Chapter 25: Not the first time
In the face of Zhong Yirou’s words, An Wujiu appeared excessively calm.
“We won’t make a sound.” His expression was so straightforward that it was somewhat adorable.
As this response came out, the other three people all paused at the same time, then burst into laughter.
Zhong Yirou laughed so hard she had to hold onto the table. “You are like two different people in and out of the game; where did that cleverness go?” She pointed at Wu You, who was covering his stomach and laughing, “Even this little brat understands.”
Mentioned by name, Wu You felt slightly embarrassed and cleared his throat, “I’m not a little brat.”
An Wujiu was still somewhat puzzled. He turned his head to look at Shen Ti. The other party was smiling, not exaggerated, with one hand supporting his chin and a faintly ambiguous smile on his lips. He also turned his eyes and glanced at An Wujiu.
After a moment of eye contact, An Wujiu recalled the handcuff incident in the previous underground bunker and suddenly realized something. He understood it all at once and then waved his hand to explain to Zhong Yirou, “We’re not in the kind of relationship you’re thinking of.”
“Really?” Zhong Yirou bit the chopstick tip, suppressing her smile, and glanced at Shen Ti’s face.
Shen Ti nodded with his chin resting on his hand, indicating agreement.
After An Wujiu breathed a sigh of relief, he added a sentence.
“At least, not for now.”
What a guy who absolutely refuses to cooperate.
An Wujiu chuckled dryly, “Let’s eat.”
“How can we eat like this?” Wu You surveyed the dishes on the table, pursed his lips, and got up on his own.
“Hey, where are you going?” Zhong Yirou turned to ask.
Wu You took the apron from the back of Zhong Yirou’s chair and put it on himself, “I’m cooking.”
“The kitchen is on the right; can you handle cooking?” Zhong Yirou was a bit worried, even though she was the one who might explode the kitchen. “Look at the expiration dates on the ingredients in the fridge!”
Wu You didn’t reply, so Zhong Yirou turned her head and muttered quietly, “The kids nowadays really know how to act cool.”
Half an hour later, they saw the child bring in four dishes and a soup, and just by looking at them, it was already hundreds of times better than the previous dark cuisine.
This cooking ability was really not to be underestimated.
Shen Ti smiled, “Nowadays, adults are not as good at cooking as kids.”
Mocked, Zhong Yirou made a throat-slitting gesture toward him.
“I made something simple; there isn’t much left in the fridge.” Wu You took off the apron and sat back in his seat, “Let’s eat.”
“Simple?” Zhong Yirou’s eyes sparkled, and she exclaimed, “You’re amazing, little guy.”
An Wujiu also took a bite, and the taste was indeed very good.
He started to feel curious about Wu You.
Although he was still an underage child, he had managed to complete the game tasks flawlessly, exposing his emotions when necessary and hiding them when required. The aircraft he had built himself also seemed to indicate a very independent life.
“By the way,” Zhong Yirou took a bite of the dish and looked at the other three casually, “You guys aren’t homeless, are you?”
This question seemed to hit a nerve with everyone, and for a moment, there was silence at the dining table.
In the end, it was An Wujiu who spoke up, “I used to live at school, but my mother got sick, and I dropped out. In my last memories, I was staying at the hospital, taking care of her.”
Wu You thought about their private conversation in the game before and spoke, “Don’t you have a sister?”
“Yes…” An Wujiu’s brows furrowed slightly, “But in the hospital, I remember we had an argument, though I’ve forgotten the specific reason. All I know is that she eventually ran away from home.”
“Ran away from home…” Wu You repeated those words softly, then added, “Just like me.”
Perhaps because everyone knew that their current leisure time was just a halftime break from the bloody game, it was very likely that they might not see each other again after this separation. So, everyone was more open and honest than in the game.
“You too?” Zhong Yirou furrowed her brow, “Isn’t it better for someone your age to stay at home?”
Wu You lowered his head, scooped up a few mouthfuls of rice, and mumbled indistinctly, “I escaped.”
Then he didn’t continue.
The atmosphere suddenly became somewhat heavy. Zhong Yirou tapped the edge of her bowl, “It’s okay; you can stay at my place anytime!”
After saying that, she smiled, “Anyway, we’re not penniless losers!”
Having finished a peaceful lunch, An Wujiu sat on an abandoned energy canister, watching Zhong Yirou weld prosthetic fingers while Wu You wiped his aircraft, and Shen Ti dozed off, leaning against a shipping container.
In this tranquil afternoon, far from the chaos of the Holy Altar, it felt more like a dream.
They had been competitors in the game just a few days ago, but perhaps due to similar circumstances and the bond formed through the life-and-death struggle, they had become partners who could peacefully coexist.
An Wujiu couldn’t let go of the fact that he still didn’t know where his mother was.
Everything in the hospital matched his memories, so why wasn’t his mother there? Could it be because there wasn’t enough money for treatment and hospitalization, so she was transferred elsewhere?
If his mother was still in Philadelphia, maybe he could find answers by searching one hospital after another, but that would require a lot of time and effort, and he might not even get accurate information.
He glanced at the time; it was already 2:30 in the afternoon.
Upon learning about his concerns, Zhong Yirou thought for a moment and offered him some advice.
“If you’re looking for a patient, you can try asking for help from Matol Corporation,” she pulled a chair and sat beside An Wujiu, “It’s the monopolistic biopharmaceutical company in Philadelphia. The medical system here is isolated, and hospitals tightly manage their user information, making it challenging to investigate. However, almost every hospital uses Matol’s drugs and medical equipment, and Matol has a stake in every hospital. They submit monthly reports, and there might be some useful information in there.”
“Matol…”
“That’s right,” Zhong Yirou crossed her legs, “The hospitals nowadays are like small businesses, all turned into subsidiaries of the Matol Group through commercialization. It’s better to start from the top rather than searching one by one.”
