Coveted After Becoming a Monster [Quick Transmigration] 25p1

Chapter 25 p1:

When the little octopus struggled awake from her daze, the first thing she felt was a jolt as her head bumped against the glass wall. Then she opened her eyes.

This is…

The simply decorated interior of a jeep. In the front seats, a person with black hair and a person with blond hair were whispering to each other. Through the windshield, a narrow, simple red dirt road was visible. The woods on both sides were dense, and the overhanging branches repeatedly scraped against the car, making a “thwack thwack” sound.

Li An was stunned for a moment, staring blankly at the scene before her. She almost thought her mission had failed and she had been transported to a different world.

Fortunately, the system’s voice didn’t sound, and she finally recognized the profile of the person in the passenger seat. It was Ling Yun, whom she had seen once before.

The little octopus let out a long sigh of relief, and a question immediately popped into her head.

Where is Ji Yulin?

Her round eyes widened. She spun around in the water and finally saw Ji Yulin behind her.

The woman was leaning back in the rear seat, her eyelids closed. A faint purple bruise was visible on her slightly tired eyelids, as if she were in a light sleep, unaware that the little octopus had woken up.

Li An couldn’t help but look her up and down. Seeing that Ji Yulin didn’t have a high fever and wasn’t missing any limbs, her heart relaxed a little.

Then, her gaze fell on the top button of her tightly fastened shirt.

Apart from Ji Yulin, few people would button their shirts so tightly, exuding a rigid, serious, and cold aura. But Li An was relieved by this. It showed that Ji Yulin hadn’t been burned into a fool and could still dress herself.

With the last of her worries gone, the little octopus finally had a chance to look around.

The familiar glass jar. She clearly remembered that the octopus hadn’t chosen to take it when they left, but now she saw it. Did Ji Yulin go back and get it while she was unconscious?

Also, the jar was filled with the same solution as in the ship’s cabin, which soothed the pain of her severed tentacle and helped new flesh grow.

At this thought, the image of the pool in the laboratory from her dream suddenly appeared in her mind. Before the little octopus could think further, she heard a voice from the front.

“Professor Ji.”

“Professor? Wake up.”

“After we pass through this jungle, it’s another half-day’s drive to the Thirteenth District.”

The eyelids of the person who seemed to be in a light sleep trembled, and the hand gripping the glass jar twitched.

“There are many mutated plants in the jungle. To avoid mutated plants like the sunflowers, we must remain absolutely alert on this stretch of road.”

The person in the driver’s seat tilted her head slightly, trying to look back.

The little octopus also looked over at the sound.

This person looked very young, probably only in her twenties, with fair skin and handsome features that held a hint of playful frivolity. She always drew out her words when she spoke, and with her conspicuous blond hair and floral shirt, she couldn’t help but remind one of a peacock spreading its tail.

Ling Yun, beside her, frowned, as if she didn’t get along with this person. Only when she spoke did she also turn her head to look back. A faint purple bruise was still visible on her jaw.

“Professor?”

Another call, and Ji Yulin seemed to slowly wake up, her eyelids slowly lifting.

But from Li An’s perspective, she saw that Ji Yulin’s eyes were clear, without a trace of the drowsiness of someone who had just woken up.

And she didn’t know if it was her illusion, but she even felt that Ji Yulin was in excellent condition now. Her dark eyes were clearer than before, like black jade soaked in water, even a little bewitchingly deep.

This is…

Li An couldn’t figure out the situation for a moment. Then she saw Ji Yulin’s gaze fall on her.

Although she didn’t say anything, she could see the concern in her eyes.

Human, little octopus is fine.

A tentacle rested on the glass wall and gently patted her bent knuckles, as if to soothe her.

Ji Yulin’s expression relaxed slightly, but when the next call sounded, her brows knitted together again.

“Professor? Professor, are you awake, Professor?”

“We’re almost there, Professor.”

Noisy.

The little octopus seemed to hear Ji Yulin’s inner thoughts, a rare moment of impatience.

But she couldn’t pretend any longer. She could only slowly raise her head and say succinctly, “I’m awake.”

Then she turned her head and leaned against the car window, looking lazy and unwilling to communicate.

But the person didn’t stop talking. Instead, she said enthusiastically, “Professor, you’re finally awake? There’s water by the door. You can have some to wake yourself up.”

Before that sentence was finished, the next one followed, “We’re about to reach the jungle. There are a lot of mutated plants inside.”

Hasn’t she already said that once?

The little octopus grumbled.

But the other person seemed completely unaware and continued, “When the time comes, just tell me what you like, and I’ll dig it up for you right away.”

