Global Evolution

by Steffen Schmidt

  “You should all leave.”

  “Yes, and time won’t wait for us either. A minute of delay could possibly kill us.” Qing Shui fastened the belt on his backpack. He took the lead and left the room.

  Chang and Jing followed Qing Shui tightly and Pang Zi carried even more luggage with him. The group went through red fog in the corridor.

  “Guys… be careful.” Lin’s eyes were filled with tears as she shouted loudly.

  “Same to you,” Chang tilted his head and said resolutely.

  “Stay alive,” Pang Zi gave Lin a big bear hug.

  “Take good care of yourself.” Even Qing Shui, the person who was always resilient, joined in the hug. He grabbed on Lin’s arm tightly, “There is quite a bit of meat in the barrel and it should last for a few days. If you can’t finish them by yourself, you can share it with the military, so at least this way… they will treat you nicer. Be strong, be persistent. You can always make sacrifices for survival. Please… stay alive.”

  “Thank….. thank you…” The girl in the circle had tears all over her face. “Guys… will we meet again someday?”

  “I believe we will.” Chang held up Jing so that she could sit on his shoulders and smiled as he asked, “What do you guys think?”

  “We will meet you again, of course!” Pang Zi disguised his sobs with a hearty laugh.

  “We’ll definitely meet again.” Qing Shui loosened his hand and looked at Lin one last time, and then the four turned away and stepped into the dense fog in the early morning, and their figures slowly disappeared in the redness of the fog.

  Finally, they started their new adventure.

  ……

  The soldiers followed up tightly with the four; in total, there were 20 people. The group was led by a mid-aged man and the young EM, Ming Yi. At the end of the group was the doctor, who was detained by two soldiers. She was still struggling to get away.

  “Ming Yi, you should knock her out. If she keeps behaving like this, she’ll be a burden for our trip. We’ll wake her up again when we get on Zhengkai Avenue. By the time she knows where she is, she won’t run back to the base by herself recklessly.” The troop just left the building and the leader commanded the EM.

  As the young man received the order, he carried out the order without resentment.

  Ming Yi carried the doctor on his shoulder after she passed out. The doctor’s lost quite a lot weight the past few days due to starvation. The weight of an adult woman was nothing to the EM, and he draped her like a piece of clothing without any effort. Then, the EM went back to the forefront of the troop again.

  “Hey, buddy.” Seeing Ming Yi walking by his side, Pang Zi curiously asked as if the gossip could distract him from the sorrow of separation. “I thought you were the lead of the team, why are you listening to him?”

  “Uh, he is the vice leader of this troop, and he was my captain when I was in service.” Ming Yi whispered, “Although they appointed me as the leader of the mission, I am still an amateur. I don't even know how to use guns, not to mention directing a troop! My captain has served the army for more than 10 years, and he even went to the border of China and India for a real war. It is better to have him in the commanding position rather than me, don't you think?”

  “Oh, I see.” Pang Zi nodded, “What’s his name?”

  “Yue Zhao.”

  As Pang Zi and Ming Yi kept whispering to each other, they fully left the base. The troop leader Zhao turned on a huge yellow flashlight and shook it towards to the sky to gain the attention of everyone.

  “We are now officially leaving. I would like to say something before we get into the city jungle.” The troop made a circle around him swiftly. “Although you all know that Ming Yi was appointed as leader of this troop, I don't want to give an explanation at this special period. He is still young and unexperienced, so I’ll fill in the position of leader temporally. Does anyone has an issue with this?”

  “No!” Almost all of the soldiers shouted. Obviously, some of them had served under this captain before.

  “Good.” Zhao nodded satisfyingly, he shook the flashlight purposely “This is a military flashlight we used in foggy days, and it was modified specifically for this mission, so all of you should be able to see a meter or two clearly with the lights ahead.”

  “However, be careful. The light isn’t here to improve your vision field, but rather act as a guide.” The captain stood on a big rock and spoke loudly in case someone couldn't hear him. “In this bloody fog, I believe everyone can only see within two or three meters, so if you are in the middle of the troop, you definitely can’t see what’s in front of us, not to mention those of you who are walking at the back.”

