Editor and Proofreader: Rinrin

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Ge Liang knew that the way everyone in the dorm had been looking at him recently was strange, and he finally found an opportunity to declare solemnly: “I have not mutated!”

Yuan Sixue chimed in lazily from the side, “You just bit through nine pencils in seven days.”

Ge Liang: “…That was because the pencil quality was poor! Besides, biting pencils isn’t that unusual; many people do it.”

“But you didn’t do it before.” Wang Ye suddenly seemed uncertain, furrowing his brow as he struggled to recall. “Did you?”

Ge Liang: “…”

Even though his memories might be faint, they had lived under the same roof for more than a year—how hard could it be to remember if he bit pencils or not?

“There was no history of that” Yuan Sixue said along with Wang Ye. “He first bit through a pencil the day before the body mutation incident went viral, right after he chewed through a pencil that night, and the next day various anomalies were trending worldwide.”

Ge Liang was speechless: “Your ‘close connection’ narrative makes it sound like my biting through that pencil was a signal flare for the global anomaly…”

“Not that exaggerated” Yuan Sixue looked over. “But your pencil incident did coincide with the global outbreak of body mutations. The timing is hard not to think about.”

Ge Liang wanted to argue. After all, aside from his penchant for nibbling pencils, he hadn’t developed any new quirks lately. But as he began to say “I-“ Wang Ye interrupted him.

“It doesn’t matter; whether or not you’re mutated, that’s for you to ponder. Either way, it doesn’t really affect your health.” Wang Ye wasn’t inclined to force anyone to admit anything. To him, whether Ge Liang mutated or not was inconsequential. But he added, “If you do figure out what animal you resemble, let me know.”

Ge Liang: “…”

He felt wronged!

“Why is everyone ganging up on me?” Ge Liang finally figured out where the problem lay. “I’m the most normal one in our dorm! All I do is chew a few pencils” he said, looking at Wang Ye. “You don’t even like people and just cloud-foster cats every day” then turned to Yuan Sixue, “You act like a peacock all year round, attracting attention.” Finally, he glanced at the quiet figure at the desk, “And Jiang Tan? I’ve never seen him smile at anyone—doesn’t that indicate a more serious problem than mine?”

—

Jiang Tan was just reading a book quietly, and now he’s being interrupted, so it needs to be communicated.

He set a bookmark on the flat page he stopped at, then closed the book. Jiang Tan slowly turned around, looked up calmly at Ge Liang, and said, “Rodents or canines.”

Ge Liang: “…What?”

“Your animal traits” Jiang Tan said methodically, “Rodent teeth grow throughout their lives, and grinding their teeth is an essential behavior for them…”

Ge Liang: “I already said I haven’t mutated!”

Jiang Tan: “Canines don’t need to grind their teeth after reaching adulthood, but some energetic dog breeds may engage in chewing and tearing behaviors, which can broadly be categorized as ‘destructive behaviors,’ to release excess energy…”

Ge Liang: “Are you implying I’m a husky?!”

Jiang Tan: “Both types align with your current behavior. However, some animals have a grinding habit when they are young. If the animal traits linked to mutations are not strictly limited to ‘adult animals,’ then your range of options would be broader.”

“Not necessary” Wang Ye said, listening more seriously than Ge Liang himself, “Huskies are just fine.”

Ge Liang: “…”

‘Don’t just make decisions for others, man!’

Suddenly, the sound of the rain intensified, and the trees outside were whipping wildly in the night, their leaves making a loud rustling noise.

Ge Liang gazed at the window covered in water droplets, feeling even chillier than the night.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Tan suddenly changed the topic and told Ge Liang, “Actually, you don’t need to resist so much. Maybe soon, the three of us will be just like you.”

Ge Liang was lost in thought and only caught the last half of the sentence through the noise of the rain, staring at Jiang Tan in confusion: “What do you mean, just like me?”

Wang Ye and Yuan Sixue also heard the whole thing but still didn’t understand, looking over in confusion.

Jiang Tan asked indifferently, “Didn’t you guys just check the group chat?”

**【Mechanical and Power Engineering Class Group】**

**Society You Tao Ge:** Incredible discovery! The outbreak of physical mutations completely coincides with the trend chart of the widespread fog at the beginning of the month… [details link] @all members

The message was sent a few minutes ago, just when Ge Liang, Wang Ye, and Yuan Sijie were having a “friendly discussion” about animal traits. With the rain so chaotic, the three really hadn’t noticed this @all new information.

However, many more messages had quickly followed—

**Guan Zheng**: “?!?”

**Guan Zheng**: “Did you find the cause of the mutation? “

**Society You Tao Ge**: “Don’t just ask questions when you come in. Can you take a few minutes to check it out, please!”

**Guan Zheng**:“[OK]”

**Guan Zheng**: “[You’re the boss, you decide.jpg]”

**Dou Xiaobai**: “What does this mean? Are we all going to change?”

**Jack Yang**: “This is insane.”

**Zhou Shiting**: “It’s over; we’re all doomed.”

**Cui Haohan**: “Don’t scare yourself; it’s not confirmed yet.”

**Jack Yang**:“Isn’t it obvious?? So many people have physical abnormalities, but we can’t find any chain of infection, so it must be an environmental issue!”