Her logic made sense.
“But I don’t have any connections.”
“It’s indeed challenging.” Zhong Yirou ran her fingers through her hair and twirled it with her finger. “I knew someone before, but now he’s run off to the Holy Altar with a pile of debts and gone off the radar. Probably dead.”
“You can see the list of deceased people.” Wu You walked over with a bucket, “It’s the list that’s posted on the panel every two weeks. I’ve received it.”
Zhong Yirou shrugged, “I’ll take a look next week. But even if he’s alive, he definitely doesn’t have Matol Group employee access now.”
She patted An Wujiu’s shoulder, like a reliable big sister. “Don’t worry too much. Rest and heal properly this half-day. Tomorrow morning, we’ll enter the next round, and your hand can’t afford any more injuries.”
An Wujiu nodded slightly.
In a way, he considered himself lucky to have met these people.
“Do we need to return to the game pods ourselves?”
Wu You nodded.
“What if we don’t make it on time?” An Wujiu asked again.
“We’ll die,” Wu You told him bluntly.
An Wujiu expected this answer. If everyone entering the Holy Altar had their custom neurointerfaces installed, killing participants in the game would be a simple task.
“With round after round like this, when will it end?”
Zhong Yirou sighed deeply, “We don’t know either. They say that when desires are completely satisfied, you can leave the Holy Altar, but whether that’s true or not, no one knows.”
In the evening, lights lit up in the abandoned factory. An Wujiu sat at the entrance, gazing at the gray-black sky outside, devoid of a single star.
Vaguely, a memory of his father appeared in his mind.
It seemed like he had once held him and looked at the stars through a telescope.
“Not sleeping?”
An Wujiu heard Shen Ti’s voice and turned his head. Shen Ti had a lollipop in his mouth and walked closer before looking down at him.
“You’re eating candy again?” An Wujiu said out of concern, “Consuming too much artificial sweetener is bad for your health.”
“I know,” Shen Ti leaned against the edge of the door and mumbled vaguely, “But I always want something in my mouth; otherwise, I feel uncomfortable.”
Is it like how some people constantly crave cigarettes? An Wujiu wondered.
Zhong Yirou, sitting in front of a workbench, overheard and loudly commented, “That’s called oral fixation; it’s something usually seen in infancy.”
“Infancy?” Shen Ti found it unbelievable, but then he suddenly heard a very soft laugh. He turned his head and looked down again, discovering that it was An Wujiu who was laughing.
It seemed like it was the first time he had seen An Wujiu amused.
This beautiful face was usually either so calm that no flaws could be seen or so manic that it was intimidating. But now he was smiling like a child, as if a paper-folded, fragile flower had bloomed with vitality at a certain moment.
“What are you laughing at?” Even though his tone was unfriendly, Shen Ti’s lips were also curved with a hint of a deliberate smirk.
An Wujiu’s face looking up appeared very easy to tease, even though he knew very well that this was a formidable character not to be underestimated.
This contrast seemed to make him even more charming.
“Going back now.” An Wujiu spoke softly, stood up, and picked up the small stool that Zhong Yirou had given him. The space Shen Ti had left for him was quite narrow, so An Wujiu had to squeeze past him, brushing against his shoulder.
Shen Ti’s body temperature felt colder than others’.
After a quick wash and tidy-up, they each went to rest. The container that Zhong Yirou had arranged for them was blue and contained a bed slightly wider than a single bed. Initially, An Wujiu had considered sleeping on the floor, but there were many boxes of medical supplies piled up on the ground, leaving very little space.
Shen Ti took a shower in the bathroom, while An Wujiu got on the bed first. He lay down on his side obediently to ensure that he only occupied half of the space, and then closed his eyes.
The container wasn’t very soundproof, and An Wujiu could even hear the sound of running water as well as the sound of Zhong Yirou patting her face while applying skincare products.
Perhaps it was because of Zhong Yirou’s profession, but there was a smell in the air that resembled a mix of chemicals and metal, making him strangely familiar. Since waking up from the Holy Altar, An Wujiu had been in a state of heightened alertness for a long time, although he didn’t show it.
At this moment, this familiar sensation inexplicably triggered anxiety in An Wujiu.
He couldn’t fall asleep.
Without the sleeping gas, An Wujiu found that whenever he closed his eyes, an intense sense of alertness inevitably took over, and his heart began to count seconds on its own.
Even though his pain receptors were dulled, there was a moment when An Wujiu once again felt a sharp pain in his heart, as if many fine threads were tightly winding around it, almost strangling it.
He clenched his clothes over his chest, furrowing his brow.
Nevertheless, An Wujiu still didn’t open his eyes and tried to convince himself to fall asleep. After all, he might have to leave this place early tomorrow and head to another battlefield.
Soon, he heard footsteps outside, followed by the sound of the container door opening.
The footsteps gradually approached and paused.
Then, An Wujiu felt the other half of this cold, hard hospital bed sinking slightly. It was the warmth and breath of another person.
He couldn’t distinguish whether it was the scent of body wash or the person himself. A faint scent of sandalwood gradually filled the air.
In a hazy moment, his shoulder was suddenly grabbed by a hand, as if someone was trying to turn him over. An Wujiu immediately opened his eyes, looking at the person next to him with a vigilant expression.
The only source of light in the room was a sliver of light seeping through the door crack, falling perfectly on Shen Ti’s figure. He was wearing a white shirt; his hair wasn’t completely dry, and there were still tiny water droplets at the ends. His cat-like eyes looked soft even in the dim space.
“It’s not the first time; why are you still startled?”
Shen Ti’s tone was casual. He continued to hold An Wujiu’s shoulder, as if he had no intention of stopping despite