coobybook Chapter 456 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (67)
Chapter 456 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (67)
"At least for now, he shouldn't be here, right?" Seeing that she didn't look well, Liao Tingyuan went back to the kitchen and touched the watermelon to check its temperature.
"Do you want to eat it like this, or make it into watermelon juice? I froze some ice at home yesterday." He tried to distract Lu Liruan.
"Then... let's juice it and drink it." Lu Liruan is the kind of person who never misses a meal, no matter what happens.
I once read a quote: "A person who can eat while shedding tears is a person who can survive."
Lu Liruan took it to heart.
As long as you can still eat and drink, life will always go on.
"Why isn't it here now?" Lu Liruan didn't quite understand.
Liao Tingyuan had an expression that seemed to say, "Do you really want to hear my explanation right now?"
"Why?" Lu Liruan felt that she had been staying up too late lately, and a large number of her already limited brain cells had been lost without her realizing it.
"What month is it now?" Liao Tingyuan asked, cutting the watermelon in half with a single stroke.
The green watermelon rind, still damp with cold water droplets, cracked open with a crisp sound.
“July…” Lu Liruan replied.
"Can the refrigerator be unplugged?"
"No way! If the power goes out on the refrigerator, won't everything inside spoil?" When Lu Liruan had only been living here for a short time, the community's cables kept having problems.
The residents' group chat is full of complaints. If the power is cut off without warning, won't everything in the refrigerator spoil?
"So?" Liao Tingyuan then deftly sliced the watermelon flesh with a few more strokes.
"So...so?"
At his prompting, Lu Liruan took the juicer to the tap and rinsed it carefully again.
"What's the difference between a person and meat in a refrigerator?" Liao Tingyuan plugged in the power switch.
“…?” Lu Liruan washed her hands and helped him remove the seeds from the watermelon pieces he had cut.
Why should people have anything to do with the meat in the refrigerator?
After asking the question, Lu Liruan's expression stiffened.
"Understood?" Liao Tingyuan sighed, giving him an expression that said, "You absolutely have to ask, you absolutely have to figure this out."
Lu Liruan's face turned as green as a watermelon rind.
Yes, living people have nothing to do with meat in the refrigerator, because living people can regulate their own body temperature and can stay alive no matter what the temperature is.
What about the dead... people?
What's the difference between this and meat taken directly from the refrigerator?
In summer temperatures like these, two pieces of meat weighing over 100 pounds each...
One piece might weigh 200 jin (100 kg).
Just leave it inside the house without any precautions?
They must have died before this space was formed, or just as it was forming.
Lu Liruan counted the days on her fingers, but there was really no need to count.
With this temperature and uncomfortable humidity, many things left outside in the morning already smell rancid by the afternoon.
So Liao Tingyuan said that those two things should not be there now...
Even if it were, it wouldn't be a state of normalcy that they could understand.
Otherwise, let alone neighbors.
Lu Liruan felt that the entire neighborhood must have been filled with that rotten, awful stench!
The neighborhood is still peaceful right now, and nobody is discussing the smell. Lu Liruan can't smell anything during the day either.
Last time during the day, she and Liao Tingyuan actually walked to the entrance of that building in the community, and all they smelled was the fresh fragrance emanating from the flowers and plants in the community's flower beds.
There's no news of panic in the community yet, but Lu Liruan can't even imagine the uproar it would cause if someone found out.
"If they're not here... where did those two go?" Lu Liruan pursed her lips. "Could there be some huge plot twist we don't know about? Like... someone secretly took them away?"
"We're throwing a body into the trash can...aren't we just repeating what someone else did?"
"You have such a vivid imagination." Liao Tingyuan used a toothpick to pick up a piece of watermelon from the middle and stuffed it into Lu Liruan's mouth.
"How could that be..." Lu Liruan mumbled, the nausea she felt earlier being washed away by the sweet juice of the watermelon.
In return, she also kindly placed a piece in Liao Tingyuan's mouth and brought it to his lips.
Liao Tingyuan paused in his movements.
Lu Liruan didn't get a new one; instead, she used the toothpick she had just used to prick someone...
