CHAPTER 19

Piercing through my fingertips, blood dripped down. The analyzer buzzed and made a chaotic noise, but I held it down, and it settled.

In my work journal, I still wrote that everything was normal. I closed it, and a photo fell out from between the pages.

Young me stared at a cat, reaching out to grab it. My expression was unclear, perhaps due to the damaged photo and the numerous experiences it had been through. I slowly tore the photo apart, and when I went outside, I casually tossed the pieces, and they vanished.

The salt in the kitchen diminished rapidly. This week, our salt usage exceeded the past two months, and our water consumption sharply increased. Unfortunately, it was a dry period with sunny days every day. The rainwater collector was useless, and the circulation machine drew from limited groundwater. I glanced at it on the fourth floor, and the circulation machine had changed.

Perhaps it was because the blood and flesh that Li Haohao vomited had entered the machine, or maybe the pollution from the outpost had finally spread to the machine. It was now a continuously beating heart, with a dormant person embedded inside.

Ah, it was her. I had thought she disappeared.

On December 22nd, my sixth year working at the outpost, the comms officer heard a distress call from the Daomiao base. The commander and the remaining five people went out, and when they came back, they rested. The next morning, I saw their bodies in various open rooms. Five bodies buried in the field—I remember they were buried outside.

But when Zhan Yicheng appeared, I realized they had all returned. And now she had returned as well.

I didn't attempt to speak with her. Her eyelids were tightly shut, and the circulation machine was active within her. The flesh and blood grew like fungi, crawling over her neck, layer upon layer.

I checked the inventory, hoping to reduce any trouble caused by the changes in Li Haohao. It wouldn't matter if she wanted to eat a little more, like cat ears or other harmless things. Practical items like light bulbs were best.

Early the next morning, I cautiously opened the door, but Li Haohao wasn't outside.

I immediately ran downstairs and saw Li Haohao's upper body lying on the ground, emerging from the changing room door. A piece of her cheek was lifted, pulsating.

I froze in place, and Li Haohao turned her head. Her lips were dry, her voice hoarse, and she struggled to extend her arm. "He..."

...

Glug glug.

Li Haohao gulped down a mouthful of water and sat in the basin, washing her tail.

Today, she grew a tail.

Not the kind where a mermaid's two legs merge into a tail, but a slender, pale green tail that extended from her tailbone, resembling a fluorescent tropical fish. It gracefully curled back, with two translucent seaweed-like fins at the tip, floating lightly in the water. Webbing grew between her toes, shining brightly on her back. I wanted to touch it, but Li Haohao waved her hand behind her back as if trying to wipe it away.

"Normally people cover their chest area." I said.

"But there are no scales on my chest." She exposed herself while puffing out her chest for me to see.

I closed my eyes.

Cheeks with gills, fingers normal, a fish tail growing behind the buttocks, scales on the back. After giving her the basin of water, the remaining water supply became critical. At most, it would last for five days, and I still hadn't figured out how much water this fish-like Li Haohao needed. It was very likely that it wouldn't even last two days.

I couldn't rely on it raining. After careful consideration, I devised a route. If the road no longer had creatures like earthworms, I would leave early tomorrow morning and return before nightfall with water drawn from the pond. The water was certainly dangerous, but I genuinely needed it.

Li Haohao also felt that her current state was troublesome for me. She huddled without making a sound, and after a while, she said, "If you light a fire beneath the basin, I'll turn into fish soup."

What a joke.

I gave her a stern look. Li Haohao now looked more like a sea monster. There were some artistic works before the war that described sea monsters as having long hair like seaweed, fish tails, and sitting in the water adorned with gold and silver.

I pushed her, along with the basin, out. She was much heavier than she appeared, and it was already quite an effort to carry this fish to the washroom and bring the basin down from the third floor.

Now she's sitting there, and I'm a bit worried to just go upstairs and work, so I pulled over a stool and sat there watching her.

After a brief moment of eye contact, Li Haohao finally said, "I need clothes."

She had taken off her tank top because her back was itchy. There were a few fallen strands of long hair on the water stains on the washroom floor, which I collected. I retrieved her vest from the sink, wrung it dry, and threw it out.

Li Haohao soaked her tank top in the water again, put it on while damp, and stood up from the basin, smiling at me. "I don't need to be in the water, I just need to stay moist!"

After finishing the oatmeal porridge, she again had dry lips and difficulty breathing. She plunged her head into the basin.

"Water will evaporate," I put away the bowls and chopsticks, allowing the dishwater to flow into the circulation machine like a small vortex. "You should just stay seated inside."

"I'm hungry." Li Haohao said.

She had just eaten, and I looked at the empty bowl. Li Haohao stared at the bowl, clutching her stomach. "I'm hungry."

I'm not an abusive parent, so even though I know Li Haohao just eat, if she really is still hungry, I can only go to the  freezer and take something out, something that would make her feel full...

It was oatmeal porridge again.

Li Haohao made a face at the oatmeal porridge, but she seemed genuinely hungry. After hesitating for a moment, she waved the spoon and shoveled it into her mouth.

This time she paused, raised her head, and grinned at me. I pried open her mouth to take a look, and her teeth had returned to their original state, as if those bloody little figures had never existed.

"Does it taste bad?"

"It's sour and sweet." Li Haohao said happily, and I was also delighted. I made tomato soup.

After she finished eating, I gave her two vitamin pills. I came up with a solution and stuffed her into a protective suit, but she didn't need to wear shoes.

The protective suit was not breathable, but it could keep her damp pants and vest relatively dry for a while.

"Although it keeps the moisture in, it's uncomfortable." Li Haohao blinked her eyes through the goggles. I admitted, "We're out of water."

Li Haohao slightly closed her eyes and then hugged my arm. "I didn't know I would turn into this."

