Chapter 2: Ninth Fortress

“Name.”

“An He.”

“Which fortress did you defect from?”

An He realized she was being interrogated.

The woman’s accent was odd, a mishmash of languages with exaggerated rises and falls in tone. An He could understand it, but it differed from the common tongue of her original world.

This time, An He didn’t answer. She had no idea what “fortress” meant in the woman’s mouth, or what kind of people “Defectors” referred to.

She couldn’t even make anything up.

Because of her silence, the woman’s finger—resting outside the trigger—began to curl, as if ready to pull.

Clang!

With a sharp crash, the off-road vehicle’s door was kicked open violently. An He then noticed there was another woman on the vehicle, wearing goggles.

The goggle-wearing woman calmly withdrew her foot and leaned over the steering wheel, shouting, “Asta, save your bullets. We only use them on Bone Eaters.”

The red-haired woman called Asta glanced back impatiently. “I know. I don’t need your reminder.”

The woman on the vehicle jumped down, lifting her goggles onto her forehead as she walked, revealing a pair of deep black eyes. “Then why are you about to shoot?”

“Any Defector who enters the Wasteland gets infected a hundred percent, Heidi. She’s injured.” Asta jerked her chin toward her companion named Heidi, gesturing for her to look at the wound on An He’s left wrist.

An He looked down as well.

Her elbow was still propped against the gravel, and near the back of her left wrist, two deep, neatly parallel gashes stood out, flesh flipped open, the wound glaringly obvious.

The moment she saw the blood, An He felt a stabbing pain. The same fiery burn came from the blisters on her right foot where she’d been scalded.

“It sure is.” Heidi decisively bent down and yanked the cloth strip from An He’s face, flipping up her eyelids.

Heidi wore half-finger leather gloves, with only her index and middle fingers fully covered. The rough glove against An He’s eyelids gave her the odd sensation of being examined by a veterinarian.

An He shifted her eyeballs, observing Heidi in turn.

Heidi was a bit different from Asta—slightly shorter, very young, looking just over twenty. She wore a gauze face mask, khaki overalls, and her black short hair was flattened by the goggles on her head.

Her goggles were bulky, with intricate structures upon closer inspection, especially the left side, which looked like a stack of delicate metal lenses—An He had no clue what it was for.

Probably from wearing the goggles year-round, Heidi had distinct tan lines around her eyes, a sharp black-white boundary linking the freckles on her nose bridge. Paired with her carefree movements, it was somewhat amusing.

“Eyes normal, no redness or swelling. Speech clear, no fever, low aggression.” Heidi withdrew the pinky she’d pressed to An He’s forehead, checking her expertly. “Before the injury, she was a healthy person.”

An He caught the odd phrasing. And after the injury?

Before she could ask, Heidi grabbed the back of her collar and yanked hard, lifting her off the ground.

An He staggered to her feet, the scalded blister on her right sole hitting the gravel. She couldn’t help sucking in a sharp breath.

It hurts.

Heidi readjusted her goggles, fiddling with the metal plates on the left side, scanning toward the Withered Forest like a vigilant seagull—the monsters that had chased her earlier had all been cleared by Asta, but who knew if others lurked in the woods. She took a step forward. “Let’s get her in the vehicle first.”

“No.” Asta blocked An He with the gun barrel, clearly disapproving. “She’s injured, infected with Bone Erosion Disease. She could mutate.”

Heidi frowned slightly. “You want to leave her here?”

“Thanks for the suggestion. Not a bad way to handle it.”

“Don’t joke, Asta.” Heidi released An He, pulling down her mask to reveal a grin full of white teeth.

“There’s no ‘see death and do nothing’ in Thorn Lamp’s code. This isn’t ten years ago—injuries don’t automatically mean mutation. Don’t get so paranoid you’ll cause another population crash like in the old days. We take her back now, and she can still get treatment.”

