Chapter 28

Chapter 28

"Do not go gently into that good night..."

An Zhe and Colin walked down a narrow, white corridor, accompanied by the synchronized reading of young voices that echoed softly around them.

They were on the sixth level of Eden, guided by a man in his thirties named Lin Zuo. He wore a white shirt and delicate gold-rimmed glasses, exuding an air of refinement.

They were led to an office, where Lin Zuo asked, "Is this satisfactory?"

Colin replied, "Yes, it is."

Lin Zuo continued, "The conditions here in the main city are indeed better than those in the outer city."

An Zhe could attest to that. Back in the outer city, he had never imagined a structure as colossal as Eden existing in the world.

In this corridor, aside from the office, there were ten rooms—five classrooms and five dormitories. Each dormitory was filled with small, low beds, accommodating a hundred children. According to Lin Zuo, this level of Eden comprised ten such corridors, each with children of the same age group. That meant there were four thousand near-six-year-old human toddlers here.

"Originally, most children would be sent to the outer city for adoption once they turned six. But with the outer city's fall, the main city now assumes responsibility for their education beyond that age. We're short-handed, so your arrival is timely," Lin Zuo explained. "Infants under six are too young to entrust to newcomers, so this batch of children turning six will be assigned to you."

An Zhe replied, "Sure."

"Further education plans haven't been announced yet. How about you two follow me to get familiar with the routine? Is that okay?"

Colin answered, "Mm-hmm."

Lin Zuo smiled slightly and took a few handbooks from the bookshelf. "These are textbooks and duty schedules. Have a look at them first, and ask me if you have any questions."

An Zhe accepted his share.

There were two subjects in their education curriculum: Language and Literature, and Mathematics and Logic. He had the Language and Literature textbook. Six-year-olds had already grasped basic phonics and grammar, so the textbook contained short fables or poems. Since An Ze had learned these well, An Zhe was familiar with all the characters and words.

After flipping through the textbook, it was time for class. An Zhe moved a set of desk and chair to a corner at the back of the classroom. With a seating chart given by Lin Zuo, his tasks included not only listening attentively but also recording the children's behavior during class. A child would earn points for actively answering questions or asking them, while whispering, or doing unrelated actions, would deduct points.

Upon entering, the cubs turned their heads collectively to give him a glance. Their skin was incredibly soft, and their gazes innocent and pure. They wore identical white clothes and black shorts with similar short haircuts, making it hard to tell their genders apart. After whispering among themselves, they continued observing An Zhe, who responded with a smile.

In response, a few cubs smiled at him, one of them blinked, fluttering her eyelashes as she asked, "Are you the new teacher?"

An Zhe replied, "Yes."

"Woah." A second cub whispered, "You're so pretty."

An Zhe replied, "Thank you."

The cub responded, "You're welcome."

Another asked, "What's your name?"

An Zhe shared his name.

The cubs chattered, "I'm Bai Nan."

"I'm Jisha."

"I'm Du Cheng."

Of course, there were also indifferent cubs, like one in the corner who glanced at him and then promptly looked away.

But the commotion around An Zhe didn't last long, as Lin Zuo entered the room.

The cubs instantly scattered from An Zhe's side, returning to their respective seats. Lin Zuo surveyed the room, ensuring no one was absent before commencing his lesson.

He began by reciting the poem that An Zhe had overheard in the corridor earlier – the last one in their textbook, a bit more intricate than the other contents. It was the very poem he had heard a child reciting in one of the classrooms while walking down the hall.

First, the cubs recited the poem in unison:

"Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

"Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night."

...

After reciting it once, Lin Zuo stood before the lectern and asked, "Is there anything you don't understand?"

A cub raised their hand. An Zhe cross-referenced the seating chart and recognized this to be Bai Nan, the cub in question.

Cub Bai Nan said, "I don't understand any of it."

The other cubs burst into laughter.

Lin Zuo narrowed the scope of the inquiry. "Try to be more specific."

"Well…" Bai Nan scratched the back of his head, his tone hesitant. "Why can't we gently walk into the night?"

An Zhe added a point to Bai Nan's score on the roster and then looked at Lin Zuo, awaiting his response.

Lin Zuo didn't know the answer to the question Bai Nan had posed. In the Abyss, and at the human base, he had witnessed twilight gradually replace daylight too many times. Each night fell gently upon the ground, irresistible.

Scanning the group, Lin Zuo's lips pressed together into a thin line, forming a slightly solemn curve.

