bayedsolid Chapter 443 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (54)
Chapter 443 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (54)
Lu Liruan: ...
I thought it was some kind of weird thing, but it turned out to be a cockroach.
But even cockroaches.
Lu Liruan still didn't get off Liao Tingyuan's back.
He tentatively reached out a hand and pointed in that direction: "W-what, are there still biological weapons now?"
Liao Tingyuan: ?
Lu Liruan thought that seeing it was a cockroach would put her at ease, but the little girl seemed even more frightened.
Lu Liruan's next sentence confirmed this: "They're not even as good as those two things in front of my house."
"Are you afraid of cockroaches?" Liao Tingyuan followed Lu Liruan's suggestion and moved away from there, waiting for the cockroaches to scurry to more hidden places in the light.
"You are not afraid?"
Liao Tingyuan: "I wouldn't say I'm afraid."
Liao Tingyuan was a clean person, and he couldn't stand this kind of thing.
Moreover, those cockroaches that flashed by just now were all very large.
They are currently in a northern city, and to see such a large cockroach in a northern city is truly...
Lu Liruan thought to herself: Isn't the food a bit too good?
They all seemed quite plump and strong.
But after glancing around, Lu Liruan saw clearly the living room environment illuminated by the lights.
Now I understand why these cockroaches grow so big.
The living room is so dirty and messy!
Not only was it piled high with all sorts of odds and ends, but there were also two open suitcases scattered on the ground... I don't even know whose they are.
What's even more unbearable is that there are countless takeout bags and boxes piled up on the floor of the room.
The items were placed crookedly, and dark stains could be seen on the ground, indicating that something containing soup had spilled out.
Besides cockroaches, Lu Liruan also saw flies flying around on it.
You can also hear a buzzing sound in your ears.
It's summer now, the peak season for insect reproduction.
What's the difference between leaving these things in the house and using containers specifically for raising insects?
So the stench they smelled earlier was coming from here...
It's not some other kind of stench, it's just the smell of food that's been sitting out for too long.
Liao Tingyuan's move made the smell inside even stronger!
The room wasn't very spacious to begin with, and the living room wasn't well-ventilated.
Standing in the corner, the smell seeped into her nostrils in wisps, making Lu Liruan feel somewhat nauseous.
"No, is the place we're searching today really that harsh?" Lu Liruan complained, clinging to Liao Tingyuan's back.
Liao Tingyuan's expression was also not very good.
Liao Tingyuan's expression wasn't this grim when faced with other scenarios that might put them in danger or terrify them.
Thinking about the fact that they might have to dismantle this pile of stuff later, Liao Tingyuan sighed deeply and said to Lu Liruan, "You're right, these things really are biological weapons..."
“You’re a bit better than me.” Lu Liruan patted his shoulder.
Liao Tingyuan doesn't know where his strengths lie.
He turned back and looked at her with some confusion.
Lu Liruan pointed to his gloved hand: "At least you're wearing a glove."
Liao Tingyuan gently pinched her nose with his gloved hand: "It's not waterproof."
The two looked at each other in bewilderment.
Liao Tingyuan carried Lu Liruan on his back and turned to another place.
Needless to say, the bathroom was a disaster; the moment they opened the door, both of them nearly threw up…
I don't even know how long it's been since I last cleaned it.
The ground was covered with smudges from being stepped on and fallen hair.
The toilet bowl was a disgusting color; even public restrooms are cleaner than this…
The sink was covered in grime, and the mirror was so dirty that you couldn't even see yourself clearly.
This room has two bedrooms and a living room.
Liao Tingyuan pushed open the two doors facing each other.
One of the doors appears to be where the owner lives, and the most eye-catching item inside is a rather high-spec computer...
The gaming chair is already deformed from being used so much.
Various clothes and socks, some clean and some dirty, were piled up on the bed.
There were still takeout boxes on the ground!
The entire room was completely blocked out by blackout curtains.
The people inside look like they're living in some kind of animal enclosure.
The computer wasn't off. Liao Tingyuan went over and moved the mouse, only to find it was in sleep mode.
The other room, which used to look like it was used to store miscellaneous items, now feels like a place where someone lives.
