Editor and Proofreader: Rinrin

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The sky began to darken in the evening, with cicadas chirping under the still trees, and the humid air felt stifling. As night fell, the rain still hadn’t come, but the cicadas’ cries grew louder, like the prelude to distant thunder.

“This weather is too stuffy” Li Junchi sat under the bed, filling a basin with cold water and placing it on the floor. After a while, he would take down the towel draped over him, dip it in the cold water, wring it out, and drape it back on to cool off.

Ren Feiyu lay on the upper bunk with one hand holding the latest trendy rainbow backlit handheld fan, feeling the strong wind on his face, while the other hand held a phone with a Koi shell case, scrolling through the news. Not understanding, he asked, “What does ‘animal characteristics’ mean?”

Lin Wu, without a handheld fan, had to lean against the bed railing to absorb the weak breeze from the old ceiling fan while he read the latest report that Ren Feiyu had only glanced at the title. He carefully clicked in to see: “It says these abnormal changes are not random or chaotic, but occur along certain specific animal characteristics…”

“And many of the abnormalities exhibited by individuals are not the same?” Xia Yang sat in the center of the room, directly facing the ceiling fan, hoping to get a breeze. He had already reached the detailed explanation in the report, shocked enough to read the news article aloud, “Research has found that the animal characteristics presented by different individuals with abnormalities often vary greatly…”

“For example, Mr. Li from Jilin, who subdued several wild boars with his bare hands, and Ms. Zhao from Beijing, who held her breath underwater for 42 minutes. After being hospitalized, Mr. Li exhibited some behaviors and preferences characteristic of bear species, while Ms. Zhao’s bodily abnormalities revealed increasingly more amphibious traits…”

As Xia Yang read, he became flustered: “Is this the middle of winter, not just running outside shirtless but also rolling in the snow for three days and nights—am I going crazy?”

—

For the past few nights, the four of them had done nothing but return to the dormitory and uniformly scroll through their phones, checking the latest reports on the research into bodily abnormalities and discussing them until lights out. Even the steamy dorm room couldn’t hinder their focus; their level of seriousness was comparable to that of preparing for final exams.

“Humans are humans; how could they turn into animals?” Ren Feiyu still found it hard to accept this reality.

“Dude, don’t jump to conclusions” Li Junchi said. “Didn’t you see what it said afterward? Although the abnormalities show animal characteristics, the original personalities and preferences of the affected individuals haven’t changed significantly. At most, they’ve just gained a bit of animal traits on top of their existing ones.”

“We could think about it from another angle” Lin Wu said. “Humans are already a type of animal, so maybe these are characteristics possessed by ancient humans that are being reactivated in the individuals with abnormalities.”

Ren Feiyu asked, “Then what animal traits have I activated?”

This soul-searching question suddenly made the air quiet.

The reports regarding “animal characteristics” had just been published, and the three hadn’t yet thought to apply it to Ren Feiyu. Moreover, Ren Feiyu had been behaving more normally than even the average person these past few days; the so-called “abnormalities” hadn’t appeared again, leading Lin Wu and the others to wonder if the strange fall that night had just been a collective illusion.

“Don’t just sit there in silence” Ren Feiyu anxiously waited for a response, and after hesitating for a long time, he finally decided to confess, “Although I can’t jump out of that majestic pose from that night, I’ve actually discovered other abnormalities about myself in the past few days…”

Lin Wu was stunned: “Huh?”

Li Junchi’s eyes widened: “What?”

Xia Yang was confused: “What are you talking about?”

Now they were neither hot nor dejected; their spirits were lifted.

Faced with the intimidating atmosphere from his friends, Ren Feiyu felt increasingly guilty and backed up until his back was pressed against the wall before he could finally speak: “Actually, uh, I…”

Lin Wu, Xia Yang, and Li Junchi urged, “Speak, louder.”

Ren Feiyu said, “My eyesight has inexplicably improved. I used to have to squint to see the blackboard from the last row of the classroom, but now I can see everything clearly just by glancing!”

