Chapter 18 The Fool Has Nothing (18)

Chapter 18 The Fool Has Nothing (18)

Shi Yesheng wandered through the night, its wounds not yet fully healed, though they had stopped bleeding.

The lingering anger from being provoked and wounded gnawed at it persistently. As a highly evolved Homoform, Shi Yesheng had complex feelings toward humans.

On one hand, humans were deliciously tempting. They had evolved their brains to an exaggerated degree but forgot to toughen up their fragile bodies. In all of nature, there was no other creature with skin so tender and flesh so sweet.

On the other hand, the rich, multilayered emotions of humans, their ever-shifting minds, and their ceaseless ingenuity filled it with genuine awe. Human creativity, their skill in destruction, equally fascinated Shi Yesheng, leaving it utterly fascinated.

But evolution was one thing—living among humans was another.

This fragment had betrayed its own kind. A hunter that willingly submitted to its prey, even delighting in the ridiculous name given by that prey… *Number Six*! Humans wouldn't give such a ridiculous name to their pet dogs, yet it had accepted it—and seemed *happy* about it!

Strictly speaking, Number Six was it, and it was Number Six. The killing and consuming each other among Homoforms did not change the fact that they were originally one. Thus, Shi Yesheng felt a deep, searing humiliation.

In human society, a slap was often seen as an act with minimal physical harm but extreme insult. Now, it felt as though that weak human had slapped it in the face from afar.

Who did he think he was? A fragile bag of meat, trembling before a predator, lacking even the strength to turn and flee… Humans always believed themselves to be the usurpers of all things, the rulers at the top of the food chain. Their arrogance demanded severe punishment—otherwise, its burning fury would never be satisfied.

Following the scent, Shi Yesheng lurked near the human’s dwelling, observing its target’s every move.

This human was like a worker ant—no, beneath even a worker ant in human society. Day after day, he toiled meaninglessly, pushed around by his superiors. His work created no value; he was utterly replaceable, with nothing commendable about him. He had no freedom, no dignity, no privacy… completely worthless.

The only praiseworthy things were his cautious demeanor and his ability to disguise himself.

Other humans couldn’t tell, but Shi Yesheng could unmistakably smell the bitterness, exhaustion, loneliness, and pain radiating from him—the smell of charred beechwood.

The human concealed his weariness. These days, he often cried in secret. After crying, his eyes would be bright red. To mask this abnormality, he would soak a towel in ice water and carefully press it against his face for half an hour.

No one would notice him anyway, whether his eyes were red or black, whether he was sick or healthy. Humans were small and insignificant, and he was the smallest, most insignificant among them. Yet he still chose to hide carefully, making sure no bigger weaknesses showed.

Shi Yesheng almost wanted to praise him—*almost*.

It had originally planned a flawless reunion, but it abandoned the idea. The human brain was intricate, but humans themselves were so foolish, blindly believing that what their eyes saw was the real world. Why go to all that trouble?

So, Shi Yesheng blurred its facial features, replacing its mimicked legs with mutated appendages and tendrils. To immediately gain the human’s trust, it even shrank itself by half, pretending to be badly injured.

Everything was ready—all it needed was the right moment. Using its disguised identity and clearance within the research facility, it arranged another staged 'accident'—perhaps suggesting to the human supervisor to keep the man behind for a scolding or assigning him to clean a secluded, deserted area. Then, it would be time for its grand entrance.

As scripted, night fell, the surroundings plunged into silence, leaving the human alone in the darkness, nervously gripping his tools. Shi Yesheng slowly seeped from the shadows, approaching its target like a cat playing with a mouse.

The human grew increasingly nervous.

He began to sweat, his heartbeat quickened, his breathing grew heavier, his muscles and bones tensed… He was ready to flee at any moment.

Shi Yesheng, pleased, made a soft sound, its tendrils peeling from the ground with a sticky, tape-like noise.

The human jolted violently.

"Who’s there?!" he demanded in a shrill, strained voice, gripping the mop handle like it was his only weapon. "Who’s there?!"

The air was thick with the acidic scent of fear. Shi Yesheng was delighted, savoring the sight of the human’s terror.

This was the scene it loved—prey should know their place, should recognize their own…

Before it could relish the moment further, the human suddenly turned, as if sensing something. His gaze locked directly with Shi Yesheng’s.

His face went pale, then flushed bright red, as if struck by lightning. He stood frozen, lips trembling as though trying to speak—but he had lost all strength to utter a word.

He looked as if he was about to cry from distress, yet his eyes shone like stars glistening with tears, so bright.

For some reason, facing those eyes, Shi Yesheng actually felt a fleeting instinct to recoil.

"Number Six?" he called out, trembling. "Number Six... Number Six!"

