“A signal ball fragment, four pieces in total, plus the core.” Jiang Ye leaned back against the chairback and stretched lazily. “A high-dimensional tech product. Even if it’s broken, it doesn’t matter as long as it can be pieced together.”
“Signal ball.” Bai Chen Zhu returned the fragments to Jiang Ye. His fingertip lightly tapped the bedsheet as he lowered his long eyelashes, lost in thought. “Who is it signaling to?”
Jiang Ye hooked the corner of his lips and leaned closer to observe his expression. In a joking tone, he said, “Would you believe me if I told you?”
“If you say it, I’ll believe it.” Bai Chen Zhu looked at him seriously.
Jiang Ye fell silent, as if assessing how much truth there was in Bai Chen Zhu’s words. He leaned back and looked up at the ceiling, pondering.
It was clear at a glance that he was still guarded against him. Could it be that, even now, they weren’t considered friends in Jiang Ye’s heart? Bai Chen Zhu sighed deeply. He raised his palm and pressed it onto the back of Jiang Ye’s hand, suppressing the excuse Jiang Ye was about to make.
He stared straight into those abyss-like eyes, as if he knew what the other was worried about. In his usual cold tone, but gentle and firm, he said, “Jiang Ye, don’t be anxious. You and I are the same.”
The same in being out of place in this world, the same in being full of uncertainty about the future, the same in overreaching to try to change something.
“You can trust me. No matter how absurd the truth you have to say is.” Bai Chen Zhu’s eyelashes trembled, revealing phoenix eyes so sincere, filled with invitation, as if he wanted to see straight through the flesh to Jiang Ye’s soul.
In a moment, he took Jiang Ye’s hand and pressed it against his injured calf through the bedsheet, as if to say: We’ve already ‘shared hardships,’ so why are you still hiding it from me?
Jiang Ye pulled his hand back abruptly, as if scalded.
Bai Chen Zhu quietly waited for him to speak.
Jiang Ye’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down several times as he hesitated.
He rubbed his nose bridge in some distress, lowered his head, and interlaced his ten fingers, as if avoiding something. “This matter is a bit complicated. Let me explain it simply to you.”
“The person who broke the signal ball is the lab where the zombie virus leaked from.”
What did that mean? Bai Chen Zhu’s pupils contracted sharply. “Who could have such capability?”
“Something that can alter human genes and cause such a massive catastrophe isn’t humanity itself.” Jiang Ye wanted to smoke again. He patted his pocket, then rummaged through the drawer, but found nothing in the end. He pinched his fingertips and forcibly suppressed his craving.
He used another way of putting it. “Do you know about chickens? Humans raise them to eat, and they use gene-editing tech just to make their meat more abundant and fattier.”
Bai Chen Zhu suddenly lost his appetite for the last two pieces of roast chicken. He looked at the chunks of meat in the bowl and set down his chopsticks. “You mean to say we’re like gene-edited chickens.”
“You could put it that way.” Jiang Ye spread his hands. “Except there’s no purpose to it. Just like if you accidentally create a monster chicken with unknown abilities during gene editing, the best way to deal with it is…”
He left it at that, and Bai Chen Zhu understood. “Kill it, wipe it out, leave no trace.”
But if that was the case, didn’t it mean they had no chance of fighting back at all? Bai Chen Zhu frowned.
Jiang Ye voiced his inner thoughts. “We’re that weak. Just the mental power on this fragment alone far exceeds all current mental ability users. You can feel it, right?”
“I can feel it.” Bai Chen Zhu fell into confusion. “But if they’re so powerful, who could sanction them? And who would be willing to help such a weak and backward planet?”
“You can think of this thing as a token from an alliance of chicken lovers, a protective pact.” Jiang Ye’s dark eyes were deep and lightless. He idly spun the semicircular ring with his fingertip. “In the current state where we can’t resist, it’s at least a way to save ourselves.”
