EDEH Chapter 42

[007 Diary Sixteen]

 

[Previously, Dr. Anya taught the little evil dragon to grow up. Now No. 002 is teaching the little evil dragon to become an adult.

 

The comprehensive scores of No. 002 and No. 004 are rising. No. 042 has shown no outstanding performance so far.

 

Setting aside No. 001’s strength for now, his psychology seems abnormal.]

 

·

 

“If there is, what would you do?” Huo Yanji curved his lips. “Eat her too? Cook her in spicy hot pot?”

 

“…” Sang Jue was silent for a while, then thought of a good solution. “I’ll eat you! Then find someone else to touch my tail, eat with me, and give me gemstones.”

 

“…Not a bad plan,” Huo Yanji said, “but it’s hard to find someone with more gemstones than me.”

 

“Then I’ll keep my eyes on you and won’t let you like other females.”

 

“Who you like isn’t something that can be controlled by others.”

 

The evil dragon started being unreasonable: “I don’t care! If you have a female you like, I’ll eat you!”

 

Huo Yanji’s eyebrows moved slightly: “Usually you’d eat the other person, but you’d eat me?”

 

“Because it would be your fault.” Sang Jue said matter-of-factly, “If I eat her, you can just find someone else to like. If I eat you, you won’t be able to find anyone else to like.”

 

Huo Yanji laughed.

 

Unlike the cold laughter that never reached his eyes before, this time he really laughed, with a kind of light as if ice was melting, and his originally sharp and cold features came alive.

 

Though it only lasted two seconds, it still mesmerized the evil dragon who only liked beautiful things.

 

He secretly thought, if only Huo Yanji were female, then he could become his own female.

 

“Understood, I’ll never dare to like anyone again.” Huo Yanji said flatly, “Let’s eat. Aren’t you hungry?”

 

Sang Jue felt Huo Yanji was really amazing, always able to precisely catch when he was hungry. Of course, he wouldn’t reflect on the fact that he was hungry for at least twenty out of twenty-four hours a day.

 

The one who brought the bread was another aide of Huo Jiangmin’s, and he brought not just one bottle of jam.

 

“General.” The aide put down the tray and saluted, “The commander asked me to give you a message.”

 

Huo Yanji looked down and asked: “What?”

 

The aide imitated Huo Jiangmin’s tone: “Sweet orange, wild berry, purple mulberry—sickeningly sweet.”

 

“Looks like your commander has regressed ten years.” Only the Huo Jiangmin from over ten years ago would say such boring and childish things.

 

The aide chuckled: “You and…”

 

The boy beside them wasn’t a soldier, but had an intimate relationship with the general, making him uncertain how to address him.

 

“I’m called Sang Jue.”

 

The aide smiled: “You and the general take your time. I won’t disturb you.”

 

After the door closed, Sang Jue asked: “What’s purple mulberry?”

 

Huo Yanji said: “Do you remember the Lost Deer we saw at the District 7 research institute?”

 

Sang Jue nodded. He remembered it clearly.

 

The deer’s form was slender and symmetrical, with dense patterns around its body. Plant vines used its flesh and blood as soil, its antlers as branches, blooming beautiful but fallen flowers.

 

Huo Yanji took out two pieces of bread, spread them evenly, and handed them to Sang Jue: “Purple mulberry is the flower that grows on it. It has low contamination and is easy to process. It’s usually made into jam with very high sweetness.”

 

Sang Jue took a bite and said vaguely: “Then it should be called flower jam.”

 

“Either works. Does it taste good?”

 

Sang Jue’s eyes lit up: “It’s delicious.”

 

The two small fangs at the corners of his mouth emerged again. Huo Yanji watched for a while: “Why do you call them ‘males’ and ‘females’?”

 

“Um…” Sang Jue said while eating, “In terms of mating, humans aren’t much different from animals.”

 

“How so?”

 

“Animals only go into heat in spring, but some people—” Sang Jue thought about his experiences since landing on this planet and corrected himself in time, “but some males are in heat every day, all year round.”

 

When Sang Jue said these words, he really had no intention of criticism, stating it very peacefully.

 

Huo Yanji said: “You’re also male.”

 

Sang Jue thought about it: “I’m different.”

 

Huo Yanji said: “How are you different?”

 

Sang Jue wasn’t human or animal, so theoretically he wouldn’t go into heat, but if he were an evil dragon, he might want to find a mate in spring.

 

But he couldn’t say that, so Sang Jue learned to change the subject like humans do: “Why aren’t you eating?”

 

Huo Yanji said: “Not hungry.”

