"Hubbard," Tang Lan repeated the name in a mutter. "He…"
He seemed to have lost his ability to speak. It wasn't until after more than ten seconds had passed that he spoke up again, and his voice was a little hoarse when he asked, "… Is he doing well?"
An Zhe recalled the visuals concerning Hubbard.
The insect swarms had been wreaking havoc in the Outer City. When District 6 was bombed, Hubbard had been on a mission outside of the city, which was a very brilliant move. He had not only avoided the devastation of the Outer City, but also avoided being arrested by Lu Feng under the charge of "illegally stealing the Arbiter's information." Afterward, he safely returned with his team and was welcomed by the Main City. And after that, this renowned mercenary team captain had still run into Lu Feng. Together, he and Colonel Lu had boarded the PL1109 to go rescue the Underground City Base. While in the mine, he and Lu Feng had occasionally chatted. According to Lu Feng, Hubbard and Lu Feng had completed the rescue mission and safely returned together.
He said, "He's doing very well."
Tang Lan dropped his gaze slightly and seemed to smile for a moment. He did not ask anything else and only said, "That's good."
An Zhe looked at Tang Lan.
The first time he learned of this person was in Mr. Shaw's shop, where he saw a mannequin so exquisitely made that it bordered on the real deal. Mr. Shaw had said that that was something Hubbard spent more than half of his life's savings to order—Hubbard was the most renowned mercenary team captain in the whole Outer City, and this man was his vice-captain with whom he shared a sworn friendship. After an expedition, he had never returned, and not even his body had been found.
Next to the mannequin had been labels marked with various bits of data, and the first one was his name, Tang Lan.
But now the living Tang Lan was standing before An Zhe and completely unharmed, like he hadn't been injured in the slightest—surprisingly, he had survived in this danger-ridden Abyss and was living quite well to boot.
"You survived," An Zhe said. "You won't go back?"
A hint of a helpless smile showed in Tang Lan's eyes.
"I can't go back," he said.
As he spoke, he buried the marked rock in his hand in the soil.
"I have a map, so going back is possible," An Zhe said. "… Do you need it?"
"I don't," Tang Lan said. "You aren't human, are you?"
An Zhe was at a loss for words.
Then he saw Tang Lan smile, take out a gleaming dagger, and carve an arrow onto the nearby tree branch. As he carved, he asked, "Do you know what I'm doing?"
"I don't," An Zhe said.
"After being infected, the vast majority of people unfortunately turn completely into monsters. But there's also a minuscule number of people who are rather lucky. Sometimes, they'll still seem like a human," Tang Lan said. "I'm guiding those lucky ones—I was originally guided in this manner."
An Zhe said nothing. He found that he had a special gift, which was the ability to recognize when a person wanted to tell a story.
However, Tang Lan's story was very short.
"That day, Hubbard and I got into a little spat. He wanted to continue going deeper, while I felt it was time to go back. In short, it was very unpleasant. That night, I didn't see him again and kept the night watch in another vehicle according to the rules."
"The Abyss has all sorts of things. At midnight, a powerful monster found us. I'd never seen something so dangerous before." Tang Lan finished carving the mark and put away his dagger. His voice was as clear and crisp as the person himself. "I warned them, then led the thing away in a different direction. Afterward, I died, and it must have been a very miserable death."
"But somehow, I seemed to have woken up again and also changed into something very strong. I merged with the monster, but I'm still lucid." Toying with the dagger, he asked An Zhe, "What about you?"
An Zhe thought about how to word it.
Just then, Tang Lan whipped his head around, and his gaze shot like a sharp arrow into the middle of the jungle—where rustling noises were coming from.
He said in a low voice to An Zhe, "Go!"
The moment he said that, a massive black shadow sprang out of the jungle!
An Zhe's arm was grabbed, and Tang Lan slung An Zhe over his shoulders with unhesitating strength. Then there came the loud sound of the air being rent as a pair of massive filmy black wings unfolded from his back!
An Zhe suddenly left the ground. Behind them, the mountain-like monster's claws swiped down, but the ghostly speed at which Tang Lan took flight was faster, leaving the jungle almost instantly.
An Zhe looked down. Everything on the ground got farther and smaller as they rose, and the tall mountains in the south got closer.
Amidst the oncoming wind, he asked Tang Lan, "Where are we going?"
The wind in the sky was getting stronger and stronger, dispersing his voice. In a loud voice, Tang Lan asked him a question.
"Have you heard of the Fusion Faction?"
Having spoken those words, he soared higher with An Zhe and gradually approached the peak of the highest mountain. As they approached the sky, that stretch of the highlands was dyed reddish gold by the sunset, and white buildings at the top of the highlands gradually emerged where the sky met the summits.
What initially caught An Zhe's eye were two smooth-looking cylindrical white towers, between which was a path linking them. Between the two white towers was the building's main body. It was an oval-shaped three-story building, and on either side of it were auxiliary buildings and other scattered constructs. The open space in front of the main building was dotted with all kinds of strange apparatuses, and behind the building was a piece of flat ground where more than a dozen tall wind turbines stood. The snow-white three-bladed turbines were spinning quickly in the howling wind.
A massive deep green vine that was split into more than a dozen strands surrounded the entire group of buildings, and its branches were draped over the fencing and white towers. When Tang Lan and An Zhe landed, a vine slithered over to them, sniffed them both, then left.
The massive black wings on Tang Lan's back gradually retracted into his body—while they were being retracted, Tang Lan trembled slightly and clenched his fists, a slightly pained expression on his face. An Zhe watched him without blinking until he opened his eyes again.
When their eyes first met, Tang Lan's eyes were completely jet-black, which was an inhuman look, but fortunately he recovered in three seconds.
"The transformation process is a bit messy and not very pleasant," Tang Lan said, "but I'm already very lucky."
He looked at the vine. "This fellow can't become human again."
An Zhe looked at the vine. "Does it have a human consciousness?"
"Somewhat." Tang Lan started walking, and An Zhe followed him. The strong winds on the mountaintop blew up their clothes, and they gradually approached the slightly old-looking white building in the very center.
Six o'clock in the evening was when twilight was the thickest.
In the southwestern part of the sky, clouds billowed. The huge red sun burned as it sank, its reddish-gold light illuminating the wide-open front door where a figure was standing in the very middle.
An Zhe actually couldn't really distinguish humans' ages. He only knew that that person was at least like Mr. Shaw, around sixty or seventy years old by human reckoning. But by no means did he show any sign of a stooped posture due to his age. Once they got closer, An Zhe saw that he was wearing a stiff black suit with a meticulously tied bow tie beneath the silver-gray shirt collar and that his snow-white hair was neatly combed back. Upon that face, which seemed all the more composed and kindly due to the passage of time, was a pair of gentle gray-blue eyes.
Those eyes gave An Zhe the impression that he had already seen all of the world's disturbances and changes.
"Sir." Standing before him, Tang Lan said in a very respectful tone, "I've brought back a new member."
That person looked at An Zhe with a smile. Those gray-blue eyes made people feel close in spite of themselves. An Zhe tilted his head back to look at him, and he held out his right hand to An Zhe.
After a brief hesitation, An Zhe shook hands with him in a slightly awkward manner. The other party's palm was warm and dry, and his handshake was gentle yet strong.