078 Are You Qualified?

Karl was forced by Robert to stay in bed the entire day.

“Have you noticed anything unusual?” Robert asked, standing next to Karl with a notebook in hand.

Karl rolled his eyes. “How many times have you already asked me that? I even took a nap—what could possibly be unusual?”

Robert silently put a checkmark in his notebook.

“Tarek!” Karl called out to Li Danew when Robert ignored him. “Can you get me some more food?”

“You just ate half an hour ago. And in the past twenty-four hours, you’ve eaten enough rations for five people for a whole day,” Li Danew replied, glancing at Robert. “Isn’t his appetite itself abnormal?”

Robert shook his head. “Having a strong appetite is perfectly normal. The virus enhances the human body, but it doesn’t conjure energy out of thin air—it needs fuel. That’s why most Night Demons are emaciated; all their body fat has been consumed to strengthen their bodies.”

“Alright, I’ll get the food,” Li Danew nodded, then added, “But don’t you think, if this enhancement serum needs so much nutrition, our food reserves aren’t nearly enough for fifteen hundred normal humans to evolve?”

“We’re not going to give all fifteen hundred people in the base the serum at once,” Karl replied. “If it works as Robert claims, and gives normal humans the abilities of a Night Demon, maybe even more, then the candidates must be strictly selected.”

“Well said,” Robert agreed wholeheartedly. He continued, “Not only do we need strict selection, ordinary people must make significant contributions before earning the right to use the serum. This isn’t like a vaccine, which benefits all of humanity. Uncontrolled distribution of this enhancer would doom what’s left of the world, destroyed by human hands.”

Li Danew agreed. If this were a normal world, with working institutions, even someone with triple the strength of a normal man wouldn’t cause much trouble. But in this collapsed world, individual power matters greatly. Once some people gain such strength, it would inevitably lead to the strong preying on the weak, and with military and police forces in ruins, there would be no way to stop them.

Injustice exists in every era, but some injustices are simply unbearable. In this post-apocalyptic world, with morality crumbling, who could expect everyone to act with decorum? Most, once empowered, would only plunder, enslave, and do as they pleased.

“Fine, you two can make those decisions.” Li Danew remembered he’d soon leave this world and there was no need to worry, as long as Robert—the only one he truly saw as a friend—got the serum and wasn’t left at a disadvantage.

“Are you worried you’ll lose your title as the strongest man in the base?” Karl laughed. “Once I’m enhanced, I’ll definitely beat you.”

“Should I get in a few more hits before you’re done with your enhancement?” Over the past two months, in his quest to scavenge Vermont’s wealth, Li Danew had often ventured out alone, bringing back more supplies than a twenty-man team.

There were even a few times when Li Danew had spent the night outside the base. When Robert learned of this, he’d sent Karl, Lewis, and Abel to stop him, but Li Danew had single-handedly taken them all down and vaulted over the wall.

The next day, he returned with a truckload of goods. Since then, the title of the base’s strongest man was his.

After some banter, Li Danew left the infirmary and headed to the warehouse to fetch food for Karl, when a commotion sounded in the distance.

What’s going on?

It seemed to come from the main gate. Li Danew glanced at the sky; the sun was high, so it couldn’t be a Night Demon attack. Figuring Karl wouldn’t starve in the meantime, Li Danew turned and hurried toward the gate.

“Abel, you’re one of us, a New Human—are you really going to side with these mere mortals?”

Li Danew had barely turned the last corner when he heard what sounded like a villain’s line from a play, and couldn’t help feeling excited—was it his time to perform?

“Leviere, don’t forget it was these so-called mortals who turned you back from a Night Demon into a human,” Abel shouted, agitated.

“I haven’t forgotten,” Leviere replied coolly. “That’s why I’ve turned in everything I’ve collected over the past month. I believe I’ve repaid my debt. Now, I no longer wish to eat or live alongside those who only know how to cower inside the base.”

Rounding the corner, Li Danew saw two groups facing off just inside the gate. One side was led by Abel and Lewis, the other by Leviere. Li Danew knew Leviere—a former Night Demon who, like Abel, had developed emotions and could command over a hundred Night Demons. It had taken quite some effort to capture him.

After returning to humanity, both Abel and Leviere had physical abilities far beyond the average ex-Night Demon. In the base, setting aside Li Danew, Abel and Leviere stood at the very apex of individual power.

Leviere had been a boxer before his transformation, well-versed in combat, and now, after regaining his mind, possessed two or three times his former strength. Compared to Abel, who had only police training, Leviere was far more formidable.

Lewis replied coldly to Leviere’s words, “So, what do you propose?”

Leviere glanced at Lewis with disdain; he could handle ten men like him at once. The only reason he’d handed in his loot over the past month was because he hadn’t fully mastered his new body.

“What do I propose? Simple—whoever finds something owns it.”

Lewis remained icy. “No problem. You can leave the base right now.”

“Leave?” Leviere laughed. “Why should I leave? This military base is property of all American citizens. I paid plenty of taxes in my day. Besides, have you asked my brothers if they agree to me leaving?”

As soon as Leviere finished, the dozens who had also reverted from Night Demons behind him shouted, “We don’t agree!”

Lewis didn’t reply; instead, he raised his right hand. The soldiers behind him immediately spread out, raising their weapons at Leviere’s group. Snipers on the guard towers around the perimeter all aimed at them as well.

Since Li Danew had voiced his concerns, Karl had insisted that all gate and tower guards be trustworthy, normal humans. So when Lewis gave the signal, the response was immediate.

Seeing Lewis’ side arrayed for battle, Leviere’s followers grew nervous. They had weapons, but with their backs to the gate and no cover nearby, even their superior physiques couldn’t withstand a hail of bullets.

“Are you trying to start a war?” Leviere narrowed his eyes, ignoring the guns pointed at him. He was sure Lewis wouldn’t open fire, because within the base, there were already two thousand New Humans, and dissatisfaction with the rule of turning in loot was widespread—not just among the dozens behind him.

Lewis was in a bind; if he didn’t resolve this quickly, once a crowd gathered, a large-scale conflict was likely.

“War? Do any of you even know what war is?”

“Calm down, Lewis,” Abel urged. He disagreed with Leviere, but he didn’t want the base, which had just found hope, to be destroyed.

“Leviere, you need to calm down too. We can sit and talk this through.”

“Talk?” Leviere looked at Abel. “Fine—we can talk. But I want Karl or Robert to talk with me.”

Lewis knew what Karl and Robert were currently busy with, so Leviere’s condition was impossible.

As the standoff dragged on and the crowd grew, Li Danew stepped forward.

“Are you qualified?”