sjar Chapter 454 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (65)
Chapter 454 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (65)
Liao Tingyuan's words effectively interrupted Lu Liruan's anxiety.
She found a clean spot, sat cross-legged, rested her chin on her hand, and looked around the room.
The room was a complete mess. Lu Liruan watched helplessly as several cockroaches lined up and disappeared into a pile of tattered clothes.
"Sigh—" she sighed deeply.
"What do you think it could be?" Lu Liruan asked Liao Tingyuan.
"I really can't help with this." Liao Tingyuan stood beside her, a smile on his face, and patted her messy bun a few times like a ball.
Acting as if it's none of his business.
"How can you be so indifferent?" Lu Liruan covered her head and asked resentfully.
“You said if I didn’t choose correctly, like you said, and I aroused the space’s vigilance, it would come after us…”
Lu Liruan clicked her tongue: "The more you talk about it, the more this space seems to be alive?"
"In a sense, they are alive. The source of infection is like their heart. When someone searches for their heart and tries to attack it, they will naturally fight back." Liao Tingyuan placed his hand on his chest and patted it a few times, simulating the rhythm of a heartbeat.
"Three times?" Lu Liruan questioned, "Is that number accurate? Or is it just an approximation?"
"..." Liao Tingyuan pursed his lips.
"Holy crap! Is it really true?" Lu Liruan could hardly believe her eyes.
"Well... not really. Infection sources that form aggressive spaces are not very common, so the sample data is relatively small. Moreover, the attack methods of each space are different. We were also attacked a few nights ago, so it's... a bit difficult to distinguish." Liao Tingyuan felt like he was making excuses.
Looking into Lu Liruan's inquisitive eyes, he raised his hand and shielded her face: "So... it was about three times, I guess."
"Does your company even have any reliable people?" Lu Liruan asked.
Then Liao Tingyuan suddenly pursed his lips and revealed a smile. He lightly tapped Lu Liruan's nose and said in a calm and casual tone, "Me."
"This is not the time for jokes! Ahhhhhh!" Lu Liruan jumped up, trying to pinch Liao Tingyuan's face, but Liao Tingyuan dodged her very nimbly.
He stepped back and pinned down Lu Liruan, who was rushing towards him like a small cannonball.
"Pfft—" Liao Tingyuan had never felt that teasing others was such a happy thing.
It can make you so happy that you never get tired of it.
"Why can't I just pick up everything I see and try my luck, like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse?" Lu Liruan sighed.
“It just won’t work.” Liao Tingyuan shook his head: “Mental power is the connection between you and space. You can sense the existence of space, and space can sense you in return… How should I put it, it’s rather idealistic?”
Liao Tingyuan turned to confirm whether Lu Liruan understood what "idealism" meant.
Lu Liruan: ...
I think... I think I can understand.
She gave Liao Tingyuan a slightly hesitant answer with her eyes.
Liao Tingyuan assumed that she understood.
"If you go to explore with the intention of finding the source of infection, you can sense the space."
"Huh? Then I'll keep repeating to myself: I didn't, I didn't look for it. Or I'll just... touch this chair right now!"
Lu Liruan placed her hands on the chair.
"I kept repeating to myself: I need to find the source of infection. Is this chair the source? Is this chair the source of infection? I need to take it! Will it have any reaction?"
Liao Tingyuan shook his head: "You can't fool it. Even if you try to change your mind, it's useless." Liao Tingyuan pointed vaguely at Lu Liruan's chest: "Spatial abilities are not mind reading."
"It may feel like it can know what you're thinking, but the only connection it has with you is mental energy. So, it still judges things through mental energy, and it has little to do with what you think or how you lie."
Lu Liruan sighed deeply: "It's so difficult... I'm saying it's difficult, did it hear me?"
Liao Tingyuan also sighed: "I told you, don't treat it like it's alive."
Lu Liruan gave up the idea of touching everything in the house.
Neither of them went into the bathroom just now, because the smell was already wafting out even without them having to go in.
Lu Liruan was very puzzled. Why could the bathroom in her home smell just as terrible as a public toilet outside?
It's still summer, and the temperature is high. Just by walking at the door, you can hear the buzzing of insects and flies inside.
