Convention - Ch. 2 Dyson Bay
Diary Excerpt
“The arrogance and indifference of the survivors destroyed the remaining hopes of human civilization.”
I don’t know exactly how long I ran in the dark with Mo Xiao. I kept my eyes tightly closed during the escape from the fire. The sound of the explosions kept stimulating my brain as the thick smoke, heatwaves, and debris brush against my skin to the point where it was unbearable.
I squinted and saw Mo Xiao’s footsteps were unusually firm. I took her hand and regained my sense of direction, but combined with everything that just happened, a terrible thought came to my mind, could it be that she had planned all the explosions just now and then run through a pre-planned escape route? As I continue to ponder, I feel that there’s something wrong, but with our current situation, it is more sensible to follow her.
Gradually, the surrounding fire got smaller, and the suffocating ash in my nose gradually dissipated, making it easier to breathe. Mo Xiao’s steps were also much slower, so I knew that we were moving away from danger.
“Alright, it should be safe here.” Mo Xiao muttered in a whisper in my ear.
“What is this place?” I cautiously open my eyes.
“Don’t ask, and also could you let go of my hand.” She said impatiently, then heaved my hand away. “You look pretty weak, so I didn’t expect you to be quite strong, anyways, let’s keep going!”
“Uh, sorry, director, but I ……” Hearing her words, I opened my eyes, but Mo Xiao did not even give me time to ask questions.
Mo Xiao looked around for a moment while muttering something to herself, nodding her head as if she really saw something, and then muttered to herself again
“Yes, yes, they shouldn’t know about this place.”
“Umm, director, where in the world are we going?”
Mo Xiao did not even turn her head back, walking forward by herself. Before even taking a few steps, she heard a heavy crashing sound coming from the darkness — it sounded a lot like someone’s head is pounding on iron bars.
“Tsk ……”
Mo Xiao rubs her forehead and takes a step back.
“Is everything okay?” feeling concerned, I asked.
“Hmph, I don’t believe it, you think you can still trap me here?” She said somewhat reluctantly.
She retreated as if she had overreached, and tripped over something and fell, and then “bam”, just like that she fell on her ass.
I heard her fall and immediately after she spewed a lot of profanity. Seriously, this is the first time I heard the director cursing.
“Ah! What tripped me! Is it you! Hurry up and help me up!” Mo Xiao shouted angrily towards me
“Ah, fine, fine.”
Before I walked up to her, she flipped herself over like a carp and got up from the ground. She then proceeds to grab the thing that tripped her and was going to throw it. But only when she raised the thing above her head, she suddenly stopped moving, took the thing in her hand and felt it for a while, then put it on her head.
“Hehe, there are actually night-vision goggles in stock here, that’s really lucky.”
She muttered to herself and suddenly looked at me, then switched on the bright red light. Her giggling expression is really comical.
“Why don’t you wear night-vision goggles, can you see in this dark? Have you evolved?”
“Well, you didn’t give them to me!”
She shook her head without saying a word, bent down, and picked up another pair of night-vision goggles next to her and gave them to me.
With the night vision goggles on, I realized that we were in a tunnel, surrounded by many daily miscellaneous items and wooden boxes, as well as some broken furniture. I could see that other people had been here not long ago.
The two of us continued to walk, more and more miscellaneous items appeared around us, even small operating tables. Just then, I heard a “pfft”, only to see Mo Xiao stepped on something that looked like toothpaste. I could see that it was a tube of silver oil paint with the words ‘William Henry’ engraved on it. It was the best paint in the world that I had asked the Professor for before.
At this point, I suddenly felt a cool breeze coming from up ahead, which meant we were close to the exit, the wind whistled past my ears. Looking up ahead, I could already see the exit, and I excitedly ran towards the light.
“Hey! Wait!” Mo Xiao suddenly yelled at me.
“Holy crap!”
Pretty much hanging in mid-air, I froze as a strong wind gusted at the exit, nearly blowing me away. And in front of me, there was a raging sea. If Mo Xiao hadn’t rushed up and tugged me by the collar, I would have fallen headfirst.
“Come back, do you want to die?!”
She pulls me back.
“What …… is going on here?”
“What’s going on?”
“Sea ……a sea? It’s a sea out here?”
“Yeah, where do you think you are, the drawing-room or the cafeteria? We’re currently in the launch barrel of a giant missile silo right now.” Mo Xiao said and nudged the ground with her toes.
“But the hospital …… Library …… I ……” I didn’t know what to say all of a sudden. This confusing situation was a real headache to me, and Mo Xiao seemed to have no intention of explaining it to me. She took off her white coat, tied it around her waist, and rolled her tight skirt up.
