CH 69

Chapter 69: Evolution

Zhou Yu’s eyes widened, and in that moment, he felt as if his body did not belong to him.

The other person held his head up and pressed it to their own chest. “Listen. I’m here, just follow me…”

There was a strong, steady heartbeat, and his body began to resonate with it. His heart, which seemed to want to jump out of his chest, was weakening, his rapid heartbeat easing. The feeling of not having enough air to breathe gradually subsided, until his heartbeat merged into one with the sound in his ears.

Zhou Yu’s thoughts returned to him and his mind became calm. He looked at the young man in front of him. Had his drowning been an illusion or reality?

“Zhou Yu, do you know who I am?”

“I… Of course I do,” Zhou Yu replied, “you’re Mo Ye.”

Mo Ye’s eyes widened, then he pulled Zhou Yu into an embrace. “Wonderful! That’s terrific!”

Zhou Yu had not yet returned to his senses. In his mind, his last memory was that of Li Shengnan injecting some kind of drug into his body.

Sitting paralyzed on the ground, Han Li was stunned. She stood up slowly. “Zhou Yu? You’ve come back to life? Do you know who I am?”

“You’re Han Li,” Zhou Yu answered.

The clear-headed response surprised Han Li.

Han Li immediately stood up and walked to Zhou Yu’s bedside. When she lifted Zhou’s Yu arm, Mo Ye’s icy gaze swept over her.

“I just want to check… I’m worried that Zhou Yu will show symptoms of alienization.”

“It’s fine. Please check carefully,” Zhou Yu nodded.

Han Li rolled up Zhou Yu’s sleeve. There wasn’t anything scale-like in sight. She put her palm over him to press down harder, but she didn’t feel any foreign growth in his muscles.

Han Li suddenly pulled up Zhou Yu’s clothes and checked his back. Everything was normal.

Zhou Yu’s temperature remained at 36.5 degrees, his normal temperature.

“I need to draw your blood.”

“Of course.”

Han Li sent Zhou Yu’s blood sample in for testing, then hurried into Song Zhi’s office.

“Mr. Song! Zhou Yu’s awake! He might have already recovered!” Han Li could hardly contain her excitement.

“It’s also possible that like Turing, who alienized but retained the ability to think as a human being, he’s being controlled by Turing,” Song Zhi said, narrowing his eyes.

Han Li froze for two seconds, then she shook her head helplessly. “Mr. Song, why do you always do this? You see everything in the worst light possible and crush everyone’s hopes.”

“Because, in this world, hope is like a painkiller. When you want it too much, it becomes addictive. The more you hope for, the greater the expectation, and the more likely you are to make a wrong decision. Someone has to pay the price for withdrawal syndrome, and I want to make sure that most of the people in this base make it back alive.” Song Zhi bowed his head and continued to read his documents.

“I understand.” Han Li retreated.

“I’ve requested for the transfer of a virologist. His shuttle will arrive in two hours. As Zhou Yu’s attending doctor, I hope you can cooperate with him. From my perspective… only he can determine whether Zhou Yu will recover or if a cure is possible.”

Han Li looked back at Song Zhi, the only person in the entire world. He seemed cold and mechanical because he had his own principles.

When Han Li left, Song Zhi raised his head up, clasped his forehead, and let out a long sigh.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yu was feeling famished. Wu Yun especially went to bring him food from the cafeteria. There were only burgers and milk, which Zhou Yu sent unceremoniously into his mouth. Wu Yun, who could only stand outside the room and watch them, slapped the glass and said, “I told you to eat slowly. You look like an African refugee!”

Within two minutes, Zhou Yu had finished the burger. Mo Ye was propping up his head and looking at him.

“Did you see something in my mind again?” Zhou Yu asked.

“I’ve decided to show you full respect from now on. If you won’t allow me to enter your mind, then I’ll wait outside.” Mo Ye’s eyes were squinted, and the smile on his face made Zhou Yu recall how he had acted spoiled in front of him when he was still in his night spirit form.

Zhou Yu hummed lightly, “If only you were that conscious of it.”

This time, his narrow escape from death had been a special experience. He had traveled between the two worlds, and it was Mo Ye who guided him.

“Can you answer a question for me?”

Mo Ye lowered his gaze. “If I answer, you will believe what I say?”

“I will.”

“Then, ask.”

“Since you can use me to fully exert your power, then why didn’t you manipulate my body to open the doors for you and help you get out of here while you were in the base?”

Zhou Yu looked at Mo Ye. There was an intensity in his gaze. No matter how much of an advanced being Mo Ye was, he could see through his disguise at the real Mo Ye.

Mo Ye froze. It seemed like he hadn’t been expecting Zhou Yu to ask him such a question.

They never seemed to have had such deep conversations between them before.

