Evil As Humans

Chapter 214: Weakness

Meng Huai’s bodily sensations were beyond the grasp of everyone present. However, the feeling of being completely exposed to the other side, except for Zhong Chengshuo, was clear to everyone else.

It was enough to make one feel disoriented—an unbearable torment even for a second.

Meng Huai was fortunate. As a long-time employee of Shian, she had the means to quickly calm her emotions. Perhaps by a stroke of luck, she imagined the office area in the afternoon—it might be the safest place in the world for her.

Her imagination was hurried and chaotic, and what she imagined was blurry. The entire office area was far less real than what they had previously seen, filled with various distortions, blurriness, and incompleteness, like a crude model with rendering errors.

In the center of this absurd model, Meng Huai held Zhong Chengfeng tightly. She was like a person climbing onto a broken plank in a raging flood, uncertain how long the current situation could be sustained. She didn’t know where they were headed either.

If it were someone else, they might have been crushed by this helplessness. But Meng Huai clung to this lifeline like a drowning person, using an almost terrifying intuition to desperately imagine perfecting this office area. The others watched as the floor became even, the walls became clear, but there were countless damages in the corners, revealing the chaotic movements of the damaged exterior.

This chaos was different from before—a group of predatory Primordial Elementals passed by, enveloping this unfortunate little room. Following these Elementals from the Other Side, the surrounding space changed repeatedly, flipping the world upside down dozens of times.

Meng Huai wedged herself tightly in the doorway of the restroom, preventing herself from losing consciousness due to the turbulence. After an unknown amount of time, this small space finally stabilized again, like a grain of sand settling down after being carried by a school of fish in the current.

It was at this moment that Zhong Chengfeng opened her eyes.

……

“If it weren’t for the fact that we could take care of each other, I would have gone insane long ago,” Meng Huai’s voice came from behind the others.

The imaginary office area gradually peeled away, revealing the present perfect reality of the office area. The imagination dispersed, and the others realized they were still in the same place, not having moved an inch.

Zhong Chengfeng’s nose was still red, but her emotions had already calmed down. She cleared her throat and took over from where Meng Huai left off. “It took us a full four years just to find a safe course of action. During that time, we also had breakdowns.”

Zhong Chengfeng walked to the whiteboard, picked up a red pen, and made a mark as well.

This time, the scene was still the real office area, but outside the window was pouring rain instead of the setting sun.

The interior view was real, making it even more terrifying.

The monitors on one side of the wall were all blacked out, and the white wall was filled with various incomprehensible words written in black and red ink. Meng Huai and Zhong Chengfeng sat facing each other, on the verge of madness.

They carried many “things” within them.

Meng Huai’s skin was embedded with various stone talismans, like growths on her flesh. The inanimate objects seamlessly merged into her skin without leaving a trace. She barely maintained a sitting position with her spine deeply bent.

On the other hand, Zhong Chengfeng had all sorts of miscellaneous objects embedded in her. Picture frames, notebooks, pens, medals—they penetrated beneath her skin, making her resemble a realistic doll, inflated and on the verge of bursting at any moment. She curled up in pain, and her body trembled slightly.

Behind Meng Huai stood a young-looking Li Nian—a college student. He appeared handsome, with relatively plump cheeks and no signs of the thinness and sharpness left by time. One of his hands rested on Meng Huai’s shoulder as he repeated a phrase.

“Meng Jie,” he reluctantly addressed her.

And behind Zhong Chengfeng stood her parents.

“Fengfeng,” they softly called.

Meng Huai lifted her gaze with half of her face swallowed by the stone talismans, and only one bloodshot eye remained. “I can’t imagine it anymore, Chengfeng. I have a terrible headache.”

Zhong Chengfeng bitterly smiled. “I told you we’re already dead. This is hell… and you still don’t believe it.”

Zhong Chengshuo remained silent—he might not understand the subtle emotions involved, but he knew that under immense pressure, people inevitably fantasized about their “cherished ones”.

Just like his own “death”, Yin Ren made a mock flesh puppet of him.

They had been confined in this room for four years, unaware of the outside world and ignorant of their own situation. Even without food and water issues, it was likely more mentally challenging than being stranded on a deserted island. The transformations occurring in these two individuals were somewhat reminiscent of Jiao Lian and Fu Wuya, who were once Charons, most likely subjected to some form of corruption.

