Chapter 109

Chapter 109

Though both part of the Z series semi-mechanical beings, the naming styles of Jie Linyuan and Lu Ba are drastically different, showing a clear bias. One sounds like a wealthy heir, while the other seems picked from a trash heap.

This has been troubling Ah Cheng lately, feeling like a worried mother of a well-behaved thirty-year-old at just a teenager's age, concerned that Lu Ba might silently endure grievances. Adhering to the parenting principle that her child shouldn't lack what others have, she borrowed a New Chinese Dictionary and "Three Hundred Tang and Song Poems" from Wu Xiaohu, spent a night poring over them with her limited knowledge, determined to find a name for Lu Ba that was both pleasing and culturally significant.

The next day, she sat next to Wu Yin in the van heading to the zoo and mysteriously unfolded a piece of paper, "Look, these are all the names I've thought of; which one do you think is best?"

"Quite efficient, aren't you?" Wu Yin took it, glancing down to see at least a dozen names, enough to induce decision paralysis—

Lu Banqiao, Lu Qiechang, Lu Manman, Lu Tiaotiao, Lu Mangmang, Lu Guilai, Lu Xingnan...

Wu Yin furrowed his brows: "..."

He tugged at Jie Linyuan's sleeve, passing him the paper, "Lu Ba's name is too perfunctory. Ah Cheng wants to give him a new one. Take a look and pick one you like."

Hearing this, Jie Linyuan smiled warmly, "That's thoughtful. Being with friends like you, Z1068 will surely never feel alone again."

As he said this, he took the paper, his smile freezing upon reading the names: "..."

Ah Cheng fidgeted nervously, "Are all these names not good? Why... do you both look so stiff?"

"Why not ask him directly for his preference?" Jie Linyuan suggested diplomatically, "After all, it's his name. His opinion should take precedence. What if Lu Ba actually likes being called Lu Mangmang?"

Ah Cheng wasn't foolish. She shot Jie Linyuan a resentful glance and silently crossed out the name Lu Mangmang with her pen.

……

Outside the zoo's gates, life buzzed as usual. Despite the recent cunning mutant creature causing a significant drop in foot traffic, for survival and profit, many humans still braved the risk of being preyed upon, entering and exiting the zoo regardless of the weather.

"Do you know why this place is called the zoo?" Lu Ba suddenly asked.

Judging by the direction he faced when speaking, he clearly expected Xie Linyuan to be his conversational partner, yet the person most interested in the topic turned out to be Wu Yin, who curiously countered, "Why?"

Lu Ba's initially poor impression of Wu Yin had already improved. Seeing Wu Yin take up the conversation, he instinctively straightened up, shifting from casual chat to an informative lecture: "Because the first people to arrive here were those expelled, ostracized, or even pursued for elimination by other bases, including those with extensive mechanical limb modifications or overly apparent beast features... Sister Bai was among the first to establish the zoo, revealing her anomalies to her former companions, only to be deemed no longer human and advised to leave voluntarily. She asked, 'If I'm not human, then what am I?' They replied, 'Whatever you are, you're definitely not human anymore.'"

"A group of 'quasi-human creatures' rejected by humanity, deemed unworthy of being called human, thus fitting only to be labeled as animals, hence they named their new home quite ironically, 'The Zoo.'"

Among the five mutants present, Wu Yin had previously learned about the pasts of four of them. Now, through Lu Ba's account, the last piece of the puzzle was put in place. Without exception, there were no warm memories, only disdain and indifference. They had almost lost any friends outside of their kind and had completely bid farewell to their former selves.

"So..." Wu Yin asked curiously, "do you still consider yourselves human?"

This question suddenly brought back memories for Xie Linyuan, who paused and then realized he used to care a lot about this because, whether in the North Camp or the Smoky Shelter, he was treated as a tool without self-awareness, expected to obey others unconditionally without being allowed his own thoughts.

Thus, he declared countless times in his heart: He is a human. When called a monster, Xie Linyuan would feel immense anger and stress. He refused to be seen as different; he loathed those around him, scorned them, yet yearned for their recognition as a 'human' and thus to be a true person.

Just like naming their home the Zoo, it's hard to tell if these founders truly didn't care about the world's view of them or if this was a deliberate way to express their dissatisfaction and outrage.

Xie Linyuan's inner turmoil continued until Wu Yin's arrival, who didn't specifically do anything but simply and efficiently pulled him out of this distorted environment. And even this action was unintentional; likely, Wu Yin had no idea of the trouble that had plagued Xie Linyuan for over a decade, which he had effortlessly resolved.

Xie Linyuan still wasn't recognized; in others' eyes, he remained a monster, a weapon, a tool of desertion.

But he no longer cared.

After the environment changed, whether or not he is considered human has become utterly irrelevant to him now.

However, it seemed the mutants were far from reaching Xie Linyuan's level of acceptance. They lived in the densely populated Zoo, facing various "humans" daily. The discriminated did not unite unprecedentedly just because those around them shared their plight; they merely established new rules within their group, designating another subset as the lowest tier to safeguard their interests.

This pattern was confirmed within the Beast Nation and likely wasn't absent from the Zoo either.

