Fang Feng Settlement

The train had arrived at the station.

Jiang Xueming had prepared to disembark long before the announcement.

Pressed against the door's glass, he watched the dense stone forest of the wilderness draw nearer. Within minutes, "rain" had begun to fall from above.

More accurately, it was like condensation dripping from an enormous underground cavity. It struck the glass with great force, and through the wet streaks, he could make out countless gray particles that seemed to be dust.

He casually took a large black umbrella from the self-service shelf and grabbed several loaves of bread for dinner. These things had been prepared for guests and required no additional payment.

Then, amid the shriek of hydraulic valves, the train doors opened. Damp, frigid air rushed in, making Xueming clutch his collar and carefully fasten the buttons of his coat.

After stepping off the train, he followed the broadcast instructions toward the station's security office.

He walked quickly, taking huge strides. His shoes splashed rings of grayish-white water across the wet iron-plated path.

There were few people around. No other passengers were visible on the platform, only A Xing jogging after him with a backpack on his shoulders until he caught up.

As he walked, A Xing asked with a grin, "Why didn't you wait for me? I had a lot of stuff."

Xueming said, "You could keep up."

A Xing said, "Hey! You trust me that much?"

Xueming said, "I trust your muscles and your height."

A Xing did not understand the implication behind Xueming's words. He just kept chuckling happily.

At the side door of the exit passage, the two turned into the security office. As if to conserve power, the lights lining both sides of the corridor gradually dimmed.

The passage was long, narrow, and cramped, with quite a few employee lockers along one side. Xueming strode right through, while Liuxing could only carefully turn sideways and squeeze his way in.

Then they reached the office hall's door—

—Xueming, operating on the principle that efficiency came first, did not knock and simply barged in.

The office hall was as cramped as the corridor.

At a glance, it seemed to be only about twenty square meters.

Filing cabinets and document pouches crowded both walls. The pouches contained incomprehensible symbol labels and yellow light strips, apparently tools used to leave tracking markers in the wilderness.

A blond, blue-eyed foreigner sat before the desk, dressed like an armed security officer.

He wore a black nylon tactical vest with a MOLLE system, lights and ammunition pouches, tweezers, pliers, and a battlefield first-aid kit—everything he could need.

The security officer's armband bore a snarling black cat and the station's name in both Chinese and English.

Xueming immediately stated his purpose. "Hello. I need to go to SW. BOSS sent me. I'm supposed to follow you now, find somewhere to stay first, then conduct a two-day investigation in SW. Is that right?"

The security officer did not answer immediately. He merely nodded, staring intently at Jiang Xueming.

That gaze made Jiang Xueming deeply uncomfortable. In the dim light, there was no reflected glimmer in the guard's eyes. Though he seemed to be looking at something, his pupils did not make the minute focusing movements they should have. It was as if his gaze passed directly through Xueming's flesh, intent on seeing his brain itself.

The security officer's soul finally returned to his body. He snapped his fingers sharply, rose to his feet, and moved with an efficiency every bit as brisk as Xueming's.

"Fine."

He cleared the cluttered desk and took a black waterproof bag from a storage cabinet. In an instant, the guard became a highly efficient work machine. He even snatched A Xing's backpack and led the way ahead.

"Let's go."

Bu Liuxing was baffled by the scene.

He tugged at Mr. Xueming's sleeve and asked quietly, "What's going on? What is this?"

Xueming did not quite understand either, but the security officer's attitude made him feel reassured.

Few words, quick movements, no unnecessary questions, no wasted time.

The two followed the guard to the parking lot. Their transportation was still that ancient black Volga.

Before long, the car drove into a stone forest.

Jiang Xueming looked curiously out the window as the station buildings gradually receded into the distance.

The road looked new. Beneath the shadows of the stone forest, the asphalt bore patches of lighter and darker shades left by uneven heating.

The trees beside the road had completely petrified. There was no telling how old this woodland truly was.

The car was silent, save for the road noise of rubber tires grinding over gravel.

A Xing was practically bursting from the silence. He did not dare ask anything, and he knew nothing. All he knew was that Ming Ge and this security brother were both people of few words who did not seem to enjoy talking.

Xueming took out his notebook, wanting to learn some basic information about their destination.

"Sir, could you tell me the basics about SW? The inn where we'll be staying, as well as the [attractions]—I'll write everything down."

The crisp click of Jiang Xueming uncapping his fountain pen was like a WALKMAN pressing its play button.

The rain outside, accompanied by the security officer's deep voice, reached the ears of the two young men.

"SW is a code name. It generally refers to the first defining feature of a temporary settlement. When you got off the train, you should have smelled it. The air here carries a sweet, fishy fragrance. It isn't very pungent."

Xueming lowered his head and took notes.

Liuxing followed suit, opening the notes app on his phone and rubbing at the glass screen.

The security officer continued.

"Its original name is Sweet Wind. Since you communicate in Chinese, we'll call it Fang Feng for now."

"Four years ago, an exploration team discovered this place. Geological survey instruments showed that it possessed an enormous water reserve, including an ocean. We decided to build a new station here—but unexpectedly, a small settlement seemed to rise out of the ground and appeared from nowhere around the construction team. From the station, it lies south-southeast. It takes only half an hour by car, roughly forty kilometers away."

A Xing asked curiously, "A settlement? What does that mean?"

