Chapter 21 – Mutation

Click…

Su Lifeng locked the door behind him and switched on the equipment.

He usually conducted experiments on mice or other small animals; he never expected that today’s subject would be himself.

First, Su Lifeng drew a vial of his own blood. The moment he pulled the needle out, the tiny puncture wound healed instantly.

“It’s a good thing the exoskeleton is only on my knuckles for now, or I wouldn’t have even been able to get the needle in,” Su Lifeng thought self-deprecatingly. He then placed a portion of the blood into the blood analyzer and prepared a blood smear to examine under the microscope.

Even without the microscope, Su Lifeng could tell that his blood viscosity far exceeded that of an ordinary person. But when he actually leaned in to look through the eyepiece, he was still struck with shock.

The cells were too active. Even after leaving his body, they maintained an incredible level of vitality. What Su Lifeng found most unbelievable, however, was that his red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets were all ringed with a layer of black. These black areas were connected to each other by even thinner black lines, which was the cause of the blood’s extreme viscosity.

His cells had been altered…

Normally, cellular changes manifested in the human body as some form of inflammation. However, when this concept was linked to the Xenospecies, it produced a completely different result. From the activity of the cells under the microscope, Su Lifeng could clearly see that his body had genuinely become stronger.

With such high cellular vitality, it was no wonder he felt his endurance had increased; the rapid healing of his wounds was due to a similar reason.

“F-class Mutant Biological Species… This mutation really isn’t just for show.” Su Lifeng sat back, his eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions. Although it was still at an early stage, he was indeed no longer an ordinary human. If he showed a blood smear like this to any professor here, it would likely cause an absolute uproar.

At that thought, Su Lifeng quickly removed the slide and rushed to the sink to wash it clean. Only after seeing that the slide was spotless and free of any residue did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

He didn’t quite know why he was so nervous. Was he afraid of being discovered, or was it that he couldn’t fully accept this result all at once? Perhaps it was a bit of both.

However, at least from his observations, the part of him that was human still remained dominant. That Xenospecies trait, which was capable of absorbing all living things, had not completely consumed his cells; instead, it had reached a compromise.

Just then, the blood test results came out. Su Lifeng scanned them, but aside from confirming his observations once more, there were no new discoveries. Yet, judging by these values alone, if he continued to mutate, the results of future tests would likely terrify even him.

After burning the test results, Su Lifeng turned his attention to his other primary goal for coming to the lab.

Taking the remaining half-vial of blood, Su Lifeng selected a mouse from the experimental enclosure and injected the blood into its body.

He wanted to see if he now possessed the same absorptive properties as the Xenospecies.

After all, being able to absorb a Xenospecies was one thing, but whether he could absorb other organisms was another matter entirely.

Deep down, Su Lifeng did not want to become a creature exactly like a Xenospecies. He wasn’t a monster.

Consequently, as he waited for the results, his heart was filled with intense trepidation…

Thud!

A muffled sound suddenly came from outside the door, giving Su Lifeng a start.

The doorknob was twisted a few times before a somewhat dejected voice drifted in. “Is the door broken? Talk about bad luck. Sorry, Junior Sister, looks like I can’t show you around the lab after all. Sigh, what a waste of a good opportunity during summer break.”

The voice sounded familiar to Su Lifeng. It seemed to be another graduate student named Shen Fei.

He couldn’t believe the guy was actually bringing a girl to the lab just to hit on her… He didn’t even stop to consider how many girls would actually be interested in a laboratory. Truly Destined to Die Alone.

Su Lifeng grumbled inwardly, feeling exasperated. Why did this have to happen at such a critical moment?

“There’s no need, Senior Shen. It’s against the rules for you to bring me in here anyway, right? You can just point it out to me. Besides, I only really asked if you knew Senior Su…” another girl’s voice followed immediately.

Hearing this, Su Lifeng froze for a moment, and his expression became even more peculiar.

Wasn’t this that Junior Sister who hadn’t officially enrolled yet, Qiu Yuming?

He hadn’t expected her to actually rush straight to Ningnan University…

Still, considering the girl was quite kind-hearted and seemed to be looking for him, Su Lifeng’s annoyance softened slightly.

He looked down into the experimental box. The lab mouse was still moving slowly, seemingly unchanged.

“Aren’t you leaving yet?” Su Lifeng looked at the door, speechless.

“Huh?” Hearing Qiu Yuming’s words, Shen Fei’s tone suddenly sounded crushed. “You like Su Lifeng?”

Now, never mind Su Lifeng, even Qiu Yuming was startled. “No… that’s not it. I actually just met Senior Su. But Senior Su seems like a nice person. Does he have a girlfriend?”

“Oh, oh, as long as that’s not it. I don’t know if he has a girlfriend or not. How about this? Since this door won’t open, I’ll take you to see some other places. I specialize in bacterial cultivation. Do you want to see the bacteria I’ve cultured? They’re very interesting!” Shen Fei, thinking his chance had returned, spared no effort to get Qiu Yuming to stay.

The corner of Su Lifeng’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch… Inviting a girl to look at cultured E. coli-this guy was a real piece of work.

Qiu Yuming seemed to find it hard to refuse such hospitality and said awkwardly, “But… alright then. I’ll head back after we look… If you see Senior Su, remember to tell him I came looking for him…”

As the voices gradually faded into the distance, Su Lifeng breathed a sigh of relief.

However, with other people in the building, he felt it wasn’t safe to stay any longer. He found a small experimental carrier, put the mouse inside, stuffed it into his backpack, and left the lab.

But to his surprise, just as he climbed back out through the restroom window, he heard a sharp “Ah!” while a figure flashed before his eyes.

Startled, Su Lifeng lunged forward almost instinctively. He clamped one hand over the person’s mouth and pinned them down with the other. “Don’t make a sound!”

But as he pinned the person down, he realized something was wrong with the body beneath him…

This excited little face-wasn’t it Qiu Yuming?!

His current posture toward a girl was a bit inappropriate.

Su Lifeng quickly let go of her, made a “shh” gesture, and then poked his head out to look around.

The security guard had already circled back, but at that moment, Shen Fei came rushing out of the building. He stopped the guard and asked, “Where did that Junior Sister go? She vanished in the blink of an eye! I still wanted to show her my fungal culture dishes!”

With that kind of emotional intelligence, he could basically kiss dating goodbye… Su Lifeng shook his head in sympathy, then beckoned to Qiu Yuming. They climbed over the flower bed and left the vicinity of the lab building.

As soon as they were out, Qiu Yuming couldn’t wait to grab his sleeve, asking with a face full of gossip, “Senior Su, I never would have thought… you’re actually a delinquent?!”