Chapter 38

Chapter 38

In Lu Feng's car, An Zhe had fallen asleep.

He woke up due to an intuitive sense of danger. Upon opening his eyes, he realized the car had already stopped at the entrance of the lighthouse, and Colonel had opened the door on his side, looking down at him from above.

"Didn't you sleep last night?" The colonel's voice was as cold as ice.

An Zhe was still in a daze. He rubbed his eyes to clear his mind and then got out of the car.

—However, due to his exhaustion, he swayed and almost fell forward onto Lu Feng.

A pair of strong arms caught him. An Zhe finally regained his balance without falling, but the incident also jolted him awake significantly.

Inside the lighthouse, it was as quiet and busy as usual. As they walked down the first floor corridor, four soldiers were passing by, carrying two covered bodies. Selan followed them, his face slightly pale. When he saw Lu Feng, he briefly said, "Lab accident, containment breach."

Lu Feng nodded slightly and led An Zhe to the elevator for the tenth floor.

Dr. Ji stood in the middle of the tenth floor corridor. "You're here."

Lu Fen asked, "What's the matter?"

"May I borrow your little darling for a while?" The Doctor turned to An Zhe and said, "Come with me."

An Zhe didn't consider himself as belonging to Lu Fen's household, but he still followed along.

The Doctor led him to that familiar laboratory, where Si Nan had been confined.

Through the transparent airtight glass wall, An Zhe saw Si Nan.

Or rather, not quite Si Nan.

An Zhe approached the glass barrier.

Inside was a black... a black insect.

It was slightly larger than Si Nan's original form, about the size of half an adult's body. On top of its head were two black compound eyes that shimmered with a dark silver luster under the light. Between these two eyes, a pair of slender antennae protruded from its head. Its back was adorned with translucent, elongated wings, while its abdomen was slender and covered in a layer of dark gray fuzz. Similarly, this same fuzz coated its chelicerae.

Like a bee.

At this moment, it was frantically buzzing and slamming against the transparent enclosure, its body repeatedly hitting the glass walls as if trying to escape. Yet, its thorax, abdomen, and limbs were trembling uncontrollably, as if enduring immense pain.

"The creature's behavior is abnormal, and its brainwave patterns differ significantly from previous records in our database," the doctor explained. "I suspect it retains some human consciousness and is struggling against its alien instincts." He added, "However, none of us can communicate with it effectively, so we're hoping you could give it a try."

And thus, An Zhe found himself standing before the communicator once more.

"Si Nan," he said.

Si Nan's chitin wings rustled softly, but he seemed not to have heard anything, continuing his erratic flight across the space.

Yet, An Zhe was certain that for an instant, those compound eyes had turned in his direction.

"Si Nan," he continued, "Do you remember Lily?"

There was a brief silence in the rustling, followed by the bee's intensified collisions against the glass.

Looking at Si Nan, An Zhe whispered gently, "Is there anything you'd like to say to her?"

Si Nan's wings fluttered wildly, but he had lost his human vocal cords, leaving only erratic peaks and valleys on the oscilloscope for the doctor to interpret.

Doctor Ji remarked, "There's a change in the electromagnetic waves. He understands. Who is Lily?"

An Zhe's gaze softened slightly.

His conversations with Lily were a secret known to none. But there was no other choice now.

An hour later, a gentle knock sounded at the laboratory door.

An Zhe turned around.

The first thing that caught his eye was a swish of snowy white skirt.

"Mrs. Lu?" Doctor Ji's voice held a hint of surprise. "Why have you come?"

An Zhe lifted his head to see a lady of poise and grace stepping into the room.

She had long black hair loosely coiled at the nape of her neck, and a light blue mask that concealed all but a pair of gentle black eyes.

She had a slightly plump figure, which added a gentle quality to her demeanor.

In her right hand was Lily, while two Eden staff members flanked her on either side.

"The abnormality rate in Eden has increased over the past three months," she said. "I need to personally deliver the report to the Lighthouse and have them make a decision." She continued, "Coincidentally, I received a request from the Lighthouse for Lily's assistance in a certain task, so I brought her along on my way."

Dr. Ji responded, "Thank you for your trouble."

"This is an extraordinary outing," Mrs. Lu handed Lily over to Dr. Ji. "Please take good care of her."

"Please rest assured."

With their exchange completed, Mrs. Lu turned her head slowly.

On one side of the room stood Lu Fen. He had been watching her since the laboratory door opened.

"You're here too," she said.

Lu Fen lowered his eyes slightly and replied, "Mother."

"It seems like an important research project," Mrs. Lu observed him.

They stood at opposite ends of the room, their eyes meeting. Mrs. Lu appeared gentle, while Lu Fen's gaze was tranquil.

An Zhe witnessed this exchange, sensing an unspoken undercurrent between them, though he couldn't decipher its meaning.

