The Creature Keeper - Chapter 9

Tang Rou tapped on the glass panel and smiled. “Go on, have some fun on your own.”

The Jellyfish seemed to truly understand what she said, lingering and outlining the palm she pressed to the glass with its ribbon-like tentacles, then contracting its bell and drifting off into the depths.

Aselan stood in the doorway, arms crossed, clicking her tongue in amazement. “It really seems to understand you. Does it hear you, or see you? No, it shouldn’t even have the corresponding senses, should it?”

The complexity of these mutations far surpassed imagination; even with current scientific advances, there was still no reasonable explanation.

Tang Rou just smiled without answering, then said, “Actually, I have a question for you.”

“What is it?”

For security reasons, most areas of Sector S remained sealed off, the alarms yet to be lifted.

The Special Grade Creature Zone that Tang Rou had once set foot in was surrounded by thick, solid defensive walls, as if to prevent some monstrous beast within from breaking out.

Curiously, everyone who entered that quarantine area wore a pair of heavy protective goggles.

That was what Tang Rou wanted to ask about.

“What are those special goggles for?”

Aselan had signed a strict confidentiality agreement and couldn’t go into detail. She could only answer concisely, “Have you heard of Consciousness Interference?”

“Consciousness Interference?”

“Yes, it’s something that goes far beyond what basic science can explain. I’m not entirely sure myself. They say that making eye contact with that Special Grade Creature allows it to invade your consciousness, and quite a few caretakers have committed suicide as a result.”

“Suicide?”

“Yes, one after another. Some have leapt into the carnivorous creature cultivation tanks, some have self-harmed, others suffered mental breakdowns… In short, all sorts of deaths, but they all share one thing in common-they once made eye contact with that Special Grade Creature.”

Seeing Tang Rou’s shocked expression, Aselan sighed. “That’s why I told you not to be too curious about that place. What they’re raising in there is deadly.”

Tang Rou sat down and asked Aselan, “Then why did Number 4 get upgraded?”

The Experimental Base’s grading system was extremely strict; behind the seemingly simple divisions lay a chasm as deep as an abyss.

Aselan, as a bioengineering researcher, did indeed have a better understanding of the reasons behind upgrades.

“Toxins, in a sense, are chemical weapons-especially water-soluble toxins, which are a crucial step in marine offensives. Your Number 4 mutant’s toxicity is very strong, and it can even autonomously upgrade and evolve. It’s the weapon the Base has been dreaming of.”

Intelligent and terrifying biological weapons-these are the best tools for anyone seeking expansion.

With terrestrial resources exhausted, humanity had long turned its gaze to the ocean, that domain still shrouded in mystery.

Aselan knew that the ocean was Tang Rou’s childhood trauma, even though she now worked here.

To Tang Rou, the mysterious sea was the beginning of all disaster, the abyss that claimed her parents’ lives. Yet it was also the place that gave her new life and allowed her to survive.

She couldn’t bear to perform cruel experimental tests and chose instead to become a Feeder-the gentlest job there was. Aselan, meanwhile, took on the work of a bioengineering tester, a job said to require a cold-blooded nature.

When Aselan came to the lab again the next day, she brought new orders from the Base.

Number 17 was to undergo the Level Four Division Promotion Experiment.

“Rou, if Number 17 can survive this Division Test, he’ll also be transferred to Sector S.”

Tang Rou immediately looked up. “Level Four experiment?… No, it’s too dangerous.”

That was a regenerative Division Experiment with a fatality rate of 99.5%. It had only succeeded twice before.

But Aselan cut her off. “Tang Rou, you don’t have the right to decide. Even we engineers have no way of interfering with the Base’s decisions.”
The ownership of these creatures all belonged to the Experimental Base; those in higher positions were the true masters who held the power of life and death, while Tang Rou was merely the Feeder they had hired-nothing more.

But how could a Level Four experiment appear on an Experimental Subject from Zone A?

Aselan explained, “The last Division Experiment has already surpassed the limits that Zone A’s testing can withstand. Number 17’s performance was truly astonishing-his healing ability reached an unbelievable level. They believe that perhaps Number 17 had already mutated a long time ago, and under some unknown circumstances, his biological potential was catalyzed.”

Autonomous evolution was a topic that all engineers eagerly pursued.

“But if it fails, he will die.”

“There’s nothing we can do, Tang Rou. We can only comply, and this is just a notification, not a discussion.”

The decisions of the Base were never up for discussion.

Tang Rou stood rigidly, her brows tightly furrowed as if deep in thought.

After a while, she said, “I want to go see him.”

.

In this Experimental Base, rank meant respect and the obedience of others.

The benefits enjoyed by those of a higher rank far exceeded imagination. For a high-level Feeder, entering a lower-level area was effortless.

Rank was everything.

From the moment she stepped into the former office area, Tang Rou felt as if she was being watched by a pair of eyes.

The Half-Octopus Youth, handsome as a sculpture, gazed at her intently from behind the glass. His pale, slender fingers pressed against the glass, and his captivating eyes were filled with a forbearance completely different from his usual indifference.

He missed her deeply-so much so that his longing manifested as intense aggression, frightening away many feeding specialists.

Yet the one he yearned for so desperately ignored his affection.

Tang Rou acted as if she hadn’t noticed his presence, walking straight past him to the Sea Rabbit’s cultivation tank.

The slender, fair-skinned Sea Rabbit youth’s eyes were tinged red. Obediently, he crawled out of the box, wrapped his arms around her waist, and pressed close, greedily absorbing her warmth. His gentle face was full of docility and attachment, nuzzling her palm affectionately, making him irresistibly endearing.

Their actions were so intimate.

Tang Rou gently stroked his hair, watching the beautiful youth tremble under her touch, his whole body going weak, his slender arms feebly clutching her clothes, so soft he could barely stand.

Behind her was a silent gaze.

Tang Rou ignored the Half-Octopus Experimental Subject and did not look back.

“Wan… want… Rou…”

The youth tilted his head up, drawing close from below, his eyes red and misty as he gazed at her, his voice sticky with deep affection as he expressed his longing.

“Don’t… go…”

Tang Rou stroked his cheeks and his beautifully defined back, eliciting sensitive shivers from the youth, who hugged her even tighter.

Under her gentle touch, the youth’s whole body flushed a light red, his chest rising and falling, his voice growing softer and wetter.

“Rou… Rou…”

He missed her.

Missed her so much.

The youth wrapped his arms around her waist, calling her name again and again, his sticky tone brimming with intense adoration.

He was embracing his Feeder! Her soft, slender waist was encircled in his arms-what immense happiness!

The youth was dizzy with overwhelming joy.

His crimson lips brushed haphazardly against the back of her hand, clumsily and recklessly expressing his love.

All of it was instinct. He tried desperately to please her with his docility and obedience, looking pitiful and fragile.

Tang Rou indulged his affection, smiling at him with gentle eyes.

This was what the Sea Rabbit loved most.

And what Number 17 hated the most.