The conversation had just begun, but after only a few sentences, it fell into an unexpected deadlock.

Everyone looked at each other.

No need for rescue... What does that mean? After being trapped in Moonlight for 19 years and completely cut off from the outside world, don't the survivors want to go back to the outside world?

During the stalemate, Chen Ci suddenly asked, "Have you ever been infected?"

"According to the timeline, Moonlight knew about the existence of Ashes before the collapse. Crystals grew all over the perimeter, and powder was floating everywhere in the air. It was impossible for humans not to be infected in such an environment."

"But you are still alive. Judging from your voice, you should be in your 40s or 50s."

Chen Ci grabbed Fu Tianhe's wrist and walked to the door with him.

Chen Ci wasn't sure if he could see the situation clearly through the gate, but he still took the initiative to take off his and Fu Tianhe's masks.

"My Alpha has been infected with Ashas for sixteen years. We have temporarily suppressed the disease through some means, but if the situation continues to develop, he will die."

"If you have any means against Ashes, please tell me, I really need it, thank you."

When the young man finished speaking calmly, there was only dead silence.

Fu Tianhe's breathing became rapid. Even though there were two layers of protective clothing between them, he could feel that the place where Chen Ci was holding was getting hot.

He turned his head to look at the Omega boy beside him. His amber eyes were firm and calm. No matter what happened, they could not be shaken.

My eyes are tearing up. As expected, no matter what the situation is, September is always willing to stand up for him.

But...are the people behind this door really infected with the same situation as him?

After a long time, the voice sneered briefly.

"Infecting terminally ill patients? How interesting."

Fu Tianhe, however, keenly heard a hint of sadness in it.

"If you really want to know, come in. I just hope you won't regret it later."

The door in front was still motionless. The robot moved again, and when passing by Chen Ci, the mechanical arm gently pulled his pants, obviously asking Chen Ci to follow.

"I have a bad feeling." Chen Nian whispered.

Shafley said nothing, but just held Chen Nian's hand tightly.

The robot moved to the side for more than ten meters. At the junction of the wall and the walkway, there was a gap about 70 centimeters wide, which was trimmed to be quite smooth. It was the channel through which many robots were deployed.

The robot looked back at them and dived in first.

This is not a good road.

The space on the way in is too narrow, and it is difficult to move freely. If you encounter any danger, you will be no different from a sitting duck.

Chen Ci: "Fu Tianhe and I will go and give it a try. If you are worried, just wait outside."

"I want to join us!" Chen Nian said immediately.

Chen Ci: "You and Shafley stay outside first. If the situation is normal, come in with everyone else."

Chen Nian: “…Okay.”

Chen Ci leaned down and was the first to enter the cave.

This was the nth time he had drilled holes since coming here. Chen Ci had to practice the relevant crawling skills. Fu Tianhe followed behind him and whispered, "Can you use your mental power to detect it?"

"It's a bit difficult, but there shouldn't be any danger ahead."

After crawling along the polished passage for hundreds of meters, a cave entrance appeared in front of him. Chen Ci supported himself with his arms and crawled out, entering a space of about five or six square meters. Except for the hole on the floor, the rest of the place was strictly sealed.

Fu Tianhe followed and was immediately attracted by the purple marks all over the walls and the floor.

There were countless chaotic handprints and curved marks made by fingers. If they changed color, they would be more like... more like blood writing left by a dying person.

But the handwriting is no longer recognizable.

Chen Ci reached out his hand and touched it gently: "This is the secretion of the Ashes infected."

"Only people who have been infected with the virus can see that Chen Nian once found relevant traces in our father's former residence. He used this as a mark and left us a design drawing of the shelter."

Fu Tianhe could understand the existence of these traces.

During the days when he was sick, he howled and scratched his body desperately, scratching the wall with his bruised and bleeding fingertips, leaving one terrible bloody mark after another.

A voice came from the speaker: "A few steps forward."

Fu Tianhe calmed himself down and walked to the opposite wall with Chen Ci.

The wall opened to the side, revealing a narrow door that was only wide enough for one person to pass through. Chen Ci and Fu Tianhe walked in. The door closed behind them and opened again in front of them a few seconds later.

In this way, we passed through many narrow compartments. The area of ​​each compartment was limited, which was enough to save space.

"We're here." Chen Ci suddenly said in front of the twelfth door.

Fu Tianhe immediately perked up. He held his breath and witnessed the door leading to the survivors' shelter open in front of him.

The moment he saw the other person's face in his eyes, his pupils suddenly shrank.

“Ahhhhhh!!!”

Amid Fu Tianhe's scream, Chen Ci couldn't help but take a step back.

What a face that is!