Lin Wu asked, “Is that all?”

Ren Feiyu continued, “I’ve also jumped down from high places. I secretly tried it a few times behind your backs, but it wasn’t the kind of dive where I fell straight down—I didn’t dare do that without you catching me. I just jumped down normally from the wall…”

Li Junchi asked, “And?”

Ren Feiyu explained, “I found that when I landed, my feet didn’t hurt as much as before. I tried it several times, and it was the same each time. So I think my body might still have some automatic slowing down, it’s just not very obvious. That’s why we didn’t notice it during our experiment that day.”

Xia Yang remarked, “Alright, you’re definitely and undoubtedly mutated.”

Ren Feiyu replied, “…How long have you been doubting me??”

“Who told you not to share anything with us, acting even more normal than a normal person” Lin Wu said, commenting mercilessly as he smoothly climbed down from the upper bunk.

Ren Feiyu had been hiding this for so many days, already anxious, and now being criticized made him want to cry even more: “I was just afraid of affecting you… You finally all felt at ease, and here I am with this…”

“Overthinking” Lin Wu rolled his eyes at him as he got off the bed, but nearly got blinded by the rainbow fan. He had to cover his eyes and peer at Ren Feiyu through his fingers. “Even if you turned into a hundred beasts, you’d still be the coolest guy in dorm 333, got it?”

Ren Feiyu looked around at the whole dorm 333 with teary eyes: “I love you guys…”

Lin Wu, Li Junchi, and Xia Yang, illuminated by the colorful lights: “…”

Such dazzling love.

Once Lin Wu got off the bed, he quickly sat down at the desk, pulled out some paper and a pen, and listed the key points Ren Feiyu had just mentioned: “Improved eyesight… automatic deceleration or cushioning upon landing…”

Sitting under the fan, Xia Yang scooted his chair closer: “And the aerial rolling, don’t forget that aerial rolling from the beginning…”

“If we consider how he performed that night, it’s most like a cat” Li Junchi said, even though he hadn’t gotten close, his heart was already soaring. “Isn’t it said that no matter how a cat falls, it can twist its body in the air to land correctly?”

—The three-person research team was quickly established.

Xia Yang added, “Cats have paws with pads, which also help cushion their landing.”

Lin Wu pointed out, “But cats are very agile.”

Li Junchi replied, “So it can’t be Feiyu; he’s too slow.”

Xia Yang added, “And he even glided that night! I saw him fall in a diagonal line from the bed to the center of the room. A cat wouldn’t glide.”

Lin Wu commented, “If we’re talking about gliding, then we’re left with birds or some specific animals that can glide. Let me check on my phone…”

Xia Yang exclaimed, “It can’t just be birds! If they can glide, why not just fly directly?”

Li Junchi noted, “And birds are so agile. Do you remember how we tried to use clothes and blankets to cushion him during those experiments later? Feiyu crashed down without any grace.”

“What animals can glide? I can’t find any” Xia Yang couldn’t wait, leaning in next to Lin Wu, closely watching the phone screen as it kept scrolling.

Lin Wu was already working quickly; the web pages opened rapidly, and he took meticulous notes.

Only then did Xia Yang realize that Lin Wu was not just checking a few web pages; he was looking for precise information.

With admiration, he noticed that Lin Wu, lost in the ocean of knowledge, seemed quite happy. As he deepened his understanding of the information, he began humming a little tune.

Xia Yang had no intention of eavesdropping, but they were too close.

Lin Wu’s tune, infused with Indian flair, suddenly drilled into his ears: “How cold it is~ I’m playing in the mud in Northeast China~~ Although Northeast China is not big~ I don’t have a home in Dalian~~”

Xia Yang thought: “…”

He wondered why he had to get so close.

“Almost done” the humming stopped as Lin Wu, having collected a bunch of materials, finally reached a more reliable conclusion. “It should be some gliding mammal, with a layer of membranous skin like a sail on either side of its body, allowing it to glide down from the air, such as flying squirrels or sugar gliders, which many people now keep as pets.”

