During the day, the curtains were drawn, casting the house into darkness.
Xie Haiqing didn't turn on the lights because Ye Liangshan was afraid of light.
He tidied the bedroom in the dark, throwing away six large bags of garbage and wiping the floor with a cloth.
Ye Liangshan's room couldn't be cleaned too neatly. An overly tidy environment would trigger his PTSD, reminding him of his days at the institute.
After cleaning the room, Xie Haiqing quietly sat down next to Ye Liangshan.
"Comrade Xiaoye."
Ye Liangshan didn't move, and after a long while, his gaze shifted slightly to Xie Haiqing's face.
There were no extra expressions on his face.
Xie Haiqing coughed, "Can we discuss something?"
After some thought, Ye Liangshan typed two characters on his phone: Go ahead.
Even when he was human, he suffered from social anxiety.
"I heard the fog over Changjia Island tastes like vanilla milk ice cream. How about we don't wait until December and go taste it in the next few days?"
"Ah..." Ye Liangshan bit his fingernails, hesitating.
Although he had been eating a lot of junk food lately, it was just the taste residue from his human period and bodily instinct.
Ye Liangshan himself couldn't taste anything.
Instead, food made from pollutants could awaken his taste buds.
Xie Haiqing's tone was somewhat like coaxing a child: "Let me tell you, there's a Harbinger at headquarters named Fang Ting with the talent of Devouring. He also enjoys eating these things, and he eats a lot. If you go late, there won't be anything left for you to eat."
Ye Liangshan, uninterested, withdrew his gaze. Despite Xie Haiqing's attempts to coax or threaten him, there was no response. He didn't care about humans; he only cared about whether he had food to eat.
If they cut off Ye Liangshan's food source, he might agree, but there was a greater risk of escalating conflict. They couldn't afford to take that chance.
Xie Haiqing left the room, fists clenched, cursing under his breath: "Damn it, Gong Weibin." He reported the situation to headquarters, and half an hour later, the message was relayed to Lu Yan.
Director Li: "Mr. Lu, we've tried, but Ye Liangshan is temporarily unwilling to cooperate. We're truly sorry. However, according to the psychological assessment, his emotions are relatively stable. He might agree to this in two or three months."
Ning Huai and the others had waited for decades; waiting a few more months seemed feasible. However, Lu Yan had promised Ning Huai that he would get them out of Changjia as soon as possible. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken the risk to go to the abattoir.
Moreover, Lu Yan had a premonition that this trip to the deep sea might be very dangerous. He wanted to resolve as many things as possible beforehand.
Lu Yan asked the system, "Is there another way?"
[System]: [Yes.]
[Since you can cook, Ye Liangshan likes to eat. I think the talent name 'Devouring' isn't quite accurate. It's more appropriate to call it 'Gluttony'.]
At the end of November, after completing the mission report at the abattoir, Lu Yan greeted the still recovering Tang Xunan and took a special plane to City A.
Lu Yan met Ye Liangshan's current liaison officer.
Xie Haiqing looked quite young, oddly resembling Zong Yan, with the same peach blossom eyes. When he smiled, he looked very attractive, causing Lu Yan to sneak several more glances.
The system couldn't help but remark, [Is this the start of a body double novel?]
Xie Haiqing extended his hand, delighted: "You must be Dr. Lu, the one headquarters sent to treat Ye's binge eating disorder! I'm Xie Haiqing, Ye Liangshan's liaison officer."
Ye Liangshan's identity as a Harbinger was not publicly disclosed.
Lu Yan politely shook his hand: "Yes."
Xie Haiqing said, "That's great. You know, with his talent, it's quite reasonable for him to keep eating, but it's affecting his development. After all, the food he eats lacks nutrition. And he doesn't like to eat anything else."
[Remember 02? After 02 died, Ye Liangshan, who had been hungry for a long time, was let out. Someone made buns for him, claiming they were filled with deer meat.]
[02's mutation direction was deer.]
[Hmm. After that, Ye Liangshan refused to eat food with pollution levels, especially meat. Not only did he refuse to eat, he also vomited after eating.]
The two approached Ye Liangshan's ward. Through a narrow gap in the door, Ye Liangshan seemed to sense someone's presence. He appeared restless, constantly biting his nails.
All ten fingers were bloody from his gnawing, with nails shortened to half their original length, revealing pink flesh underneath.
Xie Haiqing was slightly nervous: "Doctor, should we medicate him or provide psychological counseling?"
After some thought, Lu Yan said, "Let's cook something first."
Xie Haiqing: "...??"
Under Xie Haiqing's puzzled gaze, Lu Yan walked into the kitchen.
The fridge contained a lot of ingredients, but most were pollution-modified meat from the Eighth Research Institute. The remaining ordinary ingredients were limited, mostly fruits.
Following the instructions, Lu Yan baked a fruit cake. It smelled sweet and enticing.
Although it was his first time making desserts, the small cakes looked pretty good.
He handed the cake plate to Xie Haiqing: "Take it to him."
Despite his confusion, Xie Haiqing complied.
A few minutes later.
Xie Haiqing emerged holding a plate licked clean, feeling somewhat embarrassed as he asked, "Dr. Lu, is there more cake?"
[Yes.]
The entire small cake was divided and fed three times.
The next day, Lu Yan returned to the Disease Prevention and Control Center. This time, he made egg tarts, six of them.
By the third day of feeding, Ye Liangshan's door finally opened a crack.
He saw Lu Yan through the narrow gap.
When Lu Yan turned his head, Ye Liangshan instinctively took a step back.
Lu Yan asked, "Today, I made matcha mousse cake. Would you like to come out and eat?"
Ye Liangshan hesitated, then spoke softly, his voice strange from not speaking for so long, "Okay."
He wanted to eat the food Lu Yan made.
Lu Yan handed him a tissue, his voice gentle: "I need to go on a mission, so I can't stay here all the time. But if you agree to help me with the mission, I can use the time I spend on missions to cook for you."
Ye Liangshan asked, "What... mission?"
"To absorb the sea fog from Changjia. Forgot to introduce myself, I'm Lu Yan, codenamed Fang Ting."
Ye Liangshan's hand holding the spoon trembled slightly. He lowered his head and, after a long while, asked softly, "The sea fog, is it also... people?"
Lu Yan stared at his furry scalp and replied, "It's a source of pollution. I wouldn't trick you into eating people."
Ye Liangshan glanced at him deeply, then said, "Okay."
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