Chapter 101

Thud! Thud! ...

The gas pump was dented from the impact, but the remaining fuel level on the gauge remained zero. The monster stared intently at the pump, as if it were stuck in a rut, its expression growing increasingly ferocious, and its muttered questions escalated into a roar bordering on a mad beast's.

Everyone's hearts jumped into their throats, and they gripped their weapons tightly.

Xie Xubai's expression changed slightly, but he moved to the side of the gas pump, pointed at the open fuel cap and shouted, "There are signs that it was pried open with tools. Could the fuel inside have been siphoned off?"

"What?!" The monster hurriedly turned around and, sure enough, saw a huge gap in the oil cap. Instantly, its face turned pale, and it cried out as if the sky had fallen, "It's over, it's over! What do we do now? The boss will definitely blame it on me! That damn thief!"

Xie Xubai's face was filled with righteous indignation. He first cursed the thief a couple of times, and then offered advice as if he were very helpful: "You should quickly check the other gas pumps to see if they have also been emptied of oil. If so, such a big thing can't be hidden. I advise you to quickly find the boss and tell him the situation, and then check the surveillance footage to find the thief and minimize the loss!"

"Yes, yes, yes! You're right!" Upon hearing his words, the monster, no longer bothered with its rage, hurriedly checked each gas pump, searched its entire body for its phone, and then quickly ran to the monitoring room.

Its clothes were already torn and open, so it couldn't find its phone, couldn't contact the boss, and couldn't check the surveillance footage in the already powered-off monitoring room. It was like an ant on a hot pan, running around in a panic.

"Where are they? Where did everyone go? Aren't they supposed to be at work today?"

Xie Xubai made a gesture, and the researchers following him immediately took out their recorders to record the monster's behavioral logic.

Through these few minutes of observation, they discovered that the monster still adhered to the behavioral logic it had before its mutation, as if it were fixed in a rigid template and unable to break free from its limited thinking.

Finally, Xie Xubai agreed to help find the thief, which gradually calmed the bewildered monster down.

Xie Xubai: "Where do you usually live?"

The monster pointed honestly to the duty room behind him: "The staff dormitory is on the second floor. I just started working here and haven't found a place to rent yet. The boss said I can stay here for a couple of days."

Xie Xubai: "Then you stay here for now and do what you need to do. I'll have my friend stay with you so that if your boss comes, he can help you explain the situation. You and your colleagues weren't here when the gasoline was stolen, and even the supermarket behind it was looted. It's not your responsibility, so don't worry."

Hearing someone help explain, the monster's tense face relaxed considerably, and it nodded vigorously, saying, "Thank you, brother, otherwise I really wouldn't know what to do."

In fact, Xie Xubai was several years younger than the monster, but it was his calm and composed demeanor that made the monster subconsciously choose to believe him. Coupled with his limited understanding, the monster had no doubts and turned around to continue sitting blankly on the small chair.

Seeing that it was too big and cramped to sit in, Xie Xubai asked someone to bring it a larger chair from the health and epidemic prevention center across the street.

Instantly, a hint of fervor appeared in the monster's grateful eyes.

Xie Xubai personally entered the epidemic prevention center, drove away the monsters that had sneaked in, and cleared the space for researchers to use as a temporary residence, so that they could observe the changes in the gas station employees up close.

Xie Xubai said, "Find another blood donation vehicle, and once it gets hungry, drive it to the side of the road and tell it that paying for blood donation will provide food."

The blood collected was obviously for research, but some people didn't understand why it was necessary to go through all that trouble: "Couldn't we just grab it directly?"

"No, we need to observe the opportunities and patterns that allow the monster to regain its human thinking. Don't interfere with its life trajectory before drawing conclusions." Xie Xubai gave the order. "Control time to create accidental events, try to communicate with it, induce emotional changes, and record and analyze its behavioral logic as comprehensively as possible. Remember, everyone's safety is the priority. Without my approval, no one can easily try to provoke it."

Everyone replied solemnly, "Yes!"

Fortunately, there was a blood donation vehicle right behind the epidemic prevention center. Most of the logistics staff at the base were staff members of the epidemic prevention center, so they drove it over easily and successfully collected blood samples from the gas station worker before sending them to the base laboratory.

Thanks to this blood, and with the ideas Xie Xubai had provided earlier, Pei Yuheng and his team made a new step forward in their research—the latest antiviral cells were not completely distorted and alienated, and still retained some of their original cellular functions!

If it can ultimately be proven that becoming a monster is controllable, then they can autonomously transform into monsters to resist the pollution from the other dimension!

It sounds complicated, but it's actually the same principle as getting vaccinated before you get sick, so that your body can develop antibodies to fight off the virus.

Even if they were initially skeptical, the researchers are now forced to believe it given the concrete examples and research results before them.

After numerous experiments, they were pleasantly surprised to find that this approach was indeed feasible! Like seeing a ray of dawn in a long night, they immediately devoted themselves wholeheartedly to it.

As for the psychological burden that turning into a monster will place on people, how many people will not be able to accept the fact that they have become monsters, and whether they can return to their human form in the future, these kinds of questions can only be considered after they have survived.

