Chapter 45

"Though mistaken, still right."

In the corridor connecting the Court of Judgment's work hall to the training area, on one side of the wall was inscribed "Human interests above all else," while the other bore this phrase.

Beneath it was a row of silver picture frames. The first one encountered was empty, and as one walked forward, the second frame held a black-and-white photograph of a man with sharp, dignified features, around thirty years old. Dressed in a judge's uniform, his birth and death dates were etched beneath the frame: he had lived to be thirty-six, passing away seven years ago.

The next frame also contained a black-and-white photo and dates. As An Zhe proceeded, the following pictures and dates followed a similar pattern, their lifespans gradually moving further back in time. An Zhe realized these were portraits of past judges, and the empty frame at the end was undoubtedly reserved for Lu Fen.

At this thought, An Zhe paused slightly, feeling an indescribable weight pressing above his heart. If possible, he wished Lu Fen's photo wouldn't be hung up so soon – just like tonight, when Lu Fen boarded the plane, he had hoped that person would stay behind, remain in a safe place.

But Lu Fen had his own choices.

Following Selan, they continued walking. At the end of the photo gallery, a peculiar sight greeted them.

On the grayish-white wall, there was a rectangular section that was whiter than the rest, the same size as the picture frames. There were nail marks at the corners of this white patch, suggesting that a frame had once been there but had been removed. Below it, where the name and dates of birth and death were usually written, the markings had been scraped off, leaving only faint traces. An Zhe strained to read them and could make out a string of capital letters starting with the letter P.

Seeing him stop there, Selan explained, "It's said that this was the first judge, the one who proposed the Judicator Bill and established the system of judgment."

An Zhe: "Has his photo been removed?"

"Uh-huh," Selan replied. "In the end, he questioned the legitimacy of the Adjudicator system and betrayed the base."

An Zhe nodded, understanding that human intentions were often inscrutable. He didn't push for more details.

Selan settled him in a resting room. With the vanishing of geomagnetism, chaos had ensued, undoubtedly overwhelming the logistics and emergency response teams. The other residents, gripped by fear, could only seek rest, awaiting the military's next steps for shelter.

Upstairs, footsteps echoed, and in the adjacent room, Selan was on the phone, seemingly coordinating follow-up tasks for the Adjudicator proceedings.

In the pitch-black room, An Zhe couldn't see outside, but he could hear his own heartbeat. Strangely, as if through an inexplicable intuition, he lifted his head, gazing into the darkness. The sensation was indescribable – he felt a vast oscillation. He, Selan, everyone, the entire human base, and all things in this world were insignificant components within this ineffable tremor, vibrating and fluctuating with its ripples. A phrase from the younglings' textbooks came to mind: "the torrent of destiny." It seemed apt, except that this oscillation seemed to genuinely envelop the world, not just a metaphor or abstraction.

Just then, his communicator beeped. It was the Doctor calling.

The Doctor asked, "Lu Fen has taken off. Where are you?"

An Zhe shared his whereabouts truthfully.

"Good to know you're safe," the Doctor said. "I've just concluded the emergency meeting at the Lighthouse. I'll return to the lab for the night. You should get some rest too."

An Zhe: "Sure."

The doctor seemed to be climbing stairs. After a while, he continued, "I've been pondering Si Nan's behavior this morning. Did he predict the disappearance of the magnetic field when he reminded Lily to return to Eden? Different species have different sensory organs, and some creatures are sensitive to magnetic fields."

An Zhe replied, "Perhaps."

After a moment's thought, he added, "But that's quite a distance."

Of course, he knew that every species was unique. In the Abyss, some monsters had incredibly keen hearing, while others could detect prey from kilometers away. But for Si Nan to sense an alien invasion at the Undercity Base on the other side of the Earth from the Northern Base didn't seem plausible, especially since there was no known long-wave communication technology among the aliens.

The doctor didn't respond, and only uneven breathing sounds came through the line. An Zhe imagined he might still be walking.

However, after three minutes, the doctor still hadn't replied, and his breaths grew more rapid. The sound echoed in the darkness, creating an inexplicable unease.

