Chapter 69: He’s Showing Off Again
Sensing eyes on his back, Ling Yanzhi said pointedly, "She really is cute."
He picked up the hair tie that had fallen on the floor and put it back in his Space Button.
He took out a new pink silk ribbon and casually found a place to sit.
Jian Yu sat sideways on his lap, watching his nimble fingers tie up her hair.
Yang Zhang watched and learned quietly, its eight tentacles nearly tying themselves into an impossible knot.
Xi Yu sat down nearby, giving them some space. He was no longer gripping her hand tightly.
If she’d only had a vague suspicion before, Xi Yu’s uncharacteristic behavior now made Jian Yu absolutely certain of her guess.
’These two... they act generous enough to watch from the sidelines, but really, their possessiveness is flaring up. Neither is willing to let the other interfere anymore.’
’It’s either no kissing for a whole week, or we get it all out of our systems in one day.’
’If this keeps up, they’re going to be the ones with me wrapped around their little fingers.’
Her throat felt dry and scratchy. Jian Yu pressed her swollen lips together.
She leaned against Ling Yanzhi’s shoulder, her eyelids drooping listlessly.
A straw was brought to her lips. She opened her mouth, took it, and sipped. It was sweet.
’Why isn’t it that goji berry and red date wellness soup?’
"I was passing by and picked it up," Ling Yanzhi said, raising an eyebrow.
The line of his brow was sharp and striking, making it difficult to look away.
Anyone forced to drink wellness soups and eat medicinal meals every day would find a cup of milk tea impossible to resist.
Jian Yu sat up straight, the light returning to her eyes.
She reached out with both hands.
Ling Yanzhi held it back. "Only half a cup."
So Jian Yu simply grabbed his right hand—the one holding the milk tea—and hugged his entire arm to her chest.
GULP, GULP.
She thought it was the sound of her own drinking.
She turned her head and saw Xi Yu’s Adam’s apple bobbing. His gaze was fixated on her, obsessive and clingy, and he kept swallowing hard.
’Honestly, it’s a little creepy.’
Pei Yin moved to block some of Xi Yu’s view.
"There’s a major discrepancy between the two analysis reports. We might have to throw out some of the last test’s conclusions."
He held something that looked like a virtual reality helmet.
"In a moment, try to summon those things you saw. I want to see if I can capture any readings."
"Okay." Jian Yu stared at the device in his hands, then took it and placed it on her lap, her fingers stroking its surface.
’She hesitated, but ultimately decided to trust them.’
’They’d given her an A-level Beast, she’d given them her first kiss, they’d held her and kissed her, and they’d even asked for an official title in her life.’
’Sunk costs weren’t always about money, and it wasn’t like they were short on cash.’
’Time, energy, emotional investment...’
Jian Yu lowered her lashes. Her fingertips easily teased out a wisp of smoke.
’She wasn’t going to lose out in this deal.’
Ling Yanzhi took the milk tea away.
He thrust it at Xi Yu. "Control yourself. Her time is mine right now."
Xi Yu took a long drag from the straw and seemed to sober up.
He looked up and asked, "What do you mean by ’throw out’?"
Ling Yanzhi had his own suspicions but didn’t join the conversation.
He looked down, studying Jian Yu’s gentle features.
"It’s not a self-healing ability, it’s a Healing Ability," Pei Yin said, his brow deeply furrowed as if this were terrible news.
Xi Yu sucked a tapioca pearl through the straw, lost in thought.
Thinking they hadn’t understood, Pei Yin clarified, "Healing others means her own body might not necessarily be able to recover by itself."
It sounded great, but all the benefits went to other people.
Besides, until they could study it properly, who knew if healing others would come at the cost of her own health or lifespan?
Ling Yanzhi glanced up. "I feel like she’s in better health than before."
"That’s because another gene is Awakening inside her. And don’t forget, a 3S Soul Beast also falls into the category of Fierce Beast." Pei Yin paused for a moment.
He squatted down, resting a hand on his knee. "Are you sure what you saw was a pink mist? Not some other kind of creature?"
Jian Yu gave a small nod. "I’m sure."
Pei Yin pressed on, "Have you ever Awakened?"
’???’ Jian Yu didn’t know if she was misremembering or if Pei Yin was testing her.
"I Awakened very early. The Awakening failed not long after I was born," she said slowly, searching the original owner’s memories.
Her official status was that of a normal person. When the director of the orphanage took her to get her residency registered, the first step was a test to see if she had Awakened.
The director had found all the children at the orphanage and processed legal adoption papers for them.
The director had hoped Jian Yu would Awaken. She wanted to use the principle of ’a rising tide lifts all boats’ to apply for a relocation to a better planet in Jian Yu’s name.
In this interstellar, clan-based society, it wasn’t just blood relatives that mattered; family members listed on one’s official residency papers counted as well.
Jian Yu mused aloud, "As I recall, you can only be successfully registered as a normal person if you fail your first Awakening. Planetary residencies are also reclassified based on Awakening status."
"Mm-hm." Pei Yin produced another person’s report. "This is Yan Qin’s. Right now, it looks like their situations are similar. Both are showing signs of a second Awakening."
’But the logic doesn’t add up, and neither does the Awakened Soul Beast.’
’A mist? And a pink one, at that.’
’What kind of Soul Beast looks like that?’
Pei Yin looked at Jian Yu, dressed in pink, her face flushed, even her exposed skin carrying a pinkish tint.
He blurted out, "Could it be that these two mutated you by kissing you?"
Jian Yu was silent. "..."
The more Pei Yin thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. "Their saliva and bodily fluids all have a Healing Ability, and their genes were altered by their Soul Beasts, turning them into a different type of human."
His eyes lit up. "Why don’t you two kiss a few more people so I can do some research?"
Xi Yu said, expressionless, "Baby will get mad. I belong to Baby. Baby loves me. Baby can’t live without me."
Jian Yu suspected he was trying to brainwash himself.
Pei Yin shot back without missing a beat, "Not a problem. I can help you take care of your ’Baby’."
Xi Yu’s gaze turned frigid, radiating pure hostility.
Ling Yanzhi shot him a cold glare, and his spiritual power flared.
HSSSS. The Red Snake lunged and took a huge bite.
Pei Yin clutched his shoulder. "I was just making a suggestion! You two really have no spirit of scientific sacrifice."
His words might be grating, but he was still useful.
After putting on the helmet, connecting to her brain area, and running a series of tests, Pei Yin actually found a solution.
"Emotions."
He unhooked the dense web of connection wires from Jian Yu and removed the helmet.
"Your emotions can influence them."
Jian Yu’s fingers curled slightly.
It was unexpected, but it made perfect sense.
Every time she had recalled the mist into her body, it had been when her emotions were dominant and calm.
The cyan smoke was for hatching, the pink smoke was for desire and had a healing effect, and the Purple Smoke was for intimidation and was highly aggressive.
Hatching represented vitality; her emotion at the time had been the joy of welcoming new life.
The pink smoke... ’Moving on.’
The problem was, she couldn’t see it, so she couldn’t identify it or find a way to use it.
"Perhaps there’s another way." Pei Yin bent down, took out a battered-looking book, and laid it on the back of her hand.
He was wearing a white lab coat, with a pair of analytical glasses perched on the high bridge of his nose, radiating the air of a sophisticated degenerate.
"You need to learn to condense a Soul Beast like the early Awakeners did—to take that ethereal, formless mist and solidify it into a concrete shape, visible to the naked eye."
Pei Yin straightened up, his shadow falling over her.
"Return the book when you’re finished. I recall you scored nine points higher than me."
Jian Yu’s eyes brightened. "Okay."
Ling Yanzhi scoffed.
’He just had to show off.’
Ling Yanzhi pinched Jian Yu’s cheek. "Smoke, mist... all this talk is putting me to sleep. Why don’t you give them a name, Baby?"
The three men thought of the same person in unison.
Linxing Noble Academy’s hatching prodigy—Shi Zhao.
In the Alliance competition, his hatching results had far surpassed everyone else’s.
When someone asked him how he was so good, he joked, "Maybe I’ve just mastered something you guys don’t know about."
And then he’d just smiled without another word.
Pei Yin closed the main console. "He told me it was Soul Taming Breath."
Xi Yu chewed on a tapioca pearl. "Hidden Beast Aura."
"Wasn’t it Tamed Spirit Breath?" Ling Yanzhi raised an eyebrow. "What he told me is a little different from what he told you two, isn’t it?"
Jian Yu: "..."
’What a player.’