“Great painter, can you swim?”
“No, I can’t ……” I haven’t been able to swim in the water since I got into the hospital.
“I knew you were useless, good thing I was prepared.” She says this, then moved a wooden box aside, raised it high above her head, and smashed it hard on the ground. The candy that was originally in the box scattered all over the place. I couldn’t tell that Mo Xiao was so strong. She chose the largest board, bolted it to the coat around her waist, and handed it to me.
“Take it,” she said to me, “and no matter what happens, do not let go.”
After saying that, she paused, then added.
“Trust me.”
“Okay! Wait, where did all this candy…”
In the next second, she rushed out like a bullet while taking me, who was holding the board in a tight embrace as if it is my lifeline and jumped into the vast ocean.
“So you already had preparation ……” Before I screamed out, my mouth was filled with a large mouthful of seawater.
Within the raging waves, Mo Xiao and I were like a pair of fallen seabirds, fluttering to stay afloat.
At that moment, I suddenly felt a loud noise behind me and jerked my head back, only to see a huge and unbelievable ship in a sea of burning fire, full of flames, roaring madly in the night sky.
Judging from the gun barrels that were badly distorted by the impact and the collapsed radar, it was clearly a battleship!
Following another explosion, a piece of satin tainted with sparks fell with the wind and landed right next to my hand, it was designed with an odd foil pattern that looked like a rectangular door built with ten fingers. It looks like some kind of esoteric mathematical symbols, but also like some ancient religious totems. Accompanied by this piece of bizarre silk, I gradually lost consciousness.
(TLN: Satin is a smooth, glossy fabric, usually of silk, produced by a weave in which the threads of the warp are caught and looped by the weft only at certain intervals)
“Are you satisfied with your life on Earth?”
After an unknown time, something in the darkness was speaking to me.
“Any opinion on the way of life of the barbaric civilization?”
I opened my eyes and subconsciously raised my head to look at the person speaking in front of me, who was sitting with her legs crossed in a luxurious European classical seat. My eyes widened to see that the person was actually the Professor.
Was she speaking to me?
“Civilization has no distinction between barbarism and enlightenment.”
Just as I was caught in a moment of hesitation, I suddenly opened my mouth and answered involuntarily.
“There is only the difference between being one step ahead and being one step behind.”
This was undoubtedly not my voice; how could a woman’s voice come out of my mouth?
“A childish answer,” snorted the Professor. “I thought that the so-called higher civilizations would not have such naive ideas.”
After hearing this, I lifted my glass, or to be exact, the owner of this body.
“Don’t you think you’re a bit ridiculous in your arrogance?”
“This guest room is designed according to the bedroom my father lived in, and you are the first guest to stay here, are you satisfied with it?” With the cane in her hand, the Professor gestured to the interior of the room.
“A very special courtesy, I like it.”
“I think we will become friends, Gladini.” The Professor said, picking up a tall glass from the table beside her and handing it to me, or rather, to the lady named Gladini.
“A Lafite made in 1982, the only bottle in the world.”
I lowered my head, stared at the bright red liquid in the glass for a moment, took the glass, sniffed it at my nose, and then lifted it and drank it.
“It has a strange taste,” I said, the sour taste of sweetness hovers over my tongue. “What’s this called?”
“Red wine, grape wine, whatever you want to call it.”
“Use?”
“Drink it, or dump it.” The Professor said with a hand on her cheek, smirking.
I picked up the glass and put it in front of my eyes, carefully examining the glass of valuable red wine, as if in thought.
Suddenly, I made a move that I could not understand, no, it was this woman named Gladini, she got up and walked towards the Professor, then picked up the glass, and poured it down the Professor’s head.
“Thank you for the hospitality, I’m really glad.” Gladini turned around and said without a care with her back to the Professor.
Only to see the Professor wipe her face with her hand, her face remains unchanged. And at this time I was so stunned because I am unable to see Gladini’s face, I didn’t understand why she was doing this.
“That’s it for today, I’m heading back.”
With those words, I walked towards a painting hanging on the wall next to me.
No, technically it’s not a painting, it’s just a piece of black paper with a gold frame around it. I slowly approached the paper, and it seemed to have some kind of regal magic, I felt breathless and dizzy. I saw that the black paper began to emit a colorful and strange light ……
“Hey, get up.”
Someone was calling me.
In a blur, I saw Mo Xiao yelling at me with her arms crossed.
“Have you gotten over it? Still need me to give you CPR?”
I opened my eyes, and a sudden surge of warmth in my throat made me cough up a few mouthfuls of water.
“Ugh, come on.”
I didn’t have time to see Mo Xiao’s face clearly before she yanked me up in one swoop.
