Chapter 24

Chapter 24

For humans, words spoken can hardly be retracted.

- And thus, events unfolded as such.

In the fifth floor's communal bathroom, at a row of faucets with brown water stains on the sink, An Zhe held a cup in one hand and a toothbrush in the other, diligently attending to his hygiene routine. He was well-versed in human habits and carried them out diligently each day. However, today, he approached the task with even more care, given that Colonel Lu Fen was by his side.

After finishing, he continued to carefully put his things away and looked towards Lu Fen.

Lu Fen had just splashed his face with cold water, leaving his hair damp with a few glistening droplets, like melting snowflakes.

Silently, An Zhe handed him a towel.

Taking it, Lu Fen tersely said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," An Zhe replied.

He believed his actions conformed to human etiquette. Sharing items was a common occurrence among humans.

He offered his cup towards Lu Fen.

"Would you like it?" he asked. "But there's only one."

Base resources were scarce, and personal supplies were limited to each individual. If additional items were needed, one had to purchase them from the black market themselves. An Zhe possessed only a single cup and toothbrush, and with the black market no longer existing, there was nowhere else to buy more.

Lu Fen stared at him intently for about five or six seconds before reacting.

An Zhe lowered his head. The dim, yellow glow of the washroom light cast a pale golden hue on the rim of the cup. Lu Fen's slender fingers wrapped around the porcelain handle, taking the cup from An Zhe's hand. His right hand, the one that usually held a gun, had a thin layer of callus. As An Zhe let go, their fingertips brushed gently against each other.

Lu Fen didn't use An Zhe's toothbrush, only using the cup to rinse his mouth briefly. Then, he put the cup away, and the two of them headed outside.

It was eleven o'clock at night. Ordinarily, the washrooms and corridors would have been without water and electricity according to base regulations. However, with all of Sector 6 under emergency containment, restrictions on water and power usage were lifted. Moreover, with people on edge, many were still awake. Thus, despite the late hour, there were others in the washroom – they washed up or did laundry while secretly observing the pair. An Zhe noticed this, knowing that Lu Fen must have too, but the colonel seemed indifferent to it.

An Zhe walked ahead, the washroom floor damp with several puddles of water. He had to look down to avoid stepping in them.

At the entrance, he unexpectedly collided with a dark figure turning the corner. An Zhe looked up.

"It's you—" It was Joshua's voice.

An Zhe instinctively took a step back, bumping into Lu Fen's chest. He saw Joshua looking at him, as if he wanted to say something – but his gaze froze upon seeing who it was.

An Zhe was also in a state of near paralysis. With Joshua blocking the door, he couldn't advance or retreat.

Just then, his shoulder sank slightly as Lu Fen's fingers rested on it.

Joshua's eyes widened, and An Zhe could almost see the tremor in his pupils. In the next moment, Joshua quickly lowered his head, stepped back, and sidestepped, giving way at the entrance with a respectful gesture.

Lu Fen gently exerted pressure on An Zhe's shoulder, leading him out before releasing his grip.

All this happened within seconds. An Zhe's heart pounded wildly, his entire body tense, afraid that Joshua might call out "An Ze" or make comments about how he was no longer like An Ze in front of the Judge.

Yet, even after they had walked several steps outside, Joshua remained silent.

Looking back at Joshua's profile, An Zhe noticed the man's fingers clenched tightly onto his clothes, his lips tightly compressed.

Suddenly, An Zhe realized something – here, the Judges held the power of life and death over everyone. Therefore, most people in the base, including Joshua, dared not even speak a word to them.

They returned to their room through the corridor. Lu Fen didn't ask about the identity of the person or the conflict between An Zhe and Joshua. Technically, aside from their temporary lodging arrangement, they were still strangers to each other.

Back in the room, Lu Fen sat down at An Zhe's desk and opened his work manual to start recording. He wrote swiftly, jotting down under the entry for June 18th: Judgment Day, countless casualties.

An Zhe stood by, watching him. Once more, he pondered the purpose of such a work manual.

He commented, "You don't write much."

Lu Fen closed the manual. "Just enough to pass inspections."

His tone was matter-of-fact.

An Zhe replied, "Oh."

Then, he said, "I'll change."

Lu Fen nonchalantly responded, "Mm."

An Zhe changed out of his day clothes. He had a soft white cotton pajama set. After getting dressed, he slipped into the blankets and lay down on the inside of the bed – the base's room only had a standard single bed, but it wasn't narrow. He could even roll around on it. An Zhe guessed that this might be because the base housed many burly mercenaries.

Thus, when he laid down, there was ample space for another person to fit comfortably.

Lying down, he looked at Lu Fen and said, "I'm ready."

He noticed that Lu Fen was eyeing the Supply Station Assessment Handbook on his desk.

