduces actual nutrient intake, leading to weight loss, delayed development, etc."

"……" The driver instantly felt his whole self was off.

"Boss, you're doing this on purpose—just now you told me not to worry." Su Yun said unhappily, "You, who usually don't talk, once you start you just go on and on."

"You… you're fooling me, right?" The driver gave a dry, bitter laugh, saying, "Actually I knew from the start it was a joke, right?"

"Yeah, it's a joke." Su Yun patted his shoulder, trying to comfort him.

"I said it, it's definitely fake." The driver consoled himself, "Plastic, so light, how could it appear below 4500 meters underwater?"

Zheng Ren smiled, wanting to say something, but seeing the driver's expression in the rearview mirror, he had to keep quiet.

Let's properly go to Di Du Liver and Gallbladder for surgery; otherwise, if we keep talking, this old driver might not live long enough to suffer plastic poisoning.

After finally reaching Di Du Liver and Gallbladder, Su Yun comforted the old driver a bit, then told Zheng Ren, "Boss, he's been scared stiff."

"There's no way around it; plastics are everywhere now, you can't just avoid them. Try to relax—human average lifespan is still gradually increasing, much better than the plastic-free era, so there's no need to scare yourself." Zheng Ren said.

"Heh." Su Yun smiled, "I have a friend who built a model that reproduces marine snow. Even the tiniest things can be drawn to the seabed, though they don't necessarily all float on the surface."

"Hmm." Zheng Ren nodded.

What Su Yun described is a motion characteristic of ocean dynamics: put seawater in a container, rotate it day and night, and after a few days flocculent material appears—this is the simplest model reconstruction.

This flocculent substance called marine snow has strong wrapping ability; even a 1mm particle can exist within it, eventually settling to the seabed.

In many oil spill incidents, part of the oil ends up on the seabed for exactly this reason.

This has nothing to do with today's surgery, and Zheng Ren isn't particularly concerned about plastic applications or reducing them. Everyone does their own job; just focus on doing your own work well.

For example, today's surgery. The indwelling tube left in the body for 14 years really is like seizing the moment to give it a try.

"Has the director arrived?" Su Yun asked.

"The director lives far away; he probably hasn't arrived yet." Zheng Ren called Director Kong, and indeed he was still en route.

"Boss, I didn't hear you just now talking with the director on the phone; do you think we'll need open surgery?" Su Yun asked.

"Probably not." Zheng Ren said, "The tube's been in for 14 years, plus there are stones; open surgery would be a hassle. I think we should first try an interventional approach—if it works, the patient wouldn't have to suffer."

"Nice try, there's no way that's so easy." Su Yun said, "The stones are really stuck in there; interventional surgery would be very difficult."