More Like Fear
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Just then, the elevator let out a “ding,” signaling someone’s arrival.
Jiang Lian abruptly let go of Zhou Jiao, and his tentacles vanished in an instant.
Zhou Jiao also came to her senses and quickly distanced herself from him.
A young man carrying a paper bag appeared before them: “Sister Zhou, Dr. Jiang, you’re not done yet?”
He was around twenty-five years old, with handsome features, a gentle demeanor, and a warm smile that made him approachable.
The young man put down the bag, took off his white coat, and walked into the independent sterilization room: “I thought with your speed, you’d be done in less than half an hour. I even bought you some late-night snacks.”
Only then did Zhou Jiao remember that there was still a high-level mutant hiding in the pile of corpses. She had been so overwhelmed by her emotions that she had completely forgotten about it.
She couldn’t help but curse under her breath and shot Jiang Lian a glare.
Unexpectedly, he was looking at her, his gaze deep and unwavering.
His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, as if he was still savoring the kiss from earlier.
Pervert.
Zhou Jiao coldly averted her eyes.
At that moment, the young man walked out of the sterilization room. His name was Xie Yueze, and he had just returned from the United States last year. Because of his specialization in biomedical engineering, he had stayed in Yucheng.
Xie Yueze had high emotional intelligence and knew how to keep a conversation going. Wherever he was, the atmosphere never turned awkward, and no one ever felt uncomfortable.
Even someone as reserved as Zhou Jiao would become more talkative when chatting with him.
Zhou Jiao nodded at him and casually asked, “What kind of late-night snacks?”
Xie Yueze smiled and said, “Cheesecake, but it’s synthetic. No choice, in this weather, only the cake shop at the entrance is still open—I wasn’t sure if Sister Zhou eats synthetic food?”
Zhou Jiao: “I’m not picky about food; I’ll eat anything. Thanks for the snacks.”
Xie Yueze chuckled softly: “You’re welcome.”
Zhou Jiao raised her hand, preparing to take off her rubber gloves: “How much do I owe you? I’ll transfer the money.”
Xie Yueze stopped her: “It’s just a little over ten yuan, no need to transfer.” He looked down at her, smiling leisurely, “If you really want to repay me, how about treating me to a meal tomorrow? It’s been rainy lately, so a hotpot would be perfect to drive away the dampness.”
Zhou Jiao couldn’t help but laugh: “You’ve even decided what to eat. What else can I say? Sure.”
Xie Yueze turned serious: “You could also talk about work. What happened that kept you and Dr. Jiang so long?”
Hearing this, Zhou Jiao’s impression of Xie Yueze improved significantly.
This is what a normal colleague is like.
Not like some lunatic whose every move was baffling—bafflingly provoking her, then bafflingly kissing her.
What baffled her the most was that when he kissed her, his expression remained cold and disdainful, yet his actions were as frantic as a starving dog, gripping the back of her head, relentlessly sucking and… sniffing.
…Madman, pervert.
But then again, he was a madman and a pervert.
Zhou Jiao let out a breath, pushing Jiang Lian’s bizarre behavior to the back of her mind, and told Xie Yueze about the high-level mutant.
Xie Yueze frowned: “This is indeed a very tricky situation and must be handled with caution. High-level mutants are different from low-level ones. Low-level mutants only parasitize and feed, and they only attack those who hinder their parasitism and feeding. High-level mutants, however, have strong aggression and contamination, capable of infecting even plants… Ordinary people stand no chance against them.”
He paused, then comforted her in a gentle voice: “Don’t worry. After a high-level mutant enters a human body, there’s a 2-4 hour embryonic period before it fully integrates with the host. We have enough time to notify the special operations team.”
Zhou Jiao’s impression of Xie Yueze soared.
Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t have found Xie Yueze’s words particularly remarkable, but against the backdrop of Jiang Lian’s behavior, Xie Yueze seemed like an exceptionally normal person. She couldn’t help but smile at him: “Alright, thank you.”
Her features were delicate yet sharp, with deep double eyelid folds that were hidden beneath her upper lids, only revealing a clear, dark line when her eyes moved, outlining a charming expression.
