Chapter 453: Divine Being Encounter

The smell of disinfectant inside the door is very standard.

It's so standard that Lu Yu's first reaction is not relaxation but vigilance.

In a truly safe place, the scent wouldn't be this clean.

Be it a hospital or a laboratory, any space that has been deliberately cleaned carries an overly orderly odor—disinfectant, sterile cotton, plastic wrap, metal instruments, and the blood hidden behind those smells.

Lu Yu stands on the threshold, clutching his health record card in his hand, his eyelashes drooping, his shoulders subconsciously hunching.

A fourteen‑year‑old boy who has just experienced a Weird Domain incident and is under close supervision by the Investigation Bureau should be nervous upon meeting an unfamiliar doctor.

So his nervousness is perfectly appropriate.

"Dr. Chu?"

Lu Yu's throat is pressed, making his voice a bit hoarse, the ending softened, "I'm in Elementary Division Class A, Lu Yu."

Behind the white examination table, Chu Che closes the physical exam form and lifts his hand to push his gold‑rimmed glasses.

The eyes behind the lenses are very gentle.

Too gentle.

Gentle to the point that no flaw can be found.

"Lu Yu, please sit down."

Chu Che points to the chair opposite, his tone neither fast nor slow, "No need to be nervous; today is just a routine physical. You were injured not long ago, so the academy added a few follow‑up items for you, so the process will take a bit longer than for other students."

Lu Yu nods, deliberately slowing his motion by half a beat as he sits.

The seat is a bit hard.

The Examination Room's air‑conditioning is set low, and a white incandescent lamp hangs from the ceiling, making the stainless‑steel tray on the table shine.

On the tray lie a body‑temperature patch, a blood‑drawing needle, a tongue depressor, and disposable gloves.

Next to it stands a Federation‑issued Weird perception threshold detector.

It has a silver‑gray shell, three layers of isolation shields, and its base bears the Investigation Bureau's containment number.

In his mind, Lu Yu reports its model.

Seventh‑generation low‑risk screening device.

Adequate for ordinary Weird practitioners, but insufficient to detect the thing inside him.

But he shows no sign of familiarity.

He just stares at the machine, his Adam's apple moving, and asks in a low voice, "Will this… hurt?"

Chu Che flips open the file, his tone carrying just‑right reassurance.

"It won't. It just asks you to place your hand on it to collect some physiological data."

He pauses, then adds, "If you feel uncomfortable during the process, you can tell me."

Lu Yu presses his lips together, "Thank you, doctor."

A perfectly ordinary conversation.

A perfectly ordinary doctor.

Perfect to the point that it sends a chill down one's spine.

First item: body temperature.

Thirty‑six point six.

Second item: heart rate.

Fifty‑nine.

Third item: blood pressure.

One hundred sixteen, seventy‑two.

Fourth item: pupil reflex.

Normal.

Fifth item: cellular activity index.

Normal but slightly low, consistent with post‑operative recovery.

Sixth item: Weird perception threshold.

The blue curve on the detector slowly climbs, then steadily falls back into the safe zone.

The nurse beside him glances at the data and can't help murmuring, "Recovery looks pretty good; the earlier report was so scary, I thought…"

Chu Che lifts his eyes and looks at her.

The nurse immediately shuts up, grabs the record board, and turns to organize the test tubes.

Lu Yu lowers his head, his fingers gently pinching his trouser seam.

From an outsider's perspective, this is post‑traumatic stress.

Only Lu Yu knows that he is using rhythm to suppress the monster inside him.

Four seconds inhale.

Seven seconds hold.

Eight seconds exhale.

Each breath presses on the rhythm of his muscles and blood flow, pushing that darkness inside deeper.

It is displeased.

It rolls inside his body, bearing the laziness after a full meal and a ferocious intent.

Lu Yu can even hear a rubbing sensation coming from deep within his bones.

Stop messing around.

It's not mealtime now.

Lu Yu gave it a command in his mind.

The thing gave no response, but it did indeed settle down a bit.

Chu Che kept his head down, recording data, the pen tip scratching across the paper with a faint rustle.

