Starting with the flesh-based stimulant

Zhou He's voice was somewhat hoarse and dry as he stared at Yao Yao and asked, word by word:

"Where did the clothes go?"

Yao Yao looked up, somewhat confused:

"What clothes?"

Jiang Qi added from behind:

"Meat doesn't wear clothes, you're a meat carrier, don't you know that?"

They don't know?

Zhou He, undeterred, continued to press for answers:

"I was referring to the large garment I was wearing earlier, draped over this piece of flesh."

As he spoke, he approached the offering table, his eyes scanning it intently as he asked:

"When I put the meat down, the piece of clothing was placed underneath it."

Yao Yao's almond-shaped eyes were filled with confusion:

"Senior, we don't have such an outfit. I was just about to ask you how you managed to walk around so openly with that extra weight on your back without being seen by the law enforcement."

At this point, she seemed to realize something and continued:

"But you didn't answer me then... I thought you had some technique or object."

Zhou He stopped talking, walked to the corner of the laboratory, leaned against the wall, and lowered his head to think.

He can't leave this laboratory.

Or.

Zhou He squinted, staring at the oil lamp and incense burner under the offering table.

I can't live without this scent.

The feeling of my mind being filled with thick fog still lingers.

Zhou He adjusted his fisherman's hat and then gripped his tiger's mouth tightly.

Take a deep breath.

One

two

three

I've been affected since yesterday... or even earlier.

He was certain of this; it was a psychiatrist's familiarity with his own brain.

He believed in his professionalism.

Although he suffered a considerable loss at the hands of the peddler, Zhou He had a thorough understanding of himself.

unless......

His brow began to twitch again, and the pinch marks on the web of his left hand made it difficult for him to calm down.

A terrible doubt crept into his mind once more, and he muttered to himself:

"Unless... I am not myself."

"Senior, what are you talking about?"

Yao Yao approached Zhou He with some curiosity, her eyes filled with even more doubt.

Zhou took a deep breath, then another.

Everything from the resurrection to the present began to churn in my mind.

My mind, which had been cleared of the thick fog by the aroma of the oil lamp, felt exceptionally clear at that moment.

He grasped the fleeting thought.

It is a picture.

A scene that does not exist in this world, nor in another world.

That scene was in a dream.

He lay in the shallow crater created by Grandpa Taochuan's blow, closed his eyes, and had a dream.

In his dream, he was looking in a mirror.

The reflection in the mirror showed me wearing a black school uniform and a school cap with black plastic trim on the brim.

In my dream, I smiled and asked the other Zhou He in the mirror:

"Would you like to come out?"

Young Master Zhou.

Zhou He's breathing became more and more steady.

When the unknowable becomes knowable, some of the fear dissipates.

He chuckled softly and adjusted his fisherman's hat.

"Oh, it was you. I thought I had gotten dumber."

"Senior, are you alright?"

Yao Yao's voice rang out again, and Zhou He looked up, lifting the brim of his hat with one finger:

"Very good, very good—it's still early, would you like a second piece of meat?"

Yao Yao shook her head:

"No need, senior. I might need a few more days to finish disassembling this piece."

Zhou He nodded, then asked with some curiosity:

"After you finish your research, will the money hidden in this meat disappear?"

"No, my research is actually a weighing process; it only involves stripping and comparing, and it won't cause the money to disappear."

Yao Yao explained earnestly, and Jiang Qi, who was standing next to her, wanted to interrupt, but he didn't dare to.

Zhou smiled, touched his chin, and added:

"So you're lighting lamps and burning incense so that you can offer the meat to Buddha after it's weighed?"

Yao Yao nodded. In her eyes, Zhou He was the acting deputy director's student, so it was normal for him to know these things.

Zhou He remembered what the peddler had mentioned about botox and asked again:

"What about Botox? How do you avoid it?"

Yao Yao probably misunderstood, thinking Zhou He was testing her, and answered seriously:

"Although this is a laboratory, I have lights on, incense burning, and a Buddha statue. The Buddha is watching over it."

Zhou searched around with great interest and found that a tile on the wall behind the altar had been hollowed out, leaving a dark hole inside.

It doesn't look like a Buddhist shrine, but it does resemble the dilapidated temple I saw when I first woke up.

He stood there, staring at the large piece of meat, for a while, then laughed out loud:

"Okay then, I won't charge you for the meat. After you finish your experiment, leave the meat for me; I still need some travel money."

Yao Yao nodded, finding no objection to it, but Jiang Qi finally found an opportunity to interject:

"But you spent money on the meat, so I still have to give you that money."

Zhou He took out the three hundred yuan he had given himself, then took back one hundred yuan, added twenty yuan from his inner pocket, and handed it to Jiang Qi.

"You've calculated things quite clearly—you like Yao Yao?"

Jiang Qi's outstretched hand, which was reaching for the money, froze on the spot.

After a long pause, she murmured a barely audible "Yes," then lowered her head, blushed, and stood there motionless.

Zhou He naturally put his arm around his shoulder and whispered in his ear:

"Here's what you'll do me a favor, and I'll teach you how to woo girls."

Jiang Qi broke free from him and shook his head:

"No, I... I'll chase after him myself."

His voice grew softer and softer, and at the end, he couldn't help but glance at Yao Yao.

Yao Yao covered her pretty face with one hand, blushing slightly.

Meanwhile, Chen Hai and his companion were all gossipy and whispering to each other.

"You still haven't told me what I need you to do for me."

Zhou He's voice pierced Jiang Qi's ears like a demon, and he couldn't help but raise his head and lean closer.

Zhou and Xiaoxiao also became a little closer:

"Don't rush to do what I need to do. Let me teach you a trick first. Want to learn?"

Jiang Qi did not shake his head.

Zhou He whispered a few words into his ear.

Jiang Qi's expression became increasingly interesting, as if he had suddenly learned to change his expression.

Hearing the end, he shook his head frantically:

"No, no, absolutely not!"

"My ex-girlfriend was the campus belle of Beijing University, the most beautiful goddess in the whole school."

Zhou He left only these words, then glanced at the offering table and the dark hole in it.

I'll come find you tomorrow.

He said something to Yao Yao, thought for a moment, then took out the iron box, turned his back, counted out three incense sticks, hid them in his sleeve, closed his eyes, and muttered a few words.

Then he turned to look at Chen Hai:

"Sell me the lighter, and give me your cigarettes too."

Chen Hai smelled of cigarettes.

Chen Hai looked up at Jiang Qi and found that Jiang Qi was still standing there, occasionally glancing at Yao Yao, and sometimes muttering something under his breath, completely ignoring him.

He then turned his gaze to Yao Yao:

"sister in law?"

Yao Yao covered her face with her hand again, waved her hand, and remained silent.

Chen Hai probably didn't understand Yao Yao's meaning and stood there stunned.

Zhou He walked up to him, handed him ten yuan, and said with a smile:

"Use that title more often in the future... your older brother will thank you."

Zhou He took the lighter from Chen Hai and waved to Yao Yao:

"See you tomorrow. By the way, I suggest you wear a nice dress tomorrow."