"I know."

Li Haohao had mentioned several times that she couldn't control what grew on her in the morning. I couldn't blame her—there was no need to blame anyone. The lack of water resources was a fact, and there would always be such a day.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to the water source, and you're coming too."

"Isn't it that dangerous?" Li Haohao lowered her head, scribbling words on the ground with her toes. I looked at her toes, the webbing between them dry and stiff like a plastic bag. I turned around and filled the basin with water.

"You carry it wherever you go, and when you're uncomfortable, soak in it."

"Oh."

She accepted the fate of wearing a protective suit indoors. Perhaps it was a punishment for not wearing it properly last week. I silently mocked her, but also felt a bit guilty about it.

Still, we have to go out.

I tied three large plastic buckets, almost as tall as Li Haohao, to the back of the car. They looked like the car's three tails, swaying slightly in the wind. I secured them with steel ropes.

Li Haohao wobbled and waddled out like a penguin. I had her put on boots, but she was afraid of getting them wet and making them smell.

Before setting off, I wet her hair, making her vest and pants damp as well. I also packed a pot of water in the car for immediate use.

"Aren't you going to wear a protective suit?" Li Haohao turned to look at me, and I realized that I had forgotten to change.

However, I had already walked around the yard without one. I just took off my jacket and placed it in the back of the car. I loosened the collar of my sweater and held onto the control lever.

In theory, my pollution level now was much higher than when I drove before. Yet, strangely, perhaps because I had been more open-minded lately, I hadn't experienced any more bizarre incidents of mistaking the control lever for an arm. Of course, I didn't know the exact reason. Many things after the war couldn't withstand deep scrutiny. Those who delved too deeply would be polluted.

Before setting off, I had looked at the map and had a general idea of the route. Although Li Haohao was sometimes curious about me driving, she knew that it probably wasn't something she could learn immediately. Plus, she was no longer in the water and lacked energy. She lazily tilted her head against me, absentmindedly touching my gun every now and then.

In the goggles, I saw a huge earthworm circling. I pushed Li Haohao away with my elbow, one hand holding the gun and the other operating the control lever. Boom! The massive body of the earthworm crashed behind us, creating a gust of wind that pushed the car forward.

I holstered the gun, and Li Haohao turned back, resting her head on my shoulder, making strange wheezing sounds.

Halfway through, Li Haohao got off the car to use the restroom, and I refueled the car. It was scorching hot, and she hurriedly got back in, holding onto a cup of water tightly.

I said, "You should drink." Li Haohao shook her head weakly and said, "I can hold on a bit longer."

"Hmm." Drinking water isn't the same as persuading someone to drink alcohol. I wouldn't force her.

"I can't hold it anymore."

She really couldn't hold it any longer. She took off the protective suit, opened the water bottle, took a few sips, and then hesitantly took a big gulp without swallowing. She scooped some water and splashed it on her face and back before putting the suit back on.

Throughout the journey, she let the water in her mouth slowly trickle down her throat. When I estimated it was about time, as we veered into a thicket from the highway, she finally swallowed with a gulp. I didn't know if what she swallowed was saliva or water.

The tracks flattened the wild grass, and all around us were dense patches of green grass, passing by in a blur through the goggles.

I had no time to linger and study the plants. If they were normal, it was fine, but if they were abnormal, danger might be lurking.

Fortunately, through the twists and turns, I gradually recognized the remnants of the pre-war road amid the piles of grass. The concrete wasn't completely submerged. On our left side, wild grass grew almost overhead, providing cover, while on the right side, there was a slope with scattered, nameless plants growing close to the ground.

Continuing forward, we could see a pale green lake below the slope, like a bald person suddenly sprouting a ring of stubble, guarding the brighter elevated area.

Li Haohao peered at it and whispered, "t's dangerous."

"I know."

She glanced at me, then at the thing at my waist, and blinked her eyes. "It's dangerous."

"Mm."

Li Haohao sat up straight and muttered, "I'm so hungry."

"We'll eat when we get back"

"I want to eat something dangerous."

"Do something normal." I reminded her, tapping her head.

Driving down, the perspective lowered, and the water disappeared from sight. Looking up, the plants were taller than the car, lush like trees. Even steel couldn't block their dangerous vitality.

Bang.

The car suddenly stopped, and I took out a weapon from under the seat and crawled out of the car roof.

Everything seemed hazy, as if the earth had turned green. We walked into a mass of green lake, with small leafy plants clinging to the ground, surging like waves, and getting stuck in the tracks.

"Li Haohao, drive." I said, then pulled the protective suit off her.

A nearby leaf reached out like an arm, trying to wrap around my ankle.

I set down a leaf and put it in a sample box.

The severed leaf paused for a moment, as if contemplating something. I turned my head and cut the vines entwined around the tracks. Although Li Haohao couldn't drive, she knew how to move the car forward—

The rear of the car lifted off the ground, lifting some of the vines, which clung tightly like a net.

Then I saw blood seeping from the tracks of the car, and some human limbs and remains appeared out of thin air below.

A road paved with flesh and mud separated us from the vines. I crawled back into the car. Li Haohao was struggling to move the control lever, breathing heavily. I took off the protective suit, unscrewed the water bottle, and poured a stream of water over her head.

As if finally able to catch her breath, she vigorously wiped the water droplets from her hair onto her face. I poured the remaining water all over her body. The tail hanging on her waist was droopy, so I rubbed the tip of the tail to drench it in water. Li Haohao squinted her eyes.

Snap—

Half a gnarled face splashed in front of the car, and Li Haohao immediately sat upright.

I didn't ask if it was her doing.

I felt the control lever becoming increasingly soft, like human flesh, and my mind started to become unstable again.

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