Global Evolution

by Steffen Schmidt

  “Not exactly.” Chang pulled her up from the ground, asking, ”You are an olfactory EM, aren’t you?”

  “I am,” the woman admitted. “My nose is a thousand times more sensitive than a normal human’s, I can easily track down anyone by their scent.”

  “What’s your name?”

  “Zhizhi He.”

  “I thought your name would be more muscular, I didn’t expect such an elegant name.” Chang gently patted her back, chuckling. “Alright, we need to find Jing first. After that, we can talk.”

  The woman was a person who understood the times, so she began guiding Chang with her nose.

  They returned to the urban area. Although it was dark, Chang’s vision was still above 10 meters with one eye. He found that his night vision was better than before. Perhaps it was because he was using only one eye, or maybe due to the second evolution he had underwent. The realization cheered him up a bit, and this was the only finding that made him feel happy during the last few days. Following Zhizhi, he was led to an underground garage at a residential area he used to hide in. In front of the garage gate, he saw two soldiers standing guard.

  “It’s here!” The woman pointed at the garage with her remaining arm.

  Nodding silently, Chang raised his palm and knocked out the woman.

  He then reloaded his crossbow and his handgun, moving ahead stealthily.

  Two bolts were shot at the guards’ foreheads, and he managed to take them out with one bolt each. Chang picked up an assault rifle from one of the dead guards and fired towards the other ten soldiers in the garage.

  He didn’t stop until he ran out of bullets. He was sure that none of them had escaped from this sneak attack.

  The gunshots had also wakened Jing. Her sleepy eyes saw a person soaked in blood and full of bandages slowly walking toward her.

  “Let’s go, we gotta leave here,” the person with the horrifying appearance spoke. His voice was familiar and made her feel warm. Jing was lifted into his arms, and the person turned around and left the garage.

  A note to readers: Zhizhi He, Zhizhi consisted of two identical Chinese characters, meaning tree branches or bamboo branches. It is supposed to be an elegant and girly name, but her personality is the opposite of her name.

  Chapter 99: The Face of The Devil

  On the morning of the second day, in an abandoned house at the east outskirts of Zhengzhou.

  Gently peeling off the “bandage” wrapped around Chang’s head, Dr. Huang revealed a badly mutilated face; his face bones were shattered. Dr. Huang spoke with pity evident in her voice, “I can’t treat this kind of damage.

  “And I can’t treat hers, either.” Dr. Huang turned her head, pointing to the hooknosed commander, who was tied up in the corner. “The incision is too big to treat, the only thing I can do is sanitize the wound and staunch the bleeding. As for your face, half of the bones are gone. I am sorry that I am not capable of reconstructing your face.”

  “Thank you Dr. Huang. It’s okay as long as I don’t die from it, I’m fine with disfigurement.” Chang wrapped his face again, saying, “I apologize for stealing you from the apartment at midnight.”

  “No worries. But you did stun me with all the blood and injuries on you, especially by not saying anything about them and just taking me away from my place,” Dr. Huang said. “What kind of trouble did you get into? I remember there were quite a few soldiers that came to our community, they didn’t catch you?”

  “My escape was a pure fluke. Look at her, she is the commander of that troop.” Chang pointed at Zhizhi. He then asked, “What if I don’t get treatment for my face, will this be a lethal wound?”

  “I don’t know, either. Chang, I’ve never treated a wound that is as severe as yours,” Dr. Huang answered. “It is all about how well you can heal by yourself. I can give you an emergency treatment, but beyond that there is nothing I can do. Especially for your appearance. There is no way that I can restore it. Your bones were shattered, and I was just a family doctor before this apocalypse. I had never performed an orthopedic operation. This simply exceeds my capabilities.”

  “I see. Don’t worry, I understand what you’re saying.” Chang gently stroked the intact side of his face and mocked himself, “I wasn’t good looking anyways. Anyways, its better to have the bandage on than show my disfigured face to the others. Zhizhi, am I right?”

  While speaking, he turned his head to the hooknosed woman.

