The corpse looked miserable, torn apart by bites. It was so shattered that the staff didn't know how to handle it during the transfer.
The death toll in this incident wasn't high, leaving the morgue empty and somewhat cold. The staff moved the body from the freezer to the autopsy table.
A white cloth covered the face.
Tang Xunan stood at the door, not afraid of the corpse but hesitant to approach. He stood silently for about a minute before approaching and lifting the cloth. The action was swift.
Tang Xunan closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them. The vertically slit pupils slowly returned to the round shape typical of humans.
He lowered his head and noticed that his hands were trembling, a realization that hit him only at this moment.
No, it wasn't Lu Yan.
Tang Xunan returned to the deck; the sea breeze carried a faint scent of blood.
The smell was indeed faint, only pollutants would react to it. Tang Xunan wasn't a pollutant, but he had the talent for bloodthirst and had tasted that kind of blood.
He sniffed lightly and looked in a certain direction.
...
...
To avoid completely passing out, Lu Yan had already cut himself three times. The last cut was slightly heavier due to blurred consciousness, slicing a major blood vessel. The regenerative ability didn't catch up immediately, causing a significant amount of bleeding.
In a coma, if something unexpected happened, it would be similar to waiting for death.
Lu Yan was worried that he might wake up and find himself unable to leave some research center. Or worse, not wake up at all. Under normal circumstances, there was no need to worry about these things.
But he wasn't in a normal state now.
From below his abdomen, white fish scales covered Lu Yan's skin, and the scales spread slowly and stubbornly from the lower abdomen.
Lu Yan didn't know what it felt like to be bisected at the waist, but he did feel that, starting from the waistline, his body seemed to have split into two.
The pain in the lower half was almost tearing.
Lu Yan was covered in cold sweat all over.
He was in a cave by the coast.
This depression-shaped cave was formed by water erosion. Lu Yan's lower body was still immersed in seawater. Behind him was a pitch-black cliff.
Distorted fish-like beings anxiously surrounded him, making "gu gu gu" sounds.
The system exclaimed, "[Hang in there, host! The child has poked its head out!!]"
The child referred to the abdominal fin on Lu Yan.
For a fish, the abdominal fin served as a braking device, equivalent to the hind limbs of terrestrial animals.
In addition to the abdominal fin, a dorsal fin emerged near his lower back, close to the buttocks.
This dorsal fin was crucial for fish to walk upright in water. Fish without dorsal fins could only swim sideways.
Lu Yan: "..."
If the system had a physical form, he would have probably strangled it by now.
Lu Yan asked, "I'm about to faint. Let's chat. What is this 'god' you mentioned?"
He was a staunch atheist.
System: "[Do you still want to listen even if you become an idiot?]"
Lu Yan: "Yes."
The system fell silent for a moment.
"[If you must understand, it's probably the ultimate result of perfect evolution. Moving towards a more advanced life form.]"
"Evolve from carbon-based to silicon-based?"
The system wasn't very keen on answering.
"How many evolution sequences are there?"
"[I currently see two.]"
"There are actually two? Which ones?"
"[You, Shen Qingyang, Lu Jiahe.]"
The system mentioned two evolution sequences but named three people.
Lu Yan, with his hazy mind, thought for a moment.
If nothing unexpected happened...
Although the manifestations were different, he and Shen Qingyang were probably competitors on the same evolution sequence. After all, they were both contaminated by "parasitic fish eggs."
"What about Tang Xunan?"
"He killed an evolving perfect species in the distortion phase and, through fusion surgery, took some abilities. But he is not one himself. Stop asking, doesn't your head hurt?"
Lu Yan's vision gradually blurred; he weakly leaned against the dark rocks, vaguely seeing a black seabird flying by...
Wait a minute. Where did the seabird come from on Mermaid Island?
"Lu Yan?"
Tang Xunan's voice echoed from above.
Lu Yan looked up, squinting his eyes. For a moment, he couldn't tell if this was an illusion.
The sound of tidal waves and the singing of mermaids filled his ears. However, those distinctive golden eyes were not easily mistaken.