Lu Liruan had only taken a few steps forward when she was almost hit in the face by a fly, and she hurriedly took two steps back.
"How can it be so dirty?" Lu Liruan walked to the side and let out a breath she had been holding in.
But Liao Tingyuan's expression was very serious.
"Wh...what's wrong?" Every time Lu Liruan saw him with that expression, nothing good would come of it.
"Even if the bathroom is very dirty, it shouldn't smell like this, right?"
His words made Lu Liruan feel even more nauseous: "What's with different smells in bathrooms? Don't go researching this stuff!"
Lu Liruan felt that Liao Tingyuan's mysophobia was really acting up in waves; he actually dared to smell the odor inside!
"I mean..." Liao Tingyuan saw Lu Liruan looking at him like he was something dirty, and took a step back.
"I mean, it has a kind of putrid smell inside, a smell that's different from the usual filthy smell."
Lu Liruan was taken aback.
Suppressing her nausea, Lu Liruan tried to take a step forward and take a small breath.
"yue——"
Lu Liruan couldn't help but vomit.
And then this caused some very bad memories to resurface in my mind.
“This smell… it’s a bit like…” Lu Liruan wasn’t sure, so she turned to Liao Tingyuan to confirm.
"Like the scent I smelled in the hallway, a diluted version?" Lu Liruan finished speaking.
The brain seems to have a self-protective mechanism; when something is too difficult to accept or when there is a major trauma, the brain will subconsciously try to forget it.
When Lu Liruan entered the room, she only felt that the bathroom smelled bad, but she didn't associate it with that smell.
Now that Liao Tingyuan has mentioned it, I realize... there are indeed some similarities.
It just didn't smell as strong as the smell in the corridor.
"Is there something rotting in the bathroom?" Lu Liruan thought to herself, one problem after another.
This room is so small, but it's full of "surprises"—you could practically play an escape room game here!
"I gonna go see."
Liao Tingyuan's voice was also filled with helplessness; he felt he had had enough.
The resilience of corporate slaves is almost exhausted.
"I'll go with you." Lu Liruan grabbed his arm. "I can't always be the only one making you feel disgusted..."
There shouldn't be any danger inside this house.
"I can go by myself." Lu Liruan meant well by Liao Tingyuan, who had already faced many challenges on his own for her sake.
What was meant to be a kind remark suddenly made Lu Liruan's face flush when Liao Tingyuan looked at her. She unconsciously added, "If I keep making you feel disgusted, what if you make me too disgusted to cook tomorrow?"
"Oh," Liao Tingyuan replied casually, "So what do you want to eat tomorrow?"
Lu Liruan: ?
"Don't actually say this now! Otherwise I really won't be able to eat tomorrow!" Lu Liruan said in despair.
After getting to know him better, she discovered that Liao Tingyuan had a kind of understated, quirky sense of humor!
When you're not familiar with someone, you don't even realize it. And when you do realize it after you've gotten to know them, sometimes you don't even have time to react.
Because even when this person is indulging in morbid whims, he remains calm and gentle, with an eerily stable emotional state.
"Okay, then... shall we go take a look?"
Liao Tingyuan didn't argue with her and smiled as he extended his hand to her.
Lu Liruan grabbed him, still somewhat apprehensive as she followed him forward.
Liao Tingyuan's hands were icy cold, but this coldness unexpectedly gave Lu Liruan an unparalleled sense of security. Lu Liruan herself didn't know how long it had been since she had felt such a reliable and gentle sense of security.
The bathroom is very small.
Actually, you can see the interior layout clearly just by standing at the entrance.
It's just a regular bathroom. The sink is the closest thing to the door.
There was a very dirty mirror on it, and I don't know what kind of stains it had.
Further inside, there was an old washing machine...
Lu Liruan didn't know if the washing machine was still usable.
The drainpipe was so black that its original color was no longer visible.
There's a toilet inside.
Then, inside, they put in clothes racks and a few... basins and other similar things.
Because something is blocking the view, I can't see clearly.
At first glance, it's impossible to tell where the smell is coming from.
This bathroom is so small that it feels very cramped when two people try to enter together.
Lu Liruan had to press half of her body against Liao Tingyuan's back so that the two of them could walk side by side.