  “Why did you tie me up? I’ve told you that I won’t go back to the military! I don’t see how this is beneficial for our future cooperation.” The hooknosed commander struggled on the ground, but the rope was secured tightly around her. “Where is your humanity? To badly treat a severely wounded person like me.”

  “Mr. Li told me that humanity is the most complicated thing in the world. Besides, I think tying you up is the most logical decision I ever made.” Chang walked up to the woman, saying, “I don’t fully trust you yet.”

  “Time will let them know the truth.” The woman smiled without further explaining herself.

  “Great, I’ll loosen the rope if you answer my questions.” Chang squatted down in front of the woman, showing his index finger and asking, “First question, did Zhuo send you to capture me?”

  “Yes, it is an absolute yes. He also commanded us to capture you alive.” Zhizhi nodded.

  “Great. My second question is, how many trackers like you does the military own?” Chang put on a straight face when he threw out this question.

  “There are two more. The first one is the same kind of EM like me, but his degree of evolution is lower than mine. I know that his olfactory cells are less sensitive. The other one is working in Group Beta, which is conducting a biological weapon research. This person isn’t a real EM, even though what he is capable of resembles the abilities of the cognitive category EMs. I think he is just smart. He is able to conduct analysis on footprints and figure out where the target went based on what the footprint looks like by deductive reasoning. But from what I’ve heard so far, this person belongs to the higher ups. His status is as high as Qing Shui’s in Group Alpha. I don’t think Zhuo could just simply order him to do the tracking work,” Zhizhi said, recalling what she knew.

  “Do you remember what they smell like?”

  “I do. I have seen them in the institute, I won’t forget any scent or odor I ever smelled.”

  “That means...” Chang was speaking when he loosened the rope on Zhizhi. “I don’t need to worry about the military pursuing me anymore if I have you coming along.”

  “Exactly. I am the best out of them. Even if the expert in deductive reasoning is sent off, I’ll sense him far in advance, so don’t worry.”

  “Good to hear all this. And my last question is,” Chang became more serious when he was about to ask the last question, “how is Qing Shui doing in the research institute?”

  “I don’t know much about the higher ups… But I feel like he is quite close with Zhuo. You see, they are the best and the smartest researchers in the institute, and they work together! They get most of the fundings for their projects, and I don’t think there will be another group which can surpass them in the near future. The higher ups in both the government and the military attach great importance to them, so I guess he is doing pretty well in there.”

  “Good, good.” Chang turned away from the woman, nodding.

  Since Zhizhi didn’t receive any more questions from Chang, she stood up with difficultly, pointing at her bandaged and amputated arm. “Doctor, my wound isn’t fatal, is it?”

  “No, after all, humans are more than capable of self-healing these days, it’ll be fine,” Dr. Huang answered. “But it is impossible that you will have your arm grow out from the incision.”

  “Well… Does that mean I am handicapped now?” Gazing at her own amputated arm, Zhizhi accepted the fact reluctantly. Her words were composed of sorrow and remorse.

  “Come on, which one do you think is worse, disfigured fac
e or amputated arm?” Chang looked at Zhizhi with a lonely eye. The bandage covered most of his face, leaving only his left eye out. “I look worse than frankenstein, and all of the suffering was caused by you.”

  “Well...” Zhizhi scanned Chang’s face and lowered her head. She felt less pain after Chang said that. After all, when someone else was in greater suffering than you, you would oddly feel better.

  They formed such a weird group under this strange atmosphere.

  One was a former denouncer, and the other was a former enemy. It seemed like bitter hatred wasn’t harbored in anyone’s heart in the apocalypse. As long as they were alive, enemies could turn friends and partners.

  Three days later.

  The four went down to a new community that they were unfamiliar with. It was once more the food distribution time. They had been staying here for two days now, and Chang’s new occupation here was a security guard.

  At dusk, Jing went to the distribution point to collect her and Chang’s portion, then she walked back to their safe house.

  “Chang, does your face feel better now?” Jing asked while handing some Crystal Pea to Chang.

