Warning: This chapter contains scenes of violence that may be disturbing to some readers. Reader discretion is advised.
The image contained in this candy was that of a small room.
The room was dim and cramped, only accommodating a small bed and a dilapidated wooden table opposite the door. There was barely enough space to open the door, and even a stool couldn’t be placed inside; one had to push the stool under the table when entering the room.
The only “window” was located near the ceiling, a rectangular vent with a few rays of daylight shining through. When one looked up from inside, they could only catch a glimpse of a tower towering high in the sky on the horizon.
That was the high tower of the Observation Center, located in the core area of the city, far, far from the edge area where the room was situated.
In such a small room, two brothers lived.
He sat at the table, reading the propaganda pamphlet of the cleanup team by the light of day. Although the lighting was dim, the exposed light bulbs connected to the wires on the wall were not turned on.
The electricity bill wasn’t expensive. But their resource points were already insufficient.
A small lump rose on the blanket on the adjacent small bed, emitting a vague and muffled sound, as if having a nightmare. A hand stretched out, groping in his direction.
“Ugh… Brother…”
He put down the manual, turned and leaned over, grasping his brother’s hand with one hand and reaching for his brother’s forehead with the other.
Burning hot.
His brother’s small hand in his palm felt like needles pricking him.
He looked down and saw that the tips of his brother’s fingers had black nails, sharp like those of a wild beast, poking into the flesh of his palm.
Densely packed black veins spread from the mutated joints towards the direction of his arm, already reaching his wrist.
Not only the hand.
The body covered by the blanket on the other side has also been covered by black substance in large areas.
—This was not just a simple fever. It was an infection.
Moreover, with such obvious signs of mutation, the infection level had probably reached 90 or above. If discovered, he would be directly sent to the large nitrogen chamber kilometers away from the city, or simply expelled from the city.
On the wall, the calendar was marked with a red pen circling the date of the next examination: July 21st.
This was the date when city residents went to the medical center every month for a check-up to confirm their infection status.
Now, there was only one week left until this date. If they couldn’t find a way to suppress the infection level within a week, his brother’s condition would be discovered.
For such a young child, the chances of survival outside the city were slim.
“Xiao An.” He said softly.
The child in the bed heard him, and the small hand in his palm struggled to respond.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“P cffv ab ub bea obg j ktlif,” tf rjlv, “Ktf ceaglfca reqqifwfca lr ys atf qliibk, jcv atfgf jgf bcis atgff ifoa. Po sbe’gf tecugs, pera ylaf bqfc bcf jcv fja la. P’ii yf yjmx lc atgff vjsr. Geglcu atlr alwf, cb wjaafg ktb xcbmxr bc atf vbbg, vbc’a gfrqbcv.”
“Brother… don’t go… Brother… uh…”
The little hand gripped the flesh of his palm. The nails were too sharp, and although the strength was not great, it still pierced the skin of his palm. Crimson droplets of blood flowed out, not falling to the ground, but absorbed by the child’s nails.
In the dim light, streaks of blood followed the black and hard substance of the nails, entering the raised black veins, then flowing into the limbs and bones.
Such a strange and eerie scene, but he didn’t immediately pull his hand away. Instead, he let the little hand hold his, sitting quietly for a while before getting up. Before leaving, he stooped down to tuck the child in, then opened and closed the door.
The room returned to silence.
“Brother… Brother…”
The child’s consciousness seemed a bit confused, calling out intermittently.
The scenery outside the window changed rapidly. From the morning’s haze to the blazing sun at noon, then the sunset at dusk followed by the high-hanging moonlight.
In the silent darkness, a pair of blood-red eyes suddenly lit up.
“Hungry… so hungry…”
“Want to eat… really want to eat…”
The child’s mutated face was immersed in shadow, and their body swayed like a shadow.
“Brother… when will you… come back?”
…
…
The candy dissolved completely in his mouth.
Shen Jie savored the aftertaste until the flavor of the candy completely dissipated, then licked his lips somewhat unsatisfactorily.
The scene just now contained memories embedded in the opponent’s power.
And that memory happened to trigger the residual memories in his body.
The memories of both the younger brother and the older brother merged together, giving a very real feeling.
— It was just like experiencing it for real.
He had basically confirmed now that the alien who disguised himself as him and caused trouble in the alien temple was his original younger brother in this body.
That brother who was forcibly recruited into the City Defense Bureau, and then never returned after the battle of the “Nest Egg”, Shen An.
The residual memories in this body were actually not much. There were no trivial details, mostly related to scientific research data, and memories of his brother from a long time ago.
What he just saw should be the situation when Shen An was three years old and the genetic disease first occurred.
Genetic diseases were not uncommon in this city. In a world rampant with infections, some people were born with infected factors in their genes. As they grow older and the number of cells proliferates, the infected factors spread, leading to the onset of the disease.
Suppressing genetic diseases required a large amount of money. They didn’t have money, so they couldn’t take Shen An to the hospital for treatment when he first fell ill, causing his degree of mutation to deepen day by day. In just over half a month, he had reached a point where he couldn’t be seen by others.