“Get up, we don’t have time to waste.”
“We’re at?”
“The beach, we got out of the ship.”
“The ship, the ship, yes, tell me where this place is, why the Library is on a ship, and who am I, if you won’t tell me, I’ll ……”
“What if I don’t tell you? Answer you or else you’ll cry about it?” Mo Xiao sneered.
Yeah, that’s right, with this current situation, I have no qualifications to ask questions, I could only obediently let her do as she wills.
I got up from the ground and sighed.
Mo Xiao looked at my sad face, with little compassion, “Let’s go, there are some things that will have to take it slow, when it is time to let you know, I will let you know.”
Thinking about what she said and the dream just now, I became more and more confused, but as Mo Xiao said, since I am already in this situation, I might as well let the course of this event develop naturally. So I walked beside her through the empty beach and toward the deep, dense forest ahead.
Walking inside the dense forest, it was much quieter than I had expected. In the various documentaries in the Library, the forest is very noisy at night, insects whistling, wind whistling, branches rustling, the song of courtship when animals are in heat, and nocturnal animals snoring, but here, I am completely unable to hear these.
The surrounding area is quiet to the point that it is horrific as if this is not a vibrant green place, but a barren location without any soil. Even the soil here is as dry as the materials of the construction site, which shows no sign of nutrients.
At that moment, I felt something falling lightly above my head, I reached out and touched it, only to feel that it was some kind of cold, hard thing that had an unidentifiable shape. I took it down and almost lost half my life when I saw it. I fell to the ground and was covered with dry dirt, and then threw the object out from my hand — it turned out to be a large, brightly colored spider.
“You’re afraid of bugs?”
“Yeah, I am very scared of those.”
“Tch, you don’t act like a man,” Mo Xiao said while picking up the spider I threw from the ground with no fear on her face. “This thing does not bite.”
“But it’s spiders ……”
“It’s a garden pest,” Mo Xiao said indifferently as she placed the spider on a tree, eyeing the eight-legged insect as it climbed up the canopy and disappeared behind the leaves. “Although artificial plants are easy to care for, it does not mean that they do not need to be taken care of. This kind of insect can inject a nutritious solution into artificial plants with its mouthpiece according to the program, although it is not alive, it is also considered a ‘beneficial insect’.”
Hearing this, I realized that the so-called forest is just a synthetic impostor, the soil, trees, every flower, and meadow here turn out to be fake.
“Why is it made like this, where are all the real plants?” I was puzzled.
“If the real plants can live, why would fakes be made, wake up young master, it’s 2073, and you still want to see the organic ones? Go back to the Library and there are a few pots in the Professor’s office.” Mo Xiao impatiently replied.
(TLN: By young master, she is sarcastically saying that he is naive and doesn’t understand anything)
“2073? I remember the documentary in the Library only goes to about 2020, so what happened in between those years and why is the Professor keeping this a secret?”
“She hides a lot more compared to this, the Library is a …… forget it, I’ll tell you later,” Mo Xiao replied. Seeing that Mo Xiao did not want to answer, It was hard for me to ask any more questions, so I continued to walk with her through this artificial forest.
After walking for about an hour, the view in front of us gradually opened up, looking ahead, there is the city in front of us, with what Mo Xiao said, we first had to go through a long underground tunnel to get there.
After entering the tunnel, our pace also slowed down a lot, thinking from yesterday to now, the two of us have experienced too many drastic changes. It has been physically and mentally exhausting. At this time, Mo Xiao suddenly opened the box and began to tell me a story about the Professor.
The chameleon I met in the Library earlier, named Newton, was a birthday present given to Mo Xiao by the Professor when she was very young, and Mo Xiao was overjoyed at the time, she had an inexplicable affinity for birds and cold-blooded animals. So she scoured the dictionaries and literature, intending to come up with a name she liked for the little guy.
“So you named it ‘Newton’?” I asked.
“Heh”,” Mo Xiao snickers, “I didn’t realize until after I had named it that it already had a name. Did you know, the Professor, likes to name everything within her control, she never cares about the attitude of the owner, and she doesn’t care if the name fits. The Professor named it “Newton”, but I don’t study physics, so why should I name it ‘Newton’?”
“I see, from what I know of the Professor, she is a very possessive person.”
“This city in front is also named by the Professor.” Mo Xiao pointed ahead with her finger.
“Huh?” I said in surprise, “The Professor has so much authority? She can even name a city?”
“That’s just the tip of the iceberg, the Professor has authority much more powerful than you can imagine, but that’s all in the past.” Mo Xiao answers.
From Mo Xiao’s words, it is not difficult to infer that the Professor is not any ordinary scientific researcher. But to have the authority to name a city, she must be at least at the level of a mayor, right?
