Chapter 66

Chapter 66

At 3 a.m., no one in Hive C was asleep; the entire ship was brightly lit, with soldiers searching room by room.

This time, the soldiers were not equipped with visual glasses, nor did they use their psychic abilities to search. Instead, each one carried a bucket of water, sprinkling it around the walls of each room as they entered.

Some soldiers, using megaphones in the corridors, repeatedly announced: "The Kanze lizard becomes visible when doused with water. Keep sprinkling water in your rooms periodically..."

In the second-floor conference room, Lin Fen and Yu Yuan sat on a sofa facing Feng Chen, with Yan Bubu sobbing in his arms.

Yu Yuan tapped the coffee table and said, "Little Curly Hair, stop crying. Weren't you brave when you encountered the Kanze lizard in the boiler room last time? You even managed to pull on its leg."

Feng Chen glanced at Yan Bubu and remarked, "He must have been really frightened tonight."

Yan Bubu's sobs subsided slightly.

"It's not the Kanze lizard that scared him, but the fact that we all saw him wet his pants," Lin Fen stated matter-of-factly.

Hearing this, Yan Bubu, who had just quieted down, started to cry painfully again.

Yu Yuan looked somewhat speechlessly at Lin Fen, who then coughed lightly and fell silent.

"So, there's more than one Kanze lizard on board, which complicates things," Yu Yuan said, frowning. "Kanze lizards can grow to full size within a week of hatching. The ones we encountered might be newly hatched. If there are Kanze lizard eggs on board, we might see more hatchlings soon."

"Can we use psychic powers to locate Kanze lizard eggs?" Feng Chen asked.

Yu Yuan shook his head: "These are mutant species. If they could be found that way, you would have already detected them."

The terrifying possibility of numerous hidden Kanze lizard eggs on the ship left everyone in silence.

"Keep searching, turn the ships upside down if necessary," Lin Fen said, looking at Yu Yuan. "But why didn't it bite the annoying little one?"

Yan Bubu, who had been buried in Feng Chen's embrace, lifted his head upon hearing this and choked out to Lin Fen, "Because it doesn't eat children's flesh."

Feng Chen, as if struck by a thought, reached into Yan Bubu's pocket and pulled out a transparent carapace.

"Could it be because of this carapace? Jingjing had it in his pocket. Did the Kanze lizard smell it and think he was one of its own kind?"

Yu Yuan examined the carapace and said, "That's highly possible. Kanze lizards have poor vision. Even if it was looking directly at Little Curly Hair, it couldn't see him clearly, relying instead on its sense of smell. It could smell the carapace but was confused, which is why it lingered in the bathroom before leaving."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Two soldiers entered, saluting Yu Yuan and Lin Fen: "Major General Lin, Colonel Yu, we've just completed a search of Hive C. We didn't find any trace of the Kanze lizard, and no one is missing."

However, another soldier added, "We just received a report from Hive B. A family of three living on the third floor of Hive B was found dead. Like the other victims, their bodies were gnawed on, leaving only skeletons."

"Kanze lizards in Hive B too?" Yu Yuan stood up abruptly.

The soldier nodded nervously: "Yes, and now there's chaos on the Hive B ship too."

Lin Fen spoke up at this moment: "Not necessarily. It could be the same one Little Curly Hair saw tonight. Our ships are so close together, it could easily move between them."

"Let's go see."

"Alright."

Lin Fen strode towards the door, asking Feng Chen, "Are you coming?"

Feng Chen felt his psychic abilities were ineffective in detecting the Kanze lizard and that splashing water around might be more useful. Still, hoping he might help, he nodded: "Yes, I'll come."

He whispered to Yan Bubu in his arms, "It's only midnight. How about I take you to Uncle Wu's, and he can stay with you while you sleep?"

"No," Yan Bubu answered quickly, clinging to his arm and twisting his body to indicate he wanted to come along.

"Alright, then I'll take you to Uncle Wu's," Feng Chen stood up.

Yan Bubu protested: "You just asked me, and I said no."

"So what? I was just asking," Feng Chen said coldly, looking at him. "Let's go, we're going now."

Yan Bubu wanted to argue further, but seeing Lin Fen standing at the door watching him, he swallowed his pleas and reluctantly followed Feng Chen to find Wu You.

Tonight, none on the three large ships could sleep. Hive C had spotted traces of the Kanze lizard, and someone in Hive B had been hunted and devoured by it. How many Kanze lizards were there, and where were they hiding?

Everyone was afraid to close their room doors, fearing that if a Kanze lizard entered, their cries for help wouldn't be heard. Neighbors had agreed to assist each other if they heard any unusual noises next door.

Following Lin Fen to Hive B, Feng Chen stood in the corridor of the cabin. The ship was quiet, with soldiers moving back and forth in an orderly manner, interspersed only with the sound of water being sprinkled.

Feng Chen closed his eyes slightly, channeling his psychic powers through the ventilation ducts, extending them forward.

