After being stared at by a group of "others,"
Lan Jin could only think of saying, "Sorry for disturbing you."
She turned, ready to close the door and leave.
But the humanoid mutant creatures inside weren't about to let them go so easily. As Lan Jin started to turn, one of them called out, "No, wait, we've been expecting you."
Lan Jin froze in shock.
Naturally, Captain Zhang stepped forward to speak. "Expecting us? For what reason?"
Through the glass, Captain Zhang saw their workstations clearly. The consoles displayed not only surveillance feeds of the forest outside but also of the entire villa. The camera angles shifted in real time, meaning every step they'd taken since entering the forest had been watched.
"You've been watching everything that happened on the mountain?" Captain Zhang asked sharply. "What about my captured teammates? Do you know where they are now?"
A rabbit-shaped humanoid creature answered, "Over a hundred people were taken by the plants. Some became nourishment right away. But about twenty… I saw one person leading them down the mountain together. They never came back."
Over a hundred people, and barely twenty escaped. The casualty rate was staggering, but compared to total annihilation, it was almost a relief.
Captain Zhang's grief only lasted a second before his expression hardened again. "Why are you here? And why were you waiting for us?"
The humanoid creatures made no move to approach. "We were researchers here. An accident changed us into this. We sent out a rescue request to the base—that's why you were sent here."
"A rescue request?" Captain Zhang repeated. "You want us to get you out?"
The mutants lowered their heads. After a long silence, a tiger-shaped one spoke. "No. We can't leave. And even if we could, how would we survive outside?"
It was true. They were no longer human, nor beast. Half-human, half-monster—no one would accept them, much less live alongside them.
"More importantly," the tiger mutant said grimly, "we can't leave the forest."
Lan Jin had heard this many times before. People always said escape was impossible, but every time, she'd made it out fine. Still, this wasn't the time to argue. She stayed quiet.
Captain Zhang, too, didn't mention the possibility of escaping.
…
"As for why we called you here," the tiger mutant continued, "we've been researching this disaster. It might look natural, but we suspect most of this is man-made. Someone is using this apocalypse to further their own ambitions."
Captain Zhang frowned. "Man-made? What kind of ambitions could someone even have in the middle of the apocalypse? And this forest… with all our tech, it shouldn't even be possible to create something like this. And the mutants—aren't they just a result of climate shifts?"
The tiger-shaped creature shook its head. "That's what normal people think. But they don't know the secret research we've done. There are too many powerful people in this world, too many hidden methods. Why can't this forest be artificial? Haven't you noticed? Everywhere these woods grow, the mountaintop is barren. No other vegetation survives.
The forest drains everything from the mountain to grow itself. This isn't nature's doing. This is a conspiracy."
Behind the glass, the humanoid creatures explained their theory in detail. If they were right, this plan had been set in motion decades, maybe even over a hundred years ago.
"But humans don't live that long," Lan Jin muttered. The more she listened, the more fantastical it sounded. She finally said, "So what are you saying? That aliens did this? Humans don't have time to grow up, learn, gain knowledge, and then plot something like this. But aliens? That makes sense."
Her blunt words left the creatures silent.
Lao Gao took that silence as confirmation and shouted excitedly, "Damn, there really are aliens?"
"We never said that," the tiger mutant quickly retorted. "Don't jump to conclusions."
Captain Zhang stepped closer. "Then what are you suggesting? If you told me aliens were behind this, I'd believe you. But looking at your face, I'm starting to think you're saying this was all done by people here, on Blue Star. Even turning people into beasts… That isn't something that can be done so easily."
"That's why we said it's been planned for a very long time," the mutant replied solemnly. "The goal is to wipe out all humans on Blue Star and replace them with their own idea of a 'superior' human."
"Superior humans? Like you? Half-human, half-beast?" Pei Xin peeked out from behind Captain Zhang, her voice trembling.
One of the mutants' expressions softened. "You're Professor Pei's granddaughter, aren't you? I remember. I used to live next door to you."
Recognition flickered in Pei Xin's eyes. "Yeah, Sister. I didn't expect we'd meet again like this."
Both sides were struck by a wave of complicated emotions.
But this wasn't the time for nostalgia. They needed answers and a way out.
Still, could something like this really be man-made?
Captain Zhang hesitated, then said, "I have a question. I'm not sure if you're willing to answer."
His tone was so similar to Lan Jin's usual way of speaking that everyone instinctively looked at her. The captain cleared his throat, embarrassed, before continuing.