After screwing the standard stainless steel bottle cap on tightly, Adam Carter held it in his hands, just about to turn around, when suddenly a voice rang out abruptly behind him.

  “Aaron Carter?”

  The voice was loud and trembling, echoing in the cramped space.

  Adam Carter turned around.

  Standing in the corridor was a young man, tall and handsome. At this moment, his eyes were wide as he stared fixedly at him, his lips quivering, making it hard to tell whether his expression was one of joy or shock.

  “Aaron Carter?” he called out again. “You... you're back? Weren't you—”

  He broke off abruptly, his face flushing, as if unsure how to continue.

  But Adam Carter knew what he wanted to say, because he knew this person—his name was Josie.

  Josie was Aaron Carter's neighbor and friend. They had grown up together. Sometimes, Josie would take care of Aaron Carter; more often, Aaron Carter would take care of him—those scattered, lingering memories appeared before Adam Carter's eyes.

  But his understanding of Josie didn't come solely from Aaron Carter's memories. He had seen this person when he was a mushroom; what he saw, combined with Aaron Carter's memories, just happened to complete the truth of Aaron Carter's real cause of death.

  Aaron Carter made a living with words. His job was to write novels, essays, or poems for people's entertainment and submit them to the base, which would regularly publish such booklets for everyone. However, just three months ago, to save increasingly scarce manpower and resources, the base disbanded this department.

  At that time—

  “Aaron Carter, what book are you reading?” Josie asked.

  “I want to prepare for the supply station selection exam at the base,” Aaron Carter circled and underlined things in the book with a pen. “I think I’d like the work there, and the pay is good.”

  But Josie frowned.

  “You want to leave your civilian status?” he asked. “The exam is really hard.”

  Aaron Carter said, “It’s okay.”

  “Aaron Carter,” his tone turned stern, “you’ve always known I wanted to go out into the wild with you.”

  Aaron Carter smiled, his tone gentle, as if coaxing his willful friend, or perhaps it was a helpless sigh: “I’m not suited for the outside.”

  “I’ll protect you.” Josie put his arm around his shoulder, then softened his voice: “I can’t be without you. Come with me into the wild, we won’t go anywhere dangerous.”

  Most of the fragments in his memory were like this. In the end, under Josie’s persistent persuasion, Aaron Carter agreed to go on an adventure with him. Josie was a member of a large mercenary team and had earned many merits, so it was easy for him to get Aaron Carter in, responsible for distributing and tallying supplies.

  But in the wild, anything could happen. On that day, the convoy lost its way and drove to the edge of the abyss. By the time they noticed the unusually large number of mushrooms, it was already too late. The monsters of the abyss would not let any food slip by.

  For humans, even the very edge of the abyss was terrifying. Three out of five armored vehicles were destroyed. The people on those three vehicles frantically transferred to the remaining ones. During the escape, Aaron Carter pushed Josie, allowing him to barely dodge an attack from a winged monster above, but Aaron Carter was tripped by vines on the ground.

  Josie froze for a second. After that second, the instinct to survive overpowered everything. Faced with the choice of pulling Aaron Carter up and running for his own life, he chose the latter, gritted his teeth, and sprinted forward, pulled onto the armored vehicle by the captain—while at that moment, Aaron Carter watched their figures as a monster’s bone spike pierced through his chest.

  The mercenary team fought a fierce battle with the monsters, retreating as they fought. Their commotion was so loud that it woke Adam Carter—he had come out looking for spores, but always returned empty-handed. This time was different. Taking advantage of the chaos, he quietly retrieved Aaron Carter and brought him back to a cave deep inside.

  So now, facing Josie, Adam Carter had nothing to say. When facing death, any creature’s first reaction is to survive. Josie hadn’t done anything wrong, but he didn’t like him.

  “You... you’re not quite yourself.” Josie’s Adam’s apple bobbed with difficulty. “Are your wounds healed? Did you escape from the abyss?”

  Adam Carter simply looked at him calmly.

  “No, you’re not Aaron Carter.” Josie suddenly stepped back, his face pale. “You’re a mutant.”

  “Sorry.” Adam Carter walked out, brushing past him. “I accidentally ate a poisonous mushroom and can’t remember who you are.”

Chapter 8

  After speaking, Adam Carter ignored him and walked straight ahead.

  There were no footsteps behind him for a long time. It wasn’t until he swiped his ID card to open the door that Josie hurried over, grabbing his shoulder: “Are you really Aaron Carter? But you—”

  Adam Carter casually picked up the stack of genetic test reports on the table and handed them to Josie.

  Josie said, “This is...”

  Adam Carter looked down and saw that the top sheet was the one with “Oppose the atrocities of the Judges.”

  He slowly pulled that sheet out. Josie looked at the report.

  “You...” He quickly scanned a few lines, then looked up at Adam Carter: “Did you really escape from the abyss?”

  “I was rescued,” Adam Carter said. “The rest, I’ve forgotten.”