Global Evolution

by Steffen Schmidt

  More and more monkats joined this human hunt.

  The never ending rustling sound from all around broke the surviving mercenaries' last nerve.

  "Brother, we're going to die."

  One of the survivors ran slower and slower, eventually stopping with a tear-stricken face, sobbing.

  "Don't cry, dad told us that we should never fear nature." The other one also stopped. He threw away his repeater, taking out a few grenades. "Here, we must take some of those bastards to hell with us. We must let them know that humans aren't easy to deal with, either."

  "Brother..." The boy who seemed to be only eighteen years old took the grenades from his brother's hand. He clenched his teeth to cheer himself up, repeating, "Fear is more dreadful than death, fear is more dreadful than death. Papa told us that fear is more dreadful than death. I'm not afraid, I'm not scared."

  He murmured to himself again and again, until his face blushed due to agitation. When he was about to pull out the security to release the grenade, a deafening sound echoed through the jungle.

  BOOM!

  The noise must have been produced by a heavy caliber weapon, and a weapon meant that someone was using it. The boy who had heard the gunshot lowered his hand, holding the grenade as if gripping a life-saving straw.

  A deep voice came from the source of the gunshots.

  "Hold on."

  They were just two words but they granted hope for the boy to resist. He put away the grenade and picked up his repeater again. The deep voice of that man vanished, but a different kind of rustling sound replaced it.

  The noise was different to the one made by monkats. Although it sounded like the one making it had a bigger body size, it was much more agile. A massive angel flying through the woods.

  When that agile figure made brief stops, there would be shrieks emitting from monkats.

  When the boy heard a shriek for the eighteenth time, meaning the death of the eighteenth monkat, a man descended from a tree crown, suddenly arriving in front of the boys.

  The man dressed in a camouflage uniform was expressionless. He didn't wear the optic goggles either, and had brought a live monkat in his hand.

  He raised the monkat up high, straightening his arm. As if warning the sinister animals that still lurked in the tree crowns, the man squeezed the monkat's neck, causing it to lose its ability to strike back.

  While the man showed off his trophy in the air, the mercenary boy noticed that he took out his giant handgun, pointing at the monkat's head. As if it all happened in slow motion, the boy could see the man's finger draw back, and a bullet of an unusual size bolted out from the muzzle.

  BOOM!

  The handgun growled, and the monkat's head exploded like a smashed watermelon.

  Squeak!

  The witnesses of the cruel judgment roared in rage and fear.

  Chapter 113: Intimidation

  The monkats were raving, angrily hovering over their heads. The rustling sounds made by them caused pin and needles on the boys' scalps. They couldn't understand why this man who had descended from nowhere would intentionally provoke the monkats.

  But one thing the boys knew was that the man came to save them. Plus, if he hadn't come in time, they would have already been poisoned and would now be lying on the ground, twitching, jerking in this hopeless jungle until death freed them from the torture. So whatever intentions this man had, they decided to support him anyway.

  The deliberate provocation worked - the monkats were enraged.

  They screamed shrilly, the sound spreading through the whole area, demanding justice in anger and disappointment. Monkats didn't seem like a species that was good at repressing its emotions.

  The shrieking stopped when the monkats begun their attack on the intimidating man with the giant handgun. Spears and poison fruits were hurled toward him.

  "Spread out!"

  The man pushed the three survivors away. And strangely, the way he propelled them happened to help them to dodge all the spears and fruits. At the same time, the force also pushed the man backward. As soon as they had all moved out, the spears struck the ground and poison fruits exploded.

  "Hold your breath!"

  The poison fruits cracked and exploded one by one, releasing the gas within. After saying his piece, the man sprang up from the ground and bounced between the branches, disappearing in the tree crowns once again.

  Fifteen seconds later, another desperate squeak called out from the crown, and then the man descended with a victim back down once more.

  BOOM!

