Tang Xunan looked remarkably young, not just in appearance but radiating a youthful aura devoid of weariness and silence, reminiscent of a lamb bouncing around in a pen. He clung tightly to the life pod in his embrace, resembling someone holding a glowing large capsule. Faint glimmers of light started to seep through the life pod, clearly indicating that Yu Zhizhi was unable to control her talents, even in a dormant state.
Lu Yan's excess eyes slowly closed, his face finally returning to a normal human appearance. The system commented, "Her condition is not good."
"Why?"
"She can't control her talent, and her frail body can't sustain the continuous use of Delirium. At this rate, Subject 0 will die within two hours."
Sending Yu Zhizhi to the future was a measure of last resort by Qiao Yu. Given the medical conditions and pollutant management at the time, there was no way to cure the girl, not even to delay her death. What made matters worse was Yu Zhizhi's unparalleled attraction to pollutants. Thankfully, their proximity to R'lyeh worked in their favor, as the powerful pollutants nearby fled due to the near arrival of an ancient deity and had not returned yet.
After a brief moment of astonishment, Tang Xunan anxiously asked, "Excuse me, how do I get to the Disease Prevention and Control Center?" He had intended to travel to a much further future, believing it would take at least three hundred years before someone could cure Yu Zhizhi. However, upon arriving in that future, he almost drowned in an overwhelming sea of pollutants, if not for the intervention of a temperamental black dragon. The dragon, being a pollutant with the talent of Time, slapped him back to the present. If it weren't for that slap, Tang Xunan's landing in front of Lu Yan could have been more graceful.
"The nearest city is 5500 kilometers away. It's probably too late to head to the research institute in City A," Lu Yan stated calmly. "It's too far, and we're in the southern hemisphere. She won't make it to the Disease Prevention and Control Center in time."
Therefore, Tang Xunan attempted to use his Time talent to search for a glimmer of hope in the future. However, before he could jump through the time portal, Lu Yan grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back. He fell to the ground, his tail aching as he looked up at Lu Yan in confusion.
"Why run?" Lu Yan's tone was cold, looking down at him from a height, "There's hope. I'm a doctor."
Pole Island was surrounded by bizarre cries as a flock of sea birds circled aimlessly in the sky. Their eyes glowed red, their demeanor sinister, their bodies red and bald as if they were cooked quails, yet their wings had feathers as sharp as steel. Under the sunlight, fish-shaped shadows lurked beneath the water surface. The higher-level pollutants, having high pollution values, fled far and fast, while the lower to mid-level ones, attracted by Yu Zhizhi's scent, recklessly returned.
The island was drenched in sea spray, making everything damp. Tang Xunan was uncertain whether to trust Lu Yan, but it seemed there was no better option at the moment. Due to the overuse of her talent, Yu Zhizhi's condition was extremely dangerous. He was unsure about the future and whether time travel could offer a better solution. However, making such a decision was too burdensome for a nineteen-year-old, causing his hands to tremble slightly as he handed the life pod to Lu Yan.
"Can she be saved?" Lu Yan asked the system.
The system, taken aback, replied, "You dare to say that without knowing anything?"
Lu Yan responded, "I vaguely know you have a way."
When they were in R'lyeh, the system lost connection due to poor signal, giving Lu Yan a deeper understanding of the Omniscience talent. Thus, even without the system elaborating, Lu Yan had a vague sense of certain things. Perhaps, when he fully mastered this talent, the system would disappear. Although sometimes annoying, the system was mostly useful, and Lu Yan wasn't looking forward to losing it. He had grown accustomed to the sarcastic mechanical voice in his ear.
"Alright, there is a way. Probably only you can save her now," the system sighed, reminding him of the talent transplantation surgery.
"Frontal lobe removal?" Lu Yan pondered.
"Not exactly. Subject 0's body can't support such a talent, like a bicycle fitted with a race car engine. The only way to save her is to strip away the Delirium talent. What makes Yu Zhizhi unique compared to other Delirium wielders is her intellectual disability and cerebellar atrophy, making her talent parasitic to her heart."
"In other words, to transplant the talent without causing her death, the
best way is to replace her heart with another that possesses a talent. Your heart, currently with the talent of Healing, is very suitable."
Despite the advancements in medical technology and the maturation of heart transplant surgeries, they remained highly risky, requiring sophisticated equipment and experienced surgeons. Lu Yan, having worked in a hospital for several years but not in a related specialty, had no opportunity to engage in such major surgeries. He instinctively reached for his phone to look up a tutorial on heart transplant surgery, only to realize it was missing.
The system reassured him, "Don't worry, Delirium wielders have better physical conditions than normal people; they're not so easy to die. And even if the surgery fails, it's not a big deal. At most, it'll make the little dog-dragon cry."
"Umm... He has a strong sense of responsibility; he would feel guilty."
The conditions here were very primitive. Lu Yan took off his uniform, laid it on the ground as a makeshift bed, and took out his only surgical instrument, Hellfire—a dagger stained with months of bloodshed. Instead of starting the surgery immediately, Lu Yan paced to the shore, followed closely by Tang Xunan, who was somewhat in the way.
