Downstairs, from an unknown place, a woman screamed. Perhaps she also saw the bug.
The beetle crawled slowly on the glass. It was as large as a palm and there were small, dense bumps attached to the eight slender feet. These bumps clung smoothly to the glass surface. The centre contained a large needle tip with a small white point that was its suction cup. A long, brown tentacle dragged behind it like a tail, leaving a trail of dark brown liquid on the glass. It seemed to want to come in.
Poet reached out and slid his finger between the gap in the two windows. “It’s okay. It is tight and it can’t come in.”
“One generation isn’t as good as another generation,” Boss Shaw exclaimed. “The longer it gets, the uglier. It is just like that worm thing before.”
“It is the gene fusion.” Poet watched the glass. “The higher the fusion, the stranger the appearance and the stronger the infection ability. I know a scientist who said that human research over the past century still hasn’t explained the principle of infection.”
Boss Shaw answered, “Oh.”
He uttered a senseless tone but his body was shrinking into a corner of the room, as far away from the window as possible. “Can you draw the curtains?”
‘I would like to see the city.” Poet drew the curtains halfway. The room was shrouded in darkness and his outline showed a strange sadness in the gloomy. “This… I don’t know how long the city will last.”
An Zhe looked out. In the morning, under the dim sky, the grey city stretched out. Half of it was hidden by the faint white fog. The sun was rising and the fog was disappearing. A few giant mechanical structures were exposed to his vision. They were high and pierced the sky. Humans always had many strange devices. These devices could ensure the safety of the base but sometimes they couldn’t, just like right now.
At this time, Poet turned to An Zhe. “You don’t seem to be afraid at all.”
An Zhe pursed his lips and didn’t know how to answer. Poet put down the curtain and smiled at him. “You are really strange.”
“Really?”
“You’re too quiet, as if what happens next doesn’t matter.” Poet stated, “There are very few people in our time with your personality.”
An Zhe smiled. “Maybe.”
There had to be a difference between a mushroom and humans. He tried to make himself seem more human by asking Poet, “So what do we do now?”
Poet thought about it for three minutes before answering, “Pray.”
“Pray that the ultrasonic dispersers aren’t completely damaged or pray that the insects are just a mindless group without brains, surviving through instinct.”
“Then pray that our glass is strong enough not to be easily crushed.”
The moment he spoke, there was a constant sound outside the window. It was the sound of countless bugs crashing against the glass. Boss Xiao stared gloomily at Poet. “I pray that you become mute.”
Poet panicked and quickly closed the curtains. “Don’t look.”
“I saw it.” Boss Shaw stated. “A tide of insects is coming.”
The next moment, his expression suddenly changed. “Quickly! Check the vents!”
Poet looked at a corner of the room. “The vent is there!”
They looked in the direction above An Zhe’s head. It was a hole leading to the outside world, protected by a wire mesh. However, due to years of disrepair, it had rusted to reveal a gap. Poet saw this and tore off his sleeves, handing it to An Zhe. “Block it first!”
An Zhe stood up. The vent wasn’t small and he used his right hand to ball up the cloth and stuff it in. “It isn’t enough.”
Poet tore off another piece. An Zhe held the original ball with one hand and took the new cloth with his other hand. His right index finger suddenly ached.
An Zhe’s movements stopped for a moment before he stuffed in the cloth as normal. The vent was completely blocked and he sat down on the bed again. Boss Shaw and Poet went around to check if there were any other gaps in the room while An Zhe raised his index finger in front of his eyes.
There was a pin sized red dot. The texture of the skin had faintly changed to white mycelium. As the other two people were facing away from him, he pulled sharply and broke off these mycelium. New mycelium grew from the break and reassembled into a human finger, a new finger without any wounds. An Zhe didn’t know if this was useful or not. The ripped mycelium didn’t seem to have any problems but he had no other way.
“There are no other holes.” Poet turned back and declared.
An Zhe replied, “…En.”
However, the sound of bugs striking the glass increased more and more. The glass rattled like it would be broken in the next moment. The radio in the corridor continued to broadcast instructions but it was just nonsense like, ‘Please close the doors and windows. Don’t panic.’
Poet sat down, his face slightly pale. “Listen to God.”
“You shut up quickly.” Boss Shaw looked serious as he yelled at Poet before glancing at An Zhe.
An Zhe was baffled. “What is it?”
“Quick, call your man.”
An Zhe, “……?”
***
District 1, the dispersal centre.
