CFM Chapter 5

The members of the rescue team landed on the balcony one after another, but Luo Junming was nowhere to be seen.

He Huanhuan rubbed her gloves and explained to everyone, who looked puzzled, “Captain Luo is still over there stacking firewood. When night comes, we’ll fire a shot from this side. Once the fire over there starts burning, the zombies will head over.”

She raised her eyes to survey her surroundings and stretched lazily. “The conditions here are much better than over there. I wonder if there’s any food or water. It’d be best if I could take a bath, too.”

The low-rise building had once served as the botanical garden’s administrative office. Only the director’s and deputy director’s offices had small bedrooms attached. They held Yu Zong in the sheet-metal storage shed behind it.

You Guan stood by the window, gazing out. The sheet-metal shed was in terrible condition, and its door was locked. Through the holes in the iron door, he seemed to catch a fleeting glimpse of a pair of eyes.

Sigh… There had never been a protagonist more miserable than Yu Zong.

The creaking sound of a door opening and closing came from the room next door. You Guan instinctively perked up his ears.

The director of the research institute had just finished showering in the botanical garden director’s office. As he came out, he said to his subordinates, “Yu Zong’s data has been extremely unstable ever since he lost control. Many of his indicators are abnormal. We need to find a way to go and check on him.”

The director was named Zhang Mao. No one knew much about his background. He had been parachuted into the position.

Zhang Mao was very young and wore a pair of silver, thin-rimmed glasses. He pushed up the slipping frames. Seeing that no one responded, he pressed his lips together in displeasure and turned to He Huanhuan.

“We’d like to send someone over to check on his condition. I wonder if that would be possible?”

He Huanhuan raised her chin slightly. “It’s not far. We can give it a try.”

Zhang Mao looked toward the sheet-metal shed. He pondered for a moment, stroking his chin. “I’ll go discuss who to send.”

“I can do it.” You Guan poked his head into the corridor and eagerly raised his hand. “Director, let me go.”

“Who are you?” Zhang Mao was a scientific obsessive who paid no attention to or remembered anything outside his research. He had no idea who this insignificant person was.

“I’m the caretaker of the low-tier merfolk. My name is You Guan.”

“You won’t do.” Zhang Mao rejected him. They needed someone more qualified, preferably someone he could select from among his own subordinates.

You Guan shrugged. “All right, then. If you can’t find anyone, come back to me.”

He could guarantee that those timid, cowardly researchers who were afraid of dying definitely wouldn’t be willing to go over there. Sooner or later, the task would fall on him.

As soon as Zhang Mao left, Wang Qiutian, who had been eavesdropping outside the door, rushed in. “Have you gone crazy? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is? Just look at your neck! There are still bite marks and red marks on it!”

“Isn’t there a collar? Nothing will happen.” You Guan touched the side of his neck. Although there was no bleeding, the indentations left by the teeth were quite obvious.

He went to the public restroom on this floor and tilted his head slightly in front of the mirror. A small patch of red stood out against his fair skin, making it easy for people to get the wrong idea.

You Guan wet it with water and rubbed at it, only for it to become even redder.

Helpless, he tugged his collar up and pretended the marks didn’t exist. By the time he returned to the room, Zhang Mao was already waiting inside.

With both the research institute and the base occupied by zombies, even Zhang Mao, the director in name only, had lost his authority. The researchers simply refused to obey his orders, so the unpleasant task naturally fell to You Guan, who had volunteered.

He Huanhuan called over a team member named An Qi and asked him to help put a safety harness on You Guan.

As the grappling hook shot out, An Qi grabbed the other end and gave it a tug. After confirming that it was secure, he pushed open the window and briefly explained the precautions.

“I understand.” Afraid that Wang Qiutian would worry, You Guan kept up a nonchalant act the entire time.

He stepped onto the windowsill. An Qi and He Huanhuan immediately went to another room and began firing repeatedly into the distance. The zombies gathered around the sheet-metal shed immediately ran in that direction.

By the time the two returned, You Guan was already nowhere to be seen. He had gone inside long ago.

Ever since the sun came out, the temperature had continued to rise. The sheet-metal shed was like a steamer. It was so hot that even touching it was enough to burn your hand.

It was pitch-black inside. You Guan could only make out a glimmer of reflected light in Yu Zong’s eyes. He walked over and placed the medical kit on the ground.

Under the dim light, Yu Zong was lying on the ground, his body trembling slightly and his breathing rapid.

Only then did You Guan finally get what the merfolk’s “fragility” meant. He hurriedly dropped to one knee and reached out to touch the man’s forehead. The instant his fingertips brushed against a patch of scorching skin, a large, rough hand clamped around his wrist.

Yu Zong sat up from the ground, his eyes frighteningly bright in the darkness. “What are you trying to do?”

You Guan twisted his wrist, but couldn’t break free. “I’m here to examine you. Your bodily data is fluctuating wildly.”

Yu Zong let go of his hand. His words came out coldly through clenched teeth. “I don’t need that.”

“This is an order from the higher-ups.” You Guan studied the contours of his face and lowered his voice. “Besides, you have a fever.”

Yu Zong let out a soft laugh. He bent one leg and rested his right wrist on it, looking quite at ease. “They once conducted a test to determine my temperature threshold when I had a fever. I remember it reached 43 degrees Celsius at the time. This time, I might break my previous record.”

