Chapter 168: Excessive Curiosity Is Not a Good Thing
Fu Cheng: ...
Fu Cheng struggled to control himself, but some physical reactions couldn’t be wished away so easily.
The man’s gaze was flustered as he looked away, even losing his appetite.
Shen Lu’s expression turned grave. "You’ve even lost your appetite? You must be seriously ill. Good thing we have medicine at home. I’ll give you some."
The young woman set down the bowl to look for medicine, muttering to herself.
"But the room temperature is perfectly comfortable. How could he have gotten a fever?"
"Could his wound have gotten worse?"
"No, I can’t just give him random medicine. I need to figure out the exact symptoms first."
She turned back, moved the small table aside, and prepared to unwrap the gauze on Fu Cheng’s body to see for herself.
Fu Cheng had no choice but to grab her hand and send her a message.
Fu Cheng: I’m fine. The wound hasn’t gotten worse, and I’m not sick.
Shen Lu tilted her head, eyeing him suspiciously. "Really? Then why is your face so red?"
Fu Cheng closed his eyes for a moment and came up with a lie: A healthy glow.
’He wouldn’t tell Shen Lu what happened last night even if it killed him.’
Fu Cheng was certain Shen Lu would be furious out of embarrassment.
Shen Lu: ...
’What’s with this act? Is he trying to bluff his way out of this?’
’A "healthy glow," seriously? What’s next, some other made-up nonsense?’
"Refusing to see a doctor won’t do you any good," Shen Lu said, her tone serious. "How about I call a doctor from the clinic to come take a look at you?"
Fu Cheng: No need for a doctor. My face will stop being red in a little while.
Fu Cheng: It’s just a small fluctuation in my Spiritual Sea, but it’s nothing bad.
’He had to keep making things up.’
Fu Cheng was banking on the fact that Shen Lu wasn’t a Superpower User and knew nothing about the Spiritual Sea, so he leaned heavily into that lie.
Shen Lu raised an eyebrow. It was true she didn’t understand these things.
"Alright, but if you’re not back to normal in a bit, I’m calling a doctor."
Fu Cheng gave a slight nod in agreement.
Shen Lu set up the small table again and continued feeding him.
After she finished feeding him breakfast, Fu Cheng’s complexion did indeed return to normal.
Still worried, Shen Lu felt his forehead. Hmm, his temperature was normal.
After cleaning up, Shen Lu took the bowl downstairs. Only then did Fu Cheng remember that he hadn’t asked her about last night.
He had gotten sidetracked, too busy explaining why his face was red. Now that she was gone, it felt inappropriate to ask.
Shen Lu put the bowl away and gave Cai Su a few tasks.
Although they weren’t open for business today, she could prep the ingredients in advance and store them in the System Warehouse without worrying about them spoiling.
Then, Shen Lu went up to the third floor herself.
Ye Fan was sitting with his legs bent on an air cushion. Beside him was Fang Peng, tied up like a dumpling.
"Boss Shen, you’re here." Ye Fan stood up. "I fed him breakfast. Maybe because he’s full, he’s sleeping now."
Just as Ye Fan said, Fang Peng was lying on his side on the concrete floor, fast asleep. He didn’t even react when Shen Lu crouched down in front of him.
Shen Lu lifted his eyelid to take a look; his eyes were still all black, with no whites visible.
Tsk...
Shen Lu stroked her chin, her thoughts a jumble.
’Bringing this guy back doesn’t seem to be very useful. I don’t know anything about medicine, let alone research. I just vaguely attributed his abnormal condition to him consuming expired nutrient liquid.’
’But as for *why* consuming expired nutrient liquid would cause this to happen, she had no idea.’
"Ye Fan, have you ever seen a strange illness like this before?" Shen Lu asked.
"Never."
Suddenly, Shen Lu noticed a small black dot appear between Fang Peng’s eyebrows.
It hadn’t been there before. Curious, Shen Lu leaned in closer, wanting to turn Fang Peng’s face a bit more toward her to get a better look.
Just as her hand was about to touch Fang Peng, the black dot instantly expanded, tearing through flesh and skin to reveal sharp, black fangs that lunged to bite her.
Shen Lu was stunned. She instinctively tried to dodge, but her body couldn’t keep up with her mind. In that instant, it felt as if her soul had been ripped from her body.
Her soul fled, but her body remained frozen in place, its hand still reaching out.
Fortunately, Ye Fan was right there. With one hand, he yanked Shen Lu back as if lifting a chick, while his other hand slammed down hard on the mutant beast that had burst from between Fang Peng’s eyebrows.
BOOM!
The entire third floor shook. It was a good thing Shen Lu’s shop had a level 6 defense rating; otherwise, Ye Fan’s punch would have blasted a huge hole in the floor.
As soon as the mutant beast appeared, Lin Zhou, who had been on guard downstairs, shot up the stairs. He and Ye Fan worked together to subdue the newborn mutant beast that had just emerged from a human body.
Ye Fan immediately sent a message to Xue Can, telling him to bring the special glass case used for containing mutant beasts.
"Boss Shen, we have to notify the boss about this. Titanium alloy ropes can’t hold a mutant beast."
"Okay... I know."
Shen Lu sat on the floor, clutching her chest, her heart pounding. Her legs felt like jelly. That was terrifying; her hand had almost been eaten.
’Wait, no. I have the damage reflection privilege. There’s no way a mutant beast could have bitten my hand off.’
’Sigh. I was scared for nothing.’
Xue Can arrived quickly. Only after placing the mutant beast into the glass case did he ask what had happened.
Ye Fan recounted the incident in great detail.
After listening, Xue Can pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Boss Shen, you knew there was something wrong with him and you still brought him back? Do you have a death wish?"
Shen Lu pouted and muttered, "I just have faith in your professional abilities, that’s all."
Xue Can gave her a look like she was an idiot, then bent down and helped her up from the floor.
"Don’t do this again," he said, a hint of resignation in his voice. "We’re Superpower Users, not superheroes. We can’t handle every single situation."
"Oh, okay. I get it."
Xue Can picked up the glass case and turned to leave, but Shen Lu called out to him.
"Are you taking it to the research institute?"
"Yeah."
"Can I go with you?"
Xue Can’s gaze turned cold. "Hm?"
"I’m not trying to split the Star Coins with you," Shen Lu said, thinking he had misunderstood and quickly explaining, "I’ve just never been to the research institute, and I’m a little curious."
’The research institute was even harder to sneak into than the pharmaceutical company. Plus, after the explosion at the pharmaceutical company, security at the institute was much tighter.’
’Now that she had a legitimate reason to get inside, Shen Lu couldn’t help but be tempted. Even just a quick look around the outer areas would be worth it.’
"Boss Shen, too much curiosity is not a good thing."
"You didn’t say no, so that means you agree!" Shen Lu grabbed his sleeve. "When we get back from the institute, I’ll cook you a whole meal as thanks. How about that?"
The young woman’s fingers were soft, and her grip was light. Xue Can could have pulled his sleeve away effortlessly.
But he didn’t move, letting Shen Lu hold on.
’His little sister used to act cute like this, too, though she was much more affectionate with him. If he didn’t agree to something, she would hug his arm and sway back and forth.’
’"Brother, oh brother, please say yes!"’
’"You’re the best, brother!"’
’"Brother..."’
Xue Can knew Shen Lu wasn’t his sister, but at times like this, he couldn’t help but see a shadow of his sister in her.
"Let’s go." Xue Can started walking. "If you want to come, keep up. Don’t expect me to stop and wait for you."
"Okay, okay! I’ll definitely keep up!"