Doomsday Wonderland

Chapter 1573: Peaceful for the Past Three Months

"Panc... pancake house."

Posthuman... so this is what it was.

He once thought that a posthuman was an upgraded version of a human being—stronger, more agile, possessing strange tools. But that was not the case. When a wild wolf lowers its head behind a domestic rabbit, what instills fear is not death, but the destined, irrefutable forces of rules and fate.

Wu Yiliu wasn't even sure if he'd spoken clearly and struggled to ask again, "Was it... was it the pancake house?"

The posthuman behind him was silent for a while before suddenly laughing, making a "pfft" sound—the feeling of being suffocated by the deep sea instantly vanished without a trace.

"Hey, you're pretty quick on the uptake. Even I didn't get it right away," the female voice said cheerfully. "Come on, tell me, how did you guess?"

She admitted it so quickly. Was that imposing demeanor meant to intimidate him?

This thought flashed through Wu Yiliu's mind, but he dared not dwell on it, knowing that every moment was precious. He needed to "capture" this posthuman as quickly as possible, or if she left, he might never have another chance to see her again.

"Firstly, every person I spoke to today was a Changeling whose degree of transformation couldn't be disguised. Secondly, when I was asking about you, I only asked in nearby homes and shops and didn't randomly question people on the streets... So, you're not one of the people I inquired about, nor are you likely someone who just happened to overhear me asking about you."

Stammering, Wu Yiliu continued, "So... how did you know I was looking for you? To you, I should just be one of the hundreds and thousands of ordinary people passing by on the street. Even if we passed each other, you wouldn't notice anything different about me since I didn't do anything attention-grabbing—I wouldn't dare, since I'm not a Changeling. So, how did you notice me? Where did you notice me from?"

The posthuman behind him remained silent. If not for her speaking earlier, Wu Yiliu would have even suspected that she had already left.

"The only people who knew I was looking for you were those I asked. If one of them had ties to you and reported my actions, that would explain it. I guessed this because the pancake house owner, who I questioned, was the only person who asked me more detailed questions than I asked him."

"He might have just been curious," she said.

"Ordinary people might be curious about why I was looking for the woman in the picture and what our relationship was. He didn't care about such gossip; as a Changeling, he was more concerned with where I was going next and why. He had no reason to be concerned, yet he confirmed twice which direction I was heading."

Wu Yiliu took a breath and continued, "It's so late... I originally thought I wouldn't find you today."

The female posthuman behind him moved, and his whole body tensed up.

From the corner of his eye, he saw someone sitting down beside him on the steps, a pair of evenly shaped, powerful legs stretched out, wrapped in jeans, with black short boots on her feet. Even though she had let go of her imposing presence, he still dared not speak.

She bent down like a child, leaning in to look at Wu Yiliu.

The once-blurred face he had only seen on the surveillance screen was now clear: a pointed, almond-like chin, a large bunch of curly hair, a pair of bright black eyes embedded in milk chocolate-colored skin, always reminding one of some dessert.

Had he really been frightened by this girl who looked as sweet as a dessert?

Wu Yiliu gathered his courage and turned his head to confront her, asking, "Have you already turned the pancake house owner into your spy? Or a subordinate?"

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"You've already guessed it, haven't you?" She shrugged, her denim jacket sliding down her shoulder; she reached out to pull it back. "Your mind is quite clear, and you're meticulous, but it's a pity that although your conclusion is correct, it's just a coincidence."

"Why?"

"You think that people with deformities in their faces that cannot be disguised can't be posthuman?" She smiled nonchalantly. "There are also posthuman who don't show any deformities. As for disguising ourselves as someone else, that's quite normal for us."

Wu Yiliu nearly jumped on the spot. A question that had been bothering him and Professor Qiao for a long time had unexpectedly been answered here, filling in the missing piece of the puzzle. He stammered, "Wait—wait a minute, does that mean—"

The girl who looked like a chocolate dessert playfully raised her wrist and looked at an imaginary watch, saying, "Let's see the time... oh, I've been here almost nine months, so those posthumans who can't be seen deforming should have started deforming by now."

Her sense of humor was quite cold; that was what came to Wu Yiliu's mind. No, that wasn't important; she said she had been here almost nine months, and the deformities hadn't appeared that long ago. According to their visa types, it meant she had arrived six months before the end of the world—the deformities had only started three months ago.

"It's not that strange. People who can withstand radiation back home may not be immune to toxins in a poisonous world."

This was something even Professor Qiao had never mentioned.

"But... that's just because I don't have enough information," Wu Yiliu said, gripping his hands tightly. "In any case, I think I've proven myself, haven't I? I'm not slow-witted. I know about posthuman and deformed people. I—I am valuable to you."

