In the vast expanse of heaven and earth, the beast tide swept forward like a surging sea.
Luo Ning stood on a high rock, watching the endless tide of beasts, a mixed force of humanoid and animaloid mutants rushing towards the human base.
They howled and roared, treading on the trembling earth and the wind filled with desire, moving forward without looking back.
Before the universe, an individual is insignificant. Although I already knew the outcome, I couldn't help but close my eyes, clasp my hands in front of my chest, and pray devoutly.
Pray for God's mercy on this world.
A gentle evening breeze blew, and the afterglow of the setting sun shone on her clear face, like an ancient snow-capped mountain on the plateau.
She murmured softly, and the charging alien creatures beneath her feet seemed to hear her voice, stopping and circling around the rock where she stood, spreading outwards in concentric circles.
When Luo Ning opened her eyes again, she found herself surrounded by alien species. The alien species that passed by her circled around her and looked up at her.
Could it be that the alien species have started attacking the mutants as well?
She gripped her gun and spikes tightly, on high alert, but the alien creatures did not attack her. Instead, they slowly dispersed and continued forward with the beast tide.
She breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the alien species disperse, and then leaped through the stone forest southward.
Because of the passing of the beast tide, Wenxi's presence was concealed. She chased after them to a hillside and was considering which direction to go when she suddenly felt that the place was somewhat familiar.
She looked closely and saw a hillside shaped like a reclining Buddha, a river covered with azaleas, and a tall privet tree. Wasn't this the place where her RV had broken down?
Following the river upstream, they indeed saw the RV covered in rust. Wenxi's presence gradually became clearer, not only hers but also that of other alien species.
She climbed up a tall tree to hide herself, and through the dense foliage she saw Wenxi sitting on a rock, her hands bound and her mouth gagged, surrounded by several tall humanoid mutants, but she did not see Du Lu.
A dark shadow fell from the sky. Wen Rong carried a humanoid mutant to Wen Xi. The mutant was a seven or eight-year-old child. Wen Rong directly tore open the mutant's throat and made Wen Xi drink its blood.
Wen Xi struggled, not wanting to drink, and used all her strength to push Wen Rong away. However, before she could run a few steps, Wen Rong grabbed her hair and dragged her back to the spot, reaching out to hit Wen Xi.
Luo Ning had already pointed her gun at Wen Rong. If she could take down Wen Rong in one go, then the remaining mutants would be no threat at all.
Suddenly, a man's hand reached out from the car window and grabbed Wen Rong's wrist. Then, the owner of that hand sat up in the car, revealing Du Lu's face.
Luo Ning narrowed her eyes. So Du Lu was here too, and he had even stopped Wen Rong. He had obviously awakened his consciousness, but upon closer inspection, he didn't have the real feeling of being a human as before.
"Let go, loosen your grip!" Wen Rong shouted at Du Lu, unable to break free from his hold.
Du Lu gave her a cold look, then looked at Wen Xi, and said, "Don't disturb my sleep."
Then he released her hand, and Wen Rong immediately rubbed her wrist in pain, glaring at Du Lu hatefully: "If it weren't for my father's permission, I would have killed you long ago."
Du Lu ignored her and lay back down, while Wen Xi coughed until her face turned red.
Luo Ning slowly lowered her gun. She couldn't tell whether Du Lu was friend or foe, so she could only hold back for now.
Airport.
Lu Xinghe looked at the corpses of the alien species scattered on the ground, then glanced south. He wanted to set off immediately to find Luo Ning, but they still had to wait for someone.
"Who are we waiting for?" he asked Qi Xiaowei, who had come with him.
Qi Xiaowei replied, "Han Ling's junior brother, An Xiaoruo's uncle, An Yuan."
Lu Xinghe's eyes flickered: "Xiao Ruo still has an uncle? Doesn't she have no relatives left?"
Qi Xiaowei smiled and said, "Because her uncle is participating in a very confidential research project, and the researchers involved are all under strict secrecy."
"Then why are you telling me this now?"
"Because you are also involved in that top-secret project, I can let you know."
Lu Xinghe immediately understood: "You mean the breeding program."
