Next door to the South City Security Bureau.
Kirin has offices in every city, and the Silver City office is located in South City, right next door to the Security Bureau.
Yu Xian and Jin Sheng sat in the office, and through the window, they could see Zhang Shou being examined by several doctors in another room.
"Is a freak's friend also a freak?" Jin Sheng asked with a complicated expression after learning about Zhang Shou's situation, looking at the energetic Zhang Shou next door.
In the era when web novels were popular, the creativity of Chinese people was increasingly expanded by online authors.
Systems are not a new thing.
Hundreds of years ago, someone who had consumed a forbidden fruit wanted to obtain a system, attempting to become a god or ancestor using it. His wish came true, but the side effect was that he himself became the system, only able to parasitize others. Once the host died, he would also perish.
The final outcome was clear: he and his host died together, and neither became a god.
Logically, Zhang Shou's wish was similar to that person's, so Zhang Shou's outcome should also be similar. But now Zhang Shou not only hasn't turned into a system but is also lively, which is very strange.
After the examination, the results would not be known until tomorrow.
Zhang Shou came out of the room, saw Yu Xian waiting for him in the corridor, and asked nervously, "Xian Yu, are my side effects very severe?"
"We'll only know after tomorrow's physical examination report," Yu Xian replied.
Zhang Shou nodded, then optimistically smiled, "Looking on the bright side, maybe it's because I have immense good fortune that I gained such a heaven-defying ability?"
"Impossible. It's best to put away your wishful thinking. Although your ability is only Chong Class lower, its potential is too strong. It's impossible to gain this level of ability from consuming a forbidden fruit without side effects," Jin Sheng said as he came out of the office, looking at Zhang Shou.
After Zhang Shou left the room, Jin Sheng could see the doctors' expressions through the glass. Although the report wasn't out yet, he estimated the results wouldn't be too good.
He retracted his previous statement. Indeed, only Yu Xian was a freak; this Fat Man was just a lucky unfortunate.
The smile on Zhang Shou's face instantly froze. He felt he had been very restrained when making his wish, but he didn't expect Jin Sheng's evaluation to be so high.
"Captain, can I transfer my merits to Old Zhang and ask the country to save him?" Yu Xian couldn't help but ask.
Jin Sheng calmly said, "He will stay tonight. You can stay with him or go home to rest. Everything will wait until tomorrow's report is out."
The forbidden fruit can be said to be an opportunity, but it can also be a source of disaster.
Most animals that consume the forbidden fruit become a threat to human safety, while humans who consume the forbidden fruit either soar to great heights with good luck or harm themselves and others with bad luck.
The Vampire Ancestor, the Ghoul Ancestor, and others all consumed the forbidden fruit, not only completely losing their self-awareness but also becoming sources of disaster plaguing the world.
For example, after the Vampire Ancestor was jointly killed by dozens of Kirin teams, his body erupted with a vast amount of corpse energy.
This corpse energy could not be completely removed and spread globally with the wind. Once a corpse was infected with corpse energy, it would mutate and eventually become a Vampire.
Kirin has always been clearing newly appearing Vampires. Humans can reduce the possibility of Vampires appearing by timely cremation, but many animal Vampires are very troublesome and simply cannot be eliminated.
Because of this, Kirin now arranges physical examinations whenever a new forbidden fruit consumer is discovered, and they are not allowed to leave without permission until the report is out.
"I'll stay with Old Zhang," Yu Xian said.
Jin Sheng nodded, "Yes, it's good that you stay, lest he overthink and make an irrational choice."
Previously, someone who had consumed a forbidden fruit was invited to the office for a physical examination. That night, he fell into internal turmoil alone, becoming more and more afraid of knowing the results, and coupled with a lack of trust in the authorities, he quietly ran away.
When he was finally found, he was already on the verge of death due to an ability backlash.
Night.
Yu Xian and Zhang Shou shared a double room.
"Xian Yu, I can't sleep." Zhang Shou closed his eyes for a while, then opened them and looked at Yu Xian.
Yu Xian stood upside down on the ceiling and said calmly, "Don't overthink it. At worst, I'll turn you into a Vampire. There's always a way to survive, no matter what."
"I was impulsive because of the forbidden fruit at the time. It would have been better if I had asked you first," Zhang Shou sighed.
Yu Xian manipulated his blood energy to form threads, red blood threads intertwined with Silver Blood silver threads to form a net. He dropped from the ceiling into the net and lay there, saying, "Impossible. The forbidden fruit itself has an extremely strong allure to living beings. Your rationality would not have been enough to last until you could ask me."
In the wild, if two people discovered a forbidden fruit at the same time, even if they were sworn brothers, they would fight each other under the influence of the forbidden fruit. Even father and son fighting each other has occurred.
This is why the forbidden fruit is called the fruit from the abyss.
Any creature that encounters the forbidden fruit will slowly lose its rationality. Zhang Shou simply couldn't have held on for too long, so consuming the forbidden fruit while still rational was the most correct choice.
The next day.
Yu Xian and Zhang Shou sat on chairs in the corridor. Zhang Shou looked uneasy, like a suspect awaiting judgment.
At this moment, Jin Sheng came out of another office with a serious expression, holding a report. He walked over and sat next to Yu Xian, handing him the report.
Yu Xian took the report and offered it to Zhang Shou, who waved his hand and said, "You read it first. I need a moment."
"Okay."
From Jin Sheng's expression, Yu Xian actually guessed that the results were not good.
After he finished reading the report, his brows furrowed even more, and his face was full of worry.
"What? Are the results very bad?" Zhang Shou asked, feeling a bit distressed as he saw his expression.
Yu Xian pursed his lips and replied, "It's worse than imagined. Your body is now filled with a special energy, and your telomeres are aging hundreds of times faster than a normal person's. Every time you exert yourself, it's essentially burning your lifespan. Based on your telomere test results, you probably only have about a week left to live."
"What if I become a Vampire?" Zhang Shou immediately pressed.
Yu Xian shook his head, "The energy in your body is extremely exclusive. A Vampire's blood would likely turn to ash as soon as it entered your body, so you simply cannot be transformed into a Vampire. Similarly, other extraordinary powers with life-extending abilities probably won't have any effect on you."
"So I... I'm going to die in a week?" Zhang Shou said, his face pale.
There's no free lunch in the world.
What's the use of three lives? If the King of Hell wants you to die at midnight, a hundred lives wouldn't save you.
The forbidden fruit has never been a magic lamp or a wish-granting pearl. There will inevitably be a price to pay for what is gained by using the forbidden fruit.