The other party seemed to have expected their reaction and looked at the two shocked people expressionlessly. Or rather, he was no longer able to show any expression.

The muscles on his face had almost melted, leaving only a thin layer of skin, which was not completely fitted with the bones. It was filled with uneven purple crystals, making the entire head appear horribly deformed. It was definitely not a head shape that a human could have!

The lips disappeared, leaving the gums exposed, appearing black and atrophied.

On the carotid arteries of his neck, there were gill-like structures growing, which were stretched open by crystals, revealing scarlet gills. There was no doubt that the gill cavity had been filled long ago.

His left eye was gone, leaving an empty black eye socket. The right eye was wide open like a fish due to the lack of eyelids, which was extremely terrifying.

As for the body beneath the clothes, it is certainly not in any better condition.

"Has regret come in?" The man's voice was strangely hoarse. Chen Ci then realized that it was not the distortion caused by the electric current, but the tone of his voice was like that.

Perhaps the vocal cords are affected and the shape of the oral cavity changes, which also makes the pronunciation different from that of normal people.

Chen Ci was stunned for only two seconds before quickly coming to his senses.

His expression returned to calm, as if the monster in front of him was a perfectly normal existence: "Hello, is there anyone else living here besides you?"

"The others are the same as me. I don't want to bring you two to them just yet." The man took two steps back and made room. "Come in."

Fu Tianhe's heart was beating wildly in his chest.

What is that?

Of course he could accept the growing Ashes crystal, after all, he himself had gone through that period, but... gills?

People shouldn't grow that thing!

Chen Ci followed closely, his mental power spreading silently to find out all the situations in the room.

Operation desk, video wall, microphone.

This is a control room, probably used to operate the many robots released.

He was also here just now, having a conversation with Chen Ci.

"It's really strange. It's been 19 years and there are still people coming here."

As the man spoke, he sat down on the only chair in the control room. The chair seemed to have been used for a long time, and the seat cushion and backrest had been worn to the point that the cotton wool inside was exposed.

"Since the accident, rescue efforts have been ongoing for Moonlight, but it has been tightly sealed off. Troops have been blocked outside hundreds of times. It was only recently that we found a way to break through the blockade and were able to get in successfully."

Chen Ci paused, then took the initiative to say, "My name is Chen Ci, and his name is Fu Tianhe. What's your name, please?"

"Eric." The man's exposed eyeballs moved and his gaze shifted to Fu Tianhe. "He is a patient with advanced infection."

Fu Tianhe took a deep breath. There was nothing to be surprised about. How was his behavior just now different from that of the person who once laughed at his right eye?

"Yes, my right eye was blinded by Ashes. I also underwent full body surgery to remove the lens, but it didn't heal the problem."

Eric: "But it looks like you're in much better shape than us."

Fu Tianhe: "Many years ago, I accidentally got an object that can suppress Ashes, so I have managed to live like this until now."

Since Eric said "we", there was no need to ask about the other survivors.

But no matter how they look, they are still alive.

And he showed no sign of pain, as if... Ashes no longer felt the intense pain and mad itching in his body.

Eric looked at Chen Ci and seemed to have discovered something: "You were combined with a patient in the late stage of infection, why are you okay?"

"My blood has the effect of inhibiting Ashes, and I myself will not be infected." Chen Ci answered truthfully, there was no need to hide it.

"For several months, I was helping him delay the progression of the infection, but the situation had reached a point where I was no longer able to do so."

Eric's eyelids twitched, as if he was squinting: "...How old are you?"

"Eighteen years old. In September, I will be nineteen."

"Moonlight is where I was born. I want to know more secrets about myself. If you know, please tell me."

Eric stared at Chen Ci. Anyone stared at by such terrifying eyes would definitely tremble.

Want to escape? No, because Chen Ci knew clearly that the person in front of him was his compatriot.

The existence of emotions did make him weak and he understood what fear was.

But there is more to gain from it.

"I see."

Eric stood up, his attitude changing almost 180 degrees from before.

"Come on, I'll show you the inside of the facility."

"As for those people outside, let them wait for a while. The space is limited and it is not easy to accommodate more people."

Fu Tianhe swallowed silently. The situation was a bit weird, but even if it was a scam, they had weapons with them and Jiu Yue still had his mental strength, so they wouldn't fall into danger.

Fu Tianhe lowered his voice and told Shafulai through the channel: "We are going to check inside the shelter. You find a safe place and wait for a while."

Shafley: "Okay, keep in touch."

Chen Ci: "You should not be afraid of Ashes, so why do you still set up so many gates?"

Eric: “It’s mainly used to block those things outside.”

Chen Ci: "A blue alien creature?"

