Little Pink Starfish

“Preliminary infection, infection progress at 20 units, 13 animal targets, pointing to arthropod mutation.” The doctor came over with a thick stack of reports and dropped them in front of Lu Feng: “Why is it that wherever you go, there are alien species?”

Lu Feng picked up the reports.

The doctor crossed his arms and said, “You actually didn’t kill him on the spot.”
“I’m not familiar with infection symptoms in children,” Lu Feng said.

“Then don’t kill him—leave him for a specimen.”
“Do as you like.”

“Arthropod mutation—nothing much to say about that.” The doctor glanced at the stack of reports in Lu Feng’s hand: “Let’s prepare for a meeting. There’s infection in the main city, and it’s even a child from Eden. It’s already been reported—it’s no small matter.”

“Arthropod.” Lu Feng said flatly, “Is it related to the previous outer city incident?”
“The final investigation results for the insect swarm incident in the outer city just came out today. It was classified as a group behavior of mutated insects under reproductive pressure.” The doctor spoke in a low tone, expression solemn. “But we don’t know how they managed to coordinate, or whether there’s a commander entity among them.”

“But… the main city is airtight from top to bottom. Nothing from outside can get in.” He took a deep breath and closed his eyes in thought: “Even if something happened in the main city, it should’ve been a breakout of alien species samples from the Lighthouse. Why is it a child from Eden?”

Lu Feng finished reading the reports and looked at An Zhe.
—As Si Nan’s teacher, An Zhe had the responsibility to accompany them to the Lighthouse.

“Where has he been?” Lu Feng asked.
“Always together with the other kids,” An Zhe said. “When I got off work last night, they were watching the news together, then sleeping. This morning they had an exam in the classroom, then went to the base this afternoon.”

Lu Feng said, “Contact his teacher and life instructor.”
An Zhe replied.
After calling Lin Zuo and explaining the situation, he thought for a moment and said, “We can ask him… he’s very smart.”
Lu Feng gave a low “mm.”

So An Zhe walked to the sealed glass door—Si Nan had been isolated from the others as an infected. He was now in a silver-white laboratory.
Inside the lab was a small figure. Si Nan sat alone on the silver dissection table, head slightly lowered. His expression was still that same blank one, as if everything happening outside had nothing to do with him.

Behind An Zhe came a commotion. Lu Feng’s communicator was ringing madly, showing how serious the situation was. Just in these few minutes, three groups of people had already come looking for him. He said something to the doctor, then got up and left the corridor.

There was a voice transmission system between the doors. An Zhe picked up the intercom: “Si Nan.”
Si Nan looked at him.

“Do you know what’s happened to you?” An Zhe asked.
Si Nan nodded.

“Then do you know the reason?” An Zhe said. “Did you encounter anything strange in Eden?”
Si Nan’s pitch-black eyes stared straight at him, eyes that seemed to pierce through him.

At that moment, An Zhe suddenly understood why alien species looked visibly different from humans—those eyes were like those of… something not human. If such eyes belonged to a creature from the Abyss, it wouldn’t feel out of place at all.

After a minute of silence, Si Nan said, “No.”
“Think again,” An Zhe tried guiding the cub. “What did you do yesterday? Were you always with your classmates?”

Si Nan just stared at him with those black eyes. No matter what An Zhe asked, he no longer answered.

As the stalemate continued, the doctor’s communicator rang. An Zhe looked over.

The doctor pressed speaker mode. Lin Zuo’s voice came through. His tone was calm but extremely fast—An Zhe recognized it as a sign of forced composure.

“We’ve reviewed all footage from the last three days. He was always with others. Left surveillance range during bathroom and brief free times, which is normal. The longest absence was no more than three minutes, only in the corridor on our floor,” Lin Zuo said. “There’s nothing abnormal in Eden. Could he have been infected on the way to or at the training base? I’ve heard that infections in children progress faster than in adults.”

“Sorry, Mr. Lin. Although children do have faster infection rates than adults, judging by the morphological changes in his tissue cells, the infection must have occurred at least fifteen to twenty hours ago.”
There was a moment of silence on Lin Zuo’s end, then he said, “In that case, he was indeed infected in Eden—but the other kids and teachers in Eden are perfectly normal. No signs of infection.”

