Chapter 89

**Chapter 89**

The system's voice piped up in Lu Yan's mind. [Host, listen. According to research, some dog owners not only kiss their dogs when they're hurt, they kiss them even when they aren't. A full nine percent of the world's population are freaks who fall in love with their pets!]

[So, wanting to kiss a dog doesn't mean anything!]

"Is that so?"

Lu Yan considered this.

He ended the brief, testing kiss. The next instant, he was bowled over onto the floor.

The ground was hard, the impact a dull ache across his back.

Tang Xun'an pressed close, burying his face against Lu Yan's neck. He inhaled deeply, a low, rumbling purr vibrating in his throat. He nuzzled insistently, rubbing his head back and forth.

That alone was bearable. But then Tang Xun'an opened his mouth.

A sharp alarm blared from the AI system. Panic erupted among the staff monitoring the room.

Researcher A sounded utterly defeated. "I thought he was stable! What's happening?! Grab the tranquilizer guns, everyone!"

When Tang Xun'an's jaws parted, Lu Yan braced for a bite.

Instead, a rough, wet tongue swiped over his skin.

The tiny, backward-facing barbs scraped against Lu Yan's ear. It wasn't painful, just intensely, maddeningly itchy.

Lu Yan pressed a kiss to Tang Xun'an's earlobe. The dragon responded by licking his ear again. Fair was fair.

The system screamed internally. [How in the hell is any of this FAIR?!]

[Dog-dragon! I called him a dog-dragon! The emphasis is on the DRAGON! Not the 'dog' part!]

Lu Yan grabbed a handful of scales at the base of Tang Xun'an's neck and pulled back, like hoisting a misbehaving kitten by the scruff.

In a contest of pure strength, ten Lu Yans wouldn't be enough to pin Tang Xun'an down.

Yet, Tang Xun'an went limp. He allowed himself to be pressed to the floor, his long tail thumping against the tiles in a rhythmic, heavy *whap-whap-whap*. His eyes held slitted pupils like pinpricks within rings of molten gold. Sharp teeth gleamed.

Lu Yan couldn't resist. He pried the dragon's jaws open wider, inspecting the teeth.

He wasn't a dentist, but he'd studied enough anatomy. The teeth were pristine, white, and sharp—utterly unlike a century-old set.

The door crashed open with a deafening bang.

A swarm of researchers in full hazmat suits, tranquilizer rifles at the ready, flooded the room. "Doctor Lu!! Hold on, we're here to save you!!"

Lu Yan turned his head, meeting the wide-eyed stare of Researcher A at the front.

Researcher A took in the scene: Lu Yan calmly examining the dragon's teeth while pinning the legendary 'Tyrant' to the ground. The Tyrant's tail wagged.

A swiftly reached over and covered the eyes of Researcher C beside him. "My apologies for the interruption. Our mistake. Please, carry on."

He began backing out, pulling the door shut.

"Wait," Lu Yan called out. "The medication."

To speed his recovery, Tang Xun'an still required daily injections of a specialized serum to lower his pathology index.

A retrieved the day's dose from a refrigerated case. He rubbed his hands together nervously. "This serum isn't in wide circulation yet. It's a semi-finished product, but side effects are minimal. The primary component is extracted from an undersea pollutant, a mutated species of immortal jellyfish. The annual harvest is... extremely limited."

The liquid in the vial was a luminous, beautiful blue.

"Um, Lord Diting," A stammered. "Need assistance? When we administer this to the Tyrant, the standard procedure is a cocktail: sedative, muscle relaxant, anesthetic, full hardened armor suit... then the injection. The serum is purified, but direct injection of pollutant-derived material into the body causes... excruciating pain."

Lu Yan had never received such an injection, but he had fused with pollutants. He knew the sensation.

"Is Tang Xun'an conscious right now?" he asked.

"Yes. He'll retain the memories afterward, too. But it's like being profoundly drunk. Even with a conscious mind, he can't control his actions... The side effects amplify negative personality traits." A gestured vaguely. "He's easily provoked right now."

Lu Yan looked down at the man he had pinned with one hand, whose tail was still thumping the floor. Tang Xun'an's lips were pressed into a thin line, his expression unreadable.

"It's fine. Where is the injection administered?"

"With highly irritant medications, we use intramuscular. Usually the deltoid." Researcher A pointed to his own shoulder. "We apply a topical analgesic afterward."

Lu Yan had only ever injected lab mice and rabbits. He wasn't about to steal a nurse's job under normal circumstances.

He thought for a moment. "You stay."

Foregoing the sedatives and relaxants, Lu Yan drew the glowing blue serum into a syringe.

A tensed. "Isn't that... dangerous?"

Lu Yan unfastened the top two buttons of Tang Xun'an's shirt. As expected, dark dragon scales covered the skin beneath. They crept up over his shoulders. The exposed deltoid muscle was dotted with old needle marks.

