"You can call me Polly, or Qiong, whatever is fine." Polly Qiong said. He was polite and gentle, like the best elder in human civilization.

An Zhe said his name.

"You are very young, from the northern base?" Polly Qiong said.

An Zhe nodded.

"How did you become what you are now?"

Polly Qiong led An Zhe slowly into the white building, asking as they walked.

The ground was very smooth, Tang Lan stepped forward and stretched out his arm to support him, but he waved his hand.

"I..." There was a wave in his vision, and An Zhe slowly looked around.

There is a spacious lobby inside the white building. It has three floors in total, but these three floors are not separated like ordinary buildings, but connected. Looking up from the lobby, the spiral staircases are winding upwards, and looking from the lobby, you can directly see the translucent dome. At this time, some creatures slowly gathered from the fences of the second and third floors, silently looking down at him from the outside, with curious eyes.

There were about ten creatures in total, most of which had human features, or were considered humanoid. One third of them looked exactly like humans, and one third had features of other creatures on top of human features, such as a gentleman on the second floor with gray-black fur all over his face, and a creature on the third floor with hair like tiny curly vines that were wriggling slightly. The remaining one third looked exactly like the monsters outside or some weird-looking things, such as the pile of rotten meat hanging from the railings on the second floor.

"They won't hurt you." Polly Jones said, "If one of them loses his will and goes crazy, the others will control him."

The fact is just as he said, Anzhe made eye contact with those deformed humans, those were not the cold eyes of beasts, he could understand the meaning in them, curiosity, or scrutiny, without any vicious meaning.

"We are all infected, or aliens, but we have fortunately retained part of our will. Mr. Polly brought us together." Tang Lan patted his shoulder and said, "We will try our best to control ourselves from killing each other and fight against the monsters outside together. There is no court here, so you can stay here without worry."

Polly Jones coughed a few times, and then he said, "There is no level division among members of the institute. We take care of each other, and the strong protect the weak. Welcome to join this home."

An Zhe slowly retracted his gaze.

"Thank you." He said softly.

Tang Lan asked him how he became an alien.

After hesitating for a while, An Zhe said, "I went out with my friend's mercenary team..."

He knew that this was a place where aliens lived together. But he is still different from the people here. They are humans infected by monsters, while he himself is a mushroom. He has to hide his true identity. So he told Anzhe's life story, coming to the wild, getting injured, and then-

"Before I fainted, there was a white mushroom next to me, and when I woke up, I also turned into a mushroom." Combining Tang Lan's story, he made up such a lie.

"Infection caused by mushrooms..." Polly Jones frowned slightly, and then said: "This is the first case I have seen. No animal will take the initiative to touch mushrooms."

Anzhe said: "I don't know either."

He really didn't know. The mushrooms in the abyss are as dangerous as the animals in the abyss. Some are highly poisonous, and some are filled with a sensory fog that drives animals crazy. It is a miracle that a weak and harmless mushroom like him was born in the jungle of poisonous mushrooms - he even has his own independent consciousness.

Polly said: "All members of the institute have different mutations. Although the research has not yielded any results, if you are willing, I still hope that you can provide more information, or let me observe your organization. I will not adopt experimental methods that will harm you."

Anzhe agreed. There was nothing he could not agree to.

Polly Joan asked him some more questions. He did not ask about the process of his mutation, but asked him how he lived in the wild, whether he suffered, whether there were any animals he was afraid of, and whether he had developed new habits after the gene change. He seemed to care about him purely as an elder. But after Anzhe realized his nonhuman identity, he was still afraid of human researchers. He did not dare to get close to Polly and answered truthfully.

He also got a preliminary understanding of the situation of the institute. The first floor of the institute is a laboratory and an instrument room, the second floor is inhabited by animals with mutated species, and the third floor is inhabited by plants. They have their own division of labor. Some assist Mr. Polly in recording experimental data, some maintain equipment, some plant potatoes in the back of the land, and some are responsible for hunting. This part is infected by those extremely ferocious monsters and has strong strength, such as Tang Lan. In addition to hunting, they will put down signposts everywhere. Except for humans, no other creatures can read the signposts. The direction indicated by the signposts is the way home for the alien species that are stranded outside. The scope of placing signposts is not limited to the abyss.

Tang Lan said that this place was related to the Fusion Sect, but the people here were not the product of deliberate fusion, but were killed in the wild and then survived to retain human consciousness, following the signs to the institute - the doctor said this was a one in ten thousand chance.

The addition of new members was something worth celebrating, and the institute specially prepared a welcome banquet for An Zhe - the staple food was potato and bacon soup, prepared by a short male tree alien.

"Do you like potatoes?" The man scooped the soup and handed it to An Zhe, his voice slightly hoarse, like the sound of rough bark rubbing against each other.

An Zhe reached out and held the bowl of hot soup, he blew on it, and the warm white mist covered his face.

"I like it." He said, "Thank you."

"Then do this tomorrow too." The man looked at him: "How old are you?"

An Zhe said: "Nineteen."

"Then you should call me uncle. My son is about the same age as you. He lives in District 7. Where do you live?"

An Zhe said: "District 6."

The man said: "I haven't seen him before. His name is Bai Ye. Do you know him?"

An Zhe shook his head gently.

"I hope he is doing better." Their conversation ended there.

When it was time to eat, the people from the institute sat in a circle, without any distinction of importance. Polly Jones sat in the middle of them, and everyone was very close to him.

——They were all equally close to An Zhe. During the meal, at least ten people took the initiative to talk to An Zhe. Some of them were mercenaries from the outer city, and some were soldiers from the base. They were curious about the process of his transformation, and asked about the recent situation of the base, or asked if he had seen their old relatives or friends. An Zhe did not tell them that the outer city had been abandoned, but answered "I have never seen it" and "I don't know it". He had a feeling of loss, and there was no news either. Such an answer seemed to comfort the human heart more than the real answer.

After the meal, Tang Lan took An Zhe to an empty room.

A young man with feathers on his body brought a quilt to the room.

"It was just exposed to the sun yesterday," he offered to help make the bed, saying, "It's cold at night, remember to close the window."

"Thank you." An Zhe said. Just like the uncle who scooped rice for him today, he was grateful for the kindness of this young boy and felt a little overwhelmed.

After making the bed, the boy took out a red fruit from his clothes and smiled: "Here you go."

After that, he took out a piece of wrapped dried meat: "This is a gift from everyone."

An Zhe took it. The dried meat was very heavy. He didn't know what the living standard was like in the institute, but at this time, no matter where he was, so much dried meat was a very precious thing.

"Thank you," he said, "It's too much. I can't finish it."

"Take your time." Tang Lan, who was standing behind him, seemed to smile and reached out to straighten his collar.

"We will give gifts to newcomers. I came here a long time ago and everyone is very nice to me." The young boy said, "It's too hard to be an alien in the wild. You have to hide from monsters and find food by yourself. Remember yourself, miss home, but dare not go back to the base. Come to the research institute." As he

said, he smiled at Anzhe.

Anzhe smiled back.

There was no wind in the room, it was very warm, and the light tube on the ceiling was shining with a transparent light. Anzhe held the dried meat and recalled the month he had trekked in the dense forest and swamp in the abyss. It was like a dream.

"Don't cry." The boy said, "You'll have a home in the future."

His tone was so firm and warm, as if he had infinite reliance on this research institute.

——This is something Anzhe has never seen in the human base.

He asked, "Is it always like this here?"

"Huh?" The boy was stunned at first, then he reacted and smiled, "You'll get used to it soon."

The moment he finished speaking, he suddenly stopped.

——A violent scream suddenly came from the corridor.