Have you ever thought about——
If your name was eaten by something, would you still remember who you are?
My name is Chen Xu, and I am a scavenger. He lived in the scrap metal pile of Shelter 404 for nineteen years, collecting scraps of energy left over from the old era in exchange for black bread. I originally planned to live like this until death - until that day, a B-class alien beast with three heads crashed through the west wall of the shelter.
It opened its mouth at me. I was so frightened that my mind went blank, and I waited for death while holding the jade pendant left by my grandfather. Then, a syllable that I had never learned and could not remember how to pronounce rushed out of my throat.
That thing is really gone. Not because it's afraid of me, but because that syllable is its "name".
From then on, I realized something was wrong with the world. Why do people who have entered the core area end up picking out their nails in a crazy manner and carving their names on the wall? Why do some people stand motionless, just repeating your words mechanically, and when you open their mouths, there is no tongue, only a wriggling black thread? Why are all the cultivation techniques, mantras, and incantations essentially calling for some kind of "pseudo-name"—the stronger you are, the closer you are to "him"?
Oh yes, "He" - the guy who hides himself above all rules and gives all things a false name. He eats your real name, replaces it with the label He gave you, and then tells you: This is you. Want to practice? Can. The price is getting closer to Him. Want to ascend? That's ok too. The price is to become a part of Him and become the enemy of the common people.
Welcome to the painting, my name is Chen Xu, and I am a scavenger.
