Chapter 46: The Doctor’s Acceptance and the Unpierceable Skin

“Alright, then I’ll tell you. Though I wonder if you, a materialist known as a doctor, will believe me after hearing it all.”

Once more, Liu Xingluo recounted everything that had happened to her, detailing precisely how she had come to be in her current state, to Hoffman Gris.

“So that’s how it is. Indeed, a rather difficult case to replicate.”

Unexpectedly, Hoffman Gris readily accepted Liu Xingluo’s account.

This, in turn, left Liu Xingluo somewhat taken aback.

“No, aren’t you a doctor? Shouldn’t you be a staunch materialist? The things I just told you were so outlandish, yet you accepted them so easily?”

Her own sister and Bailu had reacted with disbelief upon hearing her story.

She had, therefore, braced herself for a similar reaction when recounting her experiences to the doctor.

Instead, the doctor had accepted it with surprising ease.

“Indeed. I am a doctor, that’s true. But as a doctor, what outlandish things haven’t I witnessed? Are you perhaps imagining doctors to be too rigid?”

“Uh… that’s true. When my sister and Bailu heard these things, their first reaction was to wonder if I was lying.

So I assumed you’d react the same way.”

“Hmph. It’s precisely because too many people hold such stereotypical views of doctors that we are so often misunderstood.

But enough of that for now.

May I draw a sample of your blood? We might be able to discover something.”

Judging by Liu Xingluo’s experiences, replicating her condition was unequivocally impossible.

However, this did not mean Hoffman Gris, as a doctor, was ready to give up.

While the experience itself couldn’t be replicated, there were other avenues for research.

“Eek! Draw… draw blood?! Does that mean… there’ll be a needle… right?”

At the mere mention of drawing blood, Liu Xingluo instantly lost her composure.

Every time she underwent a physical, the blood draw was her greatest dread.

Despite her identity as a man (TL Note: Liu Xingluo is a transgender male who identifies as a man, though biologically female. The original text uses ‘男子汉’ to reflect this internal identity.), a little blood draw was nothing to her, yet the pain of the needle piercing her vein was an experience she desperately wished to avoid repeating.

“Precisely.

Don’t worry, I’ll only take a tiny bit.”

“You call this a tiny bit?”

Upon seeing the syringe Hoffman Gris produced, Liu Xingluo recoiled in fright, stepping back repeatedly.

Did this man harbor some profound misunderstanding of the word ‘tiny’?

That syringe, so thick, bore no resemblance to ‘tiny’ in any conceivable way!

“It’s alright.

The pain will only last a moment; it will be over quickly.”

Watching Hoffman Gris steadily approach, Liu Xingluo truly wished she could turn and flee.

However, the place she was in was not somewhere one could simply turn and escape.

“Alright then, Doctor, please be quick about it.

I’m not very good at enduring pain.”

Thinking it was just a blood draw, something she could grit her teeth and get through, Liu Xingluo nonetheless extended her arm for Hoffman Gris to collect the sample.

“Excellent, rest assured.

I, the doctor, am quite confident in my technique; it will be over in no time.”

Liu Xingluo’s cooperation was a great help indeed.

Hoffman Gris had been wondering how he would manage to draw her blood if she refused to comply.

After all, Liu Xingluo was now, at the very least, an Evolved Beast (TL Note: ‘异生兽’ refers to a type of mutated, powerful creature).

In terms of combat prowess, she was far superior to him, a scrawny doctor.

Applying iodine, tying the tourniquet, and aiming for the vein, the doctor directly inserted the needle.

“Huh?”

“Ah?”

To their astonishment, the needle couldn’t even pierce Liu Xingluo’s skin, let alone collect her blood.

It made sense, considering that even bullets from the Evolved Beast (TL Note: ‘异生兽’ refers to a type of mutated, powerful creature) forces couldn’t inflict a wound upon her, so a mere small needle stood no chance.

“Well, I certainly didn’t see that coming…”

Hoffman Gris could only scratch his head.

