Over there, Tang Erda was talking with Fang Xiao Xiao.

Calling it a conversation was something of a stretch. As the former captain of the Dangerous Heretic Management Bureau, Tang Erda was always exceptionally vigilant toward suspicious NPCs or monsters like Fang Xiao Xiao. His words naturally carried a hint of interrogation.

“How did you know we were going to the observation station and would see another Fang Xiao Xiao?” Tang Erda questioned him from above. “I get the feeling you’re very familiar with being dug out.”

Fang Xiao Xiao did not seem surprised that Tang Erda was questioning him. He merely smiled miserably.

“Because this wasn’t the first time I was dug out. Those monsters don’t only want to test outside humans. They also want to test the reactions of humans toward their own kind within a group.”

“In the beginning, when we were thrown into the ice crevasses, those monsters hadn’t yet filled them with snow to bury us.”

“They wanted to conduct a research project on how humans survive in a desperate environment with limited resources. They told us that within three days, they would gradually fill the ice crevasses with snow. During that time, the humans who managed to seize resources and escape would be released, while those who failed to escape would be frozen forever.”

At this point, he closed his eyes with great difficulty, and tears slid down his face.

“In order to mislead these monsters’ understanding of humanity—to make them believe that when simulating humans, we would slaughter each other and trend toward extinction—we simulated a realistic scene of fighting over resources, brutally injuring one another.”

Fang Xiao Xiao took a deep breath. His hands, clutching the cup, trembled uncontrollably. He lowered his head and took a sip of hot water. Tang Erda noticed that the gaps between his teeth were filled with coagulated bloodstains, as if he had once bitten into prey.

“We... concentrated the resources on the youngest team members and let them escape. Three days later, we were buried by the falling snow.”

The melancholy expression Fang Xiao Xiao had been wearing finally twisted into a contorted grimace at this point. He was like a wounded beast forcing sounds out of his throat, letting out a hoarse and desolate roar.

“We thought their experiment ended there! But we never expected that they had placed markers on those few young members who left, monitoring their movements the entire time. Then, when those young members couldn’t control their emotions and turned back to save us, the monsters developed a new research interest. They misled them and guided them to dig up another ice crevasse!”

Fang Xiao Xiao’s whole body was shaking.

“...Those things set up a control group. They had two monsters transform into the appearances of those young members who escaped and come dig up our ice crevasse, while they lured those young members into digging up another ice crevasse filled with monsters transformed into our appearances...”

“They wanted to know whether human [Winners] were more likely to believe that the [Losers] they rescued were their own kind, or whether human [Losers] were more likely to believe that the [Winners] who rescued them were their own kind...”

Tang Erda opened his mouth. Looking at Fang Xiao Xiao’s numb expression, he could not help softening his tone.

“So... what was the result of the test?”

There was no expression on Fang Xiao Xiao’s face. Only the corner of his mouth held an ugly, stiff smile. Tears kept flowing from his hollow eyes.

“After we were dug out, we identified the [Winners]. But those children did not identify the [Losers] they had rescued. They lived with the monsters they saved for two months and even had sexual relations with two of them. Afterward, those two children were brought before us, and the result was revealed.”

“Those children went mad. They poured fuel over themselves, and after setting themselves on fire, they jumped into strong acid and killed themselves.”

“I know that among the humanoid monsters simulated to deceive those children, one was named Fang Xiao Xiao.”

Tang Erda was silent for a moment, then continued asking, “How can you be sure that we, the ones who came to dig you out, aren’t monsters?”

Fang Xiao Xiao’s dull eyes shifted slightly, and he murmured to himself, “You can’t be monsters, because those monsters can only imitate humans who have appeared before. They have no way to simulate entirely new humans. I’ve never seen you in Antarctica.”

“And they’ve already tested that we have the ability to judge whether the [people] digging us out are our own kind. They won’t use the same trick repeatedly. Even if they come to dig us out, they usually do it in their protoplasmic form and don’t transform into humans.”

On the other side, Bai Liu, who was carrying out the excavation, waved his hand, signaling Tang Erda to come over.

Tang Erda stared for a long while at Fang Xiao Xiao, who sat motionless on the sled. Even knowing that this researcher was only an NPC, he still could not quite bear it in the end and patted him on the shoulder.

“...Rest here. Don’t wander off.”

After saying that, he ran over to Bai Liu’s side and reported everything Fang Xiao Xiao had just told him exactly as it was.

Mu Shicheng’s goosebumps would not stop rising, and he kept rubbing his arms.

Bai Liu looked thoughtful, then revealed a smile that made Mu Shicheng’s spine feel even colder.

