Ruan Mobei was alerted when He Songming woke up. He quickly reached out to touch his forehead, which was covered in a thin layer of sweat, and asked, “How do you feel?”

“…” He Songming didn’t respond. He stared at the light on the ceiling, and softly said, “Someone cut my flesh, right?”

“He wore a hood. He’s a man,” Ruan Mobei paused for a moment before continuing with firm conviction, “I’ll find him.”

He Songming closed his eyes again, not saying another word.

The numbers on the machine representing his heart rate quietly rose. A tear fell from the corner of the boy’s eye and silently soaked into the pillow.

“I… I’ve tried so hard to change, why… why is this still happening?”

Ruan Mobei gently ran his fingers through He Songming’s hair, “It’s not your fault.”

He Songming took a deep breath, struggling to hold back his tears, but the overwhelming feeling of grievance caused the tears to flow even more.

What’s the point of changing?

Before all of this, he had been naïve enough to hold onto hope, thinking maybe things were getting better, thinking that there would still be people who would offer him kindness.

— Leave this place. I have to leave this place!

At that moment, Chen Rui arrived. Her lips were pale, and she looked exhausted. When she saw that He Songming was awake, she sighed in relief and pulled a chair to sit by his bedside.

“Do you remember anything?” she asked softly. “That place was a blind spot for surveillance, so we couldn’t see who did it.”

He Songming shook his head. He really hadn’t seen anything—only Ruan Mobei’s information. “It should have been a man.”

“We’ll do our best to find him. But let’s keep this quiet for now, okay? I’m afraid others might imitate it,” Chen Rui said, fully aware that once something like this sets a precedent, it can’t be undone.

He Songming gave a soft hum in response, shrinking back into his blankets, his voice barely audible. “I want to go home.”

“Can you stay here a little longer?”

“I want to go home.”

Chen Rui couldn’t argue with him and sighed, “Alright, come on, eat something, and I’ll take you home afterward.”

Ruan Mobei accompanied He Songming back to the West Zone.

It would take at least another day for the wounds on the back of the boy’s head and waist to heal, but the scars left by the attack in his heart would never disappear.

He Songming, who had only just begun to open up again, fell into isolation once more. It was only when he was alone with Ruan Mobei that he could truly relax for a brief moment.

Ruan Mobei was the only person he could fully trust.

Ruan Mobei had been trying to track down the attacker. He had broken the man’s nose, and the force of his knee strike was enough to cause internal bleeding, but if that man ate He Songming’s flesh after returning, all his injuries would heal.

But it didn’t matter. Ruan Mobei was sure that as soon as he saw that person again, he would recognize him right away — he remembered those proud, narrow eyes.

Those disgusting eyes.

A week passed, and the doctor, now in a cast and sitting in a wheelchair, continued to teach. He never once mentioned He Songming treating him.

Ruan Mobei knew that He Songming had planned to do something that day, but the actions of the attacker had crushed all the kindness he had only just begun to nurture.

The search of the base continued, with He Songming spending most of his time in the hospital on level -9, making it easier for Ruan Mobei to roam on the -10 and -11 floors below.

The base housed 13,000 people, and with the cold weather, headaches and fevers were common. The medical staff were often so busy they lost track of time. That evening at 8 PM, after finishing all the consultations with the doctor, He Songming had some candy the doctor had given him and was getting ready to head home.

“Are you tired?” Ruan Mobei asked.

He Songming responded quietly, “I’m okay. My stamina is much better now. Exercising really helps.”

The elevator doors opened in front of them, and the stench that hit Ruan Mobei made him instinctively hold his breath. There were a few men inside who had just come up from the lower floors, dressed in neatly tailored suits — clearly high-ranking officials.

Ruan Mobei immediately noticed the tall, slender man among them.

He Songming hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to get in or wait for the next elevator. He didn’t like being in such a confined space with strangers.

“Go in,” Ruan Mobei’s voice came from beside him. He Songming looked up at him, surprised. He had never heard Ruan Mobei’s voice sound so cold before.

Ruan Mobei’s gaze was fixed on the men in the elevator, his usual smile replaced with a tense, serious expression.

…What’s going on?

He Songming looked again at the men in the elevator and obediently stepped inside, standing quietly in the corner.

He couldn’t smell the foul odor. That disgusting smell only seemed to reach Ruan Mobei. His eyes were fixed on the man. The man had narrow, cunning eyes that would narrow slightly when he spoke, revealing a look of sharpness.

