Tonight, an unexpected development arose from a data report presented by Director Qiu not long ago:
“Subject 001 has left the forbidden zone; within just a few days, the range of its mental force field expanded to 70 times that of an ordinary person.”
This terrifying rate of “evolution” shocked all the researchers and experts involved. After several discussion meetings, Director Qiu, a former senior researcher at the institute, made a very precise judgment:
With the frightening expansion rate of Subject 001’s mental entity, Director Qiu predicted that in half a month, there would be a severe psychic eruption from Subject 001.
Upon the release of this report, the South Island Base immediately dispatched a commander to the Cape Sanatorium.
The commander from the South Island Base believed it was imperative to approach Subject 001 again for control and relocation.
However, Chen Sheng, the former head of the forbidden zone, vehemently refused. He believed the best course of action was to evacuate the nearby population and hold their positions.
He repeatedly warned them not to provoke Subject 001 or act rashly.
But the commander from the South Island Base, granted greater authority and also federal authorization, forced Chen Sheng to capitulate under pressure from the federal side, and command was reluctantly handed over to the commander from the South Island Base.
Yet, from beginning to end, Chen Sheng’s brow was furrowed, and he felt an increasingly ominous premonition.
Sure enough, less than half an hour into the operation at midnight today, the commander’s plan from the South Island Base failed utterly. He not only failed due to his recklessness and arrogance but also completely enraged Subject 001.
Then, at 00:45, the air raid alarm sounded continuously, and at 00:55, a massive evacuation and relocation began.
They had underestimated the situation.
In the surveillance, a huge cage, reportedly made from rare metals extracted from pollutants and said to weigh dozens of tons, was grabbed by a pale, vein-popping hand. Immediately after, a chilling and terrifying sound was heard—as if a huge tear had been ripped open!
The last image remained on a pair of pitch-black, brutal eyes; then, centered around “him”, electrical wires burst open with a fizz, and even the screens in the monitoring room were destroyed.
It was as if someone had pressed the switch to the world.
Amidst screams and chaos, a water pipe somewhere burst, accompanied by a torrential downpour from the sky, and soon, the water in Zone 01 reached knee height.
Amid the crackling sound of rain, the entire world outside the window turned upside down, plunging into a deathly darkness.
It was like a uniquely dreadful apocalypse.
…
At this moment, in the conference room of Zone 01 at the South Island Base, the commander’s forehead was covered in beads of sweat, and his face was terrifyingly pale.
In the conference room, only Chen Sheng’s voice could be heard:
“Director Qiu, I’m not sure what the Federation is thinking, and what motives everyone present has. But even though ten years have passed and many have forgotten, we cannot erase the contributions of the founder and treat him as an enemy!”
“Even today, they completely disregard him as a human being.”
“I don’t know if he can still be considered human.”
“But if you start with the assumption that he has already lost his humanity.”
“Everything you do is gradually pushing him to the opposite side of humanity.”
“You would be creating an unprecedentedly terrifying enemy for the Federation.”
As the words fell, the meeting room fell into dead silence.
Because everyone knew that what Chen Sheng said was true.
An advanced contaminant invasion could destroy a small city — this is also why seventy percent of the area has become contaminated.
What about the Founder who surpassed advanced contaminants ten years ago?
Previously, the Founder, as the strongest commander of the entire Federation, was nicknamed the Human Nuclear Weapon.
Now, ten years later, unknown mutations are still occurring on the Founder’s body, undergoing terrifying “evolution.”
No one knows what the endpoint of this “evolution” is.
If “he” is pushed to the opposite side of humanity—
It would be an unprecedented catastrophe.
Chen Sheng hoped that today’s events could change the ambiguous attitudes of the Federation’s upper echelons:
Abandon illusions and face reality.
In the silence.
The grey-haired Director Qiu was the first to speak: “Colonel Chen, from now on, the sanatorium will fully cooperate with your command.”
Sitting in the corner, the commander of the South Island base was silent for a moment: “South Island Base will no longer interfere, full cooperation.”
—This signified a handover of command.
Chen Sheng returned to his position as the person in charge of the restricted area and took over the crisis.
However, the urgency of the situation did not give them much time to discuss the next steps.
A specialist monitoring the psychic power fluctuations of Subject 001 rushed in breathlessly:
“It’s bad, the psychic power level has soared above 150! The psychic outbreak has started early!”
This also signifies that the number 001 will soon undergo a true psychic riot; even the last bit of sanity will be lost, and things will become incredibly dire!
