Observation Operating Room
When a spherical tumor was removed from Mr. Herman's body, everyone in the room gasped in awe.
"What a shame we can't display it in a glass jar," someone sighed.
"Yeah, it's so fascinating," another chimed in.
"If only he hadn't insisted against it," someone else added with a hint of regret.
Adam couldn't help but chuckle.
Normally, whatever gets cut out during surgery is left to the hospital to deal with—patients don't usually care. But there are exceptions.
Take that dangerous, middle-aged "fake lolita" Adam once encountered. After her adoptive mother had a miscarriage, she went full artsy-hipster mode, cremating the fetus and using the ashes as fertilizer for a potted flower. She'd stare at the flower like it was a person.
Pointless, though.
The grief didn't go away. In the end, they adopted a girl to fill the void—only for it to spiral into a family-wrecking disaster.
And then there's this case.
Mr. Herman had genuinely seen the teratoma in his belly as a "baby" at first, pouring some emotion into it. That's why he was dead-set against the doctors turning it into some exhibit after the surgery.
It's way more normal than growing a flower from ashes, at least.
The doctors weren't thrilled, but they had to respect his wishes. It's not like this was Einstein's brain—nothing worth risking their licenses or jail time to steal, dissect, or study.
The afternoon flew by in a flash.
As night fell, word came that Barney had been "kissed" on the butt by a golden eyelash rattlesnake. Matthew and Lily swung by to check in.
"What's going on now?" Lily blurted out, half-laughing. "Barney, you again?!"
"Don't blame me!" Barney groaned, lying on his side. "Blame this hospital! Blame Adam!"
"Blaming the hospital makes sense, but why Adam?" Lily shot back, annoyed.
"He's the first one to blame!" Barney wailed. "Think about it—ever since I met him, how many times have I ended up in a mess?!"
"…"
Matthew and Lily paused, exchanging a look. Huh. He's got a point.
"Is Adam, like, Barney's kryptonite or something?" Matthew mused.
"Even if he is, it's not Adam's fault," Lily countered. "Barney, you're always the one stirring the pot first. Then Adam bets you, teaches you a lesson, and you—knowing full well what he's up to—jump in headfirst anyway. Who's to blame here? Only you!"
"Exactly," Matthew grinned. "Barney, you brought this on yourself, man."
"What are you guys chatting about? Sounds like a good time!"
Adam popped in, having heard Matthew and Lily were around. He figured he'd say hi.
His life for the next few years would revolve around the hospital—friend hangouts were rare, and even seeing them was tough. So, whenever there was a chance to catch up at work, he made the most of it. Even a quick hello was worth it.
"Oh, nothing much—just how Barney totally deserves this," Lily brushed it off with a smirk. Then she hugged Matthew tighter, looking at Adam with a mix of nerves and excitement. "Hey, Adam, we need a favor."
"What's up?" Adam asked.
"There's a monster in our apartment," they said, clinging to each other, trembling slightly.
"A what now?" Adam blinked.
"We just got home from work…" Lily started.
"Ahem," Adam cut in fast. "I get that you two are all lovey-dovey—no need for the steamy details. Skip to the point."
Lily and Matthew were way too into each other. Coming home and getting handsy the second they walked in? Standard move. But no need to overshare—Adam's a pure sunshine boy, not here for the rated-R stuff! 😅
"So, I looked up, and suddenly I spotted this thing," Lily said, wide-eyed with panic. "I pointed it out to Matthew, and he freaked out too…"
Adam glanced at Matthew.
"It's true, man. Total freakout," Matthew admitted, sheepishly covering himself a bit. "We bolted out of the apartment, then remembered Barney's latest drama and came here. Figured we'd ask our strongest, most jacked friend—you—to handle it. This monster's got your name on it, Adam."
"Wait, so you came to get Adam to fight some monster and just happened to check on me?" Barney grumbled, his face sour.
"That's not the point," Lily waved him off. "The point is, this thing is terrifying!"
"Okay, what kind of monster are we talking about?" Adam teased. "Don't tell me it's just a cockroach-rat or something."
"A cockroach-rat?"
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Matthew and Lily froze, then blurted out their takes.
"It's the most insane, disgusting rat ever!" Matthew said.
"No, it's a super-sized mega-cockroach!" Lily argued.
"It's a rat—it's got whiskers!"
"It's a cockroach—it's got antennae!"
"…"
They started bickering.
"Hold up, hold up!" Adam interrupted. "Sounds like you're describing some mutant cockroach-rat hybrid."
"A mutant cockroach-rat hybrid?"
They glanced at each other, compromising on Adam's name for it, then gasped, "Adam, you've seen one?!"
"Nope," Adam deadpanned. "But I've got two friends who ran into the same magical creature—and reacted exactly like you two."
"For real?" Matthew and Lily weren't buying it.
"Dead serious," Adam said, straight-faced. "Like, identical vibes."
"No way, that's wild! Who are they?" They were hooked, curious about these mystery friends.
"One's named Guangu, the other's Meijia," Adam grinned. "Foreigners—you wouldn't know 'em."
"Whoa!" Lily yelped. "So, cockroach-rats are a global thing? Why haven't we heard about them before?"
"The world's full of mysteries," Matthew jumped in, getting excited. "Like Bigfoot, Yeti, the Loch Ness Monster—Earth's huge, and we've barely scratched the surface!"
"Alright, I'll head over with you guys later to check out this legendary cockroach-rat," Adam laughed. "I've got a hunch it's the first of its kind."
"Why's that?" Lily tilted her head. "What about the one your friends saw?"
"Theirs was probably a descendant," Adam quipped. "Don't ask me how—I'm just going with my gut! Oh, and heads-up: cockroach-rats can fly."
"WHAT?!" Matthew and Lily shouted in unison. "It flies? Roaches and rats don't fly!"
"It's a mutant monster," Adam shrugged with a grin. "Totally tracks."
"But what caused it to mutate?" Matthew frowned. "This is New York, not some irradiated island."
"Yeah, isn't radiation the big mutation trigger?" Lily added.
"Radiation's the main culprit, sure," Adam nodded. "But it's not the only one. And it's not just islands that've been nuked—tons of places have had nuclear tests."
He stopped there.
Anything more wasn't fit for casual chit-chat.
From his past-life memories, Adam knew the U.S. had run way more nuclear tests on its own soil than that island nation ever saw. Ruthless stuff—sometimes they didn't even spare their own people. In sparsely populated states, secret tests left wide radiation zones, all hushed up from the affected residents. Cancer rates spiked in those areas later, way higher than elsewhere, and it blew up into class-action lawsuits when the truth came out.
If a cockroach-rat was a radiation-spawned freak, it'd more likely pop up in the U.S. than anywhere else. East Country? That'd be a stretch—pure comedy.