“You’re the one being too casual.” Asta raised her gun, unmoved by her partner. “From here to the fortress is an hour and a half. The shortest incubation for Bone Erosion Disease is now just forty minutes. If she mutates inside the fortress and we can’t stop it, the whole place is doomed. I won’t gamble everyone’s lives.”

“We can’t just abandon her when we have a chance to save her.” Heidi huffed through her nose, exaggeratedly jabbing Asta’s shoulder with her index finger. “Don’t forget, lone humans are under Thorn Lamp’s protection too. Ninth Fortress was built one person at a time—you, me, all of us.”

Heidi tired of arguing; she and her partner had differing views on more than just this. She reached to pull An He toward the vehicle, but grasped air.

Looking down, she saw the mysterious survivor had, during their debate, curled her legs and sat back down solidly on the ground.

Both women stopped arguing and stared down at An He.

Heidi thought this survivor named An He was a bit special.

She had a pure East Asian face—round eyes with sharp, upturned corners, a slightly short face making it seem small. High nose bridge, lips downturned when silent, giving a fierce look like a feline predator, a mix of wildness and purity.

But her eyes lacked strong aggression, and she wasn’t talkative.

Like the silent Swamp in the Wasteland.

At least, she seemed that way.

Heidi raised a brow at An He. “What? You don’t want to go?”

An He looked up. “No, my foot hurts.”

She did want to go—the Wasteland was full of dangers, she had no food or weapons, and wouldn’t survive the night. These two normal humans were a godsend; she’d stick with them to learn about this world.

But with their argument, standing on one foot was exhausting. An He didn’t know how long they’d bicker and didn’t want to keep standing.

She could hardly explain that sitting was more comfortable than standing.

If Heidi hadn’t just pulled her up, she’d rather stay sprawled on the ground.

Heidi paused, then broke into a hearty grin. Derailed by An He, she no longer felt like clashing with Asta. She slung An He’s arm over her shoulder, hauling her up again, while turning to her partner.

“Asta, since neither of us will budge, I’ve got a compromise. There’s an Outpost twenty klicks southeast, under Eighth Fortress. We detour, run a blood test. If her condition’s manageable, we take her back. But as a trade, I’ll give Eighth Fortress’s folks some perks.”

An He thought, Heidi’s a real good Samaritan.

“Asta, I guarantee you…” Heidi started again. “If her blood shows problems, I’ll blow her head off before you do.”

Hiss. An He felt like a hard pebble had wedged between her toes.

“Fine.” Asta agreed to Heidi’s proposal. Finding An He’s limping too slow, she simply hooked an arm around her waist and tucked her under her armpit like a sack of grain.

An He’s feet left the ground. She suddenly felt like she’d been hoisted by a crane.

She’d noticed earlier—these women’s builds defied her common sense. At 1.7 meters, she looked like a scrawny lamb next to Asta and Heidi.

What do people here eat to grow like that?

Asta shoved An He into the back seat, glancing back at the woods. “Something’s circling us, Heidi. Drive faster.”

“No need to tell me.” Heidi vaulted over the railing, flipping through the open-top frame into the driver’s seat.

The dashboard had exposed screws and wires; the steering wheel was crudely welded from iron pipes. An He was stunned—she hadn’t seen how Heidi started the bizarre vehicle. In a blink, the engine roared, and the whole rig—trailer and all—swung into a sharp turn, kicking up gravel.

The door wasn’t shut; An He nearly tumbled out. Asta nimbly climbed from the passenger seat to the back, slamming the door on An He’s left side with a bang—so that was their straightforward way of closing doors, not just Heidi’s roughness.

The door rattled precariously, patched with iron sheets and screws like a quilt, seeming useless yet miraculously latching to the frame. The entire vehicle, including the open iron frame overhead, bore shallow and deep dents—one perfectly sized for a clenched fist. Who knew what creature had left it.

An He averted her gaze. She had questions aplenty but held her tongue—Asta had stayed in the back seat, right beside her.

Asta’s left hand stayed aimed at An He, a metal ring on her wrist with a dagger at its center. An He recognized the wrist blade from media—just press a button or flick the wrist, and it popped out.

