Vital Essence Reappears

Liu Chang'an nodded. This was only natural. When he tore open the fish's mouth earlier, he found that the fish bones in the fish meat were large, and there were countless fine bones, as well as dense blood vessels. After being mutated into this state, the meat had lost its tenderness and delicacy and was difficult to eat.

Otherwise, why waste such a large grass carp, which has the tender flesh of a regular grass carp? Carrying it home isn't difficult at all; just chop it into slices, hang it on a bamboo pole, and smoke it for a while to make cured fish—wouldn't that be delicious?

Not to mention such a large grass carp; the fish offal alone could make a hot pot feast for guests.

Liu Chang'an turned around and looked more closely at the fish head he had smashed. There was no way to reuse the fish head, and it was impossible to make chopped pepper fish head. The fish head was so big that it must have been as big as Zhou Dongdong.

The moon in Su Nanxiu's eyes, which had Central Plains held a glimmer of light, was now replaced by pure white. Her cheeks flushed slightly, but she thought to herself that they were an old married couple, and if she were to deliberately remind him that he wasn't wearing clothes, wouldn't that seem pretentious? Wouldn't that prove that she also recognized that their relationship was no longer what it used to be?

Su Nanxiu looked away, focusing only on the dead fish on the ground. She realized she had arrived too late once again; this fish was far more valuable for research than the wild boar.

"Why did you kill this fish?" Su Nanxiu sighed softly, somewhat helpless. If her subordinates had done the same, they would have been killed by her.

"In just a few days, it ate all the fish, shrimp, and crabs in the entire lake clean... After that, there was nothing left for it to eat in the lake. When it couldn't stand the hunger anymore, it would leave the waters to search for food... Look at the mutations in its gills and lungs, it has already developed amphibious survival abilities. This guy will eat anything it sees. If we don't kill it, it will affect public order." Liu Chang'an thought of this problem when the mutated grass carp rushed towards him.

These guys rarely get the chance to mutate and evolve, can't they be a little more docile? If they were better looking and gentler, Liu Chang'an would still be willing to let them live. For example, Lu Si'en has now obtained a very high status and honor... Zhou Dongdong's dog.

Every single one of them who saw Liu Chang'an wanted to attack him; how could they possibly survive?

"Disrupting public order?" Su Nanxiu was both amused and exasperated. This person actually came up with such a reason? Who would care about public order? Do you even support the core socialist values?

"Yes, there are beautiful female college students living carefree lives on campus, silly children walking their dogs to and from school, gentle and obedient young women going to and from work contentedly, and groups of elderly men and women idly spending their final days in the neighborhood. Life is so peaceful, and the foundation it needs is good public security." Liu Chang'an thought for a moment and nodded very firmly. "I don't need your understanding or support. When I do these things, I don't have a particularly strong desire or firm will, but I always feel that without maintaining this peace, I can't live a peaceful and idle life."

"Who is this gentle and obedient young woman?" Su Nanxiu didn't care at all about his seemingly warm and positive reason, but she grasped one key point.

"Shangguan Dandan." Liu Chang'an was not incapable of lying.

Su Nanxiu was taken aback. She knew that age was meaningless to Shangguan Dandan, and it was even more meaningless to label Shangguan Dandan as a girl or an old lady based on her age.

But the term "young married woman" generally implies "being a wife," and given Shangguan Dandan's appearance, who would label her as such?

Although Shangguan Dandan claimed to be Liu Chang'an's mother, and Qin Yanan even seemed to acknowledge it... but the image of the young woman Shangguan Dandan? Su Nanxiu's mind conjured up the image of that little girl who was tightly gripping sweet potato slices and watching the commotion.

"Is it Qin Yanan? That's right, she's practically a young married woman now." Su Nanxiu sneered. Qin Yanan's figure and appearance truly exuded the charm of a young married woman. Otherwise, a woman of twenty-five is still considered young. If she hadn't experienced the ways of men and women, how could she be like her, with every gesture and movement displaying a seductive and alluring air? No amount of exquisite perfume could conceal it; that intense carnal desire seemed to emanate from every pore of her skin and hair.

"You didn't come here on such a dark and windy night just to fight over a fish, did you? You've got your eye on this fish, what are you planning to do with it?" Liu Chang'an changed the subject to avoid bringing up Qin Yanan and Su Nanxiu becoming unreasonable again, bringing up old stories. Once that old jealous pot is overturned, she'll be completely unlovable.

"I want to combine research on fish mutations with frogman training to improve frogman training efficiency and combat capabilities." Su Nanxiu sighed. This was the only mutated fish in the entire lake; wild boars and the like were far less rare than this fish.

