When Luo Ning gently bit his finger like that, Lu Xinghe's breath almost stopped for a moment. The warm lips and the wet, sticky tongue were a sensation he had never experienced before, causing an indescribable tremor from his very bones.
But it was also the closest he ever came to death.
If she really bites him, there will be one more mutant in the world in half an hour.
He held his breath and carefully took his hand out of her mouth. Fortunately, she wasn't actually biting him, so everything went smoothly, or rather, it seemed to go smoothly.
Just as he removed his fingers from her mouth, she suddenly grabbed his arm, rubbed against it, and then licked his wrist with her tongue, saying something with lingering satisfaction.
She couldn't make a sound, but he could still tell from her lip movements that she said, "Delicious."
Perhaps it really tasted good, because she suddenly opened her mouth and took two bites in the air. When she took the third bite, he accurately pinched her mouth to stop her from biting randomly. She shook her head as if trying to get rid of his hand, but in the end, she couldn't hold her liquor and continued to sleep.
Lu Xinghe slowly loosened his grip and adjusted his breathing. He then realized that his palms were sweaty. He had been on guard against her when she was awake these past few days, but he never expected that she was most dangerous when she was asleep.
So he gave up on his plan to let her go back to sleeping in the closet and decided to give her the bed.
He turned off the main light and turned on the desk lamp, preparing to write down the reports from the past two days. However, Luo Ning rolled over and kicked off the blanket. Although she was wearing the long-sleeved shirt and trousers he had just bought for her that day, because she was lying down, a section of her snow-white waist was exposed. Then she rolled over again, turning her back to him, and a bulge could be seen at the tailbone area of her trousers, which was obviously her tail.
He pulled the blanket over her body, preventing himself from seeing her again.
There was a precedent for the interaction of human and animal genes before the apocalypse. At that time, the skin of pigs was successfully transplanted into humans, but the pig skin would fall off after the human skin grew. This is the earliest homology between humans and animals, and it is limited to this.
However, due to the spread of the virus, infected individuals are gradually developing animal characteristics, and they are also constantly awakening. According to known monitoring reports, there are approximately 5,000 awakened individuals, which is already a powerful army. If they unite to fight against the base, it will be another brutal battle.
Fortunately, the awakened group has no intention of uniting yet; they are fighting and plundering each other, and there is also a mutant who can control his appetite for humans and is currently sleeping soundly in his bed.
Perhaps this is a turning point.
Also, why is Luo Ning able to control her appetite for him?
In all the monitoring reports, the mutants' breeding of humans was always for a purpose. They never treated humans kindly. Although a few humans who had been bred eventually returned to the base alive, it was only to act as inside agents. Most humans eventually became food.
But she didn't. During the four or five days they spent together, she didn't attack him at all. She even drank water from his cup, wore his clothes, and tried to help him when he killed the female mutant. Anyone who didn't know better would think that he was raising her.
But why is that?
He couldn't understand it, so he got up and went to the bathroom to wash his face with cold water. When he looked at his face in the mirror, he suddenly froze. Could it be... that she had fallen for him?
But he quickly dismissed the answer and found it absurd and ridiculous; how could a different species have feelings?
The night grew quieter and quieter, with only the armed helicopters patrolling the night sky and the powerful spotlights scanning everything in the base.
When Luo Ning woke up the next day, she found herself sleeping in Lu Xinghe's bed. He was no longer in the room. She had clearly slept in the closet last night, so how did she end up in his bed?
She recalled that she had slept in his bed because she felt uncomfortable in the closet, and he had even thoughtfully covered her with a blanket halfway through the night. It seemed that he was just a little cold-hearted, but he hadn't changed much from before.
Neat footsteps could be heard downstairs, as if people were gathering, their steps orderly as if they were lining up and waiting for something.
She secretly lifted the curtain and looked down, only to see a car parked at the gate, and twenty or thirty security officers in full armor standing downstairs at the Gene Department, including An Xiaoruo and Song Pei, as if they were about to transfer something away.
A moment later, a woman wearing a white jumpsuit came out. She wore a black choker around her neck with two thin lines connecting to her temples.
Although she couldn't see the woman's face, she could still sense the presence of someone of the same kind, and she was certain that this woman was also a mutant.
When the woman walked to the car, she seemed to sense her presence and looked up at the window. Their eyes met.
Luo Ning immediately drew the curtains, somewhat incredulous at what she was seeing. She recognized the female mutant; her name was Wen Xi, and she was also a mutant living alone. The two had once teamed up for half a month to fight another powerful mutant, but were separated by the beast tide. She never expected to meet her here three years later, and it was clear that Wen Xi had arrived at the base earlier than her. She wondered where the base was sending her now.
