Chapter 53

Chapter 53

An Zhe softly closed his eyes.

He understood the implications of what had just occurred for humans. The disappearance of a mother and child meant that this human base had utterly lost its future. Under such circumstances, he wouldn't be surprised by any action taken by the colonel.

—Right then!

"Colonel!" A familiar voice rang out from the end of the hall.

—It was the Doctor.

An Zhe looked in that direction.

"The man is from Eden. He's currently assisting Lighthouse with a research project," the Doctor said. "Please hand him over to me."

"Everyone else was infected, but he survived. He's even wanted tonight for a sample," the colonel's voice rumbled. "Is Lighthouse going to shelter him? What kind of research were you conducting that one can get infected without contact?"

"Regardless of whether this has anything to do with Lighthouse, you have to hand him over to me," the Doctor said. "At least I know that killing him would amount to nothing."

The colonel scoffed coldly, "Then you're going to continue with your dangerous experiments?"

"The incident tonight has absolutely nothing to do with the Lighthouse's experiments," the doctor said calmly. "On the contrary, we'll be investigating why this happened."

"You've been claiming for over a hundred years that you can uncover the cause of the infection, yet you're still in the dark and haven't found any leads." The colonel asked, "How can the Lighthouse guarantee that keeping him won't be even more dangerous?"

"I cannot make such a promise," the doctor met the colonel's gaze head-on. "But I know that the situation at the base cannot get any worse than it is now."

After a brief silence, the colonel's hand holding the gun trembled. The doctor's words seemed to have sapped all his strength in that moment.

He spoke slowly, "There must be progress within an hour."

The doctor replied, "Very well."

With a slam, the door to the interrogation room closed, and the soldiers guarding An Zhe stepped outside.

Through the glass wall, An Zhe locked eyes with the doctor. The soldier's rough handling left him with lingering pain in his back and shoulder blades.

But the doctor didn't engage in small talk; there was no time, perhaps no inclination either.

His first words were identical to the major's: "What exactly happened tonight?"

An Zhe recounted the events truthfully, unlike the major, who upon brief contemplation, chose to believe him.

"You're saying that there had been alien genes latent within her all along, and they've only now manifested?"

An Zhe nodded.

"She killed the female and offspring in the base out of hatred for it? You're suggesting that while conscious, she initiated a non-contact infection within a certain range?"

"No," An Zhe shook his head. "When she first turned into a bee, all she wanted was to leave. But then, the bee returned."

"Do you think her consciousness had already been supplanted at that time?"

"Yes," An Zhe replied.

The doctor suddenly laughed, but his laughter was hoarse, his brows knitted, and his eyelids drooping, forming an uglier-than-crying expression. "She couldn't escape it either, huh?"

An Zhe watched him silently.

"Don't look at me like that," the Doctor took a deep breath. "You seem to know nothing and yet everything."

An Zhe replied, "I truly know nothing."

"The fact that Si Nan... Si Nan can maintain sporadic lucidity is already a one-in-a-million chance," the Doctor said.

"Do you know about the Fusionists?" the Doctor asked.

An Zhe shook his head.

"A hundred years ago, when the base still had a strong scientific foundation, many scientists believed that other organisms could mutate to acquire larger bodies and greater strength. Through infection and mutation, they could adapt to their environment, just like humans," the Doctor explained.

"They first observed the effects of radiation on human transformation. However, the more complex an organism's genes are, the lower the chances of a beneficial mutation. Humans exposed to cosmic radiation would only develop cancer or other genetic diseases."

"Later, they believed that gene infection was the way for human evolution. That's why they were called 'Fusionists.' They conducted numerous reckless experiments, infecting creatures with different monsters, and even infecting humans. They created countless hybrids to observe how human genes changed and how human will could be preserved in memory. They discovered the fragility of human will and how easily human intelligence could be assimilated by hybrids. Yet, there were indeed a few individuals who could maintain consciousness and control their mutated bodies with human thoughts—albeit for varying periods of time."

An Zhe listened quietly, but noticed the Doctor's lips curl into a self-deprecating smile. "This was good news at the time. They requested more samples and eventually eliminated all external factors, only to reach a conclusion. There was no external means to help someone preserve their will. Whether someone could remain conscious after infection didn't depend on the strength of their will. There was a one-in-a-million chance that an infected person would retain consciousness, while the other ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine would lose their will. It was simply a matter of probability, random and uncontrollable. Randomness is the most terrifying thing for science. On the day this conclusion was reached, at least three Fusionist scientists took their own lives."

"Yet, some remained undaunted and continued their research. They believed that the randomness of the outcome was due to our failure to find the decisive factor, or perhaps because this determinant exceeded the scope of human scientific understanding."

An Zhe: "And then?"

