The Galaxy Endures

Chapter 45

Zhou Xiangzhe had known something was wrong with him for a long time.

The Anti-Contamination Center had run surveys on every Aberrant who showed signs of mental instability. Nearly all of them noticed the problem — but almost without exception, they chose to hide it. Not because they wanted to. Because the illness made them.

Only a handful could catch themselves slipping and actively course-correct. Most just let the extreme impulses run.

Zhou Xiangzhe was one of the ones who noticed and said nothing — quietly tucking it away — but he'd never hurt anyone. If anything, it had only burnished his reputation.

Which was, honestly, a deeply strange contradiction for him to sit with.

He had this pull toward self-sacrifice — an instinct that would fire before he'd even made a conscious choice — but deep down, it was possible that wasn't who he actually was at all.

In Sector S, treatment for mental instability mostly centered on controlling Contamination Level — because the two were directly linked. Only a small number of people advocated working alongside Aberrants and bringing in a psychiatric specialist like The Doctor, but the approach had always been too slow to show real results.

Before The Deer God Incident, Zhou Xiangzhe had still managed to keep himself in check, because he knew Xiao Shiwu hated this kind of behavior. When they were kids, Xiao Shiwu used to lecture him constantly about his 'generosity.' Not wanting Xiao Shiwu to resent him, he'd think it through carefully before every mission — so carefully that even Ming Guang had never picked up on anything being wrong.

Then came the news that Shen Wang had vanished somewhere in a hospital. And everything Zhou Xiangzhe had been so carefully holding together fell apart all at once.

Without the fear of Xiao Shiwu's disapproval holding him in place, he couldn't find a single reason to restrain himself anymore.

So he used his ability without hesitation and swallowed the Deer God whole — pulled off something that should've been impossible — and paid an enormous price for it. And Ming Guang finally realized something was off.

But Ming Guang never connected it to mental instability. He just figured that was Zhou Xiangzhe's nature.

After all, how could 'selfless heroism' — the kind everyone praised and celebrated — possibly be a symptom of something wrong?

Only after Shen Wang came back did Zhou Xiangzhe finally learn restraint again. He remembered that his Xiao Shiwu hated this. That Xiao Shiwu would yell at him, worry about him — maybe even come to resent him for it.

'You know what I hate most about Xiao Qi's selflessness?' Shen Wang asked him.

Zhou Xiangzhe nodded. 'I know.'

'You know I hate being inconvenienced — that every single time I went to bat for Xiao Qi, I'd think: why can't he learn to take care of himself?'

'I know.'

'You know I don't want to watch you get hurt?'

'I know.'

Zhou Xiangzhe closed his eyes, Shen Wang's hand still wrapped in his. 'I've always known.'

They hadn't known each other long — just a handful of years together, really — but they'd long since made a habit of protecting each other. What they'd shared when they were young had become something neither of them could put down for the rest of their lives. It was what had made them permanent.

Shen Wang couldn't let go of Zhou Xiangzhe. And Zhou Xiangzhe couldn't stop caring what Shen Wang wanted.

Zhou Xiangzhe thought: Xiao Shiwu — I'd die for you. And I'd live for you too.

Shen Wang reached out and gently caught a strand of his long hair, not pulling — just winding it slowly around his fingers, the gesture sitting somewhere between tender and something else entirely.

But those peach-blossom eyes held no warmth. What was in them was cold, flat threat — undisguised, and oddly unnerving — like a shrewd merchant sizing up something he held in his hands, or a displeased cat methodically destroying its owner's most prized possession.

'Don't ever let me see that happen again,' he said.

'If it does — I won't ask for an explanation. I'll just disappear. I'm not staying with someone who doesn't love himself.'

What an adorable threat.

But then, how does anyone let their beloved cat walk out the door?

Zhou Xiangzhe pulled him into a hug. In that embrace, they reached an understanding.

Only after they let go did Zhou Xiangzhe finally get to the practical matter at hand.

'The Deer God's Contamination is a mess — it's been spreading through the painting. But we're still inside the painting, so at least it hasn't gotten out completely.'

Shen Wang exhaled. 'So what's the plan? Swallow it again?'

Zhou Xiangzhe thought for a moment. 'This is where I first absorbed the Deer God, which means it's also the focal point of the painting. It has to be somewhere nearby.'