  The man's intentions were clear: he provoked the monkats by shooting his victim in the face again. It was done exactly like the first time.

  However, the second provocation turned out to be an intimidation tactic. The screeches were significantly quieter, as if the monkats had sensed that this man was unbeatable. There was a commotion in the monkat crowd, and some of them fled. But the remaining, stubborn ones, went to attack again.

  The result of this attack was a swift one.

  The man captured another monkat from the tops of the trees, and with that handgun, its head was busted.

  Three identical executions startled the monkats, taking away their desire of crush the humans. They stood on the branches quietly for a moment, then rushed off with fearful screams before the man could fire the handgun for the fourth time.

  The man put away his weapon after confirming that the monkats were already a great distance away.

  "Thank you! Thank you for saving us."

  The three survivors bowed as soon as they confirmed their safety, immensely grateful to the man.

  The favor of a saved life was impossible to repay. Even though Zhengzhou state had become a place where all virtues decayed, the gratefulness for saving one's life was never forgotten here.

  "No need to say thank you to me. I was just passing by this area and happened to see that you were attacked. As a matter of course, I would help anyone if it's within my capabilities. " The man didn't make any expression. "Do you guys have companions? Why are you hanging around the jungle this late night at night, it's dangerous."

  "We... we got lost," one of the survivors explained. "At first, a kind of strange bug assaulted us, and we lost two members who were in charge of keeping the compass. They were gnawed in front of our eyes, no bones were left... As a result, our formation was broken and we couldn't find where they had dropped the compass, so..."

  "Our companions... I think they're poisoned, I'm not sure if there is a way to save them."

  "Let me check," the man said, walking toward the trap the mercenaries had fallen for as if he knew what had happened over there.

  Even though the three were suspicious about the man's familiarity with the trap, they didn't ask about it. They followed along, abstaining from speaking.

  Corpses lay everywhere. The man went up to the bodies to check for signs of breathing. He found two still alive and took out an iron case, retrieving two vials of antidote from it.

  "Antidotes, but I'm not sure if it'll work," the man told the survivors, then injected the medicine into those men nearing death.

  "Carry them, I'll show you the way out."

  Since the antidote was condensed, the process was over in a snap of the fingers. The man left those poison victims to the survivors, preparing to lead everyone to the edge of the jungle.

  "Follow me."

  The man turned his back to the survivors, who had no choice but to try and catch up with his figure.

  It was a journey without any conversation. The man seemed extremely familiar with the jungle, and perhaps they were blessed for they didn't encounter any more dangers along the way. One hour later, the jungle became less dense, and that was a sign that they were safe.

  "We've arrived, I need to go now," the man said, standing at the edge of the jungle. "The Zhengzhou state is in front of you. I'm sure that you'll know your way from here."

  "We do." The survivors nodded. "Please let us do something for y
ou for saving our lives."

  "It's not necessary. I see people die every day, my wish is just to save as many as possible." The man curved his mouth to make a smile, but his muscles were rigid; the smile was strange. "Come grab a drink at the Chortle Bar, I'm the owner."

  "Chortle Bar?"

  The survivors stared at the unnatural smile.

  "Exactly."

  "Can you tell me your name by any chance?" the boy asked

  "Chang Liu." The man seemed aware of his rigid smile and put on the straight face again. "If those two survive, don't forget to ask them to pay back in the bar. Those antidotes are expensive for their rareness, the market price is about 170 thousand state yuan. Of course, if they don't make it, then don't bother repaying for them."

  Chang waved his hand to those survivors. "I really should go, someone is waiting for me home, see you around."

  He sprinted toward the Zhengzhou state, leaving those doubtful survivors behind.

  　　...

  In the Chortle Bar.

  The place gradually cooled down. Those who aimed to get drunk had achieved their goal; those who wanted to talk had become tired, resting their heads on the tables, murmuring. And that hook-nosed woman who sat in the corner checked the watch on her hand, knowing that it was time to close the bar.

