Yin Qing was seeking a solution for her curiosity; she scanned around everyone in this campsite, and she locked her eyes on Dr. Huang - the woman that hadn't spoken, the woman that had a low presence.
They were both women with similar age; it should be easy to bring up some common interest.
Plus, Yin Qing found that this woman was somewhat isolated from Chang's group; she seemed to know everyone, but she also appeared to be a stranger.
Therefore, upon making up her mind, Yin Qing moved her bedding and slept beside Dr. Huang with her kids.
In the early morning, everybody woke up and packed their belongings, then they all climbed on the centipede's back.
To this fifty-meter-long centipede, the weight of these human and their belongings was nothing. The group headed to the north again, when everything was loaded up.
The next stop would be Hebi, a medium size city populated with a million citizens, but right now, no one knew the number of the survivors.
The journey was relaxed and comfortable, Chang could even sleep for a while—the centipede wasn’t jolting at all. The countless feet were able to ease out the turbulence, and its bitter scent also hinted its identity of a superior predator which resulted in other beings automatically staying away from them. Their journey couldn’t have been easier.
No one was busy except for the clones; they needed to concentrate so that they could keep sending out the signal to interfere with the centipede’s brainwaves, as well as guiding their route.
On the other side, Yin Qing sat, holding her kids. She was whispering with Dr. Huang.
Of course, Chang noticed something unusual going on between Yin Qing and Dr. Huang, but then he noticed that they were only gossiping and soon lost interest.
Two other people were sitting at the end of the centipede; they were Jing and Yin Qing’s nephew. Both were of similar age and were whispering to each other. Chang felt strange hearing the whispering, but he couldn’t hear clearly because he was too far from them, and Jing seemed to be especially lowering her voice.
"What’s this? Are you worrying Jing is falling in love again?" Zhizhi sat down in front of Chang.
"I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried. I don’t think she is ready for a relationship yet," Chang said.
"Come on, seriously?" Zhizhi chuckled. "I think your worry is self-serving. Man, you are too protective. Why don’t you worry a little bit more if I have a relationship or not?"
"You are thirty-something already; you can take care of yourself." Chang didn’t even lift his eyelids.
"Bullshit, I am still young!" Zhizhi’s face flushed when Chang mentioned her age. She laid on the side and kicked Chang’s waist. "Thirty! I’m only thirty! I’m still in my prime, alright? How dare you say that I’m thirty-something!"
"Come on." Chang rolled over. "Once you pass thirty you are more than thirty years old, am I wrong?"
"You!" Zhizhi supported herself up. "Never mind, you’ll never understand a woman."
"Well, you are right. That’s why I haven’t been in a serious relationship even once." Chang zoomed out, staring at the branch-weaved dome above. "Do you know what I regretted the most when I was still in school?"
"What was it?"
"The fact that I’ve never fallen in love with a girl." Chang was fret about his past. "I’ve never regretted not studying hard, but I really wanted somebody to love and for somebody to love me at the same time. The romance of young love can never be found once you pass that age.
"Unfortunately, I’ve never had someone love me that much except for my parents. I heard that even Qing Shui had fallen in love."
"Wait… this can’t be true, even Qing Shui, that cold-blooded bastard had fallen in love?" Zhizhi felt complicated. "I thought he doesn’t even have any desires!"
"Of course he does, Dou was the name of his girlfriend." Chang was reminded of a good times he’d had with Qing Shui, and his face stretched with a rigid smile. "Two years ago, I remember meeting him in the research institute and at that time he showed me a picture of her, and asked me if she was sweet and pretty.
"Hahaha, what a strange person he was! But it was also on that day that I realized he was also human."
"Well, was she pretty or not?" Zhizhi asked — men and women always had a different approach to these kind of stories.
"I’m not sure, that picture was stained and had lost color. I could see the shape of her, but her facial features had faded already." Chang eyes stared into nothing as he recalled the past. "She had a fair complexion and seemed like she loved to smile. Other than that, I couldn’t tell more; I don’t even know if she is still alive."
"Oh right, Qing Shui wasn’t from Kaifeng, he came from somewhere else, didn’t he?"
"Correct, I remember he was from Shanxi province," Chang said. "I have no idea where his girlfriend was from, but I hope she is still alive."
"I hope for that as well." Zhizhi sighed.
"And Qing Shui… where is he now? Is he in heaven? Or is he in the Willow who’s disporting with his mind?" Chang heaved a sigh, following Zhizhi.
The centipede was fast, and it was able to keep up the speed for a long time. It could trot on almost any terrain. Since they left the campsite, they had already proceeded for nearly a hundred kilometers. Chang could see the change of the species in the jungle, and due to the temperature drop, the size of the tree leaves started to shrink.
Plus, when they arrived here, the density of animals had increased as most of them had fled from Zhengzhou due to the pressure of Willow's arrival and settled here. They were no longer willing to migrate further as they felt safe in this place. While they were settling down, they were also invading the jungle as predators.
At the same time, they revealed their blood-thirsty nature.
The long exile was a vigorous, energy consuming endeavor to any species. That’s why everyone was hungry, desperate for food.
Billions of birds and insects flooded the jungle, and this would bring massacre to the original residences. A foreign species can break the ecological equilibrium, the invasion of this scale would overturn the original ecology.
When the centipede trotted further ahead, Chang and the others had to begin to stay on guard as they entered the chaos near He Bi.
Quack! Quack!
Some birds quacked and circled above Chang's head, but he didn't fire any bullets, reluctant to waste any.
"There are way too many of them! The Willow repelled organisms from two provinces here!" The birds and insects weaved a tighter web than the tree branches above their heads. "Qing, Shui, Shui Qing! Any ideas to help us in getting away from them?"
