This situation spread across the entire planet in just three days.
The disaster struck so suddenly that it left no room for reaction or remedy.
Humans and other creatures, dizzy and disoriented, began to mutate, some more severely than others.
In an instant, the words "end of the world" spread throughout the planet.
But it wasn't a simple transformation into zombies like in the movies' biohazard scenarios.
In fact, to this day, people haven't fully understood what unknown substances that meteorite carried.
However, the prevailing consensus now is that it brought a strange form of radiation.
And it was this radiation that caused widespread biological mutations.
Nothing that could breathe or move was spared.
First, animals and humans, and finally, even the plants were not exempt.
To such an extent that even the surviving plants bore fruits that ordinary people could not consume.
Not long after the mutations began, the entire planet ground to a halt, and the social system collapsed and disintegrated like urea in a U-bend.
The radiation harmed everyone differently.
But the one constant was that the damage was continuous.
This was what Lin Feng had previously seen as the "erosion value."
When the erosion value exceeded twenty percent, people would show obvious abnormalities.
For instance, blood vessels beneath the skin would become thicker, visible as black and red veins spreading across the body.
And when the erosion value reached over fifty percent, there was a high probability of an unknown and irreversible mutation.
In this state, a significant portion of people would lose consciousness and their former memories, becoming purely beasts driven by a love for slaughter.
They seemed like monsters in novels who had unlocked their gene locks, becoming incredibly strong and filled with a lust for killing.
However, a small minority managed to retain their memories and sanity, much like the old man telling this story now, and the wolf that had fallen silent.
With that, the old man took out three cups again and poured three cups of hot water.
"Drink up, drink up. I haven't put anything in this time..."
The old man placed the hot water on the table.
Lin Feng made no move, remaining vigilant.
Ophelia hesitated. Since Lin Feng hadn't drunk, she also chose not to. She didn't lack water.
The old man organized his thoughts and continued.
Most of their loved ones and friends had turned into monsters.
Those who remained rational chose to band together for warmth.
The villages and settlements that existed now were pretty much formed this way.
And two years after the meteorite impact, humanity still couldn't fully adapt to the current way of life.
The radiation mutations had stabilized, but that was just the beginning.
Just when people thought they could gradually alleviate the situation and rebuild their homes, extreme weather began to appear.
Thunderstorms, tornadoes, and other major disasters followed one after another.
This was like adding frost to snow for all life.
The disasters did not end quickly as imagined but persisted for an unimaginably long time.
And the culmination of these extreme disasters was an endless winter.
This was what Lin Feng saw now, the land seemingly perpetually covered in white.
The blizzards, since their arrival, showed no signs of leaving.
Intermittently, they continued until now.
Yes, for the first few years, it snowed continuously, and the temperature was terrifyingly low.
Only a few scattered places had somewhat normal temperatures.
Faced with the dual blows of these disasters, humanity saw no hope for the future.
It was then that the Life Gene Society emerged.
After the disaster, the Life Gene Society reappeared, casting doubt on the notion of irreversible mutations.
They claimed to be conducting research that could reverse the damage caused by radiation.
At the same time, they urged people to sign up for their experimental trials.
They called for mutated individuals with erosion values between twenty and fifty percent who still retained their sanity to participate.
Faced with this sudden glimmer of hope, people's eyes seemed to light up again.
They clung to it like a life-saving straw, rushing madly to Life Gene Society branches everywhere.
"The news back then, that's what I heard from here."
The old man spoke, pointing to an old-fashioned radio on the table.
Hope had arrived.
Perhaps for their families, perhaps for the next generation, a large number of qualified mutated individuals voluntarily became test subjects.
Thus, batches of mutated people formed teams and traveled to the few laboratories set up by the Life Gene Society worldwide.
A year passed, then two years passed.
By the end of the second year, people gradually began to sense that something was wrong.
The Life Gene Society was still recruiting test subjects through broadcasts.
But mysteriously, not a single mutated person who went for the experiment ever returned.
Although the Life Gene Society continued to report on the progress of their experiments, there were no successful cases, or rather, no mutated individuals returned.
Combined with their continuous recruitment of a large number of test subjects, even the most foolish could tell that the Life Gene Society had a problem.
Gradually, no mutated people were willing to participate in the experiments.
The Life Gene Society, in turn, found itself lacking test subjects.
Even with the generous rewards offered for participation, no one was willing to jump into that abyss anymore.
After all, what use were those supplies if their lives were gone?
And it was at this point that the fangs of the Life Gene Society began to show.
Since voluntary subjects were no longer coming, they would simply capture them!
Thus, following mutation and extreme disaster, the third calamity befell them.
The Life Gene Society transformed those who had gone for experiments into obedient killing machines loyal to them.
They appeared around the peripheries of various gathering points or villages, launching operations to capture mutated individuals.
In an instant, the Life Gene Society acquired a large number of test subjects again.
But they were not satisfied. Since their exposure was inevitable, they decided to capture as many as they could.
Life on this planet was in agonizing pain under the relentless string of disasters.
However, the Life Gene Society did not remain powerful forever.
Regardless of the universe or planet, humans have always been a race that looks towards the sun and holds onto hope.
If there was no hope, they would forge one.
Countless mutated individuals who retained their sanity, empowered by their mutated bodies, took on the responsibility of protecting the last vestiges of civilization.
With them as the main fighting force, and ordinary people wielding firearms as support, they began to fight against the Life Gene Society.
This struggle continued for countless years.
"Decades, decades have passed like this..."
The old man sighed uncontrollably as he reached this point.
Decades had passed, and the world had become this way, which was heartbreaking.