Yu An had been so angry with the kids that her face actually looked more energetic. Compared to her dejected state a few days ago, she looked much more vibrant now.
After disciplining the children, Xie Chiyuan took them away to reflect on their actions.
Without the cubs bothering them, the two sat on the ground, leaning against a normal-looking tree, quietly resting against each other.
"Big Head".
Yu An couldn't get over his own conscience. He leaned his head on Xie Chiyuan's shoulder and said in a muffled voice, "I already noticed something was wrong when I looked in the mirror that day, but I didn't say anything right away."
"If I had seen the look in her eyes and immediately told you to stop, maybe things would have been different—"
"An'an".
Xie Chiyuan interrupted him and pulled him into his arms: "This is not your fault."
No one anticipated that the two children, who had already undergone examinations, would suddenly mutate after entering the base. This was something no one could have foreseen.
The people at the main base have already begun their investigation, and this high school student alliance base will also receive assistance from the main base.
In the future, this base will definitely be safer than it is now.
Xie Chiyuan comforted Yu An, his deep and gentle voice ringing in her ears with a soothing magic.
Yu An closed his eyes.
He spoke softly: "Big Head, I think the reason I like humans is not because I used to be human, but because most humans are worthy of my liking."
Humans have survived on the world for so long, and they have not only succeeded because of their numbers.
They have so many admirable qualities deep down.
Yu An's bad mood finally dissipated. He had his kids to comfort him, Xie Chiyuan to keep him company, and a bunch of more urgent things to do.
He can no longer wallow in sadness.
Xie Chiyuan gave him a reassuring kiss: "Yes, the one you should like the most is me. Right?"
Yu An smiled and gave a heavy "Mmm".
He emphasized, "I like you the most!"
The two didn't stay long before they arrived near the Secret Shield Research Institute, the very place where Song Jun and his group had last disappeared. The institute was located in a very remote area, and there were no prosperous towns nearby.
Desolate villages that can only be seen occasionally by walking along mountain paths.
These villages are usually quite isolated due to their geographical location. There are houses in the village, but it's hard to say whether anyone is still there.
After all, this place is very close to the Secret Shield.
When Pei Si led her team into the secret shield, the entire shield was full of infected. No one could be sure whether any infected had escaped before the team opened the shield.
If they run away, the village is more likely to suffer.
"Have you two finished reflecting on your actions?"
Xie Chiyuan walked over, holding Yu An's hand with one hand and knocking on the car window with the other, looking down at the two kids who were reflecting inside the car.
When Baza saw him, he snorted defiantly, "You tattletale!"
Xie Chiyuan raised an eyebrow: "If I don't tell on you, your tentacles will be gone."
Eight-Eight-Headed Serpent was still unconvinced: "It'll just come back. Besides, you never cut off my little tentacles before, did you?!"
Xie Chiyuan used to treat him like a seafood buffet whenever he saw him!
Xie Chiyuan: "..."
Xie Chiyuan touched his nose and didn't respond.
The main point is that he can't deny it; when he was cutting that plate of seafood, he never imagined that one day that little seafood would become his offspring.
"cough."
Xie Chiyuan bypassed this topic and focused his attention on Qiuqiu.
Chiu Chiu is looking down at her phone.
Xie Chiyuan scratched Yu An's palm and reminded her, "An'an, don't you think Qiuqiu spends too much time on her phone? Playing on your phone day and night is bad for your eyes."
Yu An frowned.
Clearly, he was aware of this problem as well.
Chirp's little ears twitched; he caught the tattletale complaining to his older brother about him!
"Big brother, I'm texting Meow Meow. Meow Meow said he went out, and I invited him to come over. Big brother will be happy to see Meow Meow."
Before her older brother could criticize her for playing on her phone, Qiuqiu brought up a topic that interested him.
As expected, after hearing this, Yu An stopped mentioning the issue of Qiuqiu's phone usage time.
He pinched Qiuqiu's little face, appreciating her good intentions: "Meow Meow is probably busy when he goes out. Be good, don't call him. It wouldn't be good if you disturbed his business."
Chirp was a beat late, blinked, and said okay.
Time passed little by little.
Aberrant variants generally have a more acute sense of smell and hearing, and A-sequence aberrant variants naturally have even stronger sensory functions. Yu An and Xie Chiyuan each took one of the cubs and carefully searched the area.
Yu An held Qiu Qiu and patiently searched for clues with her.
Xie Chiyuan, with his eight cubs, took a more straightforward approach, using the little octopus he was carrying as a military dog: "Smell it carefully again. You've met Song Jun and the others before, so you should know what they smell like."
