Weeping Soldiers

The myriad races infest the human world, feeding on people. They disguise themselves as your neighbors, coworkers, lovers, and even you. The Law of Inheritance blankets the world: kill someone, and you can inherit everything they have, their abilities, memories, and identity. No one knows when the person beside them might turn into “it.” Chen Mo is an ordinary man. Single, with no ties, he works the lowest rung at a psionic company. Then, one late night, he notices that the passenger beside him on the subway has an extra shadow. He is swept into the vortex of inheritance, and another “it” takes root inside him: a father who lost his daughter, obsessed with finding her. “It” whispers day and night, eroding his mind. Every time he wavers, he loses a little more of himself. And the crueler truth of this world is that his golden finger, “Conversion,” can only be obtained through the deaths of those around him. Every bit of conversion forces “it” to retreat one step. But the price is that he slowly forgets that person’s face. Old Zhao taught him, “Even if you’re alone, you should still eat properly,” then lost control and died in his arms. Lin Wei made him congee, but kept a knife beneath her pillow. Xiao Man forgot her own name, but remembered the words, “Eat properly.” Chen Mo doesn’t want to become one of the myriad races. He doesn’t want to live off other people’s lives, either. But in this world that devours people, protecting the word “human” takes something more powerful than the Law of Inheritance. Something like the words, “Eat properly.” Something like the rooftop light of a taxi that’s still on. Something like someone pushing open the door and saying, “I’m hungry.” And he will serve them a bowl of rice. The Weeping Soldiers are those who discovered the truth and chose to keep weeping.