Chapter 68

The research institute has received a "treasure".

The man's eyes were tightly closed, beneath which were several black scales. Beneath his smooth, prominent muscles was a snake tail over a meter long, its black patterns intertwined, seemingly some kind of strange totem. His wings on his back were covered with two layers of feathers, those bluish-gold feathers shimmering with a soft sheen.

It resembles a magnificent sculpture.

"Dean Zhou, you must save him!" The team members who brought Xiao Shengyun to the action unit cried out.

Upon seeing the beautiful creature, Zhou Zhi was initially amazed. After realizing what was happening, he reassured the team: "This is probably just a mutation caused by pollution. If we can reduce the pollution level, it still has a chance to have a human body. I will find a solution as soon as possible."

Ye Ting wore a bitter expression, unable to process the fact that his team member had changed species after just one mission. He thought about the relationship between this person and Dean Zhou, and a touch of sympathy rose in his eyes.

Zhou Zhi, with that deadpan expression, is probably heartbroken, yet he's still forcing himself to explain things to them.

“Although Xiao Xiao has become like this, he did it to eradicate the pollution organization. You can’t abandon him after starting something, or we won’t let you off the hook.”

Zhou Zhi: "Hmm?"

After the group left, Zhou Zhi glanced at the snake's tail, then at its wings. Was it amphibious or did it live in the air?

This size was definitely not suitable for an incubator, so he found a large empty room and built a swimming pool underneath it.

"Dean, do we need to find some people to help?"

“No need.” Zhou Zhi told the others to leave first, and then used his gloved hands to lift the beautiful creature down and place it in the water.

It felt cold and hard in my hand.

"Cough cough—"

Someone who was sleeping suddenly felt a suffocating sensation. If he hadn't woken up quickly, Xiao Shengyun would have been the first pollutant to drown.

"Dean Zhou, are you trying to take advantage of my vulnerability and drown me?" Xiao Shengyun flapped his wings and arms to get up, but his wings were wet and dragged his body down like a thick quilt.

He struggled to climb out of the pool.

Just as Si Shi's appearance changed after transforming into a mermaid, Xiao Shengyun's originally handsome face became even more gorgeous, even eerie.

The eyeball was removed, and now his eyes resembled clear blue gemstones.

Zhou Zhi inexplicably thought of the dolphins in the aquarium, who also lay on the edge of the pool, looking at the people on the shore with their bright eyes.

He asked with a hint of helplessness, "Why have you become like this?"

“Because the source material is insufficient, my source core is with you.” Xiao Shengyun placed his hand on Zhou Zhi’s heart. Dean Zhou was well-trained, with broad and soft chest muscles, not at all like an academic.

“From this perspective, you are now more like an alien than I am,” he chuckled.

Currently, the most important criterion for distinguishing between humans and other species is whether or not they have a source nucleus.

This condition was proposed by Zhou Zhi.

"What?"

Zhou Zhi rarely showed a shocked expression.

"When I was nineteen, I accidentally arrived in the other world. My memories of entering it are blurry. The only thing I remember is that I died once there."

"After I came out, people said I had been missing for a month. But I had been in that world for more than a month. After that, I was taken to the research institute for monitoring, and the results showed that my heart had disappeared, and only this source core remained in my body."

Zhou Zhi didn't tell the rest of the story. He was judged to be a monster who had returned from another world, and those people were bleeding him and cutting off his flesh, determined to find a way to kill the monster.

But no matter how serious the injury, it always heals by the next day.

He was confined to the laboratory for two years, and it was during that time that he met the then-dean, his teacher.

Zhou Zhi's family background can be described as impeccable, and no matter what, he was a victim. With the help of his mother and teacher, he was able to return to school.

"No, there's something wrong with the timeline. You were already in the human world ten years ago, so how did your source core end up in my body?"

Unless the timelines of these two worlds are out of order, but that would make things even worse.

"You don't believe me?" Xiao Shengyun narrowed his eyes. In front of this person, he would involuntarily show his sharp side.

"Of course I believe you. What will you do? Kill me? But if you want to do it, you don't have to wait until now."