Therefore, when faced with Wu Yin's question, the mutants' expressions were somewhat unnatural.

After a moment, Xiao Hei casually waved his hand, saying nonchalantly, "Who cares? Being human doesn't make you immortal, and not being human doesn't mean you'll die tomorrow. I don't care about my species."

"Me too," Ah Lan agreed, "And whether we're considered human is just a matter of words. As long as we're powerful enough, have high social status, and possess absolute authority, we can decide if we're human or not. Those so-called 'pure humans' will try their best to prove we're human, to acknowledge us as their kin."

Ah Cheng puckered her lips, "That's what I think too. With everyone here, I'm not alone, even if one day I'm not regarded as human, then so be it. When the apocalypse is over, we'll be the most unique species on earth, possibly eligible for endangered protection."

The rest of the group chuckled at her comment, and then Grey initiated a change in topic to move past the awkward moment. Only the qipao-clad Sister Bai half-smiled, her laughter not reaching her eyes, spending the rest of the journey gazing at the ground, brows furrowed, lost in thought.

……

Two days prior, to capture the guerrilla-warfare-skilled mutant, the five mutants had split up, with Lu Ba coordinating everyone's movements from the center, aiming to expand their search area. However, today, because Wu Yin was with them, only Little Black and Ah Lan left partway with His Highness to search in an area they predicted the mutant might appear, while the rest stayed with Wu Yin, waiting for the prey to come to them.

Whether Wu Yin's charm had diminished or the mutant's intelligence was genuinely high enough to sense Wu Yin as a deadly lure, they saw no sign of the mutant even when the sun was high in the sky.

The only threat came from a few unlucky polluters who ventured too close and were picked off by Jie Linyuan from a hundred meters away, leaving no chance for others to act.

"Did I just see a sniper rifle? Did you see it?" Grey asked, puzzled, scanning Jie Linyuan, "Where do you keep your gun?"

"Seems like it can't be hidden any longer," Wu Yin sighed regretfully, clearing his throat to explain seriously, "Actually, Jie Linyuan is not just the mechanical war god experiment Z1932; he's also a psychic with spatial abilities. He keeps his sniper rifle in a space he can access when needed."

"Spatial abilities!" Grey's eyes widened in shock, "Like those storage rings in cultivation novels? My god!"

Lu Ba tapped his head in frustration, feeling his friends' intelligence might indeed be lower than that of the mutant.

……

By noon, as everyone made do with steamed buns and hot water for lunch, they discussed whether their mutant scent had masked Wu Yin's, considering letting Wu Yin wander alone in the afternoon while they stayed further away to ensure his safety.

Just then, Little Black and Ah Lan sent a message from afar, reporting the discovery of the intelligent mutant's latest crime scene: four dead, one critically injured. When His Highness led them to the scene, the mutant, back turned to them, was smashing the last victim's head against a rock. It fled without engaging them, as if it had eyes in the back of its head.

Upon receiving the location sent by them, Sister Bai promptly called everyone to the car, regretfully announcing that their plan to use Wu Yin as bait, Plan 1, had utterly failed. She laughed, "Seems the attraction of catnip wasn't strong enough."

Wu Yin, thoughtful, didn't mind being likened to catnip as he stroked the armrest of his seat.

When they arrived at the scene, the death toll had risen from four to five, with the last man, his skull cracked open, having stopped breathing just a minute before.

Little Black and Ah Lan neatly arranged the bodies, methodically searching their belongings for something specific. Sister Bai explained to Wu Yin, "These traveling merchants usually carry identification. We're trying to identify them. Sometimes, if the belongings are valuable, we help fulfill their last wishes, like delivering a letter to someone or burying their bodies."

Wu Yin nodded, accustomed to seeing numerous corpses and rifling through belongings but never considered learning who they were or if they left unresolved wishes.

Seeing the mutants squatting down, he simply walked over to the last dead man, checked his appearance, and searched his collar for any ID tags.

Jie Linyuan joined him, focusing intently on this increasingly humanized parasite, then also squatted down, opening a blood-stained backpack to take out and air dry the bloodied items on the grass.

Wu Yin meticulously searched through the man's clothing pockets, finding them cleaner than his face, in stark contrast to the other four bodies, which seemed desperate to stuff their pockets full, he mused, looking up—

And unexpectedly met a pair of lucid black pupils.

Both saw surprise in each other's eyes. Wu Yin instinctively opened his mouth to shout, but the supposedly dead man seemed to try to silence him by quickly grabbing his wrist. Nonetheless, Wu Yin still shouted, "He's not dead!"

Before his words fell, all eyes turned towards them, yet they only saw the man with a cracked skull lying on the ground, his pupils dilated in death. Ah Lan came over for a thorough check, swearing the man was beyond dead, with just a few shakes away from his brain oozing out.

"Must be an illusion," Ah Cheng comforted, patting Wu Yin on the shoulder, "Don't stress too much, Little Tiger. We'll definitely catch this mutant."

But then, Xie Linyuan suddenly spoke up, "It's not an illusion."

He held up Wu Yin's right forearm, revealing a clear bloody handprint at his wrist.