Shen Wang looked around. In the span of just ten or fifteen minutes, the white mist had thickened again — everywhere he looked, nothing but white.

'How do we find it?'

'We don't need to.' Zhou Xiangzhe's voice was calm. 'It's a trace amount of Contamination — not enough that we have to pinpoint it exactly. A rough direction is fine.'

'But to make sure you don't get lost again, you're going to hold on to my jacket.'

Zhou Xiangzhe placed Shen Wang's hand at the hem of his coat.

Shen Wang clicked his tongue, then closed his grip around the hem of Zhou Xiangzhe's combat jacket. 'Fine. Got it.'

Zhou Xiangzhe felt the faint pull at his hem. He let out a slow breath. The black orb bounced up from the ground, swelling rapidly in front of them — within seconds it had puffed up to three stories tall, a genuine, round, fat enormous black sphere.

The Black Fur Ball opened its mouth. Sharp teeth caught the light. It drew in a deep breath — and in an instant, all the white mist came rushing in.

It devoured every last wisp, along with all the hazy human shapes drifting inside. The buildings around them began to lose their color, the way the hospital had faded after Zhou Xiangzhe had used his ability back then — because this was, at its core, a painting, and when the image was erased, all that was left was blank paper.

The faded buildings disappeared before their eyes. The Black Fur Ball let out a satisfied belch and shrank back down, landing as a small black ball at Zhou Xiangzhe's feet.

Then, in an instant, gold threads shot out from inside the black ball in every direction, bristling through it until it looked like a black hedgehog covered in golden spines. The sight hit Shen Wang immediately — he flashed back to the black-haired Zhou Xiangzhe being run through in front of him — and before he'd even thought about it, his hand had already let go and was reaching toward the ball, but Zhou Xiangzhe caught his hand and held on tight.

'It's fine.' Zhou Xiangzhe pulled him back. 'It's just the physical form of an ability that absorbs Contaminants — it's not alive. It doesn't feel pain. It can't be hurt.'

Sure enough, the little black ball gave itself a shake. The gold threads fell loose, and it gnawed through them without a care, chomping them down one by one until every last strand was gone.

When it was done, the little black ball wagged something like a tail in front of Zhou Xiangzhe — a last goodbye.

Then it sank back into the ground and didn't come back.

With the Deer God's escaped Contamination recaptured, the balance reasserted itself. The blockage on the ability restored. Zhou Xiangzhe couldn't use it anymore.

'The painting's probably about to collapse,' Zhou Xiangzhe said finally. 'We need to get out.'

Shen Wang watched him. Everything around them was crumbling — not quickly, more like paper catching fire, the flames slowly consuming the edges, unhurried.

Before the painting fell apart completely, he spoke. 'I'll keep an eye on you. Always.'

'You said before that you'd never be separated from me again. If I'm reading that right — you're saying you want to take things further?'

Zhou Xiangzhe blinked. He felt like he'd almost tripped over his own feet.

He hadn't expected Shen Wang to bring up a topic they'd set aside — now of all times.

'If we can't be separated anyway, it only makes sense that I keep an eye on you.'

'It's just an illness. I'm sick too. We can keep treating it together.'

Shen Wang smiled. 'Right? Fellow patient?'

Zhou Xiangzhe had once thought that was it for him — the hidden condition exposed, the instability discovered beneath the surface, and Shen Wang would write him off entirely.

But Shen Wang didn't mind. Just as Zhou Xiangzhe had never minded Shen Wang's illness — never cared that during a bad episode he could lash out and bite.

Care goes both ways. So does love.

Shen Wang thought: they already had each other's love. So what reason was there, really, to be apart?

It had already come to this — neither of them could do without the other.

……

At the outskirts of an unnoticed Contamination Source, a man strolled in at his own unhurried pace.

He wore something that looked like a burlap sack, a black hood pulled low over the top half of his face. The bleak energy coming off him was a solid match for the Contamination Source around him.

It was Lan — the one who had set out earlier to gather information.

Lan walked and read at the same time, flipping through his book as he went. In the dark, the pages were solid black — any normal person here wouldn't even be able to tell they were holding a book — but he read with complete absorption, nodding to himself every so often.

