Phwee—finally! Everyone's gone. Empty chairs, silent machines, not even a single cough echoing in the lab. Just me. Only me.
I stretch my arms out like I'm claiming the whole damn floor. "Now I own this place! Hahahahahahaha!"
My voice bounces off the walls.
A beat.
"Okay, okay—no wasting time. Focus, girl."
I yank my bag open and carefully pull out the small tube—Jiang's blood sample. The blue liquid inside shimmers faintly under the overhead lights. Still glowing. Still weird. Still... alien.
I grab a fresh glass plate, unscrew the cap, and gently let one single drop fall.
Plop.
The color spreads slowly like ink in water, soft and strange.
"Alright, let's see what secrets you're hiding, space boy," I whisper as I slide the plate under the microscope.
I lower myself down, eye pressed to the lens. My fingers turn the knobs, adjusting focus.
My heart thuds.
And then—
What the hell…?
Every single cell… it's moving. Like really moving.
Working fast, splitting, pulsing—each one doing its own thing like a tiny soldier on a mission. Not just floating around like normal cells. These things are alive in a way I've never seen. It's not a problem. It's just—wow.
I lean back for a second, blinking. "Okay… that's insane."
Curious, I grab a small test tube from the lab shelf. One of our standard bacteria cultures. Just your average nasty little troublemakers.
"Let's see how you handle this, Jiang."
I take one drop from the bacteria tube and mix it with the blood sample. Then I slide the plate back under the microscope and bend down to look.
But—
"They're gone?"
I blink again. Turn the knob. Look harder.
Nothing.
The bacteria are gone. Not even a struggle. They vanished so fast, I didn't even get a chance to see it happen.
"What the hell…" I whisper, leaning closer. My heart beats faster. "They didn't even die. They just... disappeared."
I swallow hard.
Okay. This isn't just strange anymore.
This is something else.
It's… way too immune.
Like—seriously? Even after wiping out all those bacteria, the blood cells are still just vibing. Not stressed, not damaged, not dead.
"Damn," I mutter, squinting into the microscope. "Even after a fight, they're alive and kicking?"
Normal human cells? They'd be dying by now. After fighting off viruses or bacteria, you expect some casualties. It's part of the immune response. But this?
"These guys are thriving."
I step back, pulling on my gloves properly this time and sliding a surgical mask over my face. "Okay, healing factor confirmed. But let's take this up a notch…"
I walk to the locked storage cabinet and punch in my clearance code. The kind of stuff in here? It's not just your average test material. It's top-tier nightmare fuel.
I grab a sealed vial of our most dangerous virus sample—so nasty it makes the worst flu look like a paper cut.
I stare at the vial in my hand. Do I really want to do this? What if it reacts… badly?
Too late now. Curiosity wins again.
"Let's see what happens when god blood meets devil virus."
One drop. Just one drop of Jiang's blood on the slide. Then I add the virus sample.
I slide it under the microscope and lean in.
I blink.
"Again?!"
Same result. Not even a fight this time. The virus doesn't just get defeated—it vanishes like it never existed.
I feel my whole body tense up. "Okay. Okay, okay, okay…"
This is beyond immune.
This is terrifying.
"What is Jiang exactly, huh? De*dpool at his prime times a hundred?"
I toss my gloves on the desk, half-laughing, half-panicking. "God damn… this is so cool."
I pace in a small circle, biting the edge of my thumbnail. Okay, I've seen the healing. I've seen the immunity. Now… what about durability?
"Let's check something else."
I grab the blood tube again, pour out a small sample on a flat sterile glass plate, and carefully seal it between two slides. Tight. No outside contamination.
Then I march across the lab to the big one—the deep storage freezer. This thing is no joke. Built for preserving viruses, unstable bio-samples, even alien bacteria from space probes. Temperature? Way below anything Earth should legally offer. Makes Antarctica look like a summer resort.
I open the heavy freezer door, a wave of icy fog rolling out like it's greeting me. I shiver, even through my lab coat.
"In you go, miracle blood," I mutter, sliding the sealed sample into the coldest compartment.
I shut the door and cross my arms. "Let's see what you do after freezing your cosmic ass off for a few hours."
Then I pause.
"...Why am I talking to blood?"
Whatever. I'm too far gone for logic tonight.
I check my watch. "Eleven, huh?"
Still two hours till the last train. Ugh. What am I supposed to do till one in the morning?
