Chapter 8: Animal Mutation
When Lin Mengzhi arrived, his childhood friend was being held by the hand and tearfully thanked by someone.
“Then give me some money,” his friend said, reaching out.
The man’s wailing stopped abruptly. Reluctantly, he took out 200 yuan from his wallet and handed it to the boy in front of him, then ran off as if fleeing.
The crowd had already dispersed. There wasn’t a single person left on the once-bustling street—only Wu Heng and the shop owner, who was frantically crawling on the ground picking up goldfish.
“What happened here?” Lin Mengzhi was completely confused.
Wu Heng stepped aside and revealed a surprise to Lin Mengzhi.
Lin Mengzhi’s knees almost gave out. “No wonder this is Hannan District.”
“Let’s go,” Wu Heng said, lifting his foot to leave. But the shop owner suddenly stood up and angrily stopped him.
“You broke my fish tank and think you can just walk away without paying?” The owner was so furious that the flesh on his face was trembling, though his eyes kept nervously darting to the zombie lying on the ground, and he swallowed hard in fear.
Wu Heng looked genuinely puzzled. “It wasn’t me. Your turtle crashed into the fish tank.”
“Bullshit! How could a turtle possibly break my fish tank?!”
The owner jumped up, burning with anger. He thought this boy was even more outrageous than the woman earlier—one said his turtle bit someone, and now this one said his turtle broke the tank. Why was everyone targeting his turtle?
“I’m not lying,” Wu Heng said with a sincere, honest face—completely unlike the cold, knife-wielding youth from earlier.
The owner was about to say something else when Lin Mengzhi, who had seen the whole thing, stepped forward.
“He already told you the turtle did it. Are you trying to extort money?”
“If you don’t believe it, check the surveillance footage,” Lin Mengzhi added. He really didn’t think Wu Heng would make up such a ridiculous lie.
The shop owner’s lips moved a couple of times, and his expression began to waver.
Seeing the shop owner like this, Lin Mengzhi actually felt a little sorry for him and couldn’t help but feel some pity. He walked over and patted the owner on the shoulder.
“Come on, seriously—what kind of turtle are you raising that it can smash a fish tank? But still, you can’t go blaming my buddy. Let me tell you, my friend here—tsk tsk—there’s not a more honest guy in all of Hanzhou. You’re accusing him? That’s just heartless…”
Lin Mengzhi rambled on endlessly, putting his arm around the shop owner’s shoulder. He didn’t notice that the owner’s expression had changed—from impatient at first, to blank, and finally, he turned his head and stared straight at him.
Wu Heng did notice, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he calmly sat down on a chair nearby and looked on.
“I mean, I also think it’s pretty unlikely a turtle could break a glass tank. But if I’d said that, you wouldn’t believe me. The thing is—my buddy said it. And if he said it, then you have to believe it.” Lin Mengzhi patted his chest, his face full of pride and confidence.
“He’s from Hanbei No.1 High School—you know that place, right? You don’t need me to explain what kind of prestige that school carries.”
“If you ask me, you’d better just hurry up and pick up your fish, or there won’t be any left soon.”
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Wait—what the hell—are you drooling?!”
Clang!
The shop owner pounced on Lin Mengzhi, knocking him to the ground. Lin Mengzhi shut up immediately. The floor was slippery—he tried to get up several times but couldn’t.
The owner suddenly wrapped his arms around Lin Mengzhi’s leg.
Lin Mengzhi screamed and wildly kicked the owner in the head with his other foot. “A’Heng, save me! A’Heng, save me!!”
Wu Heng shook his head and tossed the knife beside Lin Mengzhi. “Handle it yourself.”
The shop owner mutated at a shocking speed. Just minutes ago, he had still been a living, breathing human being—and now, he had turned into a snarling, biting zombie.
Faced with a zombie lunging at him, Lin Mengzhi felt ice-cold all over. In a panic, he grabbed the knife from the ground and kicked the zombie away. Before it could pounce again, he launched himself forward and drove the blade into its shoulder.
Zombies don’t feel pain. Lin Mengzhi quickly followed up with a few more stabs, and only with the final blow did the creature finally fall silent.
Panting heavily, soaked either with water or sweat—he couldn’t tell which—Lin Mengzhi sat on the floor in a daze.
Wu Heng finally stood up. He walked over and pressed a hand on Lin Mengzhi’s shoulder. “You did well.”
Then the boy gently pried open Lin Mengzhi’s now-stiff fingers, one by one, and took the knife from his hand.
Wu Heng wandered around the now-empty shop. No one knew what he was thinking, but after a moment, he turned and stared intently at a fish tank in the center of the store. Inside were countless neon tetras, dazzling and densely packed.
Lin Mengzhi swallowed hard. He didn’t understand how Wu Heng could stay so calm—more than calm, really. How could he just stand there and watch him get attacked by a zombie? Was it training? A test?
He kept his eyes on Wu Heng, assuming he must really like those neon tetras.
But to his surprise, Wu Heng reached out and plunged the blood-stained fruit knife into the fish tank.
The tetras scattered in a flash, startled like a flock of birds fleeing danger.
The blood on the knife began to dissolve in the water, sliding off in crimson trails, curling into the currents.
But the fish didn’t react with fear or revulsion. Instead, every single one of them turned their heads toward the blade now standing upright in the water. One by one, they wagged their tails rhythmically—without exception.
Lin Mengzhi held his breath, watching in stunned silence.
The next second, the entire school of fish seemed to receive some kind of command—and all of them darted straight toward the knife.
It was just a fish tank, but to the people outside of it, the scene was beyond words.
