Catching Up

"I need to find the submarine's logbook, or your diaries."

Xue Ming refused the Canaanites' request for spiritual communion. He wasn't sure if these little creatures were telling the truth, and both crew members of the Shichuan had been attacked by carnivorous Canaanites. If they harbored any "demons," Xue Ming would absolutely not dare to get close to them.

Hasben live with the "little elf" inside his body, but that doesn't mean others can do the same.

Do you remember that kind neighbor from the Hedland Hotel? The woman Jacqueline, who bought the old warehouse and acquired the original "Starry Night" painting.

She was controlled by this strange life form. Except for her brain, all her essence was taken away by the carnivorous Canaan. She could not cry, could not laugh, and could only feel, like a wisp of soul imprisoned in a body. If she had not met Hasben, Jacqueline could only be an observer, watching the Canaan manipulate her body and slowly spend a painful and shameful life.

Apart from some specialized equipment used to detect Spirit Calamity, as long as these carnivorous Canaanites behave like humans and find another host before Jacqueline's physical body dies, they can live indefinitely. It is very difficult for anyone to detect the existence of these lives—the people they parasitize can still communicate normally, recall past events, chat happily with friends, and continue to play the social role of the host.

But in reality, the Homo sapiens inside this body had been almost entirely eaten by Canaan, leaving only a brain.

Hasben still conscious, but many of his decision-making behaviors are influenced by the carnivorous Canaan.

He cannot go to environments with strong magnetic fields or electricity, as this will cause Canaan within him pain. When faced with life-or-death decisions, Canaan will control his pineal gland, amplifying his fear and making him even more afraid of death.

He became a gourmet because Canaan gave him heightened senses, especially during feeding, as the parasites slowly transformed Hasben. They seemed to have signed an indefinite truce.

At this moment, Jiang Xueming had to take something back with him; he didn't intend to directly confront the monsters in the other cabins.

"Does such a thing exist? What I just said, to bring it back to the research institute, we at least need to let the engineering team know what happened to this submarine."

Yiji immediately replied, "Yes! Yes, yes! I've always kept a diary!"

Jiang Xueming held out his hand. "Throw the thing over here, I'll find a way to seal it up and take it back to the research institute."

"And then?" Yiji was confused. This VIP seemed to intend to leave directly, unlike the traditional search and rescue team—wasn't the normal procedure to fight their way to control and get to the bottom of things?

And

Before Yiji could finish thinking--

--The hot-tempered engineer, Brother Hazan, immediately started yelling.

"You're planning to go back? Just leaving like that?"

Jiang Xueming nodded. "Ah."

Hazan: "No... nothing more for us?"

Yiji: "Can't we come with you?"

Jiang Xueming nodded again. "Ah."

Hazan: "Why?! I've lived here for at least five years!"

"Yeah!" Yiji started to panic too. "I just wanted to see the light of day again someday! Otherwise, I would have committed suicide long ago!"

"Five years! A full five years!" Hazan counted on his fingers, as if one hand wasn't enough, and he needed to use both hands to show the difference.

He made a two with his left hand and a three with his right.

"Two plus three! Five years!"

He showed off his math skills; he was really impressive.

"I would fetch water every two weeks, and then my body would become weaker and weaker. I would talk to this guy all day long, and after that I would have no energy left. My body would become dry, and then I would go to sleep."

Yiji added, "I don't want to stay with Hazan anymore!"

The safety officer said this, then immediately changed his mind.

"Oh no! I don't mean to look down on you, Brother Hazan. You're a really nice person, and you even saved my life."

Hazan's eyes darted around, then became suspicious, as he stared intently at his roommate.

Yiji then explained, "I just find it strange; we've been together for so long, shouldn't we have some feelings for each other?"

Hazan: "You fucking have a crush on me?"

"No, no, no," Yiji said guiltily. "Because that's how it is in the movies. If you put two male dogs in the same cage, and they don't become enemies after a while, there's always a chance they will."

"Listen to me," Jiang Xueming interrupted, "Listen to me, please listen to me."

