Chapter 99: Old Humans

Li Cheng retracted the bone corridor and took a step toward the back door; all still-active mechanical arms immediately reacted, transforming into various weapons, eager to strike.

"Be careful," Little Red Riding Hood warned nervously, her hands gripping the dinner knife, slick with sweat.

Jin Huiying's face was equally tense; she desperately wanted to stop Li Cheng from moving. At the start of the reality show, the broadcast had mentioned it aimed to establish normal romantic role models for the post-apocalyptic youth.

The role model here probably meant a heterosexual couple—one man and one woman. After all, in the wasteland, everything was in ruins; there were likely no sperm banks or IVF clinics. To ensure population survival, heterosexuality had to be promoted.

Now, only one male and two females remained on stage—if Master Pi Fu died, could the show continue?

Buzzzz—

The mechanical arm turned into a circular saw, its metal chain spinning rapidly with a threatening roar. Another arm transformed into a demolition hammer for breaking rock and earth, aiming under the aid of a fire-control system.

"During the show, I've had a question."

Li Cheng traced his handsome cheek with his finger, suddenly jutting his chin forward, lifting his eyes, a sickly twisted grin spreading across his face, his hands held before him in a grasping pose.

Not just the open ground, but the spherical studio walls and ceiling enclosing the villa were also coated with this paint and lined with sound-absorbing foam.

The broadcast system, which had remained silent and unresponsive to players, finally spoke: "What evidence do you have?"

Thick fog immediately spread outward from Li Cheng, like gauze or cloth, enveloping the open ground outside the villa.

Don't think I don't see you cosplaying that "city interior" facial acting—this isn't "charismatic and sinister," it's more like a serial killer who just escaped from a mental hospital, and people would believe it!

Jin Huiying wanted to shout out her criticism, but held it back. She couldn't help glancing at Little Red Riding Hood beside her, her eyes clearly asking: "You know him—what does he do in real life?"

"I see."

He walked across the uneven ground and saw human remains pulverized by a thermobaric bomb.

This raised a new question: New and old humans didn't just differ significantly in surface features—their internal anatomical structures must also be vastly different.

"With my handsome face and sinister grin, I still never pay for meals wherever I go. Hmph hahaha."

(Maybe Leonardo, maybe Will—since the flesh was charred black, it was impossible to tell if it was Black or White; either way, they were all familiar.)

Like the sludge food sold on Indian street stalls (vendors barefoot, no handwashing, flies swarming), or Southeast Asian novelty dishes (caterpillars, snail eggs fried with eggs, dried toads pan-fried).

Watching such content satisfies morbid curiosity while generating a subtle sense of superiority—just like some bizarre prank reality shows.

"Appearance? No—the narrator mentioned previous shows like 'That Corpse Made Me Fall in Love' and 'Which of the Two-Headed Mutant Sisters Should I Choose?' and the live comments genuinely believed all contestants were handsome and beautiful. That means even in the wasteland outside, human aesthetics haven't shifted drastically; they've merely become more diverse."

"I don't know. Maybe… probably… likely… he's a great detective."

Li Cheng held his cleaver horizontally, placing the empty bottle beneath its blade's shadow; the bottle's inner walls immediately glowed red. "Strontium compounds have excellent fluorescent properties, typically emitting red light, but under specific conditions, they can also emit orange, yellow, green, and other colors. They're used to make phosphors, fluorescent lamps, fluorescent screens, and fluorescent dyes."

New humans might commonly have three eyes—or four arms, a second head, octopus tentacles, and so on.

Real-world video platforms like YouTube, Bilibili, TikTok, Douyin, and Kuaishou also feature plenty of content that seems bizarre to ordinary people.

A cold wind suddenly blew from above; the mechanical arm transformed into a conical demolition hammer floated over Li Cheng's head and plunged straight down.

From within the thick fog came Li Cheng's calm voice as he stepped, kicking the ground: "The surface of the open ground outside the villa is coated with a special black paint—possibly some kind of water-based acrylic? It strongly absorbs all visible light. That's why it's so hard to see outside from inside the villa."

One mechanical arm instantly transformed into an infrared night-vision device, scanning the fog—but the Mist Concealment technique suppressed the user's voice, heat signature, and presence. The night-vision device couldn't detect his form at all.

【Damaged Chain of Betrayal and Revenge】

After the owner's death, equipment items revert to an ownerless state; their descriptions clearly float into view.

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a polar aprotic solvent, hailed as a universal solvent. It's not only used in chemical industries but can also, through its solubility and permeability, help drugs penetrate the skin into the human body—without oral ingestion or injection.

Clang!

Li Cheng spun around sharply; his door-thick blade ground violently against the saw chain, erupting in brilliant sparks.

Of course, "harmful" applies only to old humans. For new humans targeted by Nuclear Cola, DMSO enables strontium isotopes to integrate into cell membranes, causing the user's entire body to glow fluorescently—perfectly matching the so-called Nuclear Cola quantum flavor."

Li Cheng snapped his fingers and pulled out the empty Nuclear Cola bottle he'd found earlier in the villa's refrigerator; its ingredient list differed markedly from real-world cola.

Li Cheng, carrying his rusted cleaver, continued walking toward the back door. "The live comments mentioned the term 'old humans,' specifically referring to all contestants in this reality show. In contrast, there are 'new humans.' The question is: what distinguishes old from new humans?"

"This."

"Probably not," Little Red Riding Hood shook her head. Though she didn't know what had happened in the wasteland outside, her instinct told her the show's intent wasn't merely to mock ugliness.

Why did the production team specifically gather eight old humans to perform for an audience of new humans?

In response to the provocation, the villa's mechanical arms no longer limited themselves to close-combat cold-weapon forms. They reassembled and fused into a massive, demolition-style flail, swinging heavily toward the fog.

"." The broadcast device did not answer this question.

Jin Huiying hesitated and said: "For… entertainment?"

Among the fragments, she picked up a small piece of broken metal chain.

Death Curse Torrent!

The white bone bracer on Li Cheng's left hand sprayed a high-pressure water jet, its recoil thrusting him backward just in time to avoid the demolition hammer. He activated Mist Concealment technique again.

Li Cheng strode out the back door; the mechanical arms inside the villa immediately swept and swung, the electric saw roaring toward his waist.

Such as whether or not there are surface mutations.

"Heh, you didn't transform into a rotary machine gun or a tank cannon—more efficient thermal weapons—but assembled into a flail. This reaction further confirms my hypothesis."

Leaving aside the silent exchange between the two, Li Cheng continued analyzing: "All eight contestants show no obvious mutations. The live comments asked, 'Are these the old humans?' That means viewers can distinguish old from new humans solely by certain visible traits."

"Water, white sugar, high-fructose corn syrup—all fine. The problem lies in strontium isotopes and dimethyl sulfoxide."

Li Cheng set the cola aside casually: "For new humans, Nuclear Cola is a drink. For old humans, it's poison. That's why all the cola bottles in the fridge are empty—to prevent contestants from being stupid enough to drink them."

They didn't want to damage the studio. They didn't want contestants to see the truth outside."

From within the fog came Li Cheng's calm voice: "Not unable—unwilling."

Its effect is so potent that extreme caution is required during use, lest DMSO carry substances entirely non-absorbable by biological organisms into cell membranes, causing harm.

"The chain's effect is to automatically seek and attack the nearest hostile target after its host—Will—dies. Its immediate strike at Leonardo proves there are no mutated beasts outside the villa. The terrifying screams contestants heard earlier inside were faked—to keep us confined."

Dropping the broken chain, Li Cheng clapped his hands, brushing off the dust, "Come over here."

(End of Chapter)