In the morning, An Zhe opened his eyes in the bed. He had a headache and his dreams were filled with the wilderness, the howls that filled his ears, the sound of beast claws stepping in mud and crying—he didn’t know who was crying. In the forest, the fluorescence of a beast’s eyes was quietly reflected. He ran away like crazy, looking for something, but he could never escape and never find it. The huge, ethereal wave was still entangled over him like a shadow. It seemed that everything in the world, even the dewdrops on the tip of the leaves, was its incarnation.

An Zhe used his arms to support his body and sat up with much difficulty. His body seemed to have rusted. Not only was he unable to move flexibly, he also became thin and brittle. With every move, he suspected that he would stop forever. This was how he knew that he was one step closer to the irresistible death.

An Zhe hugged the quilt and sat in bed for a long time before feeling that his condition had recovered somewhat. He stared at this warm room. What happened yesterday was like a dream and only today did he acquire some feeling of realness. He had come to a human world in a different sense and the people here treated him well—but his original intention of leaving Lu Feng was to prevent Lu Feng from seeing his death.

What about the people here who were kind to him?

An Zhe’s nose was a bit sour. He felt guilty but before he could make any further choices, someone knocked on his door. It was the boy from yesterday who brought a tray of breakfast. The tray was filled with a steaming hot cup of liquid and a bowl.

“You didn’t wake up in the morning so we didn’t call you,” the boy told him. “Uncle Shu has cooked potato soup again. You should drink it.”

An Zhe thanked him.

The boy put the tray on the table and An Zhe looked down at the bowl of rich soup. Small pieces of potatoes floated up and down in the soup and the bacon gave off a generous aroma. The aroma was mixed in with the white mist and he stumbled across the room.

The curious coincidence meant he never got the thought of leaving again.

Life at the research institute wasn’t as methodical as the base. People didn’t have fixed tasks or positions but they had a spontaneous division of labour. The institute accepted him so he knew he had to give something in return. He wanted to do something since the institute’s people were so welcoming.