Mutation

Chapter 2: Mutation

"Mom, things have been pretty busy at the company lately. Once things settle down, I might be able to take some time off. I'll come visit you then." Xiang Kun didn't tell his mother he'd already lost his job. He didn't want his family to worry. He still had some savings, enough to keep him from starving for now. He just needed to find another job as soon as possible.

After hanging up, Xiang Kun picked up the glasses he'd taken off earlier, wiped them, and put them back on. He checked the date on his phone again. July 14, Sunday. There was no mistake.

But he was also absolutely certain that the day he left the company and drank to drown his sorrows had been July 11, Thursday!

The chat history on WeChat, the Alipay record of his payment at the food stall, and the ride-hailing record on the Didi app all proved it.

According to the ride record, he'd gotten home at around 8:50 that evening. He'd been so drunk that his head was spinning and his vision blurred. Once home, he hadn't washed up or even taken off his clothes and shoes. He'd simply collapsed onto the bed and fallen asleep.

But it was now 10:47 a.m. on July 14. That meant he'd slept for more than two days—nearly sixty hours?

It was only three cans of beer. Even with a terrible tolerance, that shouldn't have happened!

Strangely, despite sleeping for so long, he wasn't hungry or thirsty after waking up, apart from feeling a little dizzy.

Xiang Kun boiled some water and made himself a bowl of instant noodles. But after a few bites, his stomach began to feel intensely uncomfortable, and he rushed to the bathroom and threw everything up.

"Is this still a hangover?"

Xiang Kun rubbed his stomach, put on his shoes, and headed out to find something light to eat.

As soon as he stepped outside, the glaring sunlight seemed to make his dizziness worse. He had no choice but to keep close to the roadside, trying to avoid the sun as much as possible.

He found a little shop near his home and ordered plain congee with two side dishes. He'd barely sat down to eat when his stomach cramped again. He rushed outside and vomited everything he'd eaten onto the roadside, retching until tears and snot streamed down his face. The owner and the servers came out and stared at him in bewilderment.

Xiang Kun took the tissue a server handed him and wiped his mouth. Turning back, he waved a hand at them. "It's not your food. I drank too much last night, and my stomach's upset."

After paying, Xiang Kun still wasn't hungry. Apart from feeling a little weak and dizzy, he didn't seem to have any other symptoms, but he still turned into a nearby clinic to see a doctor.

The doctor on duty was an experienced old man, reportedly a retired surgeon from a major Grade III Class A hospital. He was highly skilled, and Xiang Kun had seen him twice before and found him reliable.

"You got drunk and slept for two days?" The old doctor took his pulse as he asked about Xiang Kun's symptoms, then examined his tongue. "You probably didn't drink much before, and you've been sleeping poorly and staying up late a lot lately. Your body was already run down. I'll prescribe you some medicine. Get plenty of rest, eat light, avoid smoking and drinking, and eat more fruits and vegetables."

"Doctor, is there a problem with sleeping for two days after getting drunk—nearly sixty hours? My teeth also feel a little loose..."

"People don't usually sleep that long. Hmm, if your teeth are loose, you might have some inflammation causing gum recession. Keep your mouth clean and drink plenty of water. You could also see a dentist. If you're really worried, go to the hospital for a full checkup." The old doctor quickly finished writing the prescription and handed it to Xiang Kun.

Although the old doctor didn't think anything was seriously wrong with him, Xiang Kun still felt something was off as he stood outside the clinic with his medicine. He quietly decided to take the medicine and get some sleep today. If he still felt this strange tomorrow, he'd go to the hospital for a thorough checkup.

By the time he came out, it was already past noon. The smell of food drifted out from the shops along the road, but it did nothing to whet Xiang Kun's appetite.

That still made him uneasy. Even after a hangover, he should have been hungry after going so long without eating. Why did he have no appetite at all?

He wanted to buy some bread to take home, in case he got hungry later and had nothing to eat. But as he passed the market, he was drawn in by a strange smell and found himself walking inside before he knew it.

There weren't many people left in the market at that hour. Xiang Kun followed the smell deeper inside, and when he finally found its source, he froze—

A middle-aged woman was swiftly slaughtering a chicken and draining its blood.

The smell that had drawn him in was the stench of the chicken's blood?

Normally, the smell would have disgusted and repelled Xiang Kun. He would have wanted to get away from it as quickly as possible. But now, he felt a craving rising from deep within his body.

After hesitating for a while, Xiang Kun went up to the woman and said he wanted to buy a chicken. She told him to pick one nearby and offered to slaughter and pluck it for him. But he stopped her, picked up the live chicken, and took it straight home.

As soon as he got home and shut the door, Xiang Kun pulled out his Swiss Army knife, looked up how to slaughter a chicken and drain its blood online, then took the chicken into the bathroom to do it.

It was his first time slaughtering a chicken, and it flapped around wildly, making him struggle to catch it. After a great deal of effort, he roughly plucked the feathers from its neck, then cut the blood vessels and let the blood flow.

Before the stainless-steel basin was even full, Xiang Kun couldn't resist putting his mouth to the wound and greedily sucking up the blood.

When Xiang Kun woke up, the room he saw was a complete mess. Chicken feathers covered the bed, the floor, and even his body and the area around his mouth.

The dead, blood-drained chicken lay at the bathroom door. Blood was smeared everywhere, making the place look like a murder scene.

Xiang Kun remembered being driven by an inexplicable impulse to buy a chicken, slaughter it, and drink its blood. Afterward, he'd felt utterly exhausted and drowsy. The moment he lay down, he'd fallen asleep.

He picked up his phone and checked the time. He'd slept for more than twenty-four hours again, from a little after one yesterday afternoon until a little after four this afternoon.

He felt something in his mouth and spat it into his hand. To his surprise, he'd spat out two teeth.

Then he reached in and gave one a tug. Another tooth—one of his front teeth—came out with barely any effort. So startled that he jumped out of bed.

He dashed to the bathroom, switched on the light, and looked in the mirror. Every tooth in his mouth was loose and ready to fall out. With the slightest effort, he could pull one free.

But after the old teeth came out, the tips of new ones were already emerging underneath.

He was thirty. Was he suddenly teething again?!

Even more unbelievable was his face in the mirror. Apart from a few chicken feathers stuck to it and blood around his mouth, his whole face looked as though it were covered in a layer of torn plastic wrap.

Looking closer, he realized it was his own skin, peeling away in large patches.

And it wasn't just his face. His arms, stomach, legs—his whole body was "shedding its skin"!