An Zhe: "Doctor?"

Silence persisted.

An Zhe furrowed his brow. Just then, he heard the doctor speaking quickly from the other end, "Get Selan on the phone."

An Zhe hastily exited the lounge. Selan picked up the communication and, after calling out "Doctor," his brows knitted together as he quickly said, "I'm on my way."

In the next moment, he grabbed the gun on the table, called for a few people, and strode out!

An Zhe glanced in the direction Selan went and chose to follow. However, those people were too fast, and his pace up the stairs was too slow; he was a step behind.

By the time he reached the corridor where the doctor's lab was located, he heard a gunshot from deep within, followed by the sound of a body hitting the ground.

The doctor stood right in the middle of the hallway. An Zhe walked up to him.

"I... noticed something was off with his gait from a distance," the doctor panted, his pupils slightly dilated, his face pale, still in a state of shock. An Zhe looked ahead and saw that Selan had just put away his gun. The person lying on the ground was none other than the doctor's assistant, who had been working with the doctor that very afternoon, repeatedly reviewing Si Nan's video footage.

Selan asked the doctor, "Confirmed infection. Was it an experimental exposure?"

Infection?

An Zhe immediately thought of the only source of infection here: Si Nan.

"It's impossible," the doctor said. "He doesn't have the authority to open the glass enclosure, so he couldn't have come into contact with the alien species."

Selan said, "I'll go take a look."

"No," the Doctor's voice rose sharply. "Don't go there."

Selan halted and turned to face the Doctor.

"Do you remember me saying that one day we might get infected without even coming into contact with them?" The Doctor's voice trembled as he continued, "This is too abnormal... We have to prepare for the worst."

Selan frowned. "How do you intend to support your theory?"

"There's no way to prove it," the Doctor shook his head. "But you all know that when we inject a monster's tissue fluid into an experimental animal's tail, changes in genes can be observed in the animal's head. The tissue fluid didn't participate in the blood circulation, yet the animal's entire genetic structure was altered. If something like that can happen, why can't infection occur without direct contact with a monster?"

As he spoke, he suddenly trembled all over.

"Selan," his voice was entirely hoarse. "Downstairs, downstairs are all live alien specimens. There are at least a hundred staff members there."

Selan's expression turned grim. "I'll go down immediately."

"Take care of yourself," the Doctor advised. "Stay as far away as possible from anything alive within range."

He didn't mention "xenogenics" nor "humans," but simply said "living things."

Selan nodded, and they swiftly dispersed, descending the stairs.

In the quiet corridor, only An Zhe and the Doctor were left.

The Doctor seemed to have lost his strength, leaning against the cold wall. An Zhe supported him.

In the silence, the Doctor suddenly spoke.

"Aren't you afraid?" he asked.

An Zhe shook his head.

The Doctor looked at him.

"You seem to possess something... that people of this era don't have," the Doctor said.

An Zhe remained silent, listening to the Doctor continue in silence.

His gaze lingered on An Zhe for a long while, then he let out a soft breath, his lips quivering slightly as if struck by an extraordinary insight. He said, "You're innocent... like an observer."

He continued, "Everyone else is living in fear, but you remain calm, standing apart from them all."

At this point, he seemed to smile faintly. "Now I understand why Lu Fen enjoys your company."

An Zhe looked at the doctor, whose youthful face bore a subtle exhaustion. It appeared that he was weary. An Zhe asked, "Is there anything I can assist you with?"

The doctor gazed into his eyes, his voice trembling slightly at the end. "Thank you. You... just need to stay safe."

An Zhe pondered for a moment before responding, "I'll do my best."

Silence followed, with only the doctor's muttering echoing through the hallway, "No physical contact, no airborne transmission—could such a thing really happen?"

No one replied to him.

But a clear gunshot echoed from downstairs.

Then came the second shot.

The third.

The echoes reverberated within the building, lingering on and on.

With each subsequent gunshot, the human framework for understanding this world crumbled utterly.

The doctor's hand clenched around An Zhe's arm; his fingers trembled.

"…Why?"