Tears and Turmoil

When Yuan Anqing and Zhuo were finally taken away by the military transport van, Zhuo was still crying. He desperately didn’t want to show his weak side in front of the soldiers, but his newly differentiated human emotions were entirely out of his control. He kept weeping into his sleeves.

Zhuo held Yuan Anqing tightly with one hand and frantically wiped his face with the other.

“Do you need a tissue, Zhuo?” Bai Tian offered, reaching into his pocket.

“Thank you,” Zhuo sobbed, took the tissue, and blew his nose. After four or five wipes, the paper was completely soaked.

Wow. Zhuo has actually learned how to say ‘thank you,’ Bai Tian thought in awe.

Zhuo sniffled twice, his eyes puffy. “Is… is he going to be okay?”

Is this giant guy a faucet?!

Bai Tian handed the entire pack of tissues to Zhuo. “Calm yourself down first. You’re dehydrated.”

Yuan Anqing took the tissues from Zhuo’s hand, pulled one out, and gently wiped the fresh tears from the monster’s cheeks. But the second Yuan Anqing made that tender gesture, Zhuo’s tears fell even harder. He wrapped his arms around Yuan Anqing’s neck and buried his face against his shoulder, sobbing.

Bai Tian: “…”

Ah. This guy really cannot handle his feelings!

Yuan Anqing patted Zhuo’s back gently. “Go ahead and cry. Let it all out, and you’ll feel better. The adrenaline has to go somewhere.”

Bai Tian: “…”

And the only person who can control this nuclear option of a monster chooses to completely indulge his tantrums, Bai Tian thought, deeply depressed.

“If you really have no strength to walk, I can princess-carry you into the building,” Yuan Anqing offered deadpan, touching Zhuo’s horn.

This is spoiling him way too much!

“No… I don’t need that,” Zhuo mumbled, his face red. He silently stood up from the backseat on his own, refusing the offer because he was terrified his massive weight would crush Yuan Anqing’s fragile chest.

Yuan Anqing wiped Zhuo’s face one last time. Zhuo rubbed his cheek affectionately against Yuan Anqing’s hand as he did so, entirely placated.

“That Savior finger joint… only you can safely touch it, correct?” Bai Tian asked, interrupting the domestic display as they walked into the underground base. “You said earlier that its energy is somewhat similar to Zhuo’s?”

“It is very similar to Zhuo’s chaotic desire,” Yuan Anqing nodded, his gold-flecked eyes serious. “But Zhuo has a personality. As Zhuo grew up, his personality became more complete, which stabilized his aura.”

“But this bone is different,” Yuan Anqing held up the small lockbox containing the finger joint. He didn’t dare let it leave his side. “This thing has no rationality left. Its only remaining program is ‘nothingness.’ The sheer volume of collective human desire has entirely consumed whatever sliver of consciousness my predecessor left behind.”

Bai Tian and the other ordinary staff couldn’t touch this bone without having their minds corrupted, just as they couldn’t communicate with the uncollared Zhuo in the past.

“Then how do we figure out the extent of its power?” Bai Tian frowned. “And how to stop the mass mutations?”

“Well… isn’t there a retired Savior currently slacking off in your medical ward?” Yuan Anqing looked at Bai Tian.

Bai Tian’s single eye widened.

“I can accept being in the same room with you, Yuan Anqing,” Chen Jiao said, pointing her thermos at him. “And I can also accept being in the same room with the giant.”

“But I really—and please pay attention to my enunciation—REALLY do not enjoy being in the same room with both of you at once!” Chen Jiao’s beautiful face was twisted in disgust. “Did Zhuo physically graft his skin to yours? Can you two separate just a little bit? Even just a single centimeter of personal space would be highly appreciated.”

Zhuo was currently plastered to Yuan Anqing’s back like a massive, protective spirit, his arms wrapped around Yuan’s neck. Occasionally, as if remembering some tragic detail from his nightmare, he would suddenly show a deeply moved expression and affectionately rub his face against Yuan Anqing’s head, completely disregarding the other people in the room.