At that time, Shian knew next to nothing about the Other Side. These two people might have been wandering on the Other Side with their physical bodies. They had touched what they shouldn’t have touched, consumed what they shouldn’t have consumed, unknowingly violated numerous taboos.

The two deformed figures sat motionless in the center of the room, while their cherished ones stood behind them, mechanically calling out, as if summoning spirits.

Perhaps that was the final thread suspending their consciousness.

“No… we can’t.” Meng Huai struggled to clench her fingers tightly. “If we give up like this, everything will truly be over…”

Zhong Chengfeng blinked her eyes, almost obscured by the objects beneath her skin, revealing a trace of sorrow.

She didn’t speak, but her thoughts were evident in her eyes—by now, they were finished. Time had passed for who knew how long yet their bodies hadn’t aged, and the outside world was filled with endless nightmares. Unknowingly, their exploration outside had led them to become like this.

She lay still, and it seemed that even more objects were accumulating beneath her skin. They piled up on her body, threatening to bend her spine.

Meng Huai reached out her hand, and gradually, a sharp scalpel appeared in her hand.

“Come on, Chengfeng.” She pointed to her legs and feet filled with talismans and stones. “Cut them all off.”

“But you…” Zhong Chengfeng hesitated.

Meng Huai clenched her teeth, and the surgical knife in her hand gleamed coldly. “I don’t know what the situation is here, but I know this is a predominantly psychological space… Perhaps all these things on our bodies are manifestations of mental breakdown. When a person… When their mind is trapped in a dead end, they need external assistance…”

Her tone was extremely difficult.

“If my guess is correct… If you remove these things, I won’t die from loss of blood or anything. If things go smoothly on my side, I’ll help you…”

Zhong Chengfeng extended her deformed arm, “And if it doesn’t go smoothly?”

Meng Huai smiled.

“Then we’ll die together,” she said. “We have each other, so we won’t be alone on the road to the beyond.”

Zhong Chengfeng also smiled with a hint of tears in her laughter as she tightened her grip on the scalpel.

The blade pierced the boundary between the stones and the skin, causing Meng Huai to let out a cry of pain. She exerted all her strength, forcing herself not to struggle or resist. Meng Huai shifted her position, turning her head to look at the upright Li Nian behind her.

“Xiao Li.” She struggled to reach out her hand. “I know this isn’t like you, but… but…”

The imagined “Li Nian” crouched down, grabbing her hand.

“Meng Jie,” he repeated like an exquisitely crafted human repeater. “Meng Jie.”

Meng Huai closed her eyes.

……

Zhong Chengfeng promptly stopped the scene—no one wanted to witness their colleagues or loved ones being tortured.

“In any case, by the tenth year, we were able to freely move outside. Meng Huai will tell you about the methods and procedures later.”

She coughed twice.

“In the following time, we were constantly searching for that white space. According to Meng Huai, there seem to be many people inside. Then, rescuing people became the pillar that sustained the two of us…”

“And then they rescued me.”

The person named “Xiao Zheng”, who was the rear commander, said.

“I accidentally entered here two years ago, not inside that white space. If it weren’t for their timely discovery, I would have probably died in madness.”

“What happened to you?” Huang Jin asked cautiously.

Xiao Zheng’s expression turned bitter. “That day, I was in a hurry to go home for my child’s birthday… I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings and walked through a door that shouldn’t exist.”

Xiao Zheng’s account seemed familiar. He said that beyond that door was an endlessly looping Shian building, devoid of anyone. He couldn’t find his way back or figure out how to leave. After enduring a week, Xiao Zheng couldn’t bear it any longer. He pried open the elevator doors and intended to jump down the elevator shaft to commit suicide.

Zhong Chengshuo: “Interstitial space.”

Similar structures exist within Sunken Society’s stronghold.

Xiao Zheng forced a smile. “That’s what you call it? It’s more or less the middle ground. Anyway, after I jumped down the elevator shaft, I fell for several days before landing in this place… Haha, at that time, I was almost half-crazed. It was pure luck that they found me.”

“Later on, we also encountered unlucky individuals like me. Most of them were drained by the Elementals after going mad, leaving only a faint impression.”

Xiao Zheng gestured vaguely.