“But up to now, I’ve never seen or heard of the ‘them’ you’re talking about.” Bai Chen Zhu said. Based solely on Jiang Ye’s words plus an object, who could believe such a fantastical tale?
“That’s only natural.” Jiang Ye raised his head to look at him. “Leaving no trace is very important. Their targets are those forces stable enough to control the situation, so the world can descend into chaos. As for us ordinary people, we’re just the best proof of humanity heading toward ‘natural extinction.’ We’re mere tools, and tools don’t need to see them.”
He closed his eyes briefly. The motion of flicking the semicircular ring with his fingertip stopped as he recalled that night of ‘rebirth,’ when he had been particularly excited. But when he saw the date, he knew it was too late.
The stench of blood and violence had already permeated the upper echelons of various countries from the very beginning.
“So you’re gathering these fragments to contact that alliance?” Even hearing only part of it, Bai Chen Zhu quickly followed the train of thought.
Jiang Ye was about to speak when his expression changed. He abruptly stood up and turned his head. The chair scraped against the floor with a dull sound, accompanied by Jiang Ye’s sharp shout. “Come in!”
Bai Chen Zhu was startled by his sudden change of face. He looked again and saw that the door had been pushed open a crack at some point, with two pairs of eyes blinking through it.
After Jiang Ye’s rebuke, the door opened fully, revealing Zhou Zhuo Hua standing openly and Bai Tao pretending to be invisible.
Earlier, his attention had been focused on certain things, so he hadn’t noticed someone eavesdropping outside. Jiang Ye relaxed half a breath upon seeing it was them, but the next instant, he grew tense again, unsure of what they were thinking.
Zhou Zhuo Hua held a small pot in her hands. “Jiang Ye, we made some rice. Want to know if you two want any?” Bai Tao had already changed out of her school uniform. She cleverly sidestepped behind Zhou Zhuo Hua to avoid the anger.
Bai Chen Zhu looked around. He hadn’t noticed them either. “When did you two arrive?”
Bai Tao poked her head out. Her face was slightly pale, but it looked better now. Mimicking Jiang Ye’s tone, she answered Bai Chen Zhu’s question, but directed it at Jiang Ye. “Big Brother Jiang, ‘Do you know about chickens?’ You really love chickens.”
He did love them quite a bit. Bai Chen Zhu couldn’t help curving his eyes. “His roast chicken is delicious too. Did you both eat some?”
Bai Tao’s clearly teasing tone made Jiang Ye stand up. He rolled up his sleeves and walked toward the door.
Bai Tao poured oil on the fire and shouted, “Ah! Sister Zhuo Hua, Big Brother Jiang is flying into a rage out of shame!” With that, she nimbly hid behind Zhou Zhuo Hua, using her as a shield.
This left Zhou Zhuo Hua staring down the two men with big eyes.
Zhou Zhuo Hua lifted the pot in her hand. “Whatever about humans or the future, can we set that aside first? I have just one question right now.”
“Do you want to eat?”
Bai Chen Zhu spoke up. “Yes!”
The four of them ate rice at the small table on Bai Chen Zhu’s bed in an oddly tense atmosphere, all without speaking.
Bai Chen Zhu had already sighed countless times in his heart, wanting to tell them to go outside. What was this, surrounding a patient like him to eat?
But no one could read his mind.
Zhou Zhuo Hua finished her last bite of rice with some chicken meat and broke the silence with a sigh. “Live and learn. There really is such a thing as saving the world. Actually, I didn’t understand much of what you just said.”
“Then let me sum it up.” Bai Chen Zhu briefly recalled and put it succinctly. “Jiang Ye is going to find the signal ball fragments, or else we’re all done for.”
Jiang Ye nodded in satisfaction at this mouthpiece.
“This is very dangerous.” Zhou Zhuo Hua bit the tip of her chopstick and voiced the question she’d been concerned about. “Jiang Ye, since you know so much, why not consider telling the authorities? We few can’t compare to their trained people.”
“What do you think, do the upper echelons of various countries’ governments know about this?” Jiang Ye set down his bowl and chopsticks.