“Please don’t panic,” the doctor said. “We’re awaiting further orders from above. By three o’clock at the latest, the Lighthouse will coordinate with the Tribunal to screen all children who were active on the sixth floor during that time. Please prepare to cooperate.”
Lin Zuo: “Understood.”

“Thank you for understanding,” the doctor said.
Lin Zuo: “Wait.”
“Yes?”
“Not a lead, but might help you. Si Nan has always had a very high IQ, but the older he got, the more we noticed his mental state might differ from other kids—cognitively or sensorily.”

“Thank you for telling us. The Adjudicator is returning. We’re about to depart. We’ll talk more when we meet.”
Lin Zuo: “Alright.”

Lu Feng returned to the room.

“How is it?” the doctor asked.
“Eden and the training base are both under lockdown,” Lu Feng said. “They’re doing a headcount. We leave in ten minutes.”
“Good,” said the doctor.

Lu Feng looked at Si Nan in the lab. “How’s it going with him?”
The doctor shrugged.

Lu Feng walked over and stood next to An Zhe.

Si Nan’s eyes slowly turned to Lu Feng. At that moment, An Zhe noticed that the originally sharp edges of his black irises now faintly blurred outward—radiating like spiderweb strands.

“Ten hours,” Lu Feng said.

An Zhe was stunned. He understood what Lu Feng meant—within ten hours, Si Nan would completely transform from a human cub into a mindless monster.

He tried to communicate with Si Nan again and called his name.

But Si Nan’s gaze stayed fixed on Lu Feng. Lu Feng returned the stare.

Si Nan opened his mouth.

The child’s tender voice, in a cold tone, pronounced five words.

“You will all die.”

Lu Feng smiled.

He took the intercom from An Zhe’s hand.

“No one won’t die,” he said. “But humanity will live on.”
With that, he hung the intercom and walked away.

An Zhe made a comparison—in terms of cold expressions and tone, the colonel still won.

Several researchers took over handling Si Nan. The isolation barrier was raised. The doctor said, “This child is very strange.”
Lu Feng: “We’ll have someone interrogate him.”
Doctor: “Thanks.”

Just then, that wind-like sound echoed in An Zhe’s ears again. He looked around and found a similarly hidden round hole at the corner where the ceiling met the wall.

“Lu Feng,” An Zhe gently tugged Lu Feng’s sleeve, “what is that?”
Lu Feng followed his gaze to the ceiling and said calmly, “Vent.”

An Zhe blinked.

“Never seen one?” the doctor asked. “There aren’t any in the outer city—those were built later.”
The doctor always liked explaining, so An Zhe asked, “What’s it for?”

“Air delivery,” the doctor answered simply, then elaborated, “When the main city was built, Earth’s magnetic field hadn’t completely disappeared. Human industry was still at its peak. To construct a base capable of resisting cosmic radiation and solar wind, all building walls were four or five times thicker than normal, made of special materials. Fully sealed, they rely on ventilation systems for clean air.”
“The main city’s survival is thanks in part to these vents—they deserve top honors.” He chuckled. “After the artificial magnetic pole was built, mutations started. Before the dispersal device was invented, insects got in through every crack. So the vent system was upgraded with triple-layer filters and shredders, making sure not even a single bug could enter via the air.”

“So, as long as we control the city gates properly, the main city is absolutely safe.” While typing an email, he murmured almost to himself, “How could an infection happen? It doesn’t make sense—and the other kids in Eden are fine.”

Then he paused and looked at Lu Feng: “Have you heard about the girl who escaped from Eden yesterday?”
“I’ve asked,” Lu Feng said. “That girl’s completely normal.”

The doctor frowned deeper and tapped some more on the keyboard.

Lu Feng looked at the screen: “You’re contacting the underground base?”
“With all that’s happened recently… I’m scared,” the doctor took a deep breath. “I want to know how far the monsters in North America have evolved. But our emergency channel with the other base is unreliable—we’re almost certain we won’t get a response.”