“It’s like the shadows of people after an atomic bomb explosion, stuck on the tunnel walls, not easily noticeable if you don’t look closely.”

After listening to his account, Huang Jin became even more cautious. “Wait, are you really from Shian? You disappeared only two years ago. You must know that Li Nian is the Minister, so why does Meng Huai seem unaware?”

Xiao Zheng looked at Huang Jin in shock. “Brother, I had just joined Shian not long ago, as a C-level investigation team. I only knew the higher-ups with the surname Li… It’s not like you guys don’t know what C-level tasks are like. It’s all similar to stiff like in <Approaching Science>. How could you possibly have encountered the Emergency Management Department?”

Huang Jin, Ge Tingting, Lu Xiaohe: “…”

Indeed, it seemed they hadn’t encountered an actual C-level task before.

What was a C-level task supposed to be like? Why couldn’t they remember? They only remembered meeting Fu Xingchuan every day, and Li Nian would be there tomorrow, so much so that Unit 9 even had two reserved seats for the two leaders.

Whose fault was this, exactly?

Since the Great Celestial Master wasn’t present, they all turned to Zhong Chengshuo, who met their gaze with an innocent expression.

“So, you’ve been investigating the whereabouts of the remaining missing individuals all along.” Zhong Chengshuo skillfully changed the topic.

Meng Huai curiously glanced at the subtly nuanced Shian personnel, but fortunately, it seemed she didn’t want to continue discussing “Li Nian becoming a Minister”. “Yes, and just last year, we found that white space. However, it was different from when I first escaped. There were many powerful Elementals guarding the outside now. If you try to go out, it’s no different from sending yourself to be captured.”

She shook her head, her expression turning solemn.

“This brings us to the key question—why did we attack that group of ‘Lonelies’? All of you, come with me.”

Dr. Cat climbed onto Fu Tianyi’s head in three swift movements and patted the back of his head with its paws. Zhong Chengshuo ran even faster, quickly catching up to Meng Huai.

Meng Huai walked straight to the entrance of the restroom and pushed the door open.

Instantly, the damp air turned icy cold. Zhong Chengshuo took a quick glance, and his expression froze for a few seconds.

Behind the restroom was a massive cold storage room, the product of someone’s imagination. And within this huge cold storage room hung the bodies of small Elementals, packed tightly together. One side had dark-colored organs, while the other side had pale-colored organs, arranged neatly and distinctly, resembling a slaughterhouse cold storage.

Zhong Chengshuo thought silently, ‘…It’s a good thing that Dog Thing is still with Yin Ren and didn’t come here. Otherwise, its power might have been scared into negative numbers right away.’

“Welcome to ‘Shian’s Temporary Branch Armory’,” Meng Huai said.

All the bodies emitted varying degrees of Evil Force. Fu Tianyi silently lowered Dr. Cat’s paw pad and covered his own eyes—it was the first time he had encountered a corruption source of this magnitude, even on a farmer’s market level.

“I saw earlier that you mixed the flesh and blood of two different Elementals together.”

Only Zhong Chengshuo still maintained his complete interest.

Meng Huai nodded. “Yes, you should know that these things can be divided into two categories—Fear represents the initial branch, while Satisfaction represents the other. They can roughly be classified as negative emotions in black and positive emotions in white.”

Meng Huai casually took out two small packets, each containing a small bag of Elemental flesh.

“For example, this one, the black one represents ‘Contempt’, and the white one represents ‘Longing’. When they are mixed together, there will be a clear repulsion reaction.”

She dabbed a bit from each side and vigorously rubbed them together, murmuring to herself. In the next moment, the mixture emitted a faint red light.

“By utilizing the power of this repulsive reaction, I can create some simple spells… The ones from the human world, you don’t even need to think about them. They won’t work.”

Zhong Chengshuo, who didn’t understand, asked, “Why?”

“The spells in the human world are built upon the circulation of evil qi, just like burning firewood,” Meng Huai explained concisely. “Tools designed specifically for burning firewood cannot be directly used to burn gasoline.”

After speaking, Meng Huai revealed a sense of relief.

“Thankfully, I can use this method. Unfortunately, they are all basic things—very simple and primitive. But now that so many cultivators have returned, I finally have a way to discuss optimization.”

