Closer to Revealing My True Self-Chapter 121 - 105 Incubation (Part 1)_3

"Pathetic!"

"This is all the nerve I’ve got! I am nervous! As if you’re not nervous yourself!"

"..."

The young man opened his mouth, took a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth, ready to kick the other person again, when his ears picked up noises coming from the canyon path. He no longer cared to scold and quickly went to meet the source.

The person stuffing snacks into his mouth also craned his neck to look, mumbling unclearly, "Did Second and Fourth come back?"

Ahead, two people each rode an electric folding bike out of the canyon, wearing night vision goggles, without lights on their bikes.

The car window rolled down, and the old man sitting beside it looked outside.

"They’re back."

The two cyclists dismounted and walked over. The one in front, still at a distance, said excitedly:

"Uncle! The fog is starting in the canyon! Just like you said, the moment we spotted the fog, we quickly pulled back!"

"Mm," the old man replied in a flat tone, as if everything was under control.

The man continued, "We’ve scouted the route, and I’ve sent you the road information inside the canyon from the electronic detector. It’s really not easy to navigate; we’ll have to go slow in the fog. Are we heading over now?"

"No rush," the old man said.

"But I’m anxious! I haven’t slept well for several nights... Uncle, what if he fails..."

The young man standing near the driver’s seat, overhearing this, cut him off, "Can’t you speak properly? Go squat in the corner!"

The speaker slapped his own mouth, spitting twice, "Absolute success!"

The old man was silent for a moment before finally saying, "If he fails... then we can only wait for the next one."

The statement automatically translated in the ears of the four men as:

"If he fails, you all will be out of a job!"

...

As time passed, the festive activities in various areas of Ji City gradually quieted down from their earlier bustle, yet the warmth of celebration lingered under the lights.

By close to midnight, the venues began to wind down and clean up.

In fact, many vendors had packed up and left by eleven o’clock. Midnight marked the final closure time, and the temporary stallholders and the shops in the event venues started their final cleanup.

"How was business today?"

"Not bad! Sold out all the stock I prepared!"

"Same here, so busy! Oh, my aching back!"

The store owner who was packing up complained, but the smile on his face couldn’t be contained. Tonight’s earnings would keep them comfortable even if there were no business until the end of the year.

This was why they supported the government in organizing such events and actively maintained the enthusiasm for them, complying with regulations as much as possible. Even vendors who didn’t care much about regulations were now keeping their stalls spotless to attract more tourists.

"I was so busy I didn’t even watch the gala!"

"Who didn’t? I was hoping to watch the moon festival broadcast from other provinces tonight. I heard the moon would be full on the fifteenth this year, not needing to wait until the sixteenth. What a pity, it’s been cloudy here tonight and the moon was blocked."

"Are we supposed to take down these lanterns on the pillar? They were fixed too firmly when we hung them, not easy to take down. It’s going to take a while to do it."

"No notice to take them down."

A row of street poles were adorned with strings of red lanterns, each lantern decorated with various festival motifs to add a festive atmosphere. Those cleaning up the venue were deciding whether to remove the lanterns.

Suddenly, a fierce wind blew through, carrying moisture and leaving a chill on the skin.

The unwiped grounds saw dust swept up, mixing with the wet mist, carrying a slight scent of mud.

"Feels like spooks afoot, looks like rain is going to pour." one person commented.

"The weather report didn’t forecast it... just refreshed it, there’s rain coming soon, nothing this morning!"

"We need to hurry!"

"Not taking down the lanterns then?"

"Forget them! Let’s quickly wrap things up and head back!"

"Sigh, I was thinking after closing up, find a stall for some skewers, pop open a beer."

Upon hearing this, the others said, "That’s a plan, after we finish cleaning up..."

While they were discussing, another strong gust swept by, almost making it impossible to keep eyes open.

The moisture brought by the wind became even thicker.

The street’s chains of red lanterns were blown almost parallel to the ground.

As the wind died down, the temperature seemed to drop further, the change in humidity making breathing less comfortable.

"After cleaning up, better just head back straight away! The wind’s getting fierce!"

