Three months later.

Asia Alliance North China Base, military hospital.

On the brightly lit hospital bed by the window, Bretta, who had been asleep for a long time, fluttered his eyelashes and opened his eyes. A nurse immediately noticed his condition and turned to call the attending physician.

Soon, a number of unfamiliar faces surrounded him, and doctors in white coats seemed to be about to examine him.

When Bryta saw him wearing a white lab coat, she instinctively flinched and looked warily at the strangers around her: "You... are you from the lab?"

The attending physician understood and shook his head: "Don't worry, this is the Asia Alliance Military Hospital, you are safe now."

Bleta belatedly remembered something and hurriedly asked anxiously, "Where is Mr. Lin Dao? Where is he? Is he... still alive?"

"Lin Dao?" The attending physician asked in surprise, then thought for a moment and asked, "You mean the people who were brought in with you? Don't worry, apart from two who are still unconscious in the intensive care unit, the others have all woken up and are almost fully recovered."

Bretta didn't know who he was talking about, so she quickly grabbed his hand and asked carefully, "Who's in the intensive care unit? What's their name?"

The attending physician and other nurses, whose hands he had grabbed, exchanged bewildered glances. According to regulations, the patient's special status meant no information could be leaked. They were understandably in a dilemma.

"Tata! You're finally awake!" A familiar voice rang out from behind the crowd of people at the hospital bed. Bretta looked up and exclaimed in surprise, "Joeson!"

The attending physician noticed that he seemed relaxed after seeing people he knew, and wanted to arrange a physical examination for him.

"Qiao Song, Mr. Lin Dao, he..."

Qiao Song winked at him: "Don't worry, the captain is still alive. Let's listen to the doctor and get him checked out."

Bryta had no choice but to calm down and obediently comply with the inspection.

After the doctor confirmed that his vital signs were normal, gave him a few words of advice, and left, Britta couldn't wait to stare at Joe Song.

Qiao Song hurriedly said, "The captain is really fine. He was covered in injuries, but he has almost fully recovered in less than two months. The doctors said it's because soldiers have good physical constitutions, a medical miracle. Don't worry."

Bryta was surprised. After thinking for a moment, she asked cautiously, "Then why... doesn't he come to see me?"

Qiao Song then leaned closer to him and carefully said, "Actually, the captain is none other than the once-famous Colonel Klindall. After Qiao Song and I rescued you, we notified the Asian Alliance directly through Rudolf's signal tower, and they immediately dispatched a helicopter to rescue you. Therefore, the captain's identity was naturally exposed."

Bretta nodded. "So?"

Seeing that he wasn't surprised, Qiao Song wondered if he already knew. She continued, "So the colonel is now a key person under close surveillance. Although he has only recently awakened, he is needed to participate in the decision-making of many military and political figures, especially regarding the important intelligence about the alien experiments seized at the Polar Snow Fortress. I can't tell you any more. In short, he is extremely busy right now."

Bleta nodded in understanding, but also seemed a little disappointed.

He lowered his head, thinking of Cheng Cheng, then of Mr. Xiang You, a dull ache in his chest. If he had thought of using his own blood sooner, could he have saved Mr. Xiang You?

"What are you thinking about? You just woke up and you're already looking so gloomy." A teasing voice with a smile sounded from the doorway.

Bretta looked up in disbelief and saw the refined man with gold-rimmed glasses: "Mr. Xiang You..."

"Hey! Tata~ It's me, Cheng-ge." A tall man with a buzz cut waved to him with one hand in his pocket.

“Cheng Cheng…” For a moment, Bleta wondered if she was dreaming, and couldn’t speak for a long time: “You, you’re not…”

Cheng Cheng raised an eyebrow smugly, reached out and closed the door to the private hospital room. As he walked towards Xiang You, he said, "What? You thought I was really done for? Let me tell you, those who survive a great calamity are bound to have good fortune in the future."

Bryta sat there, stunned, wondering if he was dreaming.

Seeing his appearance, Xiang You shook his head, reached out from under his white coat and slapped Cheng Cheng's shoulder hard, saying, "You can't even speak clearly, look how scared you've made the child."

Xiang You looked at Blaita and explained earnestly, "Tata, do you remember when I was mutated, you... swallowed me whole?"

“Uh…” Bleta was a little taken aback by being called out so directly, and could only nod quietly, “...It’s me.”

Xiang You smiled and said, "After I was mutated, I almost completely lost consciousness, or rather, my self-awareness was still there, but I could no longer control my body. After I was devoured by you, it was like I entered a chaotic space, where something unknown enveloped me and gradually dissolved my mutated body."

