CH 24

Chapter 24: Return to Base

Zhou Yu’s mood instantly settled down. He picked it up with one hand.

“Where did you run off to? I almost left without you!” Zhou Yu expressed his irritation at his companion lacking in discipline.

“Hrrn?” Mo Ye tilted its head and knocked the thing it had in its mouth against Zhou Yu’s mouth.

Zhou Yu took the branch from it and found that there was a coffee-colored fruit hanging off from every third or fourth leaf. Mo Ye had pressed it to his mouth, could it be that Mo Ye had brought it for him to eat?

“You want me to eat this?” asked Zhou Yu.

Mo Ye nodded.

“Did you run off because you wanted to find something for me to eat?” Zhou Yu asked, uncertain.

Mo Ye nodded again.

Zhou Yu felt warmth burning in his chest, he suddenly found Mo Ye to be extremely cute. It knew how to comfort him, it accompanied him in their most dangerous moments, and it took care of him in its own way.

Zhou Yu enveloped it in a hug.

Mo Ye’s tiny wings lightly trembled, it seemed to be overjoyed.

Humans couldn’t eat just anything they found in this place. Mo Ye had only been born a few days prior, so no matter how intelligent it was, it wouldn’t have a better understanding of the organisms in this world than Zhou Yu.

Mo Ye saw that Zhou Yu only held onto the branch with no intentions of eating the fruit and became discontent. It headbutted Zhou Yu and whined into his ear.

Zhou Yu thought it was funny. He really was extremely hungry, and if he didn’t eat anything soon, he wouldn’t last long enough to make it out of the forest.

Zhou Yu plucked a fruit from the branch and sniffed it. It had a faint, sweet scent, and appeared to be refreshing. Zhou Yu didn’t think a fruit like this would be too dangerous for him, and as for whether or not it was edible, he would find out after he ate it. It was similar to how the tomato was considered to be poisonous by their predecessors. It would remain so unless someone tries it, thinks the taste is not too bad, and then wakes up to the early morning sunshine as usual after lying in bed waiting for death the night before.

Zhou Yu decided to be the ‘first person to try the tomato’. [1]

He placed the coffee-colored fruit into his mouth and slowly bit into it. Sweet juice burst out, the taste lingering on his tongue. A refreshing feeling washed over his body and revitalized his spirit. His digestive system also warmed up; just one fruit was enough to make him feel full.

Zhou Yu ate two more, then plucked off the rest and placed them into a pouch that didn’t have any holes.

After walking for a long time, Zhou Yu realized that his mental state was still in good shape. He didn’t feel tired and he was clear-headed.

The fruits Mo Ye had brought him hadn’t been poisonous.

“Thank you,” said Zhou Yu, poking it with a finger. It immediately latched onto his finger with its mouth.

Before the sun could set, Zhou Yu finally made it out of the forest.

He looked up. Bathed in the colors of the sunset, there was a feeling of coming back to life.

Ahead was an empty yet spacious zone, and the shine of light reflected on metal.

The base was just up ahead.

Suddenly, Zhou Yu stopped.

He had pondered over a certain choice his entire journey. Now was time to make his decision.

He petted Mo Ye, then he placed it on the ground.

Mo Ye didn’t understand. Zhou Yu kneeled down and looked into its eyes with a solemn expression.

“Mo Ye, listen up, I’m really grateful for your companionship on this journey, but I can’t bring you to where I’m headed to.”

“Mmm?” Mo Ye tilted its head and looked up with eyes that could melt anyone’s heart.

However, the softer his heart became, the more clearly Zhou Yu knew that he couldn’t continue to bring it along.

“Between you and me, we’re equals. I’m not your owner, and you’ve also saved me… So no matter what you think of me as, I consider you a brother-in-arms. The same as my previous vice-captain Chen Chong, my liaison Xiao Mei, my younger brother Zhou Qing… If something happened to any one of them, I would do anything I could to save them, even at the cost of my life. That’s why I can’t stand anyone treating you like an object of research. It would be fine if they were only to observe you, but it’s very likely that you’ll get hurt. They can’t give you the respect and equality you’re expecting… You’re an intelligent creature, your feelings will definitely get hurt.”

Mo Ye really did understand Zhou Yu’s words and the wings on his back drooped downwards.

“So, go on. However, you must remember the three laws of survival. First, never show fear, fear will mark you as prey. Second, don’t be tempted by beauty, the more beautiful an organism is, the more dangerous they are. And third… it shouldn’t affect you much, but stay as far away as you can from S rank organisms.”

Zhou Yu petted Mo Ye’s head, then gently pushed it away.

Mo Ye still remained where it was, unmoving.

Zhou Yu stood up without any hesitation and strode away. Mo Ye remained in its spot, whimpering.

Once Zhou Yu set his mind to doing something, he would press forward without turning back. However, that was the first time his heart had hurt so much.