“Because… there are more than 300 field personnel in this base, and even if I control your body and your body’s physical qualities, it still won’t be able to handle my movement capabilities. You’d be dead before you can help me open the door. And if I really wanted to get out of here, I don’t need to use your body. There are many Nibelungen organisms ranking below me that can inflict lethal damage on humans, and this base isn’t invulnerable.” Mo Ye gave him a deep and obscure smile.

Zhou Yu instantly understood that Mo Ye could also manipulate other creatures to destroy the base.

“The outside world is boring without you. And even if I manipulate another organism, I can’t do it for more than a minute.” Mo Ye propped up his chin, then casually pointed to Zhou Yu’s back. “Your spinal fluid is still in my body, locking away more than 70% of my power. If Song Zhi had lasted more than a minute, he still would have caught me.”

Zhou Yu glanced at the surveillance camera overhead. “You shouldn’t be so honest.”

Mo Ye shrugged his shoulders. “It doesn’t matter if Li Qian overhears.”

“He’ll tell Song Zhi exactly what was said.”

“That’s exactly what I want. By the time we face Turing, he’ll know that locking away my abilities was the worst thing he could have done… although he was forced to do it.” Mo Ye narrowed his eyes and laughed. He had beautiful eyelashes that trembled with his laughter.

Zhou Yu turned his face away.

“Sometimes, I wonder if you’re just not used to my human appearance. I had originally wanted to change back into my night spirit form to accompany you, but thanks to Song Zhi, I can only maintain this imitation right now.” Mo Ye hugged his elbows, looking regretful.

“Even if you imitate a human form, you’re not a real human. And please put a stop to any moves you make on me before going too far,” Zhou Yu said coldly.

“What kind of moves? Mo Ye suddenly leaned in towards Zhou Yu, his eyes filled with playful mirth.

Zhou Yu pushed Mo Ye’s head away. “I have no interest in males.”

“Unfortunately, even though we’re S rank organisms, we can’t choose our sex.”

“Then behave.”

“Are you treating me as a brother now?” Mo Ye leaned in close to him again and asked.

“Do you want to be my brother?”

“As your brother, can I watch a movie together with you?” Mo Ye asked very seriously.

“No.” What kind of fool watches movies with his brother?

“Then why can Wu Yun?” Mo Ye asked discontentedly.

“When did I watch a movie with Wu Yun?”

‘In the dining hall!”

“That was watching a movie with everyone, not with Wu Yun,” Zhou Yu corrected him.

“Then, as your brother, can I sleep with you?” Mo Ye asked again.

Zhou Yu frowned, feeling rather unpleasant when he thought back to the times when Mo Ye had pretended to be small and weak and stuck to his side.

“No. You sleep by yourself.”

This answer was within Mo Ye’s expectations.

He asked again, “As your brother, will you leave me behind?”

“No,” Zhou Yu opened his mouth before Mo Ye could ask another question. “As my brother, you need to know when to be quiet.”

“Ah… I don’t want to be your brother.”

Despite the childish expression, Zhou Yu knew in his heart that Mo Ye was more powerful than he could imagine.

Zhou Yu lay back in bed, feeling sleepiness wash over him again. Song Zhi had not let him leave, meaning that they could not yet confirm that his body was fine. The worst that could happen was that he would turn into a lizard monster.

“If I hurt Zhou Qing or Wu Yun, you have to help me,” Zhou Yu closed his eyes and said.

“I will. The fact that you’re saying this to me means that you’re starting to trust me.” Mo Ye also lay down beside Zhou Yu, quietly looking at him.

At this time, the shuttle cabin carrying the virologist arrived at the base. When Song brought the young man in his early twenties to Han Li, she was utterly shocked.

He was in a t-shirt and sweatpants with his hands in his pockets. He wasn’t even wearing glasses. He didn’t bear any semblance to a researcher.

“Han Li, this is Jiang Jinghang, a doctor of virology from Columbia University. Don’t underestimate Dr. Jiang; he may be young, but he’s a genius in his field. He previously worked on the virus at Base Two and was a key figure in unraveling the mystery of the Nibelungen virus. Anything concerning Dr. Turing’s virus from the death dahlia, as well as Zhou Yu’s blood samples, can be given to Dr. Jiang.”

“Ah. Yes.” Han Li knew that Juli Corp would never keep someone merely angling for fame on their payroll. Song Zhi had admitted that he was a genius, so he must truly be a genius.

Dr. Jiang didn’t waste any time on words or even introduce himself. As soon as he entered the lab, he sat down on a swivel chair with both of his feet up on it and started ordering all the researchers around.

Song Zhi brought a cup of chocolate milk foam to Jiang Jinghang’s side and set it down. He said in a low voice, “I need Zhou Yu alive and well.”