After ten minutes, he withdrew his psychic powers and said to Lin Fen, "I didn't detect anything unusual."

The soldiers also reported back.

"We've checked the third floor, sprinkled water in every room, and found nothing."

"We thoroughly sprinkled water and searched the engine room on the bottom floor, including all the machinery corners. No findings."

"All the rooms on the second floor have been checked, no abnormalities discovered."

……

After hearing the soldiers' reports, Lin Fen turned to Feng Chen, "We don't know if it's gone or just evading capture. It's getting late, you should rest. I'll have soldiers escort you back."

"Alright."

On returning to Hive C, Feng Chen saw several groups of soldiers patrolling the corridor, clearly to prevent the Kanze lizard from harming anyone again. However, the likelihood seemed low as the Kanze lizard had just fed and probably wouldn't appear for several days.

Arriving at Wu You's, he found Yan Bubu already asleep, with Black Lion quietly lying beside the bed, guarding him.

Wu You whispered, "Why don't you leave him here to sleep?"

"No, I'll take him back," Feng Chen replied in a hushed tone. "Sometimes he wets the bed."

"Wets the bed?" Wu You laughed, waving his hand dismissively, "Then hurry and take him back, don't leave him here."

As Feng Chen carried Yan Bubu back to their room, Yan Bubu opened his eyes and gave Feng Chen a sleepy smile, "Brother."

"Hmm."

Yan Bubu chuckled again, rubbing his cheek against Feng Chen's chest and drifted back to sleep contentedly.

After laying him on the bed, Feng Chen checked his forehead, then quietly observed his sleeping face in contemplation for a long while before finally turning off the light to sleep.

Due to the disturbance on the two ships throughout the night, there were no classes the next day. The teachers waited briefly in the empty classrooms before deciding to go back and catch up on sleep themselves.

It wasn't until the third day that the students headed to Hive D to resume normal classes.

Today, the teacher was selecting a few students to solve problems on the blackboard. Yan Bubu raised his hand eagerly, almost standing up, prompting the teacher to call on him: "Fan Renjing, come up."

Standing in front of the blackboard, Yan Bubu beamed at the arithmetic problems, feeling delighted.

He knew how to solve these problems; they were all covered in Feng Chen's intense tutoring.

Feng Chen, focused on listening to his own class, heard the praise from the younger class's teacher through his divided attention.

"Fan Renjing has correctly solved all five arithmetic problems and earned a red flower. Let's give him a round of applause..."

Amidst the applause, Feng Chen could imagine Yan Bubu's expression without looking, and a smile inadvertently appeared on his face.

After the younger class finished, Yan Bubu proudly wore a red flower on his chest. He strutted to the doorway of the older class.

The older class hadn't finished yet, but the door was open, and the teacher was writing on the blackboard with her back to the students.

Yan Bubu stood silently where he could see Feng Chen and be seen by him, yet not noticed by the teacher, prominently displaying the red flower on his chest.

Feng Chen glanced at him, then looked back at the blackboard, but his right hand quietly gave a thumbs-up at the edge of the desk.

Satisfied, Yan Bubu turned and left.

With a little time left before the end of class, he wandered around the floor, stopping near the deck to watch the rain before contentedly returning to the classroom.

As he turned around, he almost bumped into someone standing behind him.

Seeing the military uniform, Yan Bubu had a bad feeling. His gaze slowly traveled upward, following the crisp dark blue fabric and brass buttons, until meeting Lin Fen's indifferent eyes looking down at him.

Yan Bubu stood frozen.

"Thinking of skipping class?" Lin Fen asked.

Yan Bubu mechanically shook his head.

Lin Fen said, "If you can't even do 'two minus two,' you shouldn't even think about skipping class."

This spurred Yan Bubu into a rebuttal: "I can do it, two minus two is zero. I can do all those arithmetic problems now, I even just got a red flower."

He then puffed out his chest, showcasing the red flower to Lin Fen.

Lin Fen's gaze fell on the red flower and he remarked, "Really? I think you're bragging."

"I'm not bragging, I can do arithmetic now, not just addition but subtraction too," Yan Bubu asserted earnestly.

"Alright, then let me test you," Lin Fen stepped back, crossing his arms. "What's 454 minus 278?"

Yan Bubu was again frozen like a statue.

Lin Fen said, "Didn’t you say you could do arithmetic? Why can't you solve it?"

Yan Bubu mumbled, "Your numbers are too many, um, too many."

"Then how many digits do you want?" Lin Fen asked.

Yan Bubu replied, "One digit subtracted from another digit."

"You can do all arithmetic problems with single digits?" Lin Fen queried.

Yan Bubu nodded proudly, "Yes, all of them."

Lin Fen, rubbing his chin with one hand, expressed doubt: "I'm not quite convinced..."

Yan Bubu, getting anxious, pointed to his red flower, "Look, I really can do it."

Lin Fen, frowning in thought, suggested, "Alright, let's make a bet. I'll give you a problem. If you can solve it, I'll believe you. But if you can't, I'll take your red flower."