"Although you are quite smart, I've been doing pretty well without you these past few months." She leaned back against the steps behind her, her face disappearing from his view. "I don't need you; you have no value."

Wu Yiliu had completely calmed down by this time and spoke slowly, "You need me. Not just you... all posthuman need me. It's just that you haven't realized it yet."

The black short boots suddenly tapped each other, as if showing interest. "Why do we need you?"

Wu Yiliu didn't answer. He just turned and looked at her, extending a hand and introducing himself, "My name is Wu Yiliu."

The girl lowered her thick, dark, and curly eyelashes, looking at his hand as if it were a branch protruding from the roadside; she had no interest in coming close to touch it. "I'm Milan," she said, her hands still resting on the steps.

He wasn't sure if that was her real name—Wu Yiliu had just thought of this when he saw her tilt her head and laugh, saying, "Wow, it's been a long time since I've exchanged names with a regular person."

"Aren't you curious how I know so much?" he asked.

Milan threw her head back and laughed, a thin milky-white choker encircling her smooth toffee-colored neck.

"If you had lived as many years in the end-of-the-world as I have, you wouldn't find these things strange either. All kinds of worlds, a myriad of humans, endless evolving stories... who knows what incredible, unimaginable things are happening in the corners of the world that I'm not aware of? If I were surprised by even this, I would have died of exhaustion long ago."

In Wu Yiliu's mind, an image of Professor Qiao, sitting in her temple and sipping tea, suddenly appeared.

Wu Yiliu's interest was piqued, and she continued, "Moreover, I think living in a post-apocalyptic world, the tabooest thing is to impose a cognitive framework on the world in front of you, a framework that you don't even know is right or wrong. People who cannot accept the differences in human nature and society and rigidly resist what they think is impossible are too inflexible. How can they survive?"

Great, she was an open-minded person... He was really lucky to have met such a posthuman at the beginning of his plan.

People become familiar with each other through communication. Wu Yiliu immediately responded casually, "That makes sense. By the way, you said many years? You look about the same age as me..."

"I'm 42," Milan said casually, "But don't measure my life experience by your ordinary forty years."

Only three years younger than his mom? Wu Yiliu suppressed his surprise and asked, "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"Sure," Milan was easy-going, but not easily fooled, "You've hooked my appetite with a hook; you must take advantage of this opportunity. But I tell you, knowing that I could crush you with a stretch of my hand, you still dare to do this? You've got guts."

Wu Yiliu dared not say that he almost cried earlier. Fortunately, Milan didn't look threatening at all, giving him courage to proceed according to plan.

"First of all... in this world, is it really impossible to create local posthumans?"

He was all prepared to explain to Milan, but she simply answered, "No."

Right, this was something Shoreis discovered within a week, and she had been here for nine months.

"Is it because it's not as chaotic and dangerous as the post-apocalyptic world?" Wu Yiliu said, seeing her nod. "So... do you posthumans have ways to help ordinary people evolve?"

Milan quickly caught his implication, her eyelashes lifting, her dark eyes shimmering mysteriously. "You want to evolve?"

Did he want to evolve?

He didn't know much about posthumans, but he knew the basics: a life of constant reincarnation, wandering, birth, and death. Compared to such a future, as long as he transformed, he could have a stable, peaceful life... just constantly retreating step by step.

He knew that if one hundred or even one thousand people were to come, there would probably be no one else who would make the same choice as him.

"I don't want to, but I must evolve."

Milan simply responded, "Oh." Wu Yiliu's serious and almost heavy declaration seemed to her like a bird chirping on a tree.

"How to say," after a few seconds, she seemed to realize her attitude was too frivolous, adding, "I've heard of some posthumans doing it, but I can't, and I don't know who can. Good luck. Anyway, I think this world is still some way from deteriorating to the extreme. You are young; you have time to wait."

With those words, Milan stood up and dusted herself off. "Well, having such an interaction with a local person once in a while is quite interesting."

Wu Yiliu quickly jumped up and said, "Wait, I didn't lie to you earlier! It's true; I know all the information posthumans need to know—"

"Hmm?"

"Although you understand posthumans, you don't understand Changelings enough," he said hurriedly, fearing that if he spoke too slowly, Milan would vanish in a blink. "One, after transforming, memories remain intact; two, Changelings are highly organized when facing external non-Changelings!"

Milan was taken aback.

For the first time since they met, her face became serious. Her mind was quick, and she rapidly put the pieces together, arriving at the same conclusion.

"You mean... the Changelings in this world already know about the existence of posthumans?"