Chapter 10

Chapter 10

After watching Zheng Jian's car depart, Jiang Linchuan lingered outside for a moment. The infant, having ceased his cries, now grinned up at him, a trickle of drool escaping the corner of his mouth.

His blue eyes were captivating.

Were his pupils black, their shape would strikingly resemble a certain teenager's—a subtle downturn at the inner corner, an upward sweep at the outer, forming the classic, slender fox eyes.

Jiang Linchuan lowered his head, gently touching the baby's forehead with his own, and murmured, "I hope you have nothing to do with me."

Returning indoors with the child, he was met by the sound of the television.

Jiang Linchuan couldn't help but arch a brow. Shen Jin was remarkably astute. Though many things eluded him, he maintained an impassive demeanor, and after a few repetitions, he could extrapolate and apply new knowledge.

"Waaah…" The child in his arms suddenly erupted in loud sobs, struggling to break free. Jiang Linchuan held him tighter, and as the baby squirmed, his gaze inadvertently drifted. There, he saw Shen Jin, legs propped on the coffee table, one hand clutching the remote, the other… holding a baby bottle, from which he was drinking milk…

Jiang Linchuan rarely experienced such profound shock, but today, after a series of events, his composure felt utterly shattered by Shen Jin.

Hearing the wails, Shen Jin lifted his eyelids and cast a glance their way. The pleased expression he'd worn moments before had vanished, replaced by impatience and irritation. Biting down on the bottle's nipple, he grumbled, "Can't you make him shut up? He's annoying. Truly annoying."

"No, but you can choose to cover your ears and not listen."

Jiang Linchuan stated matter-of-factly as he carried the child to the bedroom and gently placed him on the large bed.

He had no experience with infants and his knowledge was severely limited, so for now, he could only address the child's most basic needs.

Fortunately, the little one was quite easily appeased. Once he had the bottle, he lay quietly on the bed, drinking his milk.

Jiang Linchuan put a diaper on him and dressed him in a small blue outfit. The fair-skinned, adorable baby was utterly charming.

"Why does he have clothes, but I don't?" The teenager, still barefoot and clad in his battle suit, demanded of Jiang Linchuan, arms crossed as he leaned against the doorframe.

Jiang Linchuan picked up another set—this one pink—and dangled it. "How about you wear this?" Since they were both drinking milk, matching outfits wouldn't be out of place.

"Heh." Shen Jin sneered. "I hope you'll still be this kind to him tomorrow."

"Not just tomorrow. I'll always be good to him from now on."

Jiang Linchuan rose and went to the entryway, opened the shoe cabinet, and retrieved a new pair of slippers. He removed the packaging, then returned to Shen Jin, knelt, placed the slippers by his feet, and patted his ankle. "The floor is cold. Put these on. I'll buy you new clothes tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Shen Jin glanced at the baby's pretty blue clothes, then at his own drab, unattractive outfit. He pursed his lips, and a flicker of unconscious hope entered his voice. "Really? The same color as his?"

"Of course." Jiang Linchuan stood and looked at him. "You can have whatever style you want."

The teenager blinked his eyelashes lightly a couple of times. *Crap, what if the DNA results come out tomorrow and this human decides not to buy me clothes anymore?*

He felt a pang of annoyance.

Jiang Linchuan opened the wardrobe, rummaged inside, and pulled out a washed but unworn white T-shirt and a pair of shorts. "These can serve as pajamas for now. Go take a shower in the bathroom and change into them."

Jiang Linchuan led him toward the bathroom, and Shen Jin followed obediently, pondering the possibility of retrieving the blood sample.

The person who had been so unruly moments ago had suddenly become docile again. Jiang Linchuan considered this for a moment, then subtly raised an eyebrow. It seemed he had found a way to manage this kid.

"This is a toothbrush. It's for brushing your teeth." Jiang Linchuan demonstrated with his own toothbrush. "You can't eat the toothpaste. And also…" Jiang Linchuan turned to him, his voice firm. "You are not allowed to dismantle anything in this house."

It was a warning tone.

And the tone Shen Jin detested most.

*Heh.*

*You say don’t dismantle, so I shouldn’t dismantle?*

*Why should I?*

"Tomorrow I can buy you an extra set of clothes, and I can also get you a phone."

A phone?

He knew what that was—the device Zheng Jian was always engrossed in.

Shen Jin picked up the toothbrush, mimicking Jiang Linchuan, and put it in his mouth, moving it back and forth. He frowned, mumbling through the foam, "I don't like the taste of this."

Jiang Linchuan was also brushing his teeth. Watching the other, enduring with a mouth full of foam, through the mirror, he couldn’t help but smirk slightly. "It's good for your teeth. From now on, you'll brush your teeth every morning and night, and you'll shower at night."

With that incentive, Shen Jin caused no further trouble. He obediently showered, changed clothes, and emerged. The bathroom remained perfectly intact, untouched.

"Tonight, you'll have to make do in the secondary bedroom. If tomorrow…" Jiang Linchuan paused. "...after that, I'll redecorate it properly for you."

The apartment had two bedrooms and two living rooms. The master bedroom was larger. Since Jiang Linchuan lived alone and spent most of his time at the Special Operations Brigade, no one ever came to stay over, so the secondary bedroom had become a study, equipped with bookshelves, a desk, and a small single bed.

Shen Jin stood at the doorway, peered inside, and scowled in disgust. He pointed toward the master bedroom. "I want to sleep there. Take your child away."

There he goes again.