After about ten seconds, Mrs. Lu said, "I should be going now."

One of the attendants helped her turn around, shielding her completely. The sound of her footsteps faded as Dr. Ji closed the door behind her.

"This is Mrs. Lu's thirty-fifth year working for Eden," Dr. Ji mused, with a hint of wistfulness. "She's truly a remarkable woman. Why didn't you have more of a conversation with her?"

Lu Fen's eyes remained fixed on the now-closed silver door. "We haven't seen each other in a long time."

"Then you should have talked to her more. Has your work at the Court of Judgment made you so cold and heartless?" Dr. Ji recalled, "I remember when I was younger, I even messed with the twenty-story surveillance system for you, so you could often visit her – the candies she gave me were delicious."

"Dr. Ji," Lu Fen replied calmly, "Less talking won't do you any harm."

Dr. Ji shrugged.

Three seconds later, he suddenly said, "I was so meticulous back then. Do you think the surveillance cameras have been repaired after all these years?"

Lu Fen looked at Lily, then at An Zhe who was also looking at her. He said, "Seems not."

—Lily had already leaned against the glass wall.

Her eyes were fixed on the bee-like creature behind the glass, and for the first time, her usually lifeless gaze showed a hint of excitement at seeing something new: "Is this a bee?"

The gray bee clung to the glass wall, facing her. Its movements finally paused briefly, but then it started twitching in agony again.

"It looks like it's in pain," Lily said to An Zhe. Clearly, she recognized him. She asked, "Did you want me to come see this bee?"

An Zhe whispered, "It's Si Nan."

Lily froze for a moment. Just as An Zhe expected her to look sad, she suddenly laughed.

"Si Nan," she said to the gray bee through the glass wall, "you can fly now."

No fear shone in her eyes, nor was there any sense of alienation. She had never witnessed a monster slaughtering humans nor received warnings to keep away from hybrids. To her young mind, bees and people were not fundamentally different.

She didn't even seem surprised that Si Nan had suddenly transformed into a bee – probably because, in the eyes of a cub, the world was full of such unpredictable transformations.

"The readings are chaotic again," the doctor observed the instruments, "but for three seconds just now, its radio waves were almost identical to those of a human."

Dr. Ji patted Lily on the shoulder. "Lily, can you help us?"

Lily asked, "What do you need me to do?"

"Si Nan's consciousness is battling with that of the bee. Maybe you could help him regain clarity. Could you stay here and talk to him consistently?"

"I can," Lily replied. "Can you turn me into a bee too?"

"If you turned into a bee, they'd shoot me on the spot at Eden," the doctor said. "It would be better if you could communicate with him. We need to know how he got infected. The source of the infection is somewhere within Eden, but it hasn't been found yet. The sooner we locate it, the safer the main city will be."

"Alright," Lily placed her hand on the glass wall. "So, will you pay me for this?"

Dr. Ji spoke warmly, "What would you like?"

"I don't want to stay on the twentieth floor," Lily said, pressing her cheek against the glass. "Can you save me?"

"I'm sorry," the doctor replied. "That's beyond my capabilities."

"Alright, I expected as much." Lily turned back to the gray wasp. "I'll do my best, then."

She did put in a full afternoon of effort, but Si Nan's condition fluctuated. There were only a few instances of normal response, though according to Doctor Ji, it was an improvement from before. He decided to have Lily come again the following day.

With other demanding research tasks at hand and Lily's disinclination to socialize with others, An Zhe found himself accompanying her at the Lighthouse for the next few days to facilitate communication with Si Nan.

By seven o'clock in the evening, Lily, like any child, had exhausted her energy and was sent back to Eden. This marked the end of An Zhe's workday as well.

After being scolded by Lu Fen for falling asleep in the car during lunch break, An Zhe learned his lesson. He stayed alert throughout the journey, exiting the vehicle with a clear mind, taking the elevator with Lu Fen to the thirty-seventh floor, and facing his own door with full consciousness.

A closed door.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

Until Lu Fen's smiling voice sounded behind him, "Why aren't you going in?"

An Zhe took a deep breath.

Rushing into the pipe last night was one of the two biggest mistakes he had made in his life. The other was rolling around in the windy wilderness on Valentine's Day.

He deeply regretted his actions.

The colonel, of course, understood his predicament and spoke nonchalantly, "The Main City Administration can issue a replacement ID card within three days. You'll have to find your own place to stay."

After saying that, he calmly swiped open his door, stepped in, and prepared to close it.

But An Zhe, standing across from him, turned to look at him with furrowed brows and a slight bite on his lower lip, appearing conflicted as if contemplating something.

Yet, Lu Fen didn't say anything, only watching him indifferently.

Time passed quietly.

To everyone's surprise, An Zhe actually turned back and pressed the elevator button.

"In that case, I'll go find Selan."