  “Therefore, when we move, you better take care of people in your surrounding as well. Follow each other one by one and don't get lost! If you get lost by accident, shout! Also, look for the light! Don't just stand there. The fog blocks sound, and I am sure you all know that, so if you miss the troop for more than 10 seconds, you will very likely become separated with the troop forever.”

  “One last thing to remember is to hold onto your weapons at all times! You need to make sure it can fire whenever you need to. But remember, if you aren’t sure about where the danger is coming from, do not fire! You will hurt one of us mistakenly as we must stay very close in this fog. If you hear someone fire their weapon, lie faced down to avoid potential accidental injuries. Does everyone understand?”

  “Understood!” The soldiers responded uniformly and the four nodded as they agreed.

  “Alright, since we are all on the same page, let’s leave this bloody hell.”

  Zhao walked at the very front of the troop and was arranging his soldiers to escort the others in certain orders. As the strongest on the team, Ming Yi was sent to the very back of the troop to look out for unexpected dangers. As for Chang and Qing Shui, they were positioned in the center of the line, which was a relatively safe spot that both the front and back could cover. Chang, being the only one who could see further, carefully looked around to make sure none of them went missing. Qing Shui reached into his pocket to grab a handful of plant powder, and then he scattered them onto the soldiers’ clothing with help from the wind.

  This way, everyone was taken care of and this relatively small troop was bound together.

  On this journey, they were lucky enough that they didn’t encounter any dangers; when they passed downtown, they happened to pass Chang’s home.

  The home that he used to live in had completely collapsed. Traces of the past had been covered with the lively plants and ivy. Chang didn't dare look at that place as a single glance could cause him to tear up badly. All the emotions and memories were left behind as he followed the troop and walked farther away from it.

  Standing at the edge of the city of Kaifeng, they made a brief stop below the “Welcome to Kaifeng” billboard. They finally left the area where humans had occupied and urbanized. All of them were stunned by the grand world in front of them.

  “This…this is truly extraordinary. Since when did the world become like this?”

  Chapter 57: Skinnier

  It was a thick forest that seemed impenetrable. Although none of them were able to get full view, from the appearance of the sturdy tree in front of them and the countless vines wrapped on the trunk, as well as the unique scent in the air, there must have been a huge jungle ahead of them.

  The tinges of the jungle were stronger than any of the jungles on this planet prior to the red fog, and the vast vitality of this massive forest made everyone feel the urge to explore.

  As the one who had the best vision of the troop, Chang could see the furthest. It was a grand feast interwoven by numerous lives—

  The towering trees were tightened by a variety of vines; below the trees and vines, there were shrubs that no one had seen before. If the fungi and moss were to be counted, the plethora of life consisted of three layers with clear boundaries.

  “A hymn of life, isn’t it? This
world isn’t contained in concrete and steel.” Qing Shui plucked some grass from the ground and put them under his nose.

  “Is is possible for us to get through the jungle?” The fog was fused with the freshness of the sunshine in the early morning, and the croak from inside of the jungle raised one after another, as if the hosts were inviting them to step into the great feast. The jungle was so dangerously tempting that even Ming Yi, the strongest one in the troop, had raised doubt.

  “I…I don't see a path at all!” The soldiers at the front was searching around, but failed to locate where Zhengkai Avenue should be.

  “There should be traces; try to look for broken concrete blocks; those remnants will be our guide to Zhengzhou.” The leader Zhao hunkered down and spread apart the grass with caution. Sure enough, he found some concrete pieces with obvious traces of artifacts.

  Zhao raised his hand and shouted to the troop behind his back, “The Zhengkai Avenue has been shattered by these plants and their roots; what we have now are the remnants. But fortunately, it hasn't been too long and we can still follow these concrete sediments to Zhengzhou.”