Zhou Zhuo Hua looked puzzled. Bai Chen Zhu keenly caught the unspoken implication and fell silent for a moment. “Are the people who know about these things still alive?”
Since the aliens had existed for so long, why didn’t they, as ordinary folk, know?
Because someone had long since blocked it all for them, bearing the burden forward. Negotiations, pacts to not disrupt humanity’s peaceful days, maintaining the lives people enjoyed, turning news of aliens into mere after-dinner chatter instead of universal terror.
Since the information was sealed, the number of national leaders in the know was definitely limited. According to Jiang Ye, those with ulterior motives would expand the virus’s reach to create chaos, so they must have already acted.
Those who knew the secret, those who could stabilize the situation, those who could lead… they had probably all met with misfortune, allowing the chaos to grow.
Just like how dinosaurs went extinct for unknown reasons, they too would be driven toward ‘extinction during evolution for unknown reasons.’
To clear their tracks, they would erase all traces. Those ‘people’ would watch humanity’s demise from the sidelines as much as possible, but anyone who obstructed… would be eliminated.
“And without any evidence, how am I supposed to tell those remaining people of unknown allegiance? They’d just think I’m crazy.” Jiang Ye pinched his nose bridge, quite troubled.
With this time to explain, it was better to hurry and find the fragments while the mental power on them remained.
“Right.” Zhou Zhuo Hua realized belatedly. “So how did you know about this, Jiang Ye?”
Jiang Ye’s gaze drifted, flitting uncertainly between the furniture. He coughed lowly twice. “Sis, don’t ask.”
“You’re not just making up a story to fool me, are you?” Zhou Zhuo Hua looked suspicious. “This is way too much like some clichéd world-saving trope.”
Jiang Ye took a deep breath.
Bai Chen Zhu spoke for him. “Sister Hua, you know Jiang Ye’s personality. He wouldn’t even need to make up reasons to fool you. Now even you doubt if it’s true—would strangers really believe it?”
Zhou Zhuo Hua was at a loss for words. She wiped her mouth with a tissue.
After a while, she looked at the two exchanging glances and pushed up her slim glasses, offering a plan. “In that case, we can collect them secretly. Treat it like a trip. We’re not big shots anyway; be careful and we won’t be found. But if you thought of this, couldn’t they? Why not just destroy them outright?”
“Sis, the signal ball can’t just disappear without reason.” Jiang Ye raised his brow. “It even has tracking; it can’t leave Earth.”
“Most importantly,” Jiang Ye smiled at Bai Chen Zhu and held up a finger. “They don’t know what humanity has evolved into, let alone that humans have developed mental power that can be used to find the fragments. By the time they realize, it’ll be at least a decade.”
A decade. Bai Chen Zhu rubbed his forehead and sighed, finally understanding why Jiang Ye had clung to him from start to finish.
Good grief, he’d been using him as a ‘detector’ from the very beginning!
He noticed Bai Tao, who was pretending to be invisible and spacing out nearby. He keenly spotted the bandage on her right palm, wrapped with clean, expert bandaging—clearly Zhou Zhuo Hua’s work. Her high ponytail even had a little braid matching the one on Zhou Zhuo Hua’s forehead. It wasn’t hard to imagine how well Zhou Zhuo Hua had taken care of her.
Bai Chen Zhu looked at Jiang Ye and Zhou Zhuo Hua, who were discussing details, then at Bai Tao.
Seeming to notice his gaze, Bai Tao rubbed her tired eyes and looked back. After a moment, she scooted over with her little stool.
Bai Chen Zhu found her clumsy movements amusing. “Are you still planning to come with us?”
This matter was too outlandish. Bai Chen Zhu was doubtful because of the abrupt ending in that book, so he half-believed it. Zhou Zhuo Hua dared to believe, probably due to her own considerations.
As for Bai Tao, she had stumbled in cluelessly. Not long ago, she had chosen to stay herself, so if she wanted to leave, it should be her own decision.
