Apocalyptic Island - Chapter 69

Chapter 69

Wen Yishu attempted to find a trace of a clue left by Yu Ning among the scattered objects on the floor.

This place was almost entirely empty; there was no way the Warp Speed cameras couldn’t see it. Wen Yishu avoided all the lenses, standing in a room and observing them. They were blinking red, clearly still operational. She stood with her hands in her pockets, noting that the ventilation ducts of the room—which had originally been an interrogation room—had been sealed shut with cement.

Wen Yishu decided to go straight through the front door. She had learned a few lock-picking skills from Bai Mi, and they were proving practical now.

Five minutes later.

“Right, just use brute force to break it open.”

The String-of-Pearls worked hard at prying the lock, proudly raising its slender stem as it violently broke the mechanism. Every profession has its specialty; asking a novice like her to pick a lock was simply too demanding. After a brief, failed attempt, she let the plant take over.

The lock was popped out entirely. As it was about to hit the ground with a clatter, Wen Yishu caught it with sharp reflexes and placed it gently on the floor.

The door opened soundlessly. Without the ventilation ducts, the air inside was stifling, like an old classroom that hadn’t been opened in ages. A gust of hot air whistled out, carrying a faint scent of blood and sea brine.

Highly sensitive to smells, she raised her flamethrower. She switched on the lights and stepped inside.

Everything in the interrogation room was normal, not messy like the exterior. Wen Yishu first checked the detention cells; they had been cleared of everything. The room where You Zhi had died still held a foul odor; although the floor was clean, the bloodstains soaked into the corners of the table remained. Because the air was stagnant, the smell was harder to dissipate. Junk was piled in the corners. This room likely hadn’t been used much after You Zhi’s death, remaining untouched until they moved out.

If Yu Ning had managed to leave a clue in time, this room was the most likely place for it. Wen Yishu rummaged through the corner and found an inconspicuous blue folder with a book label stuck to it. When the two met in the university library, it was because they both used identical paper labels.

Wen Yishu opened the folder. Inside was a piece of paper with Yu Ning’s elegant handwriting. It was lucky this was an old-fashioned quarantine zone; she was impressed Yu Ning had found paper and a pen. If it had been an electronic message, Wen Yishu might not have been able to see it.

Yu Ning’s message was brief, clearly written in haste: The Merman has occupied the quarantine zone. Rhine is transferring everyone. I am safe.

After the crash, Yu Ning had been depressed for a while. After communicating with Huo Xiaoguan and Ling Shuang, she learned Wen Yishu was alive. But by then, there was no way to send messages. Wen Yishu realized their transfer was extremely hurried; even Yu Ning didn’t know where they were going.

Without notifying anyone, Rhine had transported the Merman thousands of miles back into the densely populated city, while simultaneously shipping away everyone from the quarantine zone who might have been infected or mutated. Wen Yishu felt her former employer was disgusting to the core—playing with human lives as if they were a game.

She immediately notified Qu Yue. Warp Speed had likely been deceived as well. She sent the footage she recorded here to Qu Yue. She couldn’t wait any longer. Previously, she was worried that exposing this would lead an angry public to destroy the quarantine zone, but the situation had already spiraled out of control. Everyone deserves the right to know before they die—the power to decide their own fate. They shouldn’t be Rhine’s sacrificial lambs.

Wen Yishu shared her thoughts with Bai Mi. After the video transmission was complete, she left the logistics to her.

On the other end, Qu Yue was baffled after receiving Wen Yishu’s message. Just as she was about to ask for clarification, a long video arrived. There wasn’t a soul left in the quarantine zone. She stared at the screen in disbelief. The number of guards outside had doubled. She was shocked by the situation inside, and even more shocked at how Wen Yishu had managed to get in.

Wen Yishu didn’t provide much explanation but clearly outlined several key points. Her style was a bit different from her usual self, but Qu Yue didn’t have time to ask. She quickly checked the surveillance feeds they still had for the quarantine zone. The images on her screen were completely different from what Wen Yishu saw.

Rhine had moved the personnel before increasing the guards, and they hadn’t informed Warp Speed at all. Even someone as good-tempered as Qu Yue, who usually suppressed her innate resistance to Rhine for the sake of cooperation, couldn’t help but smash things in a rage. These people were insane—treating everyone in Binhai City as sub-human!

She quickly notified her superiors. Upon receiving approval, she edited the data into a notification post. Without Federal authorization, she released it immediately.

Wen Yishu remained in the quarantine zone, studying the paper Yu Ning had left. Seeing no other issues, she burned it. Black ash drifted through the air and settled on the floor. Wen Yishu stepped on it and walked straight out of the interrogation room.

At the end of the long corridor, the door that had been open suddenly slammed shut. A ghostly light shone in from the doorway. Wen Yishu stopped instantly. There were no open doors near her; she had nowhere to hide, so she simply stood her ground.

Someone had entered? Who could still be here? And since the lights inside were on, why were they using a flashlight?

