CHAPTER 22

I couldn't stop thinking about Li Haohao, and I didn't sleep all night. While trying to sleep, I remained vigilant, making sure not to accidentally open my eyes. I pinched the flesh of my arm, preventing any strange eyes from growing in my mind.

Waiting for time to pass was incredibly torturous. The sound of ticking from the neighboring room was like a giant clock.

I thought to myself that Li Haohao probably didn't do anything to Zhao Xinyan after all. His body was still there, and the strangeness in the next room had revived.

I counted the time by pinching myself until I couldn't lie still anymore. I decided to treat it as dawn and fumbled to tear off a piece of cloth from my clothes to cover my eyes. Until I figured out what had happened in the outpost, I couldn't open my eyes.

This was the first time something from Li Haohao directly polluted me.

Directly, ah, I couldn't "see" yet. I found myself amused by the sudden joke I had created, but then I calmed down.

I got up from the bed, put on my coat, and walked out of the room. Even with my eyes closed, I wouldn't go astray.

The door was open. After Li Haohao left the room, I didn't sit up to lock it.

I walked forward, feeling the icy walls with my hands. I reached the first door, the second, the third, the fourth— the bathroom, then turned left.

My arms were suspended, swiping in front of me like windshield wipers, trying to touch the wall of the staircase well. It was indeed a wall, but my extended foot was blocked, and I kicked the wall.

I took a step to the left, then another. Still a wall. I returned to the starting position and moved to the right. One step, two steps, still a wall.

This couldn't be right.

I had been on the third floor for seven years, and here, there were nine dormitories, one storeroom, and one bathroom, all in the same row.

I turned around in place, reached the door of the bathroom, stepped back, the fourth door, the third, the second, the first.

I was back to where I started. I turned the doorknob and found it locked. But I didn't lock it when I came out.

I cautiously took two steps back, preparing myself to hit the wall with one foot— but I stepped into empty space.

In other words, the door I had just touched wasn't mine.

I stood still, losing my bearings.

I wanted to untie the band from my eyes to see where I was exactly, but I quickly realized that it might be a trap, and I shouldn't untie it.

I sat in place for a while, and I sensed that something was off with my neck. It felt like when someone grabs your neck and you can feel your heartbeat intensifying in your hand. It was as if something was tugging on the band around my neck.

I reached toward the back of my head, and the shape didn't feel right.

When I touched it, it stopped moving.

I realized that even though it was an eye that had grown on me, I had no idea about its movements. Now, with a layer of cloth in between, it was still open, seeing darkness. But the fact that they are open may not be a good thing.

I used my finger to press down on the eyelid of that eye, keeping it tightly closed. I walked forward heavily and soon bumped into a wall. I pushed back and felt my door, entered, and found my desk, my bed, and my journal.

This time, as I continued to feel my way down, I successfully reached the staircase.

I descended from the third floor to the second floor.

I stopped and didn't proceed to the first floor.

Some people like to slide down in order, one by one, and it would feel uncomfortable if you missed any step. I hesitated for a moment and turned to the second floor.

Inside the outpost, I held onto one thing: the things inside the outpost couldn't truly harm me.

Once I silently reminded myself of this, my mood strangely calmed down.

The second floor was our work area. It was more complex and dangerous to navigate by touch. I chose to enter each room one by one.

I even touched a huge glass surface, and I couldn't help but want to open my eyes, but I resisted the urge. I switched hands and used my left hand to cover the eye at the back of my head and continued to feel and move forward.

On the second floor, there were also many closed rooms, but I could ignore the others. The places I usually visited were the archive room, the lounge, the communication room, and the testing room. However, there was one place I knew I would eventually open and take a look, just not now.

The archive room showed no abnormalities.

In the testing room, as soon as I opened the door, even without putting any samples inside, the testing equipment started beeping wildly with alerts. I stepped back.

I sat on the couch in the lounge for a while before getting up and heading to the communication room.

Inside the communication room, there was an old radio. When I sat here, I would open our frequency to receive messages, and then I would sit there for the whole day.

Due to Li Haohao's influence, it had been a long time since I entered this room. I touched around and suddenly realized that the headphones had been taken off at some point and were placed on the table.

I picked them up and put them next to my ear.

"We're going to die."

"We're going to die."

"We're going to die."

I set the headphones down, not listening to this kind of crazy repetition. It was also a part of maintaining normalcy.

The communication room seemed normal. I left the second floor and continued downstairs.

Still keeping my eyes closed, the first floor filled me with an extra sense of fear. I thought of Li Haohao and turned back upstairs.