“Then what is the name of this city in front of us?”
Mo Xiao smiled faintly and was not in a hurry to answer me.
After walking for about half an hour, the two of us came out of the tunnel. And looking up, I see the sky above is so lively, a world apart from the previous scenes.
All kinds of high-rise buildings plunged into the sky, and between the buildings, holographic projections of billboards were constantly switching, so that people could not turn their eyes away from them. The sky was filled with flying shuttle cars, and the flashing headlights decorated the sky so beautifully that it looked like a colorful river of stars. The stores on the street were also decorated in different styles, from small workshops painted with various graffiti to grand hotels decorated magnificently.
There were finally some pedestrians on the street, which made me feel that I fit in.
“Finally, I see a person.” I breathed a sigh of relief.
But the strange thing is that the atmosphere here is as silent as the artificial forest we just passed, and there is no communication between people. As we went deeper and deeper inside the city, I found that everyone here looked as if they were thinking about something on their mind. As if no one around them existed, and this weird atmosphere made my scalp tingle.
“Director, these people are not synthetic dummies, right?” I asked in a quiet voice.
“Of course not, although right now it’s quiet, the network world is bustling. They have a chip in their brain that can directly log into the Internet, where they can do anything, as long as it is not illegal.”
“So that’s it, did you install it then?”
“No, I’m repulsed by that kind of stuff. Are you a hundred thousand reasons why? Shut up!” Mo Xiao replied without good humor.
Just then, something suddenly poked me from behind, and I looked back, only to see that it was a green shell, looking like a garbage can contraption. It paused for a moment and a pair of glowing red eyes emerged from its body.
“What’s this?” I snickered and bent down and nudged the thing, only to see it shake wildly for a while as if I had poked it in the soft spot.
“Why can’t you control your hands!” Before I could figure out what was happening, Mo Xiao suddenly fiercely rushed over and took my hand and ran.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
“That’s the security robot on the street, why are you poking him? This thing is notorious for being pretentious!”
Before I could react, a sharp siren then sounded behind me, and two hands formed by the green trash can and roared in hot pursuit.
“Routine check, routine check.” The thing ran while mechanically repeating the phrase in a cute girly voice.
Mo Xiao and I ran as if our lives were on the line, and as she led us into an alley, I looked back and the security robot flinched outside for a moment, then turned for elsewhere.
Mo Xiao and I breathed a sigh of relief and looked around for a moment, and this was a different kind of world. It was a world different from the city that was just filled with bustling scenes ……
“This place is ……”
I used my foot to step on the potholed road, which is completely a puddle of mud. The surrounding buildings’ walls were also painted with the same mud on the ground, some of the dried mud on the walls has peeled off, the red bricks inside were exposed.
“Surprised? Was that fun? If you give me trouble again, I’ll bury you in this mud.”
Mo Xiao glanced at me.
“Sorry, Director, I won’t dare next time.” I felt sorry for my carelessness.
“Forget it, alas, gilded outside, shabby inside, it describes this city, but as well as this era.” Mo Xiao looked around and made an intriguing remark.
At this time, I smelled a fragrance coming from the roadside, exceptionally alluring. It was a noodle shop, and the owner was sweating profusely while sitting on a chair, eating something while talking to the diners.
I remembered that from yesterday to now, Mo Xiao and I have not drunk any water, and now there is this alluring smell, it suddenly feels empty in the stomach.
“Hungry?” Mo Xiao asked
“Yeah, I am very hungry.”
“Let’s go then, what are you waiting for?” leaving that, Mo Xiao and I walked into the noodle shop.
The noodle shop is not big, but there are many customers inside, the steam coming from the large pot of boiling water and people’s second-hand smoke filled the store, making the place foggy.
“Hey owner! Two bowls of flat noodles with chili oil, add more spice, more soup, and a few pieces of meat as well!” Mo Xiao shouted as she rubbed her chopsticks together.
I looked around, the diners here were all in rags, gobbling up their food, everyone’s faces lifeless and their eyes empty.
“Stop looking. This place is a slum, you think they are all as well-fed as you are, young master?” Mo Xiao said to me.
At this time, the two bowls of noodles we asked for were brought up by the store assistant.
“Eat up, we still have some distance to go afterward.” She said indifferently, and Mo Xiao picked up some noodles from the bowl and slurped them into her mouth, not caring about the oil that splattered on her white coat.
I watched her, and then at the noodles in my bowl, and hesitated for two or three seconds, and still did not eat.
“What’s wrong, aren’t you going to eat?”
Seemingly noticing that I haven’t touched my chopsticks, she looked up at me, the corner of her mouth still covered with a thick layer of chili oil.
