“Why are you all going there?”

“Why didn’t you save a single person?”

“Why did not a single villager escape from the fire? What exactly happened?”

I simply remained silent in the face of the police’s repeated questioning.

Who could possibly believe what I had experienced?

Because all the evidence showed that I had nothing to do with the later fire, and since I said nothing, after two days of relentless interrogation, they finally let me go, albeit reluctantly.

When I walked out of the police station, cars were coming and going outside, but I didn’t feel any sense of happiness at returning to normal society. The sunlight was a bit harsh, and the all-night interrogation had left my eyes aching terribly. I reached into my pocket, only to remember that I had already given my eye drops to that little girl. The hospital wasn’t far from here, so it was on my way, I thought.

The one who received me was still that young doctor. When he saw me come in, he smiled and asked, “What’s wrong, still itchy? Have you been spending too much time in front of the computer again, straining your eyes?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t really used the computer much lately.” I smiled politely. “Could you prescribe me some more eye drops? I’ve tried many brands, but the ones you gave me are still the most comfortable.”

“You don’t need them anymore.” The young doctor suddenly broke into a smile.

I was a bit taken aback, not understanding what he meant, and asked, “But I still feel occasional stinging and soreness.”

doctor shook his head and asked me, “Do you know what the main causes of eye pain are?”

I answered instinctively, “Too much debris in the eyes.” As I said this, I suddenly thought of the strange look on the village chief’s face when he died, and felt a wave of nausea. I asked doctor, “By the way, doctor, I want to ask you something. Is it possible for bugs to get into a person’s eye?”

“Of course.” He sat down, nodding casually as he explained, “Many insect eggs are so small that the human eye can’t see them, and they can enter the body in all sorts of ways.”

“Can they control humans?”

“It’s hard to say,” doctor said. “Maybe when they first enter the body, they’re just mindless parasites, but as time goes on, they can evolve into a new kind of creature with independent thought and personality.”

Maybe he saw how awful I looked, so he shrugged: “It’s just a biological hypothesis. Many science fiction novels have described things like this.”

I continued to ask, “If something like that really happened, would humans gradually be completely taken over and controlled by these bugs?”

doctor was clearly interested in this topic: “That’s not necessarily the case. If they have intelligence, then there could be different choices. Maybe some bugs would feel that parasitizing a single person’s body is very safe, and they might spend their whole lives living in one person’s body.”

My breathing grew a bit rapid. “Some of them?”

doctor smiled. “But maybe there would be other bugs that would keep looking for better hosts.” He said lightly, “Suppose they’re an intelligent species—then, in any species, there are smart pioneers and foolish laggards. The dumb ones will be content with the status quo and wait for extinction, but only the smart ones at the forefront of the times will think about breaking out of their predicament. Don’t you think so?”

I thought of those bugs crawling out of the village chief’s body, and my hair stood on end again. I shook my head and said, “Moving from one person’s body to another? That’s terrifying. That can’t be safe, right? Bugs are always afraid of lots of things, like fire, insecticide, and so on. Sooner or later, smart people would discover them.”

The young doctor laughed heartily. “That’s the dumbest way. They’d definitely learn to use many methods to increase their own kind.”

My heart pounded violently. I stared into his eyes and asked, “For example?”

“For example…” doctor smiled with great delight and took a small bottle out of the drawer.

Chapter 16: Drought Demon (1)

Old Mr. Bolton held the first ladle of water he’d drawn since getting up today, solemnly dividing it into six portions. The sparkling stream of water poured into the cups, making everyone’s throats move. Those pairs of parched lips pressed together, and a group of eyes shone like wolves’ eyes.

But this water wasn’t free—everyone had to contribute a morning pee. Old Mr. Bolton listened outside the outhouse, counting only after he’d heard ten seconds. Every ten seconds counted as half a cup of water, with the remainder considered as appropriate.

Ever since the great drought, first the crops’ water became a problem, then the large livestock’s drinking water, and finally even the small animals and people’s drinking water became an issue. The village’s three wells had been ravaged until only three dry holes remained. The water in the caves, the underground water, even the lime pools at the construction site had all been drained.

Lady Luck had kissed Old Mr. Bolton’s crooked face—his land had sunk in one spot, and water actually seeped out. After taking some, more would slowly seep out again. The poorest man in the village had suddenly become the richest overnight. Water was oil! Water was liquid gold! Water was a diamond with eight hearts and eight arrows! Old Mr. Bolton’s voice grew louder and his back straighter by the day.