She pulled back the curtains and saw that Wenxi had already gotten into the car, and the security officers had also gotten into their cars. Soon the convoy was out of her sight.
No, she couldn't just watch Wenxi leave like this. She couldn't bear it even more if the base took her away to kill her. Although she didn't know what Wenxi's personality was like here, she felt that Wenxi was quite easy to get along with during the two weeks they spent together. She spoke softly, ate in small bites, and had a refined air about her. It was clear that she must have come from a well-to-do family before being infected.
She decided to follow and see what was going on, so she quickly took out her colored contact lenses and put them on. Although Lu Xinghe had told her to only use them when she left because these were the last two lenses, she was fine as long as she wore them and didn't take them off. The alien species had excellent self-healing properties, and even if the lenses made her eyes uncomfortable, they should be able to adjust and recover quickly on their own.
After completing her disguise, she quickly jumped out of the window. Some people in the Gene Building across the street felt as if something flashed in front of them, but upon closer inspection, they couldn't find anything.
Luo Ning weaved through the woods, then climbed over the wall to the street. Pedestrians passed by, but no one noticed that the woman, whose face was mostly covered by a scarf, was actually a mutant.
Because the snow hadn't melted yet, the tire tracks were still clearly visible. She followed the tire tracks and arrived at a reinforced concrete building near the edge of the base after about forty minutes. The building had no windows, only a few small ventilation openings, and was otherwise all solid walls. It was surrounded by high walls, and on a metal plate on the wall were eight large black characters that read "Military Restricted Area, Entry Prohibited".
She walked around the wall, found a place with many trees, and climbed up. She didn't jump in immediately but carefully observed. Sure enough, she saw the cars from before. Wen Xi had been brought here.
After waiting for a while, she saw some security officers come out, get into their cars, and leave, but she couldn't see An Xiaoruo and Song Pei. After the car drove away, she jumped down from the wall and climbed into the ventilation duct under the cover of the trees.
The building was quiet, but filled with the aura of aliens. Although she hadn't seen any aliens yet, she felt there were at least fifty of them. The existence of so many aliens within the human base was utterly baffling to her.
She crawled slowly forward in the darkness, her body pressed against the pipes. Soon, she sensed light and, upon reaching the top, discovered she had reached the top of the ventilation duct. Peering through the louvers, she saw a central atrium the size of four basketball courts. Dozens of humanoid mutants were wandering aimlessly within, each wearing a collar similar to Wen Xi's. The atrium was surrounded by sturdy steel railings and glass. Outside the glass stood a dozen security officers, including An Xiaoruo and Song Pei, as well as Lu Xinghe.
She opened her eyes wide, searching for Wen Xi's shadow, and soon found her among the strange creatures. She sat in the corner without saying a word or making any movement, but Luo Ning could see a faint sadness in her.
Lu Xinghe was talking to several people in military uniforms beside him, while An Xiaoruo curiously pressed her face against the glass, watching Wen Xi's every move with great confusion in her eyes.
Just then, Wen Xi suddenly raised his head and looked towards the ventilation duct, clearly sensing Luo Ning's presence once again.
When they were traveling together before, Luo Ning noticed that Wen Xi was weak in speed and strength but had a strong sense of perception. It was her senses that helped them avoid the mutants who were chasing them time and time again.
Perhaps noticing Wen Xi's gaze, Lu Xinghe also keenly looked towards the ventilation duct, and Luo Ning immediately crawled back a little to avoid it.
"What's wrong?" asked Warden Du Lu, who was talking to Lu Xinghe.
Lu Xinghe withdrew his gaze: "It's nothing. The base isn't safe lately, so you need to make sure there are no problems here. If you don't have enough manpower, I can send people to you at any time."
Du Lu placed his hands on the glass, looking down at the alien species below like a king, a playful smile on his lips: "Major Lu, although my people here may keep a low profile, it doesn't mean we're useless. You can rest assured, not to mention these alien species, not even a fly can get out."
"Oh, that's good, but I still hope the flies can't get out and nothing else can get in either," Lu Xinghe said meaningfully.
"What do you mean?" Du Lu asked, his eyes coldly sweeping across the courtyard. He and Lu Xinghe were security officers in the same year. After graduation, they both did missions outside the base. Three years ago, after he injured his hand, he was assigned to this alien prison. So when Lu Xinghe said this, he immediately became alert, but after scanning around, he did not find anything unusual.
"Don't be nervous, I was just saying it casually." Lu Xinghe didn't want Du Lu to take it seriously. He had already realized that Luo Ning was in the ventilation duct. Although he didn't see her, he saw a corner of a white scarf falling out of the gap in the ventilation duct. She actually followed him here. Was it out of curiosity or did she have some other purpose?
