The Creature Keeper - Chapter 7

Even when she was drunk and dizzy, Tang Rou did not forget to go into the city and buy two large boxes of candy to put in the trunk. Her Experimental Subjects liked sweets, and she enjoyed feeding them candy.

Letting them taste a sweetness they could never find at the bottom of the sea, these cold-blooded creatures would become especially delighted.

However, bad news always comes in the dead of night.

There are always people in this world with secret hobbies. For example, some enjoy taking what belongs to others, relishing the thrill of snatching things into their own hands. Such people are not rare, especially under the oppression of the apocalypse, where some have developed a particular obsession with hoarding resources.

Tang Rou received a transfer order from the Section Chief, revoking her feeding rights to three Experimental Subjects under her care, saying they would be reassigned.

Early the next morning, Tang Rou hurried to Zone A and saw the personnel transfer list displayed on the massive screen spanning three floors. Her Number 17, Number 11, and Number 4 Experimental Subjects had all been reassigned to the experimental area managed by Song Yina.

Other Feeders in Zone A gathered nearby, whispering among themselves. They had long coveted the advanced creatures under Tang Rou’s care, and now, with envy in their eyes, they didn’t forget to mock her.

“If you ask me, Deputy Chief Song is definitely better than her. All that talk about being a gold-medal Feeder is just hype. Do you really believe she can make the Experimental Subjects obedient?”

“Haven’t you heard about Deputy Chief Song’s family background? A biotech company-her parents are both experts in bioengineering.”

“I heard little Tang is the only one left in her family now…?”

“Do you remember? She’s the kind of woman who climbed up with her looks. Wasn’t there a married professor who chased after her so publicly before?”

“That had nothing to do with her, right? It was the professor who shamelessly pursued her.”

“She’s not clean either. If she had any self-respect, would the professor have chased her?”

“Shh, don’t let her hear.”

The rumors grew more and more outrageous. After seeing the personnel list, Tang Rou turned and left, not sparing those people even a glance.

Her list was empty-there was not a single Experimental Subject under her name. It seemed the Section was searching for new Experimental Subjects for her.

Tang Rou, furious, went to find the Section Chief, but he just sat behind his wide desk and gave her a helpless look.

“Tang, if you’re rational enough, you shouldn’t keep applying.”

Because it would definitely be rejected.

Tang Rou let out a bitter laugh, trying to reason with him. “The three Experimental Subjects I raised-one is aggressive, one is the most poisonous Jellyfish among marine creatures, and the Sea Rabbit is extremely fragile and sensitive. If you transfer them rashly, do you not understand what consequences might arise?”

But the Section Chief still shook his head. “Say no more.”

As she was leaving, Tang Rou heard him sigh, “Tang, you have to understand, there are many decisions I simply cannot defy. Even with the title of Section Chief, I am powerless.”

Tang Rou understood, but she could not accept it.

This time, Song Yina had truly taken away her rights to feed those Experimental Subjects.

There was nothing she could do about it. They forcibly stripped her of her access privileges to Zone A, so Tang Rou could no longer set foot in that area.

She didn’t even get to say goodbye to them.

She wasn’t even allowed to pack up her things herself.

Her new office was also downgraded to Zone B. When she arrived at the new area, someone had already set up a desk for her in the public workspace.

All her former laboratory equipment was placed on top. Even though she wouldn’t be taking on new Experimental Subjects for a while, the tasks of mixing nutrient solutions and preparing water tanks for feeding were still left to her.
Without Tang Rou’s knowledge, her Experimental Subjects collectively went on a hunger strike.

The Sea Rabbit sank to the bottom, refusing to surface or breathe, while the octopus displayed unprecedented aggression toward anyone approaching the experimental zone.

As for the beautiful and enormous Jellyfish, it drifted in the depths of the water, elusive and mysterious.

People knew very little about it.

They had thought this plan was flawless; after all, the Experimental Subjects could only comply with the Base’s arrangements. This hunger strike was seen as a protest against the new situation, a minor demonstration that could always be suppressed with force.

However, things developed far beyond their expectations.

When the bad news came again, Tang Rou sat silently at her new workstation, receiving an emergency call instructing her to rush to Zone A.

Number 4, the Jellyfish, had stung Song Yina.

Upon arriving at Zone A, Tang Rou learned the whole story from her colleagues.

After taking over Tang Rou’s Experimental Subjects, Song Yina maliciously told them that Tang Rou no longer wanted them, which drove the Experimental Subjects into a frenzied and violent state.

Song Yina was frightened when Number 17 smashed the cultivation tank, and as she stumbled away, the soft, gigantic Jellyfish swam through the tunnel.

The semi-transparent Jellyfish appeared friendly and gentle, giving Song Yina the illusion that the creature was approaching her affectionately.

She wanted to imitate Tang Rou and feed it herself.

The Jellyfish seemed gentle, as if showing goodwill, so Song Yina put on rubber gloves and opened the hatch. Everything appeared harmonious and calm, but the seemingly gentle and friendly tentacle suddenly flicked out, releasing nematocysts loaded with instantly lethal venom.

To save her life, the Security Officer nearby decisively severed her venom-infected arm. However, the toxin spread rapidly, and Song Yina was still in critical condition.

The Section Chief was furious, questioning Tang Rou about why she had not reported the Jellyfish’s mature venom and had concealed its aggressiveness.

Tang Rou was equally shocked; that Jellyfish had always been gentle and aloof, never interacting with her or approaching her.

Its presence was so unobtrusive that it was easy to overlook-a worry-free Experimental Subject. She had never imagined that this time, the danger would come from the Jellyfish.

Afterwards, Tang Rou received even more shocking and heartbreaking news: the section had decided to execute the Jellyfish.

It was the Jellyfish Tang Rou had been raising since her first year at the Experimental Base. Its venom had long matured and was ready for experiments, but she had never reported it.

The reason was simple: during Tang Rou’s most painful years at the Base, the Jellyfish had silently protected and accompanied her, becoming like family.

Tang Rou knew how cruel the experiments awaiting it would be, and that they might even cost its life, so she kept its maturity a secret.

Such a gentle creature had tried to kill Song Yina.

The Song Family was enraged, forcing the Section Chief to bow his head and demanding that the Jellyfish be handed over to the Song Family’s biotechnology company.

With their daughter’s life hanging by a thread, their first reaction was to covet this enormous, intelligent, and miraculous planktonic creature.

To avoid leaking the Jellyfish’s genetic secrets and to give the Song Family an answer, the Base decided to execute Number 4.

They would rather destroy it than hand over the results of their work.

What role the dying Song Yina played in all this was no longer anyone’s concern as the incident escalated.

The Section Chief no longer met with Tang Rou, giving her only an execution notice.

A notice, not a discussion.