After only a few days I was fully recovered and really happy about it. Still, I wondered what made me so sick? Probably out of fear I did not even dare to consider the bite for it. I finally convinced myself, and it sounded plausible, that it was simply stress. After all, not every day ended the world we knew.

Since I was well again, I did as many chores as I could on our sailing yacht to keep me moving and to keep from getting bored. I cleaned, cooked, and learned with Yibo from Haikuan how to set and adjust the sails and when. We even did little emergency drills in case one of us got hurt, the yacht was on fire or we would be attacked.

I must say, all the drills we did, even at night, were especially fun. They reminded me of my days in the military. The drill sergeant back then was so good at his job that we really could never assess whether a real emergency had suddenly occurred after all or whether it was just another nighttime exercise.

I don't know how many times the alarm would ring and our drill sergeant would come storming into our quarters barefoot and dressed only in his underwear, breathing heavily and with a terrified, worried look on his face. He shouted almost desperately, "Get out of bed, get dressed, grab weapons. Time to defend our fatherland!"

To keep us entertained and to get us to continue to react to the alarm with panic and racing hearts, he once even went so far as to smear his chest and arm with fake blood. He glued a knife blade to his chest and screamed, sounding gasping as if he was about to choke on his own blood, and ordered us to go out and fight.

He was a real bastard, but he pushed us to do our best and all of his recruits ended up being among the best trained soldiers or agent candidates after training. Maybe that's why I didn't go crazy right away when the first attacks of the creatures took place and those explosions could be heard.

I told Yibo about my drill sergeant on one of our night watches on the sailing yacht and he laughed. He said he knew exactly who I was talking about because he had also had the pleasure. But, as Yibo told me, only for a month, as the drill sergeant fell ill and then honorably retired from the military. They assumed at that time that he must have had cancer. Anyway, no one had seen him after that and Yibo had been given a drill sergeant who was fresh out of training and often seemed overwhelmed.

Yibo and I generally talked a lot in the last few days about our past and about our lives as they once were. I suppose because we slowly realized that we would probably never live a normal life again. At least not as we knew it.

We had little contact with our parents. At sea, it's not so easy to make contact by cell phone. Most of the time we called them with the satellite phone. But it did not always work. Either it was because of our device or the cell phones of our parents had no signal. But, when we reached them, they always told us how well they were doing and that they had clean water from a borehole and a spring and a large supply of food.

They also told us that they have a doctor nearby, there is enough medicine and that they are busy every day working in the fields and go to sleep early every night because they are so exhausted. They also have electricity and hot water.

But even though our parents were doing well, I could also hear how worried they were. My mom said she prays for us and our safety every day. And she even told me that she loves me very much and misses me a lot, which is unusual for her because she actually always tells me I'm an annoying smart-ass punk who never knows when to shut up.

My dad has always been more sensitive and emotional than my mom. He cried on the phone and said he couldn't believe we couldn't see each other because we were so far apart. He said he would like to hug me and just hold me in his arms like when I was a little boy.

Yibo's mom had also been crying bitterly on the phone when we last spoke to her. She kept saying that she just wants to see and hold her baby, by which she means Yibo. His dad, who kind of seems like a stone cold dog told Yibo to watch over me and protect me like a man should. Well, actually he said, "Watch your "wifey" and protect your wifey like a man should!"

I immediately wanted to say something and get upset about it and make it clear that I'm not a wifey, I'm a man. But Yibo covered my mouth with a grin and pushed me down on the bed, where he pressed his lips on mine, just to make me say nothing. After the phone call I wanted to get mad about it, but he grabbed me, kissed me and in the end we had sex. After that, I forgot about my anger.

Although I'm fine again, Yibo is still worried about me. He said he can't stop thinking about that elf-like creature biting me and keeps wondering if it will affect me and if so, what those effects might be.

I have to say, I honestly feel like a new man. Yes, at first I was feeling really miserable. But after I got better and better, I really felt like a new person. Like my body had come to a whole new strength.And yes, at some point I couldn't fool myself anymore and had to admit to myself that my new body feeling probably came from the bite of the creature and its blood.

I admitted it to myself not only because I suddenly feel so healthy and strong as never before. It is rather because I have discovered certain qualities in myself that were definitely not there before. So now and then I can hear what Haikuan and Meng Yao are talking about. And that although they are whispering and were at the other end of the sailing yacht.

I also had the impression several times that I could see much better in this actually complete darkness on the high seas. The starlight is apparently sufficient for my eyes to have a halfway good night vision. And also my physical strength has increased. Things that before I could not carry at all or only with great effort and both arms, I can now carry easily and with only one hand.

But these physical new features seem to work only at night. During the day I am the same Zhan I always was. But at night I can feel my physical powers growing and everything adjusting to this darkness and possible threat. Even my sense of smell.

