EDEH Chapter 2

So cold.

 

Heavy eyelids trembled, opening to a blurry field of vision, glass-like colors flashing momentarily in his pupils.

 

“Awake?”

 

…Hm?

 

Everything was blurred before his eyes. Sang Jue seemed to see layers upon layers of giant trees, their branches like twisted tentacles swaying in the wind.

 

But in the blink of an eye, those huge, terrifying trees disappeared, replaced by ruins of broken walls and rubble.

 

Leaning against a collapsed brick wall was a decadent human with a right hand covered in scales. Some scales had fallen off, and the wounds looked as if they’d been through a meat grinder—horrific and bloody…

 

Wait, how could a human’s hand be covered in scales?

 

Sang Jue suddenly became fully alert.

 

All the double images before his eyes disappeared. He was in the middle of city ruins, with rotting moss crawling over collapsed buildings, trees growing from soil cracks into towering, shade-blocking forms.

 

The man repeated his question: “You’re awake?”

 

His forehead was burning hot. Sang Jue asked: “Who are you?”

 

“My name is Si Fu. I saved you.”

 

Si Fu’s eyes were deep green, hidden in thick shadows, appearing somewhat dim.

 

His scent was a bit more pleasant than those people in the sewers, but there were many sounds inside his body, a buzzing mass, like countless little moths just hatched from eggs, trying to flap their wings, wanting to drill out from his flesh.

 

Sang Jue pressed his lips together: “You’re going to die.”

 

“Yes, I’m going to die.” Si Fu’s voice was hoarse, calm to the point of deathly silence. “I’ve been parasitized by white moth eggs. Maybe I have half a day left, maybe just ten minutes.”

 

Two hours ago, he had already gripped his gun ready to commit suicide, finger on the trigger, when he saw Sang Jue washed ashore by the river.

 

“Well, thank you for saving me.” Sang Jue asked, “What happened? Can I help you?”

 

“I… my teammates are all dead.”

 

Si Fu was somewhat dazed. Sang Jue’s eyes were very beautiful, clear and bright. Perhaps due to light refraction, for a moment he felt Sang Jue’s eyes were actually colored, like glass marbles.

 

Human pupils couldn’t possibly be that color.

 

But in the blink of an eye, that glassy light disappeared like an illusion.

 

Certain special contaminants that emerged from the cracks possessed perfect mimetic genes, able to simulate the genetic sequences of humans they had consumed, taking on their appearance to deceive and track other people, achieving large-scale contamination.

 

However, Sang Jue should definitely be human. When Si Fu had just rescued him, he tested the contamination index—Sang Jue’s contamination index was zero.

 

But to confirm, Si Fu still asked: “Why were you in the river? What happened?”

 

“I… I was kidnapped. There was an arena, they were fighting… then I escaped.” Sang Jue gave a simplified account, speaking confusedly, but fortunately Si Fu understood.

 

“They held arena matches, and the winner could have you?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Si Fu frowned.

 

Humans no longer lived in these city ruins. They had built high walls elsewhere, establishing safe zones where most humans resided.

 

But there was still a small portion of people who pursued freedom, unwilling to be confined by high walls. They used certain buildings in the former city ruins as shelters, forming various intertwined factions.

 

Without the constraints of order, they acted without scruples—burning, killing, and looting, not treating their own kind as fellow beings.

 

In such an environment, the fate of pretty boys and girls was predictable.

 

Si Fu’s chest heaved violently as he covered his mouth and coughed for a long time: “I don’t know, don’t know which safe zone you’re from *cough cough*… but I have a car nearby. My teammates were all killed by the accompanying supervisor… If you help me bring something back to the main city, I’ll tell you where the car is.”

 

“Bring what?”

 

Si Fu struggled to pull out a glass container from behind him. Inside was an active green vine that looked somewhat agitated, frantically tapping the glass with its short tendrils.

 

Sang Jue took a step back.

 

“Don’t be afraid, the glass is very sturdy. It can’t get out.”

 

Sang Jue wasn’t afraid.

 

He just heard some indescribable sounds from this vine…

 

*Contaminate, devour…*

 

“What is it?”

 

“Forget-worry vine.” Si Fu said, “Forget-worry vine is an herbaceous contaminant that appeared after the collapse. Mature forget-worry vines can extend countless tendrils to protect the main body and hunt for food. Creatures trapped in vine encirclement have almost no chance of escape.”

 

“The research institute has always been determined to develop plant genes that can fuse with humans. Forget-worry vine might be a breakthrough. Our team’s mission was to bring it back… but some accidents happened.”

 

“What accidents?”

 

“The supervisor assigned to our team this time was scum.” Si Fu closed his eyes, “He deliberately led us to Crack #2! He killed two of my teammates!”

 

Sang Jue said: “Don’t get excited. Excitement will only make you die faster.”

 

“…The rest of us were all parasitized by white moth eggs near the crack. I used bullets to free my teammates.” Si Fu calmed his emotions for a while, looking at the gun in his hand, “There’s one last bullet left, saved for myself.”

 

Sang Jue blinked slowly.

