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The specific situation became clear only when Zhang Bendan asked an assistant who came to tidy up. Jing Xia finally understood why Professor Qi and the others found it difficult to speak up, and he unconsciously distanced himself from the man in the bed, not wanting to be "tainted by association."
Due to Qi Yang's sudden fainting spell, no one had taken care of the situation in the lab. Upon learning of this, Zhang Bendan quickly rushed to the lab with a few assistants while continuously muttering complaints: "How could you all forget about the experimental subject? When Major Qi wakes up, he’s going to kill you."
The young assistants turned pale at these words and hurried to the lab as if their lives depended on it. The large ward was suddenly left with only Jing Xia and Ji Chuancheng, staring at each other in silence. No one spoke, and the room was so quiet that only the faint beeping of medical equipment broke the stillness.
Jing Xia coughed lightly and said, "Ah Chuan, since Qi Yang is fine now, let’s head back. I still have an unfinished task this afternoon, and the team is waiting for me."
Ji Chuancheng's cold face showed no emotion. He gazed at Jing Xia for a long time before suddenly asking, "It’s been a while since we last talked."
"..."
Ever since the S City Base issued several major tasks last month to guard against attacks from mutated sea creatures, all evolvers had been extremely busy. Ji Chuancheng and Jing Xia were assigned to different major task categories. Although they shared the same dorm, they barely saw each other and rarely spoke.
For instance, Yu Kai, who also lived in the same room, had moved to a dorm closer to the task area due to the overwhelming workload, highlighting how hard all the evolvers had been working over the past month.
"I remember you said a few words to me yesterday morning when you left..." Jing Xia struggled to recall an example from the vast expanse of his memory.
Ji Chuancheng lowered his eyes. Though his expression remained impassive, Jing Xia could sense that he was in a worse mood. Ji Chuancheng frowned slightly and said coldly, "Was it 'Wake up early' or 'I’m leaving first'?"
Jing Xia: "..."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop instantly.
"Achoo... Jiji jijiji jiji...!"
The little black furball that had been hiding in Jing Xia's pocket suddenly sneezed loudly without warning.
It sniffled as if trying to detect something, and after a while, it began to crawl up Jing Xia’s shirt with its tiny paws scrambling until it found its usual spot on top of his head.
"Jiji jii! Jijiji jijiji!"
The short, sharp squeaks sounded urgent. The little black furball stood on Jing Xia’s head and waved its tiny paws as if trying to communicate something.
It would sometimes play dead, or other times clutch its own neck, acting out a comical and adorable little performance.
Ji Chuancheng’s deep, penetrating gaze lingered on the hopping and bouncing mutated hamster for a long time. Though Jing Xia could feel the commotion on his head, he couldn’t see what Chirpy was doing. Ji Chuancheng slowly shifted his gaze away from the hamster and said indifferently, "Your rat is having a seizure."
"Jijiji jijijiji jijiji!!!"
Bah bah bah bah!!!
Jing Xia, speechless, grabbed the squirming little creature from his head. Seeing Chirpy’s exaggerated expressions, he suddenly remembered the strange behavior it had exhibited in Professor Lu’s lab earlier and immediately understood: "You don’t want to stay in the same room as Qi Yang, do you?"
"Jijiji?"
Jing Xia nodded: "That makes sense. After all, you’re a mutated creature, and he’s done so many experiments on mutated creatures. It’s normal that you don’t like him."
With that, Jing Xia placed the little black furball back into his pocket and, seizing the opportunity, looked up at Ji Chuancheng and said cheerfully, "Ah Chuan, let’s head out. Look, even Chirpy is uncomfortable here. Let’s not stay any longer." His tone was light and eager, clearly wanting to escape the awkward atmosphere.
Ji Chuancheng’s face darkened slightly, and he subtly glanced at Jing Xia’s bulging pocket. Coincidentally, a small round head poked out from the pocket with its beady eyes staring at Ji Chuancheng and blinking rapidly, as if trying to convey something urgent.