'Outside the Six Great Contamination Sites, the most notorious Grade-S Contamination Source — and it's spawned a new Grade-S Contaminant.'

'Hm. This one's smarter than the Deer God Zhou Xiangzhe killed. That thing practically ran toward its own death.'

'And Zhou Xiangzhe's here too, of course. Makes sense — he's Central City's Grade S. Site goes critical, he's the one they send.'

He kept murmuring to himself as he walked.

'Grade-S Contaminant — Drifting Fish. So where is he right now?'

'Hm? Why do you keep making me turn the page?'

Lan flipped to the indicated page with a puzzled look. He read. A few seconds passed.

'What? What?!'

His voice shot up. The low, gloomy tone he usually carried was being rapidly overtaken by fury.

'I'm gone for a few days and that bastard dares to drag my little brother into somewhere this dangerous?! And that's not even enough — he actually has the nerve to put his hands all over him while they're alone together?!'

'Zhou Xiangzhe, I have to hand it to you!'

Lan felt like his ability shouldn't be Precognition at all — it should be Explosive Rage. He wanted to cut Zhou Xiangzhe down right where he stood.

Damn the Science Academy! If he'd still been around back then, there's no way he'd have let Zhou Xiangzhe con his adorable little brother away!

He cursed under his breath, snapped the book shut with a sharp crack, and flipped back his hood. His silver-violet eyes were ice cold.

The look of a man about to go rescue his little brother and beat the scoundrel senseless.

But before he could take a single step, the book flipped open on its own in his hand — trembling like it was trying to talk him out of it.

'What — my little brother gets stolen away and you're stopping me?'

'They're inside a painting, so what?! I'm not leaving them alone in there together!'

'I can't get in because of the Deer God? Damn it — Zhou Xiangzhe planned this, didn't he! He was blocking me the whole time!'

'Fine. I'll find Drifting Fish first. When they come out of the painting, I'll deal with him then.'

He let out a grunt and turned, walking toward the Lighthouse.

The Lighthouse kept sending its light out steadily into the dark. The clock read seven in the morning — in spring, the sun would've been up long since, but inside the Contamination Source it was still pitch black, couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

Lan didn't need directions. He didn't even need to look down — just climbed step by step, the only sound in the whole space the echo of his own footsteps.

He walked all the way to the top and glanced at the butterflies on the Lighthouse's Outer Wall.

'Clever. Willing to give up the Outer Wall to that butterfly just to keep itself hidden. The butterfly probably thinks Drifting Fish is Grade A, just like it.'

Lan stood there and looked toward the window beside him. 'Isn't that right — Drifting Fish?'

The sound of water moving rose up. Water patterns began to surface on the Lighthouse window glass, rippling up slowly — if Shen Wang had been there, he'd have recognized it immediately: through that window, you could see a river winding away into the distance, the same river that had appeared out of nowhere in Zone 3 and cut straight through the Contamination Source.

Mottled ripples rose and fell across the glass as though water had already crept past the sill, carrying the faint smell of fish. But Lan's eyes held not a trace of fear — just a cold, fixed stare at the glass.

'Still not coming out?'

The sound of something falling into water. Lan turned toward the stairwell it came from, and when he looked back, a man was already standing at the window.

The man looked remarkably ordinary — white shirt, black trousers, a tie, black hair, dark eyes, black-framed glasses on the bridge of his nose. Nobody walking in here would ever think he was a Contaminant.

'How did you know I was here?' the man asked Lan.

'Because I'm an Aberrant with a Precognition ability. There's quite a lot I know.' Lan held up the book in his hand, expression flat.

The man glanced at the book, looking more or less indifferent. 'What do you want? I'm in a hurry.'

'In a hurry?' Lan opened the book. 'Let me see what you're in such a hurry to do.'

'Ah — so you were a corporate drone when you were alive. Got into an accident on a work trip, and then your company not only refused to cover your medical bills but fired you. You were so furious you checked yourself into a hospice and told the Anti-Contamination Center that if you didn't get your compensation, you'd turn into a Contaminant and take everyone in the building down with you.'

'Right, and eventually you made good on that. The entire Anti-Contamination Center got swallowed by a Grade-S Contamination Source, and you became a Contaminant.'