In the middle of the room, a small area had been cleared out, and it was fairly clean.
The bed was simply made up, and the style of some of the personal items looked completely different from the house's owner.
"This must be where the male homeowner is staying temporarily, right?"
Lu Liruan peeked into the house from Liao Tingyuan's shoulder.
The cockroaches in this house have probably multiplied for countless generations.
Wherever it's dark, you can see them when it suddenly gets light!
Lu Liruan couldn't even imagine what it would be like to live here!
Wouldn't that mean that if you sleep at night, cockroaches will crawl onto your face and into your blankets?
Just thinking about it made Lu Liruan's hair stand on end, and her whole body felt itchy, as if cockroach legs were crawling all over her.
The kitchen was incomplete with all sorts of pots, pans, and utensils.
It looks like it hasn't been used for quite some time.
Lu Liruan looked at the wooden cutting board placed next to the sink; it was already covered in mold.
"Damn, is this really a place for humans to live?" Lu Liruan exclaimed in a low voice.
“I feel…” Lu Liruan sighed, “I feel that the male homeowner’s living here made his mood more unstable. It’s not surprising that he ended up on the path of murder. The environment here should indeed have had some influence on him.”
Liao Tingyuan nodded.
Lu Liruan had only made a casual remark, but she didn't expect Liao Tingyuan to actually agree with her.
Lu Liruan looked at him strangely and asked, "Why are you nodding?"
Liao Tingyuan said softly, "If I stayed here longer, I might also..."
"Want to kill someone?" Lu Liruan interrupted him.
……
Liao Tingyuan looked at her with a puzzled expression: "No, I mean, the environment will have some influence on me."
"Oh, oh, oh!" Lu Liruan waved her hand: "It seems this place has already affected me, making me almost to the point of wanting to kill!"
Lu Liruan sniffed, feeling herself being attacked by a continuous stench.
"I'm sorry, I wronged you. You were the most emotionally stable one!"
Liao Tingyuan always felt that she was sulking and didn't say anything nice.
But I couldn't find anything wrong with what she said, so I had to give up...
Aside from cockroaches, it seems there are no other dangers inside the house for the time being.
Lu Liruan suddenly realized: "Everything in this space is..." She tentatively said, "Dead people. It seems this place is forbidden; at least, neither of us has seen any living people in this space-time continuum?"
"So...why are there cockroaches?"
Lu Liruan collapsed: "Could it be that the space sensed that we might have discovered some central truth... and deliberately resorted to this disgusting tactic to hinder our progress?"
Liao Tingyuan thought to himself: That makes sense... This kind of thing won't stop the investigation.
Suddenly, following Lu Liruan's thoughts, he realized something.
He replied casually, "Maybe these cockroaches are already dead too?"
Lu Liruan: ...?
What a refreshing and unique angle.
But it also feels surprisingly reasonable!
Could it be that these cockroaches were really stepped on and killed by the male homeowner and his accomplice living in this room, which is why they are connected to them and this space?
Finally, Shui Lingling appeared here?
Lu Liruan had been pondering a question for the past few days.
Does this space have its own consciousness?
Or, to put it another way, does it have a subject or mind that possesses certain emotions or the ability to make judgments?
But Lu Liruan suddenly felt that it was probably not true.
Although we can't say that definitively...
What kind of consciousness would do such a thing?
Then Lu Liruan rejected her own biased idea.
Perhaps this kind of consciousness differs from our general understanding of consciousness or from our commonly accepted values.
Therefore, one cannot view a completely new and unfamiliar, potentially existing, consciousness or way of thinking from one's own perspective...
Lu Liruan felt that she was getting caught in a strange cycle of thought.
When she told Liao Tingyuan about this, Liao Tingyuan sighed helplessly and said to her, "Don't think about it anymore, or it will become a philosophical question."
Lu Liruan: ?
Liao Tingyuan patted her calf with his backhand: "Shall we split up and look for clues?"
Lu Liruan watched in disbelief as another cockroach swaggered past his feet on the ground.
Because it's uncertain what will happen if I step on this now!