Turning around, Lu Yan glanced at him and pointed to a distant rock, "Stand there, don't move." He bit his finger, letting the blood flow, and soaked his bleeding index finger in the seawater. Tang Xunan obediently stood on the damp rock with the life pod, his nose twitching as he sniffed.
It smelled good.
The calm sea surface suddenly stirred, and the birds in the sky, unable to contain their desire, swooped down towards Lu Yan. Lu Yan drew his dragonbone bow, the coiling dragonbone lashing out like a whip at the sea birds.
With a single confrontation, the pollutant let out a scream as the sea bird's skin was torn open, its body instantly pulverized into pulp, even the bones in its chest shattered. The bodies of the sea birds fell like rain onto the beach. Lu Yan's face was splattered with the foul-smelling blood of the pollutants, the red blood against his pale skin reminiscent of plum blossoms blooming in the snow.
The remaining sea birds, instilled with fear, screeched as they flew away, whether in a panicked escape or in search of reinforcements was unclear. Lu Yan, expressionless, turned back to wash the blood off his dagger with seawater. It was then that the fish he was angling for finally took the bait.
A gigantic blue marlin leaped from the surface of the sea, its mouth full of sharp teeth rivaling those of a shark, arranged densely like needles, covering its entire mouth. Its mouth was not like that of a fish but more like a cylindrical meat grinder. This was a fish with a pollution value close to 8000, which under normal circumstances, due to its neither high nor low status and its delicious flesh, kept a low profile in these waters. However, with the higher-level pollutants fleeing, it had become the most ferocious pollutant nearby.
Tang Xunan didn't even catch how Lu Yan moved. Lu Yan looked up, the dagger slicing a long gash along the belly of the fish as he grabbed its back, flipped over, and plunged his hand into the fish's fin. The marlin struggled violently in the shallow water, its deep red blood diffusing in the water.
Lu Yan dove under, his fingers, grown an additional joint, tightly gripping the fish fin, even gouging out five deep blood holes near the tail. Two minutes later, he dragged the nearly 10-meter-long marlin ashore.
Tang Xunan's mouth unconsciously formed an arc. His heart was racing, his head slightly dizzy, perhaps from the fall from mid-air not too long ago. The pollutant was still not completely dead, occasionally struggling. It was very fresh, with its scales degenerated, only some round scales remaining on its back.
Lu Yan cut open the fish belly and silently began to eat, soothing his burning stomach. The sashimi tasted excellent, worthy of being an evolved blue marlin. "Come over," Lu Yan said without lifting his head, but since there was no one else around, Tang Xunan flapped his wings and flew over, landing beside Lu Yan. Lu Yan cut off a piece of the marlin's belly, pondered for a moment, then poked it with the tip of his knife and offered it to Tang Xunan, "Want some?" Mainly because there were no chopsticks. Using hands would seem too intimate, especially since the person in front of him was the 19-year-old Tang Xunan. Lu Yan was more concerned that his sharp nails might cut his tongue.
The tastiest parts of a marlin are the "otoro" and "belly," but because of the incorrect knife technique, the "otoro" was somewhat shredded. Fortunately, the belly was still intact. The system commented sarcastically, "[I want to eat too.]"
Tang Xunan hesitated, then turned his head and carefully took a bite. The fish was fatty, its meat rich and sweet, tasting very good. However, Tang Xunan's gaze inadvertently fell on the tips of Lu Yan's fingers holding the knife. They were white, slender, and still had dried blood on them. But eating was not Lu Yan's main purpose.
From the fish, he extracted several thin, narrow tendons, and using his nails, split them open. With no sutures at hand, he had to make do with what was available. Prepared, Lu Yan said, "Let's take out Yu Zhizhi."
Taking a deep breath, Tang Xunan opened the life pod. Inside, the little girl was burning up with fever, her complexion flushed, breathing faint. Tang Xunan looked pained as he carefully placed the girl, not yet a meter tall, on the ground. She was glowing, visible specks of light emanating from her body like fireflies, sprinkling gently around. Some entered the bodies of dead birds on the ground, which then regrew their feathers. This was the number one ranked talent, Delirium, capable of permanently eliminating pollution. That's why Professor Qiao called her hope.
Lu Yan's gaze landed on Yu Zhizhi, his vision filled with large patches of red and green. The surgery demanded high precision, not only for Yu Zhizhi but for himself as well. "Doctors don't treat themselves," they say, and even Lu Yan couldn't guarantee the outcome. But according to the system, death was unlikely.
He cut a piece of cloth, made a suitable hole, and covered Yu Zhizhi with it. As he began the procedure, Tang Xunan bombarded him with questions.
"Doctor, what's your name?"
"Lu Yan."
Tang Xunan asked, "Do you know my name?"
His tone was hopeful, and his tail wagged subconsciously, like a little dog seeking its owner's attention.
Lu Yan paused with the knife in hand, slightly bowed his head, and replied in silence, "You're Tang Xunan."
The author added a note: The little dragon dog meets the widowed (?) Lu Yan and quickly forgets about the Lu Yan with many eyes, falling in love at first sight. Lu Yan's affection isn't for the current dragon dog, as the dragon dog is destined to return.
Tang Xunan (19-year-old limited edition): I'm jealous of myself.
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