Si Shen knew the Laboratory’s password. He quickly entered it and turned on the lights.
Other than the air conditioner running to keep the expensive equipment at a suitable temperature, there was nothing inside.
Nian Chengxiao wasn’t here!
Si Shen turned and left the Laboratory, heading for Nian Chengxiao’s office.
Professor Nian’s office was also on the fourth floor, but at the other end of the hallway.
Though still young, Nian Chengxiao had already become an associate professor, which gave him a small privilege here: an office of his own.
As Si Shen reached the office, he saw light spilling out from inside.
Someone was in there!
Si Shen had already forgotten the etiquette of knocking. He pushed the door open and went straight in.
The creature inside seemed not to have expected anyone to burst in so suddenly. It stared blankly at Si Shen, forgetting to hide.
The moment he entered, Si Shen spotted a suit discarded on the office chair. It was what Nian Chengxiao had worn that morning.
Now it lay on the chair like a shed snakeskin.
And on top of the clothes was a little ball trying to hide itself among them.
It was milky white all over, with numerous Tentacles sprouting from it. It looked like a ball of yarn.
When the ball of yarn saw Si Shen, its Tentacles suddenly flailed about as it tried to hide in the clothes.
But Si Shen had sharp eyes and spotted the strange creature at a glance!
Si Shen found it unbelievable. Its humanlike movements and bizarre appearance made it obvious at once that this was a Mutant!
A Mutant that ate people—an exceptionally dangerous one!
Looking at the discarded clothes and the Mutant hiding among them, Si Shen knew this was Nian Chengxiao.
A newly born Mutant didn’t have the ability to completely devour an adult man.
At first, they could only improve their abilities by eating small amounts at a time. It was only once they reached the middle stage of their development that they could devour an entire human.
Given the situation, the answer was obvious—there was only one possibility.
Nian Chengxiao had become a Mutant!
Only yesterday, Si Shen had confirmed the timeline and made plans for a future with Nian Chengxiao. He never expected to receive such a shock the very next day.
Something he had never imagined had happened—his lover had become a Mutant!
This sudden turn of events threw his plans into disarray.
But this wasn’t a good place to stay. Si Shen scooped up the Mutant hiding on the chair and stuffed him into a coffee bag.
Then he folded Nian Chengxiao’s clothes, shut down the computer, picked up the keys, and returned to the Laboratory.
After putting everything away and making it look as though Nian Chengxiao had simply finished work as usual, he hurried home with the ball of yarn.
The Mutant Nian Chengxiao had turned into poked his head out of the bag. Or maybe he did—either way, all sides looked the same to him now.
Si Shen’s expression was grave. He was frantic inside, but his steps never faltered.
He drove with perfect steadiness, showing the skill of a seasoned driver.
When they got back to the Jade Hairpin residential complex, Si Shen carried the bag home. On the way, he ran into a friendly neighbor. He greeted them and quickly moved on.
Once home, Si Shen closed the door and went back to their bedroom.
He placed Nian Chengxiao on the bed and began examining the newly born Mutant.
This was the first time Si Shen had encountered a situation like this. Everything he knew about Mutants came from novels.
In novels, Mutants were savage creatures that fed on humans. Mutants and humans made up the Food Chain; they were natural enemies.
But the Mutant Nian Chengxiao had become didn’t seem like that. He was like a ball of yarn, sitting quietly on the bed.
Looking at the round Mutant before him, Si Shen reached out almost without thinking, wanting to poke the fluffy creature.
But the moment his finger touched the ball of yarn, the Mutant seemed to have found a treasure. He pressed himself against Si Shen’s hand.
Instead of petting the Mutant, Si Shen ended up being petted by him.
Not one of Si Shen’s fingers escaped the Mutant’s caresses. Seeing that Si Shen didn’t object, the Mutant even boldly climbed into his hand and rolled around.
Si Shen watched the Mutant petting him and gave him a gentle squeeze.
“Squeak!” The Mutant let out a contented cry.
Looking at the Mutant lying in his hand and making strange noises, Si Shen came up with a daring plan.
