Chapter 8 The Fool Has Nothing (8)

Chapter 8: Fools Have Nothing (8)

Life was truly getting better!

Every morning, Xu Jiu would bounce out of bed with this thought echoing in his mind. These days, he no longer drifted through life as passively as before, and his smiles now held genuine, unforced joy. The fact that "I'm not alone" stood like a sturdy pillar, propping up his once crumbling, empty life.

At last, Xu Jiu came to deeply understand the emotional value of pets and the satisfaction of companionship—nothing could compare.

He worked twice as hard, saving scraps of food, hiding them in his clothes to bring back to the dorm. Though he remained thin, his energy had never been higher—his eyes even seemed to sparkle, as if lit by starlight.

Whether rolling in rubble, cleaning filthy waste, or hauling heavy equipment crates, even when bruised black and blue or cut by sharp steel bars, Xu Jiu brushed off these hardships with miraculous ease. A smile kept tugging at his lips, revealing a dimple in his cheek.

Of course, such a drastic shift in his demeanor didn’t go unquestioned. A man who once wore forced smiles and intermittent gloom had suddenly turned radiantly cheerful—so much so that it rubbed people the wrong way. Surely, something was amiss.

Anonymous complaints to the supervisor piled up. Some cleaners believed Xu Jiu had cracked under stress, while others suspected he’d found some under-the-table benefits. Otherwise, how could he be this cheerful?

Thus, Xu Jiu was dragged in for no reason to the medical room for a psychological evaluation, then released just as abruptly. His dorm was raided seven times unannounced—four while he was working, three during his rest hours.

Number Six aced every surprise inspection. From ten meters away, it could accurately discern the intruders’ intentions. Twice, just before the inspection team barged in, Number Six curled motionless against Xu Jiu’s chest, its body rippling like liquid, blending into the air.

"Officers?" Xu Jiu blinked in confusion, his expression a perfect mix of fear and fluster. "Is... something wrong?"

"Hands where I can see 'em!" The inspector barked like a drill sergeant.

Xu Jiu obeyed, pressing himself against the wall with an uneasy look. The team ransacked the cramped dorm, even separating two stacked basins for inspection, while another officer patted him down.

Number Six clung to Xu Jiu’s neck, nestled in the hollow of his collarbone. The pungent scent of living humans flooded its senses, igniting ravenous hunger in every nerve and stinging cell.

It secreted potent digestive venom, only to swallow every bitter drop back down—a true predator knew when to lie low, to prioritize the safety of its host and nest when outmatched.

The inspector’s hands slapped harshly over Xu Jiu’s chest and back, but Number Six molded itself seamlessly, deftly evading the patting palms.

Standing in the tiny dorm, the inspector couldn’t shake a creeping chill; the hairs on his neck stood up as if something dangerous lurked in the shadows.

When he gripped Xu Jiu’s shoulders, Number Six slid smoothly under the oversized cleaner’s uniform, clinging to his shoulder blades. As the hands closed in, it darted away, flowing down his narrow waist to gather at his ribcage.

Xu Jiu’s eyelashes fluttered. Though Number Six’s body had warmed against his skin, the tickling was impossible to ignore. Its tentacles wriggled upward toward his chest, and one warm tendril coiled playfully around a sensitive spot on the left side.

Xu Jiu: "!"

The skin there was unbearably tender. His eyes flew wide, face burning red, stomach muscles twitching.

*Number Six, you little menace...!*

"What’s wrong?" The inspector snapped his head up.

Xu Jiu steadied his breath. "My leg’s hurt—just... pulled at it."

The inspector yanked up his pant leg, revealing a half-healed gash, and sneered. "Tough luck!"

After turning the room upside down and finding no "illicit gains," the inspection team grew weary. The sight of Xu Jiu’s dorm number alone made them roll their eyes, and they stopped entertaining such reports.

Each time Xu Jiu watched their grumbling retreat, he had to bite back laughter. Once the door closed, he’d grin like a kid who got away with mischief, finally unleashing a spark of youthful energy as he hugged Number Six tight, spinning around in silent delight.

The truth was clear: Number Six was an excellent ally—an accomplice. The sheer reassurance of this gave Xu Jiu a tiny raft to cling to in the polar station’s oppressive environment, a place to catch his breath.

Number Six noticed it too.

Its host would never sell it out to those humans, even if they shared his genes and laws. By all rights, they should have been on the same side.

—He went against his own kind to protect me.

Gazing at Xu Jiu's joyful smile, in that moment, like lightning piercing through the fog, Number Six suddenly realized this truth.

Human society possesses an intricate and tightly-knit structure. Their intellect is nearly perfect, yet their physical bodies are so fragile. How do they withstand nature's cruelty and advance further on the path of evolution? Unity and cooperation must be the ultimate code etched into their genetics.

—He violated his own biological instincts to nurture me.

Why?

For the first time in its existence, Number Six, with its cold, primal brain, wondered bewilderedly.

Was it truly worth it?

There was no answer. Like two small animals huddling for warmth in the depths of winter, humans struggled yet persistently maintained this shabby nest. He changed its water, cleaned it, brought back the same bland food every day, spoke to it, embraced it, and caressed it.

Number Six still didn't have enough energy to power its vocal organs. Its questions remained unspoken, leaving it so confused it nearly went mad.

One night, Xu Jiu, unusually unable to sleep, held Number Six like a pillow and murmured to it.

"When I was little, I loved watching the stars," Xu Jiu said lightly. "Back in the orphanage, the caretakers would finish their rounds by midnight. Once their footsteps faded, I'd sneak out of bed and tiptoe to the window to look at the sky. But most nights were pitch black, with stars rare."

