421: Chapter 418 Residents of the New World

Ye Ouyang and Zhou Zihui walked over to the Researcher.

"What should we do?" Ye Ouyang asked.

The Researcher was standing by the edge of the grass, gazing in the direction where the flock of birds had disappeared, a complex expression on his face. He let out a sigh.

"The birds were driven away; I don't know if they'll come back." He shook his head. "Let's put some food here first and see if they fly back."

He turned around and looked at Ye Ouyang.

"This is a new species, after all. I still want to study them."

Ye Ouyang blinked and pressed further, "You won't hurt them, right?"

The Researcher paused for a moment, then laughed.

"How could I?" He waved his hand. "I just want to understand their habits, nesting methods, migration patterns, and so on. I hadn't even started investigating before they were driven away."

The smile vanished from his face, replaced by an expression of gritted teeth.

"Those people are so annoying. My thesis—if I had studied them well, I might have even published a great paper. So annoying."

He paused, his tone becoming serious.

"Furthermore, as a nascent group, they haven't shown any threat to the ecology yet. They would definitely be protected as rare animals. Especially with such small numbers, they're one hundred percent a protected species. How could I possibly hurt them?"

After listening, Ye Ouyang nodded.

"I see."

Zhou Zihui stood nearby, looking left and right. Several people from the extremist animal protection organization were being loaded into vehicles, and police cars were driving out. He withdrew his gaze and looked back toward where the birds had vanished.

"Those birds were quite beautiful," he said softly.

The Researcher sighed again.

Zhou Zihui turned his head to look at him.

"It's fine, I'll go with you," he said. "Let's look for them together."

The Researcher was taken aback, looking at him and then at Ye Ouyang.

"Thank you both," he said, then paused. "But for this kind of thing, it's better to leave it to the professionals."

Zhou Zihui tilted his head slightly.

"You don't trust us?"

"No, no," the Researcher quickly waved his hands. "I trust you, but it's not like that. It's just..."

He thought for a moment and finally gave a helpless smile.

"Forget it. If we're going to look, let's move together."

Zhou Zihui nodded. Ye Ouyang also nodded beside him.

The three of them turned and walked in the direction where the flock of birds had disappeared.

The group of people was escorted into police cars and taken all the way to the city's detention center.

The iron gate slammed shut behind them with a clang. Several people were assigned to the same cell; the space wasn't large, with several hard-board beds lined against the wall. An overhead fluorescent light bathed the entire room in a deathly pale glow. There was a squat toilet in the corner covered with a plastic board, and the air wafted with a strange smell—a mix of disinfectant and mildew.

Several people fell silent after entering. They sat on the bed boards, heads bowed, staring at the floor, lost in thought. Perhaps they were regretting their actions, or perhaps they were just tired.

But a few others wouldn't stay quiet.

One of them rushed to the iron bars, gripping them with both hands and shouting into the hallway outside:

"I have done nothing wrong! My methods are correct! Humans living in harmony with nature is what matters most!"

His voice echoed in the empty corridor, drawing a young police officer over. The officer, in his twenties, walked over holding a thermos and stood outside the bars looking at him.

"This isn't 'living in harmony' anymore," the young officer said, his tone carrying a bit of an argumentative edge. "You're trying to be a slave to nature. You have to coexist as equals, okay?"

The man inside was stunned for a moment, then became even more agitated.

"What are you talking about?! This is equality! What's wrong with me speaking up for animals?!"

The young officer wanted to say more, but an older officer walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

"That's enough, let's go," the old officer said. His voice wasn't loud, but it had a steady quality that commanded silence. "You can never reason with a madman."

"Who are you calling a madman?!" the man inside yelled, shaking the bars violently with a series of clangs.

The old officer ignored him, pulling the young officer by the arm toward the end of the corridor.

"Hey you—who are you calling a madman—! Come back here—!"

The voice chased after them, but the two officers didn't look back.

"Hey, you."

A voice suddenly came from the side.

The man who had been gripping the bars and shouting "I have done nothing wrong"—a man in his thirties with a buzz cut, the one just called a "madman" by the police—snapped his head around.

Without him noticing, someone was now standing beside him.

The person was wearing a police uniform, but their face was covered by a white Smiley-face Mask. The smile on the mask was drawn with great exaggeration, its curved corners almost reaching the ears, but the eye positions were just two black holes where nothing could be seen.

The Crew Cut was stunned.

"You... who are you?"

The person tilted their head slightly, their voice behind the mask tinged with amusement.

"One of your own," he said. "One of your own."

The Crew Cut stared at the mask, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"You... who exactly are you?"

The Smiley-face Man leaned forward a step and lowered his voice.

"I've seen your file," he said. "You are a very suitable candidate."

He pulled something from his chest—a slender glass tube containing a dark green liquid that shimmered with an eerie light under the fluorescent lamp.