He would continue on to C City with Nian Chengxiao. This was his lover; he couldn’t abandon the only person in the world who loved him.
He remembered that later in the novel, some Mutants developed human appearances and the ability to think.
By then, the novel was nearing its conclusion, and the conflict between humans and Mutants had reached unprecedented intensity.
There was no longer any chance for them to sit down and talk things out, even though the Mutants had developed their own Consciousness.
So, according to the novel’s plot, there was still a chance that Nian Chengxiao could turn back into a human and regain human Consciousness.
The prerequisite for all of this was that they not be eaten by other Mutants, or that Nian Chengxiao not be captured by someone.
The Mutants hadn’t emerged in force yet, but organizations devoted to capturing them had already appeared.
There was a Research Institute in the novel that had been capturing Mutants for experiments since the early days of the Apocalypse.
It provided people with plenty of ideas for defeating Mutants during the Apocalypse, and later developed a large number of tools.
It was one of the more upright organizations in the book, with plenty of people working for it.
If Nian Chengxiao weren’t a Mutant, Si Shen would have been happy to get in touch with the Research Institute.
But with Nian Chengxiao in the picture, he would have to avoid the Research Institute.
And barring any surprises, the Research Institute’s people would definitely come to A City because of the bridge incident.
He had to leave before they arrived, taking Nian Chengxiao with him.
Once Si Shen had made up his mind, he finally noticed his stomach protesting.
He looked at the Mutant, now flattened into a pancake in his hand, and placed him in the pocket over his chest.
Then he took the Mutant to the kitchen to appease his rumbling stomach.
Nian Chengxiao had always handled all the cooking. Before leaving work each day, he would ask Si Shen what he wanted to eat.
After work, they would go to the supermarket together to buy ingredients. Once they got home, Nian Chengxiao would start cooking.
With their appetites sated, desire would follow. They would fool around for a while, then snuggle up together to rest.
That had been their routine, but an unexpected event had interrupted it.
From now on, no one would cook for him. There would be no more good-morning kisses, no more help getting dressed…
A sorrowful air began to emanate from Si Shen. The Mutant, nestled obediently in his pocket, sensed it too.
He reached out with his wildly tangled Tentacles to touch Si Shen, then turned to watch what he was doing.
Si Shen had started giving off that unpleasant feeling while making this thing. This thing must have bullied the person in front of him.
So he would learn how to make it, and keep the sweet person in front of him from feeling bad.
Si Shen had no idea that the Mutant’s freakish learning ability was being put to use in learning how to cook.
He simply boiled some noodles, cracked an egg into them, and had that for dinner.
And while he was eating, he didn’t forget to give Nian Chengxiao a serving too.
“Niannian, come try this. Can you eat these noodles?” Si Shen set the bowl down in front of Nian Chengxiao.
Si Shen watched as the Mutant extended two Tentacles into the bowl. The broth vanished before his eyes.
The noodles and fried egg remained at the bottom of the bowl. Si Shen thought Nian Chengxiao couldn’t absorb them.
He hadn’t expected the Mutant’s Tentacles to spread out like a spiderweb, covering the noodles and egg.
The Tentacles began to contract, and the contents inside were broken down and absorbed.
Soon the bowl was spotless, as if it had just come out of the dishwasher.
“Could he be used as a dishwasher during a power outage?” An absurd thought occurred to Si Shen.
The idea lasted only a moment. He cleared everything away and went to the study.
Ever since coming to this world, he had never left A City.
Before, he had Nian Chengxiao and navigation to rely on, so he wasn’t afraid of getting lost.
Things were different now. The Apocalypse was about to begin, and Nian Chengxiao, a native of this world, had become a Mutant whom everyone would want to hunt down.
He needed a detailed plan to make sure their journey back to C City went off without a hitch.
Si Shen spent the entire night carefully putting together a plan, including the route and supplies they would need along the way.
He shut down the computer, set an alarm on his phone, and went to rest. Once he woke up, he would go buy supplies. There wasn’t much time left.