Chapter Fifty-Five: To Stay or to Leave

“Cerebral mutation?” The company commander frowned at these words, clear disbelief in his eyes.

“Yes, a diagnostic-type cerebral mutant. By the length of your last exhalation, I can easily calculate your current respiration rate—seventeen and a half breaths per minute. Your heart beats eighty-five times a minute, and from the slight tremor on your skin, I can deduce your pulse is a bit slower than your heartbeat, indicating a mild arrhythmia.” Li Qingshui still stood in place. “These are the data I’ve estimated from your physiological signs; the margin of error should be small. If you want to prove I’m not lying, just take me for a test.”

As he finished speaking, Li Qingshui raised both hands to show he wouldn’t resist. After the initial shock, the company commander ordered two soldiers to watch the others while escorting Li Qingshui out.

“Keep an eye on them—don’t let them escape. Keep them confined to this room; otherwise, leave them be.” Leaving two armed soldiers behind, the company commander departed with his men.

Once he was gone, the two soldiers lowered their weapons and relaxed their grip. Even in these apocalyptic days, no force or person had yet arisen to rival the power of the national army. As long as bullets remained effective, the army’s authority would go unchallenged.

So, seeing the company commander leave, the soldiers dropped their pretense. Hunger gnawed at them, and their eyes instinctively drifted to the large water jars behind Liu Chang, Adam’s apple bobbing as they swallowed their saliva, faces betraying their craving.

“Hey, you guys are quite resourceful—getting this much meat,” one of the soldiers hinted.

“Too bad it’s not worth much now. We don’t even know where we’ll go next,” Liu Chang caught their meaning, fished out two pieces of meat from a jar, and handed them over. “Times are hard for everyone, and you soldiers must be going hungry every day too. Don’t be polite—we won’t need this much, so eat.”

“You’re a good man,” the soldiers said, their fingers trembling as they took the meat. “We still have a bit of rations, but not enough to divide. We’re always starving, seeing double. We won’t stand on ceremony with this.”

“No need. My friend—he’ll be all right, going out with the company commander?”

“He’ll be fine, don’t worry.” The soldiers, perhaps afraid their superior would catch them abusing their position, wolfed down the meat as soon as it touched their hands, cramming it into their mouths. Even so, they remembered to pass on what news they could.

“Listen, you don’t have to worry. If he really is a cerebral mutant, he’ll be treated like a treasure. Lately, we’ve been in contact with people from the provincial capital, and the higher-ups have issued only three top-tier orders: maintain stability; experiment with new plant-based crops; and focus on cerebral mutants. It’s said the authorities value these mutants highly. The institute there claims a single cerebral mutant is worth as much as an entire military district. I don’t know if it’s true, but your friend will be fine, that much is certain,” they said as they chewed.

“That’s a relief.” Liu Chang breathed easier at their words, pulled the little girl standing at the door close, and glanced at the betraying Dr. Huang. He stood quietly, waiting for whatever fate had in store.

Time slipped by—neither fast nor slow. After three or four hours of waiting, Li Qingshui returned. This time, in addition to the company commander and soldiers, he was joined by a middle-aged man whose rank insignia marked him as superior to the others. Liu Chang, recognizing the stripes, realized this nearly fifty-year-old man was a division commander.

In a small city like Kaifeng, a division commander was the highest administrative officer in the military district.

The officer had cropped, graying hair, a weathered face betraying little emotion, a bit of a belly but nothing excessive, and although he didn’t stride with the presence of a tiger or dragon, he carried a certain authority.

“These are your companions?” After entering, the division commander pointed at Liu Chang and the others standing in the dormitory.

“Yes,” Li Qingshui replied.

“Very well. I can grant your request, but you must come with our people to the Zhengzhou Institute in the coming days. This is mandatory, I hope you understand.” The division commander nodded at Li Qingshui. “Of course, the journey will be perilous. Vehicles are unusable, and the wilderness is far less safe than the city. So I’ll assign a protective detail to ensure your safety as much as possible. That’s all I have to say. We’ll wait outside. Discuss with your companions and reply as soon as you decide your next move.”

With that, the officer left with the soldiers and company commander, closing the door and leaving them in peace.

“Well?” Liu Chang asked once they were alone.

“Not much to it. They want me to go to the military research institute in Zhengzhou. Apparently, they’ve been researching the Red Mist for over two years—since early ’02. Now, they’re especially interested in cerebral mutants, hoping to build a world-class team to explore life and gene science.” Li Qingshui shrugged. “Of course, that’s the official line. Once we get there, who knows if we’ll be colleagues or subjects for dissection.”

“So what do we do?” Fatty and Zhu Lin both looked worried.

“There’s nothing for it. Unless Liu Chang suddenly becomes ten times stronger and we can survive on our own outside the military zone, we have no choice but to comply.” Li Qingshui smiled. “Still, the chance of them dissecting me is low, and I have my own plans. Don’t worry.”

“What did the division commander say?” Liu Chang asked, getting to the heart of the matter.

“Not much—just that I must go to the provincial institute, no exceptions. As for you, if I cooperate, you can stay here. Or you can choose to come with me. That was our deal.” Li Qingshui smiled helplessly, glancing at the anxious Dr. Huang. “I’d hoped to wait a while, get better prepared, or see Liu Chang get stronger… But now the time has come, and I have no choice. So, what about you? Will you come with me, or stay?”

“I—” Fatty began, but Li Qingshui cut him off.

“Don’t decide in haste, and don’t let the division commander’s promises of safety sway you. I can tell you for certain: the wilderness is extremely, extremely dangerous. Even in this world, cities remain human habitats, and concrete and industry hinder the spread of plants and animals. In the wild, none of that applies. The ecology is vastly more complex, and biological threats grow exponentially.”

“So, if we make it out alive, even half of us, we’ll be lucky. Think carefully—will you come, or stay?”

“I’ll go with you,” Fatty interjected before Li Qingshui finished. “Heh, my mother’s gone, I have no family left. I just want to stick with you all. In this broken world, it doesn’t matter where you die—maybe dying with you will bring me some peace.”

“All right, you’re in. And you?” Li Qingshui turned to Zhu Lin. “Don’t let others’ choices sway you. Decide for yourself—we won’t blame you whatever you choose.”

“I…” Zhu Lin looked into Li Qingshui’s eyes, then at Liu Chang and the others, before lowering her head. “I’m a little scared…”