Lu Fen asked, "You're thinking of going to the Supply Station?"

An Zhe replied, "Mm-hmm."

Unfortunately, it seemed like an impossible dream—assuming the outer city remained occupied by bugs.

"Go to the City Affairs Office tomorrow afternoon," Lu Fen suggested. "There have been many newborns in recent years, and the main city is understaffed. They've entrusted the City Defense Office to recruit people in the outer city."

With that, Lu Fen stood up from his chair, draped his coat over the backrest, and approached An Zhe. An Zhe knew those green eyes were assessing him.

Lu Fen continued, "Even though you're not very capable, you could take care of the children."

An Zhe wanted to refute the first part of that statement, but found himself unable to do so.

Feeling embarrassed, he pulled the blanket over his head.

Amidst laughter, Lu Fen's weight shifted the bed as he climbed in beside An Zhe.

The cold aura was close, and An Zhe could hear Lu Fen's breaths. What had happened today felt like a dream – an outsider like him was about to spend a night with an Executioner.

"So," An Zhe peeked out from under the covers, his voice hushed, "are you still doubting that I'm objectively not human?"

"Genetic testing is clear, and the thirty-day observation period has passed," Lu Fen said expressionlessly. "Objectively, you're also a human now."

"What's the observation period?"

"After infection, within thirty days, the infected will inevitably lose their human sanity. There are no exceptions," Lu Fen explained.

"Then... could there be outliers who retain their reason?" An Zhe ventured cautiously. "Though they're outliers, they still have human appearance and thoughts. They just possess an additional ability to transform into other creatures."

He knew he was an outlier, but he also knew he was still quite lucid.

"Do you think human willpower is very strong?" Lu Fen asked.

An Zhe wasn't sure how to respond, but it seemed Lu Fen didn't require an answer.

"It's not worth mentioning. The Lighthouse has conducted numerous experiments," Lu Fen said nonchalantly. "Human willpower can't overcome the survival instinct of the Others. Instead, the Others gradually assimilate human cognitive abilities for their own survival. Take today's insects, for example. The Lighthouse's investigation report isn't out yet, but I personally believe they were a premeditated attack."

An Zhe's eyes widened slightly. This was the first time Lu Fen had spoken at such length, and his words carried significant weight.

He was saying that human will, unique to humanity, was insignificant in the face of genetic fusion, revealing how vulnerable humans truly were.

"I disagree," An Zhe said, feeling much more at ease now that the judge viewed subjective and objective perspectives as human traits. At least he dared to engage Lu Fen in more conversation. "If someone had strong willpower..."

Lu Fen interrupted, "There are no 'ifs.'"

An Zhe frowned and pondered seriously, "For instance, if you were infected—"

—He was promptly buried under the blankets by Lu Fen.

"I'd immediately take my own life," Lu Fen stated coldly. "Go to sleep."

An Zhe supposed the colonel might be tired and didn't want to waste time talking—he himself was also exhausted. After all, Lu Fen hadn't rested in forty hours, while An Zhe had only managed a couple of extra hours of sleep in Lu Fen's room the previous dawn before he dozed off instantly upon closing his eyes.

When An Zhe woke up, he wasn't sure what time it was. Sitting up in bed, he found the room still shrouded in darkness, with just a thin ray of light seeping through the curtains, like a faint sunbeam piercing through layers of plant branches and leaves in an abyss. Pulling back the curtains didn't brighten the room much; it was overcast outside.

He checked his communicator; it was already eleven in the morning.

Suddenly, An Zhe felt as if he had forgotten something. A jolt ran through him, and he fully woke up. He looked at the bed first—nothing there but himself, and the room was empty too.

Then, he noticed a sheet of paper spread out on the desk, with a ballpoint pen placed beside it.

An Zhe got out of bed and went to the desk, picking it up—the flyer opposing thejudicator's brutality was flipped over, with a few words written on the back in black ink.

Gone.

Call me if you need anything.

Lu.

For some reason, An Zhe smiled. He found Lu Fen's note as straightforward as the man's work ethic.

Putting down the note, he went to the wardrobe and began selecting clothes for the city office—he deliberated for a long time before finally pulling out a gray sweater to change into.

Gray—An Zhe looked up at the outside world.

The sky and its light were a dull gray, hanging low over the rooftops, with dense clusters of dark clouds hugging the urban landscape, stretching all the way to the horizon, as if a heavy downpour was imminent.

An Zhe felt an immense joy. Mushrooms adored rainy days, and besides, Lu Fen had shared with him yesterday that if he could pass the recruitment at the City Defense, he would be able to go to the main city - where the lighthouse stood. It seemed he was getting closer to reclaiming his spore.

He decided to let go of the matter of Lu Fen taking his spore.