"Are you sure you want to go there alone?" Grisha asked in worry.
"Yeah," Compass Carburettor nodded, "Continue to practice the basics like I have taught you. I'll be back in three days."
Saying so, he boarded a taxi that arrived at the villa's entrance, glancing at the grass for a moment before the taxi took off.
Upon seeing the taxi leave the street, Grisha sighed, thinking, 'It's surprising that I got attached to him so quickly. It hasn't even been that long since I met him, but it feels like I've been dating him for a couple of years already.'
She then frowned in worry, 'Wait, dating? He didn't confirm anything!'
Feeling a headache, Grisha massaged her forehead, returning to the house as she slumped on the sofa in the living room, switching on the TV to see the news. There was nothing special being telecasted there. The same old, the same usual.
She had her doubts at the start, but upon seeing some peculiarities, she was able to believe everything Compass Carburettor had said to her. Moreover, the peculiarities even appeared in the grass growing on her lawn.
If she still refused to believe, it would be apparent that she lacked a brain.
Moreover, Compass Carburettor had indeed shown his Haggon Form. There was plenty of evidence now that she changed her line of thought, looking at things from a different perspective. After all, she was a victim to one of the mutated monsters too.
Thankfully for her, she encountered him. Otherwise, she would have been killed by the mutated bird and feasted upon sooner or later.
After lazing around for a couple of minutes, she changed into a set of tracks and exited the house, beginning to jog around, trying to build up stamina.
Compass Carburettor had given her a set of activities to do throughout the day, saying that they would help build up her body the best. And, it was a slow but definite process. As she had only been at it for two days, she wasn't able to notice any obvious changes.
Though, she had been feeling a lot healthier recently. So, she trained wholeheartedly, having taken a leave of absence from her university.
While jogging through the streets, she noticed her phone vibrating constantly, picking it up to see the caller was one of her friends, 'What does she want?'
She then talked to the other person for a couple of minutes before swiftly ending the call, 'She wants to go to a bar it seems.'
Grisha had refused the invitation. Even though she was someone that loved to live a carefree life, she wasn't an idiot. She wished to prepare herself. After all, she was of the notion that if she became strong enough to protect herself, she would be able to return to her carefree lifestyle even after the apocalypse.
It only depended on how well she adapted to the changes. And, she had a faint inkling that whatever might be the cause, Compass Carburettor would become a prime character in everything.
'Now, how will I tell mother everything?' She frowned, trying to think up a realistic way before she made a couple of bookings, noticing her mother calling for her ten minutes later.
Stopping on the side of the road, Grisha picked up the call, speaking, "Mom…"
"Grisha, why did you enrol me for an aerobics class?" Her mother asked her immediately, having obtained a notification on her mobile.
"You are getting old, mom. So, this is good for your health." Grisha iterated the lies she had prepared, "This will better your health. Don't rely on those medicines so much."
Her mother sighed on the other end, saying, "You know I don't have the time for such things, right?"
"Make time, mom." Grisha stressed, "And no, I won't accept no for an answer. Just leave some of the work to your assistant. You have been training her to be a capable one, right? Use her more."
After some time arguing, Grisha ended the call, grinning a little, 'Alright, I got her to agree. I'll slowly enrol her into more such classes.'
She then began to jog when grunting in irritation upon receiving another call. Though, her expression immediately turned into one of excitement upon seeing that the call was from Dr. Gregesh, "Doctor, how are the results?"
"Hahaha," His laughter echoed from the other side as Dr. Gregesh said, "It's better to show you in person. Come to the lab, I've already informed the security. They'll let you in."
"Thank you!" Ending the call, Grisha phoned Compass Carburettor, relaying the news to him. After that, she returned to her home, changed into another set of clothes appropriate for the occasion and drove out.
…
"Come here and see this for yourself." Dr. Gregesh said before asking in surprise, "Where is that young man? He didn't come today?"
