Chapter 77

Another day passed. Lin Tu let out a long sigh as she watched Yuan Que bustle about, attending to her every need.

"What's wrong, sister?" Yuan Que turned around nervously at the sound. A thick gauze was wrapped over his eyes, so he could see Lin Tu clearly, but she couldn't make out his eyes in return.

In Yuan Que's vision, the long-limbed woman sat with one leg bent against the sofa, radiating an air of keep-your-distance, yet somehow drawing people irresistibly closer. Yuan Que tried to quiet his racing heart.

She seemed troubled, her fingers idly toying with the iron chain and collar at her feet, swinging it slowly back and forth.

Yuan Que blushed at the sight. When he'd come to his senses, he'd found a chain around his sister's neck. The chain was wrapped in leather, so it wouldn't damage her skin, but Yuan Que had still scrambled to find the key and tossed it in, only relaxing once Lin Tu had unlocked it herself. But every time he remembered that chain encircling her pale neck, threading through her hair, he couldn't stop the heat rising to his face. How could he have done something like that while unconscious?

"Did you deliver the things?" Lin Tu asked.

"Delivered, they arrived yesterday," Yuan Que said eagerly, placing a plate he'd prepared by the cage—soft bread, fresh lettuce leaves nestled between the slices, neatly arranged meat slices, and cut fruit.

Yuan Que looked at Lin Tu expectantly. When she shook her head and refused to eat, he quickly begged, "I took a smoked horse leg from the warehouse and gave it to the shelter—a really big one, and it smells amazing. Sister, won't you try some? The meat on this plate is from that same leg, exactly the same as what I gave them."

"Sister, you haven't eaten in two days. Please, just have a little."

"I don't want to eat, and you don't need to grovel," Lin Tu refused again. "If you really want me to eat something, how about letting me go..."

She paused mid-sentence. Sure enough, Yuan Que's body began to tremble violently, his fingers twitching uncontrollably. It took a long moment before he calmed down.

Lin Tu rubbed her brow and let out another sigh.

There was something wrong with Yuan Que's state.

Ever since he'd gone mad and locked her up here two days ago, Lin Tu had realized that.

Whenever Lin Tu brought up leaving, or anything that might lead to her departure, he would "have an episode," growing paranoid and frantic. Lin Tu knew what normal obsession looked like—from the perspective of wanting to retire and live a peaceful life, she was a stubborn person herself. But Yuan Que was clearly beyond that. Lin Tu couldn't help but think of the Rebel Army and the Government Army—when certain matters were at stake, they too became blindly, irrationally insane, yet the latter were classified as "monsters" by the [Infinite Calamity].

But Lin Tu didn't think Yuan Que belonged with the monsters. He'd never hurt anyone—he just wanted to find her. Two full days had passed, and Lin Tu had tested Yuan Que multiple times trying to verify her suspicions, all to no avail. She couldn't wait any longer, Lin Tu thought. Yuan Que was riddled with secrets she could slowly unravel, but Rui Si couldn't afford to wait.

"I'm thirsty."

Yuan Que, who had been slumped in dejection, snapped his head up at these words, nodding with overwhelming joy as he hurried off to get water. When he set the cup outside the cage, Lin Tu impatiently kicked it over—

"What do you take me for? A dog?"

Yuan Que apologized remorsefully and went to fetch another cup. This time, he hesitated, unsure how to hand the water to Lin Tu.

"Hand it to me directly, respect me like you'd respect a guest. Otherwise I won't drink, and I certainly won't eat either," Lin Tu said with a smile, her tone resolute. "Don't you want to stay with me forever? Then stay with my corpse forever. If a slave loses his freedom, I'd rather die."

"Sister, that's not what I meant." Yuan Que quickly apologized and obediently circled around to the back of the cage, passing the cup through the iron bars.

The cup was about an arm's length away from Lin Tu, but she didn't take it. She simply watched Yuan Que quietly, the cold light glinting off her gold-rimmed glasses in a way that inexplicably made Yuan Que's heart flutter with unease.

The words, 'Afraid I'll bite you and give you rabies?' circled on Lin Tu's tongue, but when she saw the pleading look in Yuan Que's eyes, she swallowed them back down.

Lin Tu graciously reached out her hand, and Yuan Que did his best to stretch his arm as far as he could through the bars.

30 centimeters... 20 centimeters... 10 centimeters... Their fingers drew closer and closer.

A delighted smile crept onto Yuan Que's lips. Just as he thought Lin Tu would take the cup, she suddenly seized his wrist, then lunged forward, her arm threading through the bars to press against his neck, which was flush against the bars from his effort to extend his arm.

"The key," Lin Tu said.

"I won't tell you, sister. You're going to abandon me again, aren't you..." Yuan Que's body trembled as he spoke.

He was having another episode. Lin Tu released his wrist and gave the iron chain still wrapped around her right hand a spin. "Who said I'm abandoning you? Can't I take you with me?"