Xie Yueze felt his throat go dry and momentarily forgot to respond.
He had always been fond of Zhou Jiao, which was why he remembered her fondness for cheesecake—during the last department gathering, the table had been filled with expensive organic food, yet her plate was piled high with golden-brown slices of toasted cheese bread. She had stood in a corner, eating them one by one until the gathering ended.
Since then, whenever he passed a dessert shop, he would inexplicably glance inside.
Today, he had finally found an opportunity to show his attentiveness.
For some reason, Zhou Jiao, who usually kept her distance, didn’t reject his approach this time and even gave him a faint smile.
His heart skipped a beat, wondering if this meant he could get closer to her… even closer?
Xie Yueze looked at her, his gaze deep, and was about to lean in to test her reaction when a voice suddenly rang out behind him:
“How do you plan to notify the special operations team?”
Xie Yueze was startled and turned around.
Jiang Lian stood behind them, pulling off his gloves one finger at a time. His demeanor was as pristine as frost at dawn, but the gaze behind his glasses was condescending, almost disdainful:
“The phones stopped working a while ago.”
Xie Yueze’s expression changed drastically.
Stormy weather, a high-level mutant, and now the phones were down—these variables seemed to point to an ominous outcome.
Zhou Jiao suddenly spoke up: “What about the satellite phone?”
Jiang Lian replied: “That’s not working either.”
In truth, it was working.
But he had ways to turn this place into a silent, isolated island.
As for why he was doing this, he wasn’t entirely sure.
However, many human actions lack specific motives; they are more like choices driven by instinct.
Since he had chosen humans as his vessels and accepted their unoptimized DNA, he had to endure some of the foolish instincts encoded in their genes.
Seeing Xie Yueze’s troubled expression, Zhou Jiao thought for a moment, then took a cheesecake from the paper bag he had brought and handed it to him: “It’s fine. This doesn’t have to be resolved today. The lab has isolation devices to prevent the contamination from spreading. We can notify the special operations team tomorrow.”
She wasn’t used to comforting people, and the topic shift felt a bit awkward: “Have a cake to calm your nerves.”
Xie Yueze’s eyes flickered as he took the cake and said in a low voice, “Thank you, Sister Zhou.”
“There’s nothing to thank me for. You bought the cake yourself,” Zhou Jiao said with a laugh. “Also, stop calling me Sister Zhou all the time. I don’t think I’m that much older than you.”
Xie Yueze chuckled. “Isn’t it just that if I called you ‘Jiao Jiao,’ I’d get scolded? So I have no choice but to sweeten my words and call you ‘Sister’ instead.”
…
Jiang Lian watched this scene, his expression unchanged, but the pupils behind his glasses gradually contracted, once again revealing a terrifying inhumanity.
He didn’t understand. Xie Yueze’s proposed solution was clearly wrong, so why did he still gain Zhou Jiao’s approval?
This did not conform to the natural law of female selection of males.
In nature, a female’s choice of a male determines the direction of a species’ evolution.
The male paradise bird was a prime example. To gain the favor of the female, even at the risk of attracting predators, the male evolved long and flamboyant feathers.
If a highly advanced mutant species that could block electromagnetic signals really existed, not only would Xie Yueze be unable to help her escape, but he would also reduce her chances of survival.
Yet, she still released a signal of pleasure toward him.
The pleasure was so intense that even from a meter away, he could smell the sweet fragrance emanating from her body.
It was far more cloying than when he had pressed close to her lips and inhaled her scent deeply.
As a female, favoring such an inferior male was utterly foolish.
Jiang Lian removed his glasses, took a cleaning cloth from his pocket, and slowly wiped the lenses.
The lenses were already clean. He was merely using the mechanical motion to dispel the irritation in his heart. This was a habit of the original Jiang Lian.
But he was no longer the original Jiang Lian. His eyes were not truly nearsighted. The agitation in his heart not only failed to subside but instead gave rise to a violent impulse.
Jiang Lian put his glasses back on and turned his head slightly, glancing at the yet-to-be-dissected corpse. His gaze was obscure and unreadable.