She peeked out from beside Liao Tingyuan's shoulder, trying to find the source of the smell by sniffing.
Then came another bout of dry retching.
Liao Tingyuan glanced back at her, and Lu Liruan patted him on the back, assuring him, "Don't worry, I definitely won't throw up on you!"
Liao Tingyuan: ...
The two people went inside, the bathroom light flickered, and the smell became even more pronounced.
The pool was empty, but a ring of something solidified around it, like rust, made it look very dirty...
Lu Liruan carefully tugged at her own clothes, and then very considerately tugged at Liao Tingyuan's clothes to prevent them from rubbing against each other.
Further inside, the washing machine was covered with a thick layer of grime.
Lu Liruan pushed open the washing machine lid with a "snap" before Liao Tingyuan could react.
With one burst of energy, they peered inside.
There was no water inside, but there were a few pieces of clothing stuffed in there, I don't know whose they were, probably clothes that were going to be washed.
There was nothing on the spin dryer side, so the smell probably wasn't coming from there.
Lu Liruan leaned forward slightly, trying to make out the details.
The remaining space, the toilet...
The toilet seat was open, and inside... Lu Liruan didn't want to describe it; she simply couldn't bear to look at it a second time.
It feels like just looking at it would breed a lot of bacteria.
That leaves only one place.
Liao Tingyuan picked up a clothes hanger from the side and closed the toilet lid, making it easier to see what was inside.
There were two basins on the outside, but they were empty. On the shelf, there were only some basic toiletries.
Lu Liruan tiptoed and peered into the innermost part of the toilet, where it seemed... there was a basin inside?
"I'll go up and take a look!" Lu Liruan found an angle.
It wasn't convenient to see from the shelf next to her, so Lu Liruan volunteered. With Liao Tingyuan's help, she stepped onto the closed toilet seat and then stepped on the water tank.
Stand on a high place and look down.
"Holy crap, it's so slippery!"
Lu Liruan stumbled, but fortunately Liao Tingyuan was very careful and caught her around the waist almost instantly, keeping her firmly in place.
Lu Liruan's heart swayed for a moment when she stepped into the air.
It wasn't just because I tripped, but also because of what I saw.
There's a basin inside.
"It looks like there's blood in the basin..." Lu Liruan didn't see it clearly.
Because the water in that basin had turned a dark reddish-brown color.
I don't know how long it had been sitting, but some mold-like things had grown on the surface of the water, which were visible to the naked eye, and the water in the basin felt very viscous.
The thing soaking inside, I don’t know if it was a towel or clothes, it was all a clump, and it had all changed color.
The smell, coming from that crack, rushed straight to the top of Lu Liruan's head.
This is it!
That unbearable smell came from here.
The space was extremely cramped; it felt like someone had deliberately crammed that bowl of food into it.
It's not easy to dig it out now.
The key question is, how do we get this out?
Lu Liruan couldn't imagine pulling that dirty thing out of that crack by hand.
The basin is now sticky and gooey too...
"What should I do?"
Lu Liruan shrugged and made way for Liao Tingyuan to come up and take a look.
Liao Tingyuan pondered for a moment, then squatted on the toilet seat.
Afraid that he would fall, Lu Liruan imitated what he had just done, standing behind him and wrapping her arms around him.
Let him lean on your shoulder.
As soon as Liao Tingyuan stretched his hand down, the smell became even stronger.
Then Lu Liruan saw him using a clothes hanger to hook something out of the basin.
It was a piece of clothing, which had been completely discolored after being soaked in that basin of water.
Lu Liruan even noticed that it had a stringy texture...
Liao Tingyuan held the thing a little further away and said to Lu Liruan, "Bring me another clothes hanger."
Lu Liruan ran to the shelf and grabbed another clothes hanger, handing it to Liao Tingyuan.
Liao Tingyuan carefully unfolded the garment using two hangers.
Although the entire garment has changed color, it is still possible to tell whether there are any stains from washing.
Judging by the color, it should be blood.
Moreover, the blood was on her arm, so Lu Liruan grabbed a clothes hanger and poked it forward.
This garment... feels like someone used it to wipe... their own blood off?