The two older brothers both looked at Jiang Xueming, hoping that this VIP could take them out.

Jiang Xueming pointed to the isolation ward and then to the entrance and exit.

"I only have one pressure-resistant diving helmet, which is only enough for one person to go back. As for whether you two can withstand the water pressure of more than 200 meters underwater and float up without wearing anything, if you could, you would have already made it out, right?"

Yiji and Hazan. They had considered running back, but they only had one life. Compared to the vast and turbulent sea outside, the dark dormitory seemed safer.

"If I can't get back, the dock's engineering team might send someone else—as for who they'll send, I don't know," Jiang Xueming said gently. "How they'll search and how they'll rescue us, I don't know either. As for the psionic contamination on the boat and the fission engine, I think there should be a professional procedure for handling that. Whether you'll survive the procedure, or whether you'll end up as lab specimens, is hard to say."

At this point, both Yiji and Hazan were trembling with fear.

They've been in this godforsaken place for far too long, far too long.

Privately, they also blamed each other, wondering why they were the two who survived.

If it is Shiva manifesting himself, then this can be considered a trial, a spiritual journey with religious significance.

As long as they pass the trials, they will surely gain something. However, several years have passed, and the Canaanite life has repeatedly told them this story.

People always need hope. When the beautiful myth shattered, Hazan and Yiji finally understood that this was just pure suffering, a pain even worse than being in prison—after all, there were group activities in prison, kind-hearted fellow inmates, regular meals, entertainment, the kind of work that Homo sapiens love, and the opportunity to go out for fresh air every now and then, and to talk to family and friends during prison visits.

But Yiji could only have Hazan, and Hazan could only have Yiji. For over a thousand days and nights, they repeated what they had told countless times before.

They had nothing left but each other—the Canaanite life force had entered their bodies, knew their minds inside and out, had no questions and no need for communication, except to tell them to prepare seawater at the beginning and end of each month and to get some seafood from the quarantine room to replenish their energy. The rest of the time they were just dreaming in a daze, shuttling back and forth between dreams and reality.

To be honest, the fact that these two crew members didn't go crazy also shows how luxurious the crew configuration of the Shichuan research submarine is from another perspective. Apart from the captain, who had a heart condition and was scared to death on the spot by the carnivorous Canaan, there were at least fifty monsters blocking their way, but Yiji and Hazan fought their way through the submarine.

"But...but you have to try!" Hazan came up with a terrible idea. "If you don't take us both back, you have to go...go to...you know."

So much time has passed that the engineer can't even remember the name of the functional area in the next room.

Yiji pointed out, "The kitchen and the TV room."

"Right, right, right! You should at least take a couple of steps towards the TV room! Maybe there are other survivors!" Engineer Hazan jumped up, gesturing wildly. He ran to the next door. "Five years? Or seven? That's been so long! The monsters inside shouldn't have much strength left! Nameless! You absolutely must bring back something useful! Otherwise, what if the rescue team just throws us away like trash?"

Yiji quickly added, "Yeah! I'm not trash! I don't want to go into the lab either!"

Before the words were finished, a shrill scream came from inside the room.

Through a thick steel plate, through the small round window at the end of the porch, Hazan suddenly turned his head and saw a grotesque, bloody figure standing in the room.

The bizarrely shaped chest cavity opened up, resembling the latest blood-plumbing style of the Madness Butterfly, its fashion value soaring. It looked like it had just woken up, its split skull with the left and right eyes more than seventy centimeters apart, the supple muscles pulling together to focus.

Immediately afterwards, a dozen or so finger-sized bony spikes were exposed in the monster's chest cavity, and the abdominal membrane suddenly swelled up with blood.

The two round, lumbar ribcages are collecting air, and the bone spurs, like darts, are propelled towards the isolation door by the compressed air!

The sound of raindrops hitting the other side of the door, and many sharp spikes pierced the observation window, immediately waking Hazan up. His eyes became clear, and if the glass hadn't been strong enough, he would have had several more holes in his head.

Yiji scratched his head and cursed, "Damn it, he's still alive and kicking after all this time!?"