  “It got better, maybe. At least it isn’t swollen anymore, but it is still painful. The good news is that I don’t feel any strange sensations except for the pain.” Chang lightly tapped on the bandage while replying to Jing. “Where is Zhizhi? Don’t let her go too far away from us.”

  “I know.” Jing sat down beside Chang. “You don’t need to worry about this. She has been active in my sensing range. As soon as she exceeds that fifty-meter line, I’ll let you know.”

  “Haha, thank you, Jing. I am pretty confident that she can’t escape from me in that range.” Chang’s mind settled, he rested on the ground with his eye closed. A moment later, Dr. Huang and Zhizhi walked into the room with small bowls in their hands.

  “Officer He.” Chang grinned as the hooknosed woman walked up to him, but no one could see the smile on his disfigured face behind the bandage. “Could you please exchange these Crystal Pea with normal food with the other residents? Even though we might get less, if someone is willing to do so, please exchange them for me.”

  “You don’t eat Crystal Peas?” Zhizhi was puzzled, pouring all the Crystal Peas from the bowl into her mouth, chewing.

  “No, I don’t”

  “Then what did you eat before?”

  “Worms. I called them rice worms because they had the shape and color of rice. But I lost the worm box when I fled from the first safehouse.” He continued by saying, “Do you remember the girl who I left behind in that apartment? I think she took it. The worms aren’t as gross as you might imagine, and Qing Shui said they are nutritious. I’ve been thinking about getting the worm box back.”

  “Let’s get it back. It sounds delicious. I still remember her scent, so it won’t be difficult to find her.” Zhizhi was waving her amputated arm while speaking in excitement. “You need to share some of them with me if I find her.”

  “Sure!” Chang agreed with Zhizhi, smiling. “Why do you like to wave your broken arm so frequently these days?”

  “Oh come on, you’ve been touching you face as well!” Zhizhi shrugged. “I think it’s quite common that people pay more attention to their missing parts.”

  “You’ve got a point.” Chang touched the bandage, it felt soft as jelly beneath the cloth and the sensation made him uncomfortable. He missed his old face these days. Although he wasn’t good looking before, his facial features were well organized. Now that half of the bones were missing, without the support of the bandage, his skin and muscle drooped.

  He still remembered the day they had come to this community, and the residents were keeping him from entering the residential area. Although they accepted him later, none of the residents were willing to start a conversation with him. He was discriminated against because of his looks.

  “Don’t worry, Chang. We’ll figure this out.” Jing seemed to see through what he was thinking when he sunk into silence, and comforted him. “Let’s wait until Mr. Li settles down, then we can go back to the institute. Mr. Li is capable of anything! A reconstruction operation shouldn’t be hard for him at all. What if he makes you more handsome?”

  “Hahaha...” Chang chuckled when he heard her comforting words. “I don’t need to be more handsome, I just want my old face back.”

  “But you look just as good even when you’re injured,” Jing comforted him again.

  “Gee, you guys are creepy,” Zhizhi complained loudly, wrinkling her nose in disdain. “Your conversation sounded like those cheesy soap drama, but the age gap between you guys is larger than six years. Gross.”

  “Gross?” Chang squinted at Zhizhi. “Only a person with a dirty mind would think of our conversation in a dirty way. By the way, how old are you?”

  “I’m twenty six,” Zhizhi answered, her eyes rolling from the left to the right. She then added, “I am not married yet!”

  Chapter 100: Barren for a Hundred Years

  “So you are eight years older than me.” Chang beamed at the hooknosed woman. “You have such a bright personality! If some other girls broke their arms, they would probably be sad for quite a long time… You recovered from it sooner than I thought you would.”

  “Well, I grew up in the military, so my personality is quite similar to my guy friends from there. I still remember I used to beat up a lot of the boys in the military compound of where I grew up. I was actually a tyrant of a girl.” Zhizhi spoke, smoothing out her hair with her only hand. “You said that I’m your enemy, which I don’t agree to at all. I just happened to work under the regiment that happened to collude with Zhuo. You see, I’m just doing my work. I’m not loyal to Zhuo but the regiment, we shouldn’t even be enemies in the first place. Chang, is it fun to put so much effort in watching over me?”