Mo Ye was too small. Even though his adult appearance was unknown, at least he would be free. It would certainly be in better condition than the Perytons locked up in the research center.

Seeing that Zhou Yu had no intentions of turning back, Mo Ye immediately started stumbling after him on his little claws.

Zhou Yu abruptly stopped walking and Mo Ye crashed into his leg. Zhou Yu glared down at Mo Ye, “I told you already, stop following me!”

Mo Ye paused in shock, it had never seen Zhou Yu show such an expression before.

“Do you want to grow up behind a glass box? Do you want to be vivisected for researchers to study your internal organs? Do you want your blood to be sucked dry? Do you want your head to be cracked open and your brain to be cut into slices?”

Mo Ye stepped back a little, frightened.

Zhou Yu’s heart felt like it had been rubbed with sandpaper, it was painfully hot.

He turned around and quickly left.

Don’t follow me anymore.

You and I… we were never of the same world in the first place.

Mo Ye continued to whimper, making Zhou Yu feel endlessly remorseful. He shouldn’t have named it, because now he will remember its name forever.

And miss it.

After Zhou Yu had walked a very far distance away, he finally couldn’t resist turning back.

In lingering dusk, he could no longer see any trace of Mo Ye.

There was a particular feeling in Zhou Yu’s heart.

But what was done, was done. He would no longer look back, nor would he be reluctant to leave.

“Goodbye, Mo Ye. You have to become an outstanding organism, and live on proudly.”

When Nibelungen became completely submerged in the night, Zhou Yu arrived at Juli Corp’s base. What he wanted to know the most was whether or not Zhou Qing and the others had arrived safely.

Zhou Yu walked up to the metal door and placed his palm onto the identification panel. It immediately made contact with the base’s communication center.

After reporting his employment status and identification code, the metal doors slowly slid open. Zhou Yu knew that human civilization lay just on the other side of that door.

Armed guards in camo appeared in front of Zhou Yu. Everyone wore a guarded expression, as if Zhou Yu was a monster.

Zhou Yu frowned as someone walked out from behind them. It was Song Zhi.

Song Zhi opened his arms, but he didn’t take another step forward.

“Zhou Yu! How absolutely unimaginable, you were able to return to us after falling from the Angel’s Horns! It’s a miracle.”

Zhou Yu sneered, “Is this how you welcome me back, Mr. Song?”

“There’s no other choice. The organisms here can be complicated, and we can’t be sure that there aren’t parasitic organisms in you, or that you haven’t brought any germs or infectious diseases with you. You could already be some organism’s “nourishment” for reproduction. After you pass our full-body examination, I promise to have a glass of red wine with steak with you.”

Song Zhi pointed to a particular pathway.

“Leave the wine. The steak, I really need.”

At this time, some people squeezed past the guards. It was Wu Yun and Zhou Qing.

Zhou Qing was overjoyed at this unexpected turn of events and wanted to throw himself into an embrace with Zhou Yu. However, Wu Yun held him back.

“Wait until he finishes the exam.” Wu Yun wore a grave expression, but his eyes were happy and hopeful.

“I understand. Thanks, Wu Yun.”

Wu Yun’s caution was just what Zhou Yu had wanted to see. No one knew if something would happen to Zhou Yu’s body one day.

With the guns of the guards pointed at him, Zhou Yu walked towards the special passageway. Sterilization gases were sprayed onto him. Through the passageway, data from each part of Zhou Yu’s body were measured and scanned before being imported into the computers.

Everything from his blood circulation to scans for dangerous substances in his body indicated that Zhou Yu was perfectly normal.

Next, Zhou Yu was instructed to lie down on a bed to undergo an MRI scan.

Song Zhi came to the monitor room and asked, “How is his body’s condition?”

“Everything is normal.”

Song Zhi narrowed his eyes, “He’s not even injured?”

“There’s are no signs of any bleeding or parasites.”

Song Zhi’s gaze dimmed, “He fell from the Angel’s Horns! It’s impossible for him to return without the slightest injury.”

The last step was drawing blood for testing. All results indicated that everything was normal, there were no signs of harmful bacterial or viral infections, and in fact, each indicator showed him to be more healthy than the average person. He was in peak condition.

“There really are no problems,” The monitoring staff replied.

Song Zhi nodded, “That’s fine. He’s very special, I don’t hope to see him die either.”

However, suspicion still clouded his eyes.

Just as Zhou Yu walked out, he was hugged by Zhou Qing.

“You’re not dead! Wonderful! You’re really alive! Simply wonderful!”

Feeling the temperature of Zhou Qing’s body heat, Zhou Yu experienced the sensation of truly feeling like he was alive again.

Wu Yun came to stand in front of him and fist bumped him.

“Looks like I don’t need to find a new partner anymore!”

“Why don’t you change your name first?” smiled Zhou Yu.