“What’s it to you, old lady? How annoying,” Zhuo growled, pulling Yuan Anqing back a step. He looked at Chen Jiao warily, his tail twitching. Zhuo hadn’t forgotten that Chen Jiao and Yuan Anqing shared a common history on Earth. “I don’t like you.”

“I don’t care if a monster likes me or not,” Chen Jiao flicked her hair.

Yuan Anqing patted the back of Zhuo’s hand to soothe him, then explained to Chen Jiao, “He’s just hyper-vigilant. He’s seeking a sense of security.”

“Even if I need security, I will never like you,” Zhuo added stubbornly.

“Zhuo,” Yuan Anqing warned.

Chen Jiao scoffed. “Who cares?”

“Is Mr. Zhuo scared of something?” Zheng Xiao’an asked, looking up from their math homework. Having lived with them in the apartment, the teenager was already used to their clingy state.

“Kid, don’t try to empathize with monsters,” Chen Jiao sighed. “It’s bad for your grades.”

“Um… excuse me,” a silver-haired youth raised his hand from the corner. It was Qin Xiao, the first second-generation Differentiated Being Yuan Anqing had encountered. Beside him stood his Reproductive Body, who was currently hiding behind his original self, warily watching Zhuo and Yuan Anqing. “What exactly am I here for?”

“Having only one Savior test the bone would be scientifically inappropriate,” Yuan Anqing explained, setting the lockbox on the table. “We also need to see how the remains affect different tiers of Differentiated Beings.”

Yuan Anqing looked at the silver-haired youth. “Qin Xiao, right? I promise you won’t die today.”

“If I refuse to help, do I have to go back to my cell and do math homework?” the Reproductive Body asked, staring at Chen Jiao.

“Yes,” Chen Jiao said without even looking up.

“Then I’ll touch the bone.” The Reproductive Body hated algebra. Studying was far worse than a potential mutation.

Zheng Xiao’an silently stood a bit straighter. They had improved rapidly under Yuan’s tutoring, almost able to physically suppress the Reproductive Body in a fight now. They had finally experienced the joy of being a top student, despite their current… odd living situation.

The green man, Senior Qing, whose lower body was rooted into the concrete floor, commented from the wall, “You guys are remarkably lively today.”

Yuan Anqing nodded to him. He then looked at Chen Jiao.

Chen Jiao pointed a finger at the Reproductive Body. “If you had to teach this brainless assassin calculus, Senior Qing, you’d be lively too.” The Reproductive Body’s brain was built for pure physical combat; academic knowledge couldn’t even occupy a single megabyte of his mental storage.

Chen Jiao had been a teacher for decades, dealing with all sorts of difficult students. She had very little emotional fluctuation, which was why she could analyze the Savior system so calmly. But she couldn’t stuff math into this mutant’s brain, which made her deeply doubt her past career choices. She had planned to find a normal job to escape, but the authorities couldn’t guarantee her safety without a watchdog like Zhuo, so she was trapped in this basement.

Chen Jiao took a deep breath, unscrewing her thermos. “Alright, Yuan Anqing. Tell me, what’s the experiment?”

“Drip your blood onto the bone,” Yuan Anqing pointed at the severed finger.

Chen Jiao looked down at the lockbox, then asked, “Is there a knife here?”

Zhuo, still hanging onto Yuan Anqing’s neck, spoke up smugly, “You can just bite your own hand. You’re a Savior.”

“Are you trying to kill me from the pain, you scaled brat?” Chen Jiao’s mouth twitched.

Yuan Anqing took a small folding knife he had prepared from his pocket and tossed it to her. Chen Jiao caught it, slashed her palm cleanly, and extended her hand to let the blood drip onto the finger joint.

Because Chen Jiao hadn’t undergone her first true Awakening, her blood’s purifying power couldn’t be compared to Yuan Anqing’s. The moment her blood touched the bone, the gray mists of resentment flared violently. A thick wisp of black gas hissed, and like a wolf smelling raw meat, it lunged directly toward Chen Jiao’s face.

Then, it was violently stepped on.

SPLAT.

Yuan Anqing’s foot pinned the black gas directly to the floor. Due to his recent Awakening, his physical and mental domains had partially merged, allowing him to physically attack spiritual entities.

