Lu Yan doesn't have the talent of charisma, but he's good-looking. When someone strikingly attractive but socially awkward speaks softly to you, even without charisma, the effect is almost the same.
During college, Lu Yan dissected many rabbits. He knew precisely how to calm down a frightened little creature. However, given that it wasn't quite appropriate for an adult male to pat someone's head, Lu Yan lightly patted Tang Xunan's back instead.
Tang Xunan's heavy breathing gradually eased, and his tense expression relaxed. He retracted his claws but remained vigilant, retreating to the corner with his long, thick dragon tail coiling around himself. Even without sight, his eyes directed towards Lu Yan remained guarded.
In the surveillance, the other staff members breathed relieved sighs.
"Great. Tang still retains human rationality and consciousness," Katherine wiped a tear from her eye with a tissue. "Now I can leave the research facility with peace of mind."
"The previous incidents of harm were likely stress reactions post-surgery," Professor Wu added. "Tang Xunan's level of mutation is still high. We can observe after the fusion process completes."
Among the group of featureless researchers, Professor Gong Weibin stood out for having a human face. He had a stern, serious expression and short, chewed nails, appearing to lack either vitamins or some other cause, with peeling skin on his hands.
Gong Weibin coldly remarked, "Don't rejoice too soon. Nobody knows what these hybrids of humans and pollutants will ultimately become. Many experiments require time to prove their results."
If Lu Yan were here, he'd probably be shocked. During the induction training for new employees at the headquarters, he vaguely heard that the current director of the First Research Institute was named Gong Weibin.
His words unsettled Professor Katherine, who furrowed her brow. "We aren't conducting experiments; we're assistants. We're aiding the combat-type Harbingers in gaining stronger powers."
Gong Weibin smiled and didn't respond, instead discussing his own project. "Recently, I discovered that implanting dog genes into synthetic humans instills loyalty similar to dogs..."
"I won't agree with your research topic," Katherine's frown deepened.
Seeing the atmosphere turning sour, Professor Wu quickly intervened. "Alright, alright. Tang Xunan doesn't need euthanasia; that's good news. Why so serious? Let's not talk about work today. Where's Director Qiao?"
"I don't know, heard there was something and she left."
The initial evolution perhaps came from a celestial selection. Among the intellectuals, awakened Harbingers were notably abundant. Yu Hanxi, a longtime friend of Director Qiao, was one of them, possessing precognitive abilities.
Yu Hanxi was a dedicated workaholic, never marrying even after losing the ability to bear children. Two years ago, he adopted a daughter from an orphanage and named her Yu Zhizhi.
Though she was naturally simple-minded, her appearance was adorable. Professor Yu cared for her deeply, fearing for her future if he were to pass away, and even established a foundation.
Due to their busy schedules, whenever they encountered problems, they often resolved them through chat software. But this time, Yu Hanxi insisted Director Qiao visit his home.
So, Director Qiao came.
At the sight of Yu Hanxi, Director Qiao understood immediately why he had been summoned.
Yu Hanxi's appearance... was somewhat horrifying.
His skin was peeling, hair gone entirely, and his veins bulged with crimson blood streaks, akin to someone heavily irradiated.
"What's happened to you?!" Director Qiao had witnessed many dramatic scenes, yet when it unfolded before him with a close acquaintance, maintaining composure was difficult. "How did it come to this?"
Yu Hanxi chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Overuse of my talent. As expected, I'm about to die soon."
"What did you do to overuse it?"
Yu Hanxi coughed and spat out fragments of lung. "I didn't do anything. I just had a dream."
"I only managed to tell you... Qiao." Yu Hanxi's face wore deep exhaustion. "In my dream, Zhizhi began glowing all over. As I approached that light, I could feel my ability ceasing to function... No, not ceasing but returning to the state before the catastrophe."
"I was surprised and wanted to find you with Zhizhi. On the way, we encountered the Wall of Resentment. However, after Zhizhi's light touched it, the wall turned back to a regular one."
"On the way, there were many pollutants. They reverted to their pre-catastrophe state. But... there were too many pollutants, and they went crazy, incessantly attacking Zhizhi. Her light dimmed more and more. I wanted to protect her, but she extinguished in my arms. At that moment, the world turned pitch black, shrouded in contamination."
Yu Hanxi's face was streaked with tears and blood, his vision blurred. "Then, I woke up. Do you remember our initial conjecture?"
Director Qiao was shaken inside. "...If there's contamination, there must be purification."
" Yes, my mutation level has just exceeded 100. But I don't want to become that kind of thing. After you leave, I will end it myself," Yu Hanxi's tone was sparse and ordinary, as if chatting casually. "Yu Zhizhi, I'm entrusting you."
"Okay."