“Aren’t you hungry? Oh, I get it, you like to watch others eat while hungry yourself, sorry, please continue.”
“No …… it’s not that, it’s just ……”
I frowned.
“Don’t you think this is too spicy?”
I held up the bowl, on the dark soup base floats chunks of chili oil, scallions, and meat scraps. Although it looks appetizing, if you lean your face forward, the sensation of numbness coming off the pepper is discouraging.
“You can’t eat spicy food? You’re really useless huh.”
“It’s not that …… the food in the hospital is very light ……”
“Ah, it does seem like that ……” said so, Mo Xiao hesitated for a moment, suddenly picked up a piece of meat covered with hot oil, and violently shoved it into my mouth.
“Shit? What are you doing?” Instantly I felt dizzy from the spice, and my nose and eyes gushed out in a torrent of snot and tears.
“So~, you have no tolerance for spicy food!” Mo Xiao grinned widely.
“You can keep eating, I have no appetite, I just want to find someplace to sleep,” After going through that, I suddenly lost my appetite.
“Tch, you have so many problems.” Mo Xiao glanced at me and gobbled up her food by herself.
She ate an incredible amount of food, and after finishing her bowl, she ate my bowl as well, without leaving any soup.
After Mo Xiao had eaten and drunk enough, she burped and then took out a map from her pocket and signaled me to get closer. I got closer to look, the map depicting the city we are currently in.
“Look here,” Mo Xiao pointed to an area on the map with her finger. “Didn’t you ask what the city is called, it’s called Dyson Bay, the name originates from physicist Freeman Dyson since the Professor liked to name cities after various physicists. A river flows through the city, we’re on this side now, our destination is on the other side, the river is small in size although there are 42 bridges, these bridges were all originally closed five years ago and no one could enter or leave. But recently, one day a month, one of these 42 bridges will open at 3:00 a.m. There will be a lot of military vehicles going to and from both sides of the river, and all we have to do is to cross this bridge and go to the other side.”
“What’s on the other side, and will someone there be to receive us?” I was a little confused after hearing all that information.
“Don’t you want to know who you are? Your answers are on the other side.” Mo Xiao inclined her head toward me and said.
Hearing her say that, I immediately got excited. Finally, I can figure out the mystery behind me. From the Library accident to now, I have been thinking every moment that I must recover my memory and return to my original life.
“Alright! I’ll do as you say, Director. So what do we do now?” I asked.
“To cross this bridge, first we need two things, one is a permit, which I have, and the other is a means of transportation,” Mo Xiao tapped her hand on the table, “The point is that at that time there will be a squad of helicopters patrolling the air and watching for vehicles passing on the ground, and our goal is to mix in with one of the helicopters.”
“Wait, Director, aren’t we crossing the river? This river is not that wide, and relatively speaking this bridge is not much longer than the width, right?”
“Look at you, here we go again, if I don’t tell you, you’ll keep asking, even if I tell you, you’ll still keep asking, you might as well go back to the Library, I bet the professor probably misses you quite a bit.” Mo Xiao pushed the map off and leaned back in her chair, looking a little upset.
“I mean, Director, why don’t we blend into the convoy? Do you know how to fly a helicopter?”
“…… It’s because the security on the ground is very strict, can you stop asking any more questions, young master?” Mo Xiao lowered her voice and said angrily.
“Okay, I’m sorry, I’m just curious,” I also realized my talkativeness and hastily shut up.
We rested for a few moments at the noodle shop and then continued on our way. Mo Xiao and I bypassed many bungalows and arrived at a crowded bazaar, which is arguably the liveliest place I’ve been since arriving in the city. The place is tight and full of stalls from one end of the street to the other end. All kinds of shouting to promote their products, all kinds of household utensils, antiques, decorations, rituals, even medical devices are on sale.
“Finally, somewhere that’s lively.” I let out a long breath of relief.
As we walked and looked around, Mo Xiao stopped in front of a stall and went up as if she had found some treasure.
“Young master, come and take a look, this is something good.” Mo Xiao said to me.
I lowered my head and found scalpels of different sizes neatly arranged on the stall.
“Director, what do you want this for, you wouldn’t be planning on dissecting me, aren’t you?”
“Dissecting you? That’s something the Professor likes to do, I’m not interested in that.” Mo Xiao replied.
“The Professor has this kind of elegant interest, huh?” Not knowing whether Mo Xiao’s remark was a joke or not, I had to compensate with a smile.
I saw Mo Xiao waved her hand towards the stall owner and said, “Give me a sturdy travel bag, I’ll take all the ones on the ground.”
“Yo, little sister, it’s not cheap to buy all the things on the ground, can you afford the price?” The stall owner said with a distrusting face.