"Slowly, I felt all the foreign elements in my body being absorbed and undergoing reverse serialization and restoration. Then I felt a strong sense of rejection, as the things around me were squeezing and churning me, and then I was repelled out by that space."

Bryta quietly interjected, "...I must have spat it out."

Xiang You was taken aback, then smiled and said, "Yes."

Cheng Cheng interjected, "You have it easy. I suffered terribly, almost died. Luckily, after entering that snow wolf's belly, I struggled for a long time and was lucky not to be corroded into bones by the stomach acid. Later, this guy seemed to be suddenly enveloped by that chaotic space Xiang You mentioned, and he was dissolved, so I took the opportunity to escape. When I turned around and saw him, good heavens, I caught him and gave him a good beating with left and right hooks..."

"Come on, stop bragging. You don't even have that kind of awareness anymore." Xiang You interrupted him without any politeness and looked at Blaita.

When Bleta realized that his secrets had been exposed, he felt a little embarrassed and didn't know what to say.

Xiang You said to him, "In short, nothing ventured, nothing gained. After this experience, I discovered that your stomach contains a liquid that can absorb and digest foreign substances and reverse-sequence them. Tata, I know you were never an ordinary person from the beginning." His expression became much more serious. "You also have no vested interests with humans, and... you may even hate the humans who used you as a test subject."

“I…” Bryta began instinctively, but could not refute it.

Xiang You continued, looking sincerely into his eyes, "Klindall doesn't want me to tell you so much, but I think that after living as a human for a short time, you should have developed your own independent thoughts. Tata, you might truly be—the only hope to save humanity. If you're willing to trust me, I will protect you throughout... I only hope that a vaccine can be developed from you, then this disaster that has destroyed humanity's foundation for over a century might...end." As Xiang You spoke, he became emotional, and even before the last three words, he seemed somewhat incredulous—could humanity really be saved?

Bretta froze. He understood what Mr. Yu meant, but if he truly was the only hope, humanity would stop at nothing to study him, leaving no possibility unexplored. His oral saliva, blood, gastric juices, even the strange space inside his stomach, and the ability to extract supernatural abilities from the aliens he devoured… If all of this were made public, would anyone really only want a tiny bit of what he had?

Bryta bit his lip, and as he thought of the experiments he had participated in in the past, various pains surged up again, and he flinched in fear.

However, he then thought of Klindall, and after a long pause, asked softly, "What did Mr. Klindall think?"

Xiang You was taken aback, and after a long while, he said, "He did not agree to hand you over to the research department. In order to hide your existence, including the fact that Cheng Cheng and I were infected and devoured, he took the initiative to expose his alien identity, attract attention, and volunteered to become an experimental volunteer for the research department."

Bretta's pupils dilated in shock: "So, that's why he can't see me?"

He turned to look at Qiao Song and found that the other person had turned their head away guiltily.

Xiang You nodded heavily: "Yes, but you know, even if he is a rare black snake mutant, he doesn't have the ability like you to reverse the mutation of humans. To study him, we can only make him suffer in every imaginable way."

“It’s pointless. Those military and political figures who were his enemies before are eager to find ways to torture him in secret. But Klindall has gritted his teeth and endured it all.” Xiang You’s tone was heavy as he looked up at Bryta.

“Tata, if you trust me, and we bypass the official research department, working solely with research experts from my institute and myself, I guarantee I will minimize your suffering during the experiments. Once I develop a successful serum and produce the vaccine, there will be no need for Klindall to continue the experiments.”

Xiang You was somewhat agitated: "So, could you..."

“I am willing.” Bryta interrupted him, looking up at him earnestly. “Mr. Xiang Yu, let’s work together.”

Xiang You was stunned, and the others were also taken aback, but they also felt that Bleta was too naive to agree so quickly.

“Okay.” Xiang You smiled and nodded gratefully. “Tata, thank you.”

After everyone else left, the first thing Bleta thought of was Little White, his white rose. On a whim, Little White popped out of his hospital gown and nuzzled his cheek affectionately: "Tata... I missed you so much."

Tata reached out and stroked its petals: "Me too."

After waking up, Blaita, whose recovery function was extremely fast during his sleep, was discharged from the hospital the next day and escorted to You Chengcheng's research institute.

After being completely exposed, Britta shyly transformed back into her original form in front of everyone, a cute little white mouse, and then shyly introduced her longtime companion, Little White, a delicate and beautiful white rose hybrid.