If the needle couldn’t pierce the skin, then drawing blood was simply out of the question.

Unpierceable skin—this was a first.

However, this only intensified his desire to understand what exactly Liu Xingluo was.

Other Evolved Beasts (TL Note: ‘异生兽’ refers to a type of mutated, powerful creature) certainly didn’t possess such resilient skin.

Liu Xingluo, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, her skin was robust, and the needle couldn’t pierce it.

It seemed she wouldn’t have to undergo a blood draw after all.

Good, she wouldn’t have to endure that pain.

“It seems drawing blood won’t work, then.

Doctor, perhaps we should give up.”

“Hmm.

Indeed, we have no choice but to abandon that approach.

We’ll have to use a scan instead.

Can you lie down on the equipment over there?”

“Alright.”

Compared to a blood draw, a scan was far easier to accept.

Following the doctor’s instructions, Liu Xingluo lay down, allowing him to scan her current body.

“Well? Doctor.

Is there anything unusual about my body?”

“Hmm… you are quite special indeed.

I just scanned your body’s structure, and you see, your body simultaneously possesses both human and Evolved Beast (TL Note: ‘异生兽’ refers to a type of mutated, powerful creature) components, and both are able to perfectly accommodate each other, operating in harmony.

It’s an exceptionally rare case.”

Though he hadn’t managed to draw blood, Hoffman Gris had obtained the results he desired through the scan.

Though greatly astonished, he believed that if he could conduct experiments based on the ratios revealed by these results, he should be able to successfully complete his research on half-Evolved Beasts (TL Note: ‘异生兽’ refers to a type of mutated, powerful creature).

“Is that so? That’s good.

I thought I had completely transformed into an Evolved Beast (TL Note: ‘异生兽’ refers to a type of mutated, powerful creature).

So there’s still a human part within me, after all.

What a relief.”

Unable to comprehend the scan results Hoffman Gris displayed, Liu Xingluo could only rely on his words to understand her current condition.

‘I’m not entirely an Evolved Beast (TL Note: ‘异生兽’ refers to a type of mutated, powerful creature) right now, am I?’ she thought.

‘That’s good.

I can still live like a human.’

“Don’t relax too soon.

While you can maintain equilibrium for now, there’s no telling when you might suddenly go berserk, like other test subjects.

If possible, I would truly like to observe you thoroughly for a longer period.

But for now, that’s out of the question; the purpose of bringing you here has been fulfilled.

Next, it’s time to send you somewhere else.”

“Somewhere else? Are you taking me to meet the person in charge here?”

“Indeed.

Now that it’s known you can retain human consciousness while in your Evolved Beast (TL Note: ‘异生兽’ refers to a type of mutated, powerful creature) state, the higher-ups certainly won’t pass up such a usable combat asset like you.”

Given the scarcity of superhumans, whenever a new one awakened, the authorities would dispatch personnel to retrieve them, enlisting them as emissaries to protect humanity.

Although Liu Xingluo wasn’t strictly a superhuman, the authorities would hardly let slip the opportunity to recruit such a formidable combatant, capable of battling Evolved Beasts (TL Note: ‘异生兽’ refers to a type of mutated, powerful creature).

“This is… well, if I may ask, have there been superhumans who refused to fight in the past?

What became of them?”

Despite having endured two battles, Liu Xingluo was far from prepared for prolonged combat.

If the authorities intended for her to become a professional superhuman, fighting to protect humanity, Liu Xingluo fully intended to refuse.

After all, she was afraid of pain, and if she were to step onto a battlefield, pain would undoubtedly be unavoidable.

“I wouldn’t know; don’t ask me.

I am merely a doctor responsible for research.

Those matters are not within my purview, nor do I have the slightest interest in them.

If you wish to know, perhaps inquire with the person you’re about to meet.”

[Doctor, are the examinations complete? I’ve come to collect the newly inducted superhuman.]

No sooner had Hoffman Gris finished speaking than the person sent to collect Liu Xingluo arrived at the door, as if summoned by thought.