(TLN: The same thing as the little brother, they are not blood-related)
Mo Xiao listened, then rolled up her sleeves. On her wrist, a symbol lit up from underneath her skin.
“Director, didn’t you dislike this thing?” I was curious, “It must have hurt when this thing was implanted, right?”
“It doesn’t hurt, but it feels a little weird. I told you to stay put for a while, stop looking around at everything as if it is new to you.” Mo Xiao said to me.
The stall owner, as if he saw something remarkable, took Mo Xiao’s wrist and pulled out a scanner-like object from his pocket, sweeping it carefully several times.
“Ayy, I really didn’t expect this little stall of mine to be so fortunate today, are you from the Coalition Government?” The stall owner asked with a tentative tone.
“What’s the matter, did you think it’s fake?”
“That’s not the problem, but you’re not baiting us for law enforcement, are you? We’re just trying to make a living.” The stall owner whispered.
“Stop worrying about those things and fill the bag for me.” Mo Xiao stood up and brushed the dirt off her skirt.
“Okay, a total of 82,000, but just for you it’s 80,000,” said the stall owner while hurriedly picking up the scalpels on the ground one by one.
“Dang, you’re so rich.” I was a little surprised at Mo Xiao’s expense.
“Come on, up ahead is where we’re heading, there’s something we need there.” Mo Xiao waved her hand at me.
We walked for a short while and crossed the bazaar. After passing an abandoned construction site, Mo Xiao led us into a small store deep in the alley.
The architecture of the store was very different compared to the slums, with three gray masonry walls forming a triangle, emitting a solemn aura. I looked at the sign hanging on the second floor, which reads “Stargazer”, it seems that the owner is an astronomy enthusiast.
When I entered the store, people were sitting in twos and threes in the dimly lit room, candle holders made of hollowed-out globes were placed on the tables, and murals about the stars were hung on the walls.
At the far end of the bar, a lady with colorful hair was mixing drinks, only to see her holding a wine glass in her hand, pouring red, green, and blue wine into it in turn, and then quickly mixing them. At this time, the customers from time to time were whistling, then she held her breath, and then violently flipped her wrist down, with a smooth lift, the wine glass rotated a full 360 degrees, this was completed all in one go. The guests then fixed their eyes and saw that the cloudy wine was divided into three colors: purple, yellow, and green. This extraordinary skill made the guests shouted out excitedly. I was stunned by the magic-like procedure, how is it like bartending? This is more like a magic trick, there must be something fishy here.
“Quit looking, I’ve seen this stupid trick more than 10,000 times, follow me,” Mo Xiao said to me.
Mo Xiao and I found some empty seats and sat down, only to see Mo Xiao snapping her fingers to have a very fancy-dressed old man come over.
“Yo, Miss Mo, you’re so bored at night that you drenched yourself?”
The old man saw us in a mess and joked.
“Cut the crap, why are there no lights on at night, unscrupulous shop, huh?”
(TLN: A pun is made here but lost in translation, she is talking about the shop is dark because there are no lights on, then comments that it is a dark shop, which also means unscrupulous)
Mo Xiao asked as she walked up to the bar.
“Forget it, Miss Mo, do you think everyone can afford electricity like you?”
The old man shot back, then held a candle, shining it beside Mo Xiao and casting a glance at me.
“He’s the one the crazy lady is looking for?”
“That’s right.”
“Heh, then you’re good at what you do.”
“I didn’t come here to chat with you, let’s get down to business.”
Mo Xiao’s expression suddenly got serious and put her face closer. The old man in fancy clothes did not change his expression by her intimidation and took out a large glass bottle from behind him and placed it onto the table.
“Alright, business.”
He pushed the glass bottle in front of Mo Xiao’s face. Mo Xiao looked at the glass bottle and pushed it back again.
“This is pretty entertaining, but I’m not here to drink today.”
She said, pointing again to me who was beside her.
“He’s the business.”
“Okay, but let me remind you, Mo Xiao, that once something is done, there’s no going back.” The old man’s expression suddenly became serious.
Mo Xiao smiled but did not reply.
“Well, good luck then, come with me,” the old man said.
Mo Xiao and I got up, led by the old man, we entered the bar’s kitchen, through a pile of pots and pans, we walked out of the back door of the bar, only to see the old man take out a remote control and press a button. A sudden “buzzing” sound came from underneath the ground and began to crack, a small helicopter rose from underneath.
“So it’s hidden in a place like this,” I said to myself.
I saw Mo Xiao excitedly climb up and start tapping on the console of the helicopter, and I suddenly noticed that there was a small shadow in the corner near the bar. Through the faint light, I could barely see that it was a child, wearing a nightgown, hiding behind the corner and looking at us with curiosity and fear.
