CH 97.2

Chapter 97.2 – The Lair

Lu Tinghan and Di Wen explained the situation to Gerald.

Gerald was amazed: “There are still cities in the Alliance! There are still human cities in this world!”

“We don’t have much time, we must find a livable underground city as soon as possible,” Lu Tinghan said, “At present, we are heading towards Elton.”

Gerald hesitated: “You should know that the climate in the Empire is not good, right? There are thunderstorms, tornadoes, and sandstorms everywhere, especially in Elton.” He and Di Wen glanced at each other, “We tried to get closer to the north as well, trying to find cities, but the extreme weather just never stops there.”

He coughed a few times and continued: “Moreover, in recent years, the Delta Abyss has been restless. It is around Elton. The infection is characterized as ‘thunderstorms’. The infected biota carries electric currents – like electric eels, they have asymmetrical sides cell membrane structure, connected in series front and back, opening ion channels for discharge. It’s just that they are tens of millions of times more powerful than electric eels, appearing in groups, aggressive, and making the weather worse. Even if your aircraft can be used, you have to fly at a low altitude and slow speed. It will take a long, long time to get to Elton. You guys… have to be prepared.”

The way he said this, he sounded like someone who had studied the abyss.

Adjutant Bing couldn’t help asking: “What did you do before?”

Gerald shook the broken cup in his hand: “I’m just an ordinary teacher. The mole people are either short-lived or long-lived, Di Wen and I are the latter. Staying in the ‘lair’ with nothing to do. I have studied a lot of… past information. Unfortunately, no cure for the infection was found.”

Lu Tinghan pondered for a moment and asked, “Do you understand the distribution of cities in the Empire?”

Di Wen said, “Yes.”

Lu Tinghan: “If it takes too long to go to Elton, we will consider looking for underground cities along the way. If we find a suitable one, we will directly return to the main city of the Alliance.” He paused, “Although we can’t respond to Elton’s communication in this way, there is nothing we can do about it.”

“I understand,” Di Wen said hoarsely, “Do you want me to lead the way? To find the cities along the way?”

“Yes,” Lu Tinghan replied, “I believe you also want to return to the city. We have aircraft, guns and ammunition, enough supplies, and… means to evade monsters along the way, so it’s your best chance. We’ll have to work together.”

Gerald put down the cup: “I’m really curious, what is your ‘strictly confidential means of avoiding monsters’? Why doesn’t it take effect if there are too many people?”

—That actually referred to Shi Yuan.

Shi Yuan was holding a cup of freshly brewed tea, intently studying a swirling leaf inside, and when he heard this, his tail tightened.

He never hid his emotions, anyone could see his guilt at a glance, but… no one would suspect him.

Or that, who would have thought that the abyss would gain a human form?

But Lu Tinghan’s face did not change, and he replied deeply: “Military secrets.”

He didn’t lie either.

The general’s spouse was, of course, a military secret.

It was a pity that the military secret ‘Shi Yuan’ temporarily lacked the automatic pathfinding function, and General Lu was actively repairing it.

Gerald didn’t delve into it either. He thought it was probably high-tech. He nodded and said, “I will discuss it with Di Wen, please give us some time. You can rest first, go back to the aircraft, or stay with us.” He smiled twice, “You may not be able to bear the environment here.”

Shi Yuan and the others did not return to the aircraft in the end.

Lu Tinghan was very interested in the “lair” of the mole people, and took Shi Yuan through the intricate tunnels. Di Wen called a mole person named “Morgan” and he led them through every corner of the “Lair”.

Morgan’s facial features were also wrinkled together, and his limbs had some black fur, but his voice was very young.

He said as he walked: “Let me think about where to take you… oh! I see!”

He nimbly got into a tunnel, and everyone bent down, following behind with difficulty, and went to a new space.

There were a few rows of rotten tables and chairs neatly placed there, and they didn’t know which ruin they were pulled out of. Mole people sat at the table one by one. Their fingernails were too long, and they were struggling to hold pencils and charcoal, writing and drawing on paper.

They wrote the text of the Empire.

On a wooden shelf nearby, there were also several piles of tattered books.

This scene was very inconsistent, like a group of beasts… learning human civilization.

