Defeat the system! Kiss my little monster!

This looks like a storage room.

The room was cluttered with various medicine bottles of different effects piled together, and pills scattered on the sheets, under the table, and even in an inconspicuous corner of the room. The tables and chairs inside had been unused for years, their bases warped and cracked, revealing dark scars.

Pei Du turned on the light and went inside, their silhouettes reflected on the glass.

The windowpane shattered into a spiderweb pattern, as if struck by a heavy object. Several cardboard boxes were piled together against the corner of the wall. Pei Du picked one up and threw in the medicine bottles and pills scattered throughout the room.

Sheng Shixian stood outside the door. Pei Du noticed his shifty gaze and smiled at him, "Don't worry, these are just toys. I won't tie you up."

In times of prosperity, one should remain silent and envious.

This room also resembles a detention cell.

Besides the oddly shaped medicine bottles, there were dozens of hemp ropes hanging on the back of the chair. Although they had been there for a long time and were rotten and broken, Sheng Shixian still noticed the bloodstains on them.

Handcuffs and leg irons of different materials were thrown on the ground, their colors dull and almost entirely composed of reinforced, heavy metal. Sheng Shixian secretly observed them and estimated that these shackles were much heavier and rougher than the ones on his hands.

Sheng Shixian stood motionless at the door until Pei Du collected all the shackles and ropes and put them into another cardboard box before he hesitantly entered the room.

These aren't toys; these are the real deal.

How did Pei Du end up with these things?

Pei Du didn't explain much to Sheng Shixian. He casually said, "The things in this room are all old. I'll see if there are any other rooms tomorrow. Where will you sleep tonight?"

Sheng Shixian didn't hesitate this time. He walked straight to the soft bed in the middle and lay down on the carpet that Pei Du had just laid out.

That bed was previously piled with iron locks and pills, and it might still smell strange. Sheng Shixian dared not lie on it.

Pei Du had no objections. He secured the iron lock on Sheng Shixian's wrist to the corner and covered him with the blanket: "Are you going to the toilet or not?"

Sheng Shixian looked up with his eyes open. Pei Du's face was backlit and indistinct in the shadows. He closed his eyes and said, "I'm not going."

“Okay.” Pei Du checked the position of the iron lock on Sheng Shixian’s wrist again. He chose the foot of the bed as the anchor point. The length of the lock made it sturdy and difficult to break free from.

Sheng Shixian stretched out his legs uncomfortably, and Pei Du, seeing this, pulled the blanket up over Sheng Shixian to cover his neck: "Go to sleep."

Sheng Shixian stared intently upwards, then turned his head and closed his eyes.

Pei Du took out two soft ropes from the drawer, tied the cardboard boxes he had just filled tightly, and then placed them all in the corner of the house.

As he hovered in the air, he saw this and exclaimed, "Wow! I didn't realize you were such a wicked fellow!"

Pei Du was speechless: "This isn't mine."

He hummed twice, barely managing to survive: "I know, I know. No means yes, not means yes. Don't you humans have any sense of shame?"

"..." Pei Du threw the cardboard box aside and looked up, saying, "What do you mean by 'want or not'? These things were never mine to begin with. I'm a law-abiding citizen."

"Law-abiding citizen, do you have a gun?"

"Can't I use it for self-defense?" Pei Du said matter-of-factly. He dusted off the bed and took off his coat. "Besides, it's not a real gun, it's a toy gun I bought."

To live a life of ignominy: "..."

Pei Du glanced at Sheng Shixian: "Just fool him."

To live a life of ignominy: "...6."

Pei Du hung his coat on the rack next to him. He passed by a long table, the items on it were in disarray, papers were piled up and covered in dust, and shards of glass that had fallen off sometime earlier were still on the surface.

Pei Du stared at it for a while, then pulled out a yellowed photograph from among the scraps of paper.

The edges of the photograph were curled up, and the plastic wrap on top was wrinkled and wavy. Perhaps due to the passage of time, the figures in the photograph were somewhat blurry. Pei Du could vaguely make out the faces of the people in the photograph through the outlined shapes.

They were just as he remembered them: a man and a woman. The man wore silver-rimmed glasses and had a meticulous expression. When he looked at the camera, his expression was indifferent, revealing a detached professional demeanor.

The woman standing next to him had a much gentler demeanor. She sat down next to the man, her lips curving upwards and her eyes crinkling into a shallow smile.

Pei Du inherited a large part of her appearance, with soft facial features and an approachable look. However, her personality was exactly like her father's, so she didn't have many friends growing up.

Pei Du looked at the photo for a few seconds. The two people in the photo were leaning against each other, surrounded by warmth and gentleness. Anyone who didn't know better would think they got along well.

The photographer was unaware of the ligature marks on the father's neck; he was wearing a long-necked sweater. The photographer was also unaware of the shackles on the mother's wrists and ankles; she was petite and had deliberately concealed them with a long coat.

She was also infected with the virus.

It mutated and went berserk, frequently biting people.

Her father locked her in a room with iron locks, ropes, a gag... and many other things.

When Pei Du was young, he often saw the two of them fighting. His mother's long, sharp fingernails would dig into the ground, leaving a row of bloody marks on the wooden floor.

Her father's face was torn and bleeding from her scratches. He dragged her away, and his mother screamed all the way.

Pei Du peeked out from behind a pillar. His mother's black hair was disheveled, making her look like an unknown wild ghost. She wailed hoarsely, but when she saw Pei Du, she suddenly froze, then sobbed and shed tears.

"Pei Du, don't be afraid of me, okay? I'm your mother..."

Possessing mutant species is a crime.

As a senior researcher in the experimental zone, my father knew this best. Despite this, he secretly built an underground laboratory to manufacture rehabilitation drugs and hid my mother in the house for nearly five years.

Five years later, her mother was caught in the act and shot dead by the military on the street. That same year, her father's illegal laboratory was exposed, and he committed suicide out of fear of punishment.

Nearly ten years have passed since these events, and now, when Pei Du recalls them, he can no longer remember their faces.

Director Gong Yuanshen burned everything related to his parents, leaving Pei Du with not even a single photograph. Now, through the photograph in his hand, Pei Du can only recall their outlines.

Pei Du didn't think much of it. He folded the photos, casually stuffed them into the cardboard box next to him, and then put them all in the corner.

A faint sound rose from the side. Pei Du turned his head to look behind him. Sheng Shixian was still lying on the ground with his eyes closed, silent as if he had fallen asleep.

Pei Du withdrew his gaze, took off his clothes, and put on his pajamas again.

Upon hearing the sound, Sheng Shixian deliberately waited for a while until Pei Du relaxed his guard before reopening his eyes.