When it came to his area of expertise, Huang Jin became enthusiastic. “These are all small Elementals, right? If we obtained the flesh and blood of larger Elementals, would the effects be stronger?”

Meng Huai bared her teeth at him. “Little brother, are nuclear weapons powerful?”

“Uh, powerful?”

“Then should we give every police officer a nuclear warhead?”

Huang Jin: “…”

“It’s just that I got lucky… That white room was undoubtedly made by a big shot. Even just that bell, with a bit of Evil Force can produce such a strong effect. If it were true body parts, Chengfeng and I would have been reduced to ashes long ago.”

Meng Huai clapped her hands.

“By the way, if it’s two big shots of equal strength, even if they are of the same kind, there would still be this repulsion reaction. But it’s difficult to determine such a situation. We can’t beat the big shots, so it’s safer to use the black and white combination.”

Huang Jin quickly moved his steps, distancing himself from Zhong Chengshuo.

Zhong Chengshuo secretly played with the phalanges in his hand. “Whether it’s the repulsion between positive and negative, or the incompatibility between strong individuals of the same kind, does the state of the flesh itself also matter for the reaction to be intense?”

Zhong Chengfeng was startled by her own cheeky brother’s insight. “How do you know that?”

Zhong Chengshuo remained uncharacteristically silent for a while before speaking. “I’m just guessing too. If the reaction appeared randomly, with Primordial Elementals constantly fighting each other internally, the Other Side would have been blown to pieces long ago.”

In fact, it wasn’t just a guess.

He and Yin Ren had indulged in wild and absurd nights several times, inevitably involving biting and kissing. If mere physical contact would cause an explosion, Haigu would likely be leveled by the two of them.

Unfortunately, Meng Huai didn’t know the secret behind it and simply thought the young man had a quick mind. She nodded approvingly. “It’s a pity. If you weren’t a science post, you would have great potential.”

The members of Unit 9 looked at the sky and the ground.

Meng Huai snapped her fingers. “Next, I will teach you how to use the flesh and blood of the Elementals.”

“Can I listen in?” Zhong Chengshuo asked, squeezing his knuckles.

“Of course.”

……

“Next, I will teach you how to survive on the Other Side,” Qi Xin said.

Yin Ren leaned against the soft pile of cats and nodded solemnly.

Qi Xin made an effort not to look at the “Lonelies” scattered all over the place. “Your weaknesses, in my opinion, are laughable—your emotions are unstable, and you have too much humanity.”

“‘Lacking humanity’ is an insult,” Yin Ren retorted. Without any companions around, he was unable to hold back.

“But you’re not human,” Qi Xin replied coldly. “’Disgust’ and ‘Love’ thrive on human emotions, and they are the ones most affected by human influence, yet they haven’t turned into an indecisive mess like you.”

“According to your own words… the first time, in the Fu Residence corpse cage, you nearly lost control due to the influence of ‘attachment’. The second time, you took the poorly made ‘Innocent Thoughts’ created by humans, and your behavior went completely out of control. The third time, you fought against ‘Joy’ and, in order to avoid the influence of the other party’s emotions, you handed control of the battle over to Old Fear.”

Indeed. Yin Ren shrunk his neck.

Qi Xin’s tone grew colder. “You should be the Fear that devours all emotions, yet you have managed to reach this point where even a random cat or dog can make you lose control—separating emotions to a certain extent is an innate skill of all Primordial Elementals. Your condition, if compared to humans, is similar to having an ‘immunity deficiency’.”

Perhaps because he wasn’t created by the heroic mother, “Satisfaction”, but rather as a result of Zhong Chengshuo cutting up half his body, he might even be a premature Elemental. However, looking at the intimidating Qi Xin, Yin Ren suppressed his inner thoughts and asked, “So what should I do?”

Qi Xin had mentioned that her training would be painful and dangerous.

Based on the TV melodramas Yin Ren had seen, at this point, he should either go for a realistic approach like “bone marrow transplant for leukemia” or take the fantastical route of “bidding farewell to the mortal world on the path of ruthlessness”. Yin Ren straightened his back nervously, no longer using the cat cushion.

Qi Xin smiled with that creepy smile again.

“It’s simple,” she said. “Just wait here.”

…The fewer the words, the more significant the matter, and Yin Ren became even more nervous. “Wait for who?”