There were only three people in the laboratory. Zhou Jiao immediately noticed Jiang Lian’s movement but didn’t understand the reason behind it.
She had examined the corpse. It had been parasitized by an algal mutant, suffocating to death, with its lungs clogged full of thick green algae that still wriggled unconsciously when dissected.
The only way to deal with plant-type mutants was with a flamethrower. Enduring her nausea, she had used tweezers to pick up the algae and burned them with the flamethrower for a long time, only filing the report after ensuring they were all dead.
Had she misjudged? Was there another type of mutant inside besides the green algae?
She didn’t notice that a thin crack had suddenly appeared down Jiang Lian’s upright back. A tentacle emerged and, in a flash, burrowed into the corpse’s grayish-white skin.
As if an invisible defibrillator had pressed down, the corpse suddenly convulsed violently, its face twisting. Starting from the heart, vein-like purple-black lines spread outward. Accompanied by the sound of bones snapping, its elbow abruptly extended with a sharp crack—a row of razor-sharp bone spurs jutted out—
Zhou Jiao turned her head, and her pupils contracted sharply.
There really was another mutant species!
Without hesitation, she strode to the control panel in just a few quick steps, pulled up the isolation device interface, and pressed the activation button.
But the AI coldly and mechanically informed her: “No contamination source detected.”
“The current situation does not meet the activation criteria for the isolation device.”
Zhou Jiao couldn’t help but curse.
Online sources said that the company was developing a super AI. Once successfully developed, it would be the world’s most perfect and safest artificial intelligence.
It could only be said—one should never fully believe what the company said.
——If even this doesn’t meet the criteria for activating the isolation device, then what does? Godzilla coming back to life?
What they developed was artificial idiocy!
Zhou Jiao had no choice but to abandon the plan of activating the isolation device and instead pulled up the emergency weapons interface. With a “beep,” her iris information was verified, and a Taser gun ejected.
Her clearance level wasn’t high, so she could only redeem a standard weapon like a Taser gun. But even though this gun could release one million volts of electricity, if the mutant’s outer shell had insulating properties, it would be nothing more than a piece of scrap metal.
Xie Yueze also reacted, inputting his iris information at the control panel, but just like Zhou Jiao, he could only redeem a Taser gun.
At the same time, the corpse’s joints emitted a bone-grinding friction sound that made one’s teeth ache. Its limbs convulsed and twisted into an impossibly bizarre angle, as if trying to struggle upright from the autopsy table.
The safe zone was visibly shrinking.
A chilling sense of crisis crawled up their spines, making every hair on their bodies stand on end.
Zhou Jiao held her breath, tightened her grip on the Taser gun, and silently took a step back. She mouthed to Xie Yueze:
“Hide.”
Xie Yueze nodded, giving Zhou Jiao a deep look before turning and leaving.
The corpse’s struggles grew even more violent. The purple-black vein-like patterns nearly covered every inch of its skin, while sharp bone spurs protruded densely from its elbows, knees, and spine, as if it could leap off the autopsy table at any moment.
Drip.
Drip—
The sound of mucus dripping became increasingly distinct, and the stench of decay in the air grew heavier.
Zhou Jiao also wanted to leave, but then she remembered there was still an “unauthorized personnel” who had no weapon.
Lifting her head, she saw that said “unauthorized personnel” was standing right in front of the autopsy table, hands in his pockets, his gaze behind the lenses cold and sharp as he idly observed the corpse that was mutating with a series of bone-cracking sounds.
Zhou Jiao: “……”
Let him die.
Unfortunately, she was a law-abiding citizen who had been taught since childhood that one should never ignore someone in mortal danger. Gritting her teeth, she sprinted over, grabbed him by the collar, and bolted.
Almost at the same moment, the corpse’s chest seemed to have swollen to its limit and suddenly burst open, spraying out a gush of mucus!
The mucus appeared to be highly corrosive. A sharp “sizzle” was heard, and in an instant, the laboratory floor caved in, exposing a tangled mess of equipment wiring.
