He took off his backpack and then focused on finding the first aid kit he had brought along.
"Though the wound isn't deep, try to endure the pain a little!" Noah said while putting on gloves and preparing the supplies to bandage Kai's wound.
"Is all this necessary?"
"Shh, let the adults handle it!"
First, Noah cleaned the wound left by the bougainvillea petals. Seeing Kai's abs tighten, he said, "Hold on a bit, we're just cleaning the wound."
Then Noah carefully disinfected the wound again, sprinkled an appropriate amount of antibiotic powder on the open wound, and finally covered it with a gauze pad.
"All done!" Noah said after a while, having finished dressing the wound.
Noah turned his head back to look at the bougainvillea and said: "Do you think that bougainvillea will attack others?"
"Not sure, but probably."
"Then should we warn the others who are coming by? Maybe leave a sign or something. If it attacked us, others could be in danger too." Noah said worriedly.
"What are you talking about?" Kai's face suddenly turned unpleasant.
"Has your brain been soaked in water or something?" Kai continued shouting.
Noah was stunned by the scolding and then replied, "I just want to help others! Why don't you care about your fellow humans? They'll be in danger!"
"Since the meteorite fell, it's been more than twelve hours. What do you think has happened to Earth in those twelve hours?"
"It's not just that bougainvillea, but all the animals and plants will keep evolving relentlessly. Do you know what situation we're in?" Kai took a step closer to Noah and said coldly.
This was the first time since they met a few hours ago that the young soldier spoke so much to Noah, but these words made Noah snap back to reality.
In truth, in his mind, he still thought this was a dream, and once it ended, everything would return to normal. Even just moments ago, he thought the world would go back to normal soon, and he would resume being a doctor, happily treating people until he grew old. He believed humanity had gone through so many difficulties and upheavals and wouldn't be easily crushed like this.
But now he had to accept the truth: humanity was walking down the path to extinction.
He wasn't stupid enough not to recognize the threat of this evolution. Thinking back to the giant Poodle and the bougainvillea, he realized that humanity was no longer the top species in the food chain.
The harsh reality.
But it was the reality!
Noah had originally wanted to make a warning sign to alert others coming by to stay away from here, but this was completely pointless. As long as the evolution continued at this rapid pace, it wouldn't be long before it covered the entire road. Noah wasn't even sure he could take care of himself and survive. Surviving in Moon City would be difficult for him.
Noah clenched his fist. "You're right. I need to wake up."
"But clearly, you know more than I do. Why don't you tell me?"
"Why? I don't want to stay dumb in this mess. I was planning to stay here and be a doctor for the rest of my life. Why do I have to follow you when I don't even know what's going on?"
Kai narrowed his eyes and looked at him for a moment. "If you want, I'll let you stay here. You're not part of the mission I need to complete."
"You must have some reason to bring me along, otherwise you wouldn't have come here." The more information Noah could gather, the higher his chances of survival. Even if Kai continued pointing his gun at him, Noah was willing to take a risk.
Kai ignored Noah and simply said: "Let's keep moving. We don't have much time."
Noah stuffed the bougainvillea petal, which was like a thin sheet of steel, into his backpack, carefully wrapped it up, and then followed Kai closely, asking nonstop: "We can talk while walking, right? If you know anything, tell me!"
"What's going on? Is snow falling in June? Why are all the animals and plants evolving to become so massive?"
Kai replied: "What I know, I heard on the news this morning, just like you. From what I gather, it seems that what's happening now is caused by the meteorite that fell in Antarctica. It brought an immense amount of heat, but for some reason, that heat only affected the glaciers in Antarctica and not the virus that's spreading all over the world."
Kai paused for a moment and continued: "As for why the evolution is happening so quickly, scientists are still researching."
"What's the nature of that meteorite? Why hasn't its temperature dropped, even though it's in the coldest place on Earth?" Noah kept firing off questions.
"I don't know." Kai shook his head.
Noah pondered for a moment: "If the CO2 continues to drop this quickly, it won't be long before the entire Earth is covered in ice, just like the Ice Age!"
"I once read somewhere that the creatures that survived the Ice Age had to evolve to live in such harsh conditions, but there's no way they could evolve this quickly!"
Kai was a little surprised. Noah was the subject of a secondary mission that Kai had no choice but to follow, someone who could be considered a burden. He never expected the other person's intellect to be so sharp.
"The national government says this could be humanity's next Ice Age, and it will be the most terrifying one." Kai replied.
"Is it the Ice Age?" Noah asked urgently.
Kai only nodded, not responding further.
"When did you contact the government of Moon City? What else did they say? Did my aunt say anything else? She's a biologist, she should understand this best."
"Two hours ago, while I was checking the situation around here, I received a call from your aunt, giving me orders to find you, and I found you just as that dog was about to eat you." Kai recounted.
"You were a soldier in the government army, weren't you? Why are you here right now? Is there anything else?" Noah asked suspiciously.
"I was on leave when this happened, so I was just ordered to check the situation here." Kai answered vaguely.
"Did they give you any other information?" Noah asked.
"They said that the signals from the five meteorite impact zones have been lost. Everyone in those five areas is uncontactable. The last signal they received was a distress signal."
"Is it because of the meteorites, or something else?"
"We're not sure yet. Helicopters were sent to those areas, but they lost communication. It's now very difficult to locate those areas. No one can enter or leave. It's like a nation separated from the rest of humanity."
Noah shuddered: "The people inside..."
"Most of them didn't survive. Anything that needs to grow needs food." Kai bluntly said.
Noah clenched his fist.