Chapter 8: Yue Yan

Chapter 8: Yue Yan

Even if they went 500 meters, or even 1000 meters deeper, they wouldn't find any trace of the rabbit.

Yue Yan, silently furious, followed the main group. He hadn't slept all night, and after trekking through mountains and water until midday, his stomach was growling with hunger.

During a break, he leaned against a tree stump to doze off, but stumbled and bumped his forehead, forming a large bump.

Yue Yan didn't dare to cry out in pain. With so many people around, making a sound would draw unwanted attention, which was the last thing he needed.

On the surface, he seemed to have blended in, but his identity was still awkward. Until he was 100% sure that Officer Yi hadn't seen through him, Yue Yan had to continue maintaining his human façade.

He couldn't get too close to Dr. Zhou's group, nor appear too familiar with the police.

Their group, about 500 meters deep, split into several directions. Yi Yang was talking to Dr. Zhou, occasionally glancing at Yue Yan, and walked towards him after finishing the conversation.

Apart from anything else, Yue Yan's face was unnaturally flushed. Yi Yang raised his hand to Yue Yan's forehead, "Are you feeling unwell?"

Yue Yan just nodded, feeling a mix of hard-to-describe sensations. He was tired, hungry, and a bit dizzy, with a slight motion making him want to vomit.

Each of these sensations was quite uncomfortable.

"Could it be heatstroke?" Yi Yang picked up a bottle of mineral water from the ground, opened it, and handed it to Yue Yan, "We're almost done here. I'll take you back."

"Heatstroke?"

There was no sun now, and he didn't feel particularly hot, so heatstroke seemed unlikely.

As Yue Yan pondered, drinking four sips of water under Yi Yang's scrutinizing gaze, he finally had a realization.

Maybe it really was heatstroke. He was not only a dwarf rabbit but a long-haired one. His teacher had said that he was delicate, easily getting uncomfortable if not careful, then refusing to eat or interact.

"I am very delicate," Yue Yan described himself.

"It's rare for a guy to describe himself as ‘delicate’," Yi Yang raised an eyebrow, "But you do seem to fit the description right now."

"...” Yue Yan decided never to use the word 'delicate' again. He spoke softly, trying to sound... weak, "I want to go home."

"Alright, hop on, I'll carry you," Yi Yang turned around and crouched in front of him, "I have something to ask you. I'll accompany you to the hospital for a check-up. Don’t worry, this isn't routine procedure, and you won’t have to come back to the station with me."

"So, you're carrying me because of that?" Yue Yan, feeling dizzy, climbed onto his back, chin resting on his shoulder, and made a small suggestion, "If it's not routine, could you maybe... speak a bit more relaxedly?"

"More relaxed?"

"I mean your tone. You always sound like you're interrogating a criminal, but I'm not your criminal. At best, I'm just your neighbor. Though we haven't talked much, the traditional Chinese virtue promotes neighborly help and support."

"I'm not interrogating you. This is just how I talk normally. I can't really talk to you in a high-pitched voice, can I?" Yi Yang, finding it a bit amusing, carefully stepped forward, feigning a high-pitched voice, "Like this, does it make you feel more comfortable?"

"Uncomfortable, it sounds awful," Yue Yan honestly replied, "Don't do that, you sound like a weirdo."

Yi Yang laughed, getting back to the point, "Did you hear what I said earlier? When are you free?"

"I'm not free," Yue Yan wanted to keep his distance from this neighbor, unless one day he quits being a police officer.

Though that seemed unlikely.

"Then we'll talk while you're on your way to buy groceries," Yi Yang concluded, glancing at him, "Since you're bored walking there anyway, right?"

"..." The rabbit didn't dare to disagree.

"I'll wait for you at the gate at 5:30 this weekend."

"..." Yue Yan felt his privacy was being invaded, with such precise timing.

During the silence, Yue Yan pondered what Yi Yang might ask him. Apart from the shoe, there didn't seem to be anything suspicious about him, so he ventured, "Why not ask here?"

"You really want me to ask here?"

Yue Yan fell silent again. He didn't dare to take the risk; if he lost, the whole world would know about a rabbit turned human, becoming a target for everyone.

The description wasn't quite right, but the outcome would be similar.

"I can't talk anymore," Yue Yan said, feeling nauseous and burying his head down.

The mountain path was rugged, lying on a human’s back felt like resting in a soft, rocking cradle. It reminded him of when he was still a rabbit in the observation box, unable to sleep. Dr. Shen Qing had made him a rocking warm bed, gently rocking it with one finger while talking to him.

Yue Yan, jostled to sleep, had an unpleasant dream.

Sixteen days and twelve hours earlier, the underground laboratory of Yinge Mountain, 500 meters deep, was brightly lit as a group of doctors in white lab coats anxiously awaited the results of an experiment.

In Experiment Hall 2, eight doctors and three trainee assistants gathered around a table, their eyes fixed on an electronic display. They were about to witness the results of the genetic mutation of experimental rabbit R2109.