Remembering something, he turned excitedly: "There were a few comic books in the orphanage. They said every constellation represented a fairy. If you called out to them sincerely at midnight, they'd take all the suffering children away to the heavens..."

"I believed it, wholeheartedly," Xu Jiu chuckled self-deprecatingly. "I even stood by the window at midnight shouting the fairies' names, waking up the whole floor, and got beaten by the caretakers. Those slaps really burned..."

Number Six made popping sounds, extending a tentacle to clumsily pat Xu Jiu's chin as consolation.

"Get off, get off," Xu Jiu grumbled irritably. "I still haven't settled the score with you for that time you touched me inappropriately."

Suddenly rejected by its guardian, Number Six was shocked.

Snapping back to reality, it immediately clung on stubbornly, pressing its tentacles and newly-grown flexible appendages against Xu Jiu's mouth and nose, wriggling like a rowdy, overexcited puppy, rolling and rubbing everywhere.

Overwhelmed by the disturbance and unable to bear the stickiness, Xu Jiu had no choice but to surrender: "Alright, alright, touch all you want, just stop this!"

The small-to-medium sized jellyfish—proudly spat bubbles triumphantly into the air, declaring its victory, then contentedly spread itself over Xu Jiu, weighing him down heavily.

Powerless, Xu Jiu gave it a perfunctory hug before staring at the stained ceiling.

A pang of melancholy unexpectedly washed over him, and he sighed.

"I really wish I had a home of my own," he murmured.

Xu Jiu's words seemed abrupt, but Number Six fully understood its guardian's worries.

True, they had a place to live in the human settlement—a nest—but it was so barren and cold, like the shrunken stomach of a starved beast, not to mention the many hidden dangers lurking there.

This place was practically like an open primitive forest, with locks practically useless. Anyone could come and go as they pleased, without the owner's permission.

By Number Six's standards, this nest lacked adequate food stores, walls lined with thick flesh and jagged bones, and the floor wasn't coated with warm, viscous mucus. Sigh—at the center of the nest, there should have been a gelatinous organic bed, supported by dead coral and giant clams, adorned with cobalt-blue and crystal-purple venomous frills that would sway gracefully even without wind...

Number Six had once possessed such a perfect nest.

Warm, damp, sticky. At the border between mountains and sea, it had hollowed out an entire cliffside, turning it into a cave flowing with blood, its edges oozing thick biological film. Carefully selected and meticulously arranged, it had spent countless years there in satisfaction.

If only the guardian could live there too.

A strange longing welled up within Number Six, yearning intensely for this possibility.

He’d be over the moon. From now on, he wouldn’t have to toil for bland food or endure the exclusion and bullying from others of his kind—they’d all become fuel—for me, for him. That’s just how it’s gotta be. And the temperature here, always rough on human skin—so damn fragile.

None of this is good. Not one bit.

"Ah, forget it," Xu Jiu chuckled self-deprecatingly. "It's too early to talk about these things... Might as well figure out tomorrow’s meal—way more useful."

Staring at Number Six, who lay curled in his arms, fiddling with its tentacles like it’s wrestling with some dumb problem, Xu Jiu’s heart swelled out of nowhere with this dumb, sappy fondness. He couldn’t help but lower his head and plant a kiss on the jellyfish’s squishy, cool top.

It felt nice. One more kiss...

Mmm, another one...

Ah, screw it—no holding back now! *Mwah mwah mwah!*

Just like pet owners who instinctively baby-talk and smother their cats or dogs with kisses, Xu Jiu had somehow mastered this skill without guidance. At first, Number Six thought Xu Jiu had finally revealed his true intentions, awakening to the fine tradition of its species—to consume it as food. When Xu Jiu leaned in, its venom-loaded tentacles were already looped around his neck.

Then, belatedly, Number Six realized that humans simply found satisfaction in such physical contact, treating "kissing" as a way to express affection... Well, admittedly, this was next-level reckless, fitting perfectly with humanity’s penchant for playing with fire and chasing danger.

Kissed silly till its head was mush and its whole body buzzed, Number Six remained motionless, wrapped around Xu Jiu’s neck, zoned out.

Speaking of food, the smart move would be to pump him full of venom right now and digest him entirely. With the nutrients from his flesh, it could grow bigger, faster, and hold its own against other vicious Homoforms in the future.

In fact, this would also align with the strange agreement it had made with Xu Jiu. Logically, Number Six should’ve gone for it.

But, but—

"You almost gave me a heart attack, you little menace!"

"Don’t run off like that—I can’t protect you if you do."

"I’m going hunting! Behave while I’m out."

"So amazing, Number Six!"

"Who’s my little treasure? Who’s my little treasure? It’s you! You’re my little treasure!"

—But human words and actions left it utterly bewildered, unsure how to respond.

Before this, Number Six had never known that being cradled in human hands, spoken to softly, fed while held close, could make its whole body burn with warmth, like it was turning to goo under a summer blaze.

Those tender laughs, affectionate words, the press of lips... It couldn’t comprehend the way humans expressed themselves, much less adapt to their doting indulgence. All it could do was roll with it, letting the weirdness happen.

...Fine, no point dwelling on it. All that talk of "I raise you, you eat me" could just be nonsense. Based on the fragmented memories it had absorbed, humans were kinda prone to losing it now and then, especially after too much "work."

Better check if his injury has healed...

Grabbing Xu Jiu’s wrist—long since healed, Number Six sucked at it absentmindedly, coating it with a layer of mucus to shield it from air and bacteria, all while lost in its own head.