—

Li Junchi: “Do they share any habits with Feiyu, aside from gliding?”

Lin Wu: “They’re timid.”

Xia Yang: “That’s Feiyu.”

Li Junchi: “That’s it.”

Ren Feiyu, who had been silently watching, found it hard to remain obedient: “Are you all researching together, or are you just teaming up to make fun of me…”

Xia Yang’s phone suddenly beeped with a low battery warning, prompting him to get up and go back to his bed to find a charger.

Li Junchi caught a glimpse of a figure darting past in his peripheral vision. When he looked up, Xia Yang was already on his bed. He had only taken a single step on the ladder to the top bunk and then jumped up effortlessly.

“You have some impressive skills” Li Junchi teased. “Maybe we should just take that ladder down tomorrow.”

Xia Yang, usually nimble, seemed particularly spry today, possibly buoyed by Lin Wu’s singing. He immediately got cocky: “I’d love to keep a low profile, but my talent won’t allow it. Who can understand the struggles of a jack-of-all-trades?”

Li Junzhi: “…Get down here, and I promise not to hit you.”

Xia Yang laughed, joking around while plugging in the charger. Just as he was about to connect his phone, a new notification popped up on the screen— a breaking news headline from a news app:

**Shocking discovery! The outbreak of physical mutations coincides perfectly with the global spread of dense fog earlier this month!**

Lin Wu, who had the same app, also saw the notification.

He instinctively clicked on it—

**Details**: “This mysterious body mutation has swept across the globe, much like the dense fog at the beginning of the month. Scientists compared the two global spread trend charts and found an astonishing overlap.”

**[Image 1]** “This is the trend chart of the global outbreak of body mutations over the past two weeks.”

**[Image 2]** “This is the trend chart of the dense fog that engulfed the globe in three days at the beginning of the month.”

Although the speed of spread differs between the two phenomena, comparisons show that the outbreak of body mutations is entirely following the trajectory of the dense fog from earlier this month.

Scientists from multiple countries expressed concern that if a causal relationship between the two is ultimately confirmed, then everyone who was exposed to the fog could be at risk, and this body mutation may become a global catastrophe.

Lin Wu stared blankly at the end, his mind blank.

Suddenly, a thunderclap outside roared like a giant that had been suppressing its rage at the other end of the sky.

A fierce wind arose, signaling the arrival of the last storm of summer.

“This rain is really heavy.” In Dorm 509, Yuan Sixue, having just finished replying to a message, put down his phone, closed the window halfway to let in some air while preventing too much rain from pouring in.

“I checked the weather forecast, and it’s supposed to rain for at least two days, and then it will cool down” Ge Liang said while sitting on his bed, raising his arms in celebration. “Thank goodness it’s finally cooling down—”

“Stop saying useless things” Wang Ye urged him. “Get back to what you were saying.”

“Oh, right” Ge Liang quickly looked back at his phone screen and continued to explain. “‘Animal traits’ means that each mutant exhibits…”

In this dorm where three-fourths of the members lacked curiosity and enthusiasm for the world, Ge Liang resolutely took on the role of “Daily News Educator,” diligently spreading news about the body mutations, working harder than a little bee.

Usually, Yuan Sixue supported him during these information exchanges, although the latter would often multitask with WeChat. But today, Wang Ye had become the main supporter, and Ge Liang strongly suspected it was the new developments regarding “animal traits” that piqued Wang Ye’s interest.

“So it means that the mutants all have some kind of animal trait?” Wang Ye seemed to grasp it.

“Yes” Ge Liang said, “like motor skills and preferences—they tend to lean towards those animal characteristics, but the degree shouldn’t be high; human behavior still predominates.”

Wang Ye nodded, rarely lost in thought.

After a while, he suddenly asked Ge Liang, “So what animal are you?”

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Author’s note: Ge Liang: “??”

Chapter Playlist: “I Play in the Mud in Northeast China”