Shen Qing was not part of this study. He entered to bring water for everyone and, upon leaving, locked the door from the outside with a key. He then took a tube of unlabeled blue liquid and a canvas backpack to another sterile room where a different rabbit was kept.

"Yue Yan, come and help me with something."

Shen Qing's voice was lighter than usual, his dry throat struggling to articulate the words. He beckoned the rabbit over, "Come here."

"Teacher?"

Yue Yan's arm had three fresh needle marks from blood samples, which were healing at a visibly rapid pace as the needles were removed.

The brainwave monitor by the bed showed significant fluctuations when Yue Yan saw Shen Qing.

He removed the device attached to his forehead, climbed down from the bed, pressed his hands against the glass wall, and slowly asked, "What do you need my help with, Teacher?"

"This," Shen Qing lifted the canvas bag, his voice deepening, "I want you to take a letter out for me."

Out?

Yue Yan didn't understand.

He had always lived in a sterile room, accustomed to being observed, recorded, and experimented on by a group of humans. They usually called him 'R133'—his code and name.

This was all he knew, so he didn't understand where the teacher meant when he said to go out. His clear eyes, filled with confusion, looked at the teacher's canvas bag. He didn't understand, but obediently nodded in agreement.

At this moment, Shen Qing could barely stand steadily, leaning on a long table and staggering over. Along the way, he coughed up a mouthful of black-red blood, hiding it in his sleeve.

Trembling, he lifted his other hand, placing the vial of reagent on the conveyor belt.

"The machine starts, the conveyor belt rolls, and the potion is sent under the glass cover. Shen Qing says, 'Drink it. You can no longer mention R133; it no longer exists in this world.'"

"After drinking the potion, the rabbit feels no discomfort. Looking at Dr. Shen, who keeps coughing, he asks, 'Where is the letter? Who should I deliver it to for the teacher?'"

"As he inquires, the rabbit’s hanging ears suddenly heat up. He quickly reaches to touch them, and both ears vanish instantly."

"Now, on either side of his head, hidden in his hair, are small human ears. The tail too, the white puff, is nowhere to be found. The rabbit touches over and over, finally confirming, it's really gone."

"At this moment, he no longer possesses any characteristic of a rabbit."

"'Deliver the letter to a girl named... Shen Yu. Only she can read it. Make sure to hand it to her personally, remember that?' Shen Qing coughs again, blood trickling down his chin onto his white lab coat, 'Leave here, in your backpack is everything you need. You're human, you should live where humans live.'"

"'Teacher, what’s wrong with you?' Le Yan presses close to the glass wall."

"'It’s nothing.' Dr. Shen struggles to the control panel, decisively pressing the red button. Glass panels rise on all sides, and the rabbit tentatively takes his first step."

"The first time stepping outside the sterile room."

"The concrete floor is a bit rough, uneven under his bare feet. He doesn’t dare to step too heavily, each step landing toe-first. He gently touches the blood on the teacher’s body, still capable of proper emotion, and coldly asks, 'Teacher, does it hurt?'"

"It doesn't hurt."

"Hmm." Yue Yan asked, "If I no longer have the characteristics of a rabbit, am I truly human now?"

Shen Qing's expression was complex, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

"Three years ago, when you first evolved, from that moment, you became a real human."

Three years prior, R133 had consumed a reagent and first took on a human form in the underground laboratory. Apart from ears and a tail, he was an impeccable human in every other aspect.

However, due to immature technology, R133 lacked B-cells and T-cells, making him vulnerable to all bacteria and fungi. He couldn't be exposed to air, so he was always kept in a sterile isolation room.

The lab had more than one isolation room. Over three years, R133 saw countless rabbits replaced next door, with changing codes on the glass walls, but his room always remained the same: R133.

R133's successful evolution was a solitary case. Over three years, thousands of experimental rabbits died, and the ethically controversial experiment made no further progress.

Shen Qing, while developing a solution to fill the gaps in the rabbit's deficiencies, suffered immense mental and physical turmoil. The day he decided to let the rabbit go, he could finally sleep peacefully.

Gathering his thoughts, Shen Qing handed the backpack to the rabbit, uttering the most solemn words ever spoken.

R133 actually had a name long before.

To ensure fail-safe measures, the scientists prepared an identity for the rabbit-turned-human. The documents listed him as a research assistant, part of the lab’s cancer cell growth study, in case of any inquiry.

It was Shen Qing who gave him a human name – Yue Yan.

Yue Yan didn't talk much, and Shen Qing wished he would speak more. Articulate individuals bring benefits and wisdom. Being eloquent in human society is not a bad thing.

The lab exploded without warning, just as Shen Qing was sending Yue Yan out of the elevator.

A heatwave swept through, instantly shattering the elevator.

Yue Yan seemed to hear his teacher laughing as the raging fire engulfed everything behind him.

Shen Qing fell backward, plummeting into the fiery abyss, the last time Yue Yan heard his teacher's voice.

"Ending absurdity is liberation."

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Yue Yan: I'm really curious about what Yi Yang will ask me!!!

The author thoughtfully ponders: Could it be that he...

Yue Yan leans in: What?

Author: He might be interested in you.

Yi Yang: ...