Although Du Lu appeared to be meticulous, he still had the prison thoroughly inspected, but found nothing.
Luo Ning remained motionless inside the ventilation duct. She could hear people searching room by room. After everything was over, she looked through the blinds and saw that Lu Xinghe and the others had left, but Wen Xi was still there. She wondered how she could find an opportunity to speak with Wen Xi.
Wen Xi remained seated, motionless. Not far from her, Du Lu, who had been talking to Lu Xinghe earlier, was staring blankly at her profile, as if he had known her for a long time.
Luo Ning carefully climbed through all the ventilation ducts, the air whistling in her ears. She roughly understood the layout of the building. This should be the alien prison from the novel. The aliens here are all experimental subjects of the Gene Department. The Gene Department cannot keep an eye on so many aliens at the same time, so they are sent here when needed. If she hadn't escaped from the laboratory, she might have been sent here later.
She climbed back to the ventilation duct. The aliens were still in the courtyard, but Wenxi was gone. She searched twice but couldn't find Wenxi, which meant that she had been taken away.
Thinking of this, she immediately followed the ventilation ducts, searching room by room, and soon sensed Wen Xi's presence, and there was a human beside her.
She carefully approached without making a sound, and soon saw the scene in the room through the louver. There was a set of black iron table and chairs in the room, and behind the table and chairs was a whole wall of black bookshelves. However, the bookshelves were not filled with books, but with various torture instruments and firearms. Wen Xi was standing in front of the iron table with her head down, her hands and feet wearing heavy shackles. The young officer who had spoken to Lu Xinghe earlier was sitting lazily in a chair, his long legs crossed and propped up on the table. In his black-gloved hand, he held a black steel whip, his fingers idly twirling the short whip.
The young officer stood up from his chair and walked up to Wenxi. His gloved fingers pinched Wenxi's chin and lifted her up, looking at her with the posture of a hunter: "Didn't I tell you before, never fall into my hands?"
Wen Xi didn't speak, but her body trembled slightly as she silently closed her eyes.
Luo Ning was stunned. What was going on? Why did these two seem to know each other?
"Answer me." The officer still had a faint smile on his face, but his voice was as cold as ice.
Wenxi nodded gently.
The officer seemed dissatisfied, pinching Wenxi's face until it was red: "I want you to talk. You weren't this quiet when you tricked me into letting you go back then."
A lie? The mutant lied to the soldiers at the base, and actually succeeded? Luo Ning was a little confused. Did Wen Xi really have such good eloquence? And wasn't this officer a bit too naive?
“I…I remember,” Wenxi replied with difficulty.
Luo Ning originally thought that she had also been injected with a sound-blocking drug, but she didn't expect that she could speak. According to the drug's 30-day validity period, Wen Xi had been captured and brought to the base for at least 30 days.
The officer's grip loosened, and Winsey was finally able to breathe.
"Do you still remember my name?" the officer asked again.
"Remember."
"What's my name?"
But Wen Xi fell silent again. Luo Ning could tell that she didn't remember at all. If it were her, she would just say she didn't remember, instead of pretending to remember like Wen Xi. Could she really be a liar?
The young officer noticed it too. He angrily pried open Wenxi's mouth with his fingers, then pinched a small piece of her pink tongue and pulled it out: "Your tongue is so beautiful, yet you always lie. Believe me or not, I'll cut it off. Anyway, you monsters will just grow it back."
Wenxi shook her head fearfully and said vaguely, "I'm sorry, I... I don't remember."
The officer sneered and released his fingers. Wenxi's tongue returned to her mouth, but a silver thread remained at the corner of her mouth, sliding down and finally dripping onto her black collar.
“You can go back and think it over. If you still haven’t figured it out by tomorrow morning, I will definitely cut your tongue out. And don’t even think about escaping this time. Besides this thing around your neck that will blow your head open instantly, I will also take special care of you. Here, I am the king.” The officer said cruelly, then pressed the doorbell on the table, and four fully armed soldiers immediately entered.
"Take her to room number one, and don't give her any food or water," the officer ordered.
Luo Ning thought this person was a bit crazy. Wen Xi forgot about him, so he wanted to cut off Wen Xi's tongue. This was too barbaric.
Wen Xi was immediately taken down, and Luo Ning also crawled along the pipes, following Wen Xi's scent to the vent of another small room. She was truly grateful to the person who designed this building. Without windows, the ventilation relied entirely on the pipes for air exchange. For a mindless alien species, these pipes were useless, but for someone like her who was conscious, they were an excellent hiding place. Perhaps Wen Xi could also escape from here.
