The Creature Keeper - chapter 36

The Mermaid was carefully placed onto a metal stretcher by several people, her head tilted slightly to one side, golden hair cascading down.

Tang Rou saw a Security Officer reach out reverently to gather the soft strands of hair, laying them gently over her pale, elegant body, before covering her with an airtight glass dome.

Tang Rou frowned and asked from the side, “Won’t she suffocate like this?”

The Security Officer did not answer, fastening layer upon layer of security locks around the edge of the glass dome.

Behind the glass, the Mermaid’s eyes were closed, oblivious to everything, like a beautiful puppet.

Tang Rou asked the Security Officer, “Whose Experimental Subject is this Mermaid?”

The person replied calmly, “I’m not sure. The only instruction we received was to take her away now.”

They were contradictory-on one hand, treating her with extreme care and meticulousness, on the other, deliberately making her seem insignificant.

Tang Rou asked again, “Is she an S-Class Experimental Subject?”

The person still couldn’t give a clear answer.

“Then where are you taking her?”

The Security Officer wore a Micro Earpiece. Someone seemed to be speaking to him through it. He told Tang Rou expressionlessly, “We’re taking her for treatment.”

After a pause, he added, “This is out of humanitarian concern and has nothing to do with her identity or classification.”

What did that mean?

So this Mermaid doesn’t even have a Feeder or a laboratory? Isn’t this treatment a bit too poor?

She asked a few more questions, but the other party dodged them all, giving no answers.

He knew nothing.

In the end, the Mermaid was carried away, like an immortal flower sealed under glass-seemingly vibrant, but long dead. The moment the stretcher disappeared around the corner, Tang Rou was suddenly gripped by a sense of weightlessness.

Her sixth sense told her that letting these people take the Mermaid away was a mistake, but she couldn’t pinpoint where this strange feeling came from.

Recalling the look in the Mermaid’s eyes before she lost consciousness-quiet, complex-Tang Rou was struck by the illusion that the other had known her for a long time.

She followed them out, but the group had already vanished down the corridor.

After the Mermaid was taken away, Number Four returned to normal.

Someone came in to clean up the mess and took away the Sea Slug’s gruesome remains.

The Logistics Department came by, recording the items that needed to be replaced on a microcomputer, and finally concluded that the entire laboratory required renovation.

Number Four floated outside the glass the entire time, like a giant suspended frost flower. Its translucent ribbons brushed lightly against the glass, drawing admiration from several staff members.

“It’s truly beautiful!”

“It looks so gentle. I’ve never seen such a friendly and approachable Experimental Subject!”

“I heard it’s highly poisonous-the most toxic creature in Babel Tower-but it seems so docile!”

The Jellyfish waited timidly for its Feeder to look at it, but Tang Rou felt it was being disobedient.

Yet, seeing it hovering outside the window, she couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for it.

In the end, she sighed and touched the glass with her finger. Number Four’s ribbon immediately curled over, circling her hand on the glass.

Like a child who had done something wrong, yet couldn’t help but try to please her for forgiveness.

The people nearby looked on in amazement, as if witnessing a miracle.

Not long after, the Medical Team took Tang Rou to the treatment room. She was scanned in the Spiral Scanner, then underwent blood tests and X-rays. When she came out, Aselan rushed over and hugged her tightly.
“Tang Rou! I was scared to death!”

With Aselan shouting like that, Tang Rou felt she might be scared to death herself.

Aselan patted her shoulder hard, then pulled her aside and checked Tang Rou’s face up and down. “Are you okay? No missing arms or legs?”

Tang Rou shook her head, indicating she was fine.

As for Aselan, she was not so lucky.

There was gauze stuck to her forehead, several band-aids on her face, and her arm was in a cast, slung over her other shoulder. She looked especially pitiful.

Tang Rou couldn’t help but ask, “Did you go mine digging?”

“Worse than mine digging. A near-death experience.”

The two walked out of the treatment room, and Tang Rou’s Mobile Terminal sent a notification, telling her to collect her Experimental Subject.

Aselan said to Tang Rou, “Babel Tower suffered huge losses this time. Nearly half of the Experimental Subjects in Sector S, which had been maintained at great expense, died, and the laboratories were all destroyed.”

Tang Rou was surprised. “Why did so many die?”

Aselan thought for a moment and said, “These Experimental Subjects aren’t social animals. They can’t tolerate each other, and whenever they meet, they fight.”

She looked Tang Rou up and down, her expression complicated. “And your Number 17 played a huge role in all this.”

“…What do you mean?”

“They checked the surveillance. Your Number 17, well, he single-handedly took down… Never mind, you’ll find out yourself. If he finds out I told you, he’ll think I’m sowing discord and might go crazy trying to retaliate against me.”

“It’s fine, Number 17 isn’t that petty.”

Aselan’s mouth twitched. “Do you really not know what your Experimental Subject is like?”

He watches you every day like a wolf eyeing its prey. If anyone dares touch you, they’d probably lose their life.

Leaving the medical area, Tang Rou saw many people in unfamiliar uniforms walking around the service hall.

The Senior Administrators of Babel Tower were entertaining them. These smooth-talking Base officials always put on airs with their own staff, but were excessively attentive to these guests.

“Who are they?”

“The Support Team from Noah Base.”

Tang Rou had heard of them. It was a very famous biological Base near Babel Tower, located on the coastal belt.

“Why are they here?”

“Sector S suffered heavy losses this time. Almost all the laboratories were destroyed. Plus…” Aselan’s tone was subtle, “Nearly half the Experimental Subjects died. For Babel Tower, that’s a fatal blow-a huge setback. So they asked the nearby Base for help.”

Tang Rou felt there was some deeper meaning in her words.

She asked again, “Have you heard of the Expunged Ones?”

“Expunged Ones?”

“Recently, some people were found in the sea, claiming to be from decades ago. The ships they were on had already been reported lost in maritime disasters, and those people’s DNA matches the deceased.

All the Experimental Bases are investigating together. To explore whether similar people still survive in the ocean, they’ve released Sonar at special frequencies.”

“As a result, the Experimental Subjects have been especially violent these past few days. No one knows if it’s because of the Sonar.”

But Tang Rou had a question. “If it’s because of the Sonar, why did only the creatures in Sector S lose control? There’s been no reports of anything abnormal in Zones A, B, C, D.”