PTGWD Chapter 72: Butterfly

Lu Jianchuan had shrunk to the size of an octopus, clinging to the back of Fang Xingzhou’s neck.

Fang Xingzhou hadn’t had time to get a haircut, and his hair had grown long enough to completely cover the back of his neck, hiding any trace of the creature.

During the drive, the “little octopus” nibbled contentedly on his skin and hair. Its vocal cords, now smaller, produced a softer, buzzing sound near his ear, tickling him.

“The main issue with not being able to transform into a human is the proportions and structure,” it explained while chewing on his hair. “I can now enlarge or shrink the pregnant sac proportionally with my body, but I can’t fit it into a human-sized abdominal cavity. Besides, the human structure is complicated; the abdominal cavity is too far from the brain, which would reduce the efficiency of nutrient absorption.”

Fang Xingzhou freed one hand to hold the creature nibbling on his hair, playing with it gently. “So, it seems the human body isn’t very efficient.”

Lu Jianchuan spread its tentacles, exposing its soft core to its lover, allowing him to gently pinch its brain matter. It then wrapped its vocal cord around Fang Xingzhou’s ring finger like a bizarre ring.

“Exactly,” it commented. “The human structure is overly complex and delicate, with too much unnecessary redundancy—except for you, my dear. You are the masterpiece of creation, perfect and enchanting.”

Fang Xingzhou chuckled.

They didn’t live in the city center, and the area was mostly residential with little entertainment. The streets were empty late at night, with only occasional cars passing by.

They had been driving aimlessly for half an hour since leaving home, but hadn’t found any clues about their prey.

Yet, for some reason, neither of them felt anxious. A strange premonition enveloped them, as if they were destined to find something tonight.

Bored, Fang Xingzhou suggested, “Should we flip a coin to decide whether to go east or west? We’re not making any progress just driving around here.”

Lu Jianchuan rummaged through the glove box, found a coin, and climbed onto Fang Xingzhou’s lap, sighing, “Public security has improved so much these past few years. The Institute deserves an award for their hard work.”

Fang Xingzhou patted its brain matter. “You’ve contributed a lot.”

The monster proudly nuzzled his fingers, then flipped the coin into the air. They both watched as it spun and landed on Fang Xingzhou’s knee.

They looked down simultaneously.

It landed heads up.

Lu Jianchuan paused for two seconds, scratching its brain matter with a tentacle, then looked up at Fang Xingzhou in confusion. “Darling, I forgot to assign meanings to heads or tails.”

Fang Xingzhou picked it up, smiling. “No problem. Let’s go west. The pattern on the coin points west.”

He turned the car toward the city center.

What kind of monster could be in the city?

At 2:30 a.m., they arrived at the busiest commercial street. Surrounded by skyscrapers and high-end office buildings, the area was still brightly lit, with every illuminated window housing an overworked employee.

Fang Xingzhou passed a 24-hour convenience store and suddenly felt extremely thirsty. He parked the car, bent down to let his lover crawl into his hair, and entered the store with Lu Jianchuan.

A drunk man in a suit stumbled toward them.

He seemed to be a young, tall office worker from the area, carrying his jacket over his arm. He had bought a pack of tissues and was staggering out, nearly bumping into Fang Xingzhou.

The monster on Fang Xingzhou’s neck immediately entered a state of intense displeasure, ready to attack.

The drunk man slurred, “Sorry,” his eyes unfocused as he tried to get a better look at Fang Xingzhou. Fang Xingzhou patted the back of his neck to calm Lu Jianchuan and said, “It’s fine.”

He ignored the man, picked up two bottles of water, a pack of mint candies, and twenty sausages for the monsters, then headed to the checkout counter.

The night-shift cashier, with a robotic demeanor and a standardized smile, said in a flat tone, “That’ll be forty yuan. Shall I scan you?”

Fang Xingzhou opened his payment code.

Before the scan was complete, Fang Xingzhou felt someone approach.

He turned quickly to see the drunk man from earlier leaning against the counter, staring at him with a flushed face. The man’s gaze wandered, and he stammered, “Are you… also… gay?”

Fang Xingzhou: “?”

The man stepped closer, his eyes lingering on Fang Xingzhou’s Adam’s apple. He swallowed visibly and hoarsely asked, “Can I get your WeChat?”

Fang Xingzhou: “…”

It was a pickup attempt.

Lu Jianchuan, unable to contain itself, began nibbling on Fang Xingzhou’s scalp. Fang Xingzhou stepped back, holding up his shopping bag, and showed his wedding ring. “I’m married. Excuse me.”

He turned and left the store.

The drunk man stared at Fang Xingzhou’s retreating figure, his gaze lingering on the curve of his waist and hips under the black sweater. A wave of heat mixed with alcohol rushed to his head.

Emboldened, he followed Fang Xingzhou and reached out to grab his arm—

Everything happened too fast.

Neither the cashier, Fang Xingzhou, nor the drunk man himself could clearly see what had appeared. All they caught was a blur.

In the next second, the drunk man was flung into the air, crashed into a wooden bench, and rolled into the bushes, groaning in pain and unable to get up.

Fang Xingzhou was stunned.

The back of his neck burned with intense killing intent, freezing the air. Lu Jianchuan angrily bit through a strand of his hair with its mouthparts.

He quickly realized what had happened.

…Well, it wasn’t a big deal.

In situations like this, he just needed to hold Lu Jianchuan in his hand, soothe it with a few gentle words, then check on the drunk man and decide whether to call 119 or 110 based on the severity of the injuries.