Asta was still on high alert.

Any sudden aggressive move, and that blade would pierce her gut without hesitation.

I must be overrated, An He thought. A shoeless human like me?

Pretending not to notice, she retied the cloth over her mouth and nose, peering outside.

The woods had shrunk to a black speck. An He recalled the red-clothed woman in the forest.

This junker drives fast enough to shake her off, she thought.

…

The so-called Outpost was just a row of tin sheds and a raised watchtower. Resources were scarce; An He noted the room’s setup screamed rugged austerity.

Heidi negotiated with Eighth Fortress’s sentry, fetching a small bag of salt from the trailer’s cargo. An He realized that was what they hauled—edible salt. So, she figured, Asta and Heidi roamed the Wasteland transporting supplies like this.

To borrow the blood analyzer, Heidi donned her goggles and tweaked the sentry’s telescope parts.

An He observed quietly and finally got it—Heidi was a mechanic. The goggles’ metal plates were magnifiers for tiny details, clicking satisfyingly when turned.

Cool, An He thought admiringly.

While Heidi tinkered, An He got a blood draw and waited half an hour for results.

Bad news: she was infected.

Asta chambered a round in half a second, then aimed at An He’s head in the next half.

“Wait.” Heidi stopped her partner. “There’s good news too.”

The good news: the Osteophagic Spore Fungus in An He’s body had extremely low activity, far below typical Bone Erosion Disease incubation levels—not enough for mutation yet. At this rate, it’d take at least four days for symptoms.

And Heidi said incubation-stage Bone Erosion Disease could now be cured.

An He had no frame of reference, but Asta holstered her weapon after the report.

The once-tense red-haired woman finally relaxed her shoulders, her gaze toward An He shifting to one of “we’re the same kind after all.” She dug out an old shoe from somewhere and handed it over—thoughtfully just for the left foot. “Sorry, I’m cautious by nature. Let’s reintroduce: I’m a member of Thorn Lamp Ninth Fortress Vanguard Team, Squad 207. I’ll take you back for treatment.”

An He took the shoe. From Asta’s softened eyes, she knew: I’m safe.

So, can I ask questions now?

She had tons.

“You keep mentioning Thorn Lamp—what is it?”

Asta narrowed her eyes. “You don’t know Thorn Lamp?” She eyed An He’s clothes again. “From First Fortress?”

An He had no clue where Asta got that, but it was a perfect out.

“Uh…” She wobbled her head in a tiny circle, ambiguous enough to pass for nod or shake.

The “uh” drawn out, sounding like hesitation or affirmation.

“That figures. Only idiots from First Fortress expose weak points like wrists and ankles.” Asta crossed her arms, giving a curt explanation. “Thorn Lamp is the armed group protecting humans and fortresses.”

An He pressed: “What about this Bone Erosion Disease you mentioned?”

Heidi and Asta both wore strange looks. “Not knowing Thorn Lamp is forgivable, but not knowing Bone Erosion Disease…”

Heidi asked the inspecting sentry, “Are you sure her head’s okay?”

“No, I have a problem,” An He answered for herself. “I have a mental illness.“

It was a diagnosis she’d just given herself not long ago.

“That’s too bad,” Heidi said, her acceptance surprisingly high. “But no worries—everyone in the fortress has something or other like that. Since you don’t know what Bone Erosion Disease is, I’ll explain on the road. Hop in the car first; we need to get the supplies in the cargo hold back to the fortress.”

Worth celebrating—everyone’s got mental issues, An He thought. That’s perfect.

She wouldn’t stand out too much that way.

The vehicle left the outpost and plunged back into the gray-black dust storm, turning a corner as it headed northwest.

“Those mutant creatures you saw in the woods? They’re victims of Bone Erosion Disease. It started as a radiation sickness, and this dust in the air is a remnant of the radiation.” Heidi fiddled with the steering wheel like a DJ spinning records as she explained to An He.

“Radiation?” An He repeated.

“Yeah, haven’t you studied history?” Heidi glanced back at her.