I wanted to walk up and say hello, but Mo Xiao stopped me.
“Come on up, this thing is the real deal and it works.”
She said as she patted the door of the helicopter. It was a small helicopter, and probably only seats two people.
“Director, where are we going, is it far?” From my point of view, the helicopter didn’t seem to be able to fly very far.
“The Destination? Hell, didn’t I say that before?”
“Hell??? Alright, Director, you can go by yourself, good luck, see ya!” I was taken aback by Mo Xiao’s brainless comments. And just at this time, a blinding light pierces over, shining so brightly that one could not open their eyes.
“Who is that?”
“Tch, I knew it, someone from the Library came after us.”
Mo Xiao pursed her lips.
“That was fast.” She said while leaning her body out of the plane, trying to pull me up, but had to halt because of a few gunshots going off.
“It’s not my fault, Missy, you’re moving too slowly yourself.” The old man shrugged.
“If it wasn’t for that we have to secure and save the information in the lab, you think that you two would be able to live for this long?”
A few people with guns were pointing at us, and I reflexively raised my hands, not daring to make any movements. Mo Xiao squinted at me and gave a reluctant ‘tsk’ and stepped out of the helicopter, also raising her hands.
Following the sound, a woman came out of the crowd, wearing a brown military coat, playing with a pair of bronze-colored handcuffs in her hands, and blond curls that stood out.
“Good evening.” She smiled and looked over at me.
“I’m here to pick you up Missy, and that little brother.”
“You are ……?” I asked tentatively.
“It doesn’t matter who I am, besides, isn’t there someone next to you who understands?”
“Wakatsuki Uraki!”
Mo Xiao suddenly shouted.
“I’m going to kill you one day and rip that stinking face off of you! Pull out your guts and feed them to Newton!”
Mo Xiao shouted in a mad rage as if her teeth were about to gnash.
“Aiya, Missy, what did Wakatsuki do wrong again? I don’t care if you go back or not, but regarding his return, you have no say in it.” Saying so, Wakatsuki looked at me.
“Huang Yuan little brother, the professor is very concerned about your condition, you still need to go back to the hospital for treatment, right?”
“Me …… curing me? You can stop your bullshit ……” At this time, I have been completely convinced that the so-called Library is not a hospital, and I am not a patient. At this moment the most important thing for me is to survive, and figure out my identity.
“Is that so, Huang Yuan ……”
Wakatsuki smiled.
I could feel that there were dozens of people lurking around Mo Xiao and me, all holding murderous weapons and ready to pull the trigger.
I frowned and subconsciously held Mo Xiao’s hand.
But in this next instant, I suddenly felt something cold was held against my head, and I looked over my shoulder with trepidation. Mo Xiao pulled out a pistol and pressed it against my temple.
“Then before that, I’ll blow his head off.”
She said in a tone that didn’t sound like a joke at all, and the mood suddenly became tense. No one dared to move, as if even the act of breathing would possibly trigger Mo Xiao.
“Director, we don’t have any grievances against each other right? We don’t have to do things this way, right?” I said towards Mo Xiao.
“Nobody takes you for a mute if you shut up for a second.”
“Ah~~ I’m really sorry, Sister Wakatsuki, if he dies some people will have a hard time, right? Would they be executed?”
(TLN: Sarcasm, to annoy Wakatsuki)
Wakatsuki was obviously leading the group, but she didn’t speak, and no one else dared to speak. Her smile was now gone, and her eyes stared intently at Mo Xiao’s hand with the gun. In this empty field, everyone felt the appalling pressure, as if the air had become thick.
“The Professor entrusted me to bring a message to you, Miss, you’re young, don’t act so rash, especially one as smart as you.”
“Get the fuck out!” Mo Xiao suddenly shouted in a frenzy, as if she had been insulted by something, her eyes glared, then she snapped the hammer of her pistol.
“Don’t make me repeat myself!”
Mo Xiao’s words caused Wakatsuki to not dare to go forward, but only to see her coldly commands and signal her underlings to “fall back”. The people hidden in the dark scatter, but the murderous aura has not diminished in the slightest.
“Come on, let us go in and have a drink, you can rest assured that I promised to spare you today and won’t go back on my word.” Wakatsuki’s eyes soften.
“Alright, but in the future, I would have nothing to do with the Professor” Mo Xiao replied.
So, I went back to the bar with Mo Xiao, but Mo Xiao’s gun continues to be pointed at my head.
“Do as you like, it’s not like I’m the only one who’s bothered by this development.”