Zhou Jiao had a bad feeling. Sure enough, the overhead fluorescent lights flickered weakly a few times before going out with a pop. The control panel screen also dimmed into darkness due to insufficient voltage.
The thing she feared most since joining the lab had happened—
The lab lost power, and she was being hunted by a high-level mutant.
Overwhelmed by the intense crisis, she unconsciously glanced at Jiang Lian beside her—in the dim light, she could only make out the subtle movement of his throat as he swallowed.
He let her drag him by the collar without a word.
Even though she couldn’t clearly see his eyes, she knew he was watching her. His gaze was unwavering, filled with an assessing quality that was unsettling.
Or rather… she should have felt unsettled, should have even reprimanded him for his inappropriate and ill-timed staring.
But in reality, under his gaze, her face burned, and her heartbeat sped up.
What was wrong with her?
Earlier, she had deliberately not maintained a social distance from Xie Yueze, wanting to see if her reaction was the same with everyone or if Jiang Lian was the only exception. Unexpectedly, no matter how close she got to Xie Yueze, her heartbeat remained as still as stagnant water, and her face showed no signs of flushing.
But now, Jiang Lian was merely looking at her, not even particularly close, yet her heart began to race uncontrollably, fast and heavy, to the point where her ears ached from the pounding.
And this was happening in such an extremely dangerous situation.
Zhou Jiao clenched her palm hard.
Her palm had also become sweaty, damp and sticky.
A reaction this intense seemed to go beyond mere attraction.
It felt more like…
More like what?
Zhou Jiao didn’t have time to delve deeper, because the corpse was moving toward them.
She grabbed Jiang Lian by the collar, dragged him to the sterilization room, and kicked him inside. Then she turned around to face the mutated corpse alone.
The Taser wasn’t very powerful. She didn’t expect it to kill the mutated corpse, but she hoped it could slow it down for a while, giving her time to drag Jiang Lian, this deadweight, to regroup with Xie Yueze.
Zhou Jiao took a deep breath, loaded the compressed air cartridge into the chamber, cleared her mind, and listened carefully to pinpoint the corpse’s location—
She had undergone professional shooting training, so sound localization wasn’t difficult for her. The real challenge was managing the psychological pressure of facing a high-level mutant.
She minimized her breathing, carefully listening for the corpse’s footsteps and the sound of mucus dripping.
“Drip, drip—”
As time passed, the sound of dripping mucus grew closer, carrying a needle-like coldness that pressed densely on her nerves—
“Don’t rush,” she told herself. “The closer it gets, the better my chances.”
But the distance to death was also shrinking.
An invisible timer seemed to hang in the air, each tick of the second hand making the atmosphere heavier and more oppressive.
Zhou Jiao wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she even thought she could smell the stench of decay and the briny odor of the sea.
She couldn’t wait any longer.
She raised the gun, tilted her head, focused, and aimed.
Pulled the trigger—
“Bang!”
A blue electric arc shot out abruptly, the two electrodes spinning and hooking onto the upper half of the corpse like lightning, releasing an electric pulse with a crackling sound!
In the flash of electricity, the corpse’s face was suddenly illuminated.
Zhou Jiao’s expression changed instantly.
It was a head that had completely lost its human features. The face seemed hollowed out, leaving only an empty shell of flesh filled with dense, swollen green algae.
She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but the algae seemed to be almost fawningly coiled around a purplish-black “snake.”
The “snake” had no scales, no eyes, and no mouth.
Zhou Jiao, however, felt as though it was emitting a restless buzzing sound directed at her.
The sound was so eerie that no known creature could possibly produce such a noise, sending chills down her spine.
She couldn’t describe the shudder that ran through her heart at that moment. It was like the auditory hallucination one experiences when faced with something incomprehensible, the mind too chaotic to process it. At the same time, it felt like the fear that arises when confronted with an overwhelming natural disaster, the kind that paralyzes you with the inability to escape.
It was like a lightning bolt illuminating the heavens and the earth.
She shivered and suddenly understood what her reaction to Jiang Lian resembled more closely.
It wasn’t attraction.
It was more like fear.
A fear she had never felt before.