Chapter 11

Chapter 11

It was the first time An Zhe saw Lu Fen smile, albeit barely noticeable, despite their brief encounter.

Yet within that subtle hint of a smile, An Zhe discerned that the Judicator seemed to have something on his mind regarding him today.

As that fleeting smile vanished, Lu Fen's expression returned to its stoic mask. His long, pale fingers toyed with the black gun – a gesture that exuded danger.

An Zhe ventured cautiously, "Am I allowed to leave now?"

With a poker face, Lu Fen asked, "What are you doing here?"

An Zhe replied truthfully, "I work here."

Lu Fen asked, "The first floor or the second?"

An Zhe: "...Three floors."

Lu Fen: "Oh."

A long silence followed, until the sound of the young judge's scribbling ceased. Then, he announced, "No irregularities in the linguistic interrogation. Supporting judgment: The defendant is human."

An Zhe noticed Lu Fen cast a casual glance at the young judge - but it didn't seem like an approving one.

He tried again, "I—"

Lu Fen interrupted, "You can leave now."

"Thank you," An Zhe turned promptly and retraced his steps to the door. He sat down in the potato soup shop, truly craving a bowl today.

The potato soup sold in the residential area was priced at 0.3, while here it cost 1 – a significant difference. The soup here was at least three times more concentrated. Apart from the almost entirely softened and melted potatoes, it contained a sprinkle of minced meat and possibly milk, infusing the air with a savory aroma of protein.

The spoon was white; An Zhe picked it up, scooped a mouthful, blew away the steam, then brought it to his lips and swallowed.

Amidst the billowing vapor, he narrowed his eyes, feeling content – it would be even better if he didn't catch glimpses of the judge out of the corner of his eye.

An Zhe ate slowly, attentively, and silently, without making a sound. After about twenty minutes, he finished his meal and began to compose himself, preparing to pass by the esteemed judge and depart.

Just as he rose from his seat and turned towards the door, a piercing beep sounded – Lu Fen had activated his communicator.

As An Zhe passed by him, he overheard the man say two words into his communication device.

"Waste."

Startled, An Zhe quickened his pace and left the black market's entrance.

It was now evening. The sun had already set, leaving behind a vast expanse of grayish-blue in the western horizon. The wind grew colder. In another two hours, the base would lose power. The supply station across from the black market was also closing, spewing out a continuous flow of people.

The supply station, black market, and train station formed a triangular layout, with a spacious square in the middle. At this moment, people from all directions swarmed through the square like migrating ants, converging towards the train platform.

Trains operated from six in the morning until eight at night, with one train per hour, always arriving punctually.

As the time on the schedule approached, a faint rumble could be heard from afar, gradually growing louder. After a brief, intense jolt, the train, like a silver serpent, came to a stop on the tracks. Its doors on one side slid open, and passengers spilled out from a dozen carriages. Some were returning to their residential zones from other parts of the city, while others had just come back from the wilderness.

Just then, a gentle robotic female voice announced over the station's speakers, "Attention passengers, due to equipment malfunction, please disembark and wait. Those waiting to board, please do not enter the train for the time being and disperse."

"Attention passengers, due to equipment malfunction, please immediately disembark and disperse."

The mechanical instruction repeated, leaving those who heard it initially confused before they began moving, albeit unhurriedly. However, some people's expressions changed drastically as they hastily pulled their companions up from their seats and rushed out of the train, dashing towards the outskirts. This panic-stricken behavior spread to others, and within three minutes, the entire station was gripped by fear. Everyone bolted for the square.

An Zhe was about to board the vehicle when he found himself suddenly in the midst of a chaotic crowd. Although he didn't know what had happened, he understood the rules of communal living and turned around, planning to follow the crowd as they dispersed.

However, the people were pushing against each other, and he stumbled as someone collided with him from behind. The sound of high heels tapping against the ground echoed, and An Zhe turned his head, catching a familiar scent. It was Du Sai, the owner of the underground level, Lady Du. She seemed to have just alighted from a vehicle. Their eyes met, and Du Sai recognized him. Without a word, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him along as they rushed out.

In the square, cries of people falling and being trampled upon intertwined into a horrifying symphony. Du Sai, as if she had done this countless times before, swiftly navigated through the sea of people. Together, they followed the fastest runners to the edge of the square—where they halted.

A row of sleek black armored vehicles was parked neatly at the edge of the road, each spaced about ten meters apart. They bore silver shield emblems; An Zhe, having read the base manual, knew that these represented the City Defense Office, or more formally, the Base's External City Defense Office. Armed soldiers were now disembarking, sealing off all exits.

Still unsure of what was happening, An Zhe struggled for breath after their rapid sprint. Beside him, Du Sai bent over, panting heavily and coughing.

An Zhe placed a hand on her shoulder. After about half a minute, Du Sai appeared to have regained some composure. At that moment, chaos still reigned in the square as people frantically ran towards its edges, only to be blocked by the human wall of City Defense soldiers.

An Zhe helped Du Sai to a less crowded corner.

He asked, "What's going on?"

Du Sai straightened up and looked at the crowd. "This isn't uncommon. There's an alien among them."

Pausing to catch her breath, she continued, "There must be an alien in one of the vehicles. It takes too long to search them all. If the alien reacts, it won't be killed in time, potentially wiping out several compartments. It's better to disperse them for a more efficient search."

