EDEH Chapter 141

Previously, humans had complained countless times that the world had undergone earth-shaking changes without taking them along.

Humans were like children abandoned by history. All other organisms were ‘evolving’ due to contamination, while only humans were being ground into ashes bit by bit by history’s wheels.

Now contamination had finally reached them, but there was only fear of the unknown outcome.

“So what’s the contamination source… the rifts, or that Sang Jue from before?”

“It shouldn’t be. From current data, safe zones closer to Eye of Paradise are more severely affected.” Hill negated, “Moreover, previous research evidence has proven that Sang Jue should have a purifying effect on contamination, and doesn’t infect others with contamination.”

“But that was purification targeting contaminated genes… for something as ethereal as mental entities, can he also have an effect?”

“Unclear.” Eugene said, “From what Lilian said, she was previously trapped in a confused state, but after just one brief long-distance contact with Sang Jue in the Seventh District, she began slowly recovering.”

“If the ‘mental contamination’ currently encountered by safe zones is the same as what Lilian experienced before, then why didn’t she exhibit self-destructive behavior?”

“Since the Second District doesn’t have collective suicides, this indicates that this contamination still has individual differences.” Hill said, “Perhaps the researcher who accompanied Lilian died because he couldn’t withstand the contamination.”

“In that case, places where Sang Jue is present are safe?”

“Even if we control Sang Jue in the main city, what about all those other safe zones?”

“So we still need to solve the root cause.” The director placed both hands on the table, supporting his forehead, “From the current situation, Sang Jue may not be able to end the contamination, but he’s our only hope.”

If it were just monster attacks, they could still train soldiers and manufacture weapons to fight back, but this visible yet intangible ‘contamination’ left them helpless, without even a direction for research.

They couldn’t touch the substance, couldn’t see the essence.

The foundation of all human research was based on “existence,” but contamination had no substantial existence.

“Eye of Paradise is located at Rift No. 1, and Rift No. 1 is almost the central area of all rifts—”

One researcher played a recently captured video—orderly mountain valleys soared into the clouds, with dark sky pressing down to one-third, but amazingly, magnificent flowing light overflowed between the valleys, like aurora gathering all colors, yet with gaps between colors.

It seemed to exist independently, not making the surrounding environment brighter—the sky remained dark, the environment still gray and hazy.

“If the ‘door’ mentioned in Dr. Millie’s audio really exists, this is the most likely location for the ‘door frame’ to appear.”

Actually, they couldn’t be certain, but they didn’t have the ability to explore other underground locations—the thousand people Huo Jiangmian had taken down were a living example.

The underground world wasn’t theirs to explore, nor did they have the corresponding capabilities to explore it.

Starting from over a century ago, several thousand people had gone down successively, and except for Lilian and Huo Feng, there were no exceptions whatsoever.

“A few days ago, General Huo brought back some books from the ruins. I went to look at them and found some historical records and rumors from about six hundred years ago.”

Eugene projected the materials onto the screen and continued: “Historically, there have always been many hypotheses about the underground—for example, the hollow earth theory we discussed before, underground magnetic field theory, center-earth people, etc… but none had actual evidence. However, through these records, we discovered that predecessors weren’t entirely without exploration of the underground before the Collapse History.”

“For example, this book records that during the Day Chronicle, there was a patrol pilot named Hans who crashed due to an accident and got stuck in a bottomless but extremely narrow abyss crack. When he climbed out, he groped around in the stone cave corridors on both walls of the abyss for a long time. He felt himself going all the way down. Just when he thought he was about to die, he saw a ‘door’ not far away.”

Everyone’s gaze focused on the word ‘door.’

“Hans described it like this: ‘Calling it a door isn’t accurate. It wasn’t a door made of any material we understand. It was a naturally formed curtain, a wall of flowing liquid, as magnificent as a black hole, with countless vines piercing through from within, enveloping it. It seemed to lead to another fantastical world—and indeed it did.'”

This was Hans’s own account.

In his view, he seemed bewitched at the time—clearly terrified, yet still unable to control his desire to explore… He pushed aside the thick vines and crossed that ‘door.’

It was like passing through a liquid substance thicker than water. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a dark, viscous world—silent and gloomy, with countless intertwined trees and vines that seemed to have grown for millions of years, stretching endlessly.

Hans called it the “underground forest.”

He stayed in the underground forest for less than ten minutes, or so he thought—because fear constantly clung to his heart, and with each step he felt monsters watching him from the shadows. Until a shadow with elongated limbs appeared before him, he didn’t even have the courage to turn his head to look, and fled straight toward the ‘door.’

He ultimately escaped from underground and was rescued.

However, before he could breathe a sigh of relief, he felt that the people who rescued him were using electronic products he couldn’t understand, and their clothes were in styles he’d never seen…

When he asked, he learned that 20 years had passed on the surface.

Subsequently, Hans’s case was reported to the government, but when they went down to search again, they could never find that so-called ‘door.’

The story ends abruptly there. As for how it was handled afterward, there were never any related materials—even 007 couldn’t find them.

“Is this story really not made up? Would patrol helicopters be equipped with oxygen tanks back then?” A researcher wondered, “Without oxygen tanks, how did he reach underground?”

The story indeed had many plot holes—for instance, what did Hans eat during such a long time? Why didn’t the monsters he saw chase after him? Since there was no light underground, how could he see in the dark?

Too many things didn’t make sense. Perhaps for people of the past, this was just an optional underground legend.

But for them now, it had great reference value—they could even conclude that everything Hans experienced was real.

“First report the ‘mental contamination’ issue. As for the rest, we’ll see if the military can control Sang Jue.”

The news of Sang Jue’s return to the main city was still under lockdown; everyone else was kept in the dark.

