Chapter 34 – Something Is About to Sprout

While Su Lifeng was hiding the body, the two girls waited outside the door by unspoken agreement. But as their silence stretched on, punctuated by the faint, rhythmic sounds coming from inside, the atmosphere gradually grew awkward.

“Um…”

As soon as Jiang Yushi spoke, Cheng Xiaomei waved her hands frantically in a knee-jerk reaction. “I won’t say a word!”

“Huh?” Jiang Yushi glanced at her, startled, before suddenly bursting into a smile she couldn’t suppress. “You’re like a frightened rabbit.”

“A… rabbit?” Cheng Xiaomei couldn’t help but touch the top of her head. How was she like a rabbit?

“Look at you-your eyes are all red, and you’ve got your hands over your chest like that… Sorry, it’s just that when Su Lifeng used to do experiments on rabbits, he always liked to make jokes like that with a perfectly straight face. I just thought of it without thinking.” Jiang Yushi gestured with her hands and then apologized with a chuckle.

Hearing that this was something Su Lifeng used to say, Cheng Xiaomei couldn’t help but smile as well, especially when she imagined Su Lifeng holding a rabbit and making such a comparison. However, as she smiled, a strange feeling began to stir in her heart. “Yushi, you and Su have always been close, right?”

Jiang Yushi nodded. “Yeah, we’ve known each other since he was a student in the biology department.”

“Is that so? Then you’ve known each other for a long time… But I haven’t. If it weren’t for what happened this time, I wouldn’t have really gotten to know him.” Cheng Xiaomei lowered her head dejectedly, muttering a few words under her breath. Then, she bit her lip and asked, “Um, Yushi, do you like-“

“Like what?”

Su Lifeng’s voice suddenly rang out, interrupting the question she had finally worked up the courage to ask.

He had already concealed the freezer and washed away the last traces of blood from his body. Now, he was drying himself off while looking at the two girls with interest.

“I was asking Yushi if she’d like to live with us!” Cheng Xiaomei blurted out. The moment the words left her mouth, she wanted nothing more than to bury her head in the dirt.

Why on earth did she have to say that!

Jiang Yushi looked at her in surprise, then turned her gaze to Su Lifeng. “You… you two are living together?”

“It’s a long story,” Su Lifeng explained briefly before continuing, “But Xiaomei’s suggestion is a good one. This Xenospecies targeted you this time; there’s no guarantee another won’t next time. Since that’s the case, you might as well just live with us.”

“That… that would certainly keep my parents away from the danger. But Lifeng, that Xenospecies has already been killed by you. Is it possible that…” Jiang Yushi only knew that Li Yi had been hunting her to find Su Lifeng, but she didn’t know the exact reason. Cheng Xiaomei didn’t know much more than she did.

“It’s exactly that ‘possible.’ Before long, Ningnan might be crawling with Xenospecies.” Su Lifeng confirmed the terrifying speculation she was hesitant to voice.

“Then shouldn’t we think of a way? I don’t know… maybe warn people?” Jiang Yushi’s mind was in a whirl. She clutched her head helplessly and asked.

“But no one will believe us. Besides, those Xenospecies look just like ordinary people. Are we supposed to kill them and dissect them to prove it to everyone? We don’t even know who will turn into a Xenospecies ourselves…” Cheng Xiaomei added, her voice panicked and incoherent. Most importantly, she herself was now very similar to a Xenospecies. Looking like this, how could she ever get anyone to believe her?

“I know, I know. I just…” Jiang Yushi shook her head. She was a clear-headed girl; if she weren’t, she wouldn’t have been able to fabricate that story about the shipwreck.

“It’s just that these Xenospecies… they’re just never-ending!”

Su Lifeng watched her in silence until that moment, when he couldn’t help but reach out and pat the top of her head. “Don’t be afraid. This is only the beginning. But I won’t lose. I’m going to keep living. And you two are going to live on with me.”

He had already made this decision the moment he saw that Spatial Gate.

Perhaps to the Xenospecies, humans were nothing more than nourishment. But as a member of the human race, Su Lifeng didn’t see it that way.

He was an independent individual with his own thoughts; he would not become fodder for any creature.

If the Xenospecies wanted to absorb him, then he wouldn’t mind turning them all into his own nourishment to further his evolution.

Su Lifeng’s hands were warm now, steady and strong. Feeling the warmth coming from the top of her head, Jiang Yushi’s trembling gradually subsided without her even realizing it. She looked up at Su Lifeng and suddenly rolled her eyes at him. “‘Just the beginning’? Is that how you comfort people?”

“Uh…” Su Lifeng blinked, his eyes twitching slightly. “Women really do change their minds fast.”

“Hey, didn’t you see there’s another girl right here? That’s what you call splash damage, you know?” Cheng Xiaomei immediately protested.

However, at that moment, Su Lifeng suddenly hunched over, his brow furrowing.

He took a few ragged breaths and asked, “Is there anyone in the lab?”

“No, there isn’t. Lifeng, what’s wrong?” Jiang Yushi also noticed something was off and asked hurriedly.

“It’s nothing. I’m probably just too tired. Take me there. We can check on how your lab is doing while we’re at it,” Su Lifeng said, forcing a smile.

Jiang Yushi’s lab was located in an old Chemical Plant not far from the warehouse. Because she had utilized the Chemical Plant’s existing laboratory facilities, she had saved a significant amount of construction time.

Additionally, it was much cheaper.

“We acquired second-hand equipment that the group had phased out, but I personally selected and tested everything. The performance is definitely fine. Even if we hadn’t bought them, these instruments would have been snatched up by Southeast Asian companies or hospitals, so…”

Along the way, Jiang Yushi kept describing the state of the lab, occasionally observing Su Lifeng’s reaction. On the surface, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Only Su Lifeng knew that his body was practically burning up. At any moment, some part of his limbs might suddenly transform into the form of another creature.

“That would be a disaster…” he thought to himself. Meanwhile, he said to Jiang Yushi, “Since you’ve handled everything so well, you don’t need to tell me the details. You’re the boss, after all.”

“But…” Jiang Yushi eventually just nodded. She noticed that sweat was starting to bead on Su Lifeng’s forehead. This definitely wasn’t just caused by fatigue…

Warning her of the danger beforehand, killing that Xenospecies all by himself… Su Lifeng was clearly hiding too many secrets.

As soon as the car stopped, Jiang Yushi handed the lab keycard to Su Lifeng. However, as he got out of the car, Jiang Yushi called out to stop Cheng Xiaomei.

“Let him go in and look around by himself. We’ll just sit in the car.”

Cheng Xiaomei hesitated for a moment before the realization hit her. She pulled back her hand from the door handle and said, “Yeah, it’s not like it’s a big deal anyway, right?”

“Yeah, right,” Jiang Yushi nodded, her eyes filled with worry as she watched Su Lifeng’s retreating back.

He should be okay, right?

The lab wasn’t officially in use yet. After the workers had left, only a single security guard remained at the Factory’s main gate. The moment Su Lifeng swiped into the empty lab, he let out a low growl, his entire body instantly tensing up.

Crack, crack…

The bones throughout his body were making popping sounds like beans roasting. At the same time, Su Lifeng felt that ball of fire surging through his body, slowly concentrating in his back…

“Am I going to grow a Carapace?” Even amidst the agonizing pain, Su Lifeng couldn’t help but wonder.