Jiang Linchuan's brows furrowed. His lips moved as if to speak, but he ultimately held back. *Fine, it's the middle of the night, no point in arguing. I'll wait until the results come out tomorrow. If it really is... then I'll slowly work on breaking him of that attitude.*

After Jiang Linchuan carried the baby out, Shen Jin yawned contentedly and walked into the master bedroom, growling a warning: "Don’t disturb my sleep, or I’ll eat him."

With a click, the door closed.

Jiang Linchuan didn’t know what to say. In the end, he let out a tired laugh. This single day had worn him out more than any mission.

Once fed and content, the little baby neither cried nor fussed, but he needed constant companionship. Perhaps having slept in the car that afternoon, he was particularly energetic, gripping Jiang Linchuan's finger and playing with great delight.

It wasn’t until three in the morning that the house finally fell silent.

Jiang Linchuan rubbed his aching shoulders and walked out of the bedroom. He gently pushed open the bedroom door and peeked inside.

The curtains in the room were drawn tightly. A sliver of light from the dining room faintly illuminated the figure on the bed.

The teenager had tightly wrapped the blanket around himself, cocooning his body into a giant silkworm chrysalis, his head buried inside, sound asleep.

Jiang Linchuan watched quietly for a while before closing the door.

After taking a shower and changing clothes, he noticed the sky was starting to lighten on the horizon.

There was no use trying to sleep now. Jiang Linchuan went to the refrigerator, grabbed a can of cold beer, then propped himself against the doorjamb of the backyard, slowly drinking.

The weather today promised to be clear—not a cloud in the sky. As the sun rose, golden light poured down, enveloping the entire residential complex in warm rays.

At exactly seven o'clock, a silver motorcycle screeched to a halt at the gate. A long leg braced on the ground as the usually calm woman dismounted in a hurry.

His grip on the beer can tightened subtly.

Chen Lanzhi looked up and saw the tall man standing there. She stopped in her tracks.

They looked at each other through the glass door. Jiang Linchuan straightened, walked over, and opened the door.

"Did the test results come back?" Jiang Linchuan asked.

"Yes," Chen Lanzhi nodded, hesitating for a moment before adding, "Captain, I initially thought you asked me to compare their blood with yours because the swaddled baby might be your child."

Jiang Linchuan looked at her calmly. "And then?"

Chen Lanzhi swallowed, opening her mouth but making no sound.

Jiang Linchuan reached out and took the manila envelope from her hand, slowly untwisting the white string. He pulled out the report and began looking it over.

Chen Lanzhi finally found her voice, though it carried a barely noticeable tremor. "Their blood is identical to yours."

Everyone's DNA is unique, but the test results showed that all three blood samples belonged to the same person—Jiang Linchuan's blood.

Their bodies flowed with Jiang Linchuan's blood.

When she saw the results, she even thought the equipment must be faulty.

"Captain Jiang, you already guessed this, didn't you?" Chen Lanzhi recalled what Jiang Linchuan had said earlier. "What exactly happened? Who are they?"

"Are they monsters, using your blood to take human form?"

Jiang Linchuan didn’t answer her question, first carefully reading through the report.

After a long pause, he finally looked up at her. "Theoretically speaking, both of them should be my children."

"Impossible," Chen Lanzhi said, shaking her head immediately. "What do you mean, 'theoretically'? Captain Jiang, you know that’s impossible. Between parents and children... I don’t think I need to explain this to you."

"What if they are the children of a monster and a human?" Jiang Linchuan remained calm.

"That’s even more impossible. Humans and monsters cannot have children. I’ve never heard of such a thing."

She enlisted at eighteen and, after leaving the military, joined the Special Operations Brigade, where she worked on the front lines dealing with various monsters. If such a case existed, she would have known about it.

A hundred years ago, among humans infected by monsters, most lost their sanity and began attacking their own kind. A small minority, however, underwent mutations after infection—some grew enormous bird-like wings, others had their limbs turn into animal limbs, and some developed abilities far beyond those of normal humans.

Though these mutated individuals didn’t lose their sanity, they suffered even more than those who did, because they were no longer normal humans. Their wings couldn’t retract, their animal limbs couldn’t revert, and the physical changes subjected them to constant, excruciating pain.

Most of these mutated individuals died in agony.

Later, the monsters returned to their own realm, and the mutated individuals gradually aged and passed away. Over the past century, there has never been any documentation or record of monsters and humans, or mutated individuals and humans, having children.

"I’ve seen it," Jiang Linchuan said.

"You’ve seen it?" Chen Lanzhi was astonished. "Where?"

"In a pitch-black dungeon."

"What?" Chen Lanzhi blinked, her voice soft and disbelieving. "Captain, do you know what you’re saying?"

"I know," Jiang Linchuan replied as calmly as if discussing something mundane. "That place was full of monsters, all kinds of monsters."

Jiang Linchuan took out a lighter and set the test report ablaze, looking up at Chen Lanzhi. "Sister Chen, I need your help."

The rising flames turned his pupils a fiery red.

The test report turned to ashes in Jiang Linchuan’s hand, yet his hand didn't seem to feel the pain, remaining completely still throughout.

"Help with what?" Chen Lanzhi averted her gaze. "Tell me what you need, I’ll do it."

In just those few words, Chen Lanzhi had already regained her composure and quickly accepted many things she didn’t yet fully understand.

They were the closest of comrades, comrades who entrusted their backs and lives to each other on every mission.

So, when Jiang Linchuan entrusted his back and life to her, she knew she had to support him unconditionally.

The same was true for Geng Yang and Zheng Jian.

"Whatever happened that night has nothing to do with the children," Jiang Linchuan said, as if speaking to Chen Lanzhi and to himself.

"Since they are my children, I have to take responsibility for them. I can’t let them be locked away in that place."

He knew better than anyone how terrifying that place was.

Because he was a monster who had emerged from it.