Global Evolution

“Here are some bullets for the handgun.” Qing Shui handed three boxes of bullets to Chang and then took out and unfolded a silk-like vest from his lab coat. “And this, this is the bulletproof vest fabricated from Group Beta. They utilized those tenacious spider silk we had troubled with and knitted them into this vest. It is the best protection I can offer to you at this moment. It doesn’t affect your flexibility at all and is as lightweight as a T-shirt.”

“You always have a plan B,” Chang noted, taking the white vest and folding it the way Qing Shui had. He then placed it into his pocket.

“I like to give myself some leeway, and there is nothing wrong with it, right?” Qing Shui sank to his knees and gently combed Jing’s hair. “After all, you are the last two family members I have on this planet. I’d do anything to make sure you are safe.”

“Don’t worry, we are stronger than you think. I don’t understand the political struggle but I’ve had a bitter taste of the cruelty of it. So remember, I want to see a living Qing Shui when I come back.” Chang grabbed Jing’s small hand in his palm. “Once the revolution is over, we’ll come back to here regardless of whether you’re dead or alive.”

Qing Shui looked fixedly at Chang, as if this was the last time he would see him, He spoke confidently, “When you’re away, you don’t need to think of me too much. I won’t surrender to anyone. Neither the government nor the military can waste any gifted. The worst case scenario for me is to become a puppet for one of them. They simply can’t afford to lose me.

“And I am positive that no one can scotch me easily, at least not in Zhengzhou.” His eyes were filled with pride. He added, “I’m not easy to be eliminated. To be honest, I’m more concerned about your safety. Part of the reason why I wanted to see you today is because Zhuo has realised you two’s importance to me. So in order to gain control over me, this fox might cage you or something to threaten me. You need to leave, now. I am 100% sure that he will search for you tomorrow. He even has a troop of gene-altered soldiers that no hand-held weapons can do damage to. They are swifter than machines and more deadly than any assassins. The scales on their skin are both genius and evil creation... And hence, I got this handgun from Colonel Xie against a rainy day.”

“Gene-altered soldiers?” Chang frowned, he didn’t know the human subject experiment had gone this far.

“Just as you heard, they are assassins made by Zhuo. Their intelligence is defected, but they’re obedient killing machines.”

“And if we were to quantify how dangerous they are using Jing’s index, what number are they? Can you even cause injury with this handgun?” Knowing that he might be chased after, Chang was extremely alarmed.

“I‘d say they are at least at 25, but how high they are depends on what kind of enhancement they had. Zhuo didn’t show me the full set of their skills. I only know that they have excellent vision and every muscle on their body is designed for grappling. They probably don’t know how to survive in the wild but they will make the most of themselves to fight with medium sized opponents such as humans.”

Qing Shui recalled what he saw the other day in the experimental field, and his finger pointed at Chang’s altered handgun. “The handgun you have here is custom made. It is made specifically to kill these men. It is so powerful among its kind, you may call it the most lethal handgun in the world!

“It was altered by my fellows in Group Beta. Its name was Pfeifer Zeliska Revolver, originating in Austria. The altered version can be held with a single hand. Previously, it wasn’t common to have this handgun used in a battle field because it was too big, and the recoil was too strong to handle. Not many people could use this gun with ease.”

“You said it didn’t prevail in the army? Why?” Chang rubbed the gun’s barrel.

“Because humans were simply too weak before the red fog. The intense recoil could even damage the user’s wrist! Not many soldiers were skilled and strong enough to handle it. However, you don’t need to worry about it now as you are at least six times stronger than an average adult. Firing this gun should be easy enough for you.”

“How powerful is this handgun?” Chang asked, gently touching every inch of this half a meter long gun.

“The instant shooting energy at the muzzle is 6230 joule,” Qing Shui answered.

“What does that mean?” Chang raised the handgun and tried to aim randomly.

“It is more powerful than any handgun you have known. Even Desert Eagle is much weaker compared to this deadly beast.”

“Do you mean the Desert Eagle we used to play in CS? I remember I always used it for a one-shot kill.”

“Yes... the instant shooting energy at the muzzle of Desert Eagle is 1570 joules. That means Pfeifer Zeliska Revolver is four times more powerful.”

“You’re not kidding, are you?” Chang pulled the cylinder latch to open the cylinder, looking at the giant bullet resting in there. “Since it is such a powerful gun, it should be able to kill those soldiers, right?”