As the saying goes, "Where there's life, there's hope." Staying alive is the top priority right now.

A few days later, the observer monitoring the gas station employees suddenly brought a bombshell message—the abandoned Changrun Gas Station had actually reopened!

"The gas station's cables were all cut, but somehow the power and water supply were restored overnight! The gaps in the billboards disappeared, and the trash and bloodstains on the floor vanished in the blink of an eye. How is this possible? Is some force controlling it? Is it a monster? Or a ghost? What are we fighting against—"

Listening to the observer's incoherent explanation, which was gradually turning into madness, Xie Xubai interrupted him in a deep voice: "Don't get excited, calm down! We can even analyze and study people turning into monsters, what else is there to be afraid of? Don't let it scare you!"

"Keep monitoring the situation, I'm on my way! Don't disconnect, stay in touch with me at all times!"

Xie Xubai used the modified off-road vehicle left behind by player A to get to the scene as quickly as possible.

Upon arriving at the gas station, just as the observer had predicted, the once desolate, dilapidated gas station, covered in blood, had suddenly become spotless. The plastic bags and dust on the ground had been swept away, the body had vanished, the walls were white, and the gas pumps were polished to a shine, as if they were brand new.

The gas station employee sat in a chair. Its size had shrunk considerably. Although it was still too big for a human, you could at least make out normal human features.

Upon seeing Xie Xubai arrive, the employee who had a good impression of him stood up to greet him, his face beaming with enthusiasm: "Mr. Pei, are you here to refuel? Thanks to you for finding the thief and recovering the stolen gasoline, otherwise I would have had all my wages docked... Haha! Your modified car is really cool!"

Compared to when we first met, the employee spoke much more naturally, and his expressions were much more lively.

If it weren't for the lingering scars on his skin, his sharp fangs, and the remnants of his monstrous features, he would look almost exactly like a normal person.

Looking at the smiling faces of his employees, Xie Xubai felt a sudden emptiness in his heart.

He has never hesitated to speculate on the most extreme aspects of things.

Based on the current trend, he has reason to suspect that the employees will soon return to normal.

Researchers gathered in the lab for a meeting.

Upon hearing Xie Xubai's guess, someone was immediately overjoyed: "Isn't that a good thing?"

Yes, it's amazing that you can turn back into a human after becoming a monster. Isn't that a good thing?

Xie Xubai shook his head decisively, his eyes deep and calm, his face showing no sign of joy.

He stood up and opened the window.

A crimson moon hung in the misty night sky, its scarlet, somber light scorching the earth. Everywhere one looked, devastation was everywhere; terrifying, twisted shadows roamed among the ruins, their intermittent roars sending chills down one's spine.

Xie Xubai asked, "Do you think this kind of world is normal?"

Everyone denied it without hesitation; how could that be normal?

Xie Xubai then asked, "Does the gas station employee think this kind of world is normal?"

Everyone paused upon hearing this, their expressions suddenly changing drastically.

"Gas station employee" was the temporary code name they gave to the monster.

For so many days, the monster seemed oblivious to the mountains of corpses piled up on the road and the abandoned shops on both sides of the street. It went to get off work and back every day as usual, and when it was hungry or thirsty, it would look for the blood donation van.

In its eyes, everything must be normal for it to live so naturally!

Xie Xubai's expression was even more solemn than theirs.

Cognition is hindered by an unseen force, leaving one ignorant and unaware of the truth of the world—isn't that...?

In the days that followed, the gas station saw a little something new every day.

The monstrous features of the gas station employee slowly disappeared at an obvious pace; the lividity vanished, the fangs shortened, revealing a sun-darkened face with bright eyes and a simple, honest smile.

The gas station sign was brand new—no, it should be said that it had been restored to its original appearance. The dark red bloodstains were gone, and the metal surface had some rust spots with the edges curled inward, but it looked very clean because it was washed every day.

One after another, massive and robust figures appeared.

They were wearing red uniforms from the gas station, greeted the gas station staff in a friendly and simple manner, and even brought over a small stool to sit on.

Someone dressed casually walked into the supermarket at the back, stood blankly at the counter, sat down, and tapped their black-screen phone with their thumb.

A security guard in a blue uniform first went to the duty room to pour himself a cup of tea, then walked into the security booth and slowly sat down.

The roadside display screens are lit up, with today's gasoline prices written in red on a black background.

The staff connects the hose to the fuel dispenser, prepares for refueling, and performs routine maintenance, inspections, and repairs.

The shelves of the small supermarket were stocked with goods, including soda, potato chips, and instant noodles. The cashier was idly playing on his phone in front of the register, and his metal arms, which looked like iron clamps, gradually revealed a fair complexion, exposing human wrist bones.

When Xie Xubai received the observer's report and stepped back into the gas station's territory, he heard a clear and distinct warning sound, like a sudden clap of thunder.

[Ding! Material integration complete, modeling and rendering complete... NPCs are in place... The "Changrun Gas Station" instance has been generated and is ready for trial!]