Chapter 8: The Strange Visitor

Raymond held the stone that BEN MAO had taken from the big dog's body. Whatever it was, it was not ordinary; otherwise, BEN MAO wouldn't have done such a thing. Considering all factors, Raymond felt that it was very likely a meteorite, with a probability of over 80%. However, this was a crucial issue and the foundation for all subsequent judgments. It couldn't be based on mere speculation; solid evidence was necessary. What if it wasn't a meteorite? What if the 20% chance turned out to be true? 20% was not negligible. Therefore, confirmation was essential.

Raymond decided to search for the meteorite crater. The state of the crater allowed him to determine that the stone he held was indeed a piece of the meteorite that had fallen that night. The reason was simple: the craters were hollow. Animals wouldn't be interested in meteorites, let alone exert effort to move them unless these meteorites were special to them, just like the stone was to the big yellow dog.

"The largest crater is over 6 meters in diameter; the meteorite must have been about thirty to forty centimeters. Such a large piece couldn't be swallowed by ordinary stray dogs or cats. Could it have been a large animal that escaped from the zoo?" Raymond thought, then suddenly realized he might be wrong.

The yellow dog indeed swallowed the meteorite, but this didn't mean other animals would do the same. One sample was insufficient for generalization, only for reference. Nonetheless, this trip confirmed one thing for Raymond: many beings similar to that yellow dog were likely lurking in the city and possibly around the world.

They appeared to have intelligence and extraordinary speed and strength, their evolution seemingly triggered by the meteorites. Beyond that, Raymond knew nothing about them. He might not even be able to distinguish them. They could be hiding around him, passing by daily without his knowledge.

In the past six months, Raymond lived a leisurely but dull post-apocalyptic life. There might have been explosions in factories or floods from the Yellow River breaching its banks in other parts of the world, but none of these affected him. For one person, China and Earth were vast.

Moreover, these disasters, terrifying in human society, were minor in the face of natural change and would gradually subside. Raymond had once seen a fire in the eastern suburbs that lasted two days and nights before dwindling because steel and concrete were non-flammable, and eventually extinguished by a sudden heavy rain.

Thus, even if certain parts of the world were in chaos, Raymond lived peacefully in his little corner. However, this peaceful life seemed to be nearing its end. The beautiful meteor shower that night had marked the end of his leisurely post-apocalyptic life. The fangs hidden in the darkness had begun to reveal themselves.

Yet, Raymond wasn't overly concerned. Compared to his precarious situation, he was more interested in another matter: what was going on with BEN MAO? He had asked BEN MAO if it wanted to eat the stone (now confirmed as a meteorite), and BEN MAO had shaken its head, showing no interest. However, BEN MAO's changes had clearly begun after that meteor shower, suggesting a connection.

Raymond didn't believe BEN MAO was lying. If this dumb cat could lie to him, he might actually feel gratified. To Raymond, BEN MAO's situation seemed different from the outside animals. However, he couldn't figure out why.

Driving back home, Raymond placed his tools in the living room corner and was about to open the sliding glass door to the balcony to let in some fresh air when he paused. He had left the door slightly ajar before leaving, just a few millimeters, barely noticeable unless one tried to close it first and felt the tiny gap. Now, the gap was gone; the door was shut tight. Something had been here while he was out.

Raymond glanced around the living room, everything appeared normal with no signs of rummaging. Did the visitor possess intelligence?

Raymond had left the glass door unlocked on purpose. He could have locked all doors and windows before leaving, but if evolved animals tried to get in, they would face two choices: break the doors/windows, which would be noticed later, or give up. To avoid the second option, he kindly left them a way in by not locking the balcony door.

It turned out something indeed came and left. What was it looking for? The meteorite? That night, Raymond found a few fine, smooth yellow hairs in his room, but he wasn't a biologist and couldn't identify the animal. In the age of evolving animals, past biological knowledge might not be accurate.

While the yellow dog hadn't changed in appearance, who could guarantee other animals were the same? BEN MAO had changed its species and form. Although BEN MAO's evolution seemed different from other animals, who could say others couldn't evolve similarly?

Raymond rolled the yellow hair between his fingers before discarding it. A visitor from afar, indeed. That night, while stargazing on the rooftop, Raymond saw another meteor. It landed nearby, causing an explosion and fire, clearly visible from the rooftop.