“It seems the situation is a bit more complex and interesting than we thought. I probably know what this Mr. Edmund wants to do, but I still need to contact Mu Ke’s side and see whether he found something like the old professor’s diary to corroborate my guess.”

Mu Shicheng was a little dazed. “Then... are we still digging?”

“Dig.” Bai Liu gave the order decisively, a faint smile on his face. “Dig them all out and take them back to Taishan Station. Let everyone confront each other and see who exactly is the monster.”

Mu Shicheng: “!!!”

—

Edmund Observation Station.

Mu Ke and Liu Jiayi had practically turned over all the books and materials in the entire observation station. They went through them one by one, matching names. Tasks involving light reading were handed to Liu Jiayi, while specialized deep-reading tasks were handled by Mu Ke. After translating them, he passed them to Liu Jiayi for information integration.

Fortunately, there were many introductory textbooks in the living quarters where the graduate students stayed. When Mu Ke examined the experimental data, he at least had reference tools, which made things slightly easier.

“It’s mainly professional books on meteorology and biology, along with quite a few sociology books.” Mu Ke searched through the bookshelf dragged out from Edmund’s living quarters. He flipped through them quickly, glancing at the contents and mainly looking for annotations.

Then he suddenly paused, pondered for a moment, and said, “It seems this Professor Edmund was very dissatisfied with Country A’s politics and authorities. In their country’s modern history books praising the liberation of human rights, he wrote this kind of thing.”

Liu Jiayi leaned over and read it aloud. “‘—The parallel exploitation of labor is the first human right of capital.’ Note 1.”

Mu Ke flipped through more pages. “There’s another one here, written next to the Records of the Bahata War. This was a campaign launched by Country A under the pretext that the opposing side was privately developing biochemical weapons.”

Liu Jiayi read it word by word. “‘—Order without liberty and liberty without order are equally destructive.’ Note 2.”

Mu Ke continued searching the entire observation station. In a file of criminal records inside the archives, he found a private fax record between Edmund and Taishan Observation Station. It was wrapped in a yellow seal marked [Prohibited from Opening] and labeled: [Copy of Evidence of Edmund’s Treason].

Mu Ke and Liu Jiayi looked at each other and tore it open without hesitation.

The fax records inside were arranged by date. They were very direct.

October 1st:

My friend, you were right. I have tested these corpse fragments. It—or perhaps they—indeed cannot be used for any scientific research. They contain ethical errors and mental pollution, violating my basic moral principles as a human scientist.

I understand why they were sealed here. They truly should not be placed outside. I will do my best to persuade those “bandits” who stole your boxes, and then return the three boxes to you undamaged. Well, perhaps not entirely undamaged.

You have done something dangerous and great. A hundred years from now, all of humanity should carve your names on the jie fang—Edmund wrote this in pinyin—monument to praise you! The last time we talked, you told me your soldiers’ honor roll is called the jie fang monument, correct?

Happy National Day to you!

October 7th:

I am very sorry, but I may not be able to return the boxes to you for the time being.

Speaking of which, it’s rather strange. This is the first time I have been forced to apply my own research results to myself.

The current sensation is that I no longer have any sense of taste or temperature. When walking, I suddenly take a comical fall because my cerebellum has been modified, and my sense of balance has developed some minor problems. Though even before the modification, falling was something this old man often did. Everything else is fine. I feel a little as if I have become a Xiao Wen Jing—Little Warm Whale. Perhaps I should go into the sea now and give a real Little Warm Whale a nose-to-nose kiss?

After all, I no longer fear the severe cold, and I am no longer human. Becoming a whale in the deep sea might be a good choice for me.

Hey, I quite like the way they rub against rocks when their molting skin itches. It is exactly the same as the way this old man rubs against the wardrobe when I cannot reach my back to scratch it.

Do not worry about the boxes. They still need me for research. I will eventually find a way to return the boxes to you.

October 17th:

Oh, heavens. Did I frighten you?

That child named Fang Xiao Xiao wailed while holding my severed leg. I remember he studies meteorology. I once gave guidance on his thesis.

I must say, that really was a terrible thesis. Many directions in the diagrams did not even have units, and the citation format was full of errors. I truly do not know how this child passed his graduate exams and made it to Antarctica. Not that I am implying his supervisor is a fraud.

This time, they drove a snowmobile, tied a rope around my neck, and dragged me across the snow. It was merely another punishment for my attempt to steal the boxes—or rather, a routine test of my body’s endurance. After all, I am currently the most successful modified product, as well as a criminal. There is no experimental subject more exciting to these people than me. This is our country’s tradition.