The Crew Cut's eyes were fixed on the tube.

"This is..."

The Smiley-face Man didn't answer directly. He looked up, glanced through the bars toward the end of the corridor, then returned his gaze to the Crew Cut's face.

"Everything you just said, I heard it. I saw it all."

He paused and then spoke the words.

"New Federation."

The Crew Cut's eyes widened suddenly.

"New Federation..." he murmured, repeating the name. Then the expression on his face shifted—from confusion to excitement, and from excitement to fanaticism.

"I see! You really are one of us!"

He reached out to grab the tube, but the Smiley-face Man pulled back slightly.

"Don't be in such a hurry," he said, that same hint of laughter in his voice. "Everything you just said, I heard it. I saw it all."

He held the tube forward slightly.

"The New Federation invites you to become a resident of the new era—completely. This drug is the key to helping you become a resident of the new era. Inject it, and you will gain unparalleled power."

The Crew Cut stared at the dark green liquid, his eyes shining.

The others in the cell also saw it. One person stepped forward, reaching out to try and grab it—

"This is my chance!" The Crew Cut grabbed the tube and pulled it to his chest, shielding it. "This is my chance! Mine!"

He twisted the cap off, aimed it at his neck, and stabbed it in ruthlessly.

The dark green liquid was slowly pushed into his vein.

The Smiley-face Man stepped back a few paces into the corner of the cell, crossing his arms as he watched. No expression could be seen behind the mask, but his posture was like someone enjoying a good show.

The Crew Cut's body began to tremble.

At first, it was just a slight tremor, then the amplitude of the shaking grew larger and larger. He arched his back, propping himself up with his hands on the floor, and a non-human sound came from his throat—a gurgling noise, as if something were trying to crawl out from inside him.

"Wha... what's happening to him?" The cellmates shrank into the corner, watching the scene in terror.

The Crew Cut's back suddenly exploded.

It wasn't a metaphor; it literally burst open. A mist of blood erupted from his spine, splashing the people nearby. They screamed and tried to dodge, but the cell was so small there was nowhere to hide.

The Crew Cut lay prone on the ground, his body still twitching. Beneath the skin, muscles were visibly writhing and reorganizing. His shoulder bones pushed outward, his spine lengthened, and his limbs twisted and deformed.

The Smiley-face Man pulled another item from his chest—this time a pale green agent. Seizing the moment while the man was undergoing a violent mutation, he threw the agent forcefully at him.

The agent smashed against the Crew Cut, exploding into a cloud of green mist. As soon as the mist touched the churning flesh, it made a sizzling sound, and white smoke rose, accompanied by a pungent, burnt stench.

The Crew Cut let out a shrill, agonizing scream.

The scream didn't sound human; it was more like a wounded beast.

The flesh continued to deform, but the speed was even faster now, and... more bizarre. The churning flesh seemed to be forcibly stitched and molded by something, growing in a fixed direction—

A few minutes later, everything went still.

Something was standing in the cell.

The thing that had once been human was now completely transformed. Its body had stretched to over two meters, covered in dark green scales. Along its back, from the neck to the tailbone, a row of sharp bone spikes protruded. Its head had become like that of a lizard, with a protruding snout filled with rows of sharp teeth.

A Dinosaur Person.

It looked down at its hands—they were no longer hands, but three thick toes tipped with sharp claws.

It raised its head and let out an earth-shattering roar.

Boom—!

The cell wall was smashed by a single swipe of its claws, sending broken bricks and dust flying everywhere. It squeezed through the hole and stood in the corridor.

Several police officers, hearing the commotion, ran in just in time to come face-to-face with this two-meter-tall monster.

The lead officer didn't even have time to react before he was swatted away by a claw, slamming into the wall and sliding down limply, his fate unknown.

"Fire! Fire!" the officers behind him shouted.

Gunshots rang out. Bullets hit the Dinosaur Person, opening several bloody holes. It shivered in pain, glanced down at the wounds, then suddenly turned and slapped the officer who had fired. The man was sent flying into the concrete wall, leaving a large indentation.

The Dinosaur Person opened its mouth, revealing a maw of sharp teeth, and pounced toward the unconscious officer on the ground—

It bit down.

Half a body was held in its mouth, blood dripping down its chin.

In the distance, the person wearing the Smiley-face Mask stood at the edge of the ruins, watching it all.

The Dinosaur Person turned its head and stared at him.

"Calm down," the Smiley-face Man said, his voice still holding that hint of laughter. "Humans are currently searching for those birds. Aren't you going to save them?"

The Dinosaur Person's vertical pupils flickered.

It dropped the half-corpse from its mouth, turned abruptly, and charged outside. It crashed through the wall, creating an even larger hole that revealed the night sky.

Its figure disappeared into the darkness of the night.