The Creature Keeper - chapter 45

Tang Rou said nothing. Bracing herself, she leapt up, unsteadily flipping out of the glass chamber.

Only then did Number 17 realize he was wrong. The sight of his Feeder leaving filled him with unease. He immediately tried to follow her, climbing out of the tank, but Tang Rou pointed at his nose and said coldly,

“Go back.”

The octopus instantly froze.

He called out, “Rou.” But received no response.

He carefully extended a tentacle after her, but heard the Feeder’s voice-so different from usual-cold as ice,

“Don’t come near me.”

Rou was truly angry.

The young man saw water dripping from the edge of her clothes, quickly pooling into a puddle on the floor.

She must have been very cold, hugging herself as she took off her wet coat.

Her inner clothes were thin. She grabbed a blanket from the cabinet and wrapped it around herself, sitting on the sofa.

The whole time, she didn’t look at him once.

Tang Rou raised her hand to check the time. Realizing there were only two or three hours before her next meeting, she knew it was too late to go back to her apartment to change. So, she began to dry her hair, turned the heater to its highest setting, and tried to blow herself dry.

By her feet, a small shadow of a tentacle appeared.

Tang Rou wiped her skirt as she watched the tentacle hover near her calf, its tip curled up cautiously.

She could easily imagine how aggrieved its owner must look right now.

With a helpless sigh, she ran her hand through her damp hair, doing her best to calm down.

She had to be a thoughtful parent who knew how to communicate with a rebellious child.

“Number 17, do you know what you did wrong?”

The young man looked up, his eyes slowly brightening.

He stared at Tang Rou in a daze, lips pursed, looking as if he wanted to get close but didn’t dare. “Mm.”

He was like a brooding, fallen prince, but didn’t truly seem to think he was at fault.

Even if he knew he was wrong, he’d dare do it again next time. Tang Rou saw right through his act of pretending to be obedient.

She thought for a moment, took a candy from her bag, unwrapped it, and walked over to him. “Open your mouth.”

Number 17 was still confused, but his body reacted faster than his mind. His thin lips had already parted slightly.

Tang Rou popped the candy into his mouth.

Her gentleness made him feel even more wronged. “Rou, are you… angry?”

The moment Tang Rou approached, the young man’s tentacles grew restless again, wanting to wrap around her waist, while the sweetness in his mouth melted.

His dark green eyes narrowed in contentment, as if he were happy again.

But just as the tentacle reached toward her, Tang Rou pulled away, far out of reach. Seeing Number 17 about to follow, she said,

“Stop. Otherwise, I’ll get angry-just like before.”

Number 17 stopped as told. But from his innocent expression, it seemed he still didn’t understand why.

Tang Rou said, “You know I live on land. If I’m soaked in water for too long, I get uncomfortable.”

“I’ll catch a cold, get a fever, fall ill.”

With each word, he grew more rigid. If not for the Blue-blooded Creature’s pale complexion, one could almost see all the color drain from his face.

“And…”

Tang Rou raised her arm slightly,

“I’m not as strong as you, so you could easily hurt me, right, Number 17?”

The young man immediately shook his head and said anxiously, “I won’t… hurt… Rou.”

“But just now, you already hurt me.”

Tang Rou lifted her arm, showing him the wrist that had accidentally struck the glass wall during her fall, now marked with a red patch.

“See? Even if you didn’t mean it, if you ignore my wishes and try to control me, you will end up hurting me.”

Sure enough, regret flashed in those dark green eyes.

He stared despondently at the red mark, slid further into the water, wet hair falling over his eyes, and anxiously gripped his own tentacle, not knowing what to do.
Tang Rou pointed to herself and said softly,

“If there’s something I don’t want to do, please respect my wishes. Can you do that, Number 17?”

Number 17, the young man with octopus-like features, looked at her-she was wrapped in a blanket, her whole body dripping wet. He could only nod; he didn’t know what else to do.

“Good boy.” She finally smiled. “Thank you for understanding.”

The octopus nodded. “Good…”

He was filled with regret.

Did he make her sad?

A wave of self-reproach washed over him. Had he hurt her feelings?

After drying herself off, Tang Rou changed into a clean blanket, then lay down on her desk to rest.

She knew Number 17 was watching her, his posture like a dog wagging its tail and begging for forgiveness-his whole body stiff, half-crouched in the glass tank, utterly humble in his apology.

With his strength, it would have been effortless to force Tang Rou to stay. But he never would. Even in his earlier frenzy, he had never truly harmed her.

He would never hurt her. He only wanted to pull her into his world.

He even wished she would devour him.

Tang Rou rested her head on the desk and dozed for a while. When the clock struck eight-thirty, she took a petri dish and a few packets of candy that the Sea Rabbit liked, preparing to visit him.

It had been so long since she’d seen him. She wondered how he was doing lately.

Number 17 silently watched her back as she left. He wanted to call out to her, but didn’t dare.

With his eyes lowered, he looked like a pitiful puppy abandoned in a cardboard box, left in a deserted alley.

Why didn’t she turn around and say goodbye?

……

Compared to the turmoil and chaos of Sector S, everything in Zone A was calm and orderly.

There had been no large-scale Experimental Subject riots here; it was safe and stable.

Standing at the door of her old Office, Tang Rou suddenly felt a pang of homesickness and nervousness.

She raised her hand and knocked, her heart filled with anticipation as she wondered what Number 11 looked like now.

Has he been doing well lately? Has he listened to the new Feeder?

Tang Rou had already tried to apply for a transfer, but after the recent riot, the Base was still in a state of reorganization, and her application hadn’t been approved yet.

The boy she hadn’t seen in so long would probably complain, act spoiled, maybe even cry when he saw her. Thinking of this, Tang Rou couldn’t help but smile, though she felt a bit of a headache coming on.

He was a little clingy troublemaker-far more so than Number 17.

But after waiting a long time, no one came to the door.

Tang Rou knocked again and waited.

This time, the door opened a crack from her knock. She reached out and pushed it open.

“Excuse me, is anyone here?”

The spacious Office was empty.

Where had everyone gone?

Tang Rou walked over to Number 11’s tank, puzzled. The water had just been changed, and a trail of wet footprints led from the tank to the bookshelf by the inner door-then stopped.

Had he gone for an experiment?

Tang Rou checked the time. It was almost nine o’clock, and she still had to return to Sector S for more meetings. She could only leave the candy by Number 11’s tank, hoping he would see it when he returned.

In her hurry to leave, she didn’t notice that the layout of her old Office had subtly changed.

If she had looked closely, she would have seen a pitch-black crack beneath the bookshelf-a secret underground passage she had yet to discover.

Beneath the Babel Tower Base, these deep, narrow tunnels twisted and branched, weaving a dense network that connected one secret laboratory to another. Most were used for clandestine experiments or emergency escapes.

In one of these hidden passages, a long-abandoned laboratory glowed faintly with light.

A boy was being held by the shoulders, pressed against an icy metal wall.