“Whether he will live well or not is determined by fate, not by me. Incidentally, Dr. Cook’s research is so close to success that pawns such as you and I will soon be useless.” Dr. Jiang pulled up the corners of his mouth and smiled, as if taking joy in the calamity of it.

“You can rest assured that I won’t be plucked off before you. It’s fine as long as the people we need are alive.”

Jiang Jinghang’s childish expression chilled. “If something happens to you, then what will happen to Song Lin?”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ve prepared for it.”

“No one can prepare for Song Lin.”

“Let it be. Don’t think too much about it, Jinghang. Now, focus.”

“I hate those surveillance devices. I can’t concentrate.”

“You can relax, those devices are not monitoring you.” Song Zhi straightened up and turned to leave.

Early next morning, Dr. Jiang called Song Zhi with dark circles under his eyes and told him, “You can release the field agent suspected of infection.”

‘What do you mean?” Song Zhi sat up in his bed and checked the time. It was just sunrise over Nibelungen.

“You know how we humans have our own immune system?” Dr. Jiang swiveled his chair while twirling a test tube in his hand. The other researchers watched nervously, fearful that he would drop the test tube and let the virus sample leak out.

“But the human immune system is useless against the virus, so how did Zhou Yu develop an immunity to it?” Song Zhi asked.

“Because he has dual mechanisms in his body—an autoimmune mechanism and a high-speed repair mechanism. I don’t know what that field agent was exposed to, but he has an enzyme in his body that normal humans don’t have. This enzyme works with the body’s own immune system to repair damaged cells while rejecting the virus. In most humans, the virus destroys their cells completely before they can heal, so their immune systems collapse before they can produce antibodies against the virus.”

“You mean he has antibodies now?” Song Zhi jerked to his feet. “Then we can use his blood serum to make the antivirus.”

Before Song Zhi could finish his sentence, Dr. Jiang interrupted him.

“Only if other humans have the same genes as him. Although I’m telling you that he’s immune to the virus, this also implies that something has changed in his body.”

“You mean… he was still alienized?” Song Zhi’s knuckles turned white around the pen he was holding.

“Judging by his genes, he’s certainly still human. But some aspects have been enhanced. I prefer to call it evolution.” Dr. Jiang raised up the virus sample he had in his hand, slowly swirling it under the light as if he was appreciating a crystal. At the same time, he lowered his voice, “This is what Mr. Eaton most wants to see the most—the evolution of self-healing in human beings. Since you believe in that man, send him away early. Don’t let him become Eaton’s lab rat.”

“Understood.”

Jiang Jinghang laughed and continued in a childish voice, “Mr. Song, let him out. I want to observe and study him.”

“But you also said you weren’t sure about his evolutionary direction… If he’s going to harm…”

“Keeping him in a glass room as a lab rat is like locking up the truth in a box. Mankind will consider all kinds of risks before they go to the moon, but they won’t stop because of the risks.”

Song Zhi pursed his lips. “Is this also the chairman’s intention?”

“Uh-huh.”

Having been sealed in the emergency room for three days, Zhou Yu wasn’t at all agitated. He was leaning against the headboard, watching the TV outside the emergency room.

Mo Ye was sitting cross-legged beside him, propping his chin up to look at the TV screen in boredom.

A horror movie was being shown today, Ring.

“This movie is so boring… Can you tell them to change it?” Mo Ye asked.

But Zhou Yu did not reply.

Mo Ye discontentedly turned to the side, then found that Zhou Yu’s eyes were completely unfocused. 

“Zhou Yu?” Mo Ye leaned in close, then narrowed his eyes to look at him, “Zhou Yu, what’s wrong?”

Meanwhile, Zhou Yu was feeling as if he was in another world. In his head were countless voices, some like whispers of the wind, and some like hoarse cries. The noisy clamor fell incessantly on his ears.

They seemed desperate to tell Zhou Yu something: pain, pleasure, sadness, and all kinds of emotions intertwined. But Zhou Yu couldn’t hear any one of them clearly. He was trapped in this world and didn’t know how to get out.

At this time, when Mo Ye found Zhou Yu unresponsive, his former lazy and leisurely look sank down, and his eyes became cold stars.

He frowned and pressed his forehead against Zhou Yu’s. “Sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong with you. I can only go into your mind. If you’re not happy about that, please forgive me.”

“Settle down and be calm. The world is quiet. You can only hear it when you want to. Different creatures have different levels, and whichever one you want to communicate with, you’ll have to go to that level with your mind.”

Mo Ye’s voice rang out in Zhou Yu’s mind.

Calm and steady, as if it was putting together his broken world and holding it up high.

“Now, listen to my words and follow me.” Mo Ye’s voice grew distant.

At the moment, Zhou Yu felt both relief and salvation, as if the hustle and bustle of the whole world had pulled away, leaving only the world Mo Ye had woven for him.

