Chapter 177. Demons and Monsters (1): Half-Human, Half-Beast?

     When Ye Mo walked into the office of the engineering department manager at Chuanming Group, Old Xie’s usually cheerful round face was uncharacteristically clouded with worry.  

     Glancing toward the door, he said, “Lao Ye, you’re not here to resign too, are you?”  

     “Are a lot of people quitting the company?” Ye Mo countered as she took a seat in the chair across from him.  

     “More than usual, especially the workers from the production department. Many of them say the military has entered their hometowns, that the end of the world is coming, and they’d rather die at home—at least they can farm and scrape by, so they won’t starve.”  

     Manager Xie sighed. “Other departments have seen resignations too, and even more people are taking leave. If this keeps up, Chuanming Group will definitely be affected. As for those smaller factories and workshops, they’re already on the verge of bankruptcy.”  

     The biggest problem was that even he couldn’t shake the feeling that the end of the world might actually be real. Over the years, he’d made quite a few friends in official agencies and state-owned enterprises.

     Based on the expressions, words, and gestures his friends had shown during their conversations, it was hard not to suspect that the online rumors about “people vanishing,” “mass sudden deaths,” and “spontaneous human combustion” might actually be true.  

     And then there were the ever-present police and soldiers stationed in the cities. Even though the public trusted the military, they also understood that such a heavy presence in daily life only happened during truly major incidents.  

     This wasn’t just happening domestically—there were signs abroad too.  

     Forget unofficial gossip, even state-run news had been reporting frequent conflicts overseas—daily unrest in South Asia, incidents in the U.S. and Europe, and even neighboring countries like Russia, Japan, and Southeast Asia. None had been spared.

     On this point, China didn’t hide the truth from its citizens. Every day, overseas Chinese returned home, and compared to the turmoil abroad, people realized just how fortunate they were.  

     But if the world really was ending, how could someone like him—a desk worker with average physical fitness—survive? And what about his parents, wife, and children?  

     The company’s current issues weren’t the biggest problem. Xie Xin’s greatest fear was the unknown.  

     Ye Mo handed him the project documents in her hand: “Hasn’t the government rolled out plenty of policies?”

     Manager Xie paused, then nodded.  

     “That’s true.”

     Several neighborhoods near his home were jointly constructing a Chinese martial arts center and an arts academy, with construction running 24/7. The progress was astonishing—every day, the sites looked completely different.  

     The community martial arts center covered a vast area, while the arts academy stood at least 20 stories tall.

     Community cadres had been promoting daily at the neighborhood entrances: on the 1st of next month, both the martial arts center and arts academy would open simultaneously. Every Chinese citizen could then swipe their ID cards to enter and enjoy a free one-month trial.  

     Throughout the community, banners and posters had been put up with slogans like:  

     “Abide by the law, strengthen your physique, temper your willpower, and nurture a healthy body and mind.”* 

     “Build a strong body, enhance your quality, drive development, and raise standards.”

     “Start exercising now—set an example for your children.”

     Notably, these slogans were displayed in both simplified and traditional Chinese, just like many recent official news announcements.

     The changes in education were even more pronounced, with sweeping reforms implemented from kindergarten all the way to university.  

     Some kindergartens had been shut down, and in the remaining public and private ones, children’s early education now included Chinese characters, pinyin, the ‘Three Character Classic’, the ‘Thousand Character Classic’, and even ancient musical scores like ‘Jieshi Diao Youlan’. ^[1]碣石调·幽兰 (Jieshi Diao Youlan), often simply called 幽兰 (Youlan) or translated as “Solitary Orchid”, “Secluded Orchid”, or “Elegant Orchid,” is a … Continue reading  

     The curriculum now featured formal classes in traditional Chinese studies, music, and physical education. Play areas had been transformed into training grounds with plum-blossom stakes, sandbag forests, and balance beams—even the seesaws were redesigned for a different kind of physical challenge.

     Not to mention elementary school students, middle school students, high school students, and college students—they are among the most active groups online. Recently, this topic has been trending every day, and people haven’t seen entertainment news on the trending topics list for days.

     Recently, wasn’t there a parent’s complaint that reached the top of the trending topics? Nowadays, kids are so mischievous that their parents can’t catch them, they’re all slippery as eels.

     And the Communist Youth League actually responded: ‘Thank you for the suggestion. Community martial arts centers will set up separate youth areas, and they will assist in “managing” some overly energetic teenagers in the community, expending their vigorous energy.’

     The parents haven’t even reacted yet, but the students have already started a barrage of cursing below. In just a week, they already clearly understand the true meaning of ‘managing’ and ‘expending’.

     After listening to Manager Xie’s lengthy description, Ye Mo remarked, “Old Xie, with martial arts centers being built, arts academies opening, and the government even finding time to wrangle rowdy kids and reform education—does that really sound like the world is about to end?” 

     Manager Xie suddenly let out a sigh of relief. After a brief silence, he replied, “No, it doesn’t.”

     Ye Mo steered the conversation back: “So, can you review the documents now? I need to visit the branch factory tomorrow.”

     “The branch factory again? What’s so fascinating about that rundown place? You practically live there,” grumbled Manager Xie as he flipped through the pages. “If you weren’t consistently hitting deadlines, I’d swear you were just slacking off.” 

