Mother

[He Li killed Wang Yong, but we soon realized we had killed the wrong person.]

[Wang Yong wasn't the one who had mutated. The real Pollution Source was his mother, Wu Xiuxiu.]

[After Wang Yong was killed, Wu Xiuxiu went mad. The intense shock immediately triggered her second mutation.]

[The entire school became hell, and the Heavenly Dao itself warped.]

[I ran, she chased. Even wings couldn't have saved me.]

[She hurled me away like a wretched stray dog.]

[We were wiped out.]

[I'm a real team-wipe machine~]

The warnings from his heart, combined with his earlier doubts, prompted Xu Ye to act immediately and stop He Li.

In a flash, Wang Yong's face twisted viciously. He raised the carving knife in his hand and slashed at He Li's lower abdomen.

He Li dodged it effortlessly.

"Kill, kill, kill!"

"Die, die, die!"

"I... I'm going to kill you all!"

Wang Yong growled, glaring like a tiger as he roared at Xu Ye and the others, brandishing the little knife in front of him.

By now, even He Li could see something was wrong.

Wang Yong charged.

He Li kicked him in the stomach, sending him toppling backward. He hit the floor and rolled several times.

Refusing to give up, he got back up and charged again with a roar.

But once again, He Li sent him flying with a kick.

His head was split open and bleeding.

Wang Yong rose to his feet, trembling.

He Li lost patience. Her eyes widened as she turned to ask Xu Ye, "What's going on? This kid isn't an Aberrant at all, let alone a Pollution Source."

Xu Ye sighed and entered the classroom. Looking at Wang Yong, whose body was covered in bruises and whose face was contorted, yet who couldn't stop shaking, he said, "Enough. Stop pretending. You're not the monster. Your mother is."

"You cut yourself just now to keep from falling asleep to Lu Mingwang's chanting, didn't you?"

Xu Ye's words struck like a bolt from the blue, leaving Wang Yong frozen in place. Then he shook his head frantically. "What are you talking about? I don't understand. I'm the killer. I am!"

"No, you're not."

Xu Ye cut him off, stepped forward, and grabbed Wang Yong's hand, pressing it against his own chest. "If you are, then stab me."

"..."

Wang Yong's teeth chattered as he stared into Xu Ye's deep, piercing eyes. He mustered all his courage, but the blade never moved even half an inch forward.

"Xu Ye, it's me. It really is. Please believe me. I don't know who you people are, and I don't know what's happened, but just kill me and call this whole thing over, okay?"

"Xu Ye, we're classmates. I'm begging you..."

He pleaded.

The next instant, he slashed the carving knife toward his own neck, but Xu Ye knocked it out of his hand.

Holding his wrist, Xu Ye said earnestly, "Wang Yong, I know you're protecting your mother, trying to cover up the truth for her. But she's already become a monster. She's killed so many people. I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do."

"No! She's just sick!"

Wang Yong shook his head desperately and struggled like mad.

"You've actually known for a long time, haven't you? You knew even before Zhang Xuliang died. Back then, you were still clinging to hope because your mother hadn't gone mad yet."

Xu Ye enunciated every word. "But now, she can't control herself anymore."

"She's a good person, Xu Ye. My mom really never wanted to hurt anyone. Look at me. I'm standing here, perfectly fine. I haven't become a monster."

Wang Yong knelt on the floor.

"Xu Ye, I'll kowtow to you. Please let us go. Just pretend you never saw us. I'll take my mom away right now. We'll leave Night Spirit City and go to the Wasteland. We won't hurt anyone."

Xu Ye froze.

He opened his mouth but said nothing.

Alice said sadly, "See? I told you he was a devoted son. How could he possibly be the Pollution Source?"

"That's not what you said a moment ago." Xu Ye was speechless.

"You're a human. Why are you arguing with a cat like me?" Alice said petulantly.

Xu Ye shook his head.

He couldn't let Wu Xiuxiu leave. Otherwise, in just two or three days, she would cause the Heavenly Dao to warp. By then, she wouldn't even recognize Wang Yong.

Just then, a tremendous crash came from the direction of the restroom.

Everyone's expressions changed sharply.

Xu Ye and the others hurried into the corridor. Amid a cloud of dust, a figure slowly emerged.

Even though Xu Ye had already seen several Aberrants, the one before him still made him click his tongue.

Wu Xiuxiu came into view.

Below her neck, she was still human in shape, but beneath the skin of her entire face, one writhing trail after another appeared, as though snakes were slithering underneath.

Then those things pierced her skin, revealing an Eight-Legged Black-and-White Ghost-Eyed Spider.

The spider devoured Wu Xiuxiu's face bit by bit. Its entire body embedded itself in her face, its eight legs gripping her forehead, ears, jaw, and chin to anchor it in place. A black eye on its back stared at everyone like a ghostly infant.

A spider had replaced her face.

An indistinct growl came from within her body.

"Mom!"

At the sight, Wang Yong let out a heart-rending cry. His legs buckled, and he dropped straight to his knees in disbelief.

"Mom, it's me, Wang Yong! I'm your son!"

"Mom, do you remember? During the great famine, I was only five. Our whole family was nearly starving to death. You went to someone else's house and stole a steamed bun to eat, and they beat you until they broke one of your ribs. When you came home, you smiled and picked the scraps of meat filling out of your mouth. You said you'd brought me food, that you wouldn't let me go hungry."

"Later, our family fled to Night Spirit City. I'd eaten so many grass seeds that I couldn't shit, and I almost died from the blockage. You used your fingers to dig it out for me, little by little."

"After Dad was beaten to death, you even sold your body so I could go to school..."

"Mom, it's my fault. I'm useless. I'll study hard. I'll give you a good life. Please, come with me."

Tears streamed down Wang Yong's face, his eyes bloodshot as he knelt on the floor, sobbing and crying out.

Wu Xiuxiu paused. A trace of humanity appeared in the eye on the spider's back.

Trembling, she crouched down, bending her knees as she inched toward Wang Yong.

A flicker of joy had barely appeared on Wang Yong's face when, the next instant, a venomous dart shot out of the spider's abdomen.

"Hiss-"

Xu Ye blocked the venomous dart with his blade.

He gripped the hilt of [Beginners Must Not Die], faint arcs of electricity coiling around its sharp blade.

His figure blocked Wang Yong's view of Wu Xiuxiu.

He swung.

The pale blue dagger sliced through the air with a crack.

"Xu Ye, is there really no other way?" Wang Yong murmured.

"I'm sorry."

Xu Ye briefly closed his eyes.

He thought of his own mother, wondering whether she was safe and well back on Earth.

When he opened his eyes again, the wind turned biting.