Qi Xiaowei boarded the plane carrying Luo Ning and Wen Xi, and while looking at the situation inside the plane, she replied: "To be precise, it is the Atavism Project. An Xiaoruo's parents and uncle are all top gene editing talents. Originally, they were mainly focused on killing alien species, but later, the group led by Elder Feng felt that killing all alien species was not realistic, so they came up with the Atavism Project."
"Through thousands of gene edits, they found two possibilities: killing the mutants and turning them back into humans. An Xiaoruo's parents used An Xiaoruo for experiments, while An Yuan and his team did gene breeding but without success. In recent years, they have been using human-mutant breeding, but without success until Wen Xi appeared."
"What about Han Ling?" Lu Xinghe keenly grasped the person who had been overlooked.
Qi Xiaowei sighed: "He is an anomaly. He opposes the killing of mutants and also opposes mutants turning back into humans. He believes that mutants are a part of human evolution, the most superior beings, and should be preserved."
Lu Xinghe nodded.
Qi Xiaowei looked at him in surprise: "You actually agreed."
Lu Xinghe replied, "The mutants have stronger bodies and longer lifespans than humans. According to the laws of evolution, the mutants are indeed superior to humans."
Qi Xiaowei was taken aback: "What you said isn't wrong, so you support Han Ling's idea?"
Lu Xinghe shook his head: "I don't support it. Although I don't know much about genes, I do know that the evolution of plants and animals on Earth takes at least several thousand years and sometimes hundreds of millions of years. Human progress is also measured in millions of years. Yet, it only took half an hour for humans to become a different species. This is not evolution; it's an accident."
“That’s right, it’s an accident. If we don’t fix it, this planet will eventually become a desolate wasteland,” Qi Weiwei replied.
"Then why does An Yuan want to come with us?"
"Based on the genetic research of the winged mutant's foot that you cut off, Han Ling may have developed a drug that can force mutants to awaken. An Yuan has also researched this field, so he is here to help us."
Shortly after the two finished speaking, the roar of airplanes came from the sky.
After the plane landed, a bespectacled, well-mannered man in his mid-thirties walked down the gangway carrying a suitcase.
Looking at this man who was An Xiaoruo's real relative, Lu Xinghe felt a little lost. He thought that this man had ignored An Xiaoruo for the past five years and probably didn't have any feelings for her.
An Yuan walked up to Lu Xinghe and looked him up and down: "Major Lu, I've long admired your name."
Seeing that he recognized him, Lu Xinghe realized that he must have done his research: "Dr. An, it's a pleasure to meet you."
After packing their weapons, equipment, and food, Lu Xinghe determined the direction based on the first mark left by Luo Ning, and the four off-road vehicles began to travel rapidly south.
Lu Xinghe kept trying to contact Luo Ning using the communicator while in the car, but he was unable to reach her due to the unstable signal. Fortunately, the signs she made were very clear, guiding him forward.
Meanwhile, Luo Ning was looking at Wen Xi with concern. Wen Xi was experiencing morning sickness, but Luo Ning couldn't get too close.
These mutants are so strange. Although they are mutants, they have already awakened their consciousness. However, they seem to be controlled and cannot express themselves freely. Only Wen Rong seems to be a true mutant.
"Give me some water," Wen Xi said weakly to Wen Rong.
But Wen Rong walked away with a look of disgust, since the alien species wouldn't die of thirst anyway.
The other aliens looked at Wen Xi indifferently, so she could only look at Du Lu, who was sleeping in the car. She knew that Du Lu had regained consciousness, although she didn't know why he had regained consciousness so quickly.
He was even more indifferent than when she first met him. He didn't say a word to her, nor did he notice the child in her belly, as if he didn't recognize her at all.
"Could you give me some water?" she finally asked Du Lu.
Du Lu, who had kept his eyes closed, finally opened them. Looking at the bloodless Wen Xi, he sat up from the wooden plank, grabbed the rope in her hand, and walked towards the river.
Wenxi couldn't keep up with his pace and stumbled along. When they reached the riverbank, Du Lu loosened the rope: "Drink."
"Can you help me untie the ropes? I can't reach the water." Wen Xi stretched out her bound hands in front of Du Lu.