While saying this, Wakatsuki picked up the wine on the table that was supposed to be for Mo Xiao and drank it down with a gulp.
Mo Xiao froze, I could feel the muzzle of the gun at my temple and the hand holding the gun trembling. For a moment, she choked up, unable to speak.
Just then, the old man who was wiping his cup aside suddenly coughed twice.
“Say, we’re closing now, and since you said you’d let them go, shouldn’t you head back now?”
“Oh?” Wakatsuki squinted at the old man for a moment. “Do you think this is a realistic request?”
“What do you mean by that?!” Mo Xiao roared, “Didn’t you say you’ll let us go?!”
“Yes, I said I would let you guys go, but I have to go back to report with at least something. You know how the professor is, I can’t go back empty-handed. You guys have to give me some respect too.” I saw Wakatsuki extend her hand and a magazine was there.
“Holy shit, when?” Mo Xiao hurriedly looked at the gun in her hand, only to see that in the place where the magazine is was plugged with a piece of scrap iron.
That’s when I realized that the black shadow that had disappeared just then had reappeared on the windows around the bar.
“Then I’ll give you some respect.” The old man said, lifting another bottle of wine from behind him and slamming it heavily in front of Wakatsuki. Wakatsuki took a look at the bottle, carried the bottle by the cork, turned the bottle around, and showed an imperceptible smile.
“This is good stuff …… indeed worthy of some respect.” Then she paused “but that’s not enough.”
“Then take me with you.” The old man said indifferently.
“Is that so? That’s just barely alright I guess.” Wakatsuki agreed reluctantly and waved her hand, and the shadows lurking in the shadows retreated in response.
“So Professor Chen, let’s catch up with the past.”
“Yes, it’s been some years, even little kids like you have grown so big …… I remember when you were always bullying other kids and making a mess in my lab.” The old man shook his head and sighed.
“Oh, I was indebted to you for taking care of me back then ……”
“How’s that crazy lady doing? How’s her health?” The old man asked.
“The Professor’s health is fine, it’s just that she’s grown a lot of white hair again.” Wakatsuki deliberately dragged out the word ‘again’ for a long time.
“Oh? Then I’ll have to congratulate her for taking another step up, it’s the world’s misfortune, the heavens have no eyes.”
“Don’t you have any plans to come back? With someone like you, I’m sure the Professor will also let it go for what happened before and today.”
“Forget it.” The old man waved his hand. “Our paths are different and we’ll not on good terms either”
“Alrighty then.”
Wakatsuki shrugged and took a sip from the bottle.
“Well …… the wine is good, it’s the real deal, not like synthetic junk.”
Afterward, she looked towards the old man for a moment more.
“Although in this era, there is no longer such a concept as a country, I still feel that many special perceptions are engraved in the bones.” She rested her chin and said meaningfully.
“It’s like that, different cultural factors influence people and constitute a diverse human civilization.”
“It is said that you and the Professor share the same roots, but why do you give me such a different feeling? I had this doubt since I was very young, to be exact it should be that she has a very different faith from the rest of you. In your perception, kinship is your faith, right?”
So saying, Wakatsuki took the candle on the table and shone it to the side, only to see a little girl in a nightgown being strangled by a hand in the darkness.
“Grandpa, who are they?” The little girl asked in a whisper as she hid behind.
“Don’t be afraid, they are grandpa’s friends”, said the old man, and from nowhere brought a glass of milky white wine and handed it to Wakatsuki, with a hint of desperation in his eyes. “Since I used to care for you so much, please do me a favor.”
“Just tell me what you know, there’s no need for that,” Wakizuki said indifferently and took the cup.
“I remember it was about 17 years ago, that day we were excited like children, the people at the base went crazy and cheered. All kinds of documents, manuscripts, and arithmetic papers flying all over the room.” said the old man’s eyes flooded with a shimmer.
“Unfortunately …… that is indeed not something we should mess with.” The old man sighed.
“I see.”
Wakatsuki said, stood up, and slowly walked over to the little girl and squatted down.
“Good girl.”
She smiled and put the wine against the little girl’s mouth, forcing her to drink. The little girl choked, coughed a few times, and then fainted.
“How did the Mo family raise such a person!” The old man said fiercely and then finished the wine in one go.
Mo Xiao and I boarded the helicopter as we originally intended to and flew away from the stargazing platform, while Wakatsuki, with her arms crossed, watched our departure from below.
“Director, Professor Chen and that child, what will happen to them?” My mind already had an unsettling premonition, and I asked in a low voice.
“I will take revenge for them.” Mo Xiao’s words were muffled by the roar of the engine, and the bar, along with the people inside, disappeared from this world as if it had never existed.
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KhayDesu
They were used as a Collateral huh?