"It hasn't happened in a long time," she said. "Didn't the Judicator recognize him?"

"He was on patrol today," An Zhe replied.

Not only that, he had overheard Lu Fen receive a transmission and coldly curse, "Useless." Now that he thought about it, it must have been in response to news of an alien infiltrating the base.

At that moment, An Zhe felt her hand, holding onto his, tremble slightly.

"He's here?"

An Zhe hummed in response.

As if to validate his words, a dull thud echoed the next instant, accompanied by a streak of shimmering white light piercing through the air. It descended swiftly from above like a blinding bolt of lightning that sliced through the twilight sky, landing precisely on the shoulder of a person not far in front of An Zhe and Du Sai.

An Zhe abruptly turned his head, gazing in the direction of the luminous streak. He saw Lu Fen, clad in a black uniform, standing atop the ashen structure of the Black Market. At that moment, he was slowly lowering the black weapon in his right hand while holding a binocular in his left. He extended it to a young judge beside him, who promptly took it over.

"Flashbangs have been designated!" In the next instant, a crisp command echoed from the city defense forces: "Prepare!"

As soon as the words were spoken, a piercing scream erupted from an armored vehicle very close by. The shrill sound echoed through the square as an incendiary bomb, trailing thick smoke, was launched towards the spot illuminated by the magnesium flare just moments before.

It all unfolded in the blink of an eye.

The acrid smell of burning filled the air as someone stumbled and fell among the crowd, smoke billowing from their body with a hiss, their screams echoing throughout the square in an instant.

An Zhe felt Du Sai's grip on his arm tighten.

"That person was sitting right behind me," she said.

"But he didn't attack anyone. I'm fine." She seemed to exhale in relief. "A white phosphorus grenade... He won't make it."

She lifted her gaze to the top of the black market building.

Lu Fen's figure had already vanished from the rooftop, but she continued to stare in that direction. An Zhe looked at her, and at that moment, Du Sai's mature, alluring face took on an unusual serenity.

The cries of pain around them gradually faded, and as people retreated, creating an empty space, the charred and mangled body ceased its convulsions, lying still. The rest of the crowd seemed to collectively breathe a sigh of relief, though the city defense forces' lockdown showed no sign of easing.

"Five years ago, the colonel saved me too," Du Sai suddenly said. "At the city gates, it was similar to now."

He remained silent, sensing the calming atmosphere. That day at the city gates, he had come to understand why some people held a deep-seated hatred for Lu Fen. Today, he understood why others did not.

Three minutes later, a path was forcefully cleared by the city defense soldiers through the crowd. Lu Fen and his team hurried to the four corpses. Due to their proximity, An Zhe and Du Sai were very close to the scene.

He wore pristine white gloves and knelt on one knee, carefully parting the central human corpse. In a concise manner, he said, "Knife."

—A judge standing beside him promptly handed over a gleaming sharp knife.

Then, without any expression, Lu Fen sliced open the corpse's abdomen. The burnt body emitted a pungent smell, but upon opening the cavity, there were no human organs inside. Instead, there were thousands of small, yellowish-brown, translucent objects that seemed to be densely packed together, and some even appeared to be slightly squirming.

An Zhe tried hard to focus and found them resembling insect larvae, possibly spiders, as they slightly wriggled.

He noticed Lu Feng frown slightly before swiftly slicing up the corpse's entire esophagus and throat with the knife.

—Similar objects kept falling out continuously.

"Parasitic in nature, highly contagious potential," Lu Fen stood up, removed his gloves, and threw them onto the corpse. Immediately, another judge offered him a fresh pair.

He then ordered, "Conduct a thorough inspection of everyone."

Suddenly, Du Sai's body went limp, collapsing forward.

Suddenly, An Zhe recalled her words from just a few minutes ago.

She had said that the person was seated right behind her.

He strained to support Du Sai's body, but her movements were too jerky. Lu Fen's gaze had already turned in their direction.

Lu Fen's eyes lingered on her cheek, and An Zhe followed his line of sight.

In the chaos that had ensued earlier, he hadn't taken a close look at her face. Now, upon closer inspection, he noticed a small, translucent bump on her forehead, glowing with an ethereal light. Something within it seemed to be wriggling gently.

"I...," Du Sai whispered, as if sensing something. She slowly reached out to touch that spot. Trembling, she stared fixedly at Lu Fen, tears streaming down her cheeks as she stumbled towards him.

It was the first time An Zhe had seen such a look on a human's face. He couldn't discern whether Du Sai's expression conveyed love or hatred; perhaps despair dominated most of it.

A gunshot echoed.

She fell forward, and An Zhe failed to catch her. After the dull thud, her human form crashed to the ground.

At that moment, An Zhe was just inches away from Lu Fen, their eyes locking.

Those cold emerald eyes seemed devoid of any emotion—

Suddenly, Lu Fen reached out to him.

An Zhe flinched slightly.

The judge, however, didn't reach for the trigger; it wasn't the hand holding the gun. His fingers landed gently on An Zhe's cheek, pausing there briefly. An Zhe recalled the moment Du Sai fell, how some of her blood had splattered onto his face. At first, it was warm, but it quickly turned cold.

The icy liquid was wiped away, leaving a crimson stain spreading across the pristine white glove. The warmth of that touch lingered for a moment on his cheek.

An Zhe closed his eyes.