"A human settlement," the security officer answered. "When our construction team came to clear this stone forest and conduct field surveys—where the stone forest and mountains had been completely empty only a month ago, a human settlement suddenly appeared."

"At first, we believed these people might be descendants of the station's advance teams. Throughout the station's pioneering history, many teams of over a hundred people had vanished inexplicably in the underground world.

"Perhaps they had not died, but had simply taken root and lived here. The people living in this settlement could be their descendants."

Xueming followed up. "Is there any traceable evidence of this 'sudden appearance'?"

"It is precisely because there are no clues that the investigation has continued for so many years," the security officer replied. "The habits and behavior of these humans who appeared from nowhere are all extremely strange. They are disconnected from modern society. Before you, other passengers observed that this settlement had only a little over two hundred people. There is no running water or electricity. They survive on certain fish from underground water sources, as well as moss, mushrooms, and plants capable of growing in dim conditions."

"No livestock, no pets."

"They need neither fire nor light sources and eat raw food."

"No writing. Most of them can speak, and their languages are highly complex, ranging from Latin-based language families to dialects from the Asian cultural sphere."

"Most notably, the residents of this settlement can communicate fluently despite speaking different languages."

"Later, our research station concluded that the original theory of [advance team descendants] was probably wrong. Aside from language, this settlement shows no traces of human civilization. You cannot even find any symbolic markers from commonly known historical records."

"Take someone who speaks English but knows neither Elizabeth nor Victoria, does not know who their ancestors were, does not know Jesus, does not know God."

"Or someone who speaks Chinese but does not know Qin Shi Huang or Confucius, and does not know where Chinese came from."

"These residents are highly skilled at underwater hunting. Their swimming ability is almost stronger than that of any professional athlete in the surface world."

"During the four years of station construction, the construction team did not suffer any accidents, but many inexplicable things happened. For example, a brother who talked passionately with you yesterday about his dreams in life and working hard to support his family would suddenly leave behind a resignation letter today, then vanish into the underground world."

"A young couple in the team who had been together for a long time and were preparing to marry would suddenly break up. Within just a few hours, they would find new lovers and go live in another sector, or simply return to the surface to live normal lives."

"These abnormalities caused inexplicable panic among the research station staff. It seemed that some unknown spiritual force haunted this settlement, one capable of changing the people around us beyond recognition."

"And we have never been able to figure out where they came from—"

"—why they live here, why they use our language, why they resemble us so closely yet behave like another species. That is all I know about Fang Feng Settlement, and it is all BOSS asked me to tell you."

Xueming asked, "What is the scope of our investigation?"

"Anything is fair game. Don't overlook any suspicious place," the security officer instructed. "But I must remind you: do not regard these creatures as human. They look very much like humans, and it is easy to confuse them when you are together, but after spending time with them, you will definitely sense the abnormalities in them."

A Xing asked nervously, "What do you mean?"

The security officer looked back at A Xing. His eyes were still hollow and empty, staring straight at him until A Xing felt a chill crawl through his heart.

"Keep your eyes on the road, sir!" A Xing immediately reminded him.

"I've seen these things. I see them every day. Whenever I slack off alone at the forward outpost, I stare blankly at these [people]," the security officer said, turning back to the road as he continued driving. "Just now, I was imitating their gaze. Did it make you uncomfortable? When I first met you earlier, I looked at you the same way. I just hope you won't make a fuss once we reach our destination."

"Hahaha..." A Xing laughed awkwardly and patted Xueming's shoulder. "See, Ming Ge? This driver's got quite the sense of humor. His eyes can talk! If you asked me to imitate that look, I might not even get it right."

"If what you say is true, how do I know that gaze of yours wasn't just an act?" Jiang Xueming closed his notebook. "Is there a possibility that you're also a native of Fang Feng Settlement? You're just cleverer than the rest and managed to blend into the human world."

The security officer explained, "The people in Fang Feng Settlement do not eat cooked food. Check the reports in the logs—passengers once brought food to these settlement residents. As long as it was cooked, whether protein or starch, they would refuse it all. Even if they ate it, they would vomit it back up. These creatures' digestive tracts are different from those of Homo sapiens."

Sweet yet fishy air slipped in through a crack in the car window.

Outside, the fossil forest's coarse bark patterns seemed to bear ancient, mysterious, and bizarre legends.

Jiang Xueming handed him a loaf of bread. He spoke.

"Then have a bite?"

The security officer's expression visibly worsened. He only felt that this passenger was so blunt that it bordered on rudeness.

A Xing laughed and smoothed things over.

"Why is everyone so tense? It's just bread! I'll go first!"

With that, Bu Liuxing tore open the wrapper and took a huge bite.

Without changing expression, the security officer took the half-eaten bread from A Xing's hand and bit into it.

Only after Jiang Xueming heard the two men make gurgling swallowing sounds did he relax. Then he sighed.

Bu Liuxing asked curiously, "Ming Ge, the security officer and I are both fine. Isn't that great news? What are you sighing for?"

"After ruling out you two wrong answers, I still have to personally wander around that settlement for two days. Can Bailu hold on for those two days? I don't know. I have no confidence." Xueming bit viciously into the bread, sounding slightly resentful that things had not gone his way. He made a cold joke to fight the boundless darkness.

"What a pity. I can't personally send you to the research station's dissection table."