Chapter 24: Why did it feel so hard to swallow the food in his mouth?
Lu Qiufeng was a person who loved to use fake smiles and speak in a sarcastic manner.
Before Yu Yan arrived in this world, Lu Qiufeng was the person who most enjoyed slacking off and merely going through the motions at the Fifth District Research Institute.
They had worked together for a few years, but it was the first time they were researching the same thing together and spending such a long time in each other’s company. The impressions of colleagues from the past were rapidly undergoing dramatic changes.
Lu Qiufeng had been reluctantly involved in this research and still harbored resentment from being threatened, which made him somewhat uncooperative in his actions.
Su He, usually kind and polite, was now shouting at him, grabbing his hair: “What on earth are you doing? Are you taking this seriously? Is this how you treat research?”
“Look at the data you’ve done. Why haven’t you completed a single report after all this time?”
“If I only needed someone to sit next to me and record data, why wouldn’t I just bring a mutant parrot from my own lab!”
The silver wolf lying at Su He’s feet also raised its head coldly because of its master’s emotion, baring its teeth at Lu Qiufeng, as if it were about to snap his head off.
Lu Qiufeng moved his chair back a little. He really didn’t like these experimental subjects; they often went out of control.
Being yelled at by the younger researcher Su He was frustrating for Lu Qiufeng, but he was too embarrassed to shout back. With the giant wolf glaring at him, he didn’t dare to either.
After some thought, he turned his gaze to the person who had threatened him.
Yu Yan caught his look and slowly spoke to comfort his junior: “Don’t worry. Unlocking these virus codes is a major task. I’m holding up for now; we will make it in time.”
And that parrot—was it really that impressive? Maybe he could bring one to see.
Su He turned to him and shouted, “Who cares about you! Do you know what this is? The most infectious A0 virus and the most difficult-to-crack Tree Shape T virus! I’ve found a possible solution! Do you know what it means if I can overcome them?!”
“Both of you, don’t slow me down!”
She had been researching to the point of madness, probably forgetting why she started this research in the first place.
Of course, if she weren’t like this, she wouldn’t have developed the mutant virus antidotes in the original plot while living in exile under harsh conditions.
Yu Yan was so yelled at that he clung to the bedsheet, too scared to speak.
At this point, Su He lunged at him again: “Yes, and take another tube of your blood!”
Yu Yan had now also become her experimental subject. He was the only one who had been infected with the virus through a human fluid exchange with 012, unlike Zhou Xiangcheng and those who had accidentally inhaled it.
Su He obtained some early-stage infection data from Zhou Sheqing and compared it with Yu Yan’s.
In Yu Yan’s blood, Su He discovered a special substance.
As Yu Yan fell into a coma and his immune barriers were about to collapse, this special substance combined with his own cells, producing new antiviral cells. Some of these cells were even rapidly dividing and engulfing the virus.
If this process continued, he might be able to coexist with the virus, or even digest it.
In the end, from a certain perspective, he could be like 012 and be immune to most of the current viruses and bacteria.
Unfortunately, there was too little of this substance in his blood, and it couldn’t handle the overwhelming virus, putting him at a disadvantage. Currently, Yu Yan couldn’t rely on this substance for self-rescue.
Since discovering this special substance, Yu Yan had already had his blood drawn three times. But seeing Su He’s excitement, he could only comply. After all, Su He was trying to save him.
“Isn’t this enough?”
“Just a bit more. I need to make more control groups.”
Suddenly, there was a loud noise from the isolation chamber covered with blackout cloth in the corner as it rolled off the shelf.
Su He met 012’s indifferent gaze from inside the isolation chamber. Her once boiling brain cooled down, especially when 012 used its claws to tear through the second layer of the chamber. Su He felt a heightened sense of threat.
Nervously leaning against the bed, Su He took a tube of blood sample: “This should be enough for now.”
“012 has torn through the second layer of the isolation box. Isn’t that a bit too dangerous?”
Yu Yan looked at 012, who could only huddle inside the chamber: “Indeed, it’s time to replace it with a sturdier isolation box.”
The newly replaced isolation box had only one layer. Its glass material was similar to that used in the previous feeding area but was larger, allowing 012 to stand, lie down, and even flap its wings inside.
After moving the shelf, it was placed in the corner of the ward.
Lu Qiufeng, sitting by the workbench, said, “I don’t think this is any safer than the previous three-layer isolation box.”
Yu Yan coughed, “How could it not be? The previous one was down to just one layer anyway.”
Lu Qiufeng asked, “Then why aren’t you covering this one with a blackout cloth?”
Yu Yan replied, “To let him get some sun and calcium?”
Lu Qiufeng gave a speechless expression, ready to retort, but Yu Yan suddenly laughed and said, “If we don’t finish researching this drug and 012 escapes, we’ll all be in trouble. Haha, just kidding.”
Lu Qiufeng thought: You’d better be joking.
He turned to seek allies, saying to Su He, “Listen to this, not only is he threatening me, but he’s also threatening you.”
Su He, who was back in research mode, didn’t pay much attention to his words and handed him another task: “We’re pressed for time. No more dawdling. You continue with this batch of experiments.”
Lu Qiufeng: “……”
Reluctantly, he threw himself into the research, and before long, he was engrossed in it. After realizing it, he had caught up with Su He’s line of thought and started on the next analysis.
