The Corpse

"At noon today." Tang Er stammered.

"What? When did you make another date for me with Yan Yanran?" Tang Shizhe instantly bristled. He'd arranged to meet two girls at once—if they found out, he'd be dead!

"She was the one who brought it up. You stood her up last time, so this time you need to treat her and apologize."

"You were still evolving back then, so I agreed on your behalf," Tang Er explained sheepishly.

"You—you two..." Tang Shizhe pointed at Tang Yi and Tang Er, too flustered to get the words out. At last, he lowered his hand and sighed helplessly.

The Splitters hadn't done anything wrong, after all. If they hadn't replied to the girls, things might have ended even worse.

"Get back to making the virus!" Tang Shizhe snorted. He raised his hand to check the time. It was already 11:50 a.m.

He lifted his arm and sniffed himself. Though he hadn't showered in five days, surprisingly, there was no odor. It seemed that while he'd been unconscious, the Splitters had carefully wiped him down.

As he picked out clothes from his wardrobe for the "date," Tang Shizhe called Yin Qi.

He was closer to Yan Yanran, relatively speaking. After all, they'd eaten together once, so he decided to put off his meal with Yin Qi.

"Hello, Yin Qi? Um, could we reschedule? Something came up today." Tang Shizhe pulled a sweater from the wardrobe and held the phone between his head and shoulder as he mumbled.

"I'm already dressed and on my way out. If you dare stand me up, you're dead!" Before Tang Shizhe could finish, Yin Qi hung up.

Tang Shizhe froze with the sweater in his hand, speechless. Why was she so hot-tempered? She wouldn't even let him finish.

Since he hadn't even gotten the chance to cancel with Yin Qi, he could only call Yan Yanran.

As soon as the call connected, Yan Yanran's voice came from the other end.

"Tang Shizhe, where are we eating lunch? I'm already in the car. Just send me the address."

"Um, could we reschedule..." Tang Shizhe mumbled hesitantly.

"Don't tell me you're planning to stand me up. Do you know how long it took me to shower, put on makeup, and pick out an outfit? Wouldn't this be the second time you've messed me around?" Yan Yanran's voice had already begun to turn cold.

"N-no, come on over. Thousand-Face Cuisine, Room 11. Go ahead—I'll be there soon." Tang Shizhe scratched his head in frustration. Since he couldn't cancel, he might as well have all three of them eat together!

At worst, he'd just give up on pursuing either of them! Tang Shizhe gritted his teeth, already imagining how miserable he'd be in a little while.

He stuffed his car keys into his pocket and hurried toward the Porsche parked in the yard.

With a roar of its engine, the black Porsche shot out of the factory grounds and disappeared at the end of the road.

Since it was rush hour, Tang Shizhe avoided the city center and took a new road through the suburbs to the other side of town. It was much farther, but definitely faster than driving through downtown.

The road had only recently been built, so there were no cars in sight. The area was also far from any settlements, and not a single person could be seen along the roadside.

Suddenly, a white Volkswagen appeared in his view. It had crashed into a roadside utility pole.

The front of the car had been badly crushed by the impact, and the airbags had deployed. Through the shattered glass, Tang Shizhe could just make out someone inside.

He hurriedly pulled over, took a warning triangle from the back of his car, and placed it fifty meters away. Then he ran to the white Volkswagen.

Sure enough, a pretty young woman in a white dress was lying on her back in the driver's seat.

"Hey, are you all right?" Tang Shizhe patted her shoulder, but got no response.

Just then, he noticed that she wasn't wearing a seat belt, and the angle of her tilted-back head was terribly unnatural.

Realizing something was wrong, Tang Shizhe quickly put his fingers beneath her nose and near her mouth.

As he'd feared, the beautiful woman had already stopped breathing. Her neck was broken.

She probably hadn't been wearing a seat belt, and when the car crashed, the angle had caused her head to snap backward!

Should he call the police? Or 911? Tang Shizhe's mind went blank. This was the first time he'd ever been so close to a dead person.

Suddenly, an idea came to him.

"Do I do it or not?" Tang Shizhe hesitated, but he made up his mind almost at once.

He quickly scanned the area. There were no people or vehicles in sight. Suppressing his nerves, he unlocked the car door from inside, reached in, and lifted the woman's corpse out.

Tang Shizhe's evolved body was incredibly strong. He carried the woman to his sports car with ease and pushed her through the open door into the cramped back seat.

Since it was a sports car, the rear seats were extremely narrow, with a raised hump in the middle. Still, it was just right for keeping the body in place.

After getting in and shutting the door, he glanced back at the woman's corpse and sighed.

It wasn't that he had some strange fetish. He'd taken an interest in the corpse because the Brood Mother could devour an organism's genes and alter its appearance to match the source of those genes.

Since no one knew this beautiful woman had died in the crash, she would be perfect for the Brood Mother to use as a template. As for her family, all Tang Shizhe could do was quietly apologize.

The only way he could think of to make it up to them was to conceal the woman's death, so her family wouldn't know she had died. That way, at least, they wouldn't grieve for her loss. In the future, the Brood Mother could even fulfill her filial duties in her place, caring for her parents until they passed away.

The black Porsche became a streak of shadow and vanished at the end of the road. In less than ten minutes, Tang Shizhe had raced all the way back to the factory yard.

Tang Shizhe had already notified the Splitters through the Mental Network, so Tang Yi, Tang Er, and Tang San were waiting in the yard.

"Hurry, hurry! Take her to the Splitter Chamber!" Tang Shizhe ordered urgently. At his words, Tang Er and Tang San rushed forward and swiftly carried the woman's corpse down to the Splitter Chamber beneath the building.

The Brood Mother seemed to sense something. It suddenly began waving its tentacles frantically inside the box.

Tang Shizhe ordered Tang Yi to cut a piece of flesh from the woman's arm and toss it into the box. He had no intention of letting the Brood Mother devour an entire person; otherwise, he'd feel uncomfortable having it around him in the future.

"Boss, what should we do with this corpse?" Tang Yi asked quietly as he came to Tang Shizhe's side.

"Bring over the liquid nitrogen we've stored. Preserve the body with it first, then bury it underground."

"If we develop the technology to bring people back to life someday, we can revive her. That'll make up for borrowing her body."

"Understood!" Tang Yi and the others nodded. They obeyed and carried out Tang Shizhe's orders without question.

Soon, Tang Er and Tang San placed the woman's corpse, now that it had served its purpose, into a huge sealed container and carried it away.

Watching Tang Yi and the others leave, Tang Shizhe took a deep breath and calmed his heavy heart. It was a pity that such a young and beautiful life had withered so soon. Thinking of his own deceased parents, he couldn't help but lament how fragile human life was. Though his body had been strengthened, he could still die if he encountered danger, and his lifespan hadn't increased much either.

I have to grow stronger! I'll make sure death can never threaten me again. Tang Shizhe clenched his teeth in secret.