Currently, only truly powerful military nations possess top-tier frogman units, which have always been the elite of special forces. Tactical planning and strategic development based on frogmen during wartime have always been a key research focus in the military field.

The most famous legend about frogmen is undoubtedly that during the Vietnam War, frogmen blew up the engine room of the USS Card aircraft carrier. Seeing Su Nanxiu reminded Liu Chang'an of the once invincible frogmen from the other side of the strait, who even planted their flag in Shandong... However, now the frogmen on the other side are training in indoor swimming pools because it's too cold, and are responsible for performing red underwear muscle shows for Caicaizi, while the frogmen on the mainland are just doing their daily work training in the wild at minus thirty degrees Celsius.

"That's a good idea. No matter how well humans are trained in the water, they ultimately lack the advanced organs and body structures suitable for aquatic survival. Your idea is to train frogmen with amphibious survival capabilities? Such a frogman force would be difficult to defend against." Liu Chang'an nodded in approval, "Impressive, keep it up!"

Su Nanxiu rolled her eyes at Liu Chang'an, pointed at the corpse of the mutated grass carp, and said nothing.

Without such living specimens, there is no way to conduct modification experiments as a control. The study of mutations is too difficult, and we can only hope for the emergence of adaptation in randomness, just like natural mutations.

"Since this corpse can't be eaten, can I have it?" Su Nanxiu had no choice but to settle for second best. Since the live specimen was gone, it couldn't be said that the corpse was completely useless... In fact, it couldn't be called a corpse. Although the head of the mutated grass carp was shattered, its body was still writhing, showing strong vitality. Or, its body could be kept alive using a physiological function maintenance device.

"Okay, I'll take care of it for you." After saying that, Liu Chang'an slapped the grass carp's body with his palm. The force spread out, causing the fish's blood vessels to burst and its bones to shatter. This way, it couldn't move around and it would be easier for Su Nanxiu to take it away.

"You..." Su Nanxiu held her forehead and took a few steps back. He must have done it on purpose!

"This fish is quite strong, and it's inconvenient for you to lift it, so I helped to deal with it." As he spoke, Liu Chang'an broke off a bamboo pole from the bank, grasped it with his hand, and stripped off all the bamboo branches and leaves. Then he poked a hole in the fish's body, threaded the bamboo pole through it, and bent it into a handle for easy lifting.

"Here you go." Liu Chang'an smiled warmly and honestly.

You can keep it for yourself!

Su Nanxiu was furious. This... this person... if she weren't outmatched, she would have pulled out this bamboo pole and whipped him right now!

"I don't want it, it doesn't taste good." Liu Chang'an didn't mind that his good intentions were not appreciated, so he casually threw it away, bent down to wash his hands by the lake, and then put on the clothes that were left by the lake.

Su Nanxiu gripped the bamboo beside her, adjusting her breathing rhythm by pressing her collar... In fact, the frequency of her breathing did not affect her physical functions or mental state, but only in this way could she calm the explosive emotions in her chest.

Back then... back then... he often disregarded her willfulness and went against her opinions, but he always managed to make her feel his doting in the end. He gave her more suitable and better choices, unlike now... it's definitely not for her sake, but rather he's intentionally or unintentionally on guard.

"If you're so capable... if you're so powerful, why don't you just kill all the mutated animals in Elephant Nose Hollow Mountain!" Su Nanxiu glared at Liu Chang'an.

"This was my mistake, so I'll take responsibility for cleaning it up." Liu Chang'an smiled. "Otherwise, what did you think I came here for?"

After saying that, Liu Chang'an walked up the mountain.

Su Nanxiu hesitated for a moment, then followed behind Liu Chang'an... Her guess was correct. Mrs. Karnstein had finally escaped here and used her last means to contact Liu Chang'an. While Liu Chang'an rescued Mrs. Karnstein, he triggered a biological mutation event in Elephant Nose Hollow Mountain.

Fortunately, the forest park at Elephant Nose Hollow Mountain was originally a project of Baojun Company. After noticing the unusual activity, Su Nanxiu immediately sealed off the entire area around Elephant Nose Hollow Mountain under the guise of the project. Now, the entire outer perimeter of Elephant Nose Hollow Mountain is occupied by Su Nanxiu's people. However, Liu Chang'an did not break through the blockade from the ground to get here, Su Nanxiu did not come to the lakeside immediately.

Forget it, there's no point in thinking about it too much. Even if I had arrived at the lake immediately, I wouldn't have been able to stop Liu Chang'an. It's a pity that I didn't investigate the situation in the lake first, just like Liu Chang'an did.

Liu Chang'an walked slowly ahead, without bothering to inquire about her past grievances with Mrs. Karnstein, even though they were in Elephant Nose Hollow Mountain.