"We're the same." Hazan took a few steps back, the mere sight of these monsters driving him mad, his legs trembling.

The engineer sat back down next to the little sailor and unconsciously put his arm around the little sailor's waist.

Jiang Xueming: "Then let's do it your way and give it a try?"

Yiji: "Huh?"

Hazan: "Huh?"

Jiang Xueming originally didn't want to try anything. He didn't have a protective suit, and he wasn't sure if the research institute had any way to remove the parasites from his body.

However, Fragrant Dream can pass through walls; it is a spirit that moves freely in the material world. With a range of sixteen meters, it can accomplish some things.

These two crew members needed some faith, some hope of seeing the light of day again—they had been holding their posts for seven years, battling intense self-destructive urges, deceiving themselves with myths, and letting all sorts of strange desires pull at their bodies, all to preserve their sanity until the rescue team opened the isolation chamber.

"I'll take a look at this thing." Jiang Xueming knew all too well how important hope was to these people.

On past expeditions, countless soldiers from Guangling Zhixi, militiamen trapped in the Madness Butterfly War Zone, and any ordinary person who fought against evil forces and terrifying Spirit Calamity —all of them lost their courage and had no hope, which led them to give up their way to survival and take their own lives.

If life loses its hope, even the strongest warrior will become a demon's minion. Even the most optimistic men and women will make a pact to choose an auspicious day to go to the underworld together. Humans are both incredibly resilient and incredibly fragile. Before the nameless one arrived on the battlefield, the sun was as intense as the darkness of dawn.

Yiji's eyes immediately lit up. "You can handle this thing!? Yes! I knew it!"

"We have to give it a good kick!" Brother Hazan, no longer dejected, suddenly perked up. "Like the kick you gave me earlier!"

Xue Ming waved his hand, signaling the two to move aside and squat in the corner of the dormitory bed. He pressed himself against the door and could almost hear the monster's breathing inside the room.

He looked into the observation window and saw a blood-red eye, a few centimeters away from him, staring at each other intimately and ambiguously.

"Sweet Fragrant Dream!"

The power of the soul burst forth, and the giant steel cat passed through the other side of the gate.

Its steps were nimble and swift, and it wiped its nose with its Thumb, reminiscent of Bruce Lee's mischievousness when it roared. It had the agile and unpredictable speed of a Yaksha demon, and the dust in the air shimmered with a crystalline light again. Strong magnetic and electric air masses formed the spirit's armor.

"I'm right behind you, baby!"

The monster twisted its neck, crimson saliva dripping from its chest down to its tattered trousers. It seemed confused and unable to comprehend the situation. This carnivorous Canaanite creature had never seen a Soul-Powered Spirit before, and could not find any related information or experience in the sailor's mind.

In a mere tenth of a second, a flash of lightning and thunder.

The high-flying steel claw kick blasted both of the monster's eyes out of their sockets!

Yiji: "Whoa!!!----"

Unlike the blue blood of the Canaanite life, these parasitic creatures still retain iron-rich human blood.

The monster's deep V-shaped forelimb was struck with tremendous force; Fragrant Dream's kick was like a ferocious axe, smashing the monstrous forelimb into pieces, breaking its bones and flesh in two.

Brother Hazan couldn't wait to see the results, so he stood up, craned his neck, and took another look.

"It hurts so much! It hurts so much! Why are you doing this to me?!"

The grotesque creature was kicked into the counter by Fragrant Dream, where it huddled with a pile of empty cans. The more it struggled, the more the tin and aluminum slag pierced its flesh, and more bodily fluids spurted out, only to be immediately sucked back in by the carnivorous Canaan.

"It hurts! It hurts so much!~ It hurts!~"

Its vocal organs have moved to its abdomen, and two flexible vocal cords have grown out of its navel, one on the left and one on the right, like nylon elastic ropes. They begin to vibrate when they make a sound.

Seeing this, Hazan's SAN value plummeted, and his eyes turned bloodshot. He immediately spoke to Jiang Xueming.