'You're in a hurry because you've suddenly decided things aren't going well for you and you want to leave this Contamination Source the Anti-Contamination Center has been keeping you locked in — go find your old boss and put a wrench through his skull.'

The man: ……

He couldn't help but take this Aberrant claiming to have Precognition seriously.

'What exactly do you want?' the man asked again, this time without the impatience.

'Your ability is interesting — you can get into any sealed-off location. Best option there is in the counter-spatial category.' Lan said: 'There's somewhere I need you to open up for me. I have to get inside and find someone.'

Drifting Fish studied him with a strange look. After a moment: 'Where?'

'Chenmo West City. You've been locked in here for over a decade — do you even know where Chenmo West City is?'

'Are you serious? I've been stuck in here for over a decade, sure, but I was a Central City resident when I was alive. How would I not know where Chenmo West City is.'

Lan gave a satisfied nod. 'Good. Then that's the location — Chenmo West City, half a month from now. I'm giving you plenty of time to deal with your boss first.'

'I refuse.' Drifting Fish turned him down flat.

'Chenmo West City barely gets a drop of rain, and the apocalypse made the droughts worse. I'm a fish. You're telling a fish to go into the desert — which one of us has lost their mind here.'

Lan tilted his head. 'You sure?'

Drifting Fish stared at him. 'What if I am?'

'Nothing much.' Lan opened his book. 'Just checking whether I can still take down another Grade S. It's not like Grade S is that exclusive, is it.'

'I'm in a hurry too, and I have no interest in playing word games with you. Since you've picked the hard way, I happen to have a fish-gutting knife in my hand right now. Want to find out what it feels like?'

Drifting Fish: ……?

Lan dropped the fish-gutting knife onto the ground. His voice was flat and dark. 'So — are you going to make a trip to Chenmo West City, or shall I use this knife to turn you into sashimi?'

'My ability is Precognition. Wherever you run, I'll find you.'

'Think carefully.'

Drifting Fish went quiet. As a newly ascended Grade-S Contaminant, he had never imagined the day would come when he got threatened by an Aberrant.

What was the point of evolving all the way to Grade S if it still wasn't enough to be safe?!

/

On the other side, Zhou Xiangzhe finally opened his eyes.

He felt like he was waking from a vast, long dream — and that wasn't far from the truth, except that somewhere in the middle of it, Shen Wang had pulled him down into the painting, so the whole thing left him a little dazed.

Until someone called his name.

'Zhou Xiangzhe.'

Zhou Xiangzhe looked up. He was sitting against the wall, and spread across the floor in front of him were butterfly wings — every color imaginable, catching the light like spilled silk — but none of it compared to the person standing there.

The young man had beautiful eyes. Those peach-blossom eyes seemed to hold a thousand unspoken things, and sunlight was filtering in through the window, making them look almost translucent.

In that moment, nothing else came close.

Zhou Xiangzhe quietly looked away, hiding the longing in his own eyes. He answered Shen Wang and pushed himself up off the floor.

'How are you feeling?' Shen Wang asked.

'I'm good.' The warmth was audible beneath Zhou Xiangzhe's usually cool tone. 'Let's go.'

Zhou Xiangzhe was genuinely happy — in fact, this might have been the best day of his life since the day he received that umbrella.

Today, he'd gotten his Xiao Shiwu back. And on top of that, the future he had with the person he loved had cracked open into something more. It was the kind of thing worth putting in a personal bio, in bold and caps: TODAY ZHOU XIANGZHE GOT TOGETHER WITH THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE.

But while Zhou Xiangzhe was still trying to sort through the tangled rush of everything he was feeling — bang. The sudden crack of something heavy hitting the ground.

The warmth in Zhou Xiangzhe's eyes vanished instantly. His golden gaze went cold as he turned toward the stairs below.

'Third floor or second?' Zhou Xiangzhe asked.

Shen Wang was already looking in the same direction. 'Doesn't sound like the third. Further down — maybe the second. Could even be the first.'

They looked at each other. Feelings on hold. They moved fast, heading down toward the sound.

The lush canopy that had filled the third floor was gone. A huge gap yawned open in the middle, dead yellow leaves scattered across the floor. Zhou Xiangzhe picked his way over carefully and looked down into the hole.