Cheng Cheng was amazed. He reached out and carefully held the soft little blob of the white mouse, Blaita, in his palm, his eyes shining.

After getting a basic understanding of the research institute on the first day, Britta bit her lip and made a small request to Xiang You: "Mr. Xiang You, could you find a way to let me see Klindall?"

Xiang Youshi had already guessed what was going on between Bryta and Klindall. He was in a dilemma, and finally said, "Tata, it's not possible now. The research department is keeping a close eye on Klindall. So, we need to speed up the process and come up with some strong research directions to present to the head of the research department. Only then can Klindall's volunteer service be terminated."

Bryta understood, and he nodded.

"However, if you become a guinea pig and crawl into my pocket, you might have a chance to see him first."

Upon hearing this, Bryta's eyes lit up.

A few days later, Xiang You, who was originally a member of the research department, had his hands in the pockets of his white coat, and one of the pockets bulged and moved quietly.

Upon seeing Xiang You, the guard respectfully greeted him, "Dr. Xiang."

"Um."

Xiang You passed through several doors using facial recognition and fingerprint locks, eventually entering the laboratory in the core area of ​​the research department. There, he saw Klindall inside the experimental chamber—his hair was now waist-length and his lower body was completely transformed into a snake tail. The space, spanning hundreds of square meters, was made of special materials and separated by tempered glass.

Xiang You subconsciously clenched her fists, whispering angrily, "Is this how a volunteer experimenter is treated?!"

Hearing the sound, Britta quietly poked her head out of her pocket. Her dark eyes peered through the tempered glass of the experimental chamber and saw Klindall, shirtless and fast asleep with his eyes closed. But his brow remained furrowed.

Bleta hurriedly jumped out of Xiang You's pocket and ran over. Xiang You instinctively reached out to grab it, but found nothing.

“Mr. Klindall! Mr. Lindall! Lindall! Can you hear me? It’s me, Tata! I’ve come to see you!” Britta frantically jumped and scurried around outside the tempered glass, reaching out her claws to grab the glass door.

But Klindall, who was sleeping inside, seemed not to hear anything at all.

Xiang You carefully explained, "The soundproofing here is very good. He should..." Before he could finish speaking, the long-haired man in the experimental chamber, who had his eyes closed, suddenly opened them and his gaze accurately found the white mouse pawing at the glass in the distance.

Bryta felt a sudden, startled gaze, and looked up blankly to meet the man's eyes.

Klindall's hands were bound by chains, and his long hair covered one of his dark eyes. After seeing the white mouse, his pale face suddenly relaxed and he smiled: "...Those little paws are still so ticklish."

Upon hearing this, Britta murmured, "Mr. Klindall..." But before she could finish speaking, tears streamed down her face.

Xiang You felt a lump in her throat as she listened.

Once he started crying, he couldn't hold it in anymore.

Tears welled up in her dark eyes, glistening, making her look extremely aggrieved.

Bretta scratched at the glass with her claws, laboriously writing down the initials of "Klindall," sobbing, "...Mr. Klindall...that's wonderful, wonderful, everyone is still alive...that's wonderful."

Klindall looked intently at the little guy in the distance, his eyes softening considerably, and said, "Yes, Tata, thank you for saving us."

Bretta was still sniffling, her little nose twitching. She longed to crawl inside, climb onto Mr. Clingdale's shoulder, and kiss him so he wouldn't be afraid.

Klindall watched the little guy tremble so violently as he cried, feeling a pang of heartache mixed with amusement. He looked like a lab rat, yet he was becoming more and more like a human. He could cry, laugh, and act cute…

Klindall moved the snake's tail closer, its tip touching the tiny white mouse, Britta, behind the glass. He gently pressed it against the mouse, as if curling it into his own body. Britta, her eyes red, stared at the enormous snake's tail before her, blinked, and leaned closer, pressing her small body against its tail. She pressed her cheek against the glass and whispered words of comfort, unsure of who she was trying to tell:

“Mr. Klindall, I will definitely protect you. Just bear with it a little longer, it will be over soon.”

"It got light very quickly."

Klindall paused for a moment upon hearing this, then gently traced the outline of the white mouse with the snake's tail: "Hmm, soon."

"Wait for me to come out."

Author's Note: I won't be able to write about Donovan in this chapter, his pairing is indeed Chu Hui, haha. Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2022-02-18 22:49:33 and 2022-02-19 22:17:32!

Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: Jasmine (5 bottles);

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!