Fortunately, the place where they lived was not in the residential area with the most rigorous patrols by the City Defense Bureau, but a remote grocery store rented in a commercial area. The landlord rented it out secretly, and they lived there secretly, so they weren’t immediately discovered.
But Shen An’s situation couldn’t be delayed any longer.
While searching for ways to treat Shen An, he heard of a mysterious drug. This drug had never circulated within the city but had come from the defunct S base and had the potential to cure genetic diseases. However, it was extremely rare, and the only possibility of obtaining it was through transactions in the black market outside the city.
To save Shen An, he joined the cleanup team and went into the wilderness. However, he was unable to find the drug capable of treating genetic diseases in the black market.
Upon his return, he found Shen An still feverish, but the signs of mutation on his body were fading.
This discovery filled him with joy. Among all the cases of genetic diseases he had collected in the city, the most people could achieve was suppression; there had never been a case of cure in the city. Shen An’s change was like a miracle. But if his brother was okay, he was willing to believe in miracles.
However, as the mutation faded, Shen An fell into a deep sleep. He didn’t consume any food, nor did any bodily metabolism continue. Even the three nutritional supplements placed by the bed remained untouched when he returned.
The hospital tests showed that his infection level was 85.6, quite high but still within the safe range. However, another issue arose: Shen An remained motionless.
To maintain Shen An’s bodily functions, hospitalization was necessary, which incurred significant expenses. He voluntarily took on more wilderness cleanup tasks to cover the costs.
During the seventh expedition into the mist for cleanup, an accident occurred. He got lost in the wilderness and lost his memory during that time.
Upon returning to the city, he decided not to venture into the wilderness anymore. The money he earned from cleanup tasks was enough to cover his brother’s medical expenses, allowing him more time to pursue knowledge.
He managed to study and gain admission to university through self-study, eventually landing an internship at a research institute.
Either in the dormitory or at the hospital, he lived a disciplined life.
When he was seventeen and Shen An was ten, the latter finally woke up from his deep slumber and manifested the ability of the “Death” category. He was the only registered “Death” ability user in the city at that time.
At the age of eleven, Shen An was recruited into the City Defense Bureau as a special team member. That same year, Shen An went missing.
If one just look at a piece of information, no one could really see any problems. Although human abilities with the “Death” category were rare, he had seen a few before.
However… Shen Jie remembered the taste of two candies.
This taste, he wouldn’t mistake it.
It was the taste of his own kind.
—-
The plane flew southeast, passing through the wilderness, and getting close to C Base.
In the distance, the outline of the base was visible. It was much smaller than “Eden,” but before the apocalypse, it could have been comparable to the size of a provincial-level city.
However, at this moment, hordes of aliens were converging on the base from all directions. They seemed almost ready to engulf the base.
The plane chose a route that cut in from the northwest of the city, which was the direction with the fewest aliens because the continuous mountain range served as a natural wall behind the base.
However, while there were fewer aliens on land, the situation in the sky remained dire.
Inside the cockpit, red warning lights flashed, and the voices of the observation team members echoed.
“Warning! Warning! A large number of flying aliens occupy the airspace ahead. Please evacuate the aircraft immediately for combat.”
Upon hearing the alert, the rescue team members in the dozen fighter jets immediately began to act swiftly.
Most of the ability users above Rank Four had the ability to engage in aerial combat and had already opened the cabin door and flown out.
Ability users who hadn’t reached Rank Four quickly assembled jet-powered flight backpacks—how to use them was the first lesson every wilderness ability user received in the Ability Training Institute.
Before leaving the cabin, Zong Lin suddenly remembered something and glanced back at the green-eyed savior.
He remembered that this savior had only recently awakened his ability and had been engaged in medical treatment since then, probably not yet participating in the Ability Training Institute.
He saw Su Shiyu with the flight backpack on his back, assembling the flying mechanical devices on his limbs, moving a bit slowly.
The more Zong Lin looked, the more he frowned. He turned back and walked over, saying, “Have you not participated in the training for using flying equipment?”
Su Shiyu remained calm and said, “No. But I read the device instructions in advance. I should be able to use it.”
Zong Lin: “…”
Should be able to use it.
Which means he hasn’t used it before.
He rubbed his brow.
Zhu Wu You really threw him a big problem.
If he hadn’t used the flying equipment before, what if he accidentally flew into a pile of aliens? Who would rescue him?
And in areas where flying aliens roamed, the cabin wasn’t safe either. Waiting until someone discovered danger to come to the rescue would be too late.
The best solution was to take him along.
Zong Lin’s expression changed for a few moments, and he finally said with a stiff face, “You’ll come with me. Don’t move around.”
However, Su Shiyu was unappreciative. “Hmm? I still want to try it myself. I think I should be able to…”
As he spoke, he continued to install the flight device, showing some interest in its practical application.
Then he felt the cold aura emanating from Zong Lin, as if he was a bit displeased.
“…Alright. I’ll go with you,” he said, putting away his playful demeanor.
Zong Lin reached out his non-mutated hand towards him.
Su Shiyu grabbed his hand. Then he was pulled into the other’s embrace.
I wonder when zong lin will find out su shiyus identity 😂
I wonder how the encounter between the brothers will turn out. And poor Zong Lin, who thinks he’s been nominated as babysitter