Du Lu untied the rope, seemingly unafraid that she would escape.
Wenxi knelt by the river and scooped up water with his hands to drink, but it still didn't quench his thirst.
"Could you give me some of your blood? I'm so hungry," she said, mustering her courage.
Du Lü did not take any action.
Seeing that he didn't respond, Wenxi subconsciously placed her hand on her lower abdomen and whispered, "It's not that I want to eat, it's...it's the baby, she's a bit picky about food."
The pre-departure examination revealed the sex of the embryo; it was a rather lively little girl.
Du Lu's eyes followed her hand to her lower abdomen. Her clothes were blown by the wind and clung to her body, revealing her protruding belly.
Luo Ning looked at Du Lu's expression, wondering what he would do.
But Du Lu remained silent, neither agreeing nor refusing.
"Give her blood," a man's voice said.
Luo Ning immediately looked over and saw Han Ling getting out of a medical vehicle and speaking to Du Lu.
Upon hearing his command, Du Lu placed his hand near Wen Xi's mouth. Sweet-smelling blood flowed from his blue veins, and even though he had become a mutant, Wen Xi could not resist his blood.
Wen Xi swallowed while holding his wrist, and her soft lips stirred a slight emotion in Du Lu's eyes.
Just then, Luo Ning's communicator vibrated. She was overjoyed; the communicator's response meant that she and Lu Xinghe were very close.
Half a minute later, Wen Xi's face finally regained color, and her stomach felt less uncomfortable, but Du Lu grabbed her chin to stop her from drinking anymore.
Han Ling smiled after seeing this: "Keep giving it to her. She's carrying your child, and there won't be many more opportunities like this in the future."
Upon hearing his words, Luo Ning realized that this man might harm Wen Xi's child. He must already know how important Wen Xi is to humanity, so why does he seem so indifferent?
Du Lu obediently released his grip and continued to let Wen Xi drink his blood. Han Ling nodded in satisfaction.
Luo Ning finally realized that Han Ling had somehow managed to make these alien species obey him, which was why he could roam freely outside the base.
Wen Xi also realized this. She looked at Du Lu and felt a pang of sadness. He was such a proud person, yet now he was so obedient to others.
As night fell, Wen Xidu and the others got into the medical vehicle. The vehicle started and sped along the road. After marking her position, Luo Ning ran alongside the medical vehicle through the woods. There shouldn't be any highly perceptive mutants among these creatures, otherwise she would have been discovered long ago.
An hour later, she followed the ambulance into an abandoned city. The ambulance stopped at a place that resembled a hospital. Luo Ningli sensed the presence of many alien species, but only Han Ling was human.
This man is quite capable.
After Han Ling and the others went inside, Luo Ning waited outside the hospital. Her communicator vibrated again, and Lu Xinghe and the others were getting closer. She was also getting a little hungry.
At this moment, Lu Xinghe and his group's car followed the marker she left and arrived at the location of the RV.
Lu Xinghe looked at the rusty RV and couldn't help but reach out to touch it; this vehicle held too many memories for him.
"What's wrong?" Qi Xiaowei asked, puzzled.
Lu Xinghe replied, "This is An Xiaoruo's parents' car. Later, Luo Ning, Xiaoruo, and I lived in this car. When the car ran out of gas, we parked it here. I never thought we would meet again."
"It seems you've regained your memories. When they erased your and An Xiaoruo's memories, I thought you'd never remember them, but nothing is absolute," Qi Xiaowei sighed.
Lu Xinghe got into the car, and memories flooded back. He, Luo Ning, and An Xiaoruo drove across the desert, then through deserts and abandoned cities. It was a tense yet free time.
"I hope that Xiao Ruo and I will be the last two to have our memories erased," he said.
Qi Xiaowei smiled faintly.
Yao Cheng ran over at that moment: "Major Lu, we found tire tracks."
"Okay, let's go right away." After Lu Xinghe finished speaking, he walked towards the car. Seeing that An Yuan was having some trouble carrying the heavy suitcase, he asked Yao Cheng to help.
However, An Yuan instinctively protected the box, saying, "No need."
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