The man spoke casually, as if telling a dull joke. Yet there was also a hint of excitement that You Guan couldn’t understand.

You Guan fell silent for a moment. “So, you want to become a grilled fish?”

The man’s lips immediately pressed into a straight line, and his eyes narrowed slightly. “Then do you want to become a dead man? I don’t mind helping you along.”

“You won’t.” You Guan was certain of it. As he spoke, he had already taken the items out of the medical kit and laid them out in a neat row. “Maybe Sister Huan’s deduction was right. You infiltrated the place alone to vent your frustration. But I believe there’s another reason, too. You wanted to save people. Besides, you helped me out of a tight spot.”

“I simply didn’t want them wasting their time on useless things,” Yu Zong replied expressionlessly.

His vision wasn’t limited by the lack of light. He clearly saw the young man take out a syringe. Yu Zong’s expression stiffened involuntarily.

You Guan pushed the air out of the syringe. This was a nutritional injection specially designed for merfolk. Once injected into the body, it could keep them full for an entire day. It had been one of the original owner’s former job responsibilities.

The problem was that he wasn’t the original owner and didn’t have the slightest knowledge of nursing. What if he injected it into the wrong spot and left the protagonist paralyzed from the neck down?

“250, I have a question. I need your help.” Holding up the syringe, You Guan called out in his mind.

In Yu Zong’s eyes, however, it looked as though the other man was simply standing there in a daze with a syringe in his hand. What a strange fellow. His eyes lowered, and he pinched the joint of his index finger with the thumb of his right hand, seemingly lost in thought.

250 played an instructional video on injections for its host and offered some encouragement. 【Keep it up! You can do it.】

You Guan took a deep breath and grasped Yu Zong’s arm. The muscles beneath his palm tensed for an instant, though it might have just been his imagination.

His pair of big, fawn-like eyes stared unblinkingly at the man for two seconds before he fearlessly asked, “Are you afraid of needles?”

“You’re overthinking it.” Yu Zong lifted his eyelids and snatched the syringe away impatiently. He jabbed it into his own arm through his clothes. After injecting the contents quickly, he tossed the syringe back. “You can leave now.”

“Wait.” You Guan picked up an instrument, attached the electrode patch to the side of Yu Zong’s neck, and fastened the wristband around his wrist. He remarked casually, “Do you remember biting me? It was around the same spot.”

“I don’t remember.” Yu Zong turned his face away, while the scent emanating from the young man in the air grew increasingly intense.

In his heightened hearing, the other person’s steady heartbeat and shallow breathing, along with everything about You Guan, were like sparks falling into dry firewood, setting his blood ablaze. As his blood rushed faster through his veins, he felt a growing, scorching heat.

Restlessness, hunger, thirst. The urge to tear the person in front of him to pieces.

Yu Zong roughly ripped off the electrode patch and threw it to the ground. Irritated, he snapped, “Are you sick in the head? Get the hell out.” He was afraid that if this continued, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from lunging at the man and biting him to death.

The sensation of flesh between his teeth was far too enticing.

Ever since his body had mutated, the feeling of hunger had always accompanied him. Whether he was awake or asleep, there was always an intense craving deep inside him.

Sometimes, he even wanted to give up resisting and, like the other low-tier experimental subjects, viciously bite to death the prey delivered right to his mouth. He would lick up the blood that flowed out, and then swallow it whole.

“What’s wrong with you?” You Guan keenly sensed that something was off about the atmosphere. Something oppressive had entered the air.

Yu Zong, who had been looking impatient just moments ago, suddenly had a completely different look in his eyes. He was practically a ferocious beast.

You Guan’s heart leaped into his throat. He nervously swallowed and cautiously rose to his feet, raising the syringe he had just used.

“If you dare bite me, I’ll stick you with this.” Sure enough, the heart rate reading on the instrument in his hand had risen, only to quickly drop back down.

“Heh.” You Guan looked pleased with himself.

Who could have imagined that this future great demon king, who might one day destroy the world, was actually afraid of needles?

The effect of those words lasted only a few seconds. Soon, the atmosphere in the confined space once again became tense, as if both sides were poised for a fight.

The same trick wouldn’t work a second time. You Guan stuffed everything into the medical kit in one go and bolted. Just as he shut the iron door, a series of violent impacts came from inside, leaving several protruding fist-shaped dents in the sheet metal.

The noise attracted several zombies. You Guan hurriedly climbed onto the roof of the sheet-metal shed and grabbed the hanging rope, letting the people on the other end pull him back.

Zhang Mao came forward and stared at the unharmed young man in disbelief. “You weren’t injured?”

“No.” You Guan handed the small case to Zhang Mao.

Zhang Mao had no interest in the instruments inside. Another machine in his possession had been tracking those data remotely in real time all along. His gaze shifted, and he picked up the now-empty syringe.

Seeing the blood on the needle tip, his eyes lit up. Clutching it tightly, he hurried into the room next door.

When they evacuated, they had brought some important equipment with them. After conducting a preliminary observation of the cells, Zhang Mao burst into excited laughter. “His cells are extremely active! It’s almost time. He’s about to enter the maturation phase. Soon, he’ll be able to reproduce biologically like a normal organism!”

You Guan was stunned.

He had thought that such an important project would require at least a long period of preparation. He hadn’t expected it to happen so soon.

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