"Another one?!" he muttered, exasperated. Since it was so close, he decided to check it out, finding not a meteorite but a ten-meter-long cylindrical metal device and scattered metal fragments and debris. Satellite debris. Raymond quickly realized what it was. He remembered seeing occasional meteors before, some probably being such debris. Without control, human-launched satellites were falling one by one.

Despite the fire caused by the satellite debris, it wasn't severe and soon subsided due to a lack of flammable materials. Raymond watched for a while before heading home, realizing that the traces of human civilization were gradually disappearing. In thousands of years, he might be the only proof of humanity's existence.

Over the next few days, Raymond took BEN MAO for morning walks. He hadn't taken it out for a while because he had been busy searching for meteorite craters. Now that he had found the craters and understood his situation, he was somewhat dismayed to find there seemed nothing he could do.

For unknown reasons, the animals that obtained the meteorites seemed to have vanished, not appearing before him. Walking down familiar streets to his usual park, it was now March, with flowers blooming and butterflies occasionally fluttering. The peaceful post-apocalyptic life continued.

Watching BEN MAO foolishly chasing butterflies, Raymond felt the days were almost unreal in their tranquility. Where had the evolved animals gone? Why was there no sign of them? Raymond suddenly felt he might have missed something crucial, leaving him clueless.

"Plop!" Raymond looked and saw BEN MAO had fallen into the river chasing a butterfly. It quickly swam ashore, shook off the water, and resumed chasing butterflies. Despite its awakened intelligence, BEN MAO's activities hadn't changed much. Raymond envied such a simple life, thinking that complexity in humans arose not from intelligence but from the human heart.

"Forget it, if there's a mistake, so be it!" Influenced by BEN MAO, Raymond decided not to dwell on it. He would deal with whatever came. "Hey, BEN MAO, stop chasing butterflies! Catch fish for dinner!" he called out.

"Meow, meow, meow!!" Excited, BEN MAO ran to the river and jumped in. Seconds later, it quickly scrambled back, looking terrified. "Afraid of water yet jumping in so eagerly," Raymond thought, amused. He crouched down and dried BEN MAO with a tissue, which the cat enjoyed.

After walking in the park, Raymond returned home with BEN MAO. As usual, he practiced calligraphy for a while, played some single-player computer games until lunchtime. Lunch was fragrant rice with leftover chicken stew, reheated in the microwave.

Shortly after finding BEN MAO, Raymond had started eating rice and learning to cook. He was tired of instant noodles and biscuits. His planting plans were still in the early stages; rice wasn't yet grown as he had ample reserves. Vegetable attempts had been less successful, while the chickens were caught from rural areas.

After lunch, he took a nap and then, with fishing gear, headed back to the park. The river flowing through the park was a tributary of a nearby large river, always rich in fish, attracting anglers pre-apocalypse. With no humans for over six months, the fish population had grown. Raymond, a decent fisherman with good luck, filled a bucket by the afternoon, much to BEN MAO's delight.

Packing up, Raymond headed home, surprised to find signs of another visit. The traces were subtle, barely noticeable without prior knowledge, but he knew something had been there and found some evidence after careful search. It seemed to be the same visitor.

Curious, Raymond spent the next day wandering with BEN MAO, returning to find the uninvited guest had come again. Once or twice could be overlooked, but after three, four, and five visits, Raymond's curiosity was piqued. They had thoroughly searched his home, yet kept coming back. What were they after?

To find out, Raymond went to the electronics store for some mini-cameras. He wasn't worried about the intruder detecting them; even if they did, they wouldn't understand their purpose. Awakened intelligence didn't mean omniscience; animals wouldn't suddenly know how to use electronics.

They had become smarter, with improved thinking and learning abilities, akin to a fog lifting from their minds, but acquiring knowledge still required learning. This was why Raymond couldn't understand how BEN MAO could comprehend his speech.

Setting up the cameras, Raymond went out for a while, returning to review the footage. Initially, nothing seemed unusual. Fast-forwarding, about half an hour later, the camera recorded the balcony glass door cautiously opening, followed by a fuzzy hand and a monkey-like face peering in.