Yin Qing was seeking a solution for her curiosity; she scanned around everyone in this campsite, and she locked her eyes on Dr. Huang - the woman that hadn't spoken, the woman that had a low presence.
They were both women with similar age; it should be easy to bring up some common interest.
Plus, Yin Qing found that this woman was somewhat isolated from Chang's group; she seemed to know everyone, but she also appeared to be a stranger.
Therefore, upon making up her mind, Yin Qing moved her bedding and slept beside Dr. Huang with her kids.
In the early morning, everybody woke up and packed their belongings, then they all climbed on the centipede's back.
To this fifty-meter-long centipede, the weight of these human and their belongings was nothing. The group headed to the north again, when everything was loaded up.
The next stop would be Hebi, a medium size city populated with a million citizens, but right now, no one knew the number of the survivors.
The journey was relaxed and comfortable, Chang could even sleep for a while—the centipede wasn’t jolting at all. The countless feet were able to ease out the turbulence, and its bitter scent also hinted its identity of a superior predator which resulted in other beings automatically staying away from them. Their journey couldn’t have been easier.
No one was busy except for the clones; they needed to concentrate so that they could keep sending out the signal to interfere with the centipede’s brainwaves, as well as guiding their route.
On the other side, Yin Qing sat, holding her kids. She was whispering with Dr. Huang.
Of course, Chang noticed something unusual going on between Yin Qing and Dr. Huang, but then he noticed that they were only gossiping and soon lost interest.
Two other people were sitting at the end of the centipede; they were Jing and Yin Qing’s nephew. Both were of similar age and were whispering to each other. Chang felt strange hearing the whispering, but he couldn’t hear clearly because he was too far from them, and Jing seemed to be especially lowering her voice.
"What’s this? Are you worrying Jing is falling in love again?" Zhizhi sat down in front of Chang.
"I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried. I don’t think she is ready for a relationship yet," Chang said.
"Come on, seriously?" Zhizhi chuckled. "I think your worry is self-serving. Man, you are too protective. Why don’t you worry a little bit more if I have a relationship or not?"
"You are thirty-something already; you can take care of yourself." Chang didn’t even lift his eyelids.
"Bullshit, I am still young!" Zhizhi’s face flushed when Chang mentioned her age. She laid on the side and kicked Chang’s waist. "Thirty! I’m only thirty! I’m still in my prime, alright? How dare you say that I’m thirty-something!"
"Come on." Chang rolled over. "Once you pass thirty you are more than thirty years old, am I wrong?"
"You!" Zhizhi supported herself up. "Never mind, you’ll never understand a woman."
"Well, you are right. That’s why I haven’t been in a serious relationship even once." Chang zoomed out, staring at the branch-weaved dome above. "Do you know what I regretted the most when I was still in school?"
"What was it?"
"The fact that I’ve never fallen in love with a girl." Chang was fret about his past. "I’ve never regretted not studying hard, but I really wanted somebody to love and for somebody to love me at the same time. The romance of young love can never be found once you pass that age.
"Unfortunately, I’ve never had someone love me that much except for my parents. I heard that even Qing Shui had fallen in love."
"Wait… this can’t be true, even Qing Shui, that cold-blooded bastard had fallen in love?" Zhizhi felt complicated. "I thought he doesn’t even have any desires!"
"Of course he does, Dou was the name of his girlfriend." Chang was reminded of a good times he’d had with Qing Shui, and his face stretched with a rigid smile. "Two years ago, I remember meeting him in the research institute and at that time he showed me a picture of her, and asked me if she was sweet and pretty.
"Hahaha, what a strange person he was! But it was also on that day that I realized he was also human."
"Well, was she pretty or not?" Zhizhi asked — men and women always had a different approach to these kind of stories.
"I’m not sure, that picture was stained and had lost color. I could see the shape of her, but her facial features had faded already." Chang eyes stared into nothing as he recalled the past. "She had a fair complexion and seemed like she loved to smile. Other than that, I couldn’t tell more; I don’t even know if she is still alive."
"Oh right, Qing Shui wasn’t from Kaifeng, he came from somewhere else, didn’t he?"
"Correct, I remember he was from Shanxi province," Chang said. "I have no idea where his girlfriend was from, but I hope she is still alive."
"I hope for that as well." Zhizhi sighed.
"And Qing Shui… where is he now? Is he in heaven? Or is he in the Willow who’s disporting with his mind?" Chang heaved a sigh, following Zhizhi.
The centipede was fast, and it was able to keep up the speed for a long time. It could trot on almost any terrain. Since they left the campsite, they had already proceeded for nearly a hundred kilometers. Chang could see the change of the species in the jungle, and due to the temperature drop, the size of the tree leaves started to shrink.
Plus, when they arrived here, the density of animals had increased as most of them had fled from Zhengzhou due to the pressure of Willow's arrival and settled here. They were no longer willing to migrate further as they felt safe in this place. While they were settling down, they were also invading the jungle as predators.
At the same time, they revealed their blood-thirsty nature.
The long exile was a vigorous, energy consuming endeavor to any species. That’s why everyone was hungry, desperate for food.
Billions of birds and insects flooded the jungle, and this would bring massacre to the original residences. A foreign species can break the ecological equilibrium, the invasion of this scale would overturn the original ecology.
When the centipede trotted further ahead, Chang and the others had to begin to stay on guard as they entered the chaos near He Bi.
Quack! Quack!
Some birds quacked and circled above Chang's head, but he didn't fire any bullets, reluctant to waste any.
"There are way too many of them! The Willow repelled organisms from two provinces here!" The birds and insects weaved a tighter web than the tree branches above their heads. "Qing, Shui, Shui Qing! Any ideas to help us in getting away from them?"