Yan Bubu protectively covered his red flower, suddenly hesitant to agree so readily.

"Just as you said, one digit subtracted from another. It won’t involve many digits," Lin Fen said.

Yan Bubu was still hesitant.

Lin Fen scoffed, "So you can't do it after all..."

"I can! My brother taught me," Yan Bubu, unable to resist the challenge, quickly responded, "Then give me the problem. I'll solve it."

"Alright, I'll give you a problem," Lin Fen cleared his throat, his face expressionless, and casually stated a math problem, "What is three minus four?"

Yan Bubu finally succeeded in becoming a statue, only his eyes moving to watch a large hand reach towards his chest and slowly remove the red flower.

"This is mine now," Lin Fen declared heartlessly.

Yan Bubu's gaze followed the red flower as Lin Fen pinned it to his own chest. His lips quivered, and tears welled up in his eyes, a major storm brewing.

"I don't like children who cry and make a fuss, even though they taste very good."

Upon hearing Lin Fen's words, Yan Bubu forcibly swallowed back his impending cry.

The two looked at each other in silence, one with an indifferent expression, the other on the verge of despair, when Yu Yuan's voice echoed in the corridor: "What are you doing here?"

Lin Fen's back stiffened, but Yan Bubu rushed towards Yu Yuan like a lifesaver, clutching at his clothes and sobbing, "He, he's a bad man..."

Yu Yuan glanced at Lin Fen's back and said softly, "Take it easy, what did he do?"

Yan Bubu took a deep breath, "He... he took my red flower."

By the time he uttered the words 'red flower', his voice was trembling uncontrollably, and he looked on the verge of collapse.

"It's okay, it's okay," Yu Yuan soothed Yan Bubu and then turned to Lin Fen, sternly commanding, "Give it back to him!"

Lin Fen, still facing the deck, removed the red flower from his chest and extended it to the side.

Yu Yuan stepped forward to take the red flower and re-pinned it on Yan Bubu's chest, carefully adjusting each petal before saying, "There, the red flower is back with its rightful owner. Don't be sad now, go back to class."

"Thank you," Yan Bubu hugged Yu Yuan, not even glancing at Lin Fen, and hurried back towards the classroom.

He ran so fast, as if fearing someone might chase him from behind.

"Slow down, don't fall."

Yu Yuan watched Yan Bubu disappear around the corridor corner before slowly turning and walking over to Lin Fen.

"I've been thinking, where exactly is that Kanze lizard hiding? We won't be safe on these ships until it's found," Lin Fen mused, frowning as he gazed at the distant sea, his expression grave.

Yu Yuan glanced at him sideways, letting out a soft snort: "We need to find it quickly. Once you catch it, I'll definitely give you a red flower."

Lin Fen remained stoic: "I don’t need a red flower..."

"Why not? You seemed quite fond of it, going as far as to deceive a child to get one."

"I was just teasing him for fun."

Yu Yuan asked knowingly: "If not a red flower, what do you want?"

His voice was light, carrying a small hook that seemed to penetrate Lin Fen's ears and reach his heart.

Lin Fen glanced at him, leaning in to whisper something in his ear. Yu Yuan didn't respond but simply smiled, looking into the distance.

Lin Fen leaned down, quickly pecking him on the lips, then wrapped his arms around him, pulling him close.

The two stood quietly together, listening to the raindrops hitting the deck, enjoying a rare moment of relaxation and sweetness.

Yan Bubu had just returned to the classroom when it was time for class. Not daring to wear the red flower during class, he opened his cloth bag and placed it inside an empty codebox.

The lesson was music class, and the teacher taught them a new song.

Yan Bubu sang with emotion and vigor. As he sang, he noticed that the teacher would turn to look at him after each line.

Feeling this was a form of praise, he sang even more enthusiastically, each line bursting with energy, his loud singing voice echoing in all directions.

Meanwhile, Feng Chen was attending a military lesson.

As the school was run by the military, and considering the current difficult situation, courses on combat and firearms knowledge were also offered.

He was diligent in his cultural studies, but he lacked interest in combat and firearms, areas he found unchallenging.

Having been meticulously trained by the Eastern Allied Forces, this introductory material was child's play to him, so he decided to study from a textbook on his own.

The military class was taught by an officer, who was imparting combat knowledge amidst the high-pitched singing of the younger students.

"When you maintain this defensive posture, you can defend yourself from attacks coming from any direction."

"Flowers bloom on the hillside, clouds flow into a small river, la la la, la la la, la la la la la la la..."

The officer, demonstrating the moves, shouted out the key points, his neck veins bulging with the effort.

"If the opponent attacks your lower body, retract your foot and simultaneously punch towards the opponent's face."

"La la la, la la la, la la la la la la la la..."

This off-key singing was almost unbearable, especially when coupled with the collective off-tune voices. The officer had to close all doors and windows to lessen the torment of this cacophony.

Feng Chen, with his eyes on the book and fingers massaging his temples, sighed helplessly.