The huge, black ultrasonic disperser stood under the grey sky like a giant flower blooming in the city. The car drove on the road as the buildings continued to retreat while the shadow of the dispersal instrument in front of him was rapidly magnified.
“If the dispersal centre is destroyed…” Lu Feng’s voice was heard. “Will the other dispersal devices still work?”
“It is possible for them to stop working.” The researcher was silent for a moment before replying. “The operation of the disperser is too complex. In order to ensure that the outer city is completely covered by ultrasonic waves, the intensity and waveband of all dispersers are uniform and remotely dispatched by the dispersal center. If the centre is damaged and the emergency procedures aren’t started in time, I’m afraid there will be very serious consequences.”
“However, this is only the worst-case scenario. The probability is very small.” he continued, “The No. 1 disperser owned by the dispersion centre is the largest ultrasonic disperser in the entire outer city. The power is too strong and it will cause adverse effects to the human body. Therefore, there are no permanent residents in District 1 and not many personnel at the dispersal centre. In a situation of insufficient manpower, there might be other reasons for the temporary loss of contact. It isn’t necessarily—”
His voice abruptly stopped as his eyes pierced through the window at the ultrasonic disperser ahead of them. More than 100 years ago, in the spring of the peaceful years, leaves grew and gardener sprayed the plants with insect repellent to protect them from insects. At this moment, the ultrasonic disperser—the black flower with grey, white, black and yellow protrusions—had giant worms crawling on its surface. No, it wasn’t just worms.
The researcher’s breath suddenly trembled violently. “No…” he muttered. “Colonel, do you see it?”
Lu Feng hit the steering wheel! The car made a thrilling sharp turn on the narrow road and headed back in its original direction! The rear armoured vehicles flashed their lights in anger but the next moment, they all sharply turned around. At the end of the road, the black bugs flew up and fell like fireworks. The bodies of the arthropods struck the glass and the entire car moved forward like a stray bullet.
In the car, the communicator’s sound was turned to the maximum and the operator’s violently trembling voice rang out.
“Colonel, District 2 emergency communication, the insect tide has broken out, asking for support.”
“District 3 emergency communication. A large number of insect monsters were found during the evacuation and they are requesting support.”
“Emergency communication from the city’s defense station.”
“Emergency communication from the city office.”
“District 8 emergency communication—”
“Connect me to District 8.” Lu Feng interrupted quickly. “Can the underground shelter safely receive emergency refugees from the entire city?”
“Colonel Lu!” The opposite side’s voice was faster. “A small group of mosquitoes has entered through the ventilation system and there are more than 10 people infected on our side. We are requesting support from the Trial Court!”
There were three seconds of silence. Lu Feng ordered, “Kill the infected people. The rest of you, take refuge and wait for support.”
He hung up the communicator.
“Colonel.” Then a young voice was heard. “The courtroom has been gathered and there are no casualties.”
“Decentralized support for each district. District 8 is the priority.”
“Yes.”
He hung up the communicator.
“Colonel.” The researcher in the car forced himself to be calm. “We should go back to the main city.”
Lu Feng’s voice was soft. “The main city?”
“The main city has an independent defense and dispersal system that guarantees absolute security.”
The car’s speed slowed down. There was a fork in the road ahead. Lu Feng wondered, “What about the outer city?”
“The entire city outside the base has been exposed and the bug type monsters have physical advantages and are pervasive. The danger of this insect tide is higher than the rodent tide that occupied the Southeast Base.” The researcher’s tone gradually regained its calm. “You are a judge but in this case, you can’t save anyone.”
There was enough of an argument to allow the researcher to regain his sanity and composure. He even smiled as he said, “It doesn’t make sense to go anywhere else now. You can’t reduce the casualties. You know I’m right. You can’t protect anything else but we can protect ourselves.”
Just then, a sound was heard from the communicator again. The situation was urgent so Lu Feng had set it to emergency mode. After three seconds, the communication was automatically answered. It wasn’t the operator’s voice.
“Colonel.” It was a clear-spoken voice, slower than Lu Feng’s habit of talking, with a soft lightness between words. “Your things are still here with me.”
Lu Feng asked, “Where are you?”
“Next to the city’s defense house.” An Zhe replied. “…There are many insects hitting the glass.”
His voice shook at the end like he was afraid. Lu Feng made a half-turn with the steering wheel and drove down one of the roads. The researcher looked at the abandoned road and his eyes widened. His body almost bounced up from his seat if it wasn’t for his seat belt. He suddenly called out, “You—”
Lu Feng didn’t seem to hear his words and only spoke into the communicator, “Wait.”
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