Qin Xiao, watching from the corner, froze in absolute shock. “How can a physical foot attack a spirit body?!” He possessed spiritual powers himself; he knew spirit bodies were like radio signals—something that couldn’t possibly be stepped on. Stepping on a ghost was against all laws of physics.

“Come one by one and touch the container,” Yuan Anqing said, ignoring the shock.

The bone couldn’t be touched directly for too long, or Chen Jiao and the others might be pulled into an Awakening, which would be fatal. “Just a light, physical contact with the metal box will do.” He wanted to see what emotional changes these different subspecies would experience under the resonance.

Senior Qing, whose green vines covered the walls, asked if he should touch it too.

“No, you’re already in contact,” Yuan Anqing said. The black gas was currently pinned to the floor, which was covered by Senior Qing’s roots. But the corruption couldn’t invade Senior Qing’s wood-like body; his mind remained perfectly stable, anchored by his devotion.

What about the others? Yuan Anqing wondered. He wanted to observe.

But the moment the subspecies touched the metal box, they didn’t mutate or scream. Instead, they began to violently bicker.

It started because the Reproductive Body muttered, “Qin Xiao touching it is no different from me touching it. Why do I have to do it too? We’re the same person.”

Then, his original self, Qin Xiao, became furious. “Don’t compare me to you! You’re the brainless half! You’re a disgrace!”

The Reproductive Body shouted back, “If it weren’t for your terrible choices, we wouldn’t have been caught by the Savior! And I wouldn’t be forced to do algebra every day! Do you know how terrifying that math teacher is?!”

That immediately dragged Chen Jiao into the conflict. “What did you say about me, you little brat?”

Zheng Xiao’an tried to step in to mediate, but Qin Xiao glared at them. “Shut up, Zheng! You’re just a hypocrite who pretends to be a good kid! You love playing the ‘top student’ among us two failing students just to feel superior!”

A full-scale, chaotic physical brawl erupted in the secure room. The teenagers rolled up their sleeves and began punching each other, rolling onto the floor.

Yuan Anqing: “…”

Senior Qing summarized from the wall, “Their unresolved high school grudges run deep.”

“What are you looking at?!” Chen Jiao roared, her teacher instincts flaring. She grabbed the Reproductive Body’s pink hair with one hand and choked Qin Xiao’s neck with her elbow, before turning her furious glare directly toward Zhuo, who was snickering at them.

“You want a piece of this, you scaled brat?!” Chen Jiao challenged.

“Are you picking a fight with me, old lady?” Zhuo thought she was overestimating her strength. “I could easily bite your head off.”

“Didn’t you just boast to Yuan Anqing that you’re loyal and won’t eat other Saviors?” Chen Jiao sneered, stepping over the groaning teenagers. “Even if you just bite me, you’ll still taste my blood. Are you going to ‘cheat’ on your Savior?”

Zhuo’s red eyes widened in horror at the logic.

Chen Jiao lunged at him, her math-teacher wrath fully unleashed. Zhuo squeaked, turned, and ran. Not only did he run, but he also scooped Yuan Anqing up and slung him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes to carry him to safety.

As he ran laps around the room, Zhuo wailed, “She’s bullying me!! Yuan Anqing! The scary teacher is coming to get me, wuwuwu!”

Yuan Anqing, currently hanging upside down over Zhuo’s shoulder, felt his head throbbing. The room was too loud. “Zhuo… you have hands besides your mouth. You are a four-meter-tall monster.”

Zhuo, still running, realized the physical truth of that statement and slid to a halt.

Chen Jiao, who had been chasing him, also stopped, suddenly remembering the size difference. She quickly turned and ran back to her bed, while Zhuo—buoyed by the realization of his own strength—started chasing her around the room, laughing like a cartoon villain. “Hahaha! There can only be one favorite Savior in this family!”

And Yuan Anqing still hadn’t been put down. He just hung there, his glasses askew, watching the room spin as Zhuo chased the retired math teacher around Senior Qing’s vines.

Senior Qing: “…”

Senior Qing: “Wow.”