The others agreed, no point in thinking about night stalls for skewers or barbecue in this weather; they were probably all closed.

"A single autumn rain brings a chill, is it going to get cooler?"

"Got a text! A rainfall warning issued by the meteorological monitoring system! Quick, quick, check the windows! The power supply! Anything else not yet packed up! Fast! Finish up and evacuate!!"

...

Canyon entrance.

The fog had already spread from the valley to this point.

The vehicle was quickly swallowed by the misty haze. The people standing in the fog felt a chill from the moisture in the air.

"The fog has set in here too, what do we do now? Keep waiting?" one person asked.

"Such heavy fog and yet there’s still such a fierce wind... Huh? It’s starting to rain!" another person wiped the droplets off their face.

The wind, carrying the fog, blew in from the depths of the canyon. As it passed by, it brought with it a bone-chilling cold that made one’s hairs stand on end.

They were wearing night vision goggles and could see the changes in the canyon. The wind grew fiercer, and sand and rocks flew towards them, stinging their faces. Plus, with the rain coming down, those who had been standing outside the car had no choice but to seek shelter inside.

The sound of sand and rocks beating against the car windows was unnerving. The people removed their night vision goggles, wanting to say something, yet worried about disturbing the elderly person. Instead, they took out their mobile phones and started chatting in their four-person group chat.

One person sat in the driver’s seat and another in the passenger seat, while two others sat in the third row of the vehicle.

In the second row’s two multifunctional seats, one was occupied by the elderly person, while the other seat was empty.

The elderly person’s attention shifted away from their notebook, and they put down their pen.

They glanced at the electronic display for the time, each screen set to the same timezone, displaying the same time.

[0:21]

The moon was about to reach its perigee.

The elderly person wanted to write something in their notebook, but then put down the pen and leaned back in their seat with eyes closed.

Gravitational forces from the moon would increase, but to humans, the impact was negligible, maybe even less than that of a mosquito on one’s shoulder or a single strand of hair. Moreover, since the entire body experienced this force and the direction of the force constantly changed, nothing unusual could be felt.

But for Feng Yi, it was different.

Taking the pen, the elderly person hesitated with the tip on the paper for a while before continuing to write:

[The moon has reached its perigee, the external environment is stable]

Looking at the footage from the night vision cameras mounted outside the car and flipping through the live feed from cameras set up in various towns near the canyon, they continued to write:

[The wind is strong, the fog is widespread]

The elderly person was writing these notes, thinking to themselves: Preliminary judgment, developing well.

However, life can take unpredictable twists at any moment.

Even with the right timing and place, even with a good evolutionary development, but...

Feng Yi, that kid, doesn’t seem too smart.

What if he can’t adapt to the new environment?

What if he runs out of energy halfway through "hatching" because he hasn’t eaten enough?

What if a bad stomach affects his condition?

The elderly person set the pen down again, leaning back in their seat with eyes closed, appearing calm but actually feeling very anxious inside.

----

In Ji City.

Under the cover of night, the fine rain finally began to fall.

In the city besieged by mist, lights became increasingly blurred, the damp ground reflecting flickering halos.

After cleaning up the venue, people wearing raincoats or coverings hurriedly left, disappearing into the misty streets.

Then another fierce gust of wind surged through the streets, turning the fine rain into needles that pricked against various objects with different sounds that merged together, like the whispers of an invisible behemoth.

The strong wind soon faded, the sound of rain softened, and the fog thickened once more.

----

Inside the cave.

Feng Yi was suspended in the water.

His emotions slowly settled.

He could clearly hear his own heartbeat.

He could feel the powerful energy in his blood vessels flowing to every part of his body.

He could see the double helix quietly rotating.

His thoughts seemed to travel through time and space.

Amidst the torrent, civilizations rose and fell intermittently.

All that was seen, was past; all that was past, turned to dust.

...

The energy radiating outward from his body emitted a faint glow.

Minerals, as if attracted by some force field, peeled from the cave walls, gathering around Feng Yi and forming a shell.

Only, this shell extended downwards, wrapping around an invisible tail.