 

Sang Jue: “Why are you never hungry?”

 

“Normal humans need two to three meals a day.” Huo Yanji said flatly, “You’re an abnormal human—eight meals a day.”

 

“…You think I eat too much.”

 

“No, I can still afford to feed you for now.”

 

Sang Jue suddenly realized: “You said before that it’s hard to find someone with more gemstones than you—do you have many gemstones?”

 

Huo Yanji looked down, several mines under his name flashing through his mind: “It’s alright. Playing with a different one each day, I probably wouldn’t repeat for a lifetime.”

 

“But you only give me one gemstone per month to make me forgive you.” The little evil dragon felt the previous deal was a huge loss, “Can it be changed to one per week now?”

 

“No, established trading systems cannot be changed midway.” Seeing his disappointment, Huo Yanji added flatly, “It depends on your performance when you return. Study hard, and maybe there will be extra rewards.”

 

The little evil dragon: “Are there extra rewards for other things?”

 

Huo Yanji asked: “What?”

 

As soon as he spoke, his mouth was stuffed with bread covered in sweet jam.

 

Sang Jue said: “You’re a patient now, and you happen to need a caregiver, right? There are only soldiers here, so you can make do with me.”

 

He added: “I’m not expensive. After you’re healed, just give me three gemstones.”

 

“…” Most ordinary people nowadays weren’t interested in collecting gemstones, which were basically used as military resources. Three gemstones—what kind of caregiver was this expensive?

 

But he couldn’t refuse because the bread was blocking his mouth, and Sang Jue’s hand was covering it, looking like he wouldn’t let go unless he agreed.

 

“Is that okay?”

 

Huo Yanji nodded his straight chin, and only then did Sang Jue let go.

 

Because he leaned back slightly, his neck was stretched long, his Adam’s apple moving, like a cold gun being cocked, giving an indescribable feeling.

 

The little evil dragon’s paw was a bit itchy—he wanted to touch it.

 

The bread itself had a sandy, poor texture, but became much better after spreading jam on it. The military had always had special jam reserves, but it wasn’t any special treatment—it was because military food was generally focused on filling stomachs with terrible taste, but Huo Yanji had never had it.

 

He couldn’t say he liked this sweet and cloying taste, but he didn’t dislike it either.

 

Huo Jiangmin was the complete opposite of him, with a terrible sweet tooth, but many years ago, the one with the sweet tooth was called Bo Qing.

 

Huo Yanji swallowed expressionlessly: “Your room is next door.”

 

Sang Jue’s eyes instantly widened: “I’m not sleeping with you?”

 

Huo Yanji: “If you were the size of a baby, maybe you could squeeze in.”

 

“…”

 

Sang Jue turned around, facing away from Huo Yanji and continuing to gnaw on his bread.

 

Huo Yanji’s lips curved slightly.

 

Wei Lan brought a new communication device. Although he had only been missing for one day, there were still many messages to review and handle.

 

In his peripheral vision, the little thing with his back to him suddenly reached out, like a little hamster stealing food, sneakily taking away the last two pieces of bread.

 

Humph, starve you to death.

 

…

 

After resting at Rift No. 2 for several days, Huo Yanji’s injuries quickly healed. Modern human physique was indeed much stronger than before.

 

Huo Jiangmin was really going to be stationed here permanently. The camp had already been set up, and this place had almost transformed from a research base into a military base.

 

But aside from that, Huo Jiangmin had no other excessive actions, as if he was here on vacation… though he wasn’t doing nothing—he had sent a large number of people to find the governor.

 

Wei Lan whispered: “The governor hasn’t been found.”

 

Unlike Huo Jiangmin, he hadn’t specifically searched for the governor, but rather looked for ‘survivors’ of the car accident. Over several days, they had brought back twenty to thirty people.

 

Seven of them were community residents, all young people.

 

The four residents Shui Ming had deliberately killed didn’t cause much of a stir. Colin and the soldiers who had guessed the inside story wouldn’t talk randomly, and Sang Jue was a little fool—this kind of murder-to-silence reason was too complex for him.

 

As for Ah Qin…

 

The moment more community residents were brought back, Ah Qin actively sought out Huo Yanji. Though clearly terrified, she still mustered courage to say: “I know we’re people who grew up drinking human blood… but they’re all friends I know well, who never left the community, people Mr. Bo Qing watched grow up. They’re not bad people. Could you please…”

 

“What?”

 

Ah Qin shrank back and whispered: “We can return to living outside and won’t do anything bad.”

