Chapter 4

"Hey..."

Yang Yi's face turned pale as he saw the other party's murderous intent. Drawing on his combat experience from nightmares, he rolled to the side and dodged.

Standing up, just as he was about to stop the other, he saw his usually good-natured desk mate, as if possessed, suddenly stand up and charge headfirst into the wall behind him.

Thud!

Blood flowed, staining the ground a deep red.

Yang Yi was stunned.

Everyone was stunned.

Who could tell him what had happened...

Wasn't he trying to kill someone?

What was this about suicide?

"Call an ambulance quickly!"

"Ah..."

A moment later, the girls' screams and the teacher's shouts mixed together.

Taking two steps forward, Yang Yi checked.

Fortunately... just unconscious, not fatally injured.

"Quickly get the first aid kit from the classroom..."

The priority was to stop the bleeding to prevent shock from excessive blood loss.

After helping to handle the situation and seeing that his desk mate would be fine for the time being, Yang Yi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The classroom, though no longer filled with screams, had all the students with extremely pale faces. Many of the girls, with tear-streaked eyes, huddled together, trembling.

For them, their psychological defenses had been shattered.

"What happened?" Teacher Li came over.

"I don't know..." Yang Yi recounted the events in detail.

Of course, he couldn't mention the figure he saw in the mirror, or he might be taken away for research as a lab rat.

Teacher Li's brows furrowed.

He had seen everything clearly from the podium, but he didn't understand.

Zhang Zhen and Yang Yi were close friends, and the former was very well-behaved and a good student. Why would he suddenly act so crazily?

It didn't make sense!

With this incident, everyone was extremely tense, fearing that other classmates might suddenly go crazy. The classroom was so quiet that a pin could be heard dropping.

Woo! Woo!

The siren sounded.

Yang Yi looked downstairs and saw an ambulance arrive at the building. Several medical personnel in white rushed over.

They quickly entered the classroom.

Three young men in their twenties, all tall and strong.

"Who called 120?"

"I did!" Teacher Li stepped forward: "One of our students suddenly hit the wall and fell unconscious. We hope he can receive treatment as soon as possible..."

"Okay!"

The young man who looked like a doctor, with a serious expression, signaled to the two behind him, who approached Zhang Zhen from either side. He covered his waist with his right hand, seemingly ready to do something.

The movement was subtle and didn't attract others' attention, but Yang Yi saw it clearly.

Under the white coat was a camouflage uniform!

And the waist, where he was covering, had a gun!

Sweat broke out on his forehead.

Isn't this an ambulance?

Why bring a gun... What's going on?

Though tense inside, he didn't show it on his face. After a moment, he stepped forward: "Let me help..."

As he spoke, he casually brushed the hem of one of the "nurses'" coats.

Sure enough.

It was also a camouflage uniform, with a bulge at the waist, likely hiding something.

"Step back!"

The "doctor" shouted, then realized his tone was off and corrected himself: "The patient shouldn't be moved carelessly. Let us, the professionals, handle it!"

The two "nurses" blocked him, confirmed there was no danger, and then quickly carried Zhang Zhen on a stretcher downstairs.

Returning to his seat, Yang Yi's face remained unchanged, but his heart was in turmoil.

These three were not doctors or nurses, but soldiers!

Judging by their tense demeanor, they were afraid the unconscious "Zhang Xianweng" might suddenly attack!

They were even prepared to shoot him dead!

Just a student.

What were they so worried about?

Could it be... the same outside?

At that moment, another voice rang out: "Quick, check the trending topics!"

Though they couldn't leave, the internet was their connection to the outside world.

Everyone, regardless of whether the teacher was present, took out their hidden phones.

Yang Yi opened a social media app, and a series of trending topics immediately appeared.

#Mirrors Suspended, Discovery of Mutants#

The most popular video showed a teenager with four large hooves growing from his shoulder, like a spider, crawling and running on the wall.

The footage was clear, not like special effects.

Opening the comments, there were all sorts of opinions, with most doubting its authenticity.