Eric: "Yeah, there are others. There's more than just that kind of stuff that can kill you."

Fu Tianhe joined the conversation: "Have you all lived here all along?"

"What else?" Eric asked, "Where else can we go?"

"As infected, we were no longer afraid of the Ashes that filled the space and were able to go out and explore. However, after going through untold hardships, we finally reached the surface and discovered that the moonlight had been permanently blocked."

"We tried everything to open the door, but it took us a long time to finally accept the reality that we were trapped inside forever."

Chen Ci: "The door exists to prevent Ashes from leaking out."

"Yeah." Eric said lightly and stopped talking.

It sounds so natural to sacrifice a small number of people in order to protect more people.

But when you become one of the few who are sacrificed, it is not so easy.

Humans are altruistic creatures who praise dedication and value giving.

But compared to the active awareness and choices they made, they passively accepted the sacrifice and could only resign themselves to their fate in the end.

The needle wound at the elbow that had long since healed began to ache again.

Although he had no emotions in the past, Chen Ci knew that when he faced the mirror, he could still see the deepest disgust and resentment in his eyes, which were as cold as ashes.

Now that he was calm enough, he was willing to take the initiative to draw blood and give it to Fu Tianhe or the three injured people.

Perhaps he made the decision in a trembling state because of the cruel scenes he witnessed at the quarantine station when he was young, and there was an element of fear involved.

Now, he is truly willing and has no regrets about his choice.

They have opened the Moonlight Gate, and Ashes' exposure is inevitable. If the right medicine cannot be found, it will inevitably cause a huge chaos.

"Besides, we can't leave in this state." Eric pushed open the door in front of him and entered a corridor where several children were fighting.

Seeing Chen Ci and Fu Tianhe, the children were startled, then their eyes widened and they asked excitedly, "Are people from other shelters visiting us?"

Eric: “They are from outside.”

"Outside?"

The oldest child shouted, "I know! It's a place outside of all the shelters!"

When Chen Ci saw these children, he couldn't help but hold his breath.

There are many people who like human babies, but Chen Ci is not one of them. There are not many things in this world that can make him feel "liked".

But even though he was so indifferent, he couldn't remain indifferent.

Their bulging eyes, the distance between their faces, their sparse hair, and their long, thin limbs with abnormal joints all seem to indicate some kind of congenital genetic disease.

Those were innocent children's eyes, but when they looked up, it was as if they were being stared at by devils from the depths of hell.

"Hello." Fu Tianhe smiled and leaned down so that the children could see him more clearly. "Yes, we are from outside."

The oldest child, who was about ten years old, was not shy at all and asked eagerly, "It's very big outside. Where are you from? Have you ever seen the sun? It is said that most of the world is covered by sea water. Is that true?"

"Yes, it's true. We are from Cinnabar."

Eric: "Taber, I have something to do with the guests, you guys go and have fun first."

"Okay." The boy pouted, "When you finish talking, remember to ask the guest to tell me the story outside."

After the children ran away, Chen Ci asked softly, "Is it congenital, or did it become like this later?"

"That's how births happen. For several years after we moved in, no one got pregnant. In the fifth year, we finally had our first baby, but the pregnancy ended in miscarriage after only four months."

Eric said calmly, "It may be because of the changes in our genes. From now on, almost all babies will be spontaneously aborted early. The few children you saw just now are basically all the babies born in these years."

"... maybe we shouldn't have allowed them to be born if we knew for sure there would be problems."

Fu Tianhe: "Don't think like that, at least they are happy now."

Eric shook his head and said nothing more.

Hearing strange movements, the doors in the corridor opened one after another, and pairs of prying eyes looked towards them.

Everyone's situation was the same as Eric's. Their muscles were replaced by amethyst, their skin was atrophied, and their hair disappeared, as if they had been dissolved by a splash of strong acid. But they were all still alive and had grown parts that should not appear on the human body.

For a moment, Chen Ci thought that Ashes' 100% mortality rate might be a good thing.

In a closed shelter, everyone is in the same situation, and the group effect will make them feel much better psychologically.

But once they get outside, they are complete monsters.

"Come on." Eric took the two to a meeting room. All the rooms in the shelter were quite narrow, and unnecessary functions were discarded in order to accommodate more survivors.

Soon, another person walked in. Judging from her body outline, she should be a woman, but the glands in the back of her neck had dissolved, making it impossible to determine her secondary gender.

"Abby," she introduced herself briefly.

Abby and Eric sat side by side opposite Chen Ci and Fu Tianhe. It was obvious that they were the two persons in charge of this shelter.

Abby: "Soon after you entered, the robots we sent out discovered the relevant movements, but we didn't expect you to actually find this place."