  A figure sneaked in when she stood up from the bar stool.

  "I'm back."

  What entered Chang's sight were those drunk mercenaries, some of whom were asleep while others were murmuring about their plan. At the same time, Chang also noticed the table that was smashed by Sanpang.

  "Well, well, well." Chang walked up to those drunk mercenaries, smirking. "We'll ask them to pay for this broken table."

  Chapter 114: Socioecology

  "The table isn't really worth money." The hook-nosed woman walked up to Chang, smirking. "Why did you come back so late today? The smell of blood is all over you, so let me guess, you encountered those kinds of dangers again?"

  "I did. I met a group of mercenaries in the jungle, sadly they were attacked by the monkats. Most of them lost their lives in that fight," Chang said. "Those animals have become much smarter than before, they even know how to make tools and use them."

  "Of course, it has been more than four years since that day. What wouldn't happen? I heard that abyssal species are invading coastal cities." The one-armed woman smiled. "The situation in the Central Plain is better as Zhengzhou state is an inland city. Humans in the coastal cities have already went extinct, those who didn't flee inwardly anyway. And the few stubborn ones remaining are completely disadvantaged in this competition with mutated species."

  While the woman was speaking, the door was opened again; an abnormal kid with two heads peeked in.

  "Please, spare us some food."

  "I beg for your mercy, we haven't eaten for days."

  The two headed kid spoke in turns, raising her hand with a bowl up high.

  Chang only heaved a sigh, looking at the two-headed child. "It's been four years, and those newborns are growing up."

  He turned around and took out a pack of biscuits from behind the counter, them put them into her tiny bowl.

  "Thank you, thank you very much!"

  Both of her heads bowed gratefully. It wasn't hard to tell that this was their first time receiving food from others in a few days.

  "Go home, now."

  Chang ran his hand over her messy hair, sending them away from the bar.

  "The rate of abnormal infants is over fifty percent now, thanks to Zhuo's Agent Orange and Chrystal Pea." The woman sent the girl away with her eyes. "However... if Zhuo hadn't used Agent Orange and fed the citizens with Chrystal Peas, I bet humanity would have been far worse now as less of us would've survived, resulting in a lower birthrate. Was he evil? Or did he consider the big picture instead?"

  "Well, we can do nothing about it, right? Let's get them all out." Chang curved his mouth and patted some drunkard near him. "Bro, get up! You should go home now."

  "What..." One of the listless mercenaries rubbed his eyes, slurring, "Right, home..."

  "Pay your bills guys, pay your bills!"

  The one-armed woman flicked the switches up, and the light became dazzlingly bright to the drunkards. She then grabbed the bills on the counter, going up to the tables one by one.

  "You, three hundred and seventy State Yuan."

  "You, seven hundred and forty State Yuan"

  "..."

  The one-armed woman collected money from one table and the other, urging most people out of the bar. Of course, she saved the most rejoiced group for the end.

  "You guys..." The woman stood beside Chang and said to those mercenaries, "You, seven thousand and nine hundred State Yuan please."

  "What the hell? Isn't that too expensive?" The price awakened the mercenaries from their drunkenness, and they yelled altogether, "Why?"

  "First, each of our bills account for our own hydro bills, not only is electricity pricey but the military had also order us to use it within a prescribed amount. Second, you all drank Baijiu, which is made from natural grain. Most of the others would choose Crystal Spirit that replaces natural grain with Chrystal Pea in the making process. Certainly, the price is different between these two. I think you know the price difference between Crystal Pea and natural grain. Natural grain is a rarity! I'm not asking for more than I should charge you," the woman explained. "On top of those, you are also compensating for the broken table. And hence, seven thousand and nine hundred State Yuan."

  "But this is way too expensive! You're ripping us off!" the fatty Sanpang yelled out, standing up.