I glance at the freezer. That tiny little blood sample in there? It's barely a few drops now. Not even enough to do more tests tonight.
I tap my chin. "Should I just go home and come back early?"
Yeah… that might work. There's no way anyone's gonna touch it, right? No one comes into the lab this late, and I sealed everything.
"If I come back by six or seven, it should still be fine," I mumble to myself, grabbing my bag.
And maybe… just maybe… I can find a way to poke my little puppy Jiang again and get a tiny bit more blood. Just a little! Enough to finally run a full DNA sequence.
Perfect plan.
I walk around the lab, wiping every surface, cleaning the equipment, making sure there's no sign of what I did tonight. I even double-check the microscope and hide the used slides deep in the trash bin under other lab waste.
After everything's cleared, I stand in front of the freezer one last time.
My hand rests on the handle. I stare at it like it's holding the answers to the universe.
"Stay cool, okay?" I mutter under my breath, then shake my head. "Why am I still talking to blood?"
Sighing, I grab my stuff and step out of the lab. The hall's quiet, the lights dimmed, everything echoing with that late-night stillness.
"What a long-ass day," I whisper, rubbing my temples. "I might actually die on the way home."
My stomach growls loudly.
"…And I haven't even eaten."
As I step out of the research center building, I freeze.
There he is.
Tang Shixiu, standing near the gate like a ghost I forgot to exorcise.
I duck back behind the wall, pressing my back to the cold bricks.
What the hell is he doing here now? Seriously?
I don't have the energy for this. Not physical, not emotional, not even spiritual. I'm running on zero batteries and three crumbs of hope.
Ugh—and Jiang. I left him alone for hours. Who knows what kind of disaster he might've caused by now? What if he tried to cook again? What if he went outside? What if he thought the vacuum cleaner was a predator?
Nope. No. I can't waste another minute.
I pull out my phone and call the front security guard.
"Hi. Hello. Yes, sorry to bother you. But… there's a man standing at the gate? Tall, black coat, tragic face? Can you maybe, um, ask him to leave? Kindly? Politely? But like… firmly?"
The guard gives a little chuckle but agrees.
From my hiding spot, I peek just in time to see him walking up to Tang and exchanging a few words. Tang's brows furrow, but he nods and finally walks off down the street.
Thank god.
I wait another ten seconds, just in case.
Okay. Coast is clear.
I slip out like a ninja, keeping my head low and steps fast. No drama, no confrontation, no emotional breakdown. Not tonight.
Tonight, I just want to get home, collapse, and make sure my alien roommate didn't burn the apartment down.
After dozing off in the train, head bobbing like one of those dashboard toys, I somehow manage to stumble my way back to the apartment.
I'm so tired I almost forget to unlock the door before trying to push it open.
Click. Creak.
I step in and shut the door behind me with my last remaining strength.
And there he is.
Sitting on the couch like he owns the place, antenna softly glowing, eyes glued to the TV screen.
Excuse me??
No running up to greet me? No excited tail-wagging energy? Yesterday he practically tackled me with hugs and sparkles.
Now?
"Jiang?" I call out, frowning as I take off my shoes. "I'm home."
He glances at me for half a second. "Welcome home, Yunhua."
That's it??
No 'I missed you,' no dramatic alien affection?? What is this bad dog behavior?
What happened to 'kiss me, pat me, hold me like I'm your one true interstellar soulmate'?
I walk closer, squinting at the TV screen to see what on earth has him this hypnotized.
And then I freeze.
Oh.
Oh my god.
Is that—?
"YOU LITTLE PERV!!" I shout, pointing at the screen.
He blinks, finally giving me full attention. "Perv? What is 'perv'?"
I dramatically throw my bag onto the couch. "You're watching a bed scene! A steamy bed scene! In broad-nightlight! What kind of alien are you?!"
He tilts his head, completely innocent. "They said this episode is highly rated."
"Of course it is! They're basically wrestling naked!"
Jiang blinks again. "Is that not how humans build trust?"
I nearly fall to my knees. "Oh my god. I left you alone for ONE day…"
His antenna flickers, confused. "So we're not doing that?"
"NO!!"
He slouches a little, mumbling, "I was just taking notes…"
I grab the remote and turn off the screen with a dramatic sigh.
This man. This alien. This space dog.
I'm too tired to deal with this.
"I need a shower," I mutter, dragging myself to the bathroom, "and brain bleach."