Lu Yan wasn't in great shape. His clothes were still stained with blood, and he had many scratches and bruises from the fight with the lone wolf.
Tang Xunan entered the small cave, and the water almost reached his waist.
Lu Yan leaned against the innermost part, with his arms on the edge of the water basin.
Lu Yan asked, "Where's your muzzle? Why aren't you wearing it?"
The system kindly reminded, "[It's called a bite deterrent. Dogs owned by Tang Xunan don't wear muzzles.]"
Tang Xunan wanted to reach out and hold him.
He had seen a distorted person who, because the mother loved the child too much, would reinsert the child into her own uterus.
At that time, Tang Xunan thought this kind of love was too abnormal. Now he regrets not being able to tie Lu Yan to himself.
Too scared.
Afraid the sun on his head would fall and hit him, afraid of the cars on the side of the road, afraid of the water given by strangers; afraid of the affectionate eyes, but the love given is for someone else.
Tang Xunan felt a sourness in his heart, but considering their current emotional state, such intense emotions seemed inappropriate.
After all, in real life, they haven't even had a proper conversation.
So, Tang Xunan just lowered his head and replied, "The doctor told me that my heart has other shackles now. I don't need to rely on it to remind me... Are you okay? Need help?"
He saw the golden scales on Lu Yan's body and the pink fish tail faintly visible in the sea.
In Lu Yan's life, there has never been something he particularly wanted.
But at this moment, there was a slight itch in his heart.
After some thought, he said, "Come here."
Tang Xunan, hearing this, moved a bit closer but still maintained a polite social distance.
Lu Yan used the newly grown fish tail to gently touch his lower leg.
Tang Xunan's muscles tightened instantly, and his expression showed a mix of shock and uncertainty.
Because the night was quiet, even the sound of water flow was absent. Tang Xunan's heartbeat sounded particularly loud.
Lu Yan squinted and asked, "Where's your tail?"
His lips curled slightly, inexplicably in a good mood.
Night always makes people lose their reason, lose self-control.
"...," Tang Xunan hesitated.
After a moment of silence, a thick dragon tail appeared behind Tang Xunan.
Most of the time, this tail wasn't of much use. Tang Xunan didn't need it to maintain balance.
During fights, its length sometimes hindered his movements.
Tang Xunan even
considered cutting it off in the past. But he was afraid of adverse effects, so he didn't.
Lu Yan politely asked, "Can I touch it?"
Surprised, Tang Xunan said, "Sure."
So, Lu Yan leaned in, finally getting hands-on.
"Seems bigger than when you were 19."
"...Yeah," Tang Xunan stiffly replied.
After feeling that peculiar touch, he regretted his decision just now.
Tang Xunan had to turn his head to maintain a calm appearance, and because there were other things to divert his attention, Lu Yan felt that the lower half of his body wasn't so painful.
He leaned against the edge of the water basin, comfortable using his face to rub against the dragon tail.
Lu Yan still had a fever.
Tang Xunan's tail was cool and comfortable. Although there were dragon scales, touching it felt soft.
For some unknown reason, Lu Yan lightly scratched the connection between his tail and waist.
Then, he satisfactorily saw the entire tail tense up, straightening and raising, similar to a cat's tail.
Tang Xunan's reaction was intense.
If he had a system, it would probably remind him to be careful of perverts and quickly retract his tail.
But he didn't.
Moreover, Tang Xunan had never thought of refusing Lu Yan.
Their relationship was peculiar.
Due to three months of nurturing, Tang Xunan had a special attachment, protective instinct, and possessiveness toward Lu Yan.
Lu Yan was well aware of the other's feelings.
But he didn't understand how to love, or how to reciprocate this selfless, sacrificial, and against-animal-instinct emotion.
He had learned for a long time how to live like a normal person.
However, he just couldn't learn the high-level emotion of loving someone.
Lu Yan, rare in such a good mood, asked the system, "Is this also a side effect of using talents excessively?"
"[Face your inner self, host.]" The system said seriously. "[Don't blame everything on side effects. To be honest, have you wanted to touch for a long time?]"
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