A clatter rang out as the human had already tossed aside all those cumbersome, bothersome tools to the side. Before Shi Yesheng could even play its role convincingly, the human had recklessly rushed toward it.

What was he doing? Was he going to attack me?

Or was this just a trick, a diversion, a desperate ploy to escape?

A flurry of thoughts raced through Shi Yesheng's mind. Before it, the human spread his arms and tightly pulled it into an embrace.

He wasn’t afraid. He didn’t retreat. Only scalding tears rolled down, falling heavily onto its body.

...Salty, it thought blankly.

And so very hot.

The human’s strength was immense, his embrace so urgent that Shi Yesheng even felt a breathless, crushing pressure in its chest. Its mind went utterly blank, making it forget to push away, let alone resist.

After what felt like an eternity, the human finally released it, only to cradle its face in his hands as if holding a priceless treasure. The warmth from his palms seeped relentlessly through its outer layer, sinking deeper and deeper, impossible to block.

"You—" His voice broke, tears streaming. "You came back! You came back! I always thought—I, you—"

Tears streaked his face, his words choked by sobs. He repeated muddled fragments, as if somehow this speech could make the other understand.

Yet, somehow, Shi Yesheng actually grasped the meaning behind those fragments.

—You’re finally back. I missed you. I always thought something had happened to you. Seeing you safe and sound, I’m so happy.

The human traced its featureless, blurred contours—this was abnormal, Shi Yesheng knew, because normal people didn’t have semi-transparent skin, nor should their faces be empty save for a single mouth. But the human caressed it with such eagerness, tenderness, and intimacy… It was a touch so tender it might’ve been love, though Shi Yesheng had no concept of what "love" even meant.

How was it supposed to respond to such closeness, such gentle touch?

"Are you badly hurt?" the human managed between sobs. "Let me look—you’re so badly broken. Does it hurt?"

If I say it’s not bad, he’ll stop crying, Shi Yesheng mused hazily.

...But if I say it’s bad, will he shed more tears for me?

Overwhelmed by the joy of their reunion, Xu Jiu waited and waited for Number Six’s answer, but it didn’t matter. He tilted his chin up and pressed his lips salty with tears against Number Six’s forehead, just as he did every day before leaving home.

"It’s okay, it’s okay. As long as you’re back, as long as you’re safe…"

At that moment, Shi Yesheng’s composure shattered, as if branded between the eyes with white-hot iron.

What was this?!

An attack? A mental assault? Had he coated his lips with an anesthetic? Had he rewritten its bioelectric circuits? Was he some secretly modified human experiment, finally making his move to capture it? He—

Kisses wet with tears trailed downward. His burning, trembling lips brushed directly against the Homoform’s toxic skin—yet unharmed, his nose nuzzling its cheek as he held it in an inseparable embrace. Finally, he paused just before Number Six’s nose, each shuddering breath like butterfly wings, lightly stinging the Homoform’s body.

"I thought you were dead," Xu Jiu whispered, trembling violently from his fingers to his toes. "I was powerless. I’m not afraid of dying—I’m afraid that night was the last time I’d ever see you, and I couldn’t even say a proper goodbye… Worse, I’m afraid I couldn’t die with you."

"How did you escape?" he pressed urgently. "What about that… that other one like you? Is it dead too?"

Shi Yesheng gaped at him, stunned silent.

He was so close—closer than Shi Yesheng had ever been to any human or creature before.

Shi Yesheng could count every one of the human's lashes, even though tears had clumped them together. It could see the capillaries beneath his thin skin, his quivering lips, the glistening moisture on them, and the tender, shell-pink tip of his tongue peeking between his slightly parted lips...

His slender shoulders and chest still quivered faintly from the aftermath of sobs, his body temperature unnaturally high.

The scent of fear had long since faded. Instead, he smelled like rain, grass, and apple blossoms—warm as clouds, making its vomeronasal organ twitch and itch uncontrollably.

An unprecedented, scorching sensation surged through Shi Yesheng—overwhelming, almost terrifying. It resembled pain, yet was far more profound, almost evoking a bewildering terror.

"I don’t know," Shi Yesheng finally rasped.

I don’t know anything.

Author's Note:

The other giant jellyfish: *kicks down the door, grinning wickedly with a villainous smirk* Hahaha! I’ve come to—!

Xu Jiu: *stops crying, overjoyed, immediately clings to it* Six! You’re my Six, you came back! *then resumes crying while affectionately mauling it*

The other giant jellyfish: *stunned, frozen stiff, utterly bewildered, because no one has ever kissed or hugged it before*

Still the other giant jellyfish: *squirms halfheartedly but secretly enjoys the kisses and hugs while beginning to squirm furtively* Mmph... mmph.