Chapter 62

Chapter 62

An Zhe had a dream.

Rain sounds, the pitter-patter of rain.

Water droplets splashed onto broad leaves, trickling down the intertwined veins before dripping from the edges and landing with a rustling sound in the bushes. They then flowed along the roots of old trees, seeping into the moist soil. It was a rainy season, and his memory began there. The entire world seemed to be shrouded in rain.

He was a spore, floating down from the cap of a mushroom before being blown by the wind to land in the soil before the rain. He seemed to have been asleep all along until he detected the damp air after the rain.

Everything unfolded beyond his control. In the moist soil, mycelium emerged, grew longer, branched out, and spread. From a tiny spore smaller than a grain of sand, he developed into a substantial cluster of mycelium, eventually sprouting a stem and a cap.

It all happened naturally. Unlike humans who relied on generations of teachings, he had no recollection of the mushroom that gave birth to him. Nevertheless, he innately knew what nutrients to absorb from the soil, which season he should be born in, what he should do, and when he should die. His life's mission was to produce a single spore.

The rustling rain reverberated around him, in his ears, his surroundings, his mind, and his memories. It was everywhere, as if urging something that was about to happen. Following that came a distant oscillation, an endless void, and boundless terror—until he suddenly opened his eyes.

The quartz clock hanging on the wall pointed to nine o'clock in the morning. No one was beside him anymore. He was tightly cocooned in the blankets. However, the sensation of Lu Fen's arm embracing him lingered, the warmth still burning his skin. Initially, Lu Fen had held him from the shoulders down, but halfway through the night, his arm must have become uncomfortable, causing him to withdraw it. As a result, the man's arm shifted slightly lower, resting on his waist, with the palm almost touching his abdomen in a teasing manner.

While being embraced by Lu Fen, he felt shielded from external dangers, feeling serene. Yet, this person himself posed the greatest threat. An Zhe could no longer recall the emotions that had put him back to sleep.

An Zhe gazed at the scene before him, his mind numb and unfocused. He flexed his fingers, feeling a weakness seeping from the joints, as if he had overslept after a long afternoon nap, sapping him of all energy.

The air around him was saturated with moisture, akin to the aftermath of a gentle rain shower.

Recalling that peculiar and prophetic dream, he sat up in bed and stretched out his hand. It would be too cruel to extract the spore from his abdomen; only an officer named Lu would resort to such a method. He manipulated the spore's movement within his body, and after three minutes, a cluster of white mycelium emerged, carrying the spore into the palm of his right hand.

The small spore, no bigger than half a palm when it entered his body, now matched the size of his clenched fist.

Bathed in the glow of the lantern, he scrutinized it carefully. At the end of the spore's mycelium, delicate antler-like branches began to form, their translucent, snow-white luster resembling frosty petals. Its shape started to transform.

With his left hand, he reached for it, and the fungus extended its mycelium to affectionately entwine around his fingers. He could sense its vibrant and abundant life, nearing maturity.

He wasn't certain of the exact time of spore maturity, but it was surely imminent.

Their mycelia will no longer intertwine, for it will become a mushroom capable of surviving on its own. The moment it matures, it will automatically depart from him, just as he was automatically carried away by the wind in the beginning.

It was a mushroom's instinct. Where would he plant it? Would it remember him in the distant future? An Zhe didn't know; he only felt a faint sense of melancholy before parting. It seemed that all tangible things in this world were destined to be separated.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway. His spore initially extended its hyphae, as if listening attentively to the sound, then it energetically rolled toward the source of the noise. An Zhe clasped his hands together, tightly pinning it down just in time to retract the disloyal creature back into his body before Lu Fen entered.

Lu Fen stood by the entrance, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Time to wake up," he said.

An Zhe obediently got out of bed to eat. They spent the following days like this; An Zhe would assist Xi Bei with cooking and cleaning the cave. Lu Fen often ventured outside, and each time, An Zhe feared he wouldn't return. Surprisingly, the colonel always came back unscathed, sometimes even with a small flying bird in tow.

Most of the time, they were idle inside the cave. An Zhe had read all the available books and, at the colonel's request, had read aloud a romance novel and an entire weapons encyclopedia – a task too tedious for the colonel himself.

Eventually, they started playing simple games with small stones, like Connect Five and Flying Chess. Lu Fen taught An Zhe first, and then they played together. An Zhe lost more often than he won, secretly suspecting that the colonel had let him win on occasion.

During mealtime, Xi Bei commented, "You two have such a good relationship."

