Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Zhou Bai no longer answered the rest of the gloomy man’s questions honestly. He simply said, “I don’t know” to most of them, and said that he seemed to have lost his memory and didn’t recall many recent events.
What surprised Zhou Bai was that the gloomy man seemed to believe what he said easily. He just recorded his basic information.
Then he asked Zhou Bai some psychological questions. Zhou Bai felt like he was confirming his mental state.
“All right. There are no problems. Just live a good life here.” The gloomy man muttered, “There might not be many good days left…”
Zhou Bai questioned, “What are you saying?”
The gloomy man glanced at Zhou Bai with pity and said, “Don’t you know? This world is done for. The last remaining humans on Earth are the forty-two people in this base. Oh…if we count you, it’s forty-three.”
Zhou Bai was shocked. He looked at the man incredulously. “How is that possible?”
The gloomy man patted Zhou Bai’s shoulder. “Let’s go. Let me show you your room. As for Doomsday, you’ll learn later.”
What the gloomy man just said continued to ring in Zhou Bai’s mind. He couldn’t bring himself to believe it.
But this unfamiliar place, this strange body, and the language that abruptly appeared in his brain, as well as the Deva Nine Disasters and his encounter with the monster…this series of strange events made him suppress the impulses in his heart. He decided to wait and see and slowly understand the situation.
The gloomy man opened the door to see Elsa waiting outside obediently, like a little dog waiting for its owner to come home.
The moment she saw the door open, Elsa’s eyes glowed. “Teacher! I’ve been waiting outside like you asked!”
The gloomy man flashed a rare smile. “Good, Elsa. Let me show Zhou Bai around the place first, then I’ll make you food.”
Then the three walked down the hallway. This time, Zhou Bai carefully observed the building before him and found that there were no windows anywhere, and he couldn’t see outside at all. He couldn’t help but ask, “Is this base underground?”
The gloomy man looked at Zhou Bai and said slowly, “You’re very sharp. This is an underground sanctuary. It’s the last land of promise I made.”
Zhou Bai asked, “What happened…outside?”
The gloomy man said coldly, “The outside world has become hell. This base is the last hope for our survival.”
He no longer paid attention to Zhou Bai. He brought him to a room and opened the metal door. “This is your and Elsa’s room. Elsa, show him around. I’ll bring something for you to eat.”
“Okay, okay.” Elsa nodded happily and followed the gloomy man with drool running down her chin.
The man had to hold her shoulders, pushing her back into the room. “Wait for me here.”
Elsa’s eyes beamed. “Okay, okay.”
After the man left, Zhou Bai somehow felt relieved.
He looked at the room before him. The furniture was simple: two single beds on the left and right, as well as two desks, a sink, and a toilet. It looked more like a prison cell than a bedroom.
Zhou Bai looked at the messy bed and sat on the other neat single bed. He looked in the direction of the door. The blond girl Elsa was crouching by the door, her big blue eyes locked on it.
Recalling what the gloomy man said, Zhou Bai looked at the little girl before him, thinking to himself, This kid looks dull; why don’t I try to pry some information from her?
“Elsa, how long have you been here?”
Elsa said without turning around, “How would I know? I haven’t learned how to count yet!”
This kid…Why is she so confident about the fact that she can’t count?
Zhou Bai asked again, “Do you know about Doomsday?”
Elsa nodded. “I do, I do!” She said with a solemn expression, “Teacher says there’s no more food outside! How scary is that?”
Zhou Bai asked again, “Then how did I get here? You said that I was picked up…”
“Yes, teacher picked you up outside!” Elsa rubbed her stomach, “I’m so hungry…why did teacher bring back a person? I wish he had brought back a pig; it’s been so long since I’ve had pork.”
“…”
“Teacher goes out on his own?”
Elsa lay on the ground, “So hungry…”
“Elsa?”
“So hungry.”
Zhou Bai muttered under his breath, “I can’t communicate with this simpleton at all.”
A moment later, the door opened again. The gloomy man walked in with two plates in his hand. He put one plate in front of Elsa.
“Eat.”
Then he put another plate in front of Zhou Bai. “You eat something too.”
Zhou Bai looked at the gooey lump on the plate and instinctively frowned. The gloomy man saw his expression and said, “Resources are in short supply in the base; we can only eat synthetic food or nutrition cookies.”
Zhou Bai took over the plate and took a scoop with the spoon on the plate. He took a bite, and his face immediately squeezed into a frown. He lightly set the plate to the side.
The gloomy man said, “From now on, you’ll live with Elsa. She’ll show you around here.”
Zhou Bai looked at Elsa, who was enjoying the lump of goo, and couldn’t help but ask, “Is she reliable?”
The gloomy man scratched his head. “There’s nothing wrong with Elsa’s intelligence; she’s just too naive.”
Elsa raised her head, eyeing with greed the plate Zhou Bai put down.
The gloomy man quickly stopped her. “All right, Elsa, you’ve eaten enough today. Did you forget the last time you threw up from eating too much? Your stomach is full. Your brain just has yet to react.”
Elsa was unconvinced. “If my brain doesn’t even realize I’m full, how can I be sure my stomach is full?”
“You can’t eat any more. You’ll throw up.” The gloomy man grabbed her plate. As he walked away, he turned around, “Oh right. I haven’t introduced myself. My last name is Zhuang. You may call me Professor Zhuang.
“I don’t believe it! I’m not full yet!” Elsa jumped around her teacher, trying to snatch the plate.
“Are you sure it’s fine for me to live with her? Will she eat me at night?”
“Don’t worry, she’s just a little gluttonous. Why would she eat humans?”
“Are you really sure? She’s biting your hand! You’re bleeding!”
“It’s okay. She’s just protective of food…”
In the following days, Zhou Bai lived in this base. Under his deliberate investigation, he had an understanding of the entire base.
This base had five levels underground. The first was the buffer zone. According to Professor Zhuang, that place was filled with the aura of hell. Without special protection, normal humans would die in there.
The second and third levels were daily residential zones. They were used by 43 people, including Zhou Bai. Zhou Bai also found something peculiar: everyone in the entire base, aside from Professor Zhuang, were children between seven and 15.
The fourth layer was a warehouse, containing plenty of living necessities. The fifth layer was a laboratory that only Professor Zhuang could enter; no one else could go inside.