"How's the sleep?"

"It's okay."

"Do you have nightmares?"

"Yes."

"What did you dream about?"

Lu Yu paused, his fingers tightening and then releasing.

"The things from the Weird Domain."

Chu Che nodded, "Normal reaction. Traumatic memories recur during sleep; it's not cowardice nor poor mental resilience. The human brain needs to process fear this way."

Lu Yu looked up at him.

Chu Che's expression held no aggression.

Even the whites of his eyes were overly clean.

If Lu Yu hadn't crawled back from the apocalypse, if he hadn't seen so many monsters wearing human skin, he would truly believe it.

"Then do I need to take medicine?"

"Not for now."

Chu Che set down his pen, picked up the Stethoscope, "First, let's listen to your heart and lungs."

The nurse pulled the half curtain closed.

From the Corridor outside the Examination Room, low‑voiced chatter of students drifted in—someone complained about the long queue, another asked if blood draws could be done without seeing the needle, and a boy announced he would rush to the Cafeteria after the check‑up to snatch a chicken leg.

These breaths of daily life squeezed in, making the quiet inside the Examination Room feel even stranger.

Lu Yu unbuttoned his school uniform jacket, revealing the white short‑sleeve underneath.

Chu Che put on the Stethoscope; his technique was so professional that no flaw could be found.

When the chest piece touched his chest, the metal felt slightly cool.

Lu Yu's shoulder trembled lightly.

Chu Che said, "Relax, inhale."

Lu Yu complied.

"Exhale."

Lu Yu continued to follow.

"Once more."

The two were very close.

Close enough that Lu Yu could smell the faint sandalwood on Chu Che, along with a light scent of medicated soap.

He wasn't a doctor merely disguised for the moment.

This person truly had lived in a hospital environment for a long time.

The steadiness of his fingers, the placement of the Stethoscope, his judgment of breathing rhythm, and his habit of skipping irrelevant data when flipping through records.

All of that is that of a professional doctor.

Lu Yu stared at Chu Che's profile, trying to find a flaw beneath his skin.

None.

No Weird contamination.

No traces of a counter‑reversal by a cunning one.

No micro‑expression misalignments after a split‑mind.

No abnormal body temperature typical of high‑level horror‑story hosts.

Chu Che was simply a gentle, outstanding, spotless new school doctor.

Chu Che moved the Stethoscope aside and looked up.

Their gazes met.

Lu Yu immediately averted his eyes, showing the awkwardness of being stared at by an adult.

"Doctor... what's wrong?"

Chu Che looked at him for two seconds.

Then he smiled.

It wasn't an exaggerated grin, nor did it feel oppressive; he simply relaxed his brows and eyes naturally.

"Nothing much. Your cardiopulmonary function has recovered well, better than the report expected."

Lu Yu whispered, "Perhaps the academy training helped."

"Training certainly helps."

Chu Che removed the Stethoscope, folded it neatly, and placed it back on the desk, "But don't overexert yourself. At fourteen, your body is still developing; many injuries may look healed, yet internal recovery isn't that fast."

He said it in a way that sounded like an elder.

Gentle, professional, even a bit sincere.

Lu Yu mentally attached a second label to him.

Dangerous.

The more human-like, the more dangerous.

The nurse printed the final form and handed it to Chu Che.

"Dr. Chu, all the data are green."

Chu Che took it, glanced through it.

Lu Yu's peripheral vision caught the conclusion on the table.

No abnormalities.

Very good.

All the equipment was fooled by him.

He buttoned his coat, and as he rose he deliberately steadied himself on the edge of the table, showing a hint of weakness.

"Thank you, doctor, I'll be going back now."

The nurse was already preparing to call the next patient.

Outside the door, the class monitor's urging of the line could be heard.

Everything proceeded smoothly.

Lu Yu turned around.

Just a second before his hand touched the door handle.

From behind, Chu Che spoke.

"Lu Yu, wait a moment,"

Lu Yu stopped.

He turned, a puzzled look on his face, "Is there another item?"