Looking through the ventilation duct, she saw Wenxi kneeling in a room of less than two square meters. The shackles on her hands and feet were so heavy that she couldn't get up at all.
Luo Ning was still unable to speak, so she gently tapped on the blinds. Wen Xi looked up at this moment, but she could not see the person in the pipe. However, she could sense that the other person was also a mutant, and the aura was very familiar.
"Who?" she asked softly.
Luo Ning opened her mouth but couldn't make a sound. She looked at the louvered leaves and, fortunately, she was strong enough to slowly unscrew the fixing screws. However, the opening was very small, and she could only show her face.
Wen Xi was stunned for a moment when she saw her appearance, then surprised and delighted: "Luo Ning, is that you?"
Luo Ning nodded, realizing that Wen Xi still remembered her. She then pointed to her throat and waved her hand to indicate that she couldn't speak.
"You were also injected with a sound-blocking agent? So you were the test subject who escaped a few days ago?" Wen Xi immediately understood.
Luo Ning gave a thumbs up, then gestured with her hands to ask when she had been arrested.
Wen Xi actually understood her gestures: "You asked me when I got here? I was arrested a year ago and have been locked up in the lab ever since. I never expected that we would meet here."
Luo Ning wanted to ask her if she had also been involved in the breeding experiment, and why she had been transferred from the lab to this place, but this time it was more difficult, and Wen Xi couldn't understand her gestures, so she decided to go back and get paper and pen before trying again.
She told Wenxi that she had to leave first, but Wenxi stopped her: "You just saw me with that man, didn't you? Do you know his name?"
Luo Ning shook her head. She didn't know the officer's name, but Lu Xinghe definitely did, and she could ask him.
Wen Xi sighed softly, "Looks like I'm really going to have my tongue cut out tomorrow." Then she smiled, "But it's okay, it can grow back, it's just a little painful."
Luo Ning stared at her blankly. She vaguely felt that Wen Xi might have experienced something terrible, because when they first met, Wen Xi wasn't so submissive.
"Wait for me, I'll be right back," she continued gesturing.
But Wenxi mistakenly thought she was leaving: "Okay, you should go quickly. It would be bad if you were discovered. Run as far away as possible and never come back."
Luo Ning shook her head anxiously. She decided to find paper and pen first, otherwise it would be really difficult to communicate. She closed the flap again and climbed out through the pipe.
It was already noon, but there wasn't a ray of sunshine in the sky, and the clouds were piled up, making it unclear whether it was going to snow or rain.
After she climbed over the wall, she saw a bridge connecting the base to the outside world not far away. The bridge was heavily guarded, with neatly arranged artillery and heavy weapons. Fully armed soldiers patrolled the bridge, creating a very oppressive atmosphere.
"What, trying to run away?" Lu Xinghe's voice suddenly came from the side.
Luo Ning turned around and saw him standing by the wall. She wasn't too surprised. She knew he had seen her then because a small part of her scarf had fallen out.
“If you’re thinking of just leaving across the bridge like this, I advise you to give up. The people guarding the bridge aren’t as kind as I am,” Lu Xinghe warned.
Luo Ning nodded. She knew he was reminding her, but couldn't he just speak properly? He had a nice mouth, but the words he said were always so cold.
She gestured as if writing with her hand, asking him if he had paper and pen. Lu Xinghe saw through her intention: "Don't think about contacting that experimental subject, and don't think about rescuing her. She is currently under tracking. If she leaves this prison by more than ten meters, the miniature bomb in her neck will pulverize her."
Luo Ning waved her hand, still wanting paper and pen. At least she wanted to find out the young officer's name first, so that Wen Xi wouldn't have her tongue cut out.
Lu Xinghe suddenly glanced at the sky warily, then immediately pulled her into the bushes. A few moments later, several drones took off from the prison and patrolled the surrounding area.
Luo Ning wanted to look up, but Lu Xinghe still held her in his arms: "Don't move. The surveillance and weaponry here are even tighter than in the Gene Department. If we are discovered, neither of us will be able to leave."
Luo Ning calmed down and pressed her hands against Lu Xinghe's chest to give herself some breathing space. His scent was so good that it scared her. Moreover, it seemed that his hand had been scratched by a tree branch. His pleasant body fragrance was mixed with the sweet smell of blood, which made her swallow hard.
The drone flew closer and closer, as if it had detected their presence. Lu Xinghe pulled a tree branch next to him to block it. The drone circled for a while and then left, and they finally managed to escape.
However, when Lu Xinghe released Luo Ning, he found that she had bitten her hand in her mouth until it bled.
"Why are you biting yourself?" He took her hand out of her mouth.
Luo Ning gasped for breath, looking at him with longing eyes; she really couldn't hold back any longer.
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