"Alright, if there's nothing else, you can proceed according to your plan. My goal is to eliminate the zombies in this world. As for how to achieve that, I'll leave it to you. If you encounter any insurmountable difficulties, I will step in to help."
"As for your father, I see he's taking orders in Dragon City and can't make many decisions. You shouldn't contact him too often."
"Okay, I understand. I'll head back now." Lin Yu stood up and found some rope to tie the storage bracelets together before leaving.
Standing by the window, Lu Heng watched Lin Yu leave the room. He turned his gaze outward. The building wasn't the tallest in Nameless City, but it wasn't short either. Many of the pre-apocalypse skyscrapers had been dismantled by ability users.
The original occupants of Nameless City feared that excessively tall buildings within the city would become vantage points that threatened them. After all, in a world without legal constraints, many people possessed firearms.
If someone were to use a sniper rifle from a high vantage point, their safety would be completely compromised. Therefore, no building in the city currently exceeded six stories.
Lu Heng could clearly see the activities of many people outside the window from his room.
He flashed back into the space. The cup that had been in Lu Heng's hand moments ago was now resting quietly on the windowsill.
"Master, you're back. Why didn't Lu Bai return with you?" The Director, who had been lounging on the sofa grooming its fur, looked up and asked upon seeing Lu Heng return to the space apartment.
"It hasn't returned yet?"
In his haste, Lu Heng had directly forgotten Lu Bai in the hospital of the space city. However, it had been quite some time, and Lu Bai still hadn't returned. Could it have gotten lost in the space?
"No, it doesn't usually go out. At most, it goes downstairs to fetch well water. It's quite a homebody..."
Hearing the Director say this, Lu Heng guessed that Lu Bai was still in the hospital and hadn't left. With a thought, Lu Heng directly summoned Lu Bai back to the apartment.
"Where were you just now?"
"I was in that room."
"You two rest for a while. We'll go to another world later."
"Ooh yeah! Master is finally taking me out to play!" The Director was the happiest upon hearing this news. It stood up from the sofa, shook its fluffy fur, and the entire cat seemed to gain a burst of energy.
"Lu Bai, come back to my room. I need to check your body."
Picking up the X-rays taken for Lu Bai today, Lu Heng said to it.
"Master, you should check me too. I feel like I've lost quite a bit of weight recently." The Director leaped off the sofa abruptly and followed behind Lu Heng, its eyes darting between Lu Heng and Lu Bai.
"If you stop overthinking, you won't lose weight."
Lu Bai ignored the Director and strolled into Lu Heng's room after Lu Heng opened the door.
The Director still wanted to barge in and take a look, but just as it reached the doorway, Lu Heng quickly closed the door, nearly catching its face.
"Hmph, doing something behind my back again."
Inside the room.
"Lu Bai, sit on the bed. Let me feel your skeleton."
Lu Heng had just compared the bones of Lu Bai in its two forms and couldn't understand.
Lu Bai was still in its small fox form. It leaped onto Lu Heng's soft bed, adjusted its body, and crawled down towards Lu Heng, its head facing him.
Lu Heng glanced at the X-ray of Lu Bai in its fox form again, placed the film on the corner of the bed, and sat on the edge, beginning to feel Lu Bai's skeleton.
"Hmm, the skeleton is quite sturdy, and it's indeed the skeletal structure of a small animal. There are thirteen ribs on each side, and the bone segments of the tail are also quite delicate."
"Ying ying ying..." Lu Bai seemed comfortable with the touch and let out a fox cry again.
"Transform into your human form again. I want to see if it's an illusion."
Upon hearing this, Lu Bai blinked and froze for a few seconds. But seeing Lu Heng's gaze, it lowered its head again.
Then, its fox body trembled a few times on the bed, and a beautiful back appeared before Lu Heng.
"Uh."
Lu Heng quickly covered Lu Bai with a blanket. Although the room was temperature-controlled, it would be very uncomfortable for Lu Bai, who had just lost its fur.
"Let me examine your bones in this form. It might hurt, so bear with it."
"Mm." Lu Bai, mimicking human speech, let out a simple single syllable.
Lu Heng leaned closer and reached out to feel Lu Bai's back.
Hmm, the shoulder blades are the same as a human's. The feel of the skin told Lu Heng that this was not an illusion.
Lu Bai's body temperature was also like a human's, warm to the touch, and the skin texture was very fine.
Oops, got sidetracked.
Hmm, there are twelve ribs on each side, just like a human's, one less than in its fox form.
"When you transform, how do these bones also change?"
Before Lu Bai could answer, Lu Heng's hand moved towards Lu Bai's tailbone.
"The tailbone is gone too."
"Mmm."
"Uh, give me your hand."
Lu Heng felt a bit awkward and had to ask Lu Bai to extend its arm again.
After briefly feeling the bones of the arm and hand, Lu Heng reached for Lu Bai's skull.
"Damn it, this is also a human skull."
Lu Heng felt somewhat dejected. He, a medical student with over ten years of study, couldn't understand Lu Bai's transformation.
"Master, when I transform, my body's bones also change along with it."
Lu Bai communicated with Lu Heng via telepathy. It couldn't yet produce many human sounds, so communication was primarily telepathic.
"I know that. I've felt it. They are indeed different..."
"You mean, when you transform, you can control your bones to change as well? Then where did the missing bones go?"
"They're still there, actually, just compressed. Feel again, here at my tailbone."
"Oh, let me feel again. Hmm, indeed, it's more prominent here than my tailbone."
Lu Heng touched his own tailbone area with one hand and felt Lu Bai's tailbone through the blanket with the other.
"Are you cold?" Lu Heng looked down at Lu Bai, who was lying on the bed. Lu Bai under his hand was trembling slightly.
With a whoosh, Lu Bai transformed back into its fox form and huddled under the blanket, only its fox head peeking out. Its large, watery eyes, like grapes, looked up at Lu Heng.
"Alright, if you're not feeling well, rest more. I'll call you out when we arrive."
Lu Bai tilted its head slightly and let out a single syllable in response.
Seeing Lu Bai curl up, Lu Heng tucked the blanket around it again, then stood up and left the room.
The bone-feeling session just now was quite awkward. Lu Heng didn't want to do it again. Although as a doctor, he was somewhat desensitized to the human body and shouldn't have any inappropriate thoughts, whenever he touched Lu Bai, it would involuntarily make some sounds, making Lu Heng feel awkward.