  “I just can’t trust you fully since we haven’t known each other for long enough, I hope you can understand,” Chang answered honestly.

  “Whatever, I can’t return to the military, either. Anyways, did you hear about the rumor on the streets? It says that the military is planning to spray Agent Orange over the whole city,” Zhishi said. “I think it’s another of Zhuo’s ideas. If they use Agent Orange, which is a strong herbicide and defoliant, it will destroy most of the plants above ground. It is something that was used during the Vietnam War by the U.S army as well.”

  “Agent Orange? U.S army?” Chang asked with puzzlement, frowning.

  “Right, Agent Orange. The significant contaminant of it is the dioxin TCDD. TCDD is also the most toxic in the dioxin family, and is very effective in devastating leaves. But I doubt he is going to use the original formula of Agent Orange. Most likely he’ll reduce its concentration and add something else into it. Therefore, it’ll only devastate some specific plants instead of all of them.”

  “Why would he do that?” Jing asked from where she sat on the side.

  “He wants to change the living environment in which humans reside. And that’s why he’s been a left wing the whole time; he wants to manipulate the nature. The plants in the city are so full of vitality and strength that they damage power supply facilities and other infrastures.” Zhizhi articulated her speech. “I also read about Qing Shui’s Food Web Theory and know what kind of role plants are playing in the nature. Even though they are both predators and producers nowadays, but their most important role still lies in producing. Although they’re relatively safe to EMs like you, to ordinary humans, they are still harmful.

  “If the majority of plants are removed, that means a great amount of producers will be eliminated. And hence, the bugs and small animals that live and lurk in urban plants will lose their source of food. The balance will be broken, and these residents will either go extinct or flee to the jungle, granting human an ideal place for living. I think that is what Zhuo is trying to achieve.”

  “It sounds like good news,” Dr. Huang noted with a slow nod. “But I don’t think this plan is as perfect as
it sounds like.”

  “You’re right. TCDD is extremely toxic to plants, as well as humans.” Zhizhi then explained as if she was reciting from a textbook, “In the Vietnam War, the U.S army, who was exposed to and had contact with Agent Orange, suffered from a list of chronic diseases. Their offspring also had high rates of congenital defects. And I was only speaking about U.S veterans, not even touching on Vietnamese who had a longer exposure to Agent Orange.

  “In fact, if you go to the zone where they executed the operation ‘Ranch Hand’, there are still tons of deformed and fester-skinned children.”

  “Has the military approved this proposal? Did they consider the aftereffects?” Chang was stunned by Zhuo’s insane plan. “And the Crystal Pea he made for the public… Is he trying to exterminate the whole city?”

  “Perhaps the military thinks that sacrifices are necessary in order to save more people.” Zhizhi sneered. “Or they don’t care about human lives at all, reconstructing the infrastructure is more important to them. No matter which, the military has already released the information to the public. We can’t do anything but watch and listen.”

  “You’re right. Well.. For now, whatever you told me might just be idle fears, and as you said, we can’t do anything about it.” Chang held the small bowl with Crystal Pea in front of his face. He said, “Just like the Crystal Pea, we only have a vague idea about its possible harmful effects. As to what the Agent Orange might really do, we have nothing to stop it.”

  Once he finished his words, he walked into the crowd at the food distribution station, holding the bowl to try and exchange the Pea for something else.

  In the morning of the second day.

  Zhizhi was sleeping soundly when Chang came to wake her up. He took Jing in his arms and left with Zhizhi, leaving Dr. Huang alone in the room. They had two goals today: first, they were going to retake his worm box, and second, they were going to check out if the rumor was true.

  The trio walked out of the community. In less than ten minutes on the street, they found a line of soldiers carrying sprayers on their backs and spraying the liquid from the containers onto the plants on the ground.