"This is your final text for the year," he said. "It holds a different significance from all the previous ones, though it might be a bit challenging for you."

He turned around and wrote "Do not go gentle into that good night" on the whiteboard, then faced the young ones once more.

"It's a poem composed of metaphors and symbols," Lin Zuo said. "Do not go gentle into that good night means: Do not accept death passively."

An Zhe's eyes widened slightly as he jotted down the phrase in his notebook.

Next, Lin Zuo began explaining the first line, and An Zhe attentively took notes.

After the lesson, the cubs recited the poem from memory once more.

"On this mournful mountain peak,

Curse me and bless me with your tears.

Do not go gentle into that good night."

An Zhe's pen paused as he lifted his head to look out the bright window. Not far away, the Twin Towers shimmered in the sunlight, and the city unfolded gradually, its edges blending into the cerulean sky. He knew this city had not yet entered its dark night and was striving not to do so.

When the day's lessons ended, Lin Zuo finished his shift and entrusted the children to An Zhe and Colin. They would accompany the cubs to dinner with their life mentors, then gather in the dormitory to watch the news. To foster a closer bond with the young ones, An Zhe was on hand to answer any questions they had about the news, only finishing his day after the broadcast had ended.

Nourished children were full of energy, playfully chatting and laughing in the hallway. To An Zhe, it felt like a swarm of mosquitoes were buzzing in his ears, but he tolerated these human younglings. Even in the Abyss, monsters would treat their offspring gently—albeit only their own.

When it was time for the news, the life counselor brought out the scorecard, and the children instantly fell silent, gathering around the large projection screen on their own initiative. An Zhe sat in the center.

As he watched the screen, he felt something touch his finger. Looking down, he saw Bai Nan, the child with that name, sitting beside him and intertwining their fingers.

An Zhe hadn't had much physical contact with humans before. He vividly remembered bumping into Lu Fen and hurting his head on the badge on his chest—but the child's body was different from Lu Fen's, soft to the touch.

—Like a spore, the human child nestled quietly by his side, just as a spore rested peacefully within him. Through this illusion, An Zhe found a false sense of calm, stroking Bai Nan's head once more.

Bai Nan then leaned closer, pressing against him, hugging his arm. At the same time, another child named Jisha approached, her appearance vaguely feminine. The group of children swarmed toward him. Colin, sitting nearby, also garnered the affection of a few younglings. It seemed to be a natural instinct for all young creatures to seek proximity to adults.

Yet, there was still one solitary child sitting cross-legged in his spot, unaffected by the commotion. An Zhe recalled his name—Si Nan. Si Nan never asked questions during class either. Locking eyes, An Zhe smiled at him, but Si Nan averted his gaze, focusing back on the big screen.

The news began.

"After the bombing in Sector 6, the number of monsters in the outer city has significantly decreased. The military's second aerial unit took off at six this morning to provide support in Sector 1 and assist in the recovery of the central dispersal area under the command of Colonel Lu Feng from the Court of Judgment..."

An Zhe suddenly heard a familiar name. Since arriving in the main city, he hadn't seen Lu Fen. Apparently, the man had already ventured back to the outer city.

Bai Nan suddenly whispered, "It's the Judicator."

Jisha replied, "I'm so scared."

An Zhe asked them, "What's going on?"

Bai Nan said, "The news often mentions how many people the Judicator has executed."

Jisha added, "And he frequently visits the Abyss. The Abyss is so terrifying."

An Zhe patted her head. "Don't be afraid."

Jisha wrinkled her nose.

"You're human, the Judicator is there to protect you."

Jisha continued to wrinkle her nose.

Bai Nan asked, "Has Teacher ever met the Judicator?"

Meanwhile, the news broadcast announced, "Now we're connecting with a war correspondent on the ground."

The camera flickered, showing an interviewer speaking with an officer in black uniform. At first, An Zhe thought it was Lu Fen, but then he realized it wasn't. It was the young judge who had been by Lu Fen's side, and his name appeared on the news interface: Selan.

He softly replied to Bai Nan's question, "I've seen him."

"How does he look? He hasn't shown his face on the news," Bai Nan asked.

Jisha chimed in, "Does he look fierce?"

All the young ones turned their attention towards them, seemingly intrigued by this topic.

"He..." An Zhe recalled Lu Fen's appearance, trying hard to evaluate his looks through human aesthetics. "He can be a bit fierce, but he's very handsome."

"What does he resemble?"

