Chapter 40

Chapter 40

An Zhe had a dream.

He seemed to be standing above an abyss of black water, facing an endless expanse. A sense of danger clutched at him like a hand, and something in the distant darkness was watching him, leaving him struggling to breathe.

Feeling endangered, he instinctively surveyed his surroundings and took two steps back. Amidst this perilous gaze, he sought someone, or something, to cling to for safety.

His hand trembled slightly as it reached out, gently grabbing the corner of Lu Fen's sleeve.

His breathing quickened slightly, as if he was afraid.

Closing the lid of the silver cold box, Lu Fen disposed of the empty disposable needle into the trash can by the bedside and placed the gun back within arm's reach.

By the time he finished, An Zhe's rapid breathing had calmed, though his beautiful brows remained slightly knitted.

A tiny droplet of bright red blood had seeped from the side of his neck. Within three minutes, it had solidified into a small red dot - a needle mark. Yet, whatever had been injected would not cause any harm beyond this pinpoint injury.

He appeared like a small, soft-furred creature, radiating a fragile serenity. He seemed so easily destructible, yet equally capable of being guarded with impenetrable care.

Lu Fen looked at him expressionlessly for a long while. Then, he reached out, his fingertips lingering on the warm skin between An Zhe's furrowed brows, like a dragonfly resting on water. Slowly, those knitted eyebrows relaxed, and within three minutes, he fell back into a peaceful sleep as before.

*

When An Zhe woke up, the entire room was already illuminated, with the brightness akin to that of late morning, around eight or nine. The fear of being late jolted him fully awake.

—He then realized that the towel he had used to cover himself last night had slipped down, leaving his shoulder and back exposed.

His hand was tightly clutching the corner of someone's clothing, leaning against this person's body, his face nestled against their shoulder.

If this person were Selan, An Zhe would apologize in a manner befitting human etiquette.

If it were Colin, An Zhe would promptly make a swift exit.

But this person was Colonel Lu, someone who often scolded him.

An Zhe stealthily released his grip and lifted his head, looking up at him.

Surprisingly, Lu Feng didn't scold him this time.

The man reached out, pulling the blanket back over An Zhe's exposed arm and shoulder, then casually said, "It's half past eight."

Today, An Zhe's work location was still the lighthouse, but his tasks were monotonously dull. As for Lu Fen, he seemed to have no genuine work today; he lingered by An Zhe's side all day. The scene in the laboratory could be summed up as Si Nan watching Lily, Lily watching Si Nan, him observing Lily, and Lu Fen keeping an eye on him.

After half a day, there was an unexpectedly steady improvement in Si Nan's condition. The duration of his stable brain waves increased from fleeting seconds to a consistent four seconds. During these brief moments of lucidity, he would rhythmically tap on the glass wall, as if assuring Lily that he was still there. Upon hearing the progress, the doctor was delighted and said he was temporarily unavailable, instructing them to continue on their own.

In those times when Si Nan was entirely disconnected from reality, Lily would engage An Zhe in conversation.

"I still want to fly outside," she said. "It's so vast out there."

An Zhe replied, "Can't you go out?"

"No, they say it's too dangerous out there," Lily explained. "When I was little, I begged them to let me out for just five minutes, but they wouldn't agree. I used to get angry with them every day."

"Madam would comfort me, telling me not to hold a grudge against them. She said that the entire base is like Eden's children. Sometimes children can be willful, and sometimes they may unintentionally hurt their mother, but it's understandable. Besides, everything we eat, where we live, and the electricity we use all come from the base," Lily sighed, an action that seemed too mature for her young age.

An Zhe gently stroked her head.

"Only Madam Lu can go outside. She's a scientist," Lily continued. "I want to be a scientist too."

"I've heard them say that before, embryos had to grow inside for at least five months before they could be extracted. It was very painful. But Madam and the research team at the Lighthouse have been shortening that time. Now, it only takes one month."

An Zhe listened to her quietly.

Just then, Lu Fen's communicator rang. He answered it, and An Zhe caught snippets of words like "sample," "growth," and "verification" from the other end.