     Ye Mo—who was indeed slacking off—: “…”

     Of course, the documents were fine. But before leaving, Manager Xie handed Ye Mo an official document stamped with a government seal—an electronic copy was also provided.  

     Ye Mo read aloud: “Notice on the 2020 Retraining Program for Engineers, Technicians, and Other Industrial Professionals in China.”

     “Yes,” Manager Xie replied with a pained expression. “The education reforms aren’t just for students. Unless you hold a marriage certificate, divorce certificate, diploma, or degree, pretty much every other qualification—medical licenses, nursing certifications, mechanic licenses, technician certifications, engineering licenses, even accounting and teaching credentials—all need to be re-studied and re-certified.”  

     Ye Mo: “???”

     “Holders of different certifications will undergo training at designated locations—doctors at assigned hospitals, teachers at designated schools, and us engineers at state-owned enterprises like Zoomlion, Sany Heavy Industry, Shenyang Machine Tool, Shanghai Electric, Shandong Shifeng, and others. The training starts next Monday, with at least one session per week. If you don’t register within a month, all previous certifications will become invalid. The re-certification process hasn’t been announced yet.”  

     Ye Mo fell silent.  

     Manager Xie assumed she, like some others, might skip it—after all, their skills mattered more than a piece of paper. Still, he advised, “In these chaotic times, following national policies is still the safest bet.”

     Ye Mo: “Got it.”

     …

     Back in the office, Ye Mo opened the Survivor app. As expected, she saw a lot of discussions about China’s education reform in the China section, including the certificate re-examination.

 

   【China is screening for talent—what could be simpler than selecting skilled professionals from among technicians? The King Cobra Intelligence Agency has always recruited agents this way..】

   【But only China is openly selecting talent on a global scale. Why does China have so many national policies, while our government stays silent as a corpse, only knowing how to suppress Black people?】

   【Reply to above: That’s because we’re too backward, and our people aren’t free.】

   【LOL, but in capitalist countries, implementing policies like these would either get you torn apart by the public or devoured alive by the capitalists. 】

   【Let me say this—it’s not just about selecting talent. While other countries are caught in chaos and infighting, China has been making huge gains, acquiring cutting-edge technologies that were once blocked from them. Now they can push forward with industrial reforms and selectively share knowledge from the “instance dungeons” with professionals across fields. These talents, in turn, will contribute back to China, making the nation even stronger…】

   【Enough with the “China this, Chinese that”—can we talk about something else for once?】

   【Then go post on the United States forum .】

   【China’s government is trash. This is all a scam. If you ask me, the whole world should join the Survivor app—survival of the fittest is the ultimate law of evolution】

   【Would even 1 billion out of 7 billion people make it then?】

   【China is disgusting】

   【F*ck, you wanna say that again?】

 

     The thread quickly devolved into another off-topic nationalist flame war.  

     Ye Mo closed the post and sent a private message to Watson—who also held a medical license.  

     Watson replied soon after. Surprisingly, he was quite interested in the government’s retraining program, especially after learning that the Supernatural Investigation Bureau had been cultivating new plant species.  

     Doctors only had three sessions a week—not too demanding—and he wanted to check it out.  

   【Let’s focus on the next dungeon round first! We’ll talk after we get out】

     …

     The next morning, Ye Mo drove to Chuanming Group’s branch factory. After less than an hour of work—with no supervisors around—the rest of her time was completely free.  

     By afternoon, she had traveled from Hebei to Guangdong Province to join Watson and Wang Xue for final preparations. They meticulously checked their equipment, ensuring their storage space, medical supplies, and weapons were fully stocked before launching into their nth round of speculation and discussion about the upcoming dungeon.  

     As evening fell, the trio settled into their positions—Ye Mo half-reclining on a beanbag chair, Wang Xue perched on a computer chair, and Watson standing by the window—all quietly awaiting the arrival of the second public beta dungeon.  

     Wang Xue began the countdown: “10, 9, 8, 7… 1, 0—”  

     The moment the count ended, all three were plunged into darkness.  

     When consciousness returned, Ye Mo realized she had likely been woken by pain—her hands, feet, face, every part of her body ached unbearably.  

     Opening her eyes, she found herself in the familiar white space again.  

     Hawk Eye drifted out from her body, its irises reflecting her current state:  

     She lay crumpled on the floor of the white space, half her body shattered by compound fractures—especially her limbs, where tendons and bones had been completely severed.  

     Dried blood caked her face and soaked through the tattered, roughly stitched animal-hide clothes she wore. Her hair was a tangled mess, adding to her wretched appearance.  

     Her spatial bracelet, spatial ring, and belt pouch were nowhere on her body—instead, they lay scattered across the ground, smeared with her blood.  

     Upon closer inspection… she might not even qualify as a complete person anymore.  

     Because through the Hawk Eye, Ye Mo saw that her ears were no longer on the sides of her head—but rather perched higher up, slightly elongated.  

     Ignoring the colorful fur on her ears, these were unmistakably beast-like ears rather than human ones.  

     Her current mood was clearly far from pleasant, evidenced by how the two ears drooped limply at half-mast. Half-human, half-beast?  

     “How miserable!“

     The Hawk Eye’s gaze reflected unmistakable pity. Within this space, thirty-one survivors lay scattered—yet while the others slept peacefully on the ground, completely unharmed, she alone had awoken first as a broken, bloodied mess.  

     Truly pitiable. At this moment, the only thing she could move freely were her eyeballs.