Chapter 2: Awake? The Surgery Was a Success!

“Boss, same as usual.”

“Two rice noodle rolls with egg, right? Coming right up, little bro Wuming.”

“Pack it to go, please.”

“Got it.”

Wuming stepped into the breakfast shop he visited every day and ordered his usual meal.

Normally he would finish eating at the shop and then start his full day of work, but last night’s incident had thrown today’s schedule completely off.

“Here you go, bro Wuming.”

“Thanks, boss.”

Wuming carried the breakfast back home. 

The blood clan girl on the sofa was still unconscious.

Her outer clothes had already been taken away by him. 

She was left wearing only her underwear and panties.

Don’t get any weird ideas.

I didn’t do anything. 

Taking her clothes off was purely to wash them. No improper thoughts whatsoever.

He was definitely not some lustful devotee.

On the table sat the used first-aid kit and the figurine that hadn’t been put away yet. Wuming planned to return it after breakfast.

He found an empty bowl, sat down directly across from the girl, and started eating.

Wonder when this girl will wake up…

Isn’t the blood clan’s healing ability supposed to be amazing? 

By all logic she should have woken up quickly.

Unless she’s malnourished or something.

Wuming still wanted to ask those guys why they had been chasing her and what exactly she had done.

He also didn’t know whether anyone else had noticed him bringing the girl into his shop last night.

“Mmm…”

Suddenly Wuming noticed the girl’s eyebrows twitch lightly. 

Then her whole body slowly stirred as her eyes opened bit by bit.

“I… where am I…”

The girl sat up slowly and immediately saw Wuming sitting across from her.

“Yo, you’re awake.”

“The surgery was a success.”

Seeing her awake, Wuming greeted her casually, completely unbothered that the girl in front of him was still almost naked.

“……”

She looked at Wuming, then down at her own body that was stripped down to just underwear and panties. 

A visible blush spread across her pale face, mixed with fury.

Kyaaaahhhh—?!

Without any hesitation the girl’s fist flew straight at Wuming’s nose. 

He was knocked backward and fell to the floor.

“Pervert—!”

“Creep—!”

“What do you people want—!”

What do you mean “you people”?!

Why is this girl so emotionally unstable?!

Wuming tried to get up but she stepped on him, pinning him down while she raised her fist again.

“Miss! Please wait—! This is all a misunderstanding!”

“Misunderstanding my ass!”

“What exactly did you people do to me!”

Hey, this girl even curses…

South Dipper Divine Fist—!

Another punch slammed into Wuming’s nose. For a moment the whole house filled with his wails.

“You lolicon! Pervert! Creep! Lecher! Scum! And whatever other scumbag you are!”

In short, Serena hurled every insult she could think of at Wuming, giving him zero chance to talk back.

***

About five minutes later.

Wuming came out of the bathroom. His face had nearly been ruined by the blood clan girl.

After a long explanation the girl finally understood her situation and realized she had hit the wrong person.

“That was close…”

His handsome face had almost been destroyed.

Wuyi, who had been sleeping, was woken by the commotion. 

Right now the cat was being held by the blood clan girl on the sofa, purring with starry eyes and looking extremely happy.

Gotta say, owning a cat really can heal a person.

Provided it’s a good cat.

Their Wuyi was a great cat who never made loud noises to disturb the neighbors.

At the moment the girl was wearing one of Wuming’s slightly oversized shirts. 

She was probably around 1.4 to 1.5 meters tall, with white hair and crimson eyes, happily playing with the cat.

“What an adorable little kitty~”

After straightening his appearance, Wuming walked out of the bathroom. 

The moment she saw him the girl quickly looked away.

“……”

Wuming ignored her reaction and continued eating the rice rolls from his bowl.

“So you understand your current situation now, right?”

Wuming chewed noisily.

“I helped you out of kindness, treated your wounds, and saved your life. You wake up, don’t say thanks, and instead punch me.”

“I… I know…”

“I’m sorry…”

The girl answered guiltily without even turning her head.

Seriously…

Getting beaten up without any explanation the moment she wakes.

Wuming’s face still hurt.

“Um… you… your name is Wuming, right?”

“You’re the one who saved me?!”

While he was being punched Wuming had introduced himself and explained the situation, so the girl finally learned the name of the handsome young man in front of her.

Wuming really was handsome.

Handsome enough that with a little styling he could pass for a beautiful girl.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

Wuming slurped another mouthful of rice roll and pointed at her head with his chopsticks. 

“You took a heavy blow to the head and were almost carried off by those guys. I saved you just in time.”

“Wait—!”