“Even if you fail to kill them, you will cause severe injury with this handgun. If it is a good shot. However, keep this in mind: they are much, much faster than you, and they can see beyond ten meters. In other words, they are stronger than you in all ways except for intelligence. If you were to face them in an unfavorable situation, it’ll be hard for you to hit your target.”

“But with this gun, I’m more confident about surviving out there. Otherwise I won’t even have a chance to escape,” Chang said and slid the handgun into its holster and carried that on his right shoulder. “Fingers crossed for my aim...”

Qing Shui nodded at them and drew the curtain apart, saying “The Sun is about to rise, you have to go now.”

Chang picked up Jing as he responded, “Qing Shui, take care.”

“So should you.” Qing Shui patted Chang’s shoulder and tilted his head as he teased Jing, laughing. “ Are you still mad at me? You don’t seem like you want to say goodbye to me.”

“I don’t want to speak with you! You have changed!” Jing buried her face in Chang’s shoulder.

“Forgive her, she’s still young. I’ll see you around.” The atmosphere was quite awkward at the farewell, and Chang didn’t know how he could sooth it. Therefore, he headed out the door to run away from the heavy atmosphere.

Jing and Chang returned to their suite to pack up some essentials. He also took the wooden box that contained the white worms, as well as his old friend - the crossbow. One last thing he took with was a water bottle. After that, they swiftly and quietly left the room.

Guided by Jing’s detection, they effortlessly found a spot where no one guarded the enclosing wall. Chang looked around again to ensure the route was clear, and then as fast as a flash, he helped Jing to escape first before jumping off the wall himself. Bathed in the red fog and the darkness, they finally left the center of the storm and headed to their new lives.

Standing on the street, although he carried two heavy weapons on the back and had Jing in his right arm, as well as a small suitcase in the left, he smelled freedom in the air.

“Do you also have a feeling as if we just broke out of jail?” Chang asked Jing.

“I know what you mean, it was depressing in there. Everyone is a schemer.” Jing looked into his eyes. “You don’t belong in there, it was more dangerous for you than living in the jungle.”

“I am aware of that. I’d be a dead ant in there without Qing Shui’s protection.”

“Speaking of him, do you think he is changed?” Jing put her arms around his neck, saying, “I feel strange just being in the same room with him. It wasn’t like this before.”

“I don’t know. I guess it was because we stayed in the institute for too long.” Chang heaved a sigh. “People change, and I am certainly different from the person I was two months ago. Jing, don’t think about this too much. Even if he has changed, he did it for survival. He won’t harm us, just like I will never harm you.”

Jing only closed her arms tightly, nodding.

To ensure their safety, they left the institute, striding away without rest. Zhengzhou was as sincere and calm as a sleeping baby except for some rasping sounds from unnamed insects and birds. There was not a single human to be seen at night.

The night was always more intimidating—the limited vision and circadian rhythm refrained humans from being active at night.

They didn’t encounter anyone while walking on the pavement covered by various plants. Chang wasn’t familiar with Zhengzhou either. He only knew that he should stay as far away from the institute as possible. Therefore, he headed to the south, then to the east.

The institute was at the north of Zhengzhou, and there was a residential area at the east side. Aided by Jing’s powers, they bypassed major predators without getting their attention.

When the sun was about to show its bright face, they arrived at the east side.

“Let’s find a place around here.” Chang had a feeling that if they continued to head east, they would enter the jungle before they knew it. Besides, Jing also reminded him that the concentration of living organisms decreased ahead. Thus, Chang walked around the two blocks until he found a suitable empty condo building. He opened a room to the first floor and went inside with Jing.

“We’ll stay in here today. I’ll find a better place when we have time to...”

The trace of human living was gone from the room. Only the furniture was left covered by dust.

Chang removed all his luggage, and then sat down on a sofa bed. “I just need some rest...” he murmured feebly and fell on the side. He wasn’t exhausted but his mind was fatigued from the farewell and the operation.

Jing stood up and walked across the living room to lock the door. She then returned and quietly laid down beside him.

They slept peacefully until a few hours later a series of sharp noises woke Chang up from dreaming.

Someone was drumming against a frying pan with a metal ladle. The sound was grating on the ears and it was especially unbearable for Chang due to his hearing being made more sensitive by the operation. He almost bounced up from the sofa bed, and his movements woke Jing up.

“What is going on?”

The world was dyed in bright red already. His watch indicated the time - 10:43 AM.