Wanderer of the Zerg

Chapter 32: Late Night

As evening fell, the solitary moon quietly rose to the center of the sky, casting a bright, clear light.

It was rare for Xi Tian to still be awake. Draped in his clothes and leaning against the bed pillow, he repeatedly reflected on the events of the past few days.

From being escorted from the registration office to the police station, the four police officers were polite throughout the journey. The police station was upstream from the registration office and wasn’t far.

The officers were relaxed in their demeanor, and Xi Tian overheard their conversation along the way.

“Why is the alarm button at the registration office connected to our police station? Every time it goes off, we have to make a trip,” complained a short officer, whose uniform hung loosely on his young frame.

“What did you think? Our chief made a promise to the minister, saying, ‘Leave it to me,'” replied the tall officer.

“That was just drunk talk. How could anyone take it seriously?” the short officer questioned.

“Are you stupid? The minister mentioned budget constraints, and our chief eagerly volunteered to help. Can’t you see? Besides, we’re so close; it doesn’t make sense for them to hire security to send people over every time. Completing documentation and identity verification is our job. What’s a few more trips? And haven’t you noticed how young the males at the registration office look?”

“Brother, are you interested in someone there?” the short officer teased.

“Shut up!” The tall officer’s face turned red as he scolded.

The short officer immediately wilted like a flower under frost, mumbling, “Why can you say it and not me?”

“Ha!” Xi Tian stifled a laugh, which made Ellis, who had been anxiously watching the officers, quickly look back at Xi Tian to gauge his reaction.

Upon arriving at the police station, two of the officers went to rest, while the tall officer instructed the short one to fetch coffee, handing a cup each to Xi Tian and Ellis. He then explained the alarm incident, noting that sometimes unexpected disruptions could disconnect people from the mainframe network, leaving gaps in their records, which would trigger the alarm. Coming to the police station was for either updating records or verifying identity.

“Sorry for the inconvenience; the machine is impersonal like that,” the tall officer said as he operated the light screen, suddenly exclaiming, “Mr. Xi, why does the gene test indicate you’re not from Zerg Star? Your previous records seemed complete.

“Let me see, your pre-marital test’s fifth category values aren’t within the Zerg Star standard range. Did you switch bodies?” the tall officer asked suspiciously.

Xi Tian remained calm and didn’t move. Ellis spoke first, “It’s impossible. My lord has never left Zerg Star. Even over these years, not even Siming has gone out.”

“That’s strange indeed. Gene testing shouldn’t produce errors,” the tall officer rubbed his chin. “How about this? You both go back according to the usual procedure. Get your community to issue a certificate with ten signatures to prove that Mr. Xi has never changed. It would be best to go to the hospital for another physical examination and ask the doctor what’s going on. I’ll consult with higher-ups about this.”

“Isn’t this just proving ‘I am who I am’?” Ellis exclaimed.

“No choice, we have to follow the rules,” shrugged the tall officer, taking a sip of his coffee.

As Xi Tian stepped outside, the wind started blowing, making him shiver involuntarily.

Ellis continued to question the tall officer about something, quickly catching up from behind and slipping his hand into Xi Tian’s pocket.

Xi Tian wasn’t concerned about his identity issue; he knew it was impossible for him not to be from Zerg Star, so he didn’t pay much attention to it.

Ellis, on the other hand, was very concerned, especially since not being able to marry was causing him more anxiety.

After many twists and turns, they finally obtained a certificate with ten signatures from the community, thanks to Xi Tian’s habit of morning runs, his acquaintance with older members from early morning exercises, as well as delivery and courier personnel.

During the hospital examination, they saw the specialist they had met last time.

“I’d like you to take a look at the test results. There was an error in the gene test during the pre-marital check,” Ellis said.

Xi Tian began to feel completely unable to concentrate. Because of his sensitive body, he received a lot of external information, which could provoke associations with books he had read before. Sometimes he couldn’t even distinguish between reality and fantasy, experiencing strong emotional ups and downs while maintaining a calm exterior.

To avoid mistakes, he left everything to Ellis.

“An error? How is that possible?” The specialist put on his glasses and looked at the report. The first four major checks were normal, but the data for the fifth item varied, conveniently avoiding the standard range for ordinary Zerg Star individuals. “Strange. Your physical health is good, and high growth hormone levels are understandable, but low cortisol… Has something happened recently?”

Xi Tian, silent for a moment, spoke up, “Everything’s normal, just occasional ringing in the ears, difficulty concentrating, easily fatigued.”

“It couldn’t be due to excessive indulgence?” the specialist doctor wondered, finding his own suggestion bizarre and paused. “You should go for a detailed examination.”

Beside him, Ellis frowned upon hearing this, mentioning the issue of late growth and asking, “Doctor, could late growth periods lead to genetic changes?”

“Genes? Genes are always changing,” the doctor said. “If it’s not from Zerg Star, then the DNA sequence should be different from theirs. Over two hundred years ago, during that biochemical crisis, the surviving humans’ DNA sequences differed slightly from those of Tartar, but unfortunately, a lot of valuable research data was lost during the paper-based prosperity era.” The doctor lamented.

“Every year, there are a few late-stage growth males who come in for re-examination, and none of them have shown changes in DNA.

“Maybe you should go check again. It would be good to compare it with the previous test results.”

The results were not satisfactory. This time, the test results showed a DNA sequence highly similar to Tartar, not Zerg Star, completely different from the previous records.