"From there on, there were no more Fusionists. All samples were terminated, and all research was immediately halted." The doctor's voice echoed softly. "That year, a humanoid leech-like creature contaminated the entire outer city's water source, exposing the whole population. The Tribunal was established, and there were ten days of bloodshed... That creature was an experimental Fusionist with human intelligence."

An Zhe tried hard to comprehend the implications of the doctor's words.

Suddenly, the doctor said, "I've said enough to him. Have you reached a conclusion?"

An Zhe froze, looking up to see a door open on one side of the room. Selan and another judge emerged, standing behind the doctor.

He turned abruptly to the smooth mirror on the wall of the interrogation room he was in.

"The one-way mirror," the doctor said. "Selan has been watching you."

"According to the trial procedures," Selan looked at An Zhe, "I still believe he is human."

"I suppose so," the doctor seemed to relax slightly, "even Lu Fen trusts him enough to have him by his side."

"Lu Fen..." Speaking of this, the doctor's eyes widened suddenly. "If Mrs. Lu was already infected and it's been gradually manifesting these past few days, before she completely lost her mind, she could have infected Si Nan. Why didn't Lu Fen notice anything?"

"Apologies," Selan lowered his gentle eyelashes slightly, saying, "The Court of Judgment has never been able to determine if the Ladies of Eden have been infected."

The doctor was taken aback. "Why?"

"Their upbringing differs vastly from that of ordinary humans. According to the judgment criteria, none of the Ladies meet the standards."

The doctor was left speechless.

After five seconds, he erupted into uncontrollable laughter. He bent forward, his body trembling as he gripped the armrests of his chair tightly.

It took him a full three minutes to finish laughing, his expression then turning wistful, his cheeks drained of all color, leaving him eerily pale.

"Remember the calamity in the Outer City not long ago?" he suddenly asked.

"Yes," Selan replied. "It was the arthropods' breeding season."

"That explains why the Lady infected so many people," the Doctor said. "She wanted to escape the Eden that solely aimed for human propagation, even if it meant forsaking her human form and consciousness to gain freedom. But... the moment she completely shed her human shell, she fell under the queen's biological imperative... It's breeding season for arthropods, and what did she do as a human that she wouldn't continue doing as a queen? She..."

The Doctor's words became increasingly fragmented, struggling to form coherent sentences. He finally closed his eyes in torment. "She can never truly escape."

After a long silence, his voice was frighteningly hoarse, "There's no escape."

An Zhe's eyes widened slightly; he understood what the Doctor was implying.

The instinct of a creature is to survive, and the instinct of a species is to reproduce.

—No one could escape, none at all. And Madam had already fallen into that abyss forever.

Perhaps, perhaps just for that fleeting moment, the instant when she was about to transform into a bee but hadn't yet, she briefly obtained what she desired.

Then, the eternal, oblivious veil of darkness suddenly fell before her eyes.

"The Rose Declaration is an inevitable choice for the base's long-term development, but it does go against human principles. The Court of Judgment, mercenaries, emergency response systems... Many systems defy them. If I weren't standing from the base's perspective, I would support Madam's rebellion," he spoke in a barely audible whisper, "But does her resistance have any meaning? She even... took away all our embryos."

"No one did anything wrong. The outcome remains the same," he stared at the blank wall, his gaze on the verge of collapse, as if holding onto sanity by muttering to himself, "This... damn era."

In this age of disappearing geomagnetism, to humanity, it wasn't a calamity, but a trampling.

It first made humans realize their physical vulnerability, then disillusioned them with their once-prized technology. It proceeded to refute the legitimacy of the base's operations, and ultimately proved that even the human will's supposed independence from other animals was insignificant.

Yet that statement isn't entirely accurate either.

For this world doesn't give a damn about human existence.

An Zhe placed his hand on the glass of the interrogation room, striving to get closer to the doctor for reassurance.

"Alright," the doctor took a few deep breaths, barely regaining some composure. "Now, it's your turn to explain two things."

"Firstly, since Selan believes you're human, why weren't you infected by Madam Lu? Secondly, why did you enter Lab D1344 and retrieve the inert sample?"

An Zhe lowered his gaze, remaining silent.

"You have to tell me," the doctor said, "If I can't get any answers from you, you'll still end up in the hands of the colonel."

An Zhe silently shook his head.

"You've never experienced military interrogation methods," the doctor stood up from his chair, standing before the glass wall, locking eyes with him. "If even you don't know why you weren't infected, we'll wait for Lu Fen's return and the power restoration, then go to the Lighthouse for a thorough examination. But you need to tell me where the D1344 sample is."

An Zhe still didn't respond. The doctor concluded, "Is there something you can't tell me or Selan?"

An Zhe nodded.

"Why? You're a good boy." The doctor's gaze was equivocal as they repeated themselves, "That sample is too crucial. Where is it, exactly?"

Author's note: It's in the belly.