Tomb raider: You're going to extract my alien bloodline?

Chapter 51 The Tail Appears

As Qin Yuan walked out of the bloody area in front of the bronze gate, he was thinking that although he had been injured, at least his bones were not broken and his internal organs were not shattered. With his self-healing ability, he might be completely recovered and undetectable on the way out.

However, when I get back, I'll still ask Fatty to stew a few pots of nourishing soup to treat myself.

He even planned out a route: first, go down the mountain, find a town to call and let people know he's safe, then buy a ticket, get on the bus, and sleep all the way back to Beijing—perfect!

Zhang Qiling supported him, walking not fast, but steadily. Neither of them mentioned the bloody ambush and the alien clearing operation, as if it were just an ordinary hiker who had accidentally tripped and fallen.

However, Qin Yuan clearly underestimated the aftereffects of his massive bleeding and injury.

At first, he just felt that the area where the wound was healing was very itchy, like countless tiny insects were crawling on it. He didn't pay much attention to it, thinking it was a normal recovery process.

Then, his body temperature began to rise uncontrollably. It wasn't the kind of dizziness you get when you have a fever, but a burning heat that seemed to seep into his bones, making his mouth dry and his vision blurry.

"Brother... take a break." Qin Yuan gasped for breath, sliding down onto a sheltered rock, feeling his heart pounding so hard it felt like it was going to burst out of his chest.

Zhang Qiling immediately stopped and squatted down to look at him. Qin Yuan's face was flushed, veins were bulging on his forehead, and his breathing was rapid and heavy. Most strangely, his pupils were uncontrollably shifting between human circles and the vertical pupils of some cold-blooded animal, and their color was faintly tinged with dark gold.

"Something's not right..." Qin Yuan sensed it himself. He tried to concentrate and control the restless blood within his body, but it felt like trying to hold down a pack of huskies that were about to wreak havoc. The weakness caused by excessive blood loss seemed to have diminished his control over his blood.

"roar--"

A low, suppressed roar, completely inhuman, escaped from his throat.

Then, something even more terrifying happened!

The muscles in his back rippled and twitched unnaturally, as if something was about to burst out of his body! With a few tearing sounds, his already tattered windbreaker was completely ripped apart by several black and sharp bone spurs!

That wasn't all. A series of teeth-grinding cracking sounds came from his tailbone, followed by a thick tail covered with fine, black joints and with a sharp, spear-like tip. It suddenly tore through his pants and lashed out, striking the wall next to him with a loud crack, leaving a shallow dent!

At the same time, a layer of black biomass armor quickly appeared on his skin, starting from his neck, covering key areas such as his shoulders, neck, chest, and arms. It had a cold, matte sheen and sharp, curved edges.

In just over ten seconds, Qin Yuan transformed from a living person into a half-human, half-monster form exuding a dangerous aura.

"I... damn it..." Qin Yuan looked down at his claws, which were clearly not human, and then turned his head to try to see the extra tail on his back. However, the tail was not very obedient and almost slapped his face when it swung.

It took a lot of effort to control its paws and grab its unruly tail, making for a rather awkward situation.

Zhang Qiling's reaction... could be described as calm. He first quickly scanned his surroundings to make sure there was no one else or danger, then took two steps back, giving Qin Yuan enough space, although Qin Yuan felt that he was mainly afraid of being accidentally injured by that restless tail. His face was expressionless, but his eyes clearly revealed that he had expected this and that things were a bit troublesome.

"Can't control yourself?" Zhang Qiling asked, his tone as calm as if he were asking what he was having for dinner.

Qin Yuan tried moving his fingers, and his claws cracked. He then tried to control the tail, and this time the tail obediently drooped down, but he still couldn't control it to retract.

He smiled bitterly, his voice hoarse from the changes in his throat structure: "For now... it's tough, it's too much blood loss, I can't control it... it's too much blood loss."

Now look what's happened. With his appearance, let alone taking the train back to Beijing, he'd probably cause a riot even if he just walked into a populated town. He almost got mistaken for a monster and exterminated.

My plan to return to Beijing has completely fallen through.

"Let's go to the hot springs first," Zhang Qiling calmly planned. "We'll restore things to normal first."

Qin Yuan nodded helplessly; that was the only option. Fortunately, the hot spring wasn't far away; after walking through the passage for a while, a strong smell of sulfur wafted over.

The hot spring water here might be a bit too hot for ordinary people, but it was just right for Qin Yuan at that moment. For the next two days, Qin Yuan spent his leisurely days soaking in the hot spring, taming his tail, and feeding Zhang Qiling.