“You took care of all the people chasing me?!”

The girl stared at Wuming in shock. 

Her last memory had been being completely surrounded by those men. 

Then she had woken up here.

So her first reaction upon waking had been to assume Wuming was one of them.

“Otherwise how do you think you got here?”

While the girl looked surprised, Wuming finished the last bite of breakfast, picked up the figurine from the table, and returned it to his room.

The girl in the living room caught a glimpse of the entire wall of figurines inside Wuming’s room.

“……”

So he’s a shut-in otaku.

After putting the figurine back in place, Wuming returned to the living room.

“Miss Blood Clan… what’s your name?”

After talking with her for so long, Wuming still didn’t know the girl’s name, so he asked.

“……”

“Vivian Serena. Just call me Serena.”

“Serena, huh…”

Wuming thought for a moment. 

“Then, Miss Serena, can you tell me what exactly happened? Why were those people chasing you?”

Wuming asked, full of confusion.

“……”

Hearing the question, Serena remained silent for a long time, unsure how to explain everything to the person in front of her.

Serena took a deep breath. “I… I’m actually an experimental subject…”

“A subject that people can use and torture however they want…”

“Then I escaped… I kept running, and they went crazy trying to catch me and drag me back.”

Serena unconsciously touched her arm. The memory of foreign blood being injected into her surged in her mind.

She had gained power that didn’t belong to her, but she had also suffered endless torment because of it.

An experimental subject, huh…

Wuming fell into thought after hearing her words, feeling a bit of pity for what Serena had gone through.

After a long pause he spoke again. “Would you like me to call the police for you, Miss Serena?”

But he saw Serena shake her head.

“Calling the police won’t help. The Other Race Bureau can’t find their hiding place either.”

“Because… they’re black households.”

“And that’s not all. There’s an even bigger force above the black households. Just reporting to the police won’t solve it completely.”

Black households, huh…

Wuming wasn’t particularly surprised. 

After all, he knew there were countless unregistered demonfolk in his city. 

Grab any demon at random and there was a good chance they had slipped in illegally.

What caught Wuming’s attention more was the “even bigger force” Serena mentioned.

What exactly does she mean by “above”…?

Wuming didn’t know, and he didn’t want to know that much.

The only thing he could do was report her to the Other Race Bureau and let them handle it. Getting further involved was impossible for him.

Every city had an Other Race Bureau that specialized in cracking down on illegal black households and sending them back to the demon realm. 

They also handled cases involving demonfolk.

Serena probably needed that.

But she had already clearly said she didn’t want him to report it, so Wuming could only respect her wish and prepare to ask her to leave.

“I’ve already mended your clothes for you, Miss Serena. They’re drying on the balcony outside.”

“If there’s nothing else… you probably have things you need to do, right?”

Although Wuming had tried to be tactful, Serena still understood what he meant.

“You… you’re asking me to leave?”

“…I didn’t want to say it so bluntly,” Wuming nodded. 

“Your injuries have been treated. There’s no need for you to stay here any longer.”

“You can leave anytime, Miss Serena.”

“But…”

Serena suddenly clutched her clothes tightly. “My wounds aren’t completely healed yet! Can I stay here a few more days?!”

She didn’t want to leave. 

She wanted to stay at Wuming’s place a little longer before going.

But Wuming’s intention was very clear.

Taking her in was dangerous. 

He couldn’t let this girl affect his current peaceful life, let alone put himself in danger.

He had once sworn to his mom that he would never get involved in dangerous situations, especially not expose his own identity!

Saving the girl had already gone against his original intention. Taking her in was even more impossible.

So Wuming firmly refused her request.

“No.”

Hearing Wuming’s answer, Serena lowered her head, looking extremely dejected.

“As expected…” Serena muttered softly.

“No one wants to take me in…”

“……”

Seeing Serena’s reaction, Wuming felt a twinge of softness in his heart, but he had to stick to his principles.

“Please leave, Miss Serena.”

At that moment Wuming heard the doorbell ring downstairs. He took out his phone and checked the time.

It was already nine o’clock…

That meant his first patient of the day had arrived, and a new workday had begun.

Although he was a psychologist, it was perfectly reasonable for patients to come in the morning, right?

Then Wuming looked at Serena, who had already mostly recovered. 

She was unusually tense, staring straight at the staircase.

She probably thought those people had come looking for her.

“The only help I can offer is what I’ve already given, Miss Serena. I can’t take you in.”

“I have to start work now.”

“……”

As the doorbell rang more and more urgently, Wuming stopped worrying about Serena, went straight downstairs, opened the door, and greeted today’s first patient.