"He’s showing off to me," Ji Chuancheng concluded decisively. He looked up and said, "This rat seems to want to go on a mission with me. I’ll take it."
"Jiji?!"
Huh?!
Jing Xia was stunned but he had also noticed Chirpy’s "eager" behavior toward Ji Chuancheng earlier. After some thought, he finally handed the soft, plump little creature to Ji Chuancheng: "It seems like it really wants to be close to you today. Why don’t you take it along and see?"
"Mm."
A low hum came from Ji Chuancheng’s throat as he reached out with a calm expression. But just before his fingers touched the plump little hamster, he paused.
From the start, Chirpy had been squirming in Jing Xia’s hand and seemingly trying to break free. But the moment Ji Chuancheng’s fingers were about to touch it, the hamster suddenly froze, as if someone had hit the pause button.
After a full three seconds, it seemed to summon an immense burst of strength and break free from Jing Xia’s grasp before darting back into his pocket—
Just like before, it buried its head deep and refused to come out.
Jing Xia’s hand hung in mid-air, and he looked down in confusion. The tiny hamster was trembling violently in his pocket, and through the thin fabric, he could feel the trembling grow more intense, as if every bone in its body was shaking.
After a moment of thought, Jing Xia looked up: "You scared Chirpy."
Ji Chuancheng: "..."
"Click—"
A crisp sound of the door opening suddenly came from the entrance. Jing Xia and Ji Chuancheng both turned to look and their eyes immediately met with a young, delicate face.
The newcomer was also visibly startled, clearly not expecting the two of them to be staring at him.
Zhang Bendan’s cheeks were slightly flushed, as if he had rushed over. After a moment of surprise, he said, "You’re still here? I came to deliver something to Major Qi." As he spoke, he stepped into the room to reveal a black metal box about half a meter long that he held tightly in his left hand.
While walking, he explained, "This thing has always been under Major Qi’s care, so I brought it to him."
Ji Chuancheng glanced at the black box but said nothing.
Jing Xia, however, immediately recalled: "When Qi Yang met us earlier, he did have this box with him. Inside... is it the experimental subject that the assistant mentioned? I heard Qi Yang passed out after... cough, touching something related to it?"
Zhang Bendan nodded helplessly: "Major Qi has always been fond of doing ‘unconventional’ things. He even licked my Xiao Yueyue’s cell fluid once. Now he’s finally gotten himself into trouble. I think he’ll stop doing such pointless things from now on."
The sound of metal being placed on the table was particularly sharp that it drew Jing Xia’s attention. After setting the box down, Zhang Bendan quickly left, saying he needed to handle some follow-up matters.
The sudden presence of this object in the room, though silent, was incredibly noticeable.
Jing Xia walked up to the box with his brow slightly furrowed: "I remember the assistant said that this mutated creature’s head was hit by an energy cannon, and then Qi Yang stabbed it. So... is it... dead now?"
"Let’s see for ourselves."
Unlike Jing Xia’s uncertainty, Ji Chuancheng’s gaze immediately fell on the simple dual-code lock on the sturdy metal box. He casually pressed a few numbers and, to Jing Xia’s surprise, easily opened the lock.
Jing Xia: "...You knew the password?!"
Ji Chuancheng replied matter-of-factly: "Qi Yang only ever used one password back in the restricted zone. Everyone in Team A knew it." After a pause, he added, "Now you know it too—it’s six zeros."
"..."
Ji Chuancheng’s slender fingers pulled open the box’s handle. The contrast between black and white strikingly sharp.
Having learned from their previous experience, Jing Xia and Ji Chuancheng exchanged a glance and took a step back to avoid being attacked by the ferocious mutated creature. After the "click" of the lock opening, to their surprise, there was no movement—it was as if there was nothing inside.
Ji Chuancheng’s brows furrowed slightly as he leaned down to inspect the contents. Just as he bent over and was about to see inside, a hoarse, low voice came from behind: "S1..."
Jing Xia turned around in surprise.
"How is S1... doing?"