  “Look at the plants around! There are places that have less plants growing; that must be where the Zhengkai Avenue was.” Qing Shui stepped forward to the front of the troop; he carefully examined the way these plants were growing. “Therefore, this is a method for us to find our way back as well.”

  “He’s right.” Zhao was stunned by Qing Shui that he was able to sort out a second way to locate the avenue. Zhao had known that Qing Shui was an EM, so he recovered from his shock quite soon.

  “Captain Zhao…” staring at the dense jungle ahead, Qing Shui asked with his brows tightened together. “Can I ask you a question?”

  “Go ahead.”

  “How many times have we had contact with Zhengzhou since the red fog?”

  “Three times,” Zhao answered. “At least, from what I know it’s been three times.”

  “How did the base get in contact with Zhengzhou?”

  “They set up an emergency communication troop that was dedicated to sending out documents and orders from central to the cities around,” Zhao said. “Its seems like there were quite a lot of these troops; they were probably from reconnaissance or the field army. Each of them consisted of 100 people, and their one and only mission was to deliver documents and orders. We have to use this primitive method, as the radio and cable communication have been cut off.”

  “Three times…” Qing Shui rubbed his jaw and asked, “what about the casualties?”

  “The first troop came in 10 days ago and there were more than 10 deaths; the second one had more than 20 deaths, and the third time happened 6 days ago, only a day later than the second one that happened 7 days ago. More than 30 died in the third troop.” Zhao recalled and he frowned, “many soldiers died.”

  “No…that’s not high at all; can 100 ordinary people really make it through this jungle?” Qing Shui stepped forward and pressed on the trunk of a tree; he seemed scared.

  Sensing the fear from Qing Shui’s tone, one of the soldiers stepped out and asked with a half-joking tone, “What now, an EM is afraid of death too?”

  “Of course.” Qing Shui didn’t look back but carefully observed the textures of the tree in front of his eyes, as if that could tell him the growth cycle of this tree.

  “Let me tell you something more terrifying. I heard there is a rumor flying around in the base – there was a troop that came from Zhengzhou three days ago. It was still a 100-person troop, but only 20 arrived to the base, and most of them were heavily injured.” The solider joked and patted on Qing Shui’s shoulder. “What about this? There is an almost 100 percent casualty rate.”

  The soldier didn’t speak aloud, but it was still heard by the Captain. Zhao turned around and slapped on the soldier’s face heavily, “Bullshit! What are you thinking about? You really can make jokes of everything, can’t you? If the colonel heard you instead of me, you would be imprisoned for spreading rumors! Shut your mouth and go back to your position!”

  That young soldier twitched his mouth and return to the line with a sulking expression.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Li. Don't listen to him; he’s still young and knows nothing about what happened in the base.” Zhao also curled his lips. Apparently, that soldier was one of his favorites, otherwise he wouldn't let him joke around in the first place.

  “I know his intent wasn’t to cause any chaos; it was just a way to vent his fear. I can tell he’s the most scared out of all of us.” Qing Shui glanced at that young soldier, but he was still worried. “But, I don't think he was talking nonsense; the jungle must be more dangerous than ever.”

  “It’s just a jungle, and we have firearms. Even though there are more mutated organisms than in the urban area, the 20 of us are the best warriors in the base, so we should be fine.” Zhao was affected by Qing Shui’s worry, but after all he was experienced and knowledgeable, so he wasn't stopped by the obstruction ahead of him. “We’ll just be extra careful.”

  “Yeah.” Qing Shui nodded as he agreed, and then he went back into the center of the line.

  “Let’s go.” Zhao waved the flashlight a few more times to signal the troop to go forward. As the leader, he was the first one to step into this lush jungle.

  The whole troop entered the mysterious jungle one by one, and Chang felt that the fog had become thicker than outside. Due to the massive amount of plants in the jungle and most of them covering a large area, even Chang had a hard time looking further.

  Jing was lying on Chang’s back; he put Jing’s arms around his neck and whispered to her, “Just tell me whenever danger comes.”

