"Child, can I...can I give you a check-up?"

The eager anticipation, the tears welling in her eyes, and the slightly trembling hands surprised Xiang Wan. Guan glanced at her face and was about to perform a vehicle inspection on her, especially since she was a complete stranger he had only just met. Anyone would be reluctant to do so.

"Don't be afraid, we won't do anything to you. We're just doing a small check to verify our suspicions. We've waited too many years, and this is the only thing left to hold onto. Child, if you don't trust us, feel free to act if you feel something is wrong during the check. Even if the results aren't what we suspect, we'll give you something for self-defense."

The other elderly man was more rational, speaking with great sincerity. Xiang Wan observed them for a while; they looked at her with earnest and sincere eyes, even a hint of timidity. Finally, Xiang Wan sighed, deciding to fulfill their wish.

What do you need me to do?

Their eyes lit up, and they stood up excitedly, saying, "All you have to do is look at that instrument with one eye."

Afraid to go out the window, they rummaged through the clutter in the outer room and found something that looked like a camera. They then pointed their eyes at the camera lens and demonstrated to Xiang Wan.

"What's this?"

"This is something I made out of boredom in my spare time. I never thought it would come in handy."

The old man handed the items to Xiang Wan and waited for her to examine them.

She raised her hand and glanced inside. After a flash of red light, Xiang Wan handed the item back.

"Well, the examination is complete. Now can you tell me what exactly happened?"

They held the object and examined it closely, when suddenly their hand trembled, and it fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

“My child, our child, is our child, no doubt about it, no doubt about it.”

"I never imagined that God would be so kind to us, that we would be able to see this in our lifetime..."

Xiang Wan was completely confused. Recognizing a child? Not to mention that DNA testing is not feasible now, even a blood type test would suffice. How could they recognize a child based on just a few words? That's too unreliable.

“Excuse me,” Xiang Wan interrupted their conversation, calmly analyzing, “without blood tests or genetic analysis, is it not too frivolous to identify a child based solely on that thing? Besides, I don’t consider myself to resemble any of you, so…”

"Haha, don't rush, let me explain slowly."

After they completely closed the door, they placed a strange object on the doorknob before pulling Xiang Wan to sit down at the table. They then pulled out a thick stack of papers from under the table, spread them out, and pointed to a sketch on one of the drawings, saying to Xiang Wan, "Child, do you know what this is?"

Xiang Wan observed carefully for a while, but couldn't figure out anything except for a bunch of circles and messy equations.

"This is an optical model that your father and I have derived through continuous calculations over the years. Where there is light, there is a spectrum, and where there is a spectrum, there are thousands of spectral combinations. I was originally a physicist who focused on optics, while your father studied biology. We have combined biology and optics to create an instrument that allows a person's lifespan to change according to the angle and duration of light exposure."

When this thing was created, it was simply because your father accidentally discovered the ultimate secret of biology—the genetic code of lifespan. Deciphering it would allow humans to live forever. Your father experimented on himself, surviving his natural lifespan, and then he had me join him.

We felt that making this matter public would cause social upheaval and prematurely lead to humanity's self-destruction. Unfortunately, someone leaked the information, and that evil lord imprisoned us here to create an immortality potion for him, altering his genes. When we refused, he drugged our food, forcing us to have children, and then used those children to blackmail us.

For the sake of our child, we made some defective products for him. His life was secured, but he ended up neither male nor female. He was unwilling to accept this and wanted to destroy the whole world.

Your father used his expertise to create some insects in an attempt to stop his actions. Who knew that he would be so utterly depraved as to use living people to feed those modified insects, letting them constantly devour and assimilate them, eventually turning them into parasites that not only consume flesh and blood but also affect people's brains.

We've been locked up here for years and don't know what's going on outside, but we surmise that this person won't stay hidden here forever.

We've always wanted to end it all, rather than becoming accomplices to evil. But I can't bear to leave my child; she was taken away right after birth, and we haven't been able to care for her for even a single day.

Sometimes, I often think, how much better it would be if she weren't here. But after all, she was a life, the one I carried for ten months and gave birth to. I wonder if she's doing well out there, if she's eating and dressing warmly, if she's grown taller, if she's lost weight…

Every time I think of these things, my heart breaks. So many years have passed, and my heart has gradually died. Besides our children, we don't know what hope we have left in this world…”

"No, if you've never seen your child, how would you know what she looks like?"

“Child, we don’t judge by appearance, but by optics. The human iris is very unique; no two people are exactly alike. When you were born, I recorded the reflection of your iris. The manuscripts you just saw were drawn from my memory.”

Xiang Wan was stunned. She couldn't believe that there were people like this in the world who could draw light from memory. It was too fantastical.

Perhaps Xiang Wan's expression was too obvious, because the man who claimed to be her father extended his palm and said to her, "When I brought you out, I felt your bones. Your bone age and palm lines are the same as when you were a child. And your head and facial features are also the same as when you were a child. Don't doubt my words. Although I am proficient in these things, it's a pity that I can't understand human nature. Alas!"

Xiang Wan was completely confused. Turning her head, she saw the colorful liquids and couldn't help but ask, "What are those for?"

The two old men looked at each other and smiled: "These were originally meant to be buried as garbage, but now that you're here, they can be put to great use."

Confused, they took the item down and handed it to Xiang Wan, saying solemnly, "Child, we still haven't given you a proper name. Use it as you see fit after we get out. As for us, don't bother remembering us. We wanted to live a glorious life, but we ended up as sinners. You, forget it, consider it atonement for us. This is how to use it. They should be here soon. Remember, you don't know us; someone sent you to take our lives."

After saying this, they looked at each other, smiled, embraced, and gradually stopped breathing.