After all, those two things that are always at their doorstep are clearly no longer living beings...
If these cockroaches aren't exactly living beings, what if you accidentally step on one and a hundred of them burst out in a fit of resentment?
Lu Liruan was filled with deep fear.
Seeing that Lu Liruan did not move, Liao Tingyuan shook her again, indicating that she could come down now.
"..."
Everyone has a weakness, and Lu Liruan really hates cockroaches and insects.
Lu Liruan used to work in the catering industry, having worked as a waitress in several restaurants.
There was even one place ahead of me where the reason for resignation was that the hygiene at that place was just too bad.
Cockroaches often roam around in the kitchen.
Lu Liruan didn't have the guts to shout in front of the customers: There are cockroaches!
However, we can only do what we see.
After Lu Liruan left that store, she ordered takeout several more times but didn't eat it, and she even wrote a bad review just to avoid the food.
The shop owner wrote on the sign that the store was very unhygienic, and then the shopkeeper scolded the person who wrote it.
"I'm so tired, I can't walk anymore..." Lu Liruan groaned.
Liao Tingyuan was baffled.
Before he could figure it out, Lu Liruan suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck.
Lu Liruan pressed her cheek against his back and said in a sweet, childlike voice, "Mommy~ I'm so tired~ Can you keep carrying me?"
After considering Liao Tingyuan's gender, Lu Liruan actually wanted to say "Dad" just now.
But really... because of some things that shouldn't be known, they somehow infiltrated my brain in a very cunning way.
Lu Liruan felt that, given the age difference between her and Liao Tingyuan, it would be a little too suggestive for her to call him "Dad."
The two of them don't have that kind of illicit relationship at all!
Rather, it is a completely pure and profound comradeship built on the high ground of emotion, a great bond of shared hardship!
Liao Tingyuan had no idea that Lu Liruan had a whole series of wacky ideas running through her mind.
This isn't the first time Liao Tingyuan has been called "Mom."
When I was a teacher, the children I taught were all too young.
Some call everyone "Mom" no matter who they see.
Liao Tingyuan not only had to listen to them call out, but also had to respond.
But now, Lu Liruan is the oldest little girl he's ever heard of calling him "Mom"...
For some reason, Liao Tingyuan suddenly found it very funny.
"What are you laughing at?" Lu Liruan thought he would argue with her, but she didn't expect Liao Tingyuan to laugh so hard that she felt a tremor when she was lying on his back.
"I was thinking, you and those little kids who call me 'Mom' do have something in common." Liao Tingyuan tried to stop laughing, but failed.
"Someone even calls you 'Mom'?" Lu Liruan thought to herself: Sure enough, the aura I sensed was right!
Liao Tingyuan ignored her question and continued, "Children call adults by the most familiar and intimate terms so that adults will take care of them. You're exactly like those children now. Or rather, I'd say you haven't grown up yet!"
Lu Liruan felt as if the other party had some kind of leverage over her!
I was clearly teasing him by calling him that!
Liao Tingyuan should blush as he refutes himself.
How come now, it's become evidence that he's still a child!
What a brilliant move of turning the tables!
Lu Liruan jumped off his back, looking inexplicably embarrassed, and tiptoed towards the living room.
"Be careful!" Liao Tingyuan reminded her from behind.
"Yes, dear Mom!"
Lu Liruan pushed open the master bedroom door again in a sarcastic tone.
You can tell from this room that the person who lives here is very disorganized, casual, and undisciplined.
Perhaps because he lives alone, he doesn't even have a computer screen.
Lu Liruan opened the chat software on her desktop directly on her computer.
Find his chat history with the male homeowner.
The chat logs inside were the same as those found on the male homeowner's computer, ending with the male homeowner's furious cursing at him...
Lu Liruan wondered what that person would think when they saw these messages.
But since he could do the same thing as the male homeowner, the darkness in his heart must be just as great. How could he not hold a grudge?
Just as Lu Liruan was about to scroll down to see if there was any information about the male owner revealed in his contacts with others, Liao Tingyuan's voice came from the room where the male owner was temporarily staying.
"Ruan Ruan, we've found the thing that the little key can open!"