Ren Xing immediately grabbed his gun and shielded me, pointing the muzzle at Old Chu. He knew that Zhang Litian had been completely erased from the world by my roommate, so he had no memory of the man. However, he recognized Captain An and knew that Old Chu had stolen his skin. The moment they reappeared, Ren Xing knew things had taken a turn for the worse—far worse than what had happened with the shut-in.
Lu Daoshi had heard the whole story from me. Seeing Ren Xing so guarded, he likely realized these newcomers were bad news. He raised his axe and stood in front of me as well. I felt a pang of guilt for having doubted him just moments ago—though, seriously, why does everyone keep trying to frame Lu Daoshi? Senior, do you have some kind of hidden karma problem?
The standoff continued. Aside from the three of us, no one else present knew who these two were. Furthermore, Zhang Litian’s display of skill just now had completely stunned the crowd.
Pi Zhang let out a breath of relief. "What’s going on? Who are you people?"
"Your friend is fine now," Zhang Litian said mildly. His posture and tone were aristocratic and elegant; standing among our group of shirtless losers, he possessed a presence that made it hard to look him in the eye. Only now did I notice he was wearing a white lab coat over a dress shirt and trousers, looking every bit the expert scholar. Beside him, Old Chu—still wearing Captain An’s skin—gave me a casual glance. I couldn't tell if he was playing the role of a bodyguard or an assistant.
"Are you injured? Is it serious?" Zhang Litian shifted his gaze to me. "I believe I heard a gunshot just now."
I forced myself to sit up. My back didn't hurt as much as before. I just hoped the wound wouldn't close up before I reached a hospital, or they’d never get the bullet out. Once I was steady, I squeezed a sentence through gritted teeth: "Save your crocodile tears. I don't need your 'concern.'"
Zhang Litian let out a short laugh and ignored me. At that moment, a large group of people came swarming up the stairs. I only recognized one of them—our university’s President.
The President was panting heavily. When he saw the scene in the top-floor corridor, he immediately began bowing and scraping toward Zhang Litian. "Professor Zhang, about this situation..."
"The infected student is fine now. This proves our serum is effective."
The President finally found the composure to wipe the sweat from his bald head. "Thank goodness, thank goodness... It’s all thanks to you."
"I wasn't certain myself, as it hasn't undergone clinical trials. Fortunately, the outcome was positive. I had hoped this serum would never need to be used, but alas..." He sighed, his expression looking remarkably sincere and kind. Our old President looked at him with even more fervor. The man had dealt with so much lately: Old Chu being skinned, Jin Mu’s mysterious death and disappearing corpse, the explosion during the coffin opening at the Academy of Humanities... He was desperate for things to stop going wrong.
But the problem was—Mr. President, the man in front of you isn't some 'Professor Zhang' specializing in biology. He’s a damn sophomore from this university’s Physics Department named Zhang Litian!
I was about to shout it out, but Ren Xing stopped me. "What serum? What infection? I’m with the Special Criminal Police Task Force, and I haven't received any notice from my superiors."
"You will shortly," Zhang Litian said with a smile.
"The nature of the epidemic hasn't even been clarified yet. How did you develop a serum?" Ren Xing pressed. "Even for a major corporation, synthesizing a drug isn't that easy. It takes years from R&D to clinical trials to distribution. How is it so easy for you?"
"Because I know the trigger mechanism for this infection," Zhang Litian said unhurriedly. "It is high-energy radiation from the Crystal Skull."
"Bullshit!" What kind of blatant lie was this? It was clearly Old Chu’s miserable sons parasitizing human bodies, yet Zhang Litian was blaming the Crystal Skull! Dammit, he was shameless! But Ren Xing muffled the rest of my words. He was right to do so. Who would believe me? Who would believe that the world was ending because Ren Xing was chasing me and my roommate got jealous? Who would believe that what was inside the shut-in was an alien-like creature and not a disease? Especially when Zhang Litian was solemnly claiming he knew the pathogenesis and had researched a serum—who would believe us over a 'biologist'?
The President didn't have time for my outburst. He started wiping his bald head again. "So it really was because of that Crystal Skull... Thank goodness it’s already been sent to the museum warehouse."
"I’m afraid it needs more rigorous isolation. An old warehouse won't hold it," Zhang Litian said gravely. "My initial research was on the Pyramid Phenomenon and the Crystal Skull itself, but I later discovered the skull causes mutations, so I turned my hand to medicine. I know how dangerous that thing is, and I know how to neutralize its effects on the human body."
Fearing things would spiral out of control, the President suggested, "How about this, Professor Zhang? You’re the expert, and everything is in chaos. I’ll try to introduce you to the Mayor. He’s the one who makes the decisions, alright?"
Zhang Litian didn't answer. His eyes flickered toward me. "This student’s condition isn't good either, though he can hold on for a while. Mr. An, take him to my ward. I want to record some data while treating him."
I froze. He actually dared to point the spear at me!
Old Chu, acting as Captain An, gave a grunt of affirmation and walked toward me. The school officials were naturally eager to agree, but there was no way Ren Xing and Lu Daoshi would fall for his lies! Ren Xing stated flatly that he would shoot anyone who dared to step forward.
The old President even tried to persuade us. "You boys are really... if you're sick, you need treatment!"