"VIP! Don't listen! Don't listen to this nonsense! It's not human anymore!"

"I know." Jiang Xueming's expression was serious; he naturally understood what Hazan was talking about.

Carnivorous Canaan possesses all the memories of its host. They can mimic human voices and simulate human perceptions. They naturally cannot feel pain, which must be experienced by the Homo sapiens brain within them. However, the act of "crying out in pain" or "calling for help" can more or less make enemies hesitate and feel pity.

Xue Ming made no further move; he silently recalled Fragrant Dream.

--Judging from the speed at which the monsters heal after being injured, compared to Hasben's self-healing ability, these carnivorous Canaan showed no signs of starvation.

Like Hazan and Yiji, they have maintained a low-power, energy-saving mode for the past few years, only waking up when prey approaches.

How many monsters could the food reserves on board feed? Jiang Xueming didn't know, but he had to leave. Fragrant Dream couldn't handle so many enemies at the same time; these alien parasites with extremely strong self-healing abilities had a very high energy utilization rate.

Judging by the endurance of Fragrant Dream, if Jiang Xueming gets tired and exhausted, even returning safely to the dock will become a luxury.

"I'll go [Summon People]," Jiang Xueming said to engineer Hazan as he walked out. "Just you wait, I'll go back and get the equipment. This thing can't be killed by punches and kicks."

"Great!" Hazan was now confident and stopped mentioning going home. "VIP! Well done!"

Xue Ming waved his hand and returned to the isolation ward without a word. He took Yiji's logbook but didn't dare to hold it himself—he asked Fragrant Dream to cut the metal of the storage box on the spot to make a simple waterproof box to put the things in.

He then put on his diving helmet, returned to the outside of the submarine through the regular entrance, grabbed the lifeline, and made his way back to the engineering ship without any major incidents.

"Contact Hasben and Meteor for me, and call them over."

As soon as they boarded the ship, Jiang Xueming rushed over and handed the small tin box containing the logbook to Uncle Han Zhi's clothes. She tore off a corner of the funeral robe and wrapped it tightly around him.

Seeing this scene, the researchers at Tian Shu naturally dared not be negligent, knowing that something serious had happened on the Shichuan and that the people on the Tengzhen were also in grave danger.

Xue Ming quickly went to the disinfection room of the engineering ship, washed himself thoroughly, and then jotted down everything that had happened on the submarine in the logbook before handing it over to his crew members.

After finishing his work, he didn't offer any further explanation and asked Uncle Han Zhi to look at the materials.

In just five minutes, the VIP climbed back into his beloved truck and headed towards the villa on the beach.

The diesel engine trailed a plume of black smoke, leaving a warning line in the dim sky.

Canaan remained seated there, dignified and kind.

About fifty meters away, Xue Ming got out of the car and waved to Canaan.

"Come here, come here, come here, stand over here, I need to talk to you, let's catch up."

Canaan was unable to speak and had no idea what the VIP wanted; she only felt a sense of kinship during their reunion.

She sighed inwardly, another decade had passed, and the little boy seemed to have grown up. From the conversations of passengers and researchers, she learned that he had become a great man, a hero among the Homo sapiens.

So, will we be able to get his DNA this time?

Perhaps a deeper, more intellectual exchange would be even better!

Thinking like this--

--Our Holy Mother followed Xue Ming to the other side of the fossil forest, away from the rugged and uneven beach, and came to a smooth road.

She was still immersed in Xue Ming's gentle spiritual pressure, which was somewhat different from when they first met, yet still carried a chilling and serene quality. He had matured, like the ocean.

The next second, the truck began to roar.

In the blink of an eye, Our Holy Mother saw the coastline.

She was still tumbling, spinning in mid-air.

She felt no pain, unlike other parasites; she was part of a large clan and lacked the self-protection mechanisms of Homo sapiens. Her posture, however, was rather unsightly.

Her clothes tore along with part of her body, as if she had realized something.

Upon landing, she was thrown eighteen meters away, her blue blood drawing a striking exclamation mark on the beach.

She finally understood--

--This little boy seems angry.