  “I know,” Jing trembled of fear. Those hanging vines from the unseen branches above their head made her scared. She huddled her head and hunched her body as if she was trying to hide herself from the surrounding. Her entire face was buried into Chang’s back.

  The group of people just walked in the jungle. The people at the front carefully traced the gravel forward and the people at the back followed tightly one by one. They were extremely alerted and had to keep up with their pace at the same time. The soldier who was joking around clenched his rifle, and his face had already turned pale before Chang noticed.

  After moving forward a few kilometers, there wasn't any visible danger that could be seen, no one could relax at this point. Nervousness and fear had been written all over their faces, and they had been looking around to make sure no one went missing. The atmosphere was even more depressing than the air in the jungle.

  “Hey bro, do you want to talk? I feel dizzy; the atmosphere is too depressing here.” The young soldier lightly poked Chang with his elbow, and he turned his head to try to start a conversation with Chang.

  “Oh.” Chang was alarmed by his contact, so he also turned his head around, but he frowned immediately and asked, “Hey, why do you look skinnier than before?”

  “Skinnier?” The soldier touched his face, and wherever his fingers went, all he touched was his leathery cheeks and prominent cheekbones.

  “What’s wrong?” The soldier shivered suddenly.

  Chapter 58: Dodder

  “Who knows, you just look skinnier and paler to me.” Chang looked at the young soldier up and down, but he didn’t find any signs of visible attacks, so he then asked, “Are you sick?”

  “That’s impossible. If I were sick, I would have died in the Deadly Evolution period; I must have been attacked by something.” The young soldier loosened his gun and took off his camouflage uniform in a flurry. He touched every inch of his skin to check for anything strange. A moment after, when he got to his waist, he noticed there were lumps bulging from his skin.

  “F*ck!” He shouted in panic. He further removed the camouflage on his upper body, exposing a tight t-shirt beneath the uniform.

  “It seems like you tucked something underneath your t-shirt.”

  “What?” The soldier took off his t-shirt in panic. When they saw clearl
y what had attached to his skin, they had goosebumps all over.

  “What’s wrong?” The stir at the back alarmed Zhao; he stopped and moved back along the line, and was stunned by the strange scene.

  “This is disgusting! What is this?” Zhao only saw the young soldier hastily plucking some sort of tassels from his skin – those stems and tassels had firmly attached on his body, as if a leech was sucking up his blood and fat.

  “It looks like dodder.” Qing Shui followed Zhao and pointed at the stems and tassel. “You didn’t feel it when it climbed onto you?”

  “Of course he didn’t feel anything. Otherwise he would have known before these things got so plump.” Chang looked over the soldier again and his struggle made him nauseous. – those plants literally wrapped around his waist tightly, and the tiny prickles penetrated into his muscles and blood vessels. The dodder kept taking his blood and fat through straw-like holes on each prickle; perhaps the dodder had been on his body for quite a while, as the green membrane was now mixed with red and yellow from the color of blood and fat. The tassels were plump.

  “Son of a b*tch, no wonder I felt dizzy just now; it turned out something was sucking my blood constantly.” He threw the dodder onto the ground angrily, and then stepped on it. The membrane was crushed by the pressure and the blood and fat splashed all over. As if the dodder could sense pain, it rolled around and attempted to drill downwards.

  “They are dodder for sure.” Qing Shui pinched at the “tail” of the dodder to pull it out from the ground, and it was still struggling on his palm.

  “What exactly is dodder?” Chang also went ahead to check his body while he was asking, and sure enough he found a smaller one in his pants. Fortunately, it hadn't been too long, and the plant sneak in so it hadn’t penetrated his skin yet.

  “Dodder is a kind of parasitic plant, and can be rootless after it reaches adulthood; they usually parasitize on plants, but now, even animals can be their targets.” Qing Shui stirred around the dodder on his palm, but carefully avoided the prickles on the tassel. “The prickles can be paralyzing, and like the mouth of a mosquito, it doesn't really feel anything when it pokes into your body.”