The flashlight cast a soft halo around the figure, making it impossible for Wen Yishu to see who it was. She warily placed her hand on the flamethrower behind her. Her eyes searched for an escape window, wondering if there were accomplices. If it was just one person, it might not be that troublesome.

But the figure at the end of the corridor didn’t move, just stood there quietly holding the light. Wen Yishu wasn’t intimidated. Seeing that the other party had no intention of approaching, she stepped forward to investigate.

As the distance closed, Wen Yishu saw what was beneath that soft glow. It was a “person” of indistinguishable gender. Its face was incredibly flat; the features were almost on a single plane. From its forehead grew a long, fleshy tube connected to a glowing spherical object—like those ugly deep-sea fish that lure prey. Its body was covered in scales. She didn’t know if this was the Merman’s original form, but it looked completely different from what she had seen in the underground lab.

Wen Yishu took two steps back, distancing herself from the creature. It seemed to have just learned to take human form; it offered a stiff smile, revealing rows of needle-like teeth that further proved its identity.

“We finally meet. Perhaps this appearance… has frightened you.”

The lure ball hanging from its head gradually withered. It transformed into a man—someone from the underground shelter at the start. Wen Yishu hesitantly called out his name: “Group Leader Tang?”

She remembered this man, Tang Han; he was usually very gentle, though his health was poor.

Tang Han smiled and nodded. “Is that the name of this body’s owner? I remember his taste wasn’t very good. Despite being so tall, he was skin and bones—not fresh or delicious at all.” The look of reminiscence on his face was one of regret, as if he were discussing a subpar dish.

Wen Yishu gripped her flamethrower, sensing a strange inconsistency. The Merman before her was the survivor from the underground shelter, but he should have mastered shapeshifting easily by now. He shouldn’t be making such amateur mistakes or exposing his identity so directly.

“I’m not in the mood to hear about you eating my kind. But I can send you down to meet him and tell him yourself.” With that, Wen Yishu raised her flamethrower, ready to fire.

The face belonging to Tang Han flickered with a strange expression. After several shifts, it turned into Yu Ning. Wen Yishu hesitated to fire as the creature placed its hand on the barrel of her raised gun. “Don’t you want to know the whereabouts of your friend?”

Wen Yishu tightened her grip on the handle and sneered. “Monsters aren’t this kind unless they want something else.”

The face belonging to Yu Ning laughed; it was highly deceptive. “Your comprehension skills truly amaze me. There are always humans who want something for nothing, yet you understand the value of a clear price.”

Wen Yishu didn’t want to waste words and brushed its hand off her gun. “Speak plainly. You should know humans don’t like nonsense.”

The Merman looked at her with some confusion, repeating her words: “Humans? I thought… you shouldn’t be considered human anymore.”

“What do you mean by that?” To the Merman’s eyes, she seemed different from others. Wen Yishu nervously clenched her palms.

“You already possess the abilities that only we—or what humans call ‘Xenogenics’—can have. So, are you actually my kind, or a human?”

Wen Yishu froze. A perspective she had never considered opened up before her. What did this mean? Had she, by possessing an ability, transcended ordinary humanity and become a Xenogenic? But this was only the Merman’s side of the story.

Seeing Wen Yishu waver, the Merman continued: “Am I right? You are one of us. You have things ordinary people will never have in their lifetimes. Those who ate the crystals died in agony or became brainless wastes who only know how to eat. But you are different. You are the same as us.”

A faint excitement stirred in its heart. Seeing her stunned, it pushed further: “Join us, and we can rule this world together—ruling over both humans and our own kind.”

Its voice was incredibly seductive. The glowing lure ball reappeared unconsciously, trying to pull her into the abyss.

Wen Yishu suddenly laughed. The Merman thought she had come around and smiled back with satisfaction, until she said: “Did I ever tell you? Yu Ning has no talent for telling jokes, but you tell them quite well.”

The Merman froze, then erupted in fury. Its sharp teeth bared as it lunged at her with incredible speed. In that instant, Wen Yishu clicked on the flamethrower at maximum power, the handle turning hot in her grip.

The figure before her melted like a cream cake, letting out a shrill scream: “No! I just—”

The words were swallowed by the scalding flames. It became a fireball and rapidly dissolved. Wen Yishu turned off the flamethrower. Several charred, greyish scales fell to the floor. In her mind, she finished the Merman’s sentence: It had only just been born.

She picked up a scale and wiped away the black ash. The scale regained its original iridescent luster. The String-of-Pearls in her pocket couldn’t wait to climb onto her hand, greedily absorbing the nutrients from the scale. The shining scales quickly dimmed, turning back into ordinary fish scales.

“Master, this is a high-level Xenogenic. I’ve only felt this kind of aura from the Banyan Tree. I want more! I want more!”

Wen Yishu looked at the grey-green scales, confirming a terrifying theory. The lead Merman was indeed much more powerful than her. Usually, when a Xenogenic dies, it leaves a corpse, but this one didn’t. It possessed the memories of the lead Merman.

This was more like… a clone!

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