“Wait for ‘Satisfaction’.”

Qi Xin crossed her arms and had a slightly gloating expression on her face.

Oh no, it seems like it’s not a TV melodrama but Animal World.

Those birds that kicked their offspring out of the nest and forced them to learn to fly on their own might have a similar expression to Qi Xin’s right now.

“You just need to break free from Satisfaction, then you’ll pass.” Qi Xin’s smile grew wider and wider. “Fear and Satisfaction are evenly matched and naturally antagonistic. There is no better training ground than this.”

[I’ll go with you!] Gao Mengyu’s cat, draped in a tablecloth, approached. [I need to pass through it to continue warning Gao Mengyu.]

Yin Ren didn’t object anymore and gripped the soft paw of the cat. “Will I die?”

Qi Xin shook her head. “No, at most, you’ll go insane. By then, I can only try my best to eat you and go find Love for a one-on-one duel.”

Yin Ren: “…”

“You better prove yourself. Don’t make me do those superficial activities.” Qi Xin’s eyes narrowed, and her entire face resembled a mask with narrow slits.

If he wanted to avoid these troublesome matters, now was probably the best chance, Yin Ren instinctively thought.

“I understand. When do we start?” Yin Ren asked.

He just recalled the previous sense of powerlessness, but in an instant, the thought of escape vanished like a dewdrop on a lotus leaf, rolling away.

[It’s coming soon.]

This time, the cat answered Yin Ren.

As native Elemental, for Qi Xin and the cat, the existence of “Satisfaction” might not be much different from a gentle morning breeze. Since “Satisfaction” would come on its own, Yin Ren could only strive to keep his emotions stable and stand quietly in place.

Disgust, Joy, Love, Sorrow. He had the fortune of experiencing the essence of these four.

Speaking of which, he seemed to have never seen the true original appearance of Zhong Chengshuo. In his memory, there were only endless black lakes in the cliffs and the chaotic rabbit jumping and crawling beside the lake. But at that time, Zhong Chengshuo’s body was already torn apart, in a state of struggling for survival.

He had never seen his lover’s true form.

So what would “Satisfaction”, which corresponded to Zhong Chengshuo, look like?

Suddenly, the cats in the courtyard stopped lounging around. They stood up one by one, hastily folding their own tablecloths and hugging them in their soft paws. In the previously silent space, a soft rustling sound suddenly emerged, like the waves of the sea. The sound wasn’t loud, but juxtaposed with the previous silence, it was like a thunderclap.

What was it?

Yin Ren turned around and looked towards the source of the sound.

Then he was rendered speechless.

In Yin Ren’s imagination, Satisfaction might be something like the waves of the sea. It might be much larger than an ordinary Elemental, flooding every corridor and covering the entire Other Side. However, reality proved that his imagination was still conservative.

It was like the line between day and night.

…There was no gradual submersion, but in an instant, it irresistibly and indiscriminately covered everything. The texture of “Satisfaction” appeared to be countless melted brains and nerves, radiating a pure white color, like swirling clouds.

Like the rising sun, the white light instantly engulfed Yin Ren’s vision.

Unstoppable, unavoidable, and impossible to escape. It was like no one could escape the rising sun, capable of covering the first rays of dawn.

In an instant, Yin Ren understood many things, such as why billions of years ago, they would have an infinite fear of “Fear”, and why the creatures of the Other Side didn’t think that “Fear” would be conscious thousands of years ago.

Just a being that governed birth, “Satisfaction” made even someone like him who had experienced storms and waves feel instinctive awe. How could something of this scale, something so close to a natural phenomenon, possess consciousness?

If… If the previous “Fear” was also like this, then his current self could only be described as a cub.

Next, the suffering would begin.

According to Qi Xin, “Fear” and “Satisfaction” were naturally antagonistic, and in the realm of competition, there was always someone stronger. As an ignorant cub, he would undoubtedly be rejected by “Satisfaction”. Yin Ren cautiously closed off most of his senses, waiting for the impending ordeal.

It was like averting one’s gaze and waiting for a nurse to administer an injection—the feeling was truly agonizing.

One second passed, nothing happened, and Yin Ren relaxed his perception a little.

Five seconds passed, still nothing happened, and Yin Ren once again relaxed his perception a bit—his current state was like looking through the cracks between his fingers.