After ending the call, Lu Fen told him, "I'll be out for a bit."

An Zhe nodded, "Mm-hmm."

When Lu Fen's footsteps faded down the corridor, Lily leaned closer to An Zhe and whispered mysteriously, "Colonel Lu is Madam's child, did you know that?"

An Zhe looked at the girl. In the past two days, she had become much livelier.

He said, "You even know that?"

"I'm smart," Lily lifted her chin slightly. "They just sleep all day, but I know everything."

An Zhe wasn't too interested in what she had mentioned before, but when it came to Lu Fen, his curiosity piqued. He asked, "What do you know?"

"Madam has always kept Colonel Lu's picture in her communicator. I've seen it," Lily swung her legs on the chair. "They say Colonel Lu is Madam's real child because he wasn't grown with machine assistance."

An Zhe thought that the relationship between Lu Fen and Mrs. Lu was indeed extraordinary. The children of Eden had no knowledge of their biological parents; all they had from birth were the numbers on their ID cards.

Lily continued, "There seem to be two reasons. The first is that Colonel Lu's condition was unstable back then, making him unsuitable for in vitro fertilization. The second reason is just speculation."

An Zhe asked, "What is it?"

"Lady spent time outside of Eden. Later, she had to attend meetings at the Lighthouse and negotiate with people outside. She had the ability to go out. I speculate that Lady fell in love with someone from the outside world. Perhaps Colonel Lu is the child of Lady and her lover."

As she spoke, Lily propped her chin on her hand and looked at An Zhe. "Are you Colonel Lu's lover?"

An Zhe pondered the meaning of the word for a moment before shaking his head.

Lily said, "Then have you ever donated sperm? You seem to be of age now. Even though you don't have a lover, you might already have a child."

An Zhe frowned and replied, "No, but..."

"What is it?" Lily asked.

An Zhe slowly shook his head, remaining silent.

He didn't have children in the human sense, but he had his spores, whose whereabouts were unknown to him.

To inquire with Lu Fen would be reckless, for it might expose his alien identity.

Continuing his search through the ventilation system carried the constant risks of getting lost or being discovered.

All he knew was that, according to Lu Fen's manual, the spores were likely within the Lighthouse – and he was right here, clueless about how to navigate the labyrinth of access-controlled doors and secretive laboratories.

It was maddening to think they might be so close yet so far apart.

During these two days in the Lighthouse, An Zhe couldn't help feeling down whenever this thought crossed his mind.

Lily asked, "You're not happy?"

An Zhe replied, "Mm."

He wasn't a complete mushroom, and a fragmented one could never truly be content.

Just then, a soft tapping sound echoed again, signaling Si Nan's return to consciousness – Lily promptly left An Zhe to attend to Si Nan.

An Zhe felt even more dejected.

At that moment, footsteps echoed in the hallway—it was Lu Fen returning with the doctor.

The doctor was conversing with Lu Fen, "What have you done to it?"

Lu Fen replied, "What could I possibly have done to it?"

"It's been completely dormant as if dead until these past two days when you've frequently been at the lighthouse. It suddenly started growing. I don't think it's a coincidence."

"And it was suspended in nutrient fluid with no apparent pattern. Why did it drift towards you when you approached the incubation chamber?"

Lu Fen replied coolly, "Isn't that what you researchers are supposed to figure out?"

"First, you need to provide us with adequate information. What kind of special connection do you have with it?"

"I removed it, sealed it, and sent it to the Lighthouse," Lu Fen's tone grew colder, an indication that he wished to end this conversation. "That's all there is to it."

"This is a major project, you need to cooperate with their research efforts."

"Whatever."

The voice drew closer as the two returned to the laboratory. The doctor walked back to his instrument, while Lu Feng took out the military base encyclopedia from An Zhe's backpack and flipped through it to pass the time.

Recalling their previous conversation, An Zhe gradually felt a sense of suspicion.

He turned to look at Lu Feng slowly.

Feeling the gaze, Lu Feng lifted his head from the book and met An Zhe's eyes.

An Zhe stared at him, "What did you go do?"

Author's Note: He was checking up on me.