As Ellis frowned in distress, it happened to be noon, and Xi Tian’s headache and tinnitus arrived at the same time, and then he received a subpoena from the court.

Xi Tian couldn’t describe how he felt those days, it was just a blur. When he came to his senses, everything was already over.

He still vividly remembered the conversation with the opposing lawyer, who cited evidence after evidence to prove that the current Xi Tian was a “refugee.”

Among the onlookers, the male who had collided with him last time still looked arrogantly over, his eyes gleaming with sharpness.

The court allowed the hiring of a lawyer, and even those who couldn’t afford one could apply for a free defense attorney. When Ellis asked Xi Tian if he wanted a lawyer, Xi Tian refused. At the time, his thought was: I am from Zerg Star, I know I haven’t changed, that should be enough, why do I need an outsider to prove I am who I am.

However, the opposing evidence was presented one by one:

“Even with a certificate of guarantee, people’s memories are not accurate, and at least there is no scientific genetic testing to confirm it accurately.”

“Late-stage growth does not lead to changes in DNA sequences.”

“We learned that a month ago, the defendant used fingerprint verification for home payments and unlocking, but within this month, it suddenly changed to password entry. What could be the reason for this?”

“Therefore, it is believed that the current Xi Tian’s identity is that of a refugee.”

Xi Tian said:

“If I am not the original Xi Tian, then where is the original Xi Tian?”

“My handwriting hasn’t changed, there’s a test report on this.”

“Physical changes are not within my conscious control…”

But a single handwriting analysis can only serve as a reference, with fingerprint analysis being more convincing, while the opposing side always held onto the genetic testing aspect.

Genetic testing is the most cutting-edge and convincing technology today.

Finally, after deliberation by the jury, with a 7:5 vote, the judge ruled in favor of the plaintiff, and the defendant was ordered to be deported within the stipulated time.

Even now, it all feels like a big dream, and he still doesn’t understand why he inexplicably ceased to be from Zerg Star.

He spread out his hands, palms cold, constantly sweating cold sweat, which blurred the original lines of his fingerprints, forcing him to switch to password input.

During the day, he would involuntarily sink into an emotionally turbulent world of consciousness, looking at the world as if through a filter. However, at night, his reason gradually woke up, linking everything related to the day.

In the faint light, he could see clearly that the superficial patterns on his fingertips were no longer the same as the familiar ones he had seen for twenty years.

I possess all the memories of the past, I inhabit this body, yet why is it that I am no longer myself?

Everything that has happened is absurd and ridiculous.

Who exactly is the male who collided with him, and what unsettling news does Ellis have?

He closed his eyes, and in his mind flashed scenes of the past rapidly. Every snippet related to that male surfaced before him.

No, this isn’t right. We must have crossed paths before; he knew my name.

Finally, in memories long buried, he recalled the first debate of his freshman year, forgotten long ago.

The opponent’s fourth speaker, Wen Yu.

With fiery eyes, Wen Yu stared harshly at him and said, “Xi Tian, you just wait. I will never let you off.”

That was the last thing Wen Yu said to him.

Many other fragmented memories also resurfaced.

Liang An said, “If you had come back earlier, you would have seen a fool shouting your name downstairs, yelling that he wanted to challenge you.”

The mentor said, “Have you offended someone? There were posts defaming you on the school forum. Luckily, I managed to get the administrators to delete them in time.”

A fellow alumnus said, “You’re not as bad as others say, Xi Tian. You’re actually a pretty nice person.”

Sharp pain surged again, and Xi Tian touched his forehead, only then realizing it was covered in sweat.

He had wondered before, why in high school, where he had good popularity, he had so few social interactions in university. The hesitant looks and whispers when classmates passed by him. Life was full of ups and downs, but he had always managed to come through unscathed. He had never thought so much about it, nor believed that someone could harbor such unwavering hatred.

Why did this happen?

Why would someone hate him so much?

What’s the problem? Why couldn’t they sit down and talk it out instead of scheming behind his back?

On the other side, Ellis tossed and turned, making indistinct sounds, his brow furrowed, lips tightly pressed, body curled up like a baby.

This slight noise instantly freed Xi Tian from his entangled emotions and brought him back to reality.

Just looking at Ellis softened his heart.

To him, marriage was nothing more than a union of interests formed by each person seeking their own benefits.

Love was a chemical reaction of dopamine naturally secreted by the body, lasting about six months.

Marriage was more solid than love.

During this time, this person had been working hard for their alliance.

Knowing something and seeing it were two different things; saying it didn’t touch him was false.

Long ago, he had warned himself that if the other party didn’t make an effort, then he too had to guard his empathy.

He carefully controlled the flow of emotions, not letting them become too fierce or disappear too quickly.

A wave of tiredness swept over him, and Xi Tian returned to bed, gently pulling Ellis close.

He never doubted any sincerity because sincerity was always fleeting.

Even though every emotion now feels incredibly genuine, not clinging to them makes one even more heartless.

Love is a game between the present self and time.

He never regrets the choices he made, regretting the unknown possibilities. The past has already happened and cannot be changed. Life moves forward, and he can only face it head-on.

Tomorrow will be another new day.

The author has something to say:

Xi Tian is indeed a salted fish.

His current DNA sequence belongs to his father.

I really like reading upgrade stories, but I just can’t write them, so this piece is all about being a salted fish.

I can only try my best to stick to a reasonable edge orz.