Although in the end, my limbs rolled off my body like rusted pen holders, it did not hurt, because they were already frozen stiff. Tell that child not to cry for me.

The way he howled and chased after my scattered limbs truly made me sad. He called me teacher. God, I swear that was the happiest sentence I have heard this month. Even though he was crying, I could not help smiling behind the snowmobile.

After I was labeled a criminal, it had been a very long time since anyone called me teacher.

Do not worry about me. I will find a way regarding the boxes. Contacting you by fax is still relatively hidden. Paper materials make those fools think I do not have that much courage. If there is any progress, I will let you know.

December 17th:

They seem to have discovered that I have been secretly faxing you, so I had to stop for two months.

Well, perhaps I was too arrogant and underestimated these people’s intelligence. Faxes are indeed unsafe.

This may be the last time I send you a fax while still maintaining my human will. My friends, please allow this old man to ramble on about his life. I hope you will not find me annoying. After all, I truly cannot find anyone else to talk to.

I came to Antarctica thirty-three years ago. At that time, this observation station was not called Edmund Observation Station. I have forgotten what it was called. In any case, it was not as famous or as easy to remember as “Edmund.”

The person who saw me off onto the North Star icebreaker was a veteran who had participated in the Peninsula War. Although he was not considered old then, he looked truly ancient at the time. I always teased him like that.

He was one of my few friends.

After all, a bookworm like me, in that gold-digging era filled with adventurous spirit, truly could not find a second person willing to talk to me.

Fifteen years after I arrived in Antarctica, he left me forever because of disabilities from the war and the hardships of life. Before he died, he returned every cent of the living expenses I had sent him every year—which he insisted were loans—without touching a single penny.

The doctor told me that he had actively given up treatment because after the war, he was constantly tormented by pain, and his dreams were filled with that blood-red color. This is a very normal phenomenon among many soldiers.

But I know it was not that simple. My friend died because of another war.

His only reason for participating in war was to end war.

He was taught, deceived, and used by public opinion and politics. He brought his justice and kindness onto the battlefield, believing that every stab he made and every shot he fired was meant to save more ordinary people trapped and harmed by war.

But he understood very deeply that the people he killed were just as innocent as he was. This caused him unbearable pain. The only thing that could convince him to continue was the slogan of that time—let this be the last war we experience, let us end this chaotic and unfair world.

He thought that was the end. But wars were launched endlessly. The world he hoped to see never seemed to arrive.

Until the war fifteen years ago. That cruel war of aggression, actively initiated by the country he trusted, completely destroyed him. He knew that what he had been doing all along was not an act of justice.

It was disgusting, filthy, and the ugliest thing, no different from all the monsters he hated.

He was merely an executioner polished by politicians. He could not allow himself to continue living like that, so he told me he could no longer hold on.

I did not know how to reply to him. I have always only known how to read books. The only brave thing I ever did in my life was to escape everything and come to Antarctica.

Many people in Antarctica stood up in the severe cold and protested the launch of that war. Note 3. I stood in the crowd, my hands shaking as I held a “NO WAR” sign. I looked up at the approaching polar night, and the cold snow almost buried me.

It seemed that all we could do was protest. Of course, it did not have much effect in the end.

When I was going through his suicide note, I saw what he had written to me:

[Antarctica must be nice. Although it is freezing, cold, and the sun never shines, there must be no war there. It is a pure land. I hope you will not bring your mourning for me—your mourning for an ugly war criminal—to that pure land and pollute it.]

But actually, it is not like that. Antarctica is as cold as he imagined, but it is not as pure as he imagined.

Everyone who comes to this pure land carries a grand ideal of saving humanity and alleviating the global crisis.

We carefully record data and place markers on the skin of whales and the leg bands of penguins. Year after year, we confirm that the numbers of these creatures have fallen to less than fifty percent of what they once were. We have anxiously witnessed more than a thousand feet of glacier vanish into the sea within an hour. Like a timed alarm clock, we shout at those high-and-mighty politicians at every meeting—climate deterioration, global warming, human crisis.

And they are always indifferent and drowsy, listening perfunctorily. Then, in the next television frame, they righteously use these things as a banner, while at the same time ambitiously plotting wars that can cause large-scale pollution.

Regardless of internal or external factors, regardless of right or wrong, all they care about is their term of office and their personal interests.

I would bet that not a single one of those fellows can state how much the global average temperature rose last year.

My friend, perhaps you are tired of reading this and think I truly am a rambling old man, but please allow me to continue rambling in my weary exhaustion.

I was born in a country famous for individual freedom and democracy, where it seems every person’s freedom of action is respected.