A scratched his head awkwardly. "Sometimes the needles... get crushed inside. It's not intentional."

The extracted ones had always come out bent by pliers.

Lu Yan held his breath and slowly depressed the plunger.

As he withdrew the needle, Tang Xun'an nuzzled his hand. "Yanyan. Hurts."

Researcher A's jaw dropped. "Holy shit, he can talk?!"

He quickly corrected himself. "I mean, we know he can talk. But during the entire treatment period, he's basically been mute. We thought it was a temporary aphonia."

Lu Yan didn't respond. He set the syringe aside and gently stroked Tang Xun'an's hair. "If it hurts, get better sooner."

A gathered the used equipment with practiced efficiency. "Shall I... leave you to it?"

"Mm."

A was almost out the door when he hesitated, poking his head back in. "Um, Lord Diting... should I, uh, shut off the surveillance feed for this room?"

Lu Yan was about to dismiss the notion—A was overthinking—but then he remembered something. He gave a slight nod. "Shut it off."

"Understood."

Yet, a second later, the door cracked open again. A looked profoundly uncomfortable. "Doctor Lu... that is... it's illegal to take advantage of someone mentally incompetent. Not that the Tyrant is incompetent! But his current state is... diminished. Lacks autonomy. And the reverse also seems... somewhat inappropriate. I'm just mentioning it. If, well, if it comes to that... we have personnel who can handle cleanup."

The system howled with laughter in Lu Yan's mind.

Lu Yan sighed. "...You're overthinking it."

For a moment, Researcher A wasn't sure if he should feel disappointed. Part of him genuinely hoped Tang Xun'an could find something like a home.

Finally, A left.

Lu Yan released his grip on Tang Xun'an's neck. Instantly, he was bowled over onto the floor again.

He let out a long-suffering breath, allowing Tang Xun'an to burrow and nuzzle against his chest.

The system thundered, [They say pity is the beginning of misfortune! Host! Snap out of it!!]

Lu Yan cupped Tang Xun'an's face in both hands. "Look at me."

Those gold-flecked eyes focused on him, though the gaze remained hazy, unfixed.

"Do you like me?" Lu Yan asked.

"Like... Yanyan."

"Since when?"

Tang Xun'an thought for a very long time. "Since... eighty-two years ago."

Lu Yan was puzzled.

Eighty-two years ago would be 2039.

He had traveled to the past within Tang Xun'an's dream, but the man had explicitly told him that was just a dream. In the reality Tang Xun'an experienced, "Lu Yan" had not existed.

Then another possibility occurred to him.

The nineteen-year-old Tang Xun'an had once sent Yu Zhizhi—Experimental Subject Zero—into the future.

"Tell me," Lu Yan pressed, his voice low. "When in the future did we meet?"

Tang Xun'an had once told him he'd hidden Yu Zhizhi on the day of his own death.

He didn't answer immediately. A look of intense struggle twisted his features.

Lu Yan leaned closer, his voice dropping to a hypnotic murmur, like a siren luring a sailor. "Tell me the time."

He unconsciously layered his words with the subtle compulsion of his [Delirious Speech] talent.

Tang Xun'an's hand shot up, gripping Lu Yan's wrist. His answer was strained, forced out. "Can't... can't tell Yanyan."

"Why not?"

"Yanyan... will cry."

Lu Yan's voice turned to ice. "I don't like disobedience."

Panic flashed across Tang Xun'an's face. His tail coiled tightly around Lu Yan's waist. A distressed, whimpering sound escaped him.

Tears actually welled in the corners of his eyes.

"Say it."

Sobbing, Tang Xun'an choked out the words. "On... next year's... February 14th."

Today was September 16th.

Only five months remained.

Large, hot tears fell onto Lu Yan's face.

They tasted bitter. Salty.

The system was silent for a long moment. [This is why I didn't want you together. He will die on that day. But you... you have a very, very long life ahead of you.]

"Why will he die?"

[I don't know.]

"But you are supposed to know all."

[I cannot know what has not yet happened.]

"Then how do you know he will die?"

[Because... it is something that has already happened in the past.]

The system coughed, a synthetic sound. [I mean, in Tang Xun'an's past. He knows the day he will die. Therefore, I know.]

Lu Yan knew the system was hiding things. A complicated, heavy feeling settled in his chest.

[He knows his death is coming. That's why he never dared get too close.]

[He feared altering the future, so he never sought you out. Your meeting was always destined.]

It transcended time, space, life, and death. It existed outside any law.

Lu Yan was quiet for a long time, his gaze fixed on those metallic, inhuman eyes.

He lifted a hand and brushed away the tear at the corner of Tang Xian’an’s eye.

Then he rose, leaned down, and kissed his lips—pale, too pale.