One after another, the fish slammed into the blade, producing soft yet chilling crackling sounds. The blood drifting in the water was devoured completely, and the blade was quickly polished to a gleaming shine by the impact. Water splashed inside the tank.
At that moment, they didn’t look like harmless little tetras at all.
They looked like a swarm of juvenile piranhas.
“A’Heng, what’s going on?” Lin Mengzhi got to his feet, the adrenaline from killing the zombie still surging through him—only for something even stranger to unfold before his eyes.
Wu Heng pulled the knife out of the fish tank. His gaze lowered, and after a long pause, he spoke with uncertainty, “The mutation… might not be limited to humans.”
“W-What do you mean? Are you saying animals can mutate too?!”
“When I said the turtle shattered his fish tank earlier—”
“I believe you!” Lin Mengzhi cut in immediately.
Wu Heng was silent for a moment, then shook his head. “Whether you believe me or not isn’t the point. I mean—when I said the turtle broke the tank… do you know how small that turtle was? Smaller than a magpie. But it only hit the tank four or five times before the glass cracked.”
“Before you arrived, that female zombie was still a customer. She said the turtle killed all the fish in her tank—and even bit off her son’s finger.”
“And now, these neon tetras—all charging out at the scent of blood, displaying a level of aggression never seen before.”
After saying all that, Wu Heng put the knife away. “This is just an analysis based on the information we have. The full picture… we’ll have to wait and see.”
Lin Mengzhi could only nod blankly, still processing.
Wu Heng didn’t expect Lin Mengzhi to help with the analysis, but if someone could discuss it with him, that would be ideal. As he looked at the tetras still darting wildly in the water, Wu Heng unexpectedly thought of Xie Chongyi.
Someone as sharp as him probably had plenty of information in hand. Maybe… it was worth trying to strike a deal.
Having made up his mind, Wu Heng took out his phone and snapped a few photos of the frenzied neon tetras, planning to talk to Xie Chongyi when he had the chance.
But just then, a fleeting trace of confusion and loss flashed in Wu Heng’s eyes.
He wasn’t sure… whether he’d still have the time.
“So, are we leaving now?” Lin Mengzhi shivered, feeling like the surroundings had become much more eerie than before. “A Heng?”
“We are,” Wu Heng replied—but even as he spoke, he lingered in the shop, clearly reluctant to go just yet.
The store was full of lush potted plants, plump succulents, and vibrant flowers. Several birdcages hung overhead, each holding small birds chirping noisily.
The boy’s gaze swept slowly across the room.
Startled by unfamiliar faces, some of the birds flapped their wings and chirped even louder. A few of them screeched hoarsely and clawed at the bars of their cages, their cries rough and harsh.
Wu Heng raised his knife again. Though it had already been cleaned, the blade was soon stained with fresh streaks of blood.
Lin Mengzhi followed closely behind him. “A’Heng, isn’t this a bit…”
Wu Heng paused for a moment before answering, “Mengzhi, these birds might be zombies too.”
Now and then, bloodied feathers floated down from above. The sound of wings flapping, combined with the birds’ strained shrieks, wasn’t out of fear—but of hunger and bloodlust.
The boy’s pale, cold profile was flecked with spots of dried blood along his jaw. His strikes were fast, and his withdrawals even faster. His pupils didn’t tremble—not out of cruelty, but complete indifference.
By the time Wu Heng finished filtering through the cages, few birds remained.
At the very back of the shop, there was a curtain. It swayed gently, casting a moving shadow. Wu Heng lifted it and looked up toward the overhead railing—where a gray-feathered bird was watching them from above.
“An eagle?” Wu Heng glanced at Lin Mengzhi.
Lin stepped forward and examined it closely. “A grey parrot. Looks like it hasn’t even grown all its feathers yet—can’t be more than a few months old. The shop owner sure had guts. These things are illegal to keep in the country—no wonder it was so well hidden.”
“Idiot!”
The grey parrot opened its beak and spat out the insult in perfect clarity.
“…” Lin Mengzhi pointed at it. “Say that again, I dare you!”
Wu Heng, however, handed the knife to Lin Mengzhi and reached his hand out toward the grey parrot. His apricot-colored eyes curved slightly in a rare display of gentleness as he asked softly, “Do you want to come with me?”
The grey parrot paced along the railing a few steps, completely ignoring Wu Heng’s friendly gesture.
Lin Mengzhi clicked his tongue and said to Wu Heng, “Big parrots like this are hard to bond with. Once they’ve chosen a master, they almost never accept a second one. Who knows if it’s already bonded? If it has, even if you take it with you, it won’t be easy to raise.”
“Why do you want to take a bird anyway? You don’t even like pets,” Lin Mengzhi asked, curious.
Wu Heng took the knife back from Lin Mengzhi and spun it in his hand once. “It mutated.”
Lin Mengzhi immediately jumped to his side, pressing in close.
“Not a zombie mutation,” Wu Heng clarified, unsure how to explain his instinct. “Its eyes… when I looked into its eyes, it felt like I was looking at a smart kid.”
While Lin Mengzhi was still trying to wrap his head around that, Wu Heng slowly raised his arm. The tip of the knife pointed at the parrot, who was tilting its head side to side.
Wu Heng’s lips parted slightly. “I’ll ask you again. Are you coming with me or not?”
The grey parrot continued strutting proudly.
But before Wu Heng could take another step toward it, the parrot spread its wings and landed squarely on his shoulder.
“Go! Go go go!” it shouted—its speech not entirely fluent, but full of energy, as if nothing life-threatening had happened just moments ago.
