The Origin of Species
Amid a three-year pandemic, the Anning Virus evolves beyond a mere pathogen—it mutates human genes, stripping some of core emotional or cognitive anchors and forging extreme traits: Han Che loses all emotion to absolute rationality, Wen Qing is consumed by unbridled feeling, Feng Jian becomes a hollow conformist, Yan Zhi cannot tolerate a single lie, Hu Ping abandons morality for superficial harmony, Jia Ming retreats into delusion, and Gu Ying is severed from all social need. Bound by a viral instinct—"Find him/her"—these seven strangers are drawn into an inescapable connection, their fates intertwined by a force rooted in the virus’s ancient design.
Beneath the chaos, a microbial mat—born from the virus’s aggregation—spreads across the planet, devouring waste and pathogens as a primitive planetary "cleaner." But when it absorbs five of the seven (Feng Jian, Yan Zhi, Hu Ping, Jia Ming, Gu Ying), it evolves into colossal, semi-humanoid beings driven by fragmented human traits. These colossi, initially agents of ecological correction, spiral into chaos as their internal contradictions (conformity vs. truth, illusion vs. loneliness) tear at their cohesion. Meanwhile, the novel unravels a cosmic secret: the virus carries genetic fragments of the Primordials, an advanced civilization wiped out 66 million years ago, who encoded their revival into seven "Core-Soul Genes"—the extreme traits of the seven protagonists.
As the colossi threaten human extinction, Han Che sacrifices himself to infuse his rationality into their core, temporarily stabilizing them but sowing the seeds of collapse. When the colossi’s internal conflict triggers a global breakdown, Wen Qing—bearing the final missing "Emotional" Core-Soul Gene—chooses to merge with the newborn life emerging from the colossi’s ruins. Her sacrifice completes the Primordials’ genetic blueprint, birthing a billion unique newborns that blend ancient wisdom with human warmth.
Against the backdrop of societal collapse and planetary upheaval, the novel explores the fragility of humanity’s emotional and rational balance, the cost of survival, and the hope of rebirth—probing whether destruction is merely a prelude to a more complete form of life.