Ruan Mobei would never forget those eyes.

The man reeked of a strong, revolting odor, like fish and shrimp rotting for a month, with maggots crawling in the decaying flesh.

This smell… Ruan Mobei had smelled it before — on the people searching for He Songming on the first day, on Kolov in the operating room, and on a few passerby. But it was always faint.

Never had anyone smelled so overwhelmingly bad.

The man wore a work badge with a title indicating he was a high-ranking executive — the deputy executive officer of the base.

Ruan Mobei couldn’t hold it anymore and gagged. It was unclear whether it was because of the stench in the confined space or because of the words “deputy executive officer.”

He Songming glanced over at him with concern. Ruan Mobei’s face looked particularly unpleasant, and He Songming began to worry.

“I’m fine,” Ruan Mobei forced out the words through his nausea.

The deputy executive officer was talking with the head of administration, looking down at He Songming in the corner. His gaze lingered on the boy’s head for a moment, and his smile stiffened for a brief second.

He Songming quickly averted his gaze from Ruan Mobei, momentarily locking eyes with the deputy executive officer in the reflection on the elevator wall.

The moment their gazes met, the man instinctively looked away.

He Songming…?

The elevator soon reached the ground floor. He Songming stepped out, and Ruan Mobei finally allowed himself to breathe again. He took a deep breath of fresh air, but that smell seemed to linger in his nose, refusing to fade.

He couldn’t help but gag again.

“What’s wrong?”

“…Nothing,” Ruan Mobei decided not to tell He Songming just yet. He hadn’t expected that the man was so high-ranking — the deputy executive officer of the base.

He didn’t want to think about how He Songming would react when he found out.

He Songming furrowed his brow in suspicion. Since Ruan Mobei wasn’t willing to talk about it, he didn’t press further. Changing the subject, he asked, “How’s the investigation going?”

“In two days, we should have everything figured out,” Ruan Mobei replied. The two of them walked from the East Zone to the West Zone, with He Songming carrying a box of rabbit meat for Granny.

Snowflakes fell softly, and the streetlights were dim. He Songming turned on his flashlight, the beam swinging with each step. At one point, the light illuminated a strange spot in the snow by the roadside.

Once again, Ruan Mobei saw those horrifyingly large footprints — exactly the same as the ones he had seen last week in the forest.

Ruan Mobei: “…”

He Songming: “…”

He Songming stood still, the light of the flashlight shining on the toes of the footprint. The way the snow covered it suggested the tracks were very fresh — likely made just half an hour ago.

“I’ll go call someone,” He Songming realized something was wrong. He stared at the footprints for a moment, then quickly turned and ran back to the East Zone.

Half an hour later, a crowd gathered around the mysterious footprints in the East Zone, quietly discussing them. The fear began to spread slowly, just like when Ruan Mobei had first discovered them. Everyone who saw the prints was overwhelmed by shock and fear.

He Songming stood at the edge of the crowd. Since the adults had arrived, there wasn’t much for him to do.

“Shall we go home?” he asked.

Ruan Mobei looked at the crowd, a deep sense of unease growing stronger. “Let’s go back. Get some exercise and rest up.”

For several days, the footprints continued to appear near the base.

People installed many cameras in the area, trying to figure out what kind of creature was leaving them, but no useful information had been found. The prints seemed to come from a transparent creature that wandered nearby, spreading endless fear.

Ruan Mobei was certain that whatever was attracting that creature was inside the base.

Both sides of the base had entered a wartime state. If danger struck, the bunker’s gates would immediately close, and people would retreat to the underground level twelve emergency shelter, a structure built with nuclear defense in mind.

The previous occupants had left over ten thousand dormant pods down there.

The appearance of the footprints had clearly left the base’s administrators in a state of panic. They had to calm the residents’ fears while preparing for any potential dangers. Chen Rui, who worked as a communications officer, was also busy, with little time to attend to her own home. More often than not, He Songming would have to push the doctor to the cafeteria for meals.

The hospital remained as busy as ever. In the anxious atmosphere, more and more people were showing symptoms of discomfort. He Songming had already learned enough to assist the doctor with some basic consultations.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” the doctor said, finally finishing with the last patient. He sighed heavily and rubbed his temple in exhaustion.

He Songming nodded and helped the doctor toward the bathroom, which was not far away. Ruan Mobei didn’t need to follow them.

Taking advantage of the empty clinic, Ruan Mobei hurried over to the doctor’s computer and typed in the deputy executive officer’s name in the search box.