“I remember there’s some kind of flower over there, all colorful and really pretty. I’ll take you for a look later. If it’s useful for your experiments, we can dig it up. If not, that’s fine too. It’ll look nice in the lab.”

She really talked a lot, like a croaking frog that wouldn’t stop.

Even the little octopus couldn’t help but cover her head, finally understanding why Ji Yulin had been forced to feign sleep.

If this person were just a chatterbox, it would be more tolerable. But she was a chatterbox with an extreme need for attention, constantly throwing out a question or two, forcing people to respond.

However, thanks to her incessant babbling, Li An finally understood the current situation.

A week had passed since the outbreak of the mutation in the town.

The support team from the Thirteenth District rushed over and finally arrived on the third day after the mutation occurred. After urgently dealing with the mutated sunflowers, they assisted Ling Yun in searching for Ji Yulin everywhere.

They conducted a grid search for three consecutive days, even turning over the rocks on the beach for a thorough inspection, but they still found no trace of Ji Yulin. In the end, it was Ji Yulin herself who appeared on the beach.

The town’s environment was simple, and it had been severely damaged, making it uninhabitable. So, after a day of simple rest and reorganization, everyone decided to head back to the Thirteenth District first, and then return to the Research Institute.

The person in the driver’s seat, named Qi Fu, was the captain of the Thirteenth District’s First Special Forces Squad.

Last year, she had undergone the Research Institute’s mutated limb transplant program, having the left eye of a mutated golden eagle transplanted into her body, which gave her abilities beyond those of an ordinary person.

There were only seventeen such individuals in the Thirteenth District, divided into two squads, permanently stationed within the safe zone and only dispatched for S-class missions.

When the darkness had appeared last time, the Thirteenth District had considered sending the Second Squad, but the darkness had vanished after its first appearance, and there were other special temporary missions elsewhere, so they could only send other personnel.

It wasn’t until this time, when the sunflower crisis suddenly erupted, that they immediately recalled the First Squad, which was on a mission, and had them turn around and head here, with orders to escort Ji Yulin to the safe zone after the situation was resolved.

Having finally sorted things out, the little octopus raised a tentacle and pushed against the jar lid.

She couldn’t stay in the glass jar and wanted to get out again.

Ji Yulin saw this, unscrewed the lid for her, and placed her hand at the edge of the opening. The little octopus pulled herself up and fell right into her palm.

The wet liquid soaked her hand, but the neat freak didn’t seem to mind. With her other hand, she pulled out a tissue, covered the little octopus with it, and carefully wiped her from head to tentacles.

The little octopus was cooperative, obediently lifting her tentacles one by one. She even rubbed her round head against the tissue and finally turned over to make sure every spot was wiped clean. Then, she happily scooted toward Ji Yulin’s fingertips.

Human, you can wipe your hand now.

The human and the octopus worked together in perfect harmony. Qi Fu, in the front, caught a glimpse of this out of the corner of her eye and couldn’t help but tease, “Is this Professor Ji’s pet? It’s quite cute.”

“I wanted to get one before, but there are too many rules in the safe zone, and they have to be inspected every year. I just never found the right one.”

Although mutated beasts were dangerous, there were a few low-tier ones that were friendly toward humans and less dangerous, which could be tamed and kept as pets. It was just the price…

Only extremely wealthy families could afford them.

However, these were not within Ji Yulin’s consideration. She got up and opened the small refrigerator installed in the car.

A blast of cold air rushed out, revealing a plate of peeled and diced shrimp, along with a glass of iced fruit juice.

The little octopus lifted her head, glanced at it, and then nodded with satisfaction.

It’s coconut juice today!

Ji Yulin, at some point, had made a triangular cloth and tied it around the little octopus’s head. Then she considerately handed her a small silver knife and fork. She didn’t know where Ji Yulin had found them. Even the porcelain plate for the shrimp was tiny, but the glass for the coconut juice was the same as usual—the extra-large size the little octopus liked!

With no time to grumble about anything else, having slept for so long after overexerting herself, Li An was already starving. She lifted her fork and stabbed at a shrimp.

Huh?

There’s fish underneath!

The little octopus took a big bite.

Little shrimp are so delicious!

The little octopus nodded with satisfaction, unconsciously lifting the knife and fork in her tentacles.

There were still many unanswered questions about what had happened before, but since the environment wasn’t right, the human and the octopus didn’t say much, tacitly postponing the matter.

The surroundings remained the same. The convoy of a dozen camouflage jeeps maintained a fixed distance, speeding along the red dirt road.