He clicked “send.” An Zhe noticed he sent the same file to another recipient labeled “Research Institute.”

“Done.” The doctor closed the window and said, “I’m going to coordinate the equipment.”
Lu Feng: “I’ll go to Eden first.”

The Lighthouse corridor was long and white, lit by cold lighting. At the tea room, as they opened the door, two lab-coated researchers were kissing inside. Upon hearing footsteps, one of them turned with the other in their arms and hid deeper into the tea room.

The scene seemed to offend Lu Feng—he frowned and said, “What happened to your discipline?”

“Can’t be helped,” the doctor said. “The more we study, the more we despair. The Lighthouse is full of a ‘live in the moment’ atmosphere now. You can’t expect military discipline from us. Even I feel hopeless sometimes.”

Lu Feng said nothing. At the corridor’s turn, he led An Zhe away in a different direction.

That afternoon, An Zhe followed Lu Feng blindly—he didn’t know where he was supposed to go. As a temp worker in Eden, he hadn’t received any orders or instructions. But Lu Feng didn’t seem to mind being followed. He even let An Zhe rest in the lobby while checking the Eden kids one by one.

So An Zhe sat on the corridor lobby’s couch, reading a book. On the wall in front of him was that blood-red slogan again: “Human interests above all.”
By 4 PM, the doctor also arrived with his team to Eden. He looked a bit worn out and started setting up detection instruments in the lobby.

Silan was sent by Lu Feng to assist the doctor.
The young Adjudicator looked at the device in the center of the lobby and frowned slightly: “Only one?”
“What else?” the doctor said. “The other one is at the city gate, scanning returning ex-mercenaries from the outer city.”

“So there are only two machines in the whole base?” Silan asked.
“Sweetheart, do you have some misunderstanding about our industrial capacity?” the doctor said. “This kind of high-precision equipment—two units is already the limit.”

Silan: “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” the doctor said. “You guys take a pass through. Then we’ll use the machine for a slow sweep.”
Silan said seriously: “The Tribunal hasn’t trained us for working with children specifically.”
Doctor: “We trust the Adjudicator’s eyes. He’ll definitely pick out any other infected.”

Just then, Lu Feng’s footsteps came.
“Floors 5, 6, and 7 cleared,” he was reporting through his communicator. “No suspected infections found.”

An Zhe saw the doctor’s hand tremble slightly on the instrument lever.

Lu Feng walked past him: “This side is yours.”
The doctor’s face was pale for some reason. He said, “Got it.”

Then added: “There are lots of alien samples at the Lighthouse. With infection showing up in Eden, I’m afraid the Lighthouse may be compromised too. Can we request the United Front Center to assign Tribunal staff to station here?”
Lu Feng: “Your clearance level?”
Doctor: “Same as yours.”
Lu Feng: “Alright.”

He walked toward the elevator.
An Zhe quietly watched him go.

—Then saw the man glance back.
That look said clearly: come.

An Zhe put down his book and obediently followed.

—Right at that moment:

“Lu Feng,” the doctor suddenly said.
Lu Feng didn’t turn around: “What is it?”

An Zhe turned slightly and saw the doctor looking their way. His blue eyes carried a hint of confusion and helplessness, eyes slightly red.

“A hundred years ago, injuries only led to 30% infection rate. Minor scratches or stabs didn’t cause mutation. But in recent years, things have gotten worse. Especially this year—suddenly, even a pinprick can infect someone. I keep wondering—what if one day we don’t even need injuries? Our genes just go wrong, and we turn into monsters.”

Lu Feng didn’t move or speak. The elevator arrived with a ding; the silver doors slid open.

The doctor’s voice trembled slightly: “There were no monsters or alien species in Eden. This child’s infection happened without cause. We still don’t know what infected him, or how it spreads. The Lighthouse can’t catch the virus, nor figure out how to defend against it. If it’s already crawling among us like a plague… the most vulnerable kids will get infected first because of their bodies.”

He took a breath and said, “Then what are we supposed to do?”

“Dr. Ji,” Lu Feng’s voice was icy cold. “You’re wavering.”

With that, he pressed a hand to An Zhe’s shoulder and led him into the elevator without looking back.