 

She didn’t know the real reason those four people had died.

 

Huo Yanji said flatly: “Whether you enter the city is your own business, and it’s not a simple matter. Feel free to seek revenge, but please come for me alone. Some things are best buried in your stomach. Forget them, and forget that former community, so you can integrate into a new life.”

 

Ah Qin didn’t understand what Huo Yanji was saying at first.

 

It wasn’t until Sang Jue walked over from the side and Huo Yanji’s gaze followed him that she had some vague understanding.

 

Sang Jue’s deviant identity… was it a secret?

 

She pressed her lips together, looking at her brother cowering in their tent, too scared to come out, and took a deep breath. She would bury it in her stomach, completely forget, and from now on they would be people with no connection whatsoever.

 

A week later, Huo Yanji and his subordinates prepared to leave.

 

Huo Jiangmin’s sudden stationing at Rift No. 2 meant the main city now had only one retired general, urgently needing Huo Yanji to return and take over as commander.

 

Sang Jue wore ill-fitting clothes and didn’t know how to tie the waist belt. Huo Yanji walked over and fastened it for him in no time, saying flatly: “Little waste.”

 

“…”

 

Sang Jue had only lived in the laboratory and had never experienced life’s hardships, nor worn such complicated clothes.

 

Huo Yanji was just bullying him because he had more experience. Deduct a big point!

 

But it was already -19995… deduct five more points, make it a round number, -20000.

 

Huo Yanji ruffled his messy hair. Everyone here was military, so for convenience, everyone had very short hair, even buzz cuts were common. Sang Jue’s fine, soft, fluffy hair was rare.

 

Just as he was enjoying being petted and unconsciously wanting to purr, Sang Jue suddenly pushed Huo Yanji away and looked into the distance: “Governor.”

 

Huo Yanji turned to look. This several-hundred-square-meter stone cliff was equipped with stone lamps everywhere, making it very bright now. Even from a hundred meters away, you could see faces clearly.

 

The aide who had helped bring bread and jam on the first day was personally escorting the disheveled governor. His hair was messy, greasy from not washing for too long, sticking together strand by strand. Under the lamplight, the dirt on his face and the terror in his eyes were clearly visible.

 

Huo Jiangmin went up to meet him, bent down, and smiled slightly: “Long time no see, Mr. Matthews.”

 

The real name that hadn’t been mentioned for years was brought up again, but it didn’t bring joy.

 

The governor frantically swallowed saliva, desperately keeping his head down. The feeling of being watched was like needle pricks, making him shake more and more until he couldn’t even stand.

 

Huo Jiangmin straightened up, looking down at the top of his head, and sighed: “You’re still alive. I’m so happy.”

 

The governor’s legs gave out.

 

“Looks like you’ve been seriously injured but managed to hold on this long—as the ancients would say, tough as nails?”

 

“…………”

 

“Deputy Gao, take Mr. Matthews to the medical room. Ask the general to lend us the best military doctor and the best medicine.”

 

“Just kill me! Just kill me!!” The governor struggled desperately, screaming in terror. Those torture methods he had confessed to Huo Yanji were actually the simplest ones—

 

He had even been forced to develop… the instinct to lose bladder control just from hearing Huo Jiangmin’s voice.

 

A trail of water dripped on the ground.

 

“That won’t do. If I don’t die, how can you die?” Huo Jiangmin turned back, saying leisurely, “You must live well, or there will be big trouble. This is the only value you can contribute to this world.”

 

Huo Jiangmin glanced at his aide, who immediately dragged the governor into the base. No matter how he screamed and wailed, no one looked at him.

 

Until he saw two straight, long legs in the same military uniform beside him.

 

He immediately rushed over, desperately hugging Huo Yanji’s calf: “You caught me! You can’t give me to him! You promised me!!”

 

Huo Jiangmin watched this scene from afar, still smiling.

 

Huo Yanji looked down for a while, saying flatly: “But I was derelict in my duty and lost the prisoner. Since General Huo helped me find him, the person naturally belongs to him.”

 

“Your injuries are so severe that you might not even get off the operating table. The governor might ‘disappear’ from this point on.”

 

“You can’t do this! You’re breaking your word!!” The governor being dragged away by the aide cursed in pain, “You and Huo Jiangmin are cut from the same cloth, you’re both devils, two perverts still talking about humanity’s future hahahahaha—”

 

He laughed maniacally, but it couldn’t change the rest of his life.

 

Death is a gift for some people; living is what brings suffering.

 

“Are you going to kill him on the operating table?” Sang Jue asked in confusion, not understanding, “Then how can you still torture him?”