Sacrificing for the group is something individual heroes do. Most people only need to pursue their own interests and achievements throughout their lives. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

But friend, both you and I know perfectly well that humans persist as a species, as a group. No species can pursue freedom in isolation. When the group no longer exists, freedom becomes meaningless.

Having only us “heroes” is not enough.

The collective values we pursue receive no recognition from society. It is like a lone whale that has strayed from its pod and sees an impending volcanic eruption or tsunami, yet can only use a strange frequency to warn other whales of the approaching disaster. They do not understand, nor do they deign to listen to the warnings of us strange whales.

They are going to chase after a single fish or a swarm of krill right in front of them. Volcanoes and tsunamis are not important to them. Those are matters for heroes.

I feel as if I am living in Sato. Note 4. An absurd, entertainment-unto-death, narrow-minded, disintegrating country.

The observation station’s funding faced the possibility of another budget cut last year, simply because the leaders of this term do not believe in global warming or the greenhouse effect.

Many times, I feel that what I am doing is not some great work of saving humanity, but merely another product of political manipulation—just like my friend.

I envy you, my friends. You are not fighting alone. Your group knows the responsibilities you bear and has not shrunk from sharing those responsibilities with you.

You are not [Heroes], but the [Vanguard].

Every young person from Taishan Station who asks me for guidance has a bright and radiant country in their eyes. How beautiful. Even the snow in Antarctica is not that pure. It reminds me of my friend after watching Titanic, when he saw me off to the ship. He smiled and waved, shouting, “Don’t hit an iceberg, and see if there’s a Rose on the ship!” His eyes were that bright too.

Species are destined to go extinct, and humans are the same. My friend, I believe both you and I are absolutely certain of this. This is the destined fate of all living things, just as humans are destined to die.

But when, where, and how we perish are things we can decide.

I hope to see us die in the ice and snow of the future, huddled together because of the cold. I do not wish to see the last two humans standing on the scarred ruins of the Earth and plunging spears into each other’s hearts over a piece of prey.

Please forgive me, my friend. In my despair, I chose you. I did to you what an arrogant God did to humanity.

The corpse fragments contain a power capable of overturning the world. It is as if they were born for my desires and wishes. Once fragmented into particles, they can produce unprecedented meteorological and biological influence. Rather than allow them to fall into the hands of others, I will write the ending myself.

This is the first time I have used my knowledge so maliciously—to make the globe turn cold, and to make humanity perish.

I may truly have gone mad.

But I still left a sliver of leeway for my madness. I researched organisms that could adapt to this situation, and then I chose you. I added your genes into their suspension, letting them test you to see whether you can become the group that continues the spark.

My friends, please hate me to your hearts’ content. I am like someone drunkenly picking up a rifle instead of vodka, driving the people in this room—who had been lulled by my two months of obedience—out into the freezing snow and ordering them not to take any clothes or food.

Funny to say, although I suffered all kinds of inhuman torture at their hands, my freedom to possess a gun for self-defense was still respected up until this moment. In the eyes of these people guarding me, wanting a gun was not a big deal. After all, they did not think a weak scientist like me would have the courage to resist, so they granted me the freedom of self-defense.

Perhaps this is the only benefit freedom has brought me, though this freedom has destroyed the rules of Antarctica.

I am holding the gun now, and the organisms I taught are crouching in the snow beside me, waiting quietly with me for these humans to huddle together for warmth in the snow and freeze to death, exactly as I imagined.

And now I have returned to the room to write this fax to you, placing the final period on this terrifying plot I have been planning since August 10th.

Soon, those organisms will reach your territory...

P.S. I tried to make sauerkraut according to your method, but I failed. God, your cooking is truly more difficult than a biochemical experiment. I originally planned to make it as a winter strategic reserve for you, but for safety’s sake, I do not recommend consuming those two jars of sauerkraut.

Your friend,

Edmund.

—

Author’s Note:

Note 1: Quoted from the great teacher, Mr. Marx.

Note 2: Quoted from Roosevelt.

Note 3: Reference: the anti-war protest held at an Antarctic research station in 2003. According to reports from China News Network, a total of ten million people worldwide participated in this activity.

Note 4: Sato, from the underground city in “The Mound” of the Cthulhu Mythos. It is inhabited by an immortal race with extreme material wealth, who use various cruel methods to amuse themselves and treat other intelligent species as slave livestock.

Additionally, this segment is only a fictional image of a possible Antarctic scientist that I constructed by combining various research materials. It exists for the sake of the story and does not express any personal inclinations. I hope everyone will strictly avoid escalating this to real-life issues. Thank you, thank you.