Global Evolution

“We’ll see.” Chang nodded. “We survived through the deadly evolution period. Can this be any worse than that?”

“Of course it’s not as bad as that.” Dr. Huang smiled slightly. She was reminded of her parents when Chang mentioned the Deadly Evolution, and Chang recalled his own, too.

“Well then, let’s complete the registration so we can stay here long term.”

“Sure.” Dr. Huang handed him a pen and the registration binder.

After they did it, Dr. Huang introduced them to the staff members as well as helped Chang collect his armband from the security office.

“Welcome to the security team! From now on, you are a security guard in our community. We usually patrol the grounds by ourselves and only gather when a problem too large for a single guard to solve arises.” The person who introduced Chang to the security team was the guard he met in the abandoned apartment. “I saw your name on the list already, you are Chang Liu, aren’t you? We have the same last name. I am Rui Liu, nice to meet you.”

“Mr. Liu, nice to meet you, too.” Chang bowed to Rui.

“I am only a few years older than you, just call me Rui, please.” The man seemed to have an even-tempered personality.

“Rui.”

“Today is your first day at work, so I should show you around the community before you begin patrolling on your own. I think some people are out food searching at this time, and some are busy with their own business. It’s rather peaceful at this moment, so I’ll guide you and your sister to the landscapes,” Rui said, waving to Dr. Huang as he left the office with Qing Shui and Jing. “See you later.”

The three roamed around the streets and chatted casually to get to know each other.

“Chang, what are you carrying on your back?” Rui asked, starting the conversation by mentioning the object that he was curious about. “I wanted to ask about it when first I saw you. It doesn’t look like a gun since the size is quite big. What is it exactly? Your secret weapon or something?”

“It’s a handgun,” Chang answered with a smile.

“No way is it a handgun! I’ve never seen anything like this before. It has the shape of a gun but the length made me suspect that it might be an assault rifle. Is it like a model gun or something?” Rui patted the holster curiously. “Oh... It’s made out of metal, is it heavy?”

“Not too weighty, at least it’s not bothering my movement.”

“Well, if it’s as solid as it looks like, it can be used as a baton as well,” Rui joked.

Chang caught his drift. “Of course, the impact received after swinging it is no laughing matter.”

“Chang, I heard that you are planning to live with us for long term, is it true?”

“It is, at least for a few weeks.”

“I see. In this case, I think it’s necessary to tell you more about the circumstances around here.”

“Thank you, Rui,” Chang said, eager to hear more about his place.

“No worries. After all, we now have to look after each other. I’ll show you our fields for growing the Crystal Pea.” While speaking, Rui led Chang to the center of the residential area. It was supposed to be a nice central garden encircled by apartment buildings, but the residents cultivated the meadow into farmland. As expected, the only relief grain they were growing was the Crystal Pea, whose seeds were distributed by the military.

“These are the fields where we always have guards watch for thieves.” Rui squatted, rubbing a leaf. “The pea matures in seven days, and generally, it rots slower than other plants and meat. But even though its resistance to bacteria growth is slightly better, it still cannot be stored overnight.” Rui had mixed feelings when gazing at the thriving plant. “However, you cannot replant the pea that you harvested. Its seed is only available from the official distribution. Otherwise we would no longer need to worry about food.”

“That’s interesting... An irreproducible crop.” Chang stripped a pod, revealing the transparent pea.

“We tried, but they didn’t germinate at all. The explanation they gave us was that this transgenic crop has irreparable DNA breakage and that’s the cost of making it... I really don’t understand what this means, besides that we have to line up for the daily seed distribution”

“I see... So our living still relies on the authorities,” Chang muttered to himself.

“We’re also terrorized by gangs, unfortunately.”

“Gangs?” Chang burst into laughter. “What gangs?”

“You don’t know they exist, do you?”

“I don’t know about them at all. I’ve only seen them on TV, but not in real life,” Chang explained with honesty.

“This is unbelievable! I’ve no idea what kind of life you were living before... It’s as if you were sheltered from the outside world! These kind of gangs are all over the place. There is around one in every block, and they heavily rely on us for a living.” Rui was startled by Chang’s response, but he kept on explaining patiently, “I don’t know if you’ve heard about the Hong Kong Triad Society back in the 90s, but these gangs are mimicking the infamous gang. They pressured us into paying a part of our harvest for protection. The way it works is this - the gang collects the seeds, and so do we. But they don’t do the farming, instead forcing us to do all the manual labor. Then we have to return their harvest, as well as occasionally providing something else, such as extra peas or... girls. Of course, by doing so, we’re almost free from the scuffles and robbery of other gangs. And this is how they survive in this area.”

“I don’t understand. We have our own security team, why do we listen to them obediently?” Chang asked, puzzled.

“Look at us, our community is made up of people in their 30s, and most of us have kids. We are impotent against these young people. As much as I saw, the majority of the young adults choose to form or join a gang. They’re impulsive and aggressive. Some even have firearms. My point is, if they weren’t backed by their youth and weapons, who would listen to them?” Rui laughed reluctantly. “At the end of the day, the cost of provoking them isn’t affordable to us.”

“Makes sense.” Chang nodded.

“If you’re still in doubt, just come with me at dusk. They’re collecting the harvest every day around that time,” Rui added.

“Sure, I’m curious to be honest.”

Chang and Jing bowed to Rui to show their appreciation, and then went their own way. During the day, Chang didn’t encounter anything unusual except for having to rescue a girl from a homeless man who was attempting to rape her. He broke the man’s leg before leaving the scene.

The time slipped by quickly, and the dusk arrived.

The farmers harvested the matured Crystal Pea and sowed the new seeds in their place. They removed the pods and filled containers of different shapes and sizes with this transparent pea.

As if it was a ritual, the inhabitants who searched for food in the city returned to their nest at dusk. The gang also appeared on time, coming from the other side of the street. Its people were yelling, howling with laughter and swinging their weapons about.