  "By law, you'll pay for what you ate and drank, I think no one can deny that, can you?" The woman swung the empty bottles, saying, "In fact, I'm not ripping you off, you can ask for its price at other bars with this empty bottle. If I charge higher, you can come back to me and we'll talk about it. But today, I need seven thousand and nine hundred State Yuan paid."

  The woman brandished her hooked arm as she became impatient. "Our margin for liquors is pretty low already, don't imagine that you can repudiate this bill."

  "Repudiating? Your sh*tty bar simply didn't provide good service to us! There isn't even one stripper here! We don't care about money but we didn't enjoy our time here, and hence don't expect us to pay the full price! It was your bar's problem, not ours."

  "Having strippers or not is our business, but you all have to pay for the liquor that you all drank!"

  "I only have one thousand, keep it or I'll take it back too."

  Sanpang, who was speaking, fished out a wrinkled bill that was made of anti-corrosive synthetic fiber with Qing Shui's head portrait printed at the center. At the corner of this bill, an Arabic number was stamped - 1000.

  "Asshole, so you decide not to pay don't you?" The woman was outraged by the mercenaries swollen with arrogance. She pushed Sanpang to the ground and pressed her iron hook against his neck artery. "No one is leaving without paying today!"

  "Hahahaha, Seriously?" The mercenaries looked at each other, smirking at this curvy woman. They reached for their weapons. "What a pretty slut you are! Despite that you're handicapped, you're hot. Hey, come with us, we'll give you the money that you demanded."

  "Zhizhi, your charm remains even though you're no longer that 26-year-old military officer." The man who had kept silence but just spoke out for Zhizhi was Chang. His face was expressionless, his laughter dull and dry. "It'll make you feel better if you take it as a compliment."

  "Who the hell are you?"

  The mercenaries had thought that Chang was one of the bystanders at first, but they now saw that he knew the woman once he started talking.

  In fact, the mercenaries felt strange when they started making trouble. The bartenders and waiters were not at all disturbed but indifferent to the din they made. They were either wiping the bar tables or mixing drinks as usual, as if they were unconcerned with the conflict in the bar.

  "I am the owner of this bar, an
d she is a close friend of mine. If you guys are interested in her, you can totally come often and grab a drink here. However, we need to talk about the bill now." Chang maintained his straight face involuntarily. "Our bar sells drinks at reasonable prices, and to allow my customers to have fun at my bar, I only have one rule—anyone who provokes and participates in armed fights will be penalized with ten thousand State Yuan fine for causing inconvenience to others.

  "Think twice before you act. As she has said, you must pay your bill today and I don't offer rooms for negotiation," the man clarified with a poker face, his finger pointing at a small blackboard hung by the door.

  The handwriting on the blackboard was messy but readable - "Purchase on credit is not accepted in Chortle Bar, armed fights will be penalized with ten thousand State Yuan fine per person".

  The mercenaries bursted into wild waves of laughter at those crooked characters on the blackboard. They pointed at the woman with hands pressing on their stomachs.

  "Did you write this? Your handwriting is horrible!"

  "You wouldn't write even that well if you had one finger missing." The woman flushed in embarrassment under their mocking. She stood straight and wanted to kick Sanpang's waist but another mercanary grabbed her ankle. Following the momentum, he masterly took out a pistol and pressed the muzzle at between her brows. "We won't pay for this bill, and what can you do about it?"

  "Alright, ten thousand State Yuan per person for breaking the rule." Chang stepped forward, kicking the mercenary's chest from the side. As expected, the chest bone of this mercenary collapsed, and he fell to the floor.

  Chang acted again before those mercenaries could react. He waved his hand among their waists, and their weapons were magically collected in his hand, balanced in his hand.

  "Self-made weapons, poor power and accuracy; they aren't worth anything."

  As he spoke, he shuffled the guns and left one in each hand; the gunfire was heard before the bullets were shot. Along with a flash, bullets grazed mercenaries' cheeks without actually hitting them. This intimated them by the heat of friction without causing actual harm.