The Natives of This World Are Fierce

Norton knew his subordinate wouldn’t joke about something like this. Without hanging up, he sat up straight and opened his email.

The email consisted almost entirely of video files, accompanied by voice-over commentary—or more accurately, audio logs from laboratory and medical personnel.

"The first patient’s time of death was confirmed as approximately 2:00 AM on the third night after admission. With the family’s consent, we proceeded with an autopsy."

The video that followed was a recording of the autopsy.

"My God, his lungs and respiratory tract have all sustained severe burns. A small section of the lungs even shows signs of being scorched. I can’t imagine the kind of pain the patient must have experienced!"

The lungs were removed, and the other organs were examined in turn.

"It was the medical expert, Dr. Avin, who first discovered the unusual nature of this illness. His timely and effective response has allowed the second patient to maintain stable vital signs to this day."

After this brief interjection, the person performing the autopsy had already removed all the thoracic organs surrounding the lungs.

"We found that aside from the severe damage to the lungs, other organs also sustained some injury. However, this was largely categorized as collateral burns to peripheral areas, unlike the lungs, which seemed to be generating heat autonomously."

The autopsy concluded at this point, followed by some pathological research and viral analysis.

"For now, we have basically confirmed that this ’lung fever’ is not contagious. There are no signs of it spreading or metastasizing to other parts of the body, but its origin remains a mystery."

Norton’s brow furrowed as he clicked on the next few videos.

"Today, with the cooperation of the Saint Louis police, the CDC has quarantined the Bevo Community and urged the more than ten thousand residents within it to evacuate."

This was a news report, and the background audio was quite noisy.

However, the video mostly showed police officers, with few people from the CDC. On the community side, there appeared to be many angry residents.

"We’re United States citizens! We have our rights! Why are you making us leave our homes?"

"We refuse to leave!"

"Yeah! We refuse to leave!"

...

Watching this small-scale, defiant protest, Norton couldn’t help but pinch the bridge of his nose, even from the other side of the screen.

’And this is how these people use their democracy...’

It wasn’t that he couldn’t understand the public’s feelings, but he had encountered it so many times that he couldn’t help but feel irritated by behavior that obstructed proper government procedure.

He switched to another video.

This time, it was an environmental survey by a research team, conducted inside a hastily constructed quarantine tent, likely one of the CDC’s structures.

"Is the air quality normal?"

"The air composition is perfectly normal, but the microbial environment seems off. There’s a significant decrease in certain fungi and viruses that thrive in low-temperature, humid conditions."

Norton’s body tensed. He maximized the video to full screen before continuing to watch.

"Could it be an isolated phenomenon? Or maybe seasonal?"

"Unlikely. After the initial discovery, I took samples from twelve different locations in the community, specifically choosing environments where mold would easily grow. The results were drastically different from those in normal environments."

"In fact, the mold in these areas has been almost completely wiped out!"

The voice of one of the researchers in the video turned noticeably grave.

"Is it everywhere? Or just in the locations where patients were found?"

"I can say with certainty—it’s everywhere!"

There was a short pause in the footage. It was unclear if the recording had stopped or something else happened. When it resumed, a time stamp in the corner showed that two hours had passed.

After a flurry of activity that Norton couldn’t make sense of, the same grave voice spoke again.

"Notify the CDC immediately. Recommend—no, *demand*—that all residents of the Bevo District be evacuated!"

The video ended there. Presumably, this was what prompted the evacuation seen in the earlier news report.

Up to this point, the incident could still be classified as an unknown disease; it wasn’t yet strange enough to be officially designated a mutation event.

But premonitions could be such a nuisance sometimes.

That was exactly how Norton felt now. A voice inside him kept repeating, ’This is a mutation, absolutely!’

And this incident was likely to be more troublesome than any before.

Not only was its nature unknown, but its wide scope and high population density made both containment and resolution exceedingly difficult.

The responsibility rested on his shoulders; he couldn’t just play dumb.

Thus, on short notice, the 19th Organization Department mobilized once again. Norton even hesitated whether to recall Eagle, but ultimately restrained himself.

...

Outside the Saint Louis Bevo District, Josephine of the CDC had received a sudden notice the previous night: she was no longer the person in charge of the area.

In the morning, nursing a slight sense of anger, she drove to the site.

’What’s going on? The National Guard?’

The quarantine was much stricter than the day before. The police officers who had been on the front line were now relegated to the perimeter. Inside, there were armed troops—less like the National Guard and more like the United States Army.

Josephine got out of her car and walked toward the new police-tape line, but was stopped by two soldiers holding rifles.

"Hey! I’m Dr. Josephine from the CDC. I need to get in."

After she presented her credentials, one of the soldiers radioed for instructions before leading her inside the cordon.

"Hello, I’m Anthony from the 19th Organization Department. We’re in charge here from now on. The CDC will be coordinating with us."

This was the reply from a rather young man who greeted Josephine.

The 19th Organization Department?

Josephine was, after all, a fairly high-ranking official within the CDC. She had heard of this mysterious department; whenever they got involved, things were never as simple as they appeared on the surface.

She offered no further resistance, showing considerable cooperation. She and her colleagues quickly reported on their work to date.

When Norton arrived, everything seemed to be in perfect order.

’But this isn’t enough!’

The premonition hounded Norton relentlessly.

For three days, the army meticulously searched the entire evacuated community.

No mutated creatures, no special dangers, and no new cases of the illness. Had the Bevo Community become completely safe?

But someone’s premonition of danger was even stronger than Norton’s: Jenny.

Her aunt was a devout churchgoer who had always lived in Saint Louis.

Her aunt had doted on her since she was a child, treating her like her own daughter. Because of this, Jenny visited her in Saint Louis several times a year.

But this time, as she happened to be passing by Bevo, she felt that something was terribly wrong.

Her Mentor’s Magic Power, which was usually dormant within her, suddenly erupted the moment her taxi passed near the Bevo Community. It spread to the surface of her skin, enveloping her completely.

A faint burning sensation pressed in from outside her Magic Power, accompanied by an intense sense of crisis.

Jenny forced herself to remain calm in the taxi, glancing out the window at the distant, but still visible, blockade.

"Sir, what’s happening over there?"

The driver was a middle-aged Black man. He and the other drivers had actually been discussing Jenny’s question for a while now.

"That’s the Bevo District. They say there might be some toxic material hazard that causes a sickness. It’s been quarantined, but from what the CDC said at the press conference, the sickness itself isn’t contagious. It’s probably just a physiological reaction to some unknown toxin."

"But it looks like there are a lot more people over there today. Is that the National Guard they’ve called in?"

The hairs on Jenny’s arms were standing on end. In just a few moments, the sense of crisis her Magic Power was feeding her grew stronger and stronger.

She looked up at the sky above that area, and her pupils contracted.

Something like the shimmering heat haze on a scorching summer day was radiating out in waves, and it seemed to follow some kind of pattern!

She fought the urge to tell the driver to turn around and speed away. She remained in her seat, taking deep breaths and silently reciting the oath of the Silent Knight to bolster her courage.

Her aunt’s house was near the Bevo District. She had to convince her to leave!

PS: Chapter 1/3.

I’d like to apologize here. Because the author dashboard I use doesn’t show stats from all platforms, I didn’t realize I had readers on other sites! Thank you so much to those of you who have been supporting the book, even if I didn’t see you before!