Volume One: The Human Purge Plan

Chapter One: Newbie Swine

　　“Mr. Carter, the printing number for your book ‘A New Theory on Human Origins’ didn’t get approved. It was sent back by the Publishing Bureau this morning. See if you can revise it. The first half of the book, whether in terms of examples or logical analysis, is perfect—just like your usual style and high standards. But in the conclusion, Mr. Carter, you came to a viewpoint that’s almost ‘creationism.’ That kind of conclusion—not only can’t the people at the Publishing Bureau accept it, even I can’t accept it. Didn’t Darwin throw creationism into the trash heap hundreds of years ago?

　　Mr. Carter, writing like this risks promoting feudal superstition. And as you know, in recent years, a few cult organizations have been active in the country. If a book with this viewpoint gets published, it could cross some major taboos.”

　　“Manager Foster, do you believe there could be gods in this world?”

　　“Uh… haha, Mr. Carter, you’re joking with me again. You know I don’t believe in ghosts or gods. Anyway, Mr. Carter, I’m being serious here. If you revise the conclusion, with our publisher’s efforts and your huge popularity in the novel world, it’ll definitely be a bestseller.”

　　“No need. Let’s just put this book aside for now. Sorry to have wasted your time.” Ryan Carter didn’t want to say more, sounding a bit disinterested, and put away his phone.

　　“How could there not be gods in this world?”

　　Ryan Carter leaned back against the bus seat, feeling the slight jostling of the bus. He turned his head slightly, looking through the window at the crowds outside. For a moment, he seemed a bit lonely. Compared to his previous bestsellers, this “A New Theory on Human Origins” was the book Ryan Carter most wanted to write. Unfortunately, it would probably be very hard to publish it in mainland China. That was truly a big regret for Ryan Carter.

　　Suddenly, Ryan Carter’s face turned deathly pale, as his heart spasmed violently, causing all his muscles to convulse. Then, his eyes suddenly flickered with a faint, grayish light, even his pupils began to diffuse, turning his entire eyes gray and white—extremely eerie.

　　Ryan Carter lifted his head again, scanning the inside of the bus. There weren’t many people—just seven or eight scattered in the front. But in Ryan Carter’s vision, he saw severed limbs and corpses everywhere, a horrifying scene: twisted bus, twisted seats, broken bodies, blood splattering…

　　“Heh, here it comes again.” Ryan Carter sighed inwardly, feeling only helplessness, not the slightest panic.

　　“Passengers, XX Station has arrived. Please exit from the rear door. Please use the sidewalk after getting off. Thank you for your cooperation.”

　　The announcement sounded in the bus, as if this voice “woke” Ryan Carter up. The gruesome scene before him vanished instantly, replaced by the normal interior of a moving bus. The seven or eight passengers in front were listening to music, reading newspapers, or dozing off—everything as normal as could be.

　　Taking a deep breath, Ryan Carter braced himself on the seat edge and slowly stood up. His clothes were already soaked with cold sweat, his hair damp and sticking to his head, looking quite disheveled. But he still walked steadily, step by step, toward the rear door. The rear door was already open, and because Ryan Carter was moving a bit slowly, the driver up front urged him to hurry up and not dawdle.

　　Once both feet were off the bus, Ryan Carter felt as if the stone pressing on his chest had finally dropped. The feeling on the bus and outside was like hell and earth, just one step apart.

　　Barely two minutes later, a loud crash sounded. The people around Ryan Carter all cried out in shock. Ryan Carter turned his head to look. At the intersection with the traffic lights, a large truck had just slammed at high speed into the side of a bus, flipping it over. The whole bus was twisted like a pretzel—and Ryan Carter had just gotten off that very bus.

　　There was no joy at escaping death, no sense of being lucky to have survived. Ryan Carter simply took a tissue from his pocket, wiped the sweat from his forehead, then tossed the tissue into a nearby trash can. He walked out of the station, heading home.