Each question from the young ones became more challenging, and An Zhe struggled to find a suitable comparison. As he pondered, he suddenly remembered the color of Lu Fen's eyes – that cold, deep green, like the origin of the aurora borealis in the sky.

"He resembles... an aurora," he said.

The cubs looked puzzled.

At that moment, An Zhe noticed the life counselor giving him a thumbs up.

"You truly live up to being a language and literature instructor," the life counselor said.

An Zhe wasn't sure if the counselor was praising or criticizing him. He merely smiled and pursed his lips.

Days passed in the main city like this, and before he knew it, he had almost spent a month there.

Life in Eden was tranquil, with disputes between cubs being the most significant disturbances. There were times when An Zhe would walk beneath the Twin Towers, but both required access cards to enter, which he didn't possess. To meet the spore, he first needed to locate it within the lighthouse and gain entry. Both goals seemed distant and unattainable for now.

However, in the meantime, the news coming from the outside world was increasingly uplifting to humanity. Ten days ago, Colonel Lu led his team deep into the Dispersal Center, devising a detailed action plan – the news emphasized that due to the Court of Judgment's regular training sessions in the Abyss, they were exceptionally experienced in dealing with monsters.

Five days ago, the military officially reclaimed the Dispersal Center, clearing out any remaining monsters and conducting extensive cleaning and disinfection. The team sent by the lighthouse followed, commencing repairs on the facilities.

Today, An Zhe had planned to continue listening to the news, but since Lin Zuo had night duty, he had to leave work early.

At six o'clock in the summer evening, the sky was still bright, with only a faint layer of gray-blue gradually spreading across the western horizon. An Zhe swiped his card, and the glass doors of the "Eden" building slid open. He stepped out, followed by Colin, who had also finished work early.

It was not the typical rush hour, and the streets were sparsely populated. He weaved through alleys and side streets, taking a shortcut to the ferry terminal. Due to the mutual dislike between him and Colin, even when forced to share the same path, they maintained a considerable distance, one trailing far behind the other.

The world was unusually quiet, but just as he was about to cross the narrow street and step onto the broad road, hurried footsteps echoed behind him. In the corner of his eye, a blur of white passed by him— it was a small, white figure. An Zhe frowned as he looked at it—a little girl, he was certain.

In his class, both the boys and girls were similarly attired and appeared alike, yet there was no mistaking this child's gender amidst their peers, despite being around five or six years old - she had an exquisitely slender frame, with shoulder-length black hair cascading down, and was dressed in a white chiffon dress.

Ahead lies the road, with vehicles cruising on it. An Zhe warned, "Watch out!"

Just as a car screamed past the road, the girl was startled, coming to an abrupt halt. She panted rapidly, turning back to look at An Zhe with frightened eyes, as if deeply uneasy.

An Zhe asked, "Do you need my assistance? Are you from Eden?"

To his surprise, the girl's tension heightened at his words. She abruptly whipped her head and dashed straight towards the road!

An Zhe hurried to catch up.

Just then, a figure in black emerged from around the corner. With swift and decisive movements, the figure intercepted the girl. She paused in her tracks as the person bent down and scooped her up. Taking a few steps back, the girl wriggled fiercely but was unable to break free.

Arriving just in time, An Zhe watched, dumbfounded.

Their eyes met.

An Zhe: "…Hello."

Lu Fen: "Hello."

An Zhe wanted to ask if the Containment Center had been recovered, but at this moment, he had something more important to say, something he had been contemplating for a month now.

On that train, Lu Fen was in a foul mood – actually, he seldom seemed genuinely happy – and An Zhe had guessed the reason: few people could view the Colonel rationally.

Considering the Colonel's selfless act of saving the little girl from the perilous road just now, his judgment was even more justified.

"Colonel," he said.

Lu Fen's eyebrows seemed to lift slightly. "What is it?"

The girl was still struggling, her gaze empty, her hair disheveled, appearing somewhat off. Lu Fen patted her back clumsily, his touch unskilled but well-intentioned.

This further confirmed An Zhe's belief. He glanced at the girl, then back at Lu Fen, speaking sincerely, "You're a good person."

The colonel truly raised an eyebrow this time, the corners of his lips lifting in a faint, unauthentic smile. It was more like he had heard An Zhe say something obviously false.

In the next second, he restrained the little girl with one hand and picked up his communicator. "Intersection Seven, target apprehended."

—He then gave An Zhe a casual glance.

An Zhe: "...?"

The author has something to say: In the end, it was all in vain!

The opening poem is a modified version of "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas.

Not a spore.