Fourth floor.

I opened the greenhouse, felt the sign, and it seemed that Zhan Yicheng wasn't there. I exited.

Then, I went to check the circulation machine.

The machine, without visually inspecting it, it was difficult to tell if it was functioning properly. But maintaining the cleaning order was important. Even if it was part of the process, I had to go in.

As I entered, amidst the sound of a pounding heartbeat, someone suddenly spoke to me, "Someone is calling for help."

"It's the voice from the communication room." I replied, trying to recall who this voice belonged to.

This voice was very gentle. I remembered it was her. "Director."

"He Ran," she responded to me. I still kept my eyes closed and continued to feel forward. Then I touched a soft face, and that face also had closed eyes.

I remembered that I had once thought she had disappeared, but she hadn't. She appeared in the most important place in the outpost in a miraculous way.

I was thinking that this wasn't a good time for a chat, and the research director said to me, "There's pollutant in the outpost."

"Mmm."

I thought that must be the reason for the sound from the communication room. But pollutant? Not me? Then it could only be Li Haohao.

I wanted to explain that Li Haohao was the firefighter I had invited, as evidenced by the sign on the first floor, but the words didn't come out. The research director continued, "The commander is in great danger."

The commander had long been dead. That was a certainty. But bringing it up now, I could certainly think of some other implications.

There was a moment of silence. "Is he on the first floor?"

"He is monitoring the pollutant."

"Mmm."

"Have you been polluted too?" It was an inquiring tone.

Suddenly, I felt unsure, as if I hadn't been polluted yet. But how was that possible?

A broadcast voice came from above: "All officers, all officers, immediately gather in the meeting room upon hearing this broadcast..."

This sentence seemed like a curse, as even with my eyes closed, I accurately found my way downstairs. It was as if I had opened my eyes. The eye in the palm of my hand remained closed, but my feet had already stepped through the stairs, passing the first floor and heading straight to the basement.

The walls of the basement were soft, as if they had life, just as before.

At that moment, the voice of the research director suddenly came, "He Ran, look at me."

I opened my eyes, but there was no one in front of me.

The entire corridor, the ceiling, the walls on both sides, and the floor under my feet all had pairs of eyes open, staring at me.

"He Ran, look at me."

I closed my eyes.

I felt the door of the meeting room and opened it.

The eye at the back of my head suddenly disappeared. I groped to find a chair to sit down, but a hand opened it and said, "This is my seat."

It was Lin Buxiu's voice. I stopped and apologized.

Lin Buxiu's voice sounded strange, as if her throat was constricted, about to let out a scream but holding it back. "It's fine."

I remembered the day of the meeting. My seat should be... I felt the back of each chair, circling around, passing three chairs, and then I pulled one, but the chair was empty.

I sat down.

Ding—

"Now, let's vote for 'Who is the pollutant?' Choose the person you think is polluted. The person with the most votes..."

It was the voice of the Commander, but it wasn't the exact words from that day. Electing a pollutant is different from electing a president. He would give a speech, and everyone would speak, and then he would make a conclusion. The research director even said he was absurd—

But today, it's just the voting session.

Lin Buxiu said, "I think it's He Ran. Just now, Zhao Xinyan and I went out in the car to find you... He Ran was alone at the outpost. The fog was heavy. We went out for a moment and came back. He Ran was standing in front of the car without wearing protective gear."

It was a replication of that scene from that day, but not entirely.

The research director wasn't there, and she didn't say "Absurd." I couldn't quite remember where she was sitting at that time.

All I knew was that there were people sitting on my left and right.

I remembered that after that vote, the Commander reassured me and told me to go back to my room. On the way back, the research director patted my shoulder and walked beside me, saying, "According to the latest information, our pollution is reversible. The previous 50% pollution level is not accurate."

I just listened as she said, "There's a new way of measurement, the mental value, to gauge humans after the war. The mental value is only judged as pollution when it drops to zero. When it falls below 50%, there will be some reactions, but they are reversible... There are medications for treatment... Falling to around 10% is the danger zone, but it can still be saved. It's just that according to the current system, this 10% is equivalent to what we now call a pollution level of fifty percent... The accuracy of the detection is far from sufficient."

"Mmm."

"I think measuring the mental value is a better way, considering that we used to have some mental illnesses before the war... In essence, it's like this, He Ran. I don't think you are polluted. We all, to some extent, have our mental values decreasing. I even feel that Lin Buxiu is more dangerous than you, but it doesn't matter much. Although I haven't seen that kind of medication, I think you should at least not take this matter too seriously. Engaging in normal activities helps prevent further decline in the mental value."