It had taken him two days to find the man’s name and address.

The page loaded, revealing a consultation record from two weeks ago. The deputy executive officer had indeed visited the doctor.

Ruan Mobei clicked on the record, quickly scanning through the list of symptoms. At the end, he found the diagnosis written by the doctor — erectile dysfunction, recommended medication treatment.

Ruan Mobei: ??????

He stared at the words, each one seeming to mock him mercilessly.

All for this?!

All for this, he…!?

The mouse creaked under the pressure as if it couldn’t bear the weight.

He could vaguely hear He Songming’s voice from the hallway. Ruan Mobei squeezed his eyes shut and used all his self-control to close the page and delete the search history.

He Songming returned, pushing the doctor, preparing to leave for the day. Seeing Ruan Mobei’s strange expression, the boy quietly asked when the doctor wasn’t looking, “What’s wrong?”

“I saw something unpleasant,” Ruan Mobei inhaled deeply, unable to contain his emotions. “Don’t go back tonight. Stay at the doctor’s house for the night. I have something to do, and it’ll only be for one night.”

“Ah?” He Songming looked a little confused. He stared at Ruan Mobei for two seconds, seeing the anger that couldn’t be hidden in his eyes.

He suddenly understood something.

“…Alright.”

The doctor, seeing how tired He Songming was, readily agreed. He had originally wanted He Songming to move in with him, as it was exhausting for him to travel back and forth from the West Zone every day.

Ah Lin was delighted, but if it weren’t for the doctor saying He Songming needed a good rest after such a tiring day, she would have dragged him into a few rounds of gaming.

Chen Rui cleared out a room for He Songming. Though it was meant to be a study, it was larger than the room He Songming had in the West Zone. The boy closed the door behind him and began his two sets of squats for the day, asking Ruan Mobei, “What should I do?”

“Just lie on the bed and rest,” Ruan Mobei helped him keep track of his squats, having already planned everything out.

Is the goal near Uncle Zhang’s house? He Songming tried to figure out who it was, but since Ruan Mobei, being a spirit, could move anywhere, he was far more familiar with this area than He Songming, and after thinking for a while, he gave up.

The clock’s hands silently ticked, marking the passage of time.

At 1 AM, Ruan Mobei opened his eyes.

He quietly got up, making sure not to disturb the sleeping He Songming. Using the faint emergency light shining through the door, Ruan Mobei carefully made his way to the east wall, slipping past it quietly.

A young woman slept soundly, and Ruan Mobei passed her, then moved through the east wall into the third house.

Standing in the dark living room, he closed his eyes and emptied his mind, sinking into his ghost-like state. Everything seemed to become intangible and vague.

This skill was something Ruan Mobei had mastered while investigating the structure of the base. He had complete control over his ghostly state.

His feet passed through the floor, and after a few breaths, he opened his eyes again, feeling his feet touch the ground.

Now, he was just below the doctor’s house. This level mostly housed administrative and research staff, and this particular unit belonged to the deputy executive officer.

After eating He Songming’s flesh, the deputy executive officer’s ailment had left him. Perhaps before, his condition had caused him and his wife to sleep in separate rooms, but now, on the bed in the bedroom, there were two naked people.

Ruan Mobei stood on the side of the deputy executive officer’s bed and stared at him for several seconds, his expression emotionless. The injuries he had inflicted on the man had completely disappeared, leaving no trace behind.

Everything was because of He Songming’s flesh.

A strong, repulsive odor emanated from the man.

Ruan Mobei extended his hand.

…

A sleepless night.

He Songming slept well that night. The next morning, he yawned as he got up. Ruan Mobei was still lying beside him, replenishing his soul energy, still asleep.

In the living room, the doctor’s voice could be vaguely heard, speaking seriously on the phone.

He Songming poked Ruan Mobei’s face, quickly retracting his hand. He stared at Ruan Mobei’s sleeping face. Seeing that he didn’t respond, He Songming poked him again.

Ruan Mobei was still asleep.

He was in such a deep sleep. He Songming couldn’t help but wonder where he had gone last night. Why was he so exhausted?

Soon, He Songming got the answer from the doctor.

The deputy executive officer was dead.

The man’s body had an expression of terror, his mouth wide open as though trying to scream. His hands were tightly gripping at something in the air, as if desperately trying to escape something.

The preliminary autopsy report showed that his catecholamine levels were severely elevated, and he died from myocardial rupture and internal bleeding.

He had literally been scared to death.