A large "temporarily closed" sign hung at the entrance to the Star Barbershop.
Meanwhile, inside the Star Barbershop.
Captain Sun Hai, who had been recuperating at home for a month, sat at a rectangular table. The other team members sat along its sides, while Hela sat directly opposite him.
"These are all the records I found in the Night Star archives on supernatural abilities related to regeneration and Variants with regenerative abilities." Nanming placed the dozen or so documents in his hand on the table, then set down two more documents and several photographs. "And these are all the records we currently have on the Variant named [HeLa Cell]."
Sun Hai first picked up the dozen or so documents and glanced through them, then took all the records on [HeLa Cell] and began studying them carefully.
Si Xiaobei, Xing Lan, and Liu Xiaogang watched Captain Sun Hai nervously from the side. Xing Lan was so nervous that she had even started gnawing on her hand.
Sun Hai slowly put down the documents and looked at Hela across from him.
Hela was the same as before, her face completely expressionless, her large pink eyes open wide.
Sun Hai then turned to the others and slowly spoke. "You're sure she was cut in half at the waist, then put herself back together?"
Everyone nodded like chicks pecking at grain.
Sun Hai looked at Liu Xiaogang and asked calmly, "Her upper body crawled up on its own, and at the same time, her lower body squatted down?"
"Yes, absolutely! If there's even half a lie in what I said, may I, Liu Xiaogang, never find a girlfriend in this lifetime!" Liu Xiaogang swore to the heavens.
Sun Hai looked at Liu Xiaogang for a while before turning his gaze back. "She can regenerate, and she can still control the parts that have been severed. That ability is different from the regeneration of both [Curse of Undying] and [Eternal Regeneration].
"The same goes for the other Variants. Although some of them can also regenerate, they can't control parts that have already been severed."
Sun Hai looked at Hela. "But there is one Variant that has that ability..."
A drop of cold sweat slid down Liu Xiaogang's cheek as a bold conjecture rose in everyone's minds.
Sun Hai pushed forward the records on [HeLa Cell]. "This one. Everyone on our team except Xing Lan and Feng Xuan has seen her.
"Even after she was blown into several chunks of flesh, those chunks were still wriggling in the same direction. That's extremely similar to the ability you described Hela having..." Sun Hai's gaze gradually grew solemn.
"So..." Si Xiaowei ventured.
"So I suspect Hela may be a [Symbiote], and the one she's in symbiosis with is the very [HeLa Cell] who massacred everyone in City C."
Although everyone had more or less guessed the conclusion, they were still shocked to hear it with their own ears.
Sun Hai continued calmly, "I suppose that after [HeLa Cell] was gravely injured by [Thunderstorm], she found Hela, who was also at death's door at the time. To stay alive, [HeLa Cell] entered into symbiosis with Hela, and Hela survived as well.
"But perhaps because of [HeLa Cell]'s influence or because she suffered a severe shock, Hela lost all her memories and became like a newborn baby, understanding nothing. She couldn't even speak, and she had even lost some biological instincts.
"But of course, all of this is only conjecture. There could be other possibilities..." Sun Hai's gaze turned cold.
"For example, Hela herself might be [HeLa Cell] in another form."
"How is that possible!" Xing Lan suddenly sprang to her feet in protest.
"As I said, it's only a possibility, and a very small one at that, because we don't know whether [HeLa Cell] has an ability like that," Sun Hai replied evenly. Xing Lan nodded slightly, then sat back down.
Just then, Sun Hai suddenly pulled out a short knife and placed it on the table.
Everyone else jumped in fright. Xing Lan immediately stood up again and shielded Hela. "Captain, what are you trying to do? If you dare hurt Hela, even if you're the captain, I won't let you off easily!"
"Captain, calm down. You said yourself that it was only a very small possibility." Liu Xiaogang also sprang to his feet.
"That's right, Captain, you... put the knife down. Let's talk this through..." Si Xiaobei looked close to tears as he tried to persuade Sun Hai.
Sun Hai: ...
Sun Hai placed the knife on the table and gently rubbed his forehead. He had expected everyone to react, but not this strongly.
Especially Xing Lan. What kind of chunni speech was that?
Sun Hai rubbed his forehead and waved for everyone to sit down. They exchanged glances and, seeing that Sun Hai really had no intention of killing Hela, finally sat down. Only Hela continued to stare fixedly at Sun Hai.
Sun Hai sighed helplessly. "I only wanted to personally test whether Hela has the ability to regenerate. What are you all..."
Only then did everyone realize that if Captain Sun Hai really wanted to kill Hela, there was no way he would use such a small knife.
The three of them lowered their heads in embarrassment. Xing Lan in particular was red almost to the tips of her ears.
Sun Hai picked up the knife and prepared to get up and walk over to Hela, but Xing Lan suddenly stopped him.
Blushing and looking a little embarrassed, Xing Lan said, "Um, Captain, could you let me test her?"
Sun Hai thought for a moment, then tossed the knife to Xing Lan. "Thank you, Captain!" Xing Lan caught it and first thanked him, then looked at Hela beside her.
She gently picked up Hela's hand. "Don't worry, Hela. I'll be gentle. It won't hurt much, and it'll be over if you bear with it for a little while. Don't worry."
The hand Xing Lan held the knife in trembled slightly. The tip slowly approached Hela's palm and gave it a gentle poke before she hurriedly pulled it back.
When the tip of the knife touched Hela's soft skin, it had indented slightly, then sprung back. There wasn't a single wound on her skin.
Everyone else: ...
"Ah, sorry, sorry! I was too nervous! I didn't expect Hela's skin to be so nice, either. Let me try again, just once!"
Sun Hai nodded helplessly.
"Thank you, Captain!" After thanking him, Xing Lan raised the knife again and slowly moved it toward Hela's hand.
I can't mess up, I can't mess up. This is my last chance!
Xing Lan kept repeating it to herself, but the more she did, the more her hand shook.
Hela seemed to notice Xing Lan's nervousness and slowly spoke. "Do... what?"
Xing Lan looked up and forced a smile at Hela. "I'm just going to make a cut on your hand and see if you can regenerate. Don't worry, I'll be very careful!"
Hela began to think. She wasn't a fool, and she had understood most of what they had discussed just now. If she showed her regenerative ability now, they might believe she was a Symbiote. If she didn't show it, they probably wouldn't do anything to her, but they might keep investigating. But what would happen if they kept investigating?
Hela only felt that her brain wasn't up to the task again. She didn't know what good showing her ability would do, but she didn't know what good or harm hiding it would do either. It had been a long time since she had thought like this.
After pondering for a moment, Hela finally made her decision.