This guy can be really annoying sometimes, Xiao Shengyun gritted his teeth.

But the next second, Zhou Zhi staggered and almost fell into the pool.

The chaotic memories in his mind seemed to gradually return, but upon closer reflection, the thread slipped away from his fingertips again.

How did he get into the Otherworld in the first place?

Do time flow differently in these two worlds?

Did something happen in that world that led to the loss of a heart?

These questions have no answers.

"Are you alright?" Xiao Shengyun asked, waving his hand in front of those dazed eyes.

Zhou Zhi thought for a moment, then found a knife and made a cut on the artery. Blood flowed out in a trickle, staining the pool red.

Xiao Shengyun was stunned. Last time, both of them were somewhat out of their minds, but this time they were both very clear-headed.

He clearly realized that Zhou Zhi was even less human than him.

This amount of bleeding is practically tantamount to suicide for a human.

"Stop cutting." Xiao Shengyun snatched the knife and kissed the wound on the other person's arm.

It wasn't for tasting blood, but for healing; the wound closed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

You're sick!

Zhou Zhi: "Maybe."

So Xiao Shengyun ate the food the experimenter fed him and then kissed the experimenter's lips in a sticky, gooey way.

Blood is acceptable, as is saliva.

Everything that followed went smoothly. He naturally wrapped his tail around Zhou Zhi's waist and dragged him into the pool.

When he first transformed into his original form, Xiao Shengyun didn't know how to use his tail very well, but now he has mastered it without any instruction.

Zhou Zhi's glasses were knocked off by the waves, and his golden-red eyes met those of the blue-green eyes.

A monster in human skin and a person who is like a monster are a perfect match.

A faint feeling of suffocation mixed with a hint of blood spread between his lips and tongue. The cunning human had used a tiny bit of bait to chain the monster. Xiao Shengyun subconsciously licked the bit of source essence, and then was tightly held in the other's arms.

Xiao Shengyun felt that he was being misled by the person in front of him.

The source core was in his palm, and warm water was pressed against his skin, just like a human baby sleeping in amniotic fluid.

As Zhou Zhi emerged from the observation room and entered the laboratory, the researchers all turned to look at him, for he was soaking wet and his eyes were nowhere to be seen.

"Dean, are you alright? Did that person lose control?" The assistant hurriedly brought over a sterilized cotton cloth to use as a towel.

He thought the contaminated executive had lost control and gotten into a fight with the dean.

"It's nothing." Zhou Zhi wiped his hand with water.

Then they went to Si Shi's room, where Qin Nian was sitting in front of an instrument not far from the incubator. According to him, his talent was devoured by Ren Jian. Although Zhou Zhi felt it was a pity, it was still a good ending.

Qin Nian happened to have experience in the laboratory, so they kept him on.

Si Shi definitely can't become human again; it's almost a miracle that he survived.

Qin Nian was always frowning, while Si Shi himself was always wandering around.

Zhou Zhi coughed, bringing the silly boy who was always staring blankly in front of the glass box back to his senses.

"Dean Zhou," Qin Nian greeted his current superior obediently, "How is that officer doing?"

"fine."

Eat well and sleep well every day; when you're hungry, just give him a couple of bites.

Zhou Zhi briefly inquired about Si Shi's situation. Si Shi's talent for "fusion" had vanished, and there was basically no need to continue researching this area.

Perhaps because she has become a mermaid, Si Shi is currently only consuming liquids and hasn't touched any of the meat and vegetables that Qin Nian brought from the cafeteria.

He can briefly come out of the water tank, but he cannot be exposed to sunlight, as the moisture on his surface will dry out in the hot air.

Mermaids sleep very little, so on many dark nights, Si Shi would watch Qin Nian sleeping soundly on the lab table.

"Does he need to be fed some other food? We can't just pour nutrient solution into his water every day."

Qin Nian looked very worried.

"Then you need to earn more money, raising... is very troublesome."

Zhou Zhi is now very skilled at PUA, and what he said is true. Si Shi can leave the research institute, but his living conditions are much harsher than those of ordinary people, and he needs a lot of financial support.

He closed the door, leaving the room to the other two.