"Really?" Yuan Que felt better again, his voice lifting slightly.

"The key?" Lin Tu asked again.

"I can't tell you," Yuan Que replied sullenly. He had a gut feeling that if he did, something absolutely terrible would happen—worse than Lin Tu killing him.

He twisted his body slightly, and his clothes naturally fell open.

Lin Tu followed the movement and looked down, spotting a hidden pocket in the lining of his clothes. She reached in and felt around, finding a key. She tilted her head to see Yuan Que with his eyes squeezed shut, looking like he'd say nothing at all, and couldn't help but smile.

Lin Tu unlocked the chain, then fastened it around Yuan Que's neck. Only then did she release him and go to unlock the cage.

Finally free, Lin Tu sat down outside the cage and began eating the food Yuan Que had prepared. The bread was as soft as it looked, and the smoked horse leg wasn't dry—each bite released a smoky, savory juice, balanced nicely by the vegetables. Lin Tu hadn't eaten in two days, so she ate quickly.

"Sister," Yuan Que called out to her then. "Sister, have some water."

He handed the cup over again. Despite the struggle earlier, when Lin Tu had him completely under her control, the cup in his hand hadn't spilled a drop. Lin Tu was indeed a bit thirsty. She took the cup and drained it in one gulp, finally feeling her strength return.

"Now can you tell me where Rui Si is?"

"You still want to go find him?" Yuan Que's mood didn't sink from being chained up, but rather from this question, his gaze dropping.

"He holds some important secrets of the Rebel Army. I need to know them," Lin Tu said, and she watched Yuan Que perk back up immediately. She couldn't help but find it a little amusing—how easy he was to cheer up. "Aren't you worried I might do something bad to the Rebel Army?"

The Yuan Que before her was a genuine colonel of the Rebel Army. Having stayed with them for so long, wouldn't he feel some sense of belonging? That was decades... Lin Tu thought, looking at Yuan Que's face, which had barely changed since their last meeting, and a flicker of suspicion rose in her mind. Even a young man would have grown old waiting that long, if what he said was true.

Was he even still human?

"I'm not worried. Sister can do whatever she wants," Yuan Que said. He'd never considered himself a member of the Rebel Army—he'd come here only to find Lin Tu. But, "I don't want you to go find him."

"Why?" Lin Tu frowned immediately, deciding to shelve that suspicion for now.

"It's extremely dangerous," Yuan Que said. "He's a high-level prisoner. There are four layers of guards around him, inside and out, with at least three wardens per layer. If even one of them is alerted, communication goes straight to the deputy commander, and the entire Rebel Army garrison will be roused."

"And the prison he's in is in a zone with mild nuclear radiation. From the subway station we went to yesterday, after going down the tracks, you'd have to bike a full thirty minutes to get there."

Could Lin Tu, after such a long trek, slip past those guards and actually reach Rui Si? Maybe, but it would be difficult. She needed help.

Lin Tu pondered for a moment, then pulled out her phone and sent a few new messages—to none other than Yi Ying. She trusted that Yi Ying, from the Black Factory, would be very interested in information about outsiders.

If they wouldn't go... Lin Tu thought, then she'd have to go alone. No matter what, she had to find out the root of this world's calamity.

Unfortunately, it was already late into the night, around two or three in the morning. Yi Ying and the others were probably fast asleep by now. Lin Tu decided to bring Yuan Que home first.

Yuan Que's condition was far too unstable. On the way back, he nearly had several episodes, but luckily he was leashed, so no trouble arose. They dawdled their way back to the shelter, where everyone had already fallen sound asleep.

Lin Tu had intended to slip in through the hole in the wall, but as she walked over, her hand touched a layer of wood—had the wall been fixed?

A wave of relief washed over Lin Tu, mixed with a hint of gratitude. Good thing she'd come back, or the promise of "return once the hole is patched" would have been empty words.

Fortunately, Lin Tu remembered that the spare key to the shelter was always kept in the vegetable shed, and one of the metal panels on the greenhouse had come loose enough to squeeze through. That was how she got back inside.

She'd planned to take Yuan Que up to the attic, but she stopped when they passed the second floor.

She was surprised to find that the room where she'd landed—the one with holes in the floor and walls—had been patched up. A wooden plank bed sat in the center, topped with a floral-print quilt. A small table was beside the bed, holding a towel, toothbrush, and other toiletries, and a pair of floral cotton slippers rested underneath.

If she guessed right, this room had been prepared for Lin Tu.

She brought Yuan Que inside, chained him to the iron pipe against the wall, and asked, "Are you feeling okay now?"

It was Yuan Que's first time in Lin Tu's room. He tried hard to keep his eyes from wandering. "As long as I don't leave you, sister, I think I'm fine."

"I'm going out tomorrow, but I'll be back," Lin Tu said. "Can you handle being alone?"

Yuan Que thought for a moment, then nodded. "I don't know why I keep losing consciousness sometimes, but I'll try my best. Sister, go ahead without worry."