Now the three of them looked like a bunch of lunatics no matter how you saw it.
Bai Tao’s eyes showed confusion. She looked left and right, finally fixing her gaze on Zhou Zhuo Hua, who was talking to Jiang Ye. After staring for a while, she lowered her head and kept rubbing the silver bracelet on her wrist.
“I’ll follow.” Bai Tao nodded.
She tilted her head to size up Bai Chen Zhu. Her eyes held doubt, amazement, and scrutiny, making even Bai Chen Zhu a bit uncomfortable.
“Big Brother Bai, your surname sounds a lot like mine.” Bai Tao asked softly. “Can I just call you Brother?”
Bai Chen Zhu didn’t think it was a big deal and nodded in agreement. “Then, can you tell me where you and Jiang Ye went before?”
Bai Tao answered honestly. “To the place you all went before. Brother Jiang said to check if that corpse was still there and see if I could find any traces to track those people’s whereabouts, to strike first.”
“In the end, we found nothing and ran into a few mutated dogs.”
“Mutated dogs?” Bai Chen Zhu frowned. He didn’t think it was surprising. “Your hand got injured because of that?”
Bai Tao nodded. “They were too fast. I nearly got my palm bitten through. Brother Jiang took care of them all, but unfortunately, we didn’t find those people.”
Jiang Ye, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation, couldn’t help but interject. “Hey! Where did all that pride of yours go earlier? When something really happens, you just freeze there, and you still have the nerve to call yourself an ability user.”
There was a tone quite disappointed in her, like hating iron for not becoming steel.
Recalling her own tough words from before and the actual situation, Bai Tao felt embarrassed. She gave him a glare. “I was startled and had a stress response. It’s just human nature.”
Bai Chen Zhu curled his fingers. Sure enough, the next second, he heard Jiang Ye sneer with a hint of provocation. “Then why don’t you ask him how he managed to react.”
Bai Tao was at a loss for words. She stood up and glared at Jiang Ye, her voice suddenly rising. “So what! Worst case, I’ll bring a knife and splash my blood wherever the monsters are! It’ll still be badass!”
Those words were too reckless. Zhou Zhuo Hua stopped her. “Tao Tao!”
But Jiang Ye added fuel to the fire. “Yes, yes, yes. You’re capable. You have plenty of blood.”
“Jerk!” Bai Tao was furious and quick to explode. She wanted to rush over and fight him desperately.
Bai Chen Zhu hurriedly grabbed her shoulder. “Jiang Ye! She’s still young!”
He was openly and implicitly reminding Jiang Ye that this girl had just awakened and wasn’t yet someone who could stand toe-to-toe with him.
Jiang Ye caught his implication, and his eyes flickered slightly. Some things weren’t so easy to change. Seeing Bai Tao’s face stirred up his competitive desire to outdo her everywhere, and he couldn’t even tell the difference.
Provoking and bullying a girl like this was utterly despicable. Only then did Jiang Ye realize his own lapse. He crossed his arms and leaned back, letting out a long sigh. “Alright, I was wrong.”
He had laughed at Bai Tao’s stress response, but he himself hadn’t fared much better.
Bai Chen Zhu pressed down on Bai Tao’s shoulder, signaling her to sit. “No need to search anymore. I probably know where they are.”
“You know?” All three were somewhat surprised.
Hadn’t Bai Chen Zhu either been acting with them or recuperating in the house? How did he know?
Bai Chen Zhu rubbed his aching temples. “On the first day we came here, I noticed dog barks and cat meows. I thought it was an illusion at the time.”
It wasn’t one dog—it was the cries from many mutants, along with increasingly chaotic mental power fluctuations. To Bai Chen Zhu, they were like a swarm of messy flies buzzing around chaotically, annoying him to no end.
“Probably within two kilometers. We can head there tomorrow.” Bai Chen Zhu touched his calf and said as much while gazing at the sunset outside.
“No.” Jiang Ye objected first. “You can’t go.”