But for some reason, as he looked at the man writhing in the bushes, his pupils contracted, and his limbs stiffened. For a moment, he felt as if he could hear the sound of invisible gears turning, as if a butterfly had flapped its wings, destined to stir up a storm and create massive waves in the near future.

He shook his head slightly, dismissing the strange thought, and focused on handling the current situation.

He took Lu Jianchuan from the back of his neck, kissed its burning brain matter tenderly, and whispered, “Don’t be angry, Deer. He’s just a drunk office worker. Let me handle this.”

The tentacles slapped his palm repeatedly, clearly wanting to devour the man who had dared to approach Fang Xingzhou. The vocal cord vibrated dangerously. “He tried to grab your hand!”

Fang Xingzhou kissed the brain matter again. “You can’t ignore the rules of human society just because you’re in your true form.”

Lu Jianchuan struggled to control its killing intent, its dozens of eyes fixed on the audacious human in the bushes.

Fang Xingzhou walked over, righted the overturned bench, and crouched beside the drunk man to check if he was okay. He reached out to help him up.

Before he could touch the man, Lu Jianchuan grumbled, “I don’t like you touching him.”

In small matters, Fang Xingzhou always indulged his lover’s whims.

So, he went back to the convenience store, bought a pair of disposable gloves, and put them on before pulling the drunk man onto the bench. He professionally checked the man’s eyelids.

The drunk man, who had earlier been fantasizing about Fang Xingzhou, was now terrified. He trembled violently at the sight of Fang Xingzhou, shouting, “No! Let me go! I’m sorry, please, don’t hurt me!”

Fang Xingzhou stood up, removed the gloves, and stepped back to distance himself from the trouble. He called the police, reporting as a concerned citizen that there was a dangerously drunk man acting erratically.

After handling the situation, he returned to the car and checked the time. They had been delayed by twenty minutes.

Lu Jianchuan was still angry, perched on Fang Xingzhou’s head, its gaze fixed on the convenience store, lost in thought.

For the drunk man’s safety, Fang Xingzhou quickly started the car and drove onto the highway.

The aimless hunt continued. After the incident, the monsters seemed even hungrier, and the car was filled with the sound of their growling stomachs…

…

Outside the convenience store.

Soon, the police arrived, but the person who had called them was gone.

The two officers were exhausted. With a shortage of staff at the station, they had been working three consecutive night shifts, dark circles under their eyes. They had smoked several cigarettes in the car on the way to the scene.

One officer helped the drunk man up, found his ID, wallet, and phone, and began contacting his family.

The other officer entered the convenience store to ask the cashier for details.

The cashier maintained her mechanical smile, appearing normal.

However, Lu Jianchuan’s proximity in its true form had exerted an invisible mental pressure on her, pushing her already fragile emotions to the brink.

This was also her third night shift. The sudden drop in temperature had caused her child to catch a cold. As a single parent, she was juggling work and caring for her sick child, stretched to her limit.

So, when the officer questioned her, she smiled while tears streamed down her face, startling the officer.

Negative emotions began to spread like a plague, attracting monsters that fed on pain…

After calming the distraught cashier, the officer thought of his wife at home and felt even gloomier, sighing as he continued his work.

His colleague couldn’t reach the drunk man’s family but found the number of his workplace in his bag and contacted a coworker who was still working overtime.

Soon, a colleague came down to take the drunk man away.

The two officers ended their late-night shift in low spirits, but the chain of negative emotions continued.

The coworker who picked up the drunk man looked pale and disoriented from overwork. Having to deal with a drunk colleague he didn’t get along with, he kicked the bench in frustration and waited a long time for a taxi to take the drunk man home.

Not long after, an elderly woman with insomnia went out for a walk and sat on the bench.

The bench, having been kicked and overturned earlier, was already cracked. As soon as the woman sat down, it broke with a loud “crack.”

The woman fell and couldn’t get up, so she called her daughter.

The unlucky daughter, who had been working overtime for days, rushed over upon receiving the call and burst into tears. She drove her mother to the hospital.

As soon as she got out of the car, a stray dog darted out from the hospital entrance, startling her. She kicked the dog in anger.

The kicked dog yelped and ran away, not daring to retaliate in a crowded area. It ran from the city center to the suburbs, and as dawn approached, it spotted a spotted dog being walked by its owner.

Jealous of the spotted dog’s comfortable life and resentful of its submission to humans, the stray dog barked furiously and bit the spotted dog’s hind leg.

The owner quickly picked up his dog, ready to confront the stray, but the stray, having seen the harsh realities of city life, knew when to retreat and ran off.

The heartbroken owner held his injured pet…

…

Invisible shadows passed between them.

From the police, to the cashier, to the office worker, the elderly woman, her daughter, the stray dog, the spotted dog, and its owner…

Fang Xingzhou and Lu Jianchuan drove around all night but found nothing. They returned to Xiangxing Street feeling dejected, the car silent for a long time.

Lu Jianchuan licked Fang Xingzhou’s earlobe, weak from hunger, and said softly, “Darling, it’s okay. I still have eighteen tentacles. I can survive until the Institute sends more food.”

Fang Xingzhou felt down, upset that he couldn’t feed his lover and child. He parked the car at their doorstep, held Lu Jianchuan, and kissed its listless brain matter. “How’s the baby?”

Lu Jianchuan also found it strange.

Normally, if it didn’t eat enough, the baby would thrash around violently. But tonight, it was unusually quiet, as if certain its fathers would find it delicious food.

“It’s being very good,” it said.

Fang Xingzhou thought it was just trying to comfort him and felt even worse. He got out of the car.

—And immediately ran into the neighbor cradling his spotted dog and crying, with a monster’s shadow clinging to his shoulder, invisible to the human eye…

Lu Jianchuan instantly perked up.