*If he 'treats' me, I'll end up with a giant hole in my chest, you old fool!*
The two sides were at a stalemate. They couldn't exactly force me to go for treatment, so the President huffed and said fine, but as soon as the official documents arrived from above, I’d be the first one dragged to the hospital. With that, he headed downstairs. Old Chu and Zhang Litian exchanged a look and followed him. It felt like we had just fought a grueling battle; the moment we relaxed, we were drenched in sweat. Ren Xing turned to look at me, his eyes rimmed with red. "I've put you through too much..."
Just as he finished speaking, a syringe appeared in my chest!
Holy shit!
A syringe!
The exact same kind of syringe that had been used on the shut-in!
The last thing I saw was Zhang Litian’s virtuous smile and Old Chu’s smug grin at the top of the stairs, and I knew I was in deep trouble. The next second, I blacked out.
When I woke up, I was on a hospital bed with an IV drip in my hand.
Zhang Litian was indeed beside me, busy fiddling with syringes and mixing various medications. I jumped up in a fright, but he just glanced at me with a smile. "Lie down."
I’d be a fool to trust him! I tried to bolt off the bed, but without even moving a finger, he made me collapse back down as if I were pinned by a ghost. Damn, no wonder he didn't bother tying me up.
"What do you want?"
"I thought you were already quite clear on that." He injected another vial of pale yellow liquid into my arm. I felt my entire body go numb, my muscles going limp. "You shouldn't be able to make a fuss this time."
"You still want to cut out my heart?!"
Zhang Litian dressed me in a surgical gown and picked up a scalpel. "I'm also going to help you resolve some of your bothersome problems."
By this point, I had become strangely calm. "You won't succeed that easily."
He gave an "oh?" and started swabbing my bare chest with alcohol. "And why is that?"
I hissed through my teeth, "Liu Wukong."
He chuckled. "You don't even know his real name."
I felt a flicker of panic. He seemed to know my roommate better than I did... but almost as if to validate my words, the surgical lights flickered three times.
Old Chu burst through the door. "He’s here."
I felt a surge of schadenfreude. I knew it!
Zhang Litian’s expression shifted. "Impossible. He returned to the Abyss; he wouldn't be back this quickly."
Old Chu glanced at me. "I’m talking about the Abyss Guardian, not... *him*." Having said that, he rushed forward to pull Zhang Litian away. Zhang Litian followed for a few steps before shaking him off. He turned back and shoved his damn hand right into my chest! He didn't hesitate for a second! Fuck! Seeing only his forearm sticking out of my chest, I nearly died from the pain. What was the point of the anesthesia and muscle relaxants earlier? You were just pretending to be refined! Now you're ripping out my heart like you're grabbing a pickle! He was going to crush me!
In the next instant, the surgical light exploded! The room plunged into pitch-black darkness. I felt something sweep over me, knocking Zhang Litian flying. At the same time, a very long tail slapped me hard across the face, stirring up a cold, fishy wind. The invisible pressure weighing me down vanished instantly. I heard Old Chu scream "My God!", followed by the sound of a wall being smashed through. A few seconds later, everyone around me was gone.
I was terrified.
I called out "Brother Liu" a few times, but no one answered. I could still feel a breeze blowing in; it seemed the room was no longer an enclosed space.
I tried to sit up. My chest felt tight and swollen, but it didn't hurt much—the anesthesia probably hadn't worn off yet. Zhang Litian had intended to perform open-chest surgery, so the dose of anesthetic and muscle relaxants must have been huge. I didn't even know how I was able to move.
After sitting up, I felt utterly lost. It was pitch black, and I couldn't hear a sound. I wished there was some light. As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I noticed small spots of light glowing in the darkness. Looking closer, I saw they were fluorescent mushrooms. I plucked them all and bunched them together to make a lamp. I used the light to scan the room and found the clothes Zhang Litian had stripped off me. After putting them on, I felt something hard in my pocket. I pulled it out and found a package. I used a scalpel to open it; inside was an ancient Nokia brick phone with a black-and-white screen! You can still buy these nowadays?! The real question was—I didn't buy this!
The phone was on. In the outbox, there was an unsent message addressed to a phone number.
My first reaction was that the guy with the precognitive abilities had finally realized that writing letters was too much trouble and started using a phone.
But why? He sent me a phone without knowing my number? That was impossible. He knew everything about me, even my dreams. After hesitating, I tried calling the number. No one picked up. I put the phone down in frustration. I must be overthinking things; I needed to focus on how to get out...
Just as I hung up, a text message arrived. Two words: *Crystal Skull.*
The Crystal Skull?!
I had forgotten about that thing for a long time, but today two different people had mentioned it, one of whom was Zhang Litian. Zhang Litian had blamed Old Chu’s offspring on the Crystal Skull and claimed to be researching it—implying he wanted to take control of it... Zhang Litian wants the Crystal Skull?! I can't let him have his way! The other thing he wants is my heart; I can't give him that either! I truly hated him now. That refined-looking scumbag!
Thinking of this, I stuffed the hole in my chest with gauze and headed out. Based on what Old Chu and Zhang Litian said, the newcomer wasn't my roommate. My roommate had been so angry at Ren Xing that he’d gone back to his "hometown." The one protecting me now seemed to be the Abyss Guardian.
What the hell is that?
But it probably isn't as powerful as my roommate; my roommate is the Master of the Abyss.
Besides, my manly sixth sense told me that the Abyss Guardian wasn't exactly friendly toward me. Its first move was to slap me in the face with its tail, and it really hurt.
I needed to get to a safe place as soon as possible.
***
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My Roommate is a Non-Human | Chapter 41 | The False Professor | Novela.app | Novela.app