Chu Che took off his Stethoscope and leisurely placed it into the drawer.

Those long, fair hands crossed on the desk and then separated.

The motion was light.

Yet it set Lu Yu's mental alarm to full.

Chu Che looked at him, his tone still gentle.

"All the Western‑medicine examinations are done,"

He paused, then raised his right hand, palm up.

"Classmate, let me take your pulse for you,"

The Examination Room fell silent for half a second.

The nurse was startled, "Dr. Chu, this item isn't on the physical exam sheet, is it?"

Chu Che didn't look at her, just smiled and explained, "Personal habit. I'm from cardiac surgery, later learned some traditional diagnostic methods from an old professor. It doesn't waste time, so I'll just take a look."

The nurse was a bit awkward, "Oh… alright then."

Lu Yu stood in place, his mind racing.

Refuse?

No.

A monitored student has no reason to refuse the doctor's supplementary exam.

Lu Yu lowered his eyes, walked back slowly, and placed his wrist on the examination table.

His skin was very pale, the wrist bone slender, blue veins hidden beneath.

It fit a teenager of average nutrition but under chronic stress.

Chu Che extended his hand.

The underside of his finger descended.

Landing on the pulse.

At the moment of contact, Lu Yu showed no abnormal reaction.

Because he truly sensed nothing.

No energy fluctuation.

No mental intrusion.

No Weird aura.

No pain.

No chill.

No signal whatsoever for judgment.

But on a level beyond Lu Yu's perception, a gray ripple rose from Chu Che's fingertip.

That ripple had no temperature, no shape, and lay outside any frequency range detectable by real instruments.

It bypassed the vessels, the heartbeat, the nerves.

The Federation's detector remained on standby nearby.

The screen's curve glowed a healthy green.

The nurse bowed her head to write the record.

Someone laughed outside the Corridor.

Everything normal.

Only Chu Che's consciousness, following that gray ripple, slipped down silently.

Lu Yu's soul structure was intriguing.

The outer layer was a disguise.

Thick, dense, with many repair marks.

The kid had packaged himself as a victim, with considerable care.

Deeper inside, there is murderous intent.

An extremely restrained murderous intent.

It does not leak out; it is even organized neatly, like categorized surgical instruments in a laboratory.

Chu Che felt a rare interest stir in his heart.

"Don't be nervous."

He spoke, soothing the boy before him while also maintaining the façade of reality.

The pulse is still steady.

Lu Yu nodded, eyelashes drooping, "Hmm."

He performed it well.

Breath is unruffled, heart rate is steady, skin's electrical response remains in the safe zone.

Chu Che even felt a bit of admiration.

Fourteen years old.

The gray ripple continues to deepen.

Passing through the disguise.

Passing through the murderous intent.

Passing the shadowy edge where the sleeping monster lies coiled.

Chu Che did not touch it.

It is not yet time for a dissection sample.

What he wants to see is deeper.

The thing Lu Yu truly hides.

A door appeared before Chu Che's consciousness.

The door is old.

Its surface is covered with scratches and bloodstains, and crimson moonlight shines through the crack.

Chu Che's smile did not lessen.

But his pupils contracted slightly behind the lenses.

Interesting.

Too interesting.

This is not an ordinary traumatic memory.

Nor is it a Weird Domain residue.

It is a wrinkle of time.

In this Child's soul lies a memory that does not belong to the current world line.

Chu Che lifted his hand and pushed his glasses.

Deep in his consciousness, he opened that door.

No sound.

No resistance.

The door opened.

Chu Che's gaze passed over Lu Yu's shoulder.

The Examination Room's white walls collapsed before his eyes.

The smell of disinfectant faded.

In its place came the stench of rotting flesh, scorched earth, blood and rainwater mingling.

The sky bore a huge Blood Moon.

Jiang Hai City's skyscrapers were broken into skeletal remains, the streets piled with corpses, and in the distance the scraping sounds of monsters dragging limbs could be heard.

The abandoned Investigation Bureau Building leaned in the city center, its rooftop Federation flag soaked in blood, with only half still hanging on the pole.