**Cui Haohan**:“Don’t believe rumors; don’t spread rumors. Let’s wait for official news.”

**Li Wen**: “I can’t wait! Damn, I’ve been sleepless every night!”

**Meng Han**:“Just you? I can’t sleep either, and I keep wanting to run laps!”

**Chen Zidong**: “Can you believe I can catch mosquitoes with my bare hands? I’m hitting them with precision; I’m going crazy!”

Ge Liang read through the messages, and even though he still didn’t understand what was happening, he could feel his emotions starting to waver. He quickly forced his gaze away from the chaotic group chat back to the top news item and clicked on the details link.

After reading the news, Ge Liang finally understood why his classmates were losing their composure.

He wasn’t just feeling unstable; he was feeling explosive.

He was still racking his brain to figure out how to extricate himself from being “suspected of mutation,” and then it said, “every person may not escape; this physical mutation could become a global catastrophe”? Where could he even go to escape?

Unintentionally locking eyes again with Jiang Tan’s calm gaze, Ge Liang was startled and asked, “Have you finished reading?”

Jiang Tan nodded.

Ge Liang: “Did you click the link? Did you read everything inside?”

Jiang Tan didn’t understand the meaning behind this question but still answered, “Yes.”

Ge Liang looked at his roommate’s perpetually indifferent expression, feeling utterly desperate: “The whole world is about to mutate, and you can still be this calm?!”

Jiang Tan’s expression finally changed, though only slightly, with a slight movement of his brow: “First of all, this is just an unverified speculation. Secondly, if a global mutation really happens, then according to the theory of relativity, if everyone is abnormal, it’s equivalent to everyone being normal.”

Ge Liang: “Damn, what kind of devilish reasoning is that…”

“However, I suppose I can’t say I’m the calmest either” Jiang Tan said, looking in a certain direction, “There’s someone over there who’s even calmer.”

Ge Liang followed his gaze and saw Wang Ye putting down his phone and looking out the window.

He wasn’t gazing thoughtfully or lost in contemplation; he was simply looking out, his expression unusually gentle, to the point where his sharply defined profile didn’t seem so intimidating anymore—just handsome.

Ge Liang swallowed hard.

‘He couldn’t agree with Jiang Tan. How could Wang Ye be described as calm? Something unusual must be going on; this eerie tranquility looked very dangerous!’

“Relativity isn’t used this way” Yuan Sixue spoke up heavily, serving as a late rebuttal to Jiang Tan. “If we really all change, then life and society will follow suit, and this world will never return to the trajectory we are familiar with.”

Finally, there was someone who understood him, and Ge Liang thought of giving Yuan Sixue a brotherly hug: “That’s what I mean! You understand me, right? It’s likely that it won’t be human society anymore; it will be the animal kingdom…”

Suddenly, Yuan Sixue’s phone rang.

He quickly made a “shh” gesture to Ge Liang, who was speaking, and then answered the call: “Yes… I saw it… Don’t cry yet; it’s still unverified…”

“I know you’re scared, but we’ve already broken up. I can’t comfort you anymore and give you false hope…”

“Yes, the world is about to descend into chaos, but feelings that have reached their end won’t turn back just because of chaotic times…”

—

“Baby, life isn’t a novel; it’s not like there’s so much ‘A City of Romance’…”

Ge Liang silently looked at the ceiling.

‘In the face of a world about to undergo a catastrophic change, how does one define calmness?’

‘Is it being indifferent like Jiang Tan?’

‘Or suddenly excited like Wang Ye?’

‘Or perhaps like Yuan Sixue, who after saying that the world is about to change, immediately continues to comfort his ex on the phone?’

Ge Liang just wanted to be an ordinary college student, living in an ordinary dormitory with a group of ordinary roommates… ‘Why is that so difficult!’

Out of nowhere, Wang Ye suddenly jumped off the bed, casually put on a T-shirt, slipped on his AJ sneakers^[1]shoes, and was ready to leave.

Ge Liang was startled: “What are you doing?”

Wang Ye replied, “Going out for some fresh air.”

Ge Liang pointed out, “It’s raining.”

“I know.”

Before Ge Liang could say anything more, Wang Ye had already opened the door.

Ge Liang rushed over: “At least take an umbrella!”

“No need.” As he spoke, Wang Ye was already outside.

Ge Liang quickly got up and ran to the window to look down.

But the heavy rain and darkness, combined with the mesh screen, made it impossible to see anything clearly.

Feeling frustrated, he suddenly saw a hand reach over and remove the screen.

Ge Liang looked in shock at the roommate who stood beside him: “Jiang Tan?”

Jiang Tan didn’t respond. Yuan Sixue, who had come down from his bed at some point, patted Ge Liang on the shoulder: “Make some room.”

Thus, Ge Liang found himself sandwiched between Jiang Tan and Yuan Sixue, as the three of them squeezed together by the window, looking down.

Without the screen in the way, their view was much clearer. The rain was heavy, but a row of streetlights at the bottom of the dormitory building cast a faint light, creating a hazy world.

Before long, Wang Ye emerged from the dormitory entrance and walked into that patch of light.

The heavy rain quickly blurred him, and the three could only vaguely distinguish his retreating figure through the streetlights.

Finally, even that figure disappeared completely.

Wang Ye seemed to merge into the rain, the night, and the world.

Ge Liang felt utterly confused: “What on earth is he doing…”

Jiang Tan didn’t comment.

Yuan Sixue wiped the rainwater splashed on his face: “Embracing the new world.”