Chapter 39

After hours of searching, the rescue boat finally pulled all the survivors from the sea.

Once again, it was Yun Feng, leading the 547th Regiment, on a special mission at sea.

"Why did the ship sink?" Jiang Linchuan tossed a dry towel to Yun Feng, who had just been fished out of the ocean, dripping wet.

Yun Feng caught it with one hand, draped it over himself, and casually wiped his hair with a corner. "We ran into a storm," he replied calmly.

"Really?" Jiang Linchuan put his hands on his hips, scoffing as he looked at Yun Feng. "Years have passed, but you still lie with such nonchalance."

"Linchuan," Yun Feng sighed. "Some things cannot be disclosed yet. I cannot violate protocol."

"If that's the case, why call the Special Operations Brigade to rescue you? Doesn't that violate protocol?"

Yun Feng was left speechless by the retort.

As the two were locked in a silent battle, Jiang Linchuan's phone rang.

Jiang Linchuan turned his back to answer the call.

"Linchuan, come to my place immediately."

The helicopter landed on the rooftop of the cliffside restaurant. As Jiang Linchuan departed, he looked at Yun Feng. "Now that you're here, aren't you going to see Yun Zheng?"

Yun Feng replied with a helpless sigh, "I will."

*

Shen Jin awoke from a nap. Around noon, the door creaked open, and the little one, pacifier in mouth, wobbled in, trying to clamber onto the bed.

Alas, his legs were too short. After much effort, he still couldn't make it up. Yet, he persisted, neither crying nor fussing, just stubbornly attempting to climb.

Shen Jin lay on his side, propping his head up, watching with amusement.

Yun Zheng peered through the half-open door. "Actually, I think the little one quite likes you."

"I like him too." Shen Jin took a deep breath, savoring the scent. Who could resist such an increasingly delightful little rascal?

"Really?" That wasn't obvious at all. His cousin really did speak... impulsively.

"Eating? I'm making food. What do you want?"

"I'll only eat it if it's good. If it's not, I won't," Shen Jin stated.

"..." Yun Zheng was momentarily speechless, then wheeled his chair towards the door. "Instant noodles with an egg, ham, and Lao Ganma. Is that okay?"

"Fine." He did enjoy instant noodles, and Yun Zheng's were decent.

Yun Zheng opened the door and was startled to see a tall figure standing with his back to him at his doorstep.

Hearing the sound, the person turned around.

Yun Zheng's eyes widened in disbelief as he recognized the face. "Brother?"

"Brother, is it really you?"

Yun Feng stood there, a faint smile gracing his lips. "Xiao Zheng, I'm sorry it took me so long to come back for you."

"Brother..." Tears streamed down Yun Zheng's face, his voice choked with emotion. "I thought I'd never see you again."

So why did this person take those strange beings out to sea?

Yun Zheng led Yun Feng back to his home, having completely forgotten about cooking and the little one.

Shen Jin was in a good mood today. His tentacles wrapped around the little one, tossing him back and forth across the room. The little one giggled with delight, drool dribbling from the corners of his mouth.

Shen Jin, with a hint of disdain, used Jiang Linchuan's shirt to wipe the drool onto it.

A tentacle peeked into Yun Zheng's home, leaning against the wall, observing the long-reunited brothers.

"Let me see how your legs are doing. I've worried about them all these years."

"It's been so long. They healed ages ago. They don't hurt anymore, brother."

Yun Feng knelt on one knee before Yun Zheng's wheelchair, rolling up the empty pant legs. "Medical science is advanced now. Perhaps someday you'll be able to stand again."

"I can stand now, can't I? Aren't there prosthetics? Linchuan said he'd help me get prosthetics, but I'm lazy and don't like the effort of walking."

"Not prosthetics, it's... never mind, we'll talk about it later."

The pant legs were rolled up, revealing two skeletal stumps.

A tentacle moved closer for a look. The legs had been cleanly severed above the knees, the cuts remarkably neat.

"Your legs..." Yun Feng was utterly shocked, even taking half a step back in surprise.

"Brother, did I scare you?" Yun Zheng hastily reached to pull down his pant legs, but Yun Feng grabbed his wrist. Looking up at him, Yun Feng's voice trembled with excitement. "Xiao Zheng, your legs... why is new flesh growing?"

"What?" Yun Zheng was stunned. "Brother, what are you talking about?"

Yun Zheng lifted his stump and looked down.

He hadn't looked at his legs like this in years. Each time he saw those gruesome scars, it felt like a knife piercing his heart.

But now, on those hideous wounds, about a centimeter of tender, pink new flesh had grown.

"Brother..." Yun Zheng panicked, grabbing Yun Feng's arm. "Th-this... what's happening to me?"

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid." Yun Feng carefully examined the wound, lightly touching it with his finger. After a long moment, he said hoarsely, "Xiao Zheng, your legs seem to be regenerating."

"Regenerating? My legs are growing?"

"Have you encountered anything strange recently, or any strange people?"

Yun Feng looked intently at Yun Zheng.

Yun Zheng immediately thought of the little one and his cousin, but he shook his head without hesitation, his expression unchanged. "No, I stay home every day. I don't go anywhere. The person I see most often is Linchuan."

"Did Linchuan give you anything to use?"

"No." Yun Zheng shook his head again.

Yun Feng thought for a moment, then pulled down his pant legs and said in a low voice, "Don't tell anyone about this. Not even Linchuan."

"Okay, I understand." Yun Zheng nodded. "Brother, I'll do as you say."

Shen Jin was unusually curious. Yun Zheng's legs were actually starting to regenerate? That was something even he couldn't do.

Allowing aberrations to have physical bodies meant that aberrations themselves could transform, and he could help them stabilize their forms and conceal their anomalous presence. He could also help humans acquire limbs, but at most, it would only be a shape; he couldn't make them truly grow flesh and blood.

How did Yun Zheng do it?

Shen Jin looked up and saw the little good-for-nothing hanging on the wall. The little good-for-nothing hugged a tentacle, kicking its short legs, blowing bubbles from its mouth, and making short, repetitive sounds: "Ba-ba-ba-ba..."

Shen Jin propped his chin up and glanced at it. Huh. Maybe it's not so useless after all?

*

"Abyss Lord?"

A murmur of surprise rippled through the military conference room.

It was a highly confidential meeting with five attendees. Jiang Linchuan held the lowest rank among them and was not originally authorized to attend such a meeting. However, as the captain of the Special Operations Brigade and given the matter's relation to the Abyss Lord, he was exceptionally permitted to attend.

Jiang Linchuan sat in a corner, his expression blank, but inwardly, he was greatly shocked. The Abyss Lord had actually left Bai Gu Town. What a coincidence!

Aberrations could freely enter and exit the human world.

This condition would never be approved by the higher-ups.

Sure enough, someone spoke up: "Impossible. If aberrations enter the human world, humanity would be on the brink of extinction. There's no way we can agree to that."

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Author's Note: Sorry, sorry, I'm really, really stuck. Once I get past this block, I'll give you all a nice long chapter.