As usual, after handing Xiao Hu over to Huang Jun, he first lay on the bed for the same simple examination we had all gone through before.
After that, they would administer some nutrient solution.
I had questioned before why a perfectly healthy child like Xiao Hu needed this, but when Song Jiang secretly told me this was actually a "special perk" they arranged privately to boost the child's nutrition, I felt a bit embarrassed—people meant well, and I had been suspicious for nothing.
I hung the cloth bag with the fish at the foot of the bed.
Song Jiang had been sniffing around the room, saying he smelled something fishy.
I quietly laughed to myself and ignored him.
Xiao Hu played with a small flower he had picked on the way, humming a tune from a nursery rhyme I had taught him—he was being incredibly well-behaved.
After sitting for a while, seeing that the next step would be taking Xiao Hu into that sealed room—which I wasn't allowed to enter—I got ready to head downstairs to chat with Xiao Jie at the front desk to pass the time.
Xiao Jie's husband was Doctor Sun, and they also lived in the villa district, though quite far from us, so we didn't visit often.
Just as I picked up the cloth bag and told Xiao Hu to behave, ready to leave, the old man—who had been recording data—called out to me.
"Chen Yang, wait a moment. Don't go yet."
I turned back. "What is it, Dad? It'll still take a while, right? I'll just go chat for a bit and come back."
"No." He waved his hand, then turned to Huang Jun and the others.
"Be careful with the next steps. You guys handle it—I won't go."
After they acknowledged, he turned back to me and pointed with his notebook toward his private office. "Come over there. I have something to discuss with you."
"Ah… okay…" I hung the bag back and followed him.
Song Jiang finally noticed the bag.
After taking a look, he shouted at my back, "You brought something? Fine, but why bring live ones? Who's got a fish tank? Let's raise them!"
I rolled my eyes and ignored him.
The old man's office was very simple: a large bookshelf filled with rows of medical books and some foreign titles I couldn't read, a huge desk piled with files, and a computer that was still on.
I wasn't sure if it had internet access—maybe they had some internal system.
After entering, he poured me a glass of water and sat behind the desk.
I sat across from him and asked, "What's the matter?"
He pulled out a stack of files, flipped through them casually, then asked, "How have things been between you and Xiao Tian lately?"
"…Huh?" I was caught off guard.
I didn't expect him to call me in just to ask that.
After a pause, I answered honestly, "Pretty good. Just had some conflict with neighbors yesterday and caused him some trouble."
He continued flipping through the files. "Among family, there's no such thing as trouble. Xiao Tian is steady—if he chose to act, it means something made him uncomfortable."
I hesitated, then asked, "Dad… did you call me here just to talk about this?"
He paused briefly, then resumed looking through the files as if nothing had happened.
A sense of unease slowly crept into my chest.
I stayed quiet, waiting for him to speak.
"The child outside—how long have you had him? DNA shows he's not related to you."
I froze. "We found him at the valley stronghold. His parents died, so we brought him along when we left."
"Mm." He nodded. "Since he has no family and you've been taking care of him, I'll speak directly."
My heart tightened. "Is there something wrong with Xiao Hu?"
He looked at me calmly. "You should already know something about his condition, shouldn't you?"
"What do you mean?"
"…This child was bitten by a walker, yet wasn't infected. You've been hiding it all this time, haven't you?"
"I…" The moment I realized they knew, panic surged through me.
What would they do to Xiao Hu? Would they lock him up like that man Yang did before?
"Alright… no need to blame yourself," he said, mistaking my reaction. "You just didn't want to lose the child."
He paused, then continued, "This child is extremely special. I noticed it the first time—there was mutated virus present in the wound, yet it didn't spread like it does in others. Judging by the wound, it had been there for quite some time, but the virus was confined around the wound, gradually diminishing as the skin healed."
I felt confused. "What does that mean?"
He looked at me. "It means there's a real possibility that a cure for the virus could be found through him."
"A cure? You mean… Xiao Hu might help find a way to treat the virus?" I could hardly believe it.
"Yes. It's entirely possible."
"Then… what do you need from him—or from me?"