However, I haven't told Yibo about it yet because he is so worried anyway. Of course, I will still tell him, because I can't hide it forever. And certainly not on a sailing yacht. But for now, I can't and won't tell him yet.

Something that worries me much more than these new physical characteristics is Meng Yao's behavior. Especially towards me, after almost two weeks on the high seas, he is still very unfriendly. He is also very rejecting towards Yibo and always treats Yibo in a patronizing manner.

Meng Yao should actually just feel gratitude for Yibo. After all, he was instrumental in saving Meng Yao! Haikuan also keeps telling him to treat us with decency and respect and to be kind to us. He also told him to show gratitude and never forget that without us, they both probably wouldn't be alive.

On the one hand, I can understand Meng Yao. One should always be cautious towards strangers, especially in times like these, and also be prepared for anything. But on the other hand, we have been living together on this sailing yacht for 2 weeks and Yibo saved his life. So what else is Meng Yao awaiting?

Since our supplies were running low, we had to go ashore again for the first time yesterday. We looked on a map for a small place where we hoped we would find everything we needed to survive near the pier.

Already in the night we got close enough to the place to still be far enough away from the flying creatures, but also close enough to reach the pier within an hour. We armed ourselves with harpoons, axes, and I had my silver spear that I had been training with for days.

Then, when we came within sight of the place, we saw no smoke or destruction. Nor did we see any creatures. But the sky, as with probably all places in the country, was colored a yellow-orange. Even at 10 o'clock in the morning, this made it look like sunset.

Meng Yao stayed aboard our sailing yacht to guard it. In case of emergency, he would contact us by radio, that was the arrangement. Yibo, Haikuan and I went off the boat and slowly made our way into the locality.

Even though from a distance it didn't look like the creatures had descended on the place, we got a surprise as soon as we stepped ashore. There was nothing to be seen of people far and wide. Not a single soul. No dogs or cats either. Abandoned cars stood at the harbor and on the streets.

Many of the houses had been destroyed. The smell of death was everywhere. Old newspapers fluttered across the streets in the light wind. The latest news: "The creatures are coming!" and "They are eating us!".

We found a small supermarket that showed no destruction, nor had it been cleared out. While Yibo and Haikuan opened the doors, I stood guard and kept an eye on the surroundings. I felt very tense and that probably led to the fact that I could activate and use my new physical characteristics for the first time also during the day.

While the two went into the supermarket, I stood outside and listened. Somewhere something rustled. And I heard a soft hiss that sounded like the hiss of a snake.

I walked a few steps in the direction from which I heard the hiss. I looked into a dark alley and could see something moving there. And I might not have even had to see it, because my sense of smell told me it was one of the hairless gray creatures. I don't know how I knew that, since I had never smelled them before. But I knew it.

And as the creature got a little further ahead and further in my direction, my spear began to vibrate very lightly in my hand. I felt my instincts take control of my body. Without thinking, my body started moving all by itself and into that dark alley.

The creature came running towards me, hissing and snarling, and then stopped as I swung my spear as if in a completely natural motion and held it in the creature's direction. It suddenly stopped, even took a few steps back and was now hissing really loudly. I could smell the fear this creature was feeling.

My body, my senses, my instincts were responding. I started moving and chased the creature. With only a few quick and large strides, I had caught up to it and rammed my spear into its chest! The creature gave a cry of pain and slumped lifeless. And then such an elf-like creature appeared behind me.

This creature was not quite as big as the one that had bitten me. It tilted its head and looked at me. It saw my spear and asked, "You're frrrriend?"

"Yes." I replied.

The creature came up to me and sniffed me. "You frrrriend of King?"

"King?"

"You smell like King!"

"Really?"

"Shhh. Up therrrre!"

I looked up and there was one of those winged creatures. The elf-like creature was hiding behind me! I stood there holding my spear protectively in front of me as the creature landed in that dark narrow alley. I have no idea how it even managed to do that, but suddenly there it was, and it was huge!

Again, my instincts had taken over. I swung my spear and listened for the heartbeat of this flying creature. When I heard exactly where the heart of this monster was, I thrust my spear right there and the creature screeched so loudly that I was deaf to the ears for a moment, after which the creature stopped screaming and slumped to the ground, dying.

When I turned around the elf-like creature was gone. But instead, Yibo and Haikuan came running and Yibo angrily pushed me against the wall of the house. "Have you gone crazy? What are you doing here?" He asked me and then his eyes fell on the two dead creatures.

Yibo told Haikuan to stay where he was and that I was fine. Then he dragged me behind him and out of the alley. "We'll talk about that later!" He said, sounding very angry. But at that moment I didn't care, because I was thinking about 1000 other things.