Alantia

Class reunion

Lidi returned home as usual, washed off the body odor, changed into clean clothes, and headed to the gathering location sent by Kang Ze. The gathering was held in a small restaurant in the city, decorated in a retro yet cozy style. The nighttime lighting cast a warm glow on the wooden tables and chairs, a stark contrast to the cold, impersonal tech company Lidi was used to.

The moment he opened the door, Lidi heard several familiar voices calling out, "Lidi! Over here!"

Around a long table in the corner, several former classmates from the fox, cat, and dog clans were raising their glasses and laughing. Lidi forced a smile and walked towards them.

A Billy dog ​​was the first to stand up and give him a big hug: "Lidi, it's rare to see you out! Still wearing that old fox style?"

The speaker was Kang Ze, a Billy dog ​​beastman, the talk of the class. He was always the most eye-catching one at class events, always eager to show off. He was always in class photos, always standing in the center.

Overall, Lidi disliked Kang Ze because he perceived him as extremely hypocritical.

"Come on, I'm just being modest and polite!" Lidi joked, then exchanged pleasantries with his friends one by one.

Actually, besides Kang Ze, Lidi only really knew a handful of people at the dinner. The people at today's gathering were all classmates he didn't talk to often—not strangers, but not close either.

He wasn't a talkative person, so he just ate his food.

"Hey Lidi, where do you work now?" Just as he was focused on his meal, Kang Ze suddenly asked from across the table.

Lidi was a little taken aback. They had clearly been discussing their current lives, and he hadn't paid attention after initially hearing where everyone worked, just focusing on his food. Now he'd been called out.

"Um... I'm working at San Shen as a programmer, you guys should know it, it's that place outside."

Lidi pointed out the window, where he could see his company's brightly lit sign.

Everyone was astonished; they hadn't expected such a big shot to be sitting there.

"Wow, this is a big company! How much do you get paid working there?"

"Hey, Lidi, is your company hiring? Can you introduce me?"

"Any pretty girls? Can you introduce me to some too?"

Lidi was somewhat helpless in the face of his classmates' questions, and could only answer them one by one, except for introducing pretty girls.

"Hey, speaking of pretty girls, Lidi, are you and Huilan together yet?" Perhaps feeling his attention had been stolen, Kangze suddenly asked this question.

"What...why are you asking this all of a sudden?" Lidi was confused by Kang Ze's question.

Huilan was one of the beauties in the class, a blue-eyed white cat. Although most people liked beautiful female beasts, there was a difference between species.

In this world, interracial love was not uncommon, but it was often fraught with difficulties. Just having offspring carried a huge risk of giving birth to deformed children, and they also had to endure the judgment of older generations.

Lidi wasn't the type of beast interested in interspecies interactions, so he paid little attention to Huilan, the class beauty.

Kangze's topic seemed to have piqued everyone's interest, one of them said.

"Yeah, Huilan used to peek at you a lot. I wonder if you two are together..." Once the topic was raised, everyone started discussing the status of the couples in the class—some were married, some broke up, some were still together. Some gossiped, some were just observing, and the discussion about Lidi and Huilan was quickly moved on.

Lidi watched Kang Ze laughing and talking about everyone else, still unable to like him. His question hadn't even been answered before he moved on to someone else's topic. What a hypocrite!

He didn't care and continued eating. The restaurant's TV was showing news, reporting on wars between various small countries and the spread of a new virus called the Sudadi flu, which seemed to be deadly.

"These small countries are truly pitiful. They didn't start the war, yet they have to fight to the death," sighed an old classmate whose name I couldn't recall, speaking to the others beside him.

"I don't care if they fight to the death, as long as it doesn't affect us."

"You can't say that. Their war has a huge impact on our economy. You have no idea how much my stocks have plummeted." Listening to their conversation, it was clear that neither of them cared about the lives of the people in these small countries. It was evident they had lost all empathy. Perhaps this was the adult world we'd always longed for...

More than the war, Lidi was more concerned about the emergence of this new flu.

Sudadi, transmitted through the air and saliva, is a virus with a mortality rate as high as 30%. Initial symptoms include cough, extreme fatigue, drowsiness, fever, and mental instability. More severe cases then manifest as aggression, mood swings, and possibly difficulty breathing.

Although it's currently circulating in small countries, that doesn't mean the large country he lives in, Taro, will be unaffected.