He hesitated briefly. "Leave the child here. We'll send him to the pathogen research lab on the top floor."
I froze.
Just what I feared.
After a long pause, I asked hesitantly, "Will… Xiao Hu be harmed?"
He avoided the question. "If he's sent to the research lab, the isolation period will be six months. Because of the nature of the work, the researchers live inside as well, rotating every six months."
After he finished, I stared at him in silence.
Noticing my gaze, he sighed.
"The next rotation is in the middle of next month. Use this month and a half to let the child eat well and build up his strength. Someone will come to take him then."
I still didn't say anything.
The old man had already conveyed his meaning very clearly, even though he phrased it gently—once Xiao Hu was put into isolation, he would definitely suffer some kind of harm.
And… whether Xiao Hu would be taken in for research or not wasn't up to me, not up to any of us—probably not even up to Suo Tian.
Beneath that calm, mild tone was a firm, unshakable decision.
"Someone will come to pick him up" really just meant one thing: he's going, whether we agree or not.
Perhaps noticing how bad my expression looked, the old man stood up, walked over, and patted my shoulder.
"This isn't a temple, nor a church. Keeping so many people alive requires a purpose. Compared to a group of people, one child's life weighs far less."
My heart skipped violently when I heard that…
This time, Xiao Hu's checkup took longer than usual.
When he was pushed out of the room on the bed, just like every other time, he was still unconscious.
I had asked before why this happened, worried they were using anesthetics that might harm him, but Huang Jun had firmly assured me they were using proper scientific methods and wouldn't hurt the child.
And since Xiao Hu never cried or made a fuss after waking up—he didn't seem like he'd suffered—I eventually stopped asking.
When he woke up, I carried him, said goodbye to Song Jiang, Doctor Sun, and the others, grabbed the cloth bag, and headed into the elevator.
Passing through the lobby on the first floor, Xiao Jie called me over and stuffed a big lollipop into Xiao Hu's hand, making the little guy beam with joy.
On the way back, we ran into that old man again.
He was still sitting there fishing.
Xiao Hu remembered him—while licking his lollipop, he toddled over and even tried to offer him a bite.
The old man turned around, laughed heartily, waved it off, and said,
"Little one, aren't you afraid your teeth will get worms from eating so much candy?"
"How could he?" I replied from the side.
"He's only had candy once since coming here these past six months. Usually he just eats whatever we eat—no snacks at all."
The old man glanced at me, nodded, then thoughtfully patted Xiao Hu's head.
"No wonder he doesn't look very sturdy. If kids just eat whatever adults eat, how can they get proper nutrition?"
Hearing that, I crouched down beside Xiao Hu and looked at him carefully as he watched the fish flopping in the net.
He was almost four years old, but due to long-term lack of nutrition, he didn't look it at all.
He was even half a head shorter than Tingyun, and his complexion wasn't rosy like other children—it carried a faint unhealthy yellow tint.
My heart clenched tightly.
We'd always treated the three kids as the center of everything, yet none of us had noticed Xiao Hu's condition as clearly as a complete stranger had.
The old man handed me another fish—a snakehead—and told me to make soup for Xiao Hu when I got back.
Then he patted Xiao Hu's head again and said,
"My son manages the snack section in the largest mall. When you have time, go there—I'll secretly pack you a couple of bags of candy. Too much isn't good for teeth, but at least it can give the child some extra nutrition."
"I… that's too much, I can't accept that," I said, a bit overwhelmed.
"It's nothing," he waved his hand. "It's all distributed from above anyway—we just pass it along."
After he told me when he'd be at the store, I carried Xiao Hu and left.
By the time we got back—after all the delays along the way—everyone had already finished lunch.
Seeing us return, Uncle Gazi got up to heat some food for us in the kitchen.
I brought the three fish into the kitchen as well.
Watching them still flopping around, I had to use all my willpower to stop myself from throwing them into the swimming pool.
Such a natural fish pond, and they used it for swimming—what a waste!
I decided not to tell everyone about Xiao Hu yet.
First, there was still some time.
Second, I wanted to observe the situation for a bit—otherwise, telling them now would only bring more unnecessary worry.
— The end of the Chapter–