Qiao Yu's tone was firm, but there was an indescribable sadness.
Yu Hanxi turned and waved to the little girl who had been silently watching everything upstairs, "Zhizhi, come here. Dad can't watch you grow up. Listen to Uncle Qiao Yu from now on."
In the First Research Institute, there was now one more little girl. She wasn't a Harbinger undergoing modification nor a researcher.
They say she's the only daughter of Director Qiao's good friend. When his friend suffered a sudden cerebral hemorrhage and passed away, there was no one to take care of his daughter, so Professor Qiao had no choice but to bring her with him.
This explanation didn't hold water. At their level of scientific research, they weren't exactly short of money. Plus, the cold, mechanical instruments were a far cry from the rich and colorful world outside.
However, Yu Zhizhi remained unusually calm and quiet. She didn't cry or make a fuss.
While Qiao Yu wrote experiment reports, she would quietly sit aside drawing or play a pixel game console with Tetris.
The drawings Yu Zhizhi made were simple, using bright and vivid colors, making her seem like a very talented child.
Professor Qiao was always firm in his institute, and since Yu Zhizhi never caused trouble, everyone tacitly accepted her presence.
Some researchers with overflowing maternal instincts would even specially buy some beautiful dresses for Yu Zhizhi to change into after work.
...
...
Things happening outside the tenth underground floor didn't concern Lu Yan much for the time being.
His job was to record Tang Xunan's daily physical condition and feed him.
Though Harbingers didn't really need sleep or food, long-term deprivation would affect their bodies. This manifested in the degeneration of their digestive organs.
Fortunately, next to Tang Xunan's room was Lu Yan's dorm and kitchen.
Lu Yan referred to his own room as the "maid's room." Perhaps due to limited space in the underground area, his living space was barely the size of a six-person room - but next to the bedroom, there was a game room, which was quite spacious.
In more straightforward terms, Lu Yan's place wasn't even as large as the bathroom in Tang Xunan's room with a bathtub. Perhaps when it was constructed, they never anticipated anyone else living there besides Tang Xunan.
But since Lu Yan lived alone, it was manageable.
At Lu Yan's request, every day, staff would leave fresh ingredients at the elevator door.
In the morning, Lu Yan would go out, pick up the groceries, and return, a round trip of less than 500 meters, taking about half an hour, undergoing 16 verifications.
Cooking was one of his few hobbies.
Today's lunch was tomato meatball soup and stir-fried pork with green peppers. The aroma of garlic and ginger sizzling in hot oil was tantalizing.
He plated the dishes and caught a glimpse of someone peeking through the kitchen door crack. When he turned, there was no one there.
Apart from him and Tang Xunan, it seemed there was no one else on this floor.
He placed the food on the table, contemplated, and knocked on the bedroom door, "Are you awake? Do you want to come out for lunch?"
No response.
However, when Lu Yan woke up from a nap, ready to put the bowls and chopsticks into the dishwasher, he found the plates on the table empty.
Cooking for one person or two seemed to make no difference.
Lu Yan was used to portioning the food and washing up after waking up.
On the fifth day, his invisible roommate finally emerged from the bedroom and silently sat at the table.
Tang Xunan's physique hadn't changed much, except that his dragon wings and tail couldn't retract, occupying a lot of space and appearing especially bulky.
Lu Yan had prepared chopsticks for him, but his visibly distorted hands couldn't grasp them properly.
The food would fall back onto the table within three seconds of picking it up.
But Tang Xunan was quite stubborn. He seemed to genuinely want to show a 'human' side in front of Lu Yan, even if he failed repeatedly, persisting in using chopsticks to eat, his eyes reddened from the effort.
Red blood vessels spread across his white eyeballs, appearing terrifying and fierce.
Lu Yan set down the chopsticks and remained silent for a moment, "Let me help."
Subsequently, Tang Xunan sat still on the chair.
Tang Xunan had sharp teeth, giving Lu Yan the feeling he might get bitten at any moment.
But throughout, Tang Xunan remained docile. He even subconsciously wrapped his tail around Lu Yan's waist.
...
...
On the tenth day of living together, Lu Yan set aside the hefty report on "Reconstruction Surgery," turned off the light, and prepared for sleep. He had obtained a lot of research material from Professor Wu. In real life, these were absolute secrets. It felt like a loss not to explore more in dreams.
Things seemed to be moving in a positive direction. Tang Xunan's mutation was gradually decreasing, the dragon wings on his back no longer bled, just shed scales daily. Every morning, Lu Yan recorded data, finding Tang Xunan's bed covered in blood and dark dragon scales.
Newly grown scales were sharper and sturdier than the old ones. However, if the old scales weren't shed completely, two scales would squeeze together, resulting in white scales due to insufficient energy, indicating a mutation.