The little rascal retorted angrily, "I'm not a dog! I can't smell it!"
Xie Chiyuan persisted: "If you can't smell it, then listen carefully. Listen for any sounds around us."
Xie Chiyuan clearly intended to use this little clawed fish.
The two stared at each other, the octopus wishing it could transform into a great white shark and devour this cheap sister-in-law it disliked.
Unfortunately, with his elder brother in charge, he is temporarily unable to achieve his goal.
The atmosphere here was like a powder keg, while on the other side, Qiuqiu hugged her older brother's neck and whispered, "Big brother, I see the house!"
Because of its geographical location far from highly modernized cities, the environment here remains unpolluted. Various native plants grow freely, obscuring the curious gazes of onlookers.
The little chick held in its older brother's arms turned out to be more useful than the eight-year-old who had worked hard to find the way.
Yu An called Xie Chiyuan over and pointed in the direction that Qiuqiu had just seen: "There are houses over there, shall we go take a look?"
"OK."
Walking further, Ba Zai glanced at his older brother, then at Xie Chiyuan, and made a request: "Change it, I want my older brother!"
Xie Chiyuan has absolutely no idea how to take care of a child. He has to follow Xie Chiyuan and walk on his own!
Yu An looked at Ba Zai and agreed, "Then shrink a little and climb onto my shoulder."
Bazak shrank and climbed onto Yu An's shoulder.
Xie Chiyuan clicked his tongue.
He scooped up Qiuqiu and stopped Yu An from holding her: "Qiuqiu has gotten a bit heavier recently, you'll get tired if you hold her for too long."
Xie Chiyuan's physique was a metaphor for An being a size bigger, and picking up Qiuqiu naturally implied that An was still comfortable holding her.
The road was a dirt road and hadn't been repaired.
It had rained recently, and the already difficult dirt road was now even harder to walk on.
The vines and branches along the path often snagged clothes. Yu An's sleeve got caught, and he gasped and hissed.
"What's wrong?" Xie Chiyuan heard his voice and immediately went to him, freeing one hand to hold his wrist.
Yu An tried to shake him off, but failed.
His sleeve was rolled up, revealing his forearm wrapped in gauze. Underneath the gauze was a bite wound inflicted by the mutated child at the base a few days ago, which had not yet healed.
There wasn't even a scab.
He had been in low spirits these past few days, so Xie Chiyuan's intimacy with him was not excessive. It was precisely for this reason that Xie Chiyuan had not yet noticed his still-healing wound.
Xie Chiyuan's face darkened instantly when he saw the gauze.
Yu An could sense his low pressure and didn't dare to speak for a moment.
"I will have Pei Si come over."
After Xie Chiyuan finished treating his wound and changed the gauze, he said, "When Pei Si comes over, you can go back with her. Uncle Ruan has also returned to the main base this time, so let him give you a check-up."
His words were calm; they sounded more like a notification than a discussion.
Yu An couldn't help but protest, "I'm not going back."
Xie Chiyuan didn't even lift his eyelids. He said coldly, "You have to go back whether you want to or not."
Yu An pulled her arm back, her face sullen, and remained silent.
He's a zombie; even if his wounds don't heal, he won't die. As long as no one blows his head off, he's an immortal little zombie!
Xie Chiyuan's decision to let him go back on his own is just too reckless!
One of them didn't want to go back, while the other insisted on going back, and for the first time, they had a disagreement.
The little octopus perched on Yu An's shoulder, its eyes darting around as if it wanted to take advantage of the situation, was about to do something mischievous when it met Xie Chiyuan's gaze before it could even open its mouth.
The next second.
The baby octopus raised its tiny tentacles and casually scratched itself.
Chiu Chiu sat in Xie Chiyuan's arms, looking at her older brother and then at Xie Chiyuan, a little scared: "Big brother, don't fight."
Yu An pursed her lips and replied, "Big brother didn't argue."
He doesn't leave no matter who comes.
Song Jun is a superhuman, and he's disappeared here. It's said that Yin Qin also sent superhumans before. If even superhumans can disappear, who knows what dangers might be lurking here.
He has two kids with him, but they won't hold Xie Chiyuan back. On the contrary, they might even be a help.
Xie Chiyuan looked at Yu An, who refused to cooperate, and said nothing more. However, after Yu An turned away, he sent a message to Pei Si.
Yu An didn't see his message, but she could vaguely sense that he really wanted to send her back.
The atmosphere, which was just fine a moment ago, has now become deathly still.
Yu An didn't speak to Xie Chiyuan, but only to Zai Zai: "Xiao Ba, have you recovered to your mature stage now?"