From what she said, it seems that our current judgment of pollution and rating are based on that faulty detection device that goes crazy whenever it encounters me. If the pollution level exceeds fifty percent, it is deemed as pollution, while if it's below fifty percent, we can continue with normal order.

However, just like a new approach to dealing with an illness, the latest method, which hasn't reached us yet, is to measure our pollution using mental values. A mental value of ninety to one hundred indicates a normal person, while below fifty is somewhat dangerous, and when it drops to ten, using our current shoddy detection device, it can detect a pollution level exceeding fifty.

A mental value of 0-10 is equivalent to a pollution level exceeding fifty percent. The Commander believes that the former is more precise, and it implies that there's still a chance for salvation, not being completely labeled as pollution.

Unfortunately, we don't have supplies, let alone such highly accurate equipment.

I'm grateful for her sharing this with me, and I said, "I will engage in normal activities."

"What is normal?" Even though she was the one who initially told me to stay normal, she turned around and started asking. I couldn't answer.

Snap back to reality, the voting in the conference room had already ended.

The voice of the commander came, "Who is the pollutant? Who is the pollutant? He Ran, He--"

His voice abruptly stopped.

"He Ran," it was Li Haohao's voice, "Open your eyes."

I opened my eyes, realizing I was sitting in the meeting room.

In the center of the conference room, three monitors formed a triangle, facing outward.

Snowflake-like spots appeared on them, a rare sight, resembling something ancient, very ancient.

Then the monitors shut off.

The empty meeting room only had Li Haohao sitting in the front side, her hair disheveled, eyes closed, and hands covering the back of her head.

I immediately stood up. "Li Haohao."

"I ate him."

"What about the eye on your lower back?" I looked at her posture, her back empty beneath the thin t-shirt.

Li Haohao frowned, looking displeased. "Why don't you ask me how I ate that person?"

"Hmm." I didn't know how to ask.

"He Ran, there's something important."

"Mm-hmm."

"I'm sorry."

"Hmm? Why?"

Li Haohao curled up in the chair, silent for a while. I nudged her shoulder, and she suddenly opened her mouth. "Teeth."

"Teeth?"

"Earlier, when brushing my teeth, blood flowed into the circulation machine."

"I see."

"The circulation machine is crucial for the outpost..."

"Mm."

"It seems like I'm devouring the outpost." She sounded a bit sad, hugging her arms tightly, burying her head in them.

"What do you mean?"

"I eat things. I'm always hungry, He Ran, I'm always hungry."

"I know that."

"I don't even know when I started eating from there." Her closed eyes trembled continuously, and her eyeballs were rolling frantically beneath her eyelids.

"It's okay."

"It's my fault." She said.

"You should say it's He Ran's fault." I corrected her, and as soon as she admitted her mistake, I felt that something wasn't right.

She just shook her head.

I was still worried about the eye on her lower back. I reached out to lift her shirt's hem, but she hastily dodged, agile like a cat, jumping onto the table and stomping her feet repeatedly. "Don't touch me! Don't touch me!"

"Okay." I withdrew my hand, and Li Haohao became annoyed. "Don't you understand?"

"I'm a pollutant. Every pollutant has its own territory. Just like a monster," I knew what Li Haohao wanted to hear, so I explained to her, "The outpost is my territory, and you're an intruder. The pollutants in the outpost, they all have their own small territories, but overall, they belong to me. However, if you kill the owner of a territory, you can occupy that territory. I don't know what your 'eating' means, but what you mean is that you're occupying my territory. I know you didn't do it on purpose."

"You don't understand," Li Haohao suddenly turned her back to me and crouched down. "Lift it and look inside!"

I lifted her shirt's hem and saw two eyes.

But they were both blinded, the eyeballs gouged out, blood flowing out, leaving two ugly hollows.

"Hmm?"

"I don't want to eat you! I've said it so many times!"

"But you're hungry. When you're hungry, you have to eat something. It's normal... I haven't let you eat enough all this time. I'm sorry."

"He Ran, you're going to die. They're all warning you. Why don't you listen to them?"

"The computers in the conference room... I remember there were some old movies..." I crouched under the table, searching for the operating system. It was still an old keyboard and mouse set. I restarted the computer. "Battleship Potemkin, according to pre-war standards, is quite old... The Sound of Music is good."

"He Ran, you're going to die."

"Ah, you can't watch movies with your eyes closed. Listen to the sound then. I'll tell you the plot."

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