Zhang Qiling's composure amazed Qin Yuan. This guy could not only watch him eat a chicken leg with half of his alien face without changing his expression, but also silently pick up and rearrange a small pile of supplies when Zhang Qiling's tail accidentally knocked them over.

The only time Qin Yuan showed any emotion was when he tried to open a Coke can with his newly grown claws, but he misjudged the force and poked a hole in the can, spraying Coke all over his face. At that moment, Zhang Qiling seemed to... secretly glare at him?

Qin Yuan: "..." He felt his authority as the Alien Queen was rapidly eroding, and he even began to consider whether he should go back and learn from his underlings how to control his claws and tail.

Fortunately, the soothing effects of the hot spring and its own powerful recovery ability came into play. Two days later, the most exaggerated tail and the impressive biological armor were finally managed to retract. The bone spurs on its back had also disappeared, although its skin still retained some soreness from overstretching.

But the eyes and claws weren't so easy to fix. Although the vertical pupils weren't as obvious, upon closer inspection, the pupils were still not round enough and would occasionally stand upright again. The nails, on the other hand, couldn't retract, remaining slightly curved with overly sharp, glossy black tips; even scratching a stone could leave a white mark.

Qin Yuan took out a mirror, looked at himself, and sighed. Looking like this, he definitely couldn't go back to Panjiayuan. That fat guy's big mouth could probably shout the whole street that he, Master Qin, had gotten a manicure and contact lens treatment at Changbai Mountain—a semi-permanent one at that.

He pulled out a pair of dark sports gloves and a pair of large-framed sunglasses from his storage space. The gloves were thick and durable, covering his claws. With the sunglasses on, as long as no one looked directly at him, no one would dare say he wasn't a normal person!

After changing into a full-on assault suit and cleaning up his clothes that had been torn by bone spurs and his tail, Qin Yuan shrugged at Zhang Qiling, who was silently packing up the last of his belongings. "Well, it's not going back to Beijing for now. Going back looking like this will probably scare the kids and the neighbors."

Zhang Qiling looked up and glanced at him. Sunglasses covered Qin Yuan's eyes, but he seemed to be able to sense Qin Yuan's helplessness.

"Where to?" Zhang Qiling asked.

Qin Yuan thought for a moment. Going down the mountain to report that he was safe was a must, otherwise Wu Xie and Fatty would be worried sick. And then what? He definitely had to go to the Western Queen Mother Kingdom, but there was no rush. Even if he didn't go with Wu Xie and Fatty, he could still follow Xiao Ge's line.

His gaze fell on Zhang Qiling. This man was mysterious and unpredictable, but it seemed... he had a place to stay?

"Hey bro," Qin Yuan leaned closer, his tone sincere despite wearing sunglasses, "How many days will you take me in? Just keep me here, I can help watch over the place, cook, train with you, and do some chores." He shook his gloved hand, "I promise I won't wreck the house."

Zhang Qiling stared at him silently for a good ten seconds. Just when Qin Yuan thought he was going to be rejected, he finally nodded.

"Um."

After leaving the hot spring cave, the two went down the mountain and found a small town with a cell phone signal. Qin Yuan called the shop in Panjiayuan. As expected, the fat man answered the phone, his voice loud and boisterous, and in the background, Qin Jiu's childish voice seemed to ask, "Is this Daddy?"

Qin Yuan briefly reassured them that he was safe and sound, saying that he was with his brother and wouldn't be returning to Beijing for the time being, and asked them not to worry and to take good care of Qin Jiu.

The fat man yelled into the phone, "Little Blackie! Oh no, Master Qin! Are you alright? You're with Little Brother? You went into the Bronze Gate too? There's a signal inside that gate, you can even make phone calls!"

"It's okay, my brother and I are out." Qin Yuan quickly interrupted his wild imagination. "Will Qin Jiu be obedient?"

"Listen to me! My nephew's been very good, he just keeps talking about you! Don't worry, with me here, the shop's safe!" The fat man patted his chest to assure him, then lowered his voice, "Um... is that young man over there? Is he alright?"

"It's alright, everything's fine." Qin Yuan glanced at Zhang Qiling, who was standing beside him looking up at the sky, seemingly out of place with the surrounding noise, and smiled slightly. "I'll hang up now, phone calls are expensive, I'll contact you later."

After hanging up the phone, Qin Yuan felt much more at ease.

"Let's go," he said to Zhang Qiling, "I'll stay at your place."

Zhang Qiling didn't say anything, but simply turned and led the way. Qin Yuan, wearing sunglasses and with his hands in his pockets, followed behind him.