Strange Acquaintances

“Height: 114 centimeters. Weight: 18 kilograms.”

“Blood pressure normal. Heart rate slightly elevated.”

“…”

Ye Shuang held the tablet in both hands as he recorded the data. He glanced at the previous records and finally noticed that 483’s records had begun three months ago. In other words, she had successfully survived for three months, and her condition appeared to be fairly good.

Could this be Xiaoyi?

Ye Shuang didn’t dare to be certain. He was even afraid that the child before him might collapse and lose all signs of life the very next second. Torn and conflicted inside, Ye Shuang could only force himself to remain calm.

The smell of disinfectant filled the air. After looking over the instruments around him, Ye Shuang’s gaze settled on the little girl before him. He reached out and helped her put on her lab uniform. It had been specially designed: simply undoing the zipper at the side allowed the entire garment to be removed.

“…Oh.” 483 gave a brief response.

“…”

For a moment, Ye Shuang didn’t know what to say. His eyes wavered for a while before he asked, “What are you going to do next?”

“Me? What can I do?” 483’s simple question left Ye Shuang at a loss for words.

That was right. What could she do?

Remain locked in a room like this, observed like a lab mouse?

Even if she succeeded, her ultimate fate would be nothing more than serving as an organ donor. The remains of her body would be left to curl up in an incinerator until they were reduced to ashes and disposed of.

Ye Shuang fell silent. He didn’t know how to tell her about the fate awaiting her. If she was Xiaoyi, Little Yu might still be able to take her away. But if she wasn’t…

“Do you want to watch television?” Ye Shuang chose to avoid the subject, his gaze falling on the television set nearby.

“Oh?” 483 didn’t seem particularly interested. She only responded with a faint “oh.”

Ye Shuang walked over to the television. He fumbled with it for a moment before pressing the power button.

The screen flickered, then began playing a video.

Ye Shuang discovered that there was no remote control. He couldn’t even choose what to watch. The television was currently displaying educational material.

For example, what water was.

What fire was.

What men and women were.

Knowledge that 483 could never learn through ordinary life was being broadcast continuously by the television. Ye Shuang finally understood why she had no interest in it.

Things that couldn’t be seen or experienced firsthand—could these cold explanations and pictures really be interesting?

“I’ve watched this 174 times.” 483 suddenly spoke. “The last time was forty-four minutes ago.”

“I see…” Ye Shuang fell silent again.

“Would you like to hear a story?”

“A story… All right.”

Seeing that she had taken an interest, Ye Shuang sat down at the edge of the bed and began telling her a story. Whenever he came across a term 483 didn’t understand, he explained it to her one by one. In a daze, he saw a trace of Yu You in the child before him. Both of them were as pure as blank sheets of paper.

The difference was that the girl before him was less vacant and more intelligent.

“Shanxia, don’t spend too much time interacting with the experimental subject.” The broadcast suddenly came to life. “Leave.”

Before Ye Shuang could say anything, 483 had already spoken.

“See you tomorrow.”

“Ah… See you tomorrow.”

Looking at her expression, Ye Shuang sighed inwardly. He then stood up and left the room.

After closing the door, Ye Shuang stood outside for quite some time, until someone patted him on the shoulder.

He turned around and froze for a few seconds, though he recognized the man. In An Shiyu’s world, this man had been his partner: a bespectacled, slightly balding man. As for his name…

Ye Shuang glanced at the man’s name tag and asked quietly, “What is it?”

“Your condition seems a little off. You also spent quite a long time with the experimental subject today. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“You’ve interacted with so many experimental subjects. Getting too emotionally invested will eventually cause you mental problems.” The man patted Ye Shuang on the shoulder again. “Even if 483 has the best data, she could still die tonight.”

“Ah, no. I mean, let’s just hope she survives a little longer and becomes [the Final Work]. Heh heh.”

Ye Shuang only felt a heaviness in his heart. Perhaps the person he was currently playing had already become numb. Ye Shuang had no way of knowing what kind of person he truly was.

“Oh, right. I almost forgot. An Shiyu wants to see you about something. Go over there now.”

Ye Shuang instinctively asked, “Which An Shiyu?”

“Hm? Are you all right? How many An Shiyus do you know? An Shiyangqi, our biggest benefactor.” The man spoke as he gestured for Ye Shuang to follow.

Ye Shuang seemed to realize something. In the past, whenever he had spoken with this man, he would usually respond automatically, as though he were watching a cutscene. But this time, it felt as if he were in complete control of everything.

“Let’s go.”

“Mm.”

Ye Shuang followed the man before finally arriving at a room resembling a reception room.

When he pushed open the door, Ye Shuang saw the married couple. Compared with their younger appearances the last time, they now looked considerably older.

[Character: An Shiyangqi

No introduction]

[Character: Suzuki Keiko

No introduction]

Ye Shuang was about to speak when he noticed another figure in the room. When he looked over, his expression shifted slightly in surprise.

She appeared to be around the same age as Yezi. She wore a simple white dress, and her shoulder-length bob was neat and sharp.

[Character: An Shiyu

8 years old]

“What are you looking at? I know I’m cute, so could you look somewhere else?” The voice was slightly childish, and Ye Shuang slowly came back to his senses.

“Sorry, Shanxia. Is she exactly the same as [them]? She’s actually our daughter, An Shiyu.”

“Her data has been excellent lately. If nothing goes wrong, our experiment should succeed soon,” An Shiyangqi said. “I brought Little Yu here so we could match her physical data.”

“I see…” Ye Shuang was silent for a few seconds before asking, “Is 483 the last one?”

Perhaps Ye Shuang’s question was too strange, or perhaps An Shiyangqi was concerned about his condition. In any case, he replied, “We all hope she’s the last one. Please, Shanxia.”

Ye Shuang nodded silently.

“Actually, we also have another distinguished guest coming. She simply doesn’t have much time today. She’s the madam who provided us with a great deal of research material,” An Shiyangqi continued.

“Without that madam, our experiment wouldn’t have progressed so smoothly.”

“Oh, right, Shanxia. Could you take my daughter for a walk? She’ll be living here for a while in the future, after all.”

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