 

“Sorry, I don’t want to interrupt your grief—but what is gene fusion, and what do supervisors do?”

 

“…” Si Fu was stunned, “Do you know the *Mutant Code*, *Supervision Manual*, *Voluntary Submission to Supervision Declaration*?”

 

Sang Jue shook his head, “What are mutants?”

 

“…You’re not from the safe zone?”

 

Si Fu should have been wary, but Sang Jue’s appearance really didn’t inspire wariness.

 

He had seen such people before. During previous missions, he had been to a small patch of ruins in a northern city, where a family of four lived in air-raid tunnels, supposedly having lived there for over a hundred years.

 

They lived far from crowds, thinking they were the last survivors of the apocalypse.

 

They knew nothing about information changes—no radio, no television. They didn’t know what mutants and supervisors did, nor did they know that just a few thousand kilometers away, more survivors had built high walls and established humanity’s largest safe zone, also called the main city.

 

When they saw Si Fu with his beast-transformed arm, they looked terrified as if seeing a monster, completely unaware of what gene fusion was.

 

Dense pain pulled Si Fu back from his memories. Fine particles emerged on his skin—countless white eggs could no longer be contained and were about to break through the skin.

 

He didn’t have much time left.

 

“I… let me start from the beginning simply.”

 

Hundreds of years ago, a rapid surface movement caused massive cracks to appear all over the world. Some cracks cut through forests and oceans, others split cities representing human civilization—thus began the era of collapse.

 

Most terrifyingly, the cracks would overflow with a bizarre substance, silent and colorless, contaminating all life on this land.

 

Flowers, grass, trees, birds, beasts, insects, fish—everything familiar around them began to become terrifying, mutating in indescribable directions.

 

Ants once trampled underfoot by humans became larger than fingernails, their mouthparts secreting white fluid that could paralyze an elephant. Terrifyingly, they remained social creatures. Boneless worms in the soil became enormous, even growing bloody maws with circles of densely packed sharp teeth…

 

And so on, countless examples.

 

Except for humans.

 

Humans were like orphans abandoned by the world. Everything was changing, yet they were left in place, at a loss.

 

Although the contamination emanating from the cracks didn’t directly affect humans, contaminated creatures could infect humans.

 

Even a wound just one millimeter deep had an extremely high infection rate. The body would mutate toward that species’ direction—either growing strange appendages or failing contamination and becoming a pile of flesh… then losing human consciousness in despair and loneliness.

 

Later generations called this genetic contamination.

 

It refers to other organisms’ genes entering the human body, disrupting the original genetic sequence, undergoing recombination and modification, resulting in a “completely new” appearance.

 

Recent dozens of generations witnessed humanity’s decline from the peak of technological civilization, the collapse of prosperous cities into ruins, and watched the initial billions of compatriots dwindle to very few, witnessing the extinction of prehistoric civilization…

 

But it wasn’t hopeless from the beginning.

 

Initially during the collapse, human technology was still at its peak. They treated this contamination as just another disaster, still having the capacity to cope.

 

Until later, humanity faced true catastrophe—the Meteor Season, also called the Season of Destruction by history.

 

That time, humanity almost disappeared from the river of history. Countless meteors crashed into the earth, destroying safe bases and the technology they were proud of. Humans were forced to hide underground.

 

Simultaneously, terrible radiation caused even more horrific contamination mutations in other species. Humanity was in grave danger.

 

Tears unconsciously slid from the corners of his eyes as Si Fu said: “Survival of the fittest is truth at any time.”

 

During those years hiding underground, for survival, survivors began researching the possibility of contaminated genes fusing with humans while maintaining rationality.

 

Their research succeeded.

 

Some human groups began voluntarily choosing contamination, injecting themselves with processed genetic cells from other species to gain special abilities—like growing wings or tentacles, or beast-transformed arms like Si Fu’s.

 

But not everyone supported this approach. Some believed this wasn’t evolution, but a betrayal of human identity.

 

The term Deviant originated from this.

 

The initial years were chaotic—no order, no leaders. The conflict between Deviant and ordinary humans intensified under the pressure of life and death. The survivors hadn’t even established themselves in this strange new world before nearly dying from internal strife.

 

…

 

“The supervisor organization initially emerged this way,” Si Fu said silently. “They exist to maintain balance between ordinary people and Deviants, while also bearing the responsibility of supervising Deviants.”

 

Although ‘evolution’ gave Deviants the ability to fight contaminated creatures, they also faced enormous risks.

 

Starting from the moment they chose gene fusion, within thirty years, they had a sixty percent chance of losing their sanity—a condition called **’disorder’**.

 

In other words, a large portion of people, once they chose gene fusion, had only thirty years or even less than thirty years of life remaining.

 

Though cruel, with different positions, ordinary people who upheld pure human bloodlines couldn’t understand this.

 

They only felt that living in the same city with a group of Deviants who could lose their sanity at any moment made them anxious every day.

 

The appearance of supervisors maintained balance between the two sides. All Deviants needed monthly contamination index checks, and once they exceeded the safety threshold of 60, they would be executed on the spot by supervisors.

 

At the same time, supervisors had the right to execute infected or disordered individuals at any location, at any time.