Chen Ci: "We have been sending signals, trying to contact the survivors, but you have not responded."

Abby: “We didn’t think about leaving.”

Chen Ci certainly knew the reason.

Anyone who has seen what is really happening will know why.

Chen Ci: "How did you become like this? If you were simply infected, you shouldn't have grown anything else."

Eric: "I don't know. This is certainly not a deliberate cover-up. We can accept that it has changed beyond recognition because of the virus, but we don't understand how it has become like this."

Abby stretched out her hand, and Chen Ci saw flesh-colored webs between her fingers.

"We all have some marine characteristics. It may be because we were tortured by the virus and lost our minds. Those days were so painful that we have lost all our memories."

Fu Tianhe could totally understand.

When he was seriously infected, he struggled in pain in despair and remembered nothing except the agony of wanting to commit suicide.

Chen Ci: "Do you call Ashes a virus?"

Abby: “It’s easier to call it a virus, even though we don’t know what it is.”

Chen Ci glanced at Fu Tianhe. Through the brief exchange and the body language displayed by the two, he was sure that Abby and Eric had no hostility and no reason to go against them.

They came here as a rescue, and even if the survivors don't want to go out, there is no need to quarrel with them.

The priority is to get as much information as possible, and they have a lot of work to do.

The situation inside Moonlight is not suitable for the team members to stay for too long. It should be resolved as soon as possible. Every second of delay will increase the possibility of Ashes leaking out and the risk of infection for the team members.

Fu Tianhe raised his hand, lifted his eyelids, removed the red artificial eye, and revealed the eye socket underneath.

There was no need for further explanation. The two infected people could understand it just by looking at the scar left on his eyelid.

The first step in exchanging information is to let the other party let down their guard and gain as much recognition as possible.

They are of the same kind, having experienced the same pain.

Chen Ci: "Since the collapse of the Moonlight nineteen years ago, we have not received any information from it. Even if we have explored here now, we don't know much. Can you two tell us some of the situation at that time? This will help us build the truth as soon as possible."

Abby: "The situation at that time... there are so many things to say."

Chen Ci: "Let's start with Ashes. If I'm not mistaken, it's the source of everything."

Abby: "Okay, but I have to make it clear in advance that we are just ordinary people living in Moonlight. We can only tell you what happened to us. As for the rest, even we ourselves don't know."

"Okay." Fu Tianhe took out two bottles of water and a few chocolate bars for energy replenishment from his backpack and pushed them in front of Abby and Eric. "Thank you for your hard work."

Chen Ci glanced at him. Sure enough, there was a reason why some people were so likable.

Abby and Eric accepted Fu Tianhe's kindness, which, to some extent, also showed that they had temporarily reached a consensus on their positions.

There is no inevitable conflict of interest between the two parties. In fact, their appearance is a good thing for both sides.

Chen Ci took off his headphones and placed them on the table: "We are communicating with our teammates outside. Can they listen too?"

"No problem."

"Thank you."

Eric closed his eyes. His eyelids could only cover half of his eyeball, revealing a horrible white of his eye. After thinking quietly for half a minute, he said calmly:

"No one knew when the virus appeared. Even I didn't know until I started to show symptoms of infection that I realized I was one of the victims."

"The collapse happened before most people even showed any symptoms."

"It may not be quite right to call it a collapse. The whole process was very slow. It was more like a carefully designed structural transformation."

"We are all people living in the lower floors. We survived the three-day collapse. Residents living in the upper floors continued to evacuate downwards, and finally we entered the underground part and were systematically placed in shelters."

“Just when we thought this was going to blow over and help was coming, the virus broke out inside the shelter.

"Strictly speaking, we were already infected before we entered the shelter, but we just finally got sick then."

"This was supposed to be a refuge where we could survive, but it turned into a hell on earth."

"Maybe I'm stronger. Even if those things pierced my skin and filled my entire body, I was still able to survive."

"My companions kept dying, and soon I was the only one left. I was then transferred to another shelter. Everyone there was like me, severely infected but still alive."

"We were then fed a large amount of a solution, which, now that I think about it, should be food for the Ashes so that they would no longer suck our blood and internal organs.

"In just two days, many people died again. I was lucky enough to survive again and was transferred to a third shelter."

"I repeated this countless times. I was almost dead at the time. I might as well have been happier dead. I didn't have many memories left. When I finally woke up, I saw that I had become... like this."

“Other people have had similar experiences to mine, and in a way, we are all selected, lucky survivors.

"Ashes has been nurtured and integrated into us. He has become a part of us."

"And we, inexplicably, have grown strange parts that are not human."