RHWHEG – Chapter 20 Predators Among Predators

She Lulang picked up a waterproof bag on the second floor, and inside was a fresh, soft croissant.

The gate on the first floor opened again, and the brand-new small boat from the shelter was brought in. The shelter’s leader and assistant disembarked, leaving a few empowered individuals on the boat standing by. Suddenly, someone from the Foundation’s water train appeared. He removed his mask, shook his artistically styled long curly hair, and gave the shelter leader a big hug.

At the ventilation shaft on B1, Yu Qunqing got splashed in the face by the water rushing down from above.

He first tossed the fish-man on his back into the building. The fish-man’s thick skin and strong body helped him catch Sun Min, and they tumbled several times on the floor. Yu Qunqing jumped in last, unfortunately hitting a solid wall, his joints emitting a loud, cracking sound.

The fish-man steadied them, looking worried: “I only wanted to clarify things with the headquarters, but they seem too strong… maybe it’s better to drop it.”

Yu Qunqing said quietly, “Do you think I’ll let you leave?”

Sun Min immediately said aggressively, “Brother Yu, I’ll keep an eye on him for you!”

Yu Qunqing gritted his teeth and bent his arm back into place. He then slammed it again. With a crisp, clear impact, he finally restored his dislocated arm.

The fish-man was greatly shocked and swore loyalty: “I am at odds with headquarters! Boss, what do we do next?”

Yu Qunqing leaned against the wall to rest for a moment. “I just heard two streams of water at the vent… one is below us. So, two trains entered the subway station at the same time. The more important deal should be on the lower floor.”

He explained part of the plan to the fish-man and Sun Min, then said to the fish-man, “See, once we succeed in taking advantage of each other, you’ll have plenty of time to express yourself.”

The fish-man nodded: “That actually makes sense.”

So the fish-man and Sun Min split from Yu Qunqing and moved through the darkness toward the escalator to the next floor. The escalator had a safety barrier, but Sun Min was unfazed. Using his cutting ability more skillfully and taking environmental advantages into account, he easily lifted floor tiles, found the gap in the escalator mechanism, and quickly bypassed the twenty-centimeter-high safety wall.

In the darkness, the fish-man’s vision was better than a normal human’s, guiding Sun Min around more obstacles.

On B2, a smaller water train quietly sat on the tracks. Just as Yu Qunqing had guessed—precisely.

Sun Min and the fish-man didn’t investigate it, instead cautiously moving toward B3 to execute Yu Qunqing’s plan.

B3 was even damper and darker than all the floors above. It was pitch black.

The moment Sun Min stepped down, he felt something soft underfoot. Shivering, he grabbed the fish-man and asked what it was.

The fish-man whispered, “Seems like rotting flesh.”

It was just a corpse. Apart from the gross texture, Sun Min could tolerate it. He jumped over the area, only to step on the same soft substance again. This time he couldn’t reach the fish-man—he was inspecting the area to ensure no enemies were around.

Sun Min patiently waited in the dark for the fish-man to return. A small patch of light appeared not far off—that was the fish-man’s signal that the area was safe. Sun Min exhaled in relief and pulled out a lighter from his clothes, bending down to see what he had stepped on.

…It was still rotting meat.

Unable to tell exactly what kind, Sun Min pinched his nose and stepped over it. Each step made a squelching sound—both grotesque and oddly comical. He quickly approached the light and regrouped with the fish-man.

The patch of light grew larger; it was actually the strange moonlight lamp floating near the fish-man’s feet. Although the small boat had been crushed by the ventilation fan, the essential supplies remained secured to them.

“Big brother Fish-man?” Sun Min saw the fish-man frozen in place and felt something was wrong. Ignoring the unpleasant sensation underfoot, he ran faster toward him.

When he got close, he saw an open frozen cabinet next to the fish-man. The light revealed its contents: a fish about the same size as the fish-man.

The difference? One looked like a common fish-man NPC from a game; the other like a canned sardine from a supermarket.

“I know him,” the fish-man said. “I thought he was still alive.”

Sun Min, unsure what to say, tried to console him: “In the apocalypse, accidents happen… it’s something nobody wants.”

“But this isn’t an accident!” The fish-man’s voice suddenly sharpened. “He said he joined the Reversal Project to be sent to the shelter for treatment. I was happy. But now he’s lying here, surrounded by this specialized frozen cabinet. This is undoubtedly a murder…”

With the evidence in front of him, even the naive fish-man understood. The so-called Reversal Project was just a conspiracy. The Foundation he had revered might secretly consider him nothing more than a disposable pawn.

Sun Min bent down to read the label on the freezer. It said: “Series 9/24/04 discarded items. Freezer damaged due to excessive transport vibrations. Transport person in charge: XXX, Receiver: XX. This shipment contained 10 experimental units, effectively received: 7 units. Both parties witnessed and agreed to destroy these experimental subjects.”