"He's made a trip to Mount Craire to gather more clues. He'll return after three days." Grisha replied.
"He's a remarkable youth, I must say." Dr. Gregesh said in praise before bringing Grisha to a glass cage.
Upon arriving before it, Grisha was shocked to see a group of dead rats lying within the glass cage. There were all sorts of reactions on their bodies, ranging from blisters to grotesque phenomenon that she couldn't even identify.
But, the most shocking of all was a lone rat that was still alive. Its legs had rotted, unable to move, causing pus to leak out. Its hands, on the other hand, seemed to be perfectly healthy.
And, the most mystical change of all was the helmet that had appeared on its head. It was a rather weird scene, for the helmet was transparent in nature.
Seeing her reaction, Dr. Gregesh replied, exhaustion apparent in his tone, but his excitement was clear, "I've run a lot of tests on them. I've injected the blood of the mutated creature in them, fed them grass that had been grown using the creature's blood, etc."
"But, none of them worked, until…" He said after some thought, displaying a projection on a screen, "I noticed this pearl in the mutated creature's heart."
"I've run some tests in it. Composition wise, it's pure carbon. But structure-wise, it is constantly changing." He said, "At first, it resembled a diamond in structure, but when applied with a minute force, it turned into graphite. The carbon bonding changes constantly according to the changes in pressure, temperature, moisture in the air, etc."
"I haven't been able to determine the full extent of its nature and the reason it is exhibiting such changes. Something of this level isn't something I can complete researching even after a year or two. But, I did find a solution." He said, displaying a certain liquid.
"The mutated creature's mutation was especially apparent in its gland that contained the aphrodisiac. So, I tried to see what would happen if I dilute the pearl into a liquid and inject it into this gland." Dr. Gregesh said, mildly excited, "The gland began to secrete the aphrodisiac once again. And, I noticed a faint projection of sorts atop its head."
"Then this rat…" Grisha said, alarmed upon seeing the sole living rat dragging its body towards the pile of dead rats before beginning to munch on them. At first, it barely had the strength to do so.
But as time passed, it continued to eat faster and faster. Moreover, the projection of the helmet on its head seemed to be turning more…translucent?
"Yes, I fed the solution created by dissolving the pearl to all of them by varying the amounts of dosage, the concentration, etc." Dr. Gregesh nodded, "Most of them developed cancer and weren't able to survive. As for this one, it is barely alive. Its legs have given out, but a strange helmet began to form on its head."
"This is what I found out." He said, "Once the helmet began to form on its head, the rat had seemingly become more intelligent. And, the rotting of its legs had stopped after that."
He looked at the rat's actions, saying, "Now, it's trying to accumulate energy into its body by devouring the dead rats. Though, I have no reason as to why it's only eating up the cancerous parts of their bodies while leaving out the healthy parts."
"Grisha, I need more specimens to research further." Dr. Gregesh said. "If you have the means, try to procure them."
"There's a good chance the government would contact me sooner or later for this case. So, I should obtain enough data before that." He laughed, "That'll make me the head of the project."
"Of course, I'll compensate you with the necessary information." He nodded, "That'll be to thank you for providing me this opportunity."
"Sir, there was also this." She then recounted the incident about the grass on her lawn acting strange and the ants that she had seen.
After listening to everything she said, Dr. Gregesh was silent for a good thirty minutes, seated on the nearby chair as he calmly breathed in and out, seemingly pondering about something. He then said to Grisha, "You should leave now. I'll inform you once I think of something."
Even though she was confused as to the change in his behaviour, Grisha had no other choice but to nod in response and leave the premises.
After seeing her exit the lab, Dr. Gregesh continued to sit on the seat before getting up with a start all of a sudden, looking around before he waved his hand before his face, rubbing his eyes, blinking them constantly.
He looked around, finally gazing at the rat to see it staring at him in response, making eye contact. And slowly, the rat tilted its head.
Dr. Gregesh too did the same, mirroring its actions.