Although Lu Liruan's mouth didn't touch the toothpick when she took the watermelon away.
but……
Liao Tingyuan paused for a moment, then followed Lu Liruan's action, biting into the watermelon and quickly lowering his head to blink, trying to hide the unnaturalness in his expression.
Lu Liruan didn't notice anything; her action was just a spontaneous one, and her mind was still preoccupied with what she had just been thinking about.
"Nobody's taking them away, so why...? We don't think the problem is almost solved, but it's only just beginning, do we? Don't scare me..." Lu Liruan's eyes sparkled.
"No, we're seeing more and more information at night now, and there's absolutely no evidence of any other situation extending outwards. Don't overthink it, don't let your imagination run wild," Liao Tingyuan stopped her from letting her thoughts wander.
In fact, this is sometimes the case in space. Liao Tingyuan has participated in missions that involve entering space before.
People with high mental strength are often more sensitive, and if their thinking goes astray, they can lead everyone astray as well.
Because in this space, those with high mental strength have higher perception and awareness, and ultimately it is they who will find the source of infection. Therefore, they are the leaders of the team, and even if there are disagreements, the person with high mental strength usually takes the lead.
Liao Tingyuan felt that if she told her this now, it would put even more pressure on her.
It was a bit chilly through the draft last night.
Liao Tingyuan saw that Lu Liruan's door was open, so he went over to help her close it.
When he got to the door, he saw Lu Liruan hugging the blanket tightly, wriggling on the bed like a caterpillar.
He was muttering to himself.
Liao Tingyuan tried to hear clearly.
Then I heard onomatopoeia like, "Ha! Ha! Hey!"
Then I saw Lu Liruan doing a set of boxing moves on the bed.
Liao Tingyuan: ...
I wanted to go in and cover her belly, but I felt that even if I covered it, she would immediately lift it off.
Finally, Liao Tingyuan stood at the door for a while and found that she was just practicing boxing and showed no signs of having a nightmare, so he slowly closed the door and left.
"By the way... what did you dream about last night?"
Lu Liruan tilted her head: "No, I slept quite well, what's wrong?"
"...It's nothing."
Liao Tingyuan pressed the button on the juicer. A rumbling sound filled the room.
"I've thought about it carefully!"
Lu Liruan strained her voice, making sure it reached Liao Tingyuan's ears amidst the juicing sounds.
"You're right, I really feel that no one else has been involved..."
Lu Liruan felt she shouldn't scare herself. Their storyline was basically complete, and they seemed to have sensed the space, with the nights getting longer.
Lu Liruan felt that Liao Tingyuan's watch was showing a lot of time slowly.
Lu Liruan felt as if half an hour had passed, but when she checked her watch, only about ten minutes had gone by.
But as always, things only return to normal after Lu Liruan and the others clear away the things at the door.
Lu Liruan felt that she had developed biceps in the past few days.
"What are you doing?"
After Liao Tingyuan finished the first round of juicing, he used the sieve that came with the juicer to filter out the broken watermelon seeds. When he turned his head, he saw Lu Liruan with the sleeves of her pajamas rolled up to her shoulders, striking a very unorthodox bodybuilding pose.
"Do you see any muscles on my arms?"
Lu Liruan tilted her head and strained her arms.
"What have you been practicing?" Liao Tingyuan asked, puzzled.
“I swing that big ladle, move that door panel, and drag that corpse every day. How can that not be considered exercise? I can call this lifestyle exercise!” Lu Liruan wondered if it was just her imagination, but she actually felt that she had some muscle definition.
Liao Tingyuan...
That's not very practical, is it?
"Look, look, isn't it a little bit!" Lu Liruan called Liao Tingyuan over to take a look.
Liao Tingyuan initially thought she was just joking, but Lu Liruan summoned her over, and she was holding a sieve in her hand.
Then I realized... it seems there really is a little bit.
"You might be a little too thin. It would be easier to see your shape if you exercise a little."
Liao Tingyuan didn't realize that he was now referring to the things Lu Liruan was talking about as "training".
"I'm not skinny at all! I'm strong! Robust! Women should be strong!"
This is the first time Lu Liruan has ever had muscles in her life. Before, when she saw pretty women with nice muscles, Lu Liruan would be extremely envious.
Now that she's realized she's a little bit pregnant herself, Lu Liruan is so happy she's practically snotting through her nose.