Sun Min looked back along the path he had taken. The rotting corpses he had stepped over were all souls quietly departing.

The fish-man said, “What are we? Fertilizer for experiments?”

A twinge of guilt, only for being the lucky ones, spread through Sun Min’s heart. He couldn’t imagine—if his appearance had mutated more—whether he could have safely survived three months in Dongjiang Prison at the start. If he wasn’t human-shaped, would the people around him still treat him as a human?

The fish-man said, “I feel sad. But I have no eyelids, no tear glands. Every time I feel this, I know I am a one hundred percent monster. Maybe we deserve to be treated this way. If I were human, I’d hate monsters too.”

Sun Min said, “You are human! Big Brother Fish-man, you’re kind—you have a heart of gold!”

The fish-man let out a long sigh.

Sun Min suddenly understood why the Foundation members could so easily accept the doctrine of original sin: faced with thorough injustice, humans always find excuses for themselves.

He felt a pang in his heart and said, “It will get better. We will have a real home…”

He alone couldn’t do it; neither could the fish-man and his group. But an image appeared in his mind—as if meeting that person would resolve all problems effortlessly.

“—Mental power has reached the requirement. Receiving request.”

“Loading begins.”

A long-lost system prompt sounded in Yu Qunqing’s mind:

Ding dong! Your game friend Sun Min has encountered difficulty in the game and is seeking your help!

You have received 1 temporary game slot (limited to certain game types) and 1 game seed—Fruit Ninja. The temporary slot does not require a download environment; your game is being equipped, please wait.

“Mute it,” Yu Qunqing said. “Otherwise, your only player will die here.”

On the basement’s first negative floor, a gust of wind swept past, and Yu Qunqing disappeared into the shadows.

On the ground floor, the Foundation’s long-haired man was transferring important materials to the shelter. He opened a tall cabinet, and a musty, earthy smell spread.

“This is our newly cultivated disaster-simulation ecological soil, our compensation for the ecologically devastated environment,” the long-haired man said, his tone rising slightly. “Our Mother Blue Star! How can you endure such damage to her?”

The shelter leader said, “Uh… yes, yes.”

She Lulang walked over. “Is this a trade between you? Why keep it so secret?”

The leader’s expression changed as quickly as flipping a book. He adopted a tone of pity: “We’re afraid other organizations would sabotage our deal! Mr. She, only our shelter has the ability to protect most humans. Some dirty, ugly organizations have already betrayed humanity and sided with calamities.”

The long-haired man said, “Why should we protect humans? Humans should protect our ecosystem. Humans bear responsibility…”

The leader: “Ah, yes, yes, yes.”

She Lulang grabbed a handful of soil, seemingly uninterested, and walked away, saying he would stay alert to anyone not on this floor. They watched from afar as his black robe disappeared into the darkness.

The leader exhaled, thinking She Lulang was right under his nose. Though his departure sounded strange, it shouldn’t cause any trouble.

But if anyone came closer, they would notice only a black bird holding a tattered black cloth, creating the illusion of someone being there.

In the basement’s lower level:

Yu Qunqing muted the system prompts, tensed his body, and listened carefully to the wind.

One… two… three… Three unknown creatures were flying!

He had just opened his bow case and accidentally made a noise, drawing their attention.

36%, 18%… The flying creatures were using unknown methods to determine his position in the dark. Yu Qunqing could hear them forming a surrounding circle, sealing off his escape.

He slowed his breathing, gripping one of his compound bows. This environment was unsuitable for ranged combat, so he reluctantly used the bow as a defensive tool.

A sharp whistle sounded—an attack slicing through the air! Yu Qunqing immediately detected the unusual airflow, assumed a sword-drawing stance, and precisely blocked the strike with the hard bow handle.

First strike!

The bow’s anti-slip pad cracked; the whole limb was ruined, yet it persisted in fulfilling its final duty, deflecting the attack. Yu Qunqing tossed the bow aside, calculating: the enemy’s weapon must be □□, a master assassin.

Where do assassins prefer to strike from?

Second strike!

Yu Qunqing acted instinctively, pulling out a second steel ball bow and swinging it in reverse. The complex slot instantly blocked the sharp weapon. The second bow was also ruined; he leaned back, nearly falling. He suddenly released, removing the enemy’s leverage while reaching for the third bow.

The flapping around him became chaotic—everything happened in an instant. Yu Qunqing had to be faster than the enemy.

Draw, nock, and fire. After two exchanges, Yu Qunqing had locked onto the target in the dark. His arrow tip dipped slightly, ready for a killing shot.

There was no need to hide his position. He flicked a spark of electricity into the arrow, charging it fully.

Then—

In the flash of electricity, both sides saw a familiar face.