The researchers gradually dispersed, but Hill remained seated, her golden hair falling behind the chair back.

Eugene passed by, patted her shoulder, and said: “This matter has no right or wrong, only positions.”

“Mm.”

The researchers left one by one, with only Hill sitting in the empty conference room for a long time.

She was just thinking that even if contamination was resolved, many resources people would need afterward were provided by Dr. Anya… yet they had to end the contamination by harming Sang Jue, whom Anya regarded as her child.

Perhaps it wasn’t harm, but Sang Jue might lose his freedom.

If Dr. Anya hadn’t selfishly sent Sang Jue to the future back then, perhaps Sang Jue would now be sleeping peacefully while embracing Dr. Anya’s tombstone. These later people would never know such a little monster existed, much less have hope of ending the contamination—everything would fall into a deadlock.

“007.” Hill suddenly called out.

“I’m here.” A cold mechanical female voice rang out in the conference room.

Hill asked: “Can you calculate, based on available information, what the probability is of Sang Jue ending the contamination?”

007 quickly gave an answer: “0.2%.”

Currently, humans were still in the realm of speculation regarding the existence of the ‘door,’ with no evidence to support it.

Hill murmured: “So low…”

007 said: “Without Sang Jue, the probability of human self-redemption would be one in a hundred billion.”

…

Huo Yanji brought Sang Jue back to the apartment they hadn’t seen in a long time.

After discovering that all his alcohol had been moved here, Sang Jue insisted on mixing drinks for Huo Yanji, determined to get him drunk.

“You’re on rest time now, you can drink heavily.”

Huo Yanji hummed and drained the pale blue liquor as Sang Jue requested.

Sang Jue immediately prepared another glass, watching him drink it before asking: “Are you drunk?”

“Maybe I’m drunk.” Huo Yanji looked at him.

Sang Jue wasn’t satisfied enough.

He felt Huo Yanji was still the same as usual, without much difference. He wanted to see Yanji show him a different side.

After the seventh glass of strong liquor went down, Huo Yanji finally tugged at his collar, revealing a patch of red neck and collarbone. Sang Jue stared for a long time, then suddenly said: “We’re about to never see each other again.”

“Mm?”

“I want to sleep with you one more time.”

“…” Huo Yanji leaned back against the chair, his posture both relaxed and tense, extremely contradictory. He said, “Sang Jue, drunk people can’t get hard.”

“Really?” Sang Jue walked over, tentatively sitting on Huo Yanji’s lap. Not feeling rejection, he slowly moved closer to Huo Yanji’s lips…

Just about to touch.

But suddenly, a large hand gripped his waist, pulling back to create distance between them, as if saying the gap between them could no longer be bridged.

Sang Jue pressed his lips together: “You said before that humans can make love with people they have no feelings for… you can make love with me without feelings.”

“…No, Sang Jue.” Huo Yanji’s tone was tightly strained, the alcohol adding a touch of madness and oppression to the surrounding atmosphere.

What specifically his “no” was referring to, Sang Jue didn’t know. He only knew what he wanted right now.

His tail moved faster than his hands, wrapping around the place that had difficulty rising after drinking, yet in just a second, he felt it swell.

Sang Jue was stunned for a moment, suddenly realizing that the human before him desired him even more than his scent revealed.

“You—”

Sang Jue only uttered one word before his body was lifted into the air. Huo Yanji slammed him onto the table like manipulating a doll, swift and rough.

Except he cushioned the back of his head with one hand and his waist with the other—only his bottom hurt a bit from the impact.

Sang Jue lay obediently on the table, looking up at Huo Yanji.

The large hand cushioning his head slowly moved down, gripping his vulnerable nape, while the hand at his waist freed itself to brace beside his ear. Huo Yanji’s voice was extremely low and hoarse, veins bulging on his forehead twice, the restraint in his eyes so thick it nearly overflowed. But finally, he closed his eyes and said with seeming calm: “Sang Jue, before going underground, you still have choices.”

Sang Jue could feel that when saying this, the hand gripping his nape trembled twice.

Huo Yanji seemed torn apart, his soul shattered.

Sang Jue grabbed his arm and said: “I don’t really like it here. The Doctor is gone, neither you nor 007 chose me, neither of you want me, so I’ll leave.”

Huo Yanji opened his eyes, exhaled deeply with the strong fragrance of alcohol. He withdrew his hand and turned to leave: “Think clearly about what that means—”

“Wife.” Sang Jue interrupted him, calling out very softly.

Huo Yanji stopped, hearing the person behind him say: “I want to register marriage with you.”

When saying this, Sang Jue’s expression wasn’t hard to imagine—purely quiet, gazing at his back with those beautiful black eyes, neither pleading nor humble, as if simply stating a perfectly natural request.

As a non-human monster, Sang Jue had never pursued various formal human things. But these days, he suddenly understood why human partners all pursued such a piece of paper.

At least this paper could announce to the whole world—

Huo Yanji belonged to Sang Jue.

They had once been inseparable, each other’s beloved.

Huo Yanji maintained his turned-away posture, not knowing how long he stood there—perhaps ten seconds, perhaps ten minutes.

In any case, when he turned around again, he brought intense violent emotions, tearing apart the thin fabric wrapping Sang Jue’s body, fragments falling on the table, sofa, floor…

Thighs were propped on broad shoulders, no need to worry about falling, and the troublesome thing received the kiss its master had just sought but couldn’t obtain.

Sang Jue arched his neck upward in a fragile curve, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling, feeling for a moment that the current Yanji had completely become perverted, only wanting to confine him to drown together in the deep sea of desire.

Sang Jue, whose body was no longer under control, couldn’t help panting, his brain babbling: “If you eat it, I’ll only have one left…”

**