As Xie Yi arrived near the Xie Residence, she paused her footsteps, noticing the two armed men guarding the main entrance.
She took a step back and looked at her watch. There was still roughly an hour left before the clock struck five in the morning – the time when the Xie members usually start their first morning routine.
Thinking that the training grounds must be empty at the moment, Xie Yi chose to climb the walls and land there to avoid unwanted attention.
With fluid movements, she leapt over the tall concrete, landing on the grassy spot without any sound. Like a panther, she then moved seamlessly in the dark, eyes darting left and right with extreme caution before she swiftly headed to her own room.
Unbeknownst to her, hiding behind the fake mountains not far from her landing spot was a young man.
With a common grade spear in his hand, the man stood up from his crouching position and went out of his hiding spot, muttering with uncertainty.
"Xie Yi?"
***
The next day, just as the morning sun peeked out to welcome the day, the whole Xie residence was caught in a huge uproar.
"Hey! Have you seen the news? Over thirty bodies wiped out in just one night – allegedly by one person at that! Can you even believe that?"
"Where was it again? Right! The alley behind Xing Zhou Grillhouse! The scene was so messed up that they sealed the entire area for detoxification!"
"Ugh, those disgusting pests… I can't even imagine rummaging through their flesh and getting their fluids on my skin. How did that person kill them all without throwing up not even once? Wait, are there any traces of pukes found in the scene?"
A short silence suddenly ensued as all eyes gathered on that one young woman who had raised such a 'unique' question. The man on her left chuckled, his tone disdainful.
"That brain of yours is really interesting, little sister. What are you fussing over another person's puke for?"
"What do you know?" The young woman rolled her eyes whilst crossing her arms against her chest. "Aren't we all wondering who that 'person' really is? Why not use the fluids found in the scene to run a DNA test?"
As the young woman's words dawned upon them, the crowd hissed in realization, silently giving the young woman their genuine thumbs up.
Watching the heated discussion from afar, Xie Yi couldn't help but grow worried. The DNA test, was it even possible?
But then again, at another thought, Xie Yi didn't think that they would be able to trace it back to her that easily.
Afterall, she had once belonged to the military's most secretive project. Although she was no longer a part of it, she believed that any information regarding her and the team wouldn't be disclosed to just anyone.
As the thought provided her some assurance, Xie Yi chose to stay away from the crowd and return to her room instead. Once inside, she settled herself on the soft mattress and sat in a lotus position, eyes closed as she rested one hand on her stomach.
With great focus, her perception pierced deep into her lower abdomen. There, nestling and hovering in the centre was the baby core, its smooth surface pulsating with vibrant energy.
Although the movement was minute, at a closer look, the baby core could be seen actively sucking on the rich strands of mutated energy surrounding it, the little squeaking sounds it gave out reflecting its good mood.
When Xie Yi picked up the reek of gutters emanating out of the surrounding energy, her face immediately darkened from the shudders of horror and despair.
She was once again pulled into the scene from the night before, where she cowered within the darkness with a layer of purple all over her skin. Xie Yi rubbed her arms in efforts of comforting herself.
The mutated nucleus within her was just like a ticking bomb, able to explode and kill her at any second. That was why, Xie Yi knew she couldn't afford to let this volatile threat linger for long.
She needed to find a way to gain the upper hand and take control.
When she thought of this, Xie Yi took out the nearly empty vial glass and studied its content with narrowed eyes.
There's only little left of the green liquid given to her by Doctor Xue. It would be far from enough to cure her 'sickness' if she were to experience a 'relapse' for the second time however, returning back to the pawnshop to ask for more wasn't an option either.
She may have to lose her place in the Xie family once the truth about her body was revealed however, there's no saying that she could've fared better in Doctor Xue's hands either. Afterall, she knew better than anyone else just how twisted the Doctor's mind could be at times.
For now, Xie Yi resolved to first figure out a way to prevent the little monster from resurfacing once more. But, how?
Her mind couldn't help but note the suckling power the baby core gave off, giving her the image of a baby suckling on milk in delight.
If she were to compare the little monster with human babies, deeming them as the same goods, what would cause such cute little angels to be disturbed out of their sweet dreams and go crazy?
Hunger – That just naturally clicked in her mind.
Then, if she were to feed the core enough nuclei, would it stay obedient forever inside her?
That's it! She finally found her way out of this dilemma!
Xie Yi's eyes visibly brightened, but her excitement didn't last for long as she was faced with yet another dilemma.
She's no longer an active soldier under the military and her hunting license had long been revoked. From where would she get that much mutated nuclei to feed the baby?
Xie Yi studied the swirling mutated energy in her abdomen. Judging by the rate of the core's absorption, the energy would probably last her another day or two at most.
Knowing that she couldn't afford to stay passive for long, Xie Yi jumped out of the bed and reached out for her phone.
With a swipe of her finger, she opened the chatting app and left Cang Hai a message.
[Brother Hai, I need your help. I need a huge amount of mutated nuclei, the higher rank the better, asap.]
For a few minutes, the message was branded with an unread sign. Not wanting to put her eggs in one basket, Xie Yi moved her attention to the purchase request she made to the Trade Centre.
When she realized that she had none of both Zhang Mo's and Xiao Jun's number, Xie Yi packed her belongings and readied herself to set out.
Xie Yi had just opened the door and stepped outside when she caught sight of a letter beneath her sneakers. She bent her back and picked up the letter, her heartbeat quickening as she took in the first bold line.
[I saw you last night.]
'!!!'