“Come with me… Trust me… Now, I’ll take you back.”

Zhou Yu followed that voice as if he was groping his way through the dark. Suddenly, the space in front of him became open and bright, the heart also soared up high with it.

“Now, open your eyes, Zhou Yu. I’m right beside you.”

Zhou Yu let out a gasp and forced his eyes open to meet Mo Ye’s obsidian eyes.

‘How are you feeling?” Mo Ye’s hands were firmly supporting Zhou Yu’s shoulders.

Zhou Yu gasped for breath, almost suffocating in that world of sound. He tried to regain his thoughts, and after a few seconds, he said, “What happened to me just now?”

Mo Ye frowned. He raised his hands and pressed them to his own eyes, showing a truly distressed expression for the first time in front of Zhou Yu. “To be honest, I didn’t expect this to happen either. What you felt was exactly the way I felt when I was an embryo. I hear all the helpless, complex voices in the world. I found it very annoying and I desperately wanted to escape from it, so I refused to hatch. Their pain, their thoughts, their needs… I didn’t want to hear any of it, nor did I want to satisfy them… until you appeared. When I heard your heartbeat, all of those annoying voices that bothered me went away. I became fond of seeing, hearing, and smelling the world through you. You thought I was pretending to be weak in front of you, but I was truly weak at that time. If I didn’t snuggle up next to you, I would have been overwhelmed by the rich abundance of biological information in the world. Over time, I learned to distinguish between other sounds in the world and connect myself to them to receive different messages and even manipulate them.”

Mo Ye’s explanation made Zhou Yu shudder.

“What did you say? Do you mean that I can now communicate with the organisms of Nibelungen?”

Mo Ye smiled helplessly. “You’re like a baby right now, babbling to acquire language. It can’t truly be considered knowing how to communicate, but you have had the ability to communicate. You need time to master it. It’s like… think of it as mastering another language, only one that involves direct mind-to-mind communication instead of sound.”

Zhou Yu had to think over it more carefully. “So, have I become an organism of Nibelungen? Like Dr. Turing, who retained a human mind, but was alienized by the organisms here.”

Mo Ye shook his head and said, “I can’t answer that question. What I do know is that you become the person you want to become. It’s all a choice. It’s like if I saw the Mo Ye you imagined me as and I made that expectation my goal, thus becoming who I am now.”

At that moment, there was the sound of applause, and they looked out the window to see a young man in a casual t-shirt standing before them. He was chewing gum and grinning out of the corners of his mouth. “My, oh, my! Fascinating. This is an interesting evolutionary direction! I’ll have to study it properly!”

“Who are you?” Zhou Yu turned to face him.

“Me? I am Jiang Jinghang, responsible for researching the virus in your body. You should be thanking me for persuading Song Zhi to let you out. But you have to be good and cooperate with my blood sampling and physical tests.”

Zhou Yu immediately recalled, “Did you used to do viral research at Base Two? Are you the one who helped Dr. Yao and Dr. Shen solve the mystery of the Nibelungen jellyfish?”

“That’s me.”

No wonder Dr. Yao had said that Jiang Jinghang was very young! To become a pioneer in virology at such a young age, Jiang Jinghang was simply a genius!

Mo Ye looked at the young doctor with interest, then drew out a long hum, as if measuring something, but also seemingly with no other meaning behind it.

“The two of us look about the same age.”

Dr. Jiang wagged his finger and said, “That’s not for sure. I’ve still eaten more salt than you’ve eaten rice, and as far as I know, you’ve never had rice before.”

Mo Ye laughed, his gaze dropping. An invisible pressure rushed forth.

Dr. Jiang’s eyes widened as he felt a force rush into his mind. Just as he was about to resist, it vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a hint of a smile at the corners of Mo Ye’s lips. Mo Ye was not the first S rank organism Dr. Jiang had seen, but at this moment, as he looked at the outline of the Mo Ye’s features, he found that he could not look away.

Sight became a very special perception, and each inch of that winding gaze was a most subtle curvature.

Mo Ye turned to face the side, the flow of light and shadow lending to his air of mystery. The depressions at the corners of his lips set off an inexplicable sense of danger in Dr. Jiang.

“You’re quite interesting. Since you’re a doctor of virology, do you know how to separate Zhou’s spinal fluid from my body?”

Mo Ye was clearly sitting at Zhou Yu’s side, but Dr. Jiang had the illusion that he pressing in closer to him.

Dr. Jiang imperceptibly took a small step back when Mo Ye leaned sideways to rest his head on Zhou Yu’s shoulder with a playful smile on his face. This convinced Dr. Jiang that the S rank organism was toying with him.

Dr. Jiang recovered the same indifferent expression he had before.