 

The two looked at each other quietly. Sang Jue really didn’t understand.

 

He had been wrong before—Sang Jue wasn’t blank paper. He was originally colorless, transparent, and how he would be colored, whether he would turn black or white in the future, all depended on what he learned.

 

While blank paper was pure and beautiful, it wasn’t suitable for a collapsed era.

 

Huo Yanji said flatly: “Just disappear nominally.”

 

But exactly how to do it was Huo Jiangmin’s own business.

 

Huo Jiangmin walked over and brushed past him, smiling: “Thanks.”

 

“Remember to let him rest in peace.”

 

Huo Jiangmin’s smile disappeared. After a while, he asked back: “What do you think I did with A-Qing’s body? Keep it at home, put it on the bed, sleep with it?”

 

Huo Yanji didn’t answer. He took Sang Jue and walked toward Colin, who was confirming the survivor list ahead.

 

“So cold.” Huo Jiangmin walked away, going in the opposite direction from Huo Yanji.

 

…

 

Because the military doctor was borrowed, Huo Yanji’s group had to wait another two hours.

 

Only when the military doctor came out with a speechless expression did he say coldly: “Let’s go.”

 

The iron cable rope could only slide over from the opposite cave, but not slide back. However, they had found a way to get to the elevator on the opposite side in these few days.

 

The engineering team from a hundred years ago had prepared everything. They had not only built bridges between the rifts, but more than one.

 

Sang Jue stood beside him, his legs weak.

 

“Why, why is it so narrow…”

 

“To save construction costs.”

 

This time Sang Jue didn’t even grab his clothes, but grabbed his hand instead: “I, I don’t want to go anymore…”

 

Huo Yanji curved his lips: “Then stay here forever?”

 

That definitely wouldn’t work—he still had to save the world.

 

“Afraid of heights?”

 

“No, no I’m not.”

 

If word got out that the evil dragon was afraid of heights, how could he continue to mix around?

 

But just thinking about the feeling of walking on the bridge made his legs weak.

 

Colin couldn’t bear to watch: “How about I carry you?”

 

After being glanced at by Huo Yanji, he immediately shut up and made a zipping gesture.

 

Huo Yanji said: “Have people go first.”

 

Wei Lan and Colin said simultaneously: “Yes!”

 

After everyone had their backs to them, Huo Yanji calmly extended his hand.

 

Sang Jue quickly pounced over, burying his face in Huo Yanji’s chest.

 

“…”

 

Huo Yanji, who had only intended to hold someone’s hand to cross the bridge, remained calm-faced. After several seconds, he withdrew his extended hand and held Sang Jue’s waist, lifting him up.

 

Sang Jue really was like a small animal, like many animals. A cat, a hamster, and also a turtle, shrinking his head in his arms and refusing to look up.

 

Huo Yanji stepped onto the bridge. The width between the rifts was like a river, and a person standing in the middle of the bridge was just an insignificant black dot.

 

Although Sang Jue’s waist looked thin, you’d only discover it was even thinner when you actually touched it, very flexible.

 

His body temperature wasn’t high either, cool. Because of nervousness, his pale face was tinged with light red, forming a sharp contrast with the black, solemn military uniform.

 

Sang Jue urged in a small voice: “Walk faster.”

 

As he spoke, part of his breath fell on his neck, and the Adam’s apple beside it rolled gently.

 

“Really not afraid?”

 

“No…”

 

Huo Yanji suddenly stopped, pinched Sang Jue’s chin, and curved his lips: “If you’re not afraid, then take a look? The scenery below is quite nice.”

 

He walked a few steps, apparently reaching the edge of the bridge.

 

“I won’t look, I won’t look!” Sang Jue held onto Huo Yanji tightly, his legs creating deep creases in Huo Yanji’s clothes around his waist, eyes tightly closed, eyelashes trembling from time to time.

 

Huo Yanji looked down: “…Loosen your legs a bit.”

 

Sang Jue instantly clamped down tighter: “No, I’ll fall.”

 

“…”

 

Huo Yanji’s hands didn’t directly touch Sang Jue’s legs, but made fists with both hands, supporting him with his wrists. After standing for a while, he continued walking forward: “Why are you afraid of heights?”

 

Sang Jue stopped talking.

 

Huo Yanji asked: “Don’t want to say?”

 

Sang Jue gave a muffled hum.

 

He didn’t think he had developed a psychological shadow from being thrown off the building by Dr. Millie back then, and he didn’t feel sad or painful when recalling it.