Hence, Lu Yan had the task of checking if the old dragon scales were cleaned properly. If not, he had to remove them with tools. Lu Yan had experienced scale removal himself and knew how painful it was. But he had no other choice.
It was when Tang Xunan was at his weakest. His head rested on Lu Yan's shoulder, appearing feeble. When pulling out surplus scales, a muffled groan of pain escaped from his nose.
Painkillers barely helped Tang Xunan. Lu Yan could only comfort him by gently pinching his neck's back—Tang Xunan was often too bloody and fleshy due to shedding, making it hard to find a place to hold onto.
The most excruciating for both was the scales at the base of the dragon tail. The sensations there were more intense. Removing those scales caused Tang Xunan intense reactions, including grabbing the sheets, trembling, and softly whimpering.
Lu Yan wasn't sure if he heard Tang Xunan crying. But even so, Tang Xunan obediently raised his tail for Lu Yan to examine.
After pulling out a few scales, Lu Yan couldn't bear it and put down the large surgical forceps, splashing water on his face in the bathroom. "At least humans shouldn't... or shouldn't be like this," he muttered expressionlessly in front of the mirror. "So... abnormal."
Overall, progress was going relatively smoothly. On the thirtieth day, Tang Xunan's mutation had finally dropped below 90. His palms had regained a human form, basic thinking ability, and some voice.
Tang Xunan could finally speak. His most frequent lines were, "Lu Yan, hungry," "Lu Yan, tired," and "Lu Yan, in pain."
According to the system, the key to breaking the deadlock was to awaken the dream's owner. But despite staying for so long, Lu Yan still didn't know how to wake Tang Xunan up. Life here was too calm, and Lu Yan felt like he was assimilating into this dream. Only when faceless figures passed by did he realize this wasn't reality.
The research team indicated that as integration improved and the mutation lessened, Tang Xunan would gradually break free from this "mentally challenged" state.
Lu Yan believed it might be true because a month later, Tang Xunan finally learned to remove scales without needing his help. When Tang Xunan chased him out of the bedroom, Lu Yan oddly felt a pang of "the child's wings have hardened."
After discussion, the research team wanted Tang Xunan to have more contact with the outside world to regain social skills. Thus, Lu Yan had a new task he referred to as "walking the dog." He held the chain, attached to a high-voltage collar around Tang Xunan's neck, roaming from the 9th to the 5th floor underground for 2 hours daily.
This seemed effective as Tang Xunan learned quickly. He spent a month on the 10th floor without learning to use chopsticks, but after two days outside, he mastered it.
Lu Yan still didn't know where the First Research Institute was located, but this underground space seemed pyramid-shaped, narrowing downwards.
Initially tense, everyone relaxed over time. Although Tang Xunan looked fierce, he listened to Lu Yan. Professor Wu highly praised Lu Yan's work, patting his shoulder, saying, "Little Lu, I knew Director Qiao didn't make a mistake choosing you. You've exceeded expectations!"
Beside him stood a timid girl. Surprisingly, her face was quite distinct.
Having spent so long in the dream, Lu Yan understood that those retaining facial features in Tang Xunan's dream were probably important NPCs. Professor Wu introduced her as Director Qiao's niece, Yu Zhizhi.
Lu Yan replied, "Thank you." Tang Xunan's icy gaze landed on Professor Wu's hand that patted Lu Yan's. Professor Wu immediately withdrew his hand, saying, "Director Qiao mentioned that the eye reconstruction surgery for Tang Xunan has been planned. We've found a suitable source of pollution. If successful, he'll have permanently unblinded golden irises..."
Yu Zhizhi couldn't speak. She glanced at Lu Yan, then lowered her head, scribbling on the paper.
Lu Yan and Professor Wu didn't talk for long in the tea room.
As he was about to leave, the girl stepped forward, grabbing onto Lu Yan's clothes. Yu Zhizhi couldn't speak, but she tiptoed and handed over two drawings.
Professor Wu smiled, saying, "Zhizhi loves drawing. These are for you guys."
"Thank you, Zhizhi," Lu Yan smiled warmly at her. However, when he looked at the two drawings, his smile froze.
One paper depicted a black dragon, massive in size, engulfed in flames. Though a simple sketch, it exuded a sense of frenzy. Two horizontal lines, drawn with blue crayon, covered the golden eyes, giving the impression of crying.
The other showed ocean waves in blue, with a figure underwater of undetermined gender. The lower half was a long, dark-gold tail, more akin to a snake or dragon than a fish.
The tail occupied two-thirds of the paper. Despite lacking facial expression and using bright colors, the picture emitted a dark, ominous vibe. Black lines entangled its long tail, as if dragging it into the depths.
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