Chapter 57 – A Shifting Situation

“I’m heading out for a bit.”

Seeing that it was about time, Su Lifeng slipped the scalpel onto his person and found a hammer at the last minute.

“When Saturday comes, I have to get myself a weapon that actually feels right,” Su Lifeng thought.

Su Lian had more or less guessed what Su Lifeng was going to do. But she also knew she couldn’t be of any help right now, so all she could do was smile and say, “Bro, go and come back soon. I’ll stay home and keep an eye on your wife for you…” She deliberately lowered her voice for that last word, but Jiang Yushi, who was clearing the bowls and chopsticks right beside her, still heard it.

Jiang Yushi hurriedly touched her slightly reddened ears, then turned her head as well and said, “It’s not safe outside. Be careful. Oh, right… I heard today that they found two more dried corpses at school.”

“In that case, you two need to be extra careful if you go to school from now on. If you can avoid going… then just don’t go,” Su Lifeng said.

He figured those two dried corpses had most likely been left behind by Li Yi. But had Li Yi really been the only Xenospecies to set foot in Ningnan University?

Not necessarily…

Leaving aside the fact that Ren Xiaoying definitely wouldn’t let him off, the sheer population density of Ningnan University alone already made it a major danger zone.

When a Xenospecies acted alone, it was actually still fairly easy to spot clues in its uncoordinated speech and expressions. But once a Xenospecies hid within a crowd, it not only gained another layer of camouflage, it could also learn and imitate everything about humans much faster.

However similar they might seem, Xenospecies still had one enormous flaw. If you followed their trail, you would always keep finding deaths or disappearances…

“That is the defining trait of these monsters.” Inside the Ningnan City Public Security Bureau, in an extremely hidden office, barely a dozen people were seated, listening to a middle-aged man explain. On the large screen behind him, a series of bloody, horrifying photographs flashed by. As he spoke, he pressed the pause button on his laptop, and the image on the big screen froze instantly.

Judging from the background, it was a small village. A corpse lay on the main road, while several soldiers nearby were cautiously approaching it. This Xenospecies was a boy of fifteen or sixteen. In appearance, he looked no different from an ordinary person, except that he was somewhat pale, as if malnourished. But there was a gaping hole in his abdomen, and large numbers of Black Thread were writhing out from within.

“This boy, while preserving his own ‘family members,’ slaughtered over a hundred people in the entire village without arousing anyone’s suspicion. Nearly two hundred more were transformed into monsters, and the entire village was essentially destroyed. It took us a great deal of effort to temporarily cover the incident up. When we killed the boy, his parents risked their lives to stop us. Even up until the moment the boy absorbed them to replenish the energy he had lost from his injuries, they still refused to believe that their son was no longer who he used to be. That alone shows just how terrifying these monsters are, not only because they are contagious, but also because of their power to deceive. Ask yourselves honestly: if one of your loved ones was transformed, would you be able to kill them without hesitation?” the middle-aged man asked, slowly sweeping his gaze across everyone present.

The others all fell into thought. Only an old man opened his half-closed eyes and said, “My son was invaded by this Black Thread. He is currently under twenty-four-hour surveillance. He has no complaints, and neither do I. I believe everyone here feels the same way. So, Captain Lv Zifeng, you may continue.”

As soon as he said that, everyone was visibly moved. Clearly, none of them had known about this beforehand. Director Wang sighed. Had the threat posed by these monsters already become this severe…?

“Yes. Outside the frame of this photograph, after a marksman who shot and killed the boy approached the body, he was suddenly invaded by the Black Thread. That soldier is General Li’s son. Afterward, he voluntarily entered a secure room and accepted twenty-four-hour surveillance. At first, no mutation occurred in him. But please look…” The image switched again, this time to a very sturdy room. It contained all the basic necessities for daily life, and cameras had been installed at every angle.

What drew the most attention, however, was the man in his thirties shown on the screen. His expression was resolute, and everything about him radiated the bearing of a soldier. And yet, from his tailbone extended a “tail” roughly three meters long, covered in dense layers of scales. The sight was enough to make anyone’s skin crawl.

“There’s no need for everyone to look like that. This tail isn’t always there. At first, he couldn’t control it, but after practice, he can now make it appear at will. As for the underlying principle, that is beyond what our current biotechnology can explain. Even so, we still hope to find experts in this field to study it. As it happens, Ningnan has the best School of Life Sciences in the country. We can make use of some of their equipment. As for their experts and scholars, we’ll have to think carefully about that,” Lv Zifeng continued.

“In addition, after testing, the tail’s piercing force and striking power both reached truly terrifying values. I won’t disclose the specifics. All you need to know is that an ordinary human body, faced with this level of force, would be cut in half at the waist with a single sweep.”

At that moment, a bald, overweight middle-aged man suddenly said, “Since this kind of ability exists, could we develop all our soldiers into this sort of…”

“Monster soldiers?” the old man cut in with a hint of mockery, then narrowed his eyes again.

With that remark, the overweight middle-aged man immediately found it difficult to continue.

“Director Song, you would say that because you still don’t know what other changes will follow after someone becomes like this. Take a look…” As Lv Zifeng spoke, another photograph appeared on the screen, and everyone present instantly sucked in a breath of cold air.

“Th-this… can he even still be alive?” the overweight middle-aged man cried out in shock.

“He can, but not for long. We discovered that these monsters… they call themselves Xenospecies, so we’ll refer to them as Xenospecies as well. A defining trait of these Xenospecies is that they must absorb other living organisms as nourishment. When a human absorbs them in turn, they actually inherit that trait at the same time. In other words, if this soldier wants to return to his previous state, or become even stronger, he has to continue absorbing other living organisms. At present, we still don’t know whether he needs to absorb humans or Xenospecies… So, do you still want us to develop monster soldiers?” Lv Zifeng asked.

The overweight middle-aged man’s face had already turned deathly pale. Hearing this, he did not even have the strength to shake his head.

At that moment, an elderly man who had remained silent the entire time, his bearing refined and scholarly, spoke up. “I will pass the meeting records up the chain as soon as possible. Lv Zifeng, I hear you already have a new lead that can expose the Xenospecies hiding in Ningnan. Can you tell us about it?”

But Lv Zifeng shook his head. “For now, it’s only a conjecture. And forgive me for being blunt, but I was only just transferred here. I don’t know any of you well. Until I have finished investigating whether any of you or your relatives are Xenospecies, I will not trust anyone. Since everyone happens to be here today, we’ll start the checks with you. I’ll go first.”

At this point, Lv Zifeng suddenly drew a dagger and, with a swift slash, cut down his own arm. Bright red blood immediately flowed out, showing no sign of healing in the short term.

The refined elderly man turned his head and glanced toward the door. Several soldiers had already rushed in with their guns raised, aiming at each person’s head.

“Sigh. At my age, I still have to take a knife cut,” the refined elderly man said with a helpless smile, rolling up his sleeve.

…

Meanwhile, Su Lifeng, who was just about to leave, was also stopped.

“What is it, Xiaomei?” Su Lifeng asked.

Cheng Xiaomei looked at him nervously and bit her lip. “Let me… let me go with you! There’s something I have to tell you. Something very important!” As she spoke, she tucked her hand slightly back into her sleeve.