Human hearts are unpredictable. He wouldn't equate the current Mrs. Karnstein the singer of yesteryear. Women are especially good at performing... Sometimes they are even convinced of their own performances, but after the performance, their choices and actions conflict with their performance, or perhaps their mood has changed, and their emotions are no longer the same as they were at the time.

Stories often portray men as using sweet words to deceive women, but it's only after men have experienced a wealth of romantic relationships and encountered women with exceptional talent in the performing arts that they realize women are the most skilled at sweet talk.

"If you have any manpower around, it's best to have them evacuate temporarily," Liu Chang'an reminded with a smile.

Su Nanxiu nodded and sent the message.

Liu Chang'an turned around and glanced at Su Nanxiu.

Su Nanxiu simply met his gaze, her eyes gradually softening. She sighed softly and looked at the moon slowly sinking in the west.

Women are all performing artists; with tender, affectionate eyes, tinged with genuine sighs, they conceal any hidden thoughts they might reveal, thus distracting his scrutinizing gaze... Excellent.

"You'd better do as I say. I don't want to deal with the mutated humans born tonight after dealing with the mutated animals... In reality, the human body's ability to withstand the side effects of mutation is far less than that of many common animals. Don't overthink it." Liu Chang'an looked coldly at Su Nanxiu.

Only then did Su Nanxiu reluctantly issue the order for her people to evacuate. She had originally hoped that some of them would undergo mutation tonight. As for whether they could withstand the side effects of the mutation or whether their lives would be in danger, Su Nanxiu didn't care much... On a psychological level, there was no difference between animal experiments and human experiments.

Does he really... think he's a human being? Does he really stand on the side of humanity? Su Nanxiu still couldn't believe it. How could someone who exists as one of the most mysterious and powerful creatures in nature act like this?

To live like a human being, or is that what he's pursuing?

Su Nanxiu remained silent. Her thoughts differed from his; she could no longer define herself as an ordinary person.

Upon reaching the mountaintop, the dense forest obscured the view of the western moon. The desolate Dragon King Temple remained in ruins, and the small temple next to it was empty.

"What do you plan to do with those mutated creatures?" Su Nanxiu sat on a fallen stone tablet, her hands on her knees, like a lady waiting to watch a play.

"I initially thought it would be troublesome, but actually there's not much to deal with... Judging from the behavior of that mutated grass carp, there are very few mutated species left in the entire Elephant Nose Hollow Mountain... Big fish eat small fish, small fish eat shrimp, and there are only a few left." Liu Chang'an turned to look at Su Nanxiu, "Your people didn't find any mutated creatures either, which is different from what you expected, isn't it?"

Su Nanxiu nodded, but after Liu Chang'an found the mutated grass carp, Su Nanxiu also understood why the huge Elephant Nose Hollow Mountain had now become a desolate place.

As I walked up the mountain, there were no chirping birds, no traces of snakes, insects, or rodents—nothing at all.

This is very abnormal.

"I just need to gather those remaining mutated creatures." Liu Chang'an glanced at Su Nanxiu. "Can you withstand the essence contained in my blood?"

Su Nanxiu snapped out of her daze, looking up to meet Liu Chang'an's gaze. In the quiet forest, a gentle breeze rustled through the trees, carrying his familiar aura, seemingly unchanged for a hundred years. Su Nanxiu's eyes shone with a clear light, like the western moon reflected in its sockets. A blush rose on her cheeks, like a veil of pink, and she gently bit her lip. "Do you need my help?"

"What?" Liu Chang'an was also taken aback. What were you thinking, young lady?

"You won't let me help... do you... would you rather use your own hands?" Su Nanxiu was filled with shame and indignation. Her already aloof and imposing eyebrows immediately rose. Even if she had to use her hands, shouldn't she use hers?

Back then, she was still young. When she first started dating him, her period was irregular. He gradually adjusted her body. Later, when she had her period, she learned other methods, which were quite shameful. He forced her to do it, and she did it reluctantly.

"I mean the essence within the blood and qi, not the essence from other places." Liu Chang'an shook his head.

"Oh, I see." Su Nanxiu brushed a strand of hair from her cheek, then placed her hands back on her knees, adjusted her skirt, and said expressionlessly, "Go ahead and begin. If I can't take it, just let me die here."

"Okay," Liu Chang'an agreed.

Su Nanxiu clenched her fists. No wonder Zhong Qing always reported that Zhu Juntang was often so angry with Liu Chang'an that she rolled on the ground.

But she quickly ran out of time to be angry. Liu Chang'an squeezed a tiny drop of blood from between his lips and tongue, which landed on his fingertip.