Chapter 1264: The Terrible Thing Isn't Getting Used to It
"What's wrong with you? The medical robot wants to treat your child, and you won't let it. Do you want to drag your kid to death or what?" A nearby person tried to help grab the child, but the woman, like a cornered rabbit, screamed with red eyes, "No one is allowed to touch my child!"
"Who wants to touch your child? Your kid is that sick. Let the robot check him first so you don't delay the treatment!" The speaker was also a bit angry. "Don't you have persecution paranoia or something!"
But the woman still wouldn't let go. The robot tried several times to approach but couldn't do anything. Then someone in the crowd suddenly exclaimed, "Could he be degenerating!"
The people around were scared back in a large wave.
Words like degeneration, xenomorphization, and post-evolution sequelae all describe situations where someone cannot be cured of poisoning, or their body shows certain animal features, or they lose their mind and attack others indiscriminately. Simply put, the Evolver themselves cannot adapt to evolution and develops extreme symptoms. These symptoms manifest differently in different people. Some become like they are sick or poisoned, with their functions rapidly declining. Others have their body surface or appearance become animal-like, accompanied by strong aggression. The former is not very threatening, but the latter's lethality can be comparable to xenomorphs.
Under normal circumstances, when a normal person shows Evolver traits, the first consideration is whether they have a chance to become a player. But in a relatively mature game district like Zone 001, almost every ordinary resident undergoes genetic screening. Whether they can become a player is determined very early on. When an ordinary person shows this kind of situation, it's usually not a good sign, especially since this is a six or seven-year-old child. There are no children this young becoming players in the game.
So when someone said this might be degeneration, the crowd's first reaction was fear.
"No!" The woman screamed in terror, tightening her arms around the child in her arms and shouting at the people around her, "My child is not degenerating!"
"Whether it's degeneration or not isn't up to you. If he turns into a little monster and hurts someone, who will take responsibility?" The woman who had suggested the child might be degenerating said, "Hand him over to the robot for examination. Then you'll know if he's degenerating!"
Players and ordinary people both have a new name in the game world: Evolved Humans. However, more often than not, Evolved Humans refer to ordinary people who have taken potions. They cannot take special evolution agents like players, but they benefit from other potions, such as enhancing physical fitness, reducing disease, or even improving brainpower. Some people can adapt to this "evolution," but some show symptoms very early and die young, while others don't show symptoms until they are very old—this is similar to players, except that the proportion of ordinary people experiencing post-evolution sequelae is higher than that of players. However, it's also rare for sequelae to appear in childhood.
"Your child is so young. Maybe it's not degeneration," a player nearby said kindly. "Why not let him get treated first? Whether it's degeneration or not, you can't get off the ship anyway."
But the woman was ungrateful, staring at everyone with bloodshot eyes. "I won't trust any of you! You all want to harm my child! Whether he's degenerating or not, the government will take him away! I just want my child to grow up safely. I don't want him to become a player..."
Before she could finish, her limbs went limp and she fell to the ground, even throwing the child out.
The child's face was bright red, his eyes couldn't open, and he called out for his mother unconsciously. The woman was hit by a tranquilizer dart and lay on the ground unable to move, watching helplessly as the robot picked up her child for examination.
"Ah... ah..." The woman let out beast-like roars from her mouth, her hysterical appearance completely unlike a normal person, which made others involuntarily think:
Could she be degenerating too?
Except for the players, everyone else retreated as far as the monitoring instruments allowed.
The woman's eyes were only on her child, but half a minute later, the robot's blood test on the child yielded results:
"One new degenerate detected. Number 0931 will safely transport them to the Degenerate Hospital."
After the announcement, the robot tied up the child, lifted him above its head, and left. Another robot, after examining the woman and finding no issues, accompanied them away.
The effect of the tranquilizer on the woman hadn't worn off yet, but no one was paying attention to her anymore. No one came to explain her child's situation. It was as if it were an unwritten rule: people showing signs of degeneration were naturally taken over by the government, with no explanation needed for their families.
Someone helped the woman to a nearby seat.
"There's nothing to be done about it..." The incident quickly spread to other parts of the airship, and many people said things like, "Who told her child degenerated? If he goes berserk, who knows how many people would die. Everyone just wants to live in peace..."
"...The child is young. She's still young too. She can have another one..."
"How terrifying," a younger female player couldn't help but remark. "It seems like everyone thinks this is normal."
Xu Huo looked at the mother. The terrible thing isn't getting used to it, but that everyone is spontaneously and consciously suppressing their humanity, not even allowing themselves to feel pity.
"It's simple. If someone degenerates, they might hurt others. When things like this happen often, compared to the irrational degenerate who can be killed directly, the surviving family members will bear more anger. They end up becoming the sinners in place of the degenerate." A player with a small mustache nearby said, "Sinners, huh. It's good enough if no one causes them trouble."
"But that child hasn't hurt anyone yet. And it's not certain if he's really degenerating," the young female player said. Players generally harbored suspicion toward the district governments.
The mustached man stood up, tugged at the cloth sticking to his pants, and shook his leg. "You don't understand. Family members of degenerates are now a social class."
"I'll go check it out. Wouldn't want that woman to jump off the ship and kill herself."
The young female player found it strange. "Why are you saving her? If she wants to kill herself, can you follow her forever?"
"Of course not, but I can still save someone right in front of me. It's a shame for someone so young to die." The mustached man walked away with his feet turned outward.
There's no telling what kind of people you'll find among players. The young female player muttered something and let it go.
After regaining her mobility, the woman who had just lost her child's first action was to walk to the observation window. She reached out to open the monitoring device that had come to warn her. Just as she was about to climb up, the mustached man grabbed her with one hand and pulled her back. "Big sister, don't be so pessimistic. What hurdle can't you get over? Your child isn't dead yet. If you jump now, you won't see him anyway. Why not wait until he dies before you jump? When you get underground, it'll be easier for you to find the kid than for him to find you!"
The woman scratched several bloody marks on his face, but the mustached man wasn't angry. He advised, "Actually, have you ever thought about having another child to replace..."
"Slap!" A loud slap ended this inappropriate consolation.