 

…

 

Sang Jue understood: “If you become disordered, supervisors have the right to execute you, but the supervisor who came out with you killed your teammates for no reason?”

 

“Yes… he’s scum.”

 

“What’s his name?”

 

“Terrell.”

 

Sang Jue indicated he remembered: “Alright, you just need me to help you bring the forget-worry vine back?”

 

Si Fu had actually lost hope.

 

A youth who grew up in closed ruins, understanding no common sense—could he even drive?

 

You should know the main city was over a thousand kilometers away. It was impossible to walk back on foot.

 

Moreover, Sang Jue wasn’t a main city resident and didn’t even have an identity card. He would be directly blocked by soldiers outside the city and couldn’t get in at all.

 

Sang Jue said: “I’ll find a way.”

 

Si Fu’s lips moved, but he ultimately threw the backpack to Sang Jue.

 

Inside was a maple leaf badge, a record book, a map, some nutritional supplements and dry food, and a set of clean clothes and shoes.

 

Sang Jue also put the glass container holding the forget-worry vine into the backpack and asked: “What’s inside those cracks?”

 

Si Fu shook his head with difficulty, sweat soaking his hair. He could barely hold on—those emerging white moths were feeding on his flesh and blood.

 

“There are twelve cracks total. The longest one is a full eight hundred kilometers, and even light can’t refract into it… Even during the peak of technology, no researcher found the source and answer to the contamination.”

 

“It’s too deep… Just approaching it causes involuntary fear.” Si Fu showed a terrified expression.

 

Sang Jue put on the much larger shoes and clothes, shouldered the backpack that could almost cover his entire body, and asked one final question.

 

“Excuse me, who is currently the most powerful person among humans?”

 

“Most powerful?” This question caused Si Fu a moment of confusion: “He… disappeared, disappeared many years ago…”

 

“Then among those who haven’t disappeared, who’s the most powerful?”

 

Si Fu could no longer think about why Sang Jue was asking these questions. He suddenly opened his mouth wide, his eyelids snapping open, his bloodshot eyeballs almost bulging out, his body convulsing violently like a patient being electrocuted.

 

Sang Jue retreated warily: “Si Fu?”

 

Si Fu’s mouth opened and closed, his eye whites filled with red blood vessels, and dense soybean-sized bumps appeared all over his skin, constantly writhing.

 

“Goo…”

 

This hungry buzzing sound didn’t come from his stomach, but from the depths of his soul. Si Fu unconsciously swallowed, staring directly at Sang Jue.

 

He even felt a subtle temptation from Sang Jue… wanting to devour him.

 

Like a starving wolf pack seeing delicious food? No… it should be like a wolf pack that had been eating mice suddenly encountering a plump lamb.

 

It was that indescribable, genetically ingrained instinctive impulse—every cell in his body was stirring restlessly.

 

He let out a hoarse roar: “Go!”

 

Sang Jue noticed the faint sounds of desire flowing in the air. He wasn’t afraid of the disordered Si Fu, but Si Fu had saved him and was the first friend he’d made here.

 

He didn’t want to kill the other party, even if it was the irrational Si Fu.

 

His body was also very weak. Whether it was because the drug effects from those people’s injection hadn’t worn off, or because of his fever, he still felt somewhat weak in his limbs.

 

Thinking of the moths fluttering all over the sky… Sang Jue obediently ran.

 

Behind him, from Si Fu’s eye sockets, beast-transformed arms, and all visible and invisible skin, white moths emerged from their cocoons.

 

They drilled out from the tiny pores of his skin, instantly covering his entire body and burying Si Fu’s form.

 

The only eyeball still exposed stared fixedly in the direction of Sang Jue’s departure. Slowly, the flesh’s nutrients were no longer sufficient. One, two… the insects targeted his eyeball, gnawing at it with teeth finer than down feathers.

 

They were extremely hungry.

 

Without looking back, Sang Jue knew the number of moths behind him must be terrifyingly large. The buzzing sound of moth wings completely covered the area behind him.

 

Suddenly, a weak voice sounded: “Though I shall die…”

 

Sang Jue instinctively looked back. The man completely covered by moths actually swayed and stood up.

 

“Though I shall die, I still don’t regret becoming a moth drawn to flame on Your great journey…” Si Fu exerted all his strength but couldn’t shake off the greedily feeding white moths. “Our children still consider it supreme glory to become Your believers and fight for our common faith…”

 

Si Fu pulled out a fiery red glass tube and smashed it violently against the ground. Flames shot up into the sky.

 

Countless moths flapped their wings trying to escape, but were swept up and devoured by the terrifying flames.

 

Crows in the distance were attracted by the firelight, perching on tree trunks or half-walls to catch the moths that escaped the net.

 

And Si Fu surprisingly wasn’t completely dead yet. From within the flames came his almost choked voice: “Please, You who are somewhere unknown, have mercy on us.”

 

He raised his gun, aiming at his head being consumed by flames.

 

“Bang—”

 

Moments later, only Sang Jue’s rapid breathing remained in the ruins, along with the howling of the wind.

 

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