Director Qiu predicted that this would happen in half a month, but due to today’s stimulation, it happened ahead of schedule!
Chen Sheng was so enraged that he wanted to kill. He stepped forward, snatched the commander’s walkie-talkie at the South Island base, and quickly issued orders. Director Qiu also immediately led a group of therapists and experts, rushing outside:
“Quick! Release the psychic entity!”
“Where are the experts from Yan City? Hurry, call them out!”
…
The hall was in complete chaos.
Humans cannot see psychic entities with the naked eye.
Only by releasing one’s own psychic entity and using the ‘eyes’ of its phantom can one see another world.
But then, everyone, through their own psychic entities, witnessed a truly shocking scene.
Is this still a human psychic entity?
The scene was tremendously impactful.
A deep blue, transparent psychic entity enveloped the entire dark sky.
It was like a vast, deep sea, where a giant, semi-transparent, beautiful fish tail slowly and silently drifted by, profoundly beautiful.
Yet upon seeing such a massive psychic entity, no one could utter a word—
The feeling was like that of someone with thalassophobia falling into the deep sea, with water from all sides rushing over, the sense of suffocation pressing against the chest, merely gazing from afar left one gasping for breath.
It seemed like a creature from another dimension.
Vast, serene.
In the pouring rain, the entire hall was silent, and everyone was stunned for a long time, unable to regain their senses.
How are we to deal with this?
Compared to the colossal entity outside the window, even the most elite psychic entities seemed almost as insignificant as a grain of sand, an ant—how could one think of subduing or healing them.
At that moment, everyone suddenly realized clearly what it means to surpass human imagination.
Chen Sheng stood in the hall at the doorway in silence for a long time. He diverted his gaze and hurried into the vast, rainy night.
Chen Sheng wanted to find someone.
During this period, Chen Sheng had clarified Shu Tang’s identity and background, but had hesitated to act.
Known as the “Human-shaped Nuclear Weapon” and a pioneer from the past, he was a major deterrent against other human alliances and possessed terrifying prestige at the eight bases. But ten years had passed, and he did not want the pioneer to awaken—there were significant others present.
Today’s farce proved that Chen Sheng’s fears were not unfounded—
Chen Sheng dared not expose Shu Tang’s special traits, as any variable might be immediately suppressed.
But now, he was out of options.
He could only gamble on a slim hope.
…
…
In the sound of heavy rain, a tall, dark shadow walked slowly and stiffly through a dark world.
Long hair dripped water, like a monster walking in a rainy night.
Wherever it passed, there were screams of “Monster! Monster!” along with fearful gazes and chaotic fleeing crowds.
The mermaid didn’t recognize the obscure vocabulary, couldn’t understand the meaning of their pronunciation, chaotic radio waves, noisy footsteps, and terrified screams crazily flooded “his” eardrums, turning into a noisy mess.
Having lost all memory, the mermaid didn’t understand a word they said; “he” couldn’t distinguish friend from foe, what was good or bad, and the outside world seemed strange and hostile.
Sharp pain, chaos, and everything unfamiliar pushed the monster on the verge of a mental power outbreak to uncontrollably desire destruction.
Severe neuralgia caused the mermaid’s body to reveal bulging blue veins; the fins behind his ears turned into terrifying weapons, his eyes as dark as an abyss, sharp pain, and noise made the mermaid extremely irritable.
But “he” still retained a trace of clarity, remembering “he” was to find Shu Tang.
In the darkness, wherever the monster passed, there were retreats and screams. Amid the air-raid alarms and torrential rain, “he” clutched the blue umbrella tightly, firmly remembering his target.
However, “he” searched for a long time, came to Shu Tang’s dorm, came to the emergency department.
It was empty here, the crowd downstairs had scattered and fled—
Had she been scared away too?
Nerves throbbed painfully amid various screams of “monster” and terrified gazes. The mermaid, angry and confused, his dark eyes searched the crowd, his ear fins sharp like blue blades.
But no, there was nothing.
Until the air-raid alarm stopped, everyone had evacuated, and the whole sanatorium fell into vast, empty silence.
In the drizzling rain, “he” stood like an abandoned statue, water dripping down his body.
Finally, after an indeterminate amount of time, the mermaid’s eyes, dark and motionless, stirred.
“He” slowly lowered his head.
Suddenly, his gaze fixed.
The blue umbrella, small and mismatched with “his” size, was tightly gripped in the mermaid’s hands.
—Now, there was a bullet hole in it.
The “gift” she gave was broken.