Chapter Seventeen: The Giant Maggot

Hearing Li Qingshui’s words, Liu Chang finally realized that this strange weather hadn’t just happened once or twice over the past two years. Although the red mist back then was far less dense than it was now, and the world had not yet undergone such massive changes, thinking back, the composition of those earlier mists must have been the same as what they faced today.

“I’m pretty sure I’m right; the composition of this red mist is the same as before,” Liu Chang said, carefully sniffing the air. “Even the smell is identical.”

“Yes, that’s why the college entrance exams have focused so much on biology these past two years. When you think about it, that policy must have been related to the appearance of the red mist as well.”

“You mean the government already knew what the red mist could do?” Liu Chang frowned. “Then why didn’t they take preventive measures earlier?”

“They probably only knew what the red mist was capable of, but they couldn’t predict that, two years later, it would appear so extensively, let alone that it would grow so dense,” Li Qingshui analyzed. “But one thing is certain: some national biological research institutions definitely aren’t ignorant about this red mist.”

“They just couldn’t have imagined that, once the red mist spread widely, it would block all signals, or that when it grew denser, it would trigger such astonishing changes in the world.”

“Yes, the world is changing too fast. It’s only been twenty-four hours and look at the state we’re in. If, in a few days, a stray dog walked up with a revolver to rob me, I don’t think I’d be surprised anymore,” Li Qingshui joked lightly.

“So, teacher, what should we do now?” Liu Chang tugged the little girl closer to his side.

“Let’s go to the military and see if there’s any news.”

“All right, I’ll go with you,” Liu Chang replied, pulling the girl along as well. “But we have to bring her.”

“Is she your relative?” Li Qingshui glanced at the little girl.

“More or less,” Liu Chang nodded.

“What’s your name, little one?” Li Qingshui bent down to ask.

“Ji Jing,” the girl replied.

“Teacher, don’t you have any relatives here? Why don’t I see any familiar faces around you?” Liu Chang asked.

“Oh, I’m a teacher recruited from another region; my family is all back in my hometown. I don’t even know how they’re doing now,” Li Qingshui said with a heavy sigh. “Especially my parents; they’re getting old, and I don’t know if they’ll make it through this ordeal.”

“Heh, in this world, no one can guarantee they’ll get through it. Better not to dwell on it,” Liu Chang said, unconsciously touching the bone pendant at his neck.

“When should we set off?”

“As soon as we’re ready. We can’t waste time—if we’re delayed until nightfall, things will get much harder,” they whispered to each other.

“I suggest we don’t bring too many people this time,” Liu Chang patted the little girl’s head. “She can sense those terrifying creatures, but only at a short range. If we bring too many people, we’ll be too obvious, and it’ll be easy to get attacked. Plus, a large group will affect her ability to sense danger. If the people in front are attacked and we’re too far behind to notice, we’ll be in serious trouble.”

“She has that kind of ability?” Li Qingshui looked at the girl in surprise. “Could humans be mutating too? Why haven’t I noticed anything?”

“You’re joking, teacher. No matter the species, mutations are always rare. Look at the plants outside—their growth rate is insane, but true mutations are still few and far between. If every creature could mutate, there would have been millions more species in the Cambrian period,” Liu Chang, for once, lectured his biology teacher.

“You’re right. Even if I can’t sense anything, if this girl really has that ability, it’ll greatly improve our chances of survival,” Li Qingshui murmured. “So, how many people do you think we should bring?”

“Five or six will do. I’ll go ask Fatty, and you can find one or two more.”

“Alright,” Li Qingshui nodded. He was a young teacher, clearly not long out of university, barely older than his students, and he carried himself with youthful decisiveness.

After he finished speaking, he went to the other side of the convenience store and brought over a young girl. She was a student without family present, and Liu Chang knew her—her name was Zhu Lin, a classmate with excellent grades, second only to Liu Tao. She had a fair, gentle look, wore her hair in a ponytail, rarely spoke, and left a good impression on people.

“She’s a distant relative of mine. Even though we’re not close, she’s still family, and her parents aren’t here. They asked me to look after her, so I can’t just abandon her. We’ll bring her—do you mind?”

“Not at all,” Liu Chang shook his head. He would have preferred to bring a strong, athletic boy instead of a delicate girl, but he couldn’t refuse. Besides, everyone else in the shop had family members with them, and bringing one would mean bringing many more, which would be hard to manage. All things considered, this girl was the best choice.

“Wait here; I’ll go get Fatty,” Liu Chang said, giving the girl a nod before heading to the corner where Fatty was huddled.

With his improved vision, Liu Chang had already spotted Fatty when he came in, but the other boy had been curled up in a corner, unmoving, so there hadn’t been a chance to talk. Now, as he approached, Liu Chang saw the same anger and stubbornness on Fatty’s face, though he was much calmer than the night before. His eyes were bloodshot but no longer crazed.

Liu Chang patted him on the shoulder and waited for him to speak first.

“You’re back?” Feeling the hand on his shoulder, Fatty looked up at Liu Chang and stood. “Where’s Liu Tao?”

“Right here,” Liu Chang said, touching the finger bone on his necklace and making a dark joke. “Don’t be sad. If you die before me, I’ll hang you here too.”

“I won’t die. How could I die?” Fatty forced a bitter laugh and replied in kind, “The Li family is counting on me to carry on the line. If I died now, I’d never forgive myself.”

“Heh, true enough. If we survive, it shouldn’t be hard to find a woman in this world to have kids with,” Liu Chang replied, then turned serious. “Do you know what kind of creature attacked your mother?”

That was the question that had been weighing on him, though he hadn’t asked before out of respect for Fatty’s grief.

“It was some kind of sewer creature. It crawled up through the toilet drain—must have attacked my mom when she was in the bathroom. When I rushed in last night, I only saw a shadow. As soon as it sensed me, it pulled the half of its body that was out back into the sewer pipe,” Fatty answered, his voice trembling with emotion. “That thing looked a lot like a maggot, but much bigger—more like an earthworm, but even more flexible and tough, with thick skin. It was about two or three meters long, and its mouth was full of sharp mandibles…”

“Ugh, that sounds disgusting,” Liu Chang interrupted, feeling nauseous. “Looks like even the filth in the sewers is mutating now!”