Surrounding him was an expanse of white, with extremely low visibility. Gao Mengyu’s cat was still by his feet, holding his wrist with soft paws. Qi Xin wasn’t far away, and she seemed to have used some technique to prevent the coverage of “Satisfaction”.

In a slightly further distance, mist spun out of nowhere, forming milky white whirlpools.

The whirlpools spun faster and faster, with the central white part gradually darkening and solidifying. After a few seconds, several fist-sized “Lonely” cats trembled and appeared. They stood confused in place, and their sticky limbs reached out in disarray. Some larger cats with tablecloths draped over them crawled over, bundled them up with the tablecloths, and dragged them back to their group.

Newborns.

Gao Mengyu’s cat vigorously waved its soft paws, creating a huge white vortex in the space. It tightly grasped the still-dazed Yin Ren and rushed toward the vortex like a jellyfish.

Before Yin Ren could express his opinion, suddenly, a pile of jumbled and scattered bones appeared behind him. That pile of bones forcefully pushed him, almost stuffing him into the vortex. The force was so strong that if they were in the mortal world, Yin Ren suspected he would have been pushed out of the atmosphere.

That was definitely Qi Xin’s true form.

Yin Ren: “…” What if he successfully transformed into an adult Fear? Wasn’t she afraid of him holding a grudge?

Before he could finish pondering, countless “bubbles” squeezed in. They flashed with a soapy sheen within the white brain matter, incredibly beautiful. However, as they lightly brushed past, the pain was almost enough to make Yin Ren want to dig out his brain.

Those were pieces of information, condensed to the extreme—chaotic information. If the Other Side was a well-ordered internet, then these bubbles were like compressed packages containing countless chaotic consciousness. They expanded and burst in his mind, pouring out numerous emotions like surprise blind boxes.

In just a second, Yin Ren almost fainted.

The cat seemed to be unaware of everything. It clung to Yin Ren with its soft limbs, anxiously navigating through the squeezed bubbles. This time, the frequency of brain explosions increased. Amidst the onslaught of emotions like a gusty storm, his consciousness was like a flickering candle flame that could extinguish at any moment.

No wonder… the previous Fear… lacked emotions…

Only a vegetative-like void could contain so many, so complex…

“Dream.”

Qi Xin’s voice rang out from behind Yin Ren.

“Human beings cannot handle the information of the Other Side; it is said to be a realm of chaos. But in reality, the Other Side is simply too rich in information, and humans don’t know how to deal with it. The Other Side has always operated within order, and it is here that true chaos exists.”

Countless creatures’ dreams, which was the only way for the spirit to self-repair.

Without reason, without logic, only boundless, kaleidoscopic projections of emotions.

[It’s her!]

The cat discovered something, exclaiming in joy. It released Yin Ren’s wrist and swam towards an ordinary-looking bubble. When it reached its destination, it tightly embraced the bubble, attempting to squeeze its eyeballs inside.

[You go ahead, I need to focus.] It solemnly declared.

“Wait…”

Amidst the collision of countless dreams, Yin Ren forcibly held onto his consciousness.

“Is… it Gao Mengyu’s dream… Can you help me… convey a message…”

Finishing his words, he mustered his strength and imprinted a series of words into the cat’s mind.

Just as he completed this task, a dream collided directly with his face. The infinite emotions within the dream exploded in his mind, and Yin Ren completely lost consciousness.

“That’s enough.”

Qi Xin coldly floated in the distance.

The most primal, most chaotic emotions didn’t give any chance for logical understanding and digestion. All they could do was provide repeated and intense stimulation.

Like a whetstone, they could quickly grind away the least important parts. Qi Xin casually tapped on a bubble, causing it to burst into tears at her fingertips.

“Cub, ‘humanity’ is your biggest weakness,” she said.

“To survive as a top-tier Primordial Elemental, you must discard it. Choose between ‘maturity’ or ‘humanity’… If you want both, all that awaits you is madness.”

At the same time.

Gao Mengyu abruptly woke up from her dream, sweat covering her forehead. Barefoot, she ran to the telephone and dialed the Emergency Management Department’s number directly.

“The dream has changed. I’ve received information from Unit 9,” she urgently said.

“I need to see Li Nian. It’s urgent!”