The second trending topic: #Lunan's Mutant Youth Can Communicate with Snakes#

Another video showed a young man shouting, and a large group of snakes obeying his commands, forming various shapes and even writing on the ground.

The comments included skepticism, surprise, and ridicule. The top comment was: "The last person to do this was Xu Xian, of course, Xu Xian played with snakes, and this one plays with snakes too."

...

There was also one who was on fire.

Of course, these were all normal, but there were some peculiar ones too.

For example, one person's middle finger could suddenly become very thick and large, making it unexpectedly effective for cursing.

After counting carefully, out of the top twenty trending topics, fifteen were about "mutations."

It seemed to have become the biggest trend, overshadowing the panic caused by the mirrors.

"Mutants must be real!"

After reading through the topics, while others might be half-believing, Yang Yi was convinced.

Not to mention others...

Could his ability to see the mirror image doing different actions from the original also be a form of mutation?

And the soldiers earlier...

Could they have suspected Zhang Zhen had gained mutant powers and were afraid he might hurt others, hence their tension?

If so, everything would make sense.

Only a threat beyond normal humans would mobilize the army and armored vehicles.

However... there were still some things that didn't make sense!

What is mutation?

Why does it happen?

Moreover, the mutants in the videos seemed normal; such a situation shouldn't lead to random destruction and killing.

If so, why the military suppression?

During the third evening self-study session, the streets looked less chaotic, with many burning buildings extinguished.

"Damn!"

Someone shouted again: "Quick, check Yan Jun's Douyin, or it might be taken down soon..."

Yan Jun was the most famous science popularization blogger on Douyin, with over ten million followers.

Everyone hurriedly opened it and found the latest video.

It had been posted for only about three minutes, but already had over a million likes.

Yan Jun, dressed formally, sat in front of the camera, his right index finger habitually raised: "Ladies and gentlemen, I won't beat around the bush. Let's get straight to the point. The conclusion is: as the trending topics show, after the mirrors appeared, mutants indeed appeared worldwide, in large numbers, ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. Some have great strength, easily lifting thousands of pounds; some run very fast, catching up to cars on foot; others can communicate with animals..."

"Many people think mutations are a good thing and should be happy, but I have to tell you... what's coming might be death!"

Everyone was stunned.

Yang Yi also frowned.

What does this have to do with death?

Without being mysterious, Yan Jun continued.

"Based on the information I have, people who mutate suddenly go crazy, performing bizarre actions and speaking incomprehensible words. Some even attack ordinary people. In the capital, a woman suddenly became a mutant and killed her husband who was plowing the field, claiming he had defiled her honor."

"A young man, being scolded by his manager, suddenly burst with powers, burning down the entire building."

"Such incidents are countless."

"As for the cause, there is no consensus yet. Based on speculation, it might be... possession! In other words, these mutants might have been taken over by others, no longer being their former selves."

Everyone was stunned.

Aren't you a science popularizer?

Promoting feudal superstitions like 'possession'? What's going on?

Unlike their expressions, Yang Yi was shaken.

In the nightmare, being killed 1080 times, could that also be a form of possession?

If one failure means real death?

Or... has he already died, and someone else is taking his place? That's why he always forgets his name?

Cold sweat trickled down.

"Of course, this is just my speculation, without scientific basis. Finally, everyone must be cautious. If you notice any relatives or friends speaking incoherently or behaving differently from your memory, call the police immediately..."

The video ended.

"Is the chaos outside due to the military suppressing the mutants?"

It's very likely!

Even if the mutants are powerful, how much strength can they exert right after mutating?

Facing bullets, they would likely be just as vulnerable.

So... even if you mutate, staying low-key is still the best strategy. Otherwise, getting shot dead isn't worth it.

(Thank you, Juelian no Ku, for becoming a Silver Alliance member. Thank you, Huizhong de Zhouzi, Aishenghuo Ailianlian, for becoming the book's alliance leaders. Boss, you're generous! This chapter is the first additional chapter for the Silver Alliance. Huizhong de Zhouzi, Aishenghuo Ailianlian, I'll add them gradually.)

Additionally, to prevent censorship, the official narrative will be kept to a minimum. Rest assured, it won't be blocked again.