So Who Am I?

As if he knew he would not be able to help and also wanted to avoid danger as much as possible, Qin Ran stayed obediently on the shore throughout the inspection of the lakebed, Lu Xin's response to the sudden mutation, and the investigation team's excavation of the Pollution Source. He even found himself a shelter, poking his head out from time to time to check on their progress.

Now, when he saw the people on the lakebed suddenly stop and turn toward the shore at the same time, he slowly stood up. He seemed quite concerned about the result as well, and waved forcefully, shouting, "Did you find anything?"

Then he saw Lu Xin and the three members of the investigation team slowly walk toward the lakeside.

The three members of the investigation team held their guns tightly in their arms. Their eyes beneath the glass visors seemed extremely tense.

"What's wrong?"

As Qin Ran watched Lu Xin and the three investigation team members approach, he also noticed that their positions seemed to place him inside a loose encirclement. Having grown up in the wilderness, he was highly sensitive to such actions, and immediately asked them warily, "What is it?"

"Who are you?"

Lu Xin looked at Qin Ran and asked slowly.

Qin Ran looked utterly baffled. "What do you mean?"

It was clear that he was genuinely confused. He seemed completely unable to understand.

Corporal Han Bing's voice sounded over the channel. "I suggest stating it directly and observing his reaction!"

"Agreed!"

Chen Jing said coldly, "Investigation team, stay on guard!"

"If you really are Qin Ran..."

Lu Xin slowly spoke, then turned to look toward the lakebed. "Then who is the corpse we dug up?"

"What corpse?"

Qin Ran's expression turned unnatural as he asked slowly.

"We found the Pollution Source. It was a corpse!"

Lu Xin seemed very patient as he explained carefully, "That corpse was you..."

Qin Ran's expression seemed dull, and his Adam's apple bobbed.

Lu Xin continued to ask slowly, "So, if you died a long time ago, then who are you now?"

As he asked this question, he was also thinking rapidly. He recalled Qin Ran's every movement when they had met: seeing him sitting in the office, constantly eating as if he could never get full; seeing him reach for his gun to point it at someone at the slightest disagreement; and thinking of the basement where the four people had been imprisoned. There seemed to be fewer corpse fragments inside than expected.

"No... That's impossible..."

It took Qin Ran a long while before he murmured, "If you dug me up, then I... Who am I?"

Lu Xin merely looked at him in silence.

The three investigation team members tightened their grips on their guns.

In the distance, beneath rows of floodlights, the City Patrol Army guarding the area made not a sound. The silence was oppressive.

Only the Crimson Moon hung in the sky, its radiant light pure and bright, like red threads hanging down.

"I..."

Qin Ran looked even more flustered. As if seeking help, he looked at Lu Xin. "Little brother, tell me. Who am I?"

"He looks very much like those fruits..."

Nearby, Lu Xin's palm suddenly turned cold. Sister had taken his hand.

Hearing this, Lu Xin immediately reacted.

Earlier, when he had struggled with the shadows atop that "strange tree," he had already noticed that those shadows looked strangely familiar.

But he had not paid attention at the time, and he had been unable to connect the two.

Only now did he suddenly remember. Those shadows all looked very much like Qin Ran.

The shadows varied in height and build, some tall, some short, some fat, and some thin. Yet they all gave Lu Xin the same feeling of familiarity. The reason was that their vague facial features and movements all resembled Qin Ran—Qin Ran in all sorts of heights and body types!

But the more this seemed to be the case, the less he could tell Qin Ran who he really was.

"I am... I am..."

Under the countless gazes surrounding him, Qin Ran suddenly became somewhat frantic. His Adam's apple bobbed as he called out twice, but his voice turned hoarse. Then, all at once, he ran madly toward the lake. All the guns around him swung with a clatter, following his movement, but Chen Jing had not issued an order over the channel, so every gun merely aimed at him without firing.

Everyone watched helplessly as Qin Ran rushed to the lakebed and stopped beside the corpse.

He stared fiercely at the corpse's face. Then he suddenly let out a howl, his entire body seeming to go mad.

He suddenly shouted, "It's fake! It's all fake! You're all trying to harm me..."

"I knew it! Nothing good would come of entering High Wall City..."

"You're trying to harm me..."

"..."

As he shouted, he suddenly kicked the corpse hard, then charged toward the opposite side of the lake.

Not far from the opposite shore stood the city wall.

He actually charged straight toward the wall, seemingly intending to climb over it and escape.

What was especially strange was that his body looked somewhat bizarre at that moment, and his running speed grew faster and faster.

"Capture him alive!"

Chen Jing urgently issued the order over the channel.

The three members of the investigation team immediately raised their guns and aimed at Qin Ran's legs.

But at that moment, gunshots rang out from atop the wall as well.

Soldiers had already filled the surrounding area and the top of the wall. When they saw Qin Ran charging toward the wall, especially with a speed so terrifyingly beyond that of an ordinary person, they opened fire without hesitation on the madly fleeing Qin Ran.

With a muffled crack, Qin Ran's sprinting body pitched forward and fell to the ground.

He struggled twice more, then stopped moving.

Seeing this, Lu Xin and the three investigation team members immediately waved toward the wall and hurried over. When they reached Qin Ran's corpse, they saw that he had been shot twice in the chest, with blood gushing out. He was clearly beyond saving. It seemed that this "Pollution Source" had been dealt with unexpectedly easily, yet everyone's hearts were filled with endless questions: What exactly was going on?

In truth, at the end, Lu Xin had rather hoped to see Qin Ran turn into a monster. At least that would have explained some things. But Qin Ran had not. He had only seemed slightly crazed at the end, and his running speed had been somewhat inhuman...

Even after thinking back carefully, Lu Xin could not tell whether that exaggerated speed had merely been an illusion.

What confused him even more now was this.

If this Pollution Source was Qin Ran, then what had happened to the people who had previously sought revenge on Qin Ran?

Just as Lu Xin's mind was filled with chaotic thoughts, he felt someone shake his hand. Looking down, he saw Sister gazing curiously at Qin Ran's corpse. He glanced over subconsciously and was immediately startled. The Qin Ran who had been shot still had blood seeping from him, dyeing a patch of mud red, but the blood seemed endless. As it flowed, the corpse was also becoming shriveled.

His body hunched over, and his appearance grew gaunt and emaciated. In a short time, he had actually become an entirely different person.

"Who is he?"

Lu Xin was startled and alerted the investigation team.

They noticed the change as well. They hurriedly took photographs and sent them through the electronic devices on their arms.

Soon, the sound of files being shuffled came over the channel.

Immediately afterward, Corporal Han Bing's voice rang out, unable to conceal her shock. "This is... This is Cui Wang!"