An He had studied it, but the history Heidi was talking about was definitely different from what she knew.

Heidi continued, “Don’t buy into the theological nonsense spreading around the fortresses. The source of Bone Erosion Disease is radiation sickness. If you trace it back, you have to blame that massive solar storm that dragged the world into a total blackout dark age… Anyway, over the next few decades, lots of people developed slow radioactive damage—deformities, rotting flesh, damage to lymph and blood-forming tissues. That’s the early symptoms of Bone Erosion Disease now.”

Heidi explained in detail, and An He quietly memorized the key terms she mentioned. A solar storm wouldn’t directly cause radioactive pollution—something huge must have happened in between.

She couldn’t help leaning forward. “If it’s slow damage, what did Asta mean earlier about the shortest incubation being forty minutes?”

“That slow damage was thousands of years ago. Things are different now.” Heidi laughed as she explained, “At first, it was just radiation sickness, but Fusarium spores from the Zygomycota phylum always parasitized those wounds. Over time, they evolved into a new kind of Osteophagic Fungus. They can rapidly enter a creature’s body through mucous membranes, release spores, and cause even worse damage than radiation. Once infected, they become Bone Eaters.”

Heidi freed up one hand and pointed outside the vehicle. “It’s not just humans—anything that flies in the sky or swims in the water, they can all parasitize. Sadly, our civilization has fallen, so it’s hard to fight them. But generation after generation of humans have been researching it. Don’t worry—we understand it properly now. The info pamphlets divide the infection into four stages… Want to hear?”

“Yes.”

“Good, you’re more savvy than those Church types.” Heidi had a deep well of knowledge. She launched into her explanation with the tone of someone educating the ignorant masses about chaos, as if she’d done it many times before.

“Stage one: incubation. The patient feels fatigued, sleepy, lethargic. I know it sounds vague—this disease is sneaky like that. But if you catch it early, incubation-stage patients can be cured.”

“If it hits stage two and clinical symptoms appear, it’s unstoppable. Red rashes spread across the body, fever sets in, eyes turn bloodshot, blisters form on the skin, with severe pain, oral inflammation, and encephalitis. It’s a lot like contagious herpes viruses, which led to a lot of wrong assumptions for a long time. You can imagine how many detours humanity took in fighting it.”

An He nodded. Conquering diseases was tough—the more common the symptoms, the easier the misdiagnosis. She asked, “What about stage three?”

Heidi didn’t answer right away. She glanced to the left, then slammed her foot on the accelerator. The whole vehicle lurched forward in a burst of speed.

“By stage three, the patient’s muscles start necrotizing. The spore fungus has already multiplied and split in the brain by then. Its mycelium completely covers the brain and bone marrow, seizing control of the body. The infected breaks down into a skeleton frame, but those frames can still move—hard, fast, and ferocious. That’s the kind of mutant things you saw in the woods.”

An He shivered. “Sounds like they’ve become inhuman. And there’s still a stage four?”

“There is. Take a look at your left rear.” Heidi suddenly burst out laughing, then raised her voice in a rapid shout: “Stage four—they fuse together. Humans, bugs, beasts, every kind of dead skeleton frame you can imagine, all mashed into one. They pop up out of nowhere anywhere on the wasteland… Asta!”

Heidi bellowed from deep in her throat: “Bone Eaters entering attack range! Mount weapons!!!”

An He whipped her head back.

At the same time, Heidi slammed an iron brick onto the accelerator from the windshield ledge. She yanked a machine gun from under her seat, released the steering wheel, and abandoned the driver’s seat.

Clang! Both doors kicked open simultaneously. Heidi and Asta dangled from the left and right doors, firing backward with trained precision and perfect coordination!

The unmanned, modified vehicle teetered on the edge of losing control, yet it charged straight ahead with uncanny stability.

No need for further description from Heidi—over the window frame, An He saw the stage-four Bone Eaters.

Massive, eerie, grotesquely deformed inhuman creatures, racing through the gray dust!