By midnight, neither Su He nor Lu Qiufeng had left. Exhausted, Lu Qiufeng collapsed onto the only single sofa, trying to make do with it for sleep.
He hadn’t slept long before waking up due to discomfort.
At this moment, the light was dim, and Su He, who had been working at the desk, had also fallen asleep on the workbench.
Lu Qiufeng was just about to adjust his position when he saw the person on the sickbed slowly getting up. He walked over to the workbench, tidied up the clutter, and then draped a coat over Su He, who was still asleep on the workbench.
Then the person took a blanket and walked towards the single sofa. Lu Qiufeng quickly closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep.
A blanket was placed over him.
After that, the person slowly walked away, and despite his own pain and mobility issues, moved to the corner where the isolation box was.
Lu Qiufeng kept his eyes closed and heard the soft conversation coming from that direction.
“Not sleeping again tonight? You’re not an owl; you shouldn’t keep your eyes open all night.”
Lu Qiufeng couldn’t understand why this person could speak to the experimental subject with such a calm demeanor.
Hadn’t the subject caused him harm? Did he not harbor any resentment, fear, or anxiety towards it?
“Why do you care?”
Although it was the first time hearing it, Lu Qiufeng immediately recognized it as the voice of experiment subject 012.
“You’re talking like a rebellious teenager. Fine, I won’t bother you then.” The person leaning against the isolation box seemed to smile slightly before moving back to the bed.
Lu Qiufeng opened his eyes and looked towards the isolation box.
The experimental subject sat there, moonlight falling on its lap, while it stared at the person on the bed for a long time.
Lu Qiufeng finally turned his gaze away and faced the back of the small sofa. But the drowsiness he had felt earlier had vanished, and he couldn’t fall asleep anymore.
The next day, Lu Qiufeng was much more silent during the research.
He didn’t want to pay attention to the person and the experimental subject over there, but he couldn’t help but glance in their direction.
The silver wolf, Xiao Ye, came over from the next room, carrying its food bowl in its mouth, with its fluffy long fur squeezed into the doorway.
It placed the bowl at Su He’s feet and extended its paw, which was clad in a pink sock, to nudge its master’s back.
Immersed in her research, Su He only didn’t get angry when interrupted by her beloved pet.
Putting down her work, Su He hugged the silver wolf’s large head and took a deep breath: “We’re hungry, aren’t we? Time to eat. Yes, let’s eat.”
Lu Qiufeng, holding the delivered meal, glanced to his left.
Su He sat cross-legged on her stool eating, occasionally chatting with the silver wolf and placing large pieces of steak from her meal into the wolf’s food bowl.
“This one’s tasty, Xiao Ye, give it a try.”
“Woof!”
Looking over at the other side, Yu Yan used mechanical aids to put two bags of plasma into the isolation box, while he held a bag of nutrient solution.
“Ugh, you get plasma, and I only get tasteless nutrient solution. Drinking this for too long, won’t it make my stomach shrink?”
Wherever he leaned, experimental subject 012 mimicked his hand position.
Lu Qiufeng: “……”
Why did it feel so hard to swallow the food in his mouth?
Su He finished eating quickly and prepared to continue working, while Lu Qiufeng saw that the patient in front of the isolation box was still idly chatting.
He drew complex patterns on the glass with his finger, and 012 followed his finger with its eyes, carefully observing the drawings.
“Senior, if you’re really so idle, come help out,” Su He finally couldn’t stand it anymore.
Yu Yan could only move to the workbench, propping up his heavy, aching head with one hand while flipping through data records with the other.
Lu Qiufeng, curious, leaned in and asked, “What were you writing on the glass earlier?”
Yu Yan replied, “I told 012 that if he could recognize what I drew, I’d let him out to get some fresh air.”
In reality, he meant that if 012 could guess what he had drawn, he would return the nest he had woven.
Lu Qiufeng asked, “So, what did you draw?”
Yu Yan responded, “Oh, just some random doodles.”
Lu Qiufeng: “……”
Even if he disliked the experimental subject, he had to admit that Kang Shi was really no good—he used to be bad in the open, but now he was bad in the dark.
On the third day of being forced to help, Lu Qiufeng could no longer endure the days of poor food, lack of sleep, and intense, sleepless work. No matter what Su He said, he insisted on going home to sleep.
After a good night’s rest, he arrived at the research institute the next day feeling refreshed and headed straight to his own laboratory.
Since Su He and the others hadn’t pressed him, he decided to consider it as if he was still resting.
The corridor was noisy, with several people in research institute uniforms stopping a group of outsiders.
“This is against the rules, Mr. Kang. Please stop!”
“My father has already spoken to Director Meng. If there’s any disturbance, we’ll send gifts to apologize later.”
“Even so, you can’t just barge in with a crowd. You need to cooperate with the inspection. We need to get Researcher Kang—”
“I’m really sorry. I’m just worried about my sick brother and want to take him home as soon as possible. I hope you can understand.”
The man, dressed like an elite, spoke apologetically but didn’t stop his steps. His entourage of burly bodyguards was even more rude, pushing aside the blocking researchers.
They surged towards Kang Shi’s laboratory.