"Yes, yes, exceptionally strong!"
Liao Tingyuan patted her arm and echoed.
"You need to be strong too! Aren't you the skinny one?"
After becoming smug, Lu Liruan started to take advantage of Liao Tingyuan's kindness and began to lecture him.
Liao Tingyuan: ?
How did this get involved with me?
“Look, we can’t just pursue being fair-skinned, young, and thin! I think you’re quite fair-skinned, young, and thin!” Lu Liruan saw Liao Tingyuan walk back, holding a cup in one hand and a sieve in the other, and her evil intentions were aroused.
Suddenly, I found the pleasure in "preaching".
As she spoke, she gave Liao Tingyuan's arm a hard pinch.
Then:……
"How come you have muscles too?"
Liao Tingyuan's arm was flexed as he held the object up.
Lu Liruan touched it once, then touched it again suspiciously.
Liao Tingyuan blinked, suddenly feeling a bit absurd: "Why... can't I have one?"
"It's nothing, I just feel you're thin." Like a piece of paper.
"Maybe it's because I've been doing the same exercises as you every day for the past few days, and I just picked it up on the spot?" Liao Tingyuan replied casually.
Lu Liruan knew that Liao Tingyuan was strong, but because his strength did not match his physique, Lu Liruan always thought it was a natural talent.
"Let me go..." Liao Tingyuan sighed and said to Lu Liruan, who had remained in the same position.
The moment Lu Liruan touched him, Liao Tingyuan froze for a second. Then Lu Liruan's next words immediately shattered the ambiguous meaning of her actions…
"Then go get two glasses," Liao Tingyuan instructed.
"Oh, okay." Only then did Lu Liruan realize that she was still holding the other person's arm.
Lu Liruan was about to ask: Do you have other muscles too?
But as soon as the words were about to come out, Lu Liruan realized that what she had said seemed... rather offensive.
The two of them are now living and eating together, and Liao Tingyuan is like a "mother" to him. He really shouldn't be so rude as to harass her like this.
Lu Liruan mentally reprimanded herself for her behavior.
They brought back the cups, and the two of them, each holding a glass of watermelon juice with ice, sat comfortably on either side of the sofa.
That concludes the discussion about exercise.
"Where were we?" Liao Tingyuan realized that his thoughts were starting to wander as he spent more time with Lu Liruan.
Now, the phenomenon of things not connecting with the previous ones has also appeared...
“Let me think about it,” Lu Liruan replied naturally.
After taking a big gulp of watermelon juice, I remembered.
"We were wondering why that thing hadn't attracted anyone's attention. We figured it couldn't be that someone else had taken the two bodies away."
"Hmm." Liao Tingyuan nodded and praised, "Youth makes you smarter."
"Of course!" Lu Liruan said without any modesty.
“We originally thought this space only appeared at night.” Liao Tingyuan tapped the watch on his wrist.
"Hmm." Lu Liruan also found it a bit strange: "Could it be that this space also has working hours?"
Liao Tingyuan: "I don't think so, otherwise it would seem like it rested more than us."
Lu Liruan: ...
You care so much.
You've actually started to care.
"Probably not," Lu Liruan parroted.
"Hmm." Liao Tingyuan put the cup aside.
Therefore, the fact that no one noticed anything wrong with the house during the day was probably due to the space itself. Even at this moment, in what seems like a peaceful daytime, the space is likely fulfilling its function.
Lu Liruan paused for a moment to react: "Then why does it look so normal during the day? There are people outside... there are people outside, and I see everyone coming and going normally."
Then Lu Liruan recalled that at the beginning, Liao Tingyuan had told her that if people could not sense this space at all, this space would not have any effect on them, and they could of course enter and exit freely.
Therefore, Lu Liruan and Liao Tingyuan's communications were unable to reach the outside world, which is why Lu Liruan's job postings on the software never received any response.
At the time, Lu Liruan thought it was because her education level was too low, and even a job like a security guard, which was not gender-restricted, wouldn't consider her.
“So… even during the day, the space is constantly influencing everything.” Lu Liruan finished the last sip of her juice. “Then, logically speaking, we should be able to find clues during the day as well.”
"But it seems like we didn't find anything except for that day at the vet!"