'Stay back.' Zhou Xiangzhe crouched down. 'The tree fell and cracked the floor when it came down. Don't know if it's going to give way.'

Through the massive gap where the canopy had been, Zhou Xiangzhe could see straight to the bottom — not the second floor but the first. Down there lay the fallen trunk, withered and rotten, snapped clean in half, dead yellow leaves and lifeless butterflies blanketing the ground.

Zhou Xiangzhe's brow creased slightly. Something in the tangle of branches and leaves below had caught his eye.

He straightened up from the edge and headed back to the stairwell. 'Come on. First floor.'

When they got there, they found the entire first floor choked with rotting trunks and branches — packed in dense, and so brittle now that a single snap sent them crumbling to dust.

Zhou Xiangzhe cleared a path, pulling Shen Wang through to the center.

Pushing aside the tangle of debris, they found a single hospital bed. Lying on it was a person — pale-blue patient's gown, skin stretched over bone like a dried husk, almost skeletal. Tree roots had driven themselves into his chest, and the roots were just as brittle — a touch and they crumbled — so green blood was seeping from the wounds.

'Phantom Butterfly's true form,' Zhou Xiangzhe said. 'I didn't expect it to be right here. That tree rooted itself into his heart.'

Shen Wang stood beside him, hand on his chin. 'Dead just like that. What a waste.'

Better if he'd been the one to eat it — would've extended the time before his next episode, and boosted his ability on top of that.

Zhou Xiangzhe looked over at him, gold eyes full of confusion. 'A waste?'

Shen Wang: …… He'd gotten too comfortable with Zhou Xiangzhe and let that slip.

'What I mean is — this type of Contaminant is one we've never encountered before. If we could've kept a breath of life in it, maybe the Science Academy could've studied it and developed some kind of device based on it.'

'I'd sooner count on an Aberrant of this type showing up than count on the Science Academy.' Zhou Xiangzhe said: 'It's not exactly a secret that the Science Academy doesn't do right by people.'

Fortunately, Zhou Xiangzhe trusted him too much. Give him any reason, and he'd believe it.

Zhou Xiangzhe took a photo of the dead Phantom Butterfly's true form, uploaded it per protocol, then filed the report.

'This is Zhou Xiangzhe. Grade-A Contaminant Phantom Butterfly has been eliminated. Please confirm as soon as possible whether the Contamination has stopped spreading.'

He was about to cut the line — he'd lost contact with Team Two Headquarters shortly after entering the Contamination Source, so by the time he'd run into Shen Wang, he hadn't even been able to confirm anything.

But just then, his earpiece crackled — the faintest thread of a signal.

'…… squad …… handled …… please …… return.'

'Something coming through?' Shen Wang asked.

'Yeah, a little. Still broken up. Let's head out and try from there.'

Zhou Xiangzhe took Shen Wang's hand and they walked out. The moment they stepped out of the building, the voice in his earpiece snapped into clarity.

'Team Two received, reporting latest update!'

'Grade-B Contaminant [Dancing Doll] and Grade-A Contaminant Phantom Butterfly — both cleared. Contamination in Zone 2 and Zone 3 has disappeared — but Zone 3 has a major situation developing!'

'Following emergency investigation, we have confirmed that the Contamination Source's expansion has also ceased. The perimeter has contracted back to the original zone!'

'Requesting Captain Zhou and Agent Shen return immediately. There has been a major development in Contamination Zone 3 that requires handling. Please return as soon as possible!'

The last word was barely out before Zhou Xiangzhe's head snapped up. He shielded Shen Wang with his body in an instant, pulling him close and twisting aside — a razor-sharp object grazed past Zhou Xiangzhe's hair and hit the ground with a heavy crack.

A massive, razor-edged fish-gutting knife.

Lan stood there staring at the two of them wrapped up together and looked about ready to combust.

'Let go of him right now!' Lan raised his book in one hand and pointed at Zhou Xiangzhe with the other. 'You scum-trafficking lowlife!'

Zhou Xiangzhe: ?

Shen Wang, currently shielded in Zhou Xiangzhe's arms: ……

Ha. His short, eventful life — and somehow, in the span of just a few days, he'd been 'kidnapped' twice.