"In the past, people here used to fall in love, and my grandfather would officiate their weddings," he sighed softly, setting down his chopsticks. "I wish I could fall in love too, but there's no one else here."

Lu Fen remained silent. An Zhe tried to comfort Xi Bei, "There are people in the base."

- Even though there were only eight thousand left.

Seemingly consoled, Xi Bei regained his vigor and picked up his chopsticks again.

Seven days later, communication still hadn't been restored. Xi Bei delivered the grim news that their food reserves were barely enough for two more days. They had to venture into the remains of a city kilometers away in search of supplies.

Leaving some dried food behind for Grandpa, they packed the remaining mushrooms and jerky into their backpacks. They also took several bottles of water. Xi Bei retrieved a small alcohol stove from the kitchen. Before the miners in the cave perished, they often went to the city to scavenge, so their equipment was well-stocked.

"Back then, we had a dirt road. We could cycle there," Xi Bei said with a tinge of regret. "Now it's turned into sand, so we can't ride anymore."

As An Zhe reluctantly glanced at the bicycles piled in the corner, which he had never seen before, Lu Fen leaned on his shoulder, lazily promising, "I'll take you for a ride when we come back."

Just as they were about to lift the lid covering the cave entrance, heavy and sluggish footsteps echoed from the depths of the mine.

An Zhe turned around. In the dim light, a gaunt old man emerged from the corner, leaning against the wall. His hair was white and disheveled, and his lips quivered incessantly, resembling the flickering flame of a pale candle in the wind.

Xi Bei stepped forward, "Grandfather?"

The old man's hazy gaze fixated on him, devoid of any luster or recognition. He opened his mouth and said, "I'll go too."

Xi Bei enveloped his shoulder, "You should stay here, we'll be back in a day or two. We'll bring food with us."

The old man still croaked, "I'll go too."

Despite Xi Bei's attempts to dissuade him, he only repeated this one sentence. His usually confused and dazed expression took on an unusually lucid quality due to his determination.

Xi Bei had no choice but to seek help with a pleading look at Lu Fen.

Lu Fen studied the old man for a long while before saying, "Take him along then."

Xi Bei agreed and helped the old man out - his unsteady gait was on the verge of collapsing, and anyone could see that this life in its twilight years was nearing its end.

At the entrance of the cave, Lu Fen offered, "Let me carry him."

Xi Bei shook his head. He hoisted his grandfather onto his back, saying, "Grandfather is very light."

An Zhe looked at the old man's emaciated body; illness had consumed his flesh until only a fragile skeleton remained.

They emerged onto the surface, and sunlight poured down. An Zhe squinted, taking a moment to adjust.

He saw Grandfather resting on Xi Bei's back with his eyes closed. His face was speckled with brown spots that often appeared on elderly humans, yet in the sunlight, his expression was serene.

His lips moved, uttering a sentence.

"People grow on the ground."

It was the only sentence An Zhe had heard from his grandfather in these recent days that didn't sound like a delirious rambling.

He lifted his gaze to the ashen-gray sky. At this moment, a faint green glow was visible, even though it wasn't night. The aurora borealis could be seen even during daylight, which was different from before.

Lu Fen commented, "The magnetic field has been adjusted."

An Zhe nodded. He didn't understand the significance of those words, but as long as the magnetic poles were stable, everything else would be fine.

They walked unevenly across the sandy terrain, their footsteps sinking deep into the ground. In the vast emptiness of the wilderness, they seemed to be the only signs of life. The wind blew from some unknown distance, an unchanging force for tens of thousands, even millions, of years. It swept across the land, witnessing the evolution and extinction of creatures. Some perished while others emerged anew, but the wind remained constant. When it whistled through the cracks in the rocks, it produced a mournful, eerie howl that echoed across the barren landscape.

In the midst of that distant wailing, An Zhe instinctively grabbed the corner of Lu Fen's sleeve and followed him.

Lu Fen glanced at him indifferently. "Do you want me to carry you?"

An Zhe shook his head. He could walk on his own.

Lu Fen remained silent, his gaze returning to the front.

After walking a while longer, An Zhe grew weary from holding on; his arm began to ache. These past few days, as the spores gradually matured, his stamina seemed to be dwindling. He wanted to let go but wasn't quite willing to do so.

Lu Fen subtly shifted his wrist. Understanding the signal, An Zhe realized he had irritated the colonel. Thus, he obediently released his grip.

In response, the colonel took An Zhe's hand in his own.