The mole people had good night vision. It was all dark here, and only after they came did they have a low light.

Morgan said: “They are completing Teacher Gerald’s homework.”

Shi Yuan asked, “Are they learning to write?”

He remembered that it was a bit similar when he rummaged through the garbage dump to find something to learn.

He became angry again at the thought of garbage, and stared at Lu Tinghan.

Lu Tinghan: ?

He thought for a while, he didn’t have any garbage to litter, and he didn’t know how he provoked Shi Yuan.

“Yes, they are learning how to read and write,” Morgan replied, picking up a book called “Empire Standard Language”, “They are the new generation of mole people, the descendants of the old batch of infected people. This infection changed the genes and was passed down, as was I. I was born like this and I have never seen the sun.” He nodded his head with his index finger, “Fortunately, I am a little better than them. But Teacher Gerald and Di Wen never gave up and kept teaching them.”

He also explained: “They are just too beastly, not really stupid. The new generation of mole people who work a little harder can read and write without any problem, and can even use simple firearms. As for the others…”

He hesitated for a moment.

Chi Yongge asked, “What’s the matter?”

Morgan said with difficulty: “The Gamma Abyss represents ‘breeding frenzy’, and we are also its infected group, but not completely. I heard Di Wen say that the first infected people did not plan to give birth and did not want to leave the pain to the next generation, but when the spring breeding season arrived… they had no choice. Therefore, many mole people were born.”

Chi Yongge was taken aback, and subconsciously asked, “Ah, will you also—”

He didn’t feel that his words were offending until it was out of his mouth, he stopped abruptly.

“I’m fine, reason can defeat instinct.” Morgan didn’t mind, “It’s the same for Teacher Gerald and Di Wen, we are a minority.” He hesitated again, “Continuous reproduction of the next generation is a terrible thing. Even more frightening is the problem of inbreeding…”

Several people’s expressions changed.

Shi Yuan didn’t quite understand, so he looked up at Lu Tinghan.

Lu Tinghan explained to him: “Human inbreeding is likely to cause genetic defects.”

Shi Yuan: “Is it serious?”

“Um.”

Morgan said with some difficulty: “At first, this phenomenon was very common. Later, Di Wen gathered all the mole people together and separated them as much as possible during the breeding season. At least, close relatives will not stay together, leaving them with the last dignity. She put a lot of effort into alleviating this situation, and then Teacher Gerald found several herbal medicines, mixed them together, and effectively reduced the ‘breeding frenzy’.”

“Every spring, we would light herbs in the cave. The smell was as bad as a rotten fish, but it was very effective, and we’ve made it through many breeding seasons safely.”

Hearing this, Chi Yongge breathed a sigh of relief: “That’s good, that’s good. I’m a doctor, can I take a look at those herbs?”

“Of course, I’ll talk to Teacher Gerald later,” Morgan responded briskly.

They stayed for too long, and the shimmer of the flashlight made the mole people anxious.

Morgan took them away from here and said as he walked: “Teacher Gerald and Di Wen are the greatest people I have ever met. Especially Di Wen, without her, everyone would have died a long time ago.”

Lu Tinghan said, “You call her ‘Di Wen the Kingslayer’.”

“Hmm.” Morgan shook his black fur, “The king ordered all mole people to be executed. Fortunately, with her, we survived.” He showed a twisted smile, “You see, I can still talk to you like this, and other people can still write and read. How can they say that we are not human? We are no different from the so-called ‘normal humans’ who just want to live. We’re still passing on civilization!”

They went around and returned to the small fire in front of them.

Gerald took out the herbal medicine, and Chi Yongge took it and took a closer look.

He frowned slightly: “How are these materials…”

“Yes, it’s rough,” Gerald said. “I tried many times and found all the documents I could find, but I can only do this.”

“No, no, no, that’s not the problem.” Chi Yongge was stunned for a while, speaking quickly, “Isn’t this one of the most basic ingredients of an inhibitor?”

He suddenly realized a problem, one that no one had thought of, a very unbelievable problem: “Could it be that the Empire didn’t research the inhibitor at all?! You have not used it?!”

Gerald and Morgan looked confused.

Morgan said, “Is there such a good thing?”

Gerald said, “F*ck!”