Chapter Thirty-Five: Erita

After Ye Hai had carefully crawled in the darkness for more than half an hour, he finally managed to get a rough idea of the terrain. The entire ART-3 research lab resembled a giant tennis racket: a long, narrow corridor leading to a wide expanse at the rear. As Ye Hai crept along the corridor, he discovered a multitude of doors on either side—some ajar, others firmly shut—which he assumed led to offices or similar rooms.

As for the circular plaza at the rear, Ye Hai had no idea what its purpose was. That area was constructed from some kind of metallic material. Crawling along the metal walls in a wide arc, he found the surfaces exceptionally smooth, like a freshly manufactured stainless steel basin. The space above was impressively high; Ye Hai estimated the tallest point in the corridor to be about three and a half meters. In the circular area, he felt as though he had crawled upwards for over twenty meters without reaching the top.

But Ye Hai decided not to probe further into the vast plaza’s function. The thick darkness and prolonged silence had nearly driven him mad with loneliness. This was the true terror of solitary confinement. Unlike others, who could scream or pound the walls to vent their fear and relieve the oppressive silence, Ye Hai was cautious with every step, barely daring to make a sound. After all, he had no idea if something terrifying lurked in the darkness.

Returning to the corridor, Ye Hai began exploring the rooms on either side. He was fortunate to find a still-functional dim flashlight in the drawer of the third office he searched. When he switched it on and its faint beam pierced the gloom, he let out a deep sigh of relief. Even though the flashlight’s reach was only a few meters, that weak light gave him a powerful sense of security.

With the flashlight in hand, Ye Hai examined the room. Its furnishings were simple: just a desk and a few filing cabinets. In the desk drawer, he found a work ID card belonging to a young black-haired man named Tang Jie, whose position was listed as “Researcher.” Searching through the desk and cabinets, Ye Hai found nothing useful. Most of the paper documents had succumbed to the damp environment, rotting away.

Just as Ye Hai was about to leave the office, a black corner atop the filing cabinet caught his eye. He reached up and discovered a diary bound in high-quality soft leather.

Thanks to the leather cover, only a small part at the bottom of the notebook was blurred by moisture; most of the contents were still legible. A quick skim confirmed that it was Researcher Tang Jie’s personal journal, filled with all sorts of miscellaneous entries—personal disputes, complaints about his superiors, and minor discoveries from his research.

But when Ye Hai reached the middle of the notebook, the words he read made his pupils contract sharply.

“April 9th, Wednesday…

Unbelievable—Dr. Eivor Schmidt actually came! I always thought the rumors about Dr. Schmidt visiting the base were just idle gossip spread by some bored colleague. Today, I shook hands with the greatest geneticist on this planet—no, perhaps in the entire Leviathan system. He was friendly and refined—no wonder some entertainment magazines have named him the number one fantasy partner for women. There’s good reason for that.”

“April 10th, Thursday…

I can’t decide if today’s news at the meeting is cause for joy or dismay! Lulus Nuclear Industries has actually been acquired by Kalan Biogenetics? And we researchers have been ‘packaged’ and sold along with it. I don’t understand why a biotech company would buy a nuclear company, but if Dr. Schmidt’s promise of a raise is true, I doubt anyone will be upset about being ‘sold’.”

“May 15th, Monday…

My god, what did I just see? Was that really a bee? A bee over five meters long? Even though I’ve signed twenty-three confidentiality agreements, I doubt anyone would believe me if I told them! When Dr. Schmidt brought 'Aireta' into the base, the look of terror on my colleagues’ faces was priceless. I can only imagine how I looked myself—I can’t have been any better than them.”

“May 16th, Tuesday…

Dr. Schmidt called me into his office. I was thrilled to talk to him—after all, the genetic medicines he invented have saved countless lives, including my daughter’s! But when he asked me to take charge of 'feeding' Aireta, I felt a deep resistance. Dr. Schmidt immediately sensed my unease. He solemnly assured me that Aireta was docile and intelligent and would never attack a human unprovoked. So, I accepted the job—along with a fivefold salary increase.”

“May 17th, Wednesday…

Today was my first encounter with Aireta, and the experience was nothing short of astonishing. Dr. Schmidt said Aireta was a smart bee, and it’s true! When she gently touched her soft antenna to my forehead in greeting, I immediately grew fond of this big creature. After Dr. Schmidt left, we spent the whole day together. To test Aireta’s intelligence, I naïvely asked her math questions like ‘What’s 13 plus 18?’ But when she used her stinger to flip open my notebook precisely to page 31, I nearly lost my mind. To see if it was just a fluke, I gave her twelve more arithmetic problems, some involving multiplication and division—Aireta answered every single one correctly! My ten-year-old son couldn’t solve those problems…”

Reading this, Ye Hai’s mind buzzed with shock. For more than a minute, his thoughts went blank.

“Intelligence! A mutated creature that truly developed intelligence? What is going on? Aireta? ART? Is the official name of the zombie virus actually derived from a mutant bee? Five meters long, yet still retaining its original bee form? A mutated creature capable of arithmetic—possessing intelligence? What in the world is happening?”

Ye Hai’s thoughts were in turmoil. He glanced at the notebook in his trembling hand. This notebook was now his own Pandora’s box; perhaps on the next page, the lid would be lifted.

“Twenty years ago—before the zombie virus outbreak—there were already intelligent mutants? Then, after the outbreak, where did these intelligent mutants go?”