After reading the symptoms described in the report, Lidi unconsciously touched his forehead, feeling a slight burning sensation. He also felt a slight itch in his throat, coupled with his recent drowsiness.

"Could it be that bad..." He stopped thinking about it and continued eating, picking up a few more pieces of meat. Any problems could be found out at the hospital tomorrow; there was no need to speculate here.

Soon afterward, the noise from the gathering grew louder. Some classmates were already drunk and talking nonsense, while others were simply chatting and laughing loudly when something funny came up. He alone watched the lively scene silently, feeling completely out of place.

The atmosphere of the gathering gradually shifted from lukewarm to lively, and then from lively to quiet. It was now 11 pm. Everyone reluctantly chatted for a few moments, even those who hadn't drunk alcohol seemed tipsy. Perhaps this was the so-called "drunken heart with ulterior motives." Eventually, several designated drivers had to be called, and Lidi was one of the few who didn't drink and was ignored.

Alone, he headed towards the cheaper parking lot further away, ready to get in his car and head home to end this boring day.

The city of Huashan was still brightly lit at night, even more bustling than during the day. This was the animals' time to revel, releasing their inner pressures, drowning their sorrows in alcohol, seeking excitement, and searching for their inner "white moonlight."

However, compared to this bustling world, Lidi's place was much quieter.

The quiet, deserted alley, the dimly lit yellow streetlights, accompanied by distant music and other sounds, gave this place its own unique atmosphere.

Lidi wasn't in a hurry to go home. Instead, he strolled slowly, savoring the atmosphere, a sense of comfort and peace that only he found so comforting. He recalled the boring party he had just attended, and couldn't help but think back to his miserable high school life.

"If today were the last day before the end of the world, what would you most want to do?" In a tutoring class during high school, the teacher asked the class this question. It seemed to be a psychology question, so we all wrote down our answers.

Of course, most students just wrote randomly; probably only a few actually wrote something serious.

Lidi remembered writing a few lines earnestly back then, just one...

"Let the end of the world come faster."

He was even kept after school by his teacher for a few extra words of guidance, which was utterly unnecessary. Did he really think a few words of advice could change his situation?

Thinking back to his self-pity in the face of his teacher's motivational speeches, Lidi couldn't help but chuckle.

"I really hope the end of the world comes soon..." Just as Lidi was gazing at the stars, he bumped into a pedestrian, and both of them fell to the ground.

Although Lidi fell backward, thankfully his somewhat bushy tail prevented him from being seriously injured.

"Ouch! Sorry, sorry... are you alright...?" The man in front of him was enormous, half a head taller than Lidi, and wore a large black hat that almost completely obscured his face, leaving Lidi only able to see the corner of his mouth.

Just as he reached out to help the man up, he noticed the man was covered in blood, and his coat had several obvious knife cuts, as if he had been attacked.

"Hey, were you being robbed? Should I call the police for you?" The man barely managed to lift his head, and seeing Lidi's condition, he only managed a hoarse voice.

"No, it's just a minor injury. Would you mind helping me up?"

Lidi didn't think much of it and helped the man up. The man's voice sounded familiar, as if he'd heard it somewhere before.

Just as he helped the man up, the man's expression changed, and he angrily shoved Lidi aside, causing him to fall to the ground again.

This time, the fall hurts a lot, and he angrily retorted.

"Hey, what are you doing..."

"Shut up, you damned bastard! Can't you watch where you're going?! You're blocking my way!"

The sudden roar startled Lidi. The furious shout reminded him of being scolded by his parents as a child—a kind of oppressive authority that silenced him.

The man quickly left after his outburst. It was obvious he had injured his left leg; he walked with a limp, but his speed was impressive. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared at the end of the alley.

"...Psychohead," Lidi muttered, checking himself for injuries. Aside from being covered in dust, he was otherwise unharmed.

"Forget it, I'd better hurry home. I might run into another lunatic just walking around. So unlucky."

Lidi didn't linger and quickly headed towards the parking lot. Suddenly, several figures appeared in the shadows not far away. One of them stared in Lidi's direction, preparing to follow, but was stopped by his companion.

"What, don't we need to deal with him?"

"He's just a passerby. No need to cause trouble. Mission priority."

With that, the shadowy figure vanished into the darkness again. This night seemed peaceful, yet unsettling, like a silent volcano about to erupt. This night, Huashan City would be restless.