 

But all these years, he really had never been able to fly to high places.

 

After a long time, he said: “When I was little, I was pushed off a building.”

 

Huo Yanji paused: “Were you seriously injured?”

 

Sang Jue thought about it: “Probably very serious.”

 

Because Dr. Anya said that if he had truly been human, such severe injuries would have killed him on the spot. But he wasn’t truly human—he was just limited by the human genes at the time, suffering whatever injuries he should suffer, but he wouldn’t actually die. At most, his genetic sequence would instinctively mutate back to his original form.

 

They had already crossed the bridge, but Huo Yanji didn’t put Sang Jue down, asking: “Does it still hurt now?”

 

Sang Jue secretly glanced at the ground, and only after confirming it wasn’t a bridge did he look up: “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

 

Huo Yanji asked: “Is this person still alive?”

 

Sang Jue shook his head: “I don’t know.”

 

After the incident, Dr. Millie was taken away for investigation for a period of time. On one hand, they thought her psychology was unhealthy, and on the other hand, she and Sang Jue had to be separated to prevent secondary harm.

 

Some humans are this kind of creature: they can be very cruel to pigs, sheep, cattle, and dogs, but as long as the other party looks human, even if they clearly know the other isn’t human, they’ll still be limited by ethics and morality.

 

Sang Jue didn’t know how long he had slept in the aircraft, but when he just left his home planet, Dr. Millie and Dr. Anya were both in their forties and should still be alive.

 

He suddenly felt uneasy.

 

If his hibernation time exceeded fifty years, when he returned to his home planet, wouldn’t he be unable to see the doctor?

 

…

 

“Gone?”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

Huo Jiangmin leaned against the giant artillery shell in the warehouse, looking down at documents. “Clear out a larger empty room for the governor. Don’t put anything in it.”

 

Deputy Gao responded: “Yes.”

 

Huo Jiangmin said: “Give him some good food these few days.”

 

Deputy Gao: “Yes.”

 

Only after healing the wounds could the game continue.

 

Huo Jiangmin closed the file marked “Classified” and smiled slightly: “Oh, don’t let my little pets die from overcare.”

 

“…Yes.”

 

The ‘little pets’ were on a nearby table, labeled ‘Original Millipedes.’

 

In the moist cultivation box filled with soil, dense long worms crawled around, even intertwining and knotting, forming clusters—

 

Not the current type of millipede monsters larger than humans, but primitive, small millipedes only finger-length.

 

Huo Jiangmin had spent half a year using current deviant genes to cultivate creatures that looked like they did hundreds of years ago.

 

They were slender, with legs like men’s leg hair—thin and dense, with many more feet than centipedes. Though nearly non-toxic, the feeling of them crawling on your body was much more terrifying than centipedes.

 

Huo Jiangmin bent down to examine his little pets, over a hundred of them.

 

He tapped the glass, interested: “So slender, will they burrow into holes like rats?”

 

Deputy Gao unconsciously swallowed and said as calmly as possible: “Sir, ‘Mr. Bo’ has been settled.”

 

Huo Jiangmin paused upon hearing this, then smiled: “Then let’s go see my big pet.”

 

He walked down the long, cold corridor and swiped into a laboratory at the end.

 

Since this place wasn’t used for research now, it was naturally vacant.

 

In the center of the laboratory stood a cylindrical glass “living organism cultivation tank.”

 

Inside stood a completely naked man with serene eyes, dark eyebrows, and light brown tea-colored pupils that made this face particularly elegant and peaceful.

 

‘He’ kept calling Huo Jiangmin’s name: “Huo Jiangmin.”

 

“Huo Jiangmin…”

 

“A-Mian…”

 

Huo Jiangmin watched that familiar face from neither near nor far, not responding, his face completely calm.

 

The man in the glass container continued, his voice low and stiff: “I can’t hold on…”

 

“You must walk out of the dark night.”

 

“Look at the light for me.”

 

“You all must… be well.”

 

…

 

Huo Jiangmin just listened, not responding to a single word.

 

Eleven years.

 

He had heard these words countless times, day and night.

 

If you looked carefully, you’d notice that the man in the glass tank had no warmth in his pupils. Though his mouth spoke affectionate words, his tone was stiff, and his skin would occasionally turn liquid and writhe.

 

Moreover, the living organism cultivation tank was sealed with no input of nutrient solution or oxygen—

 

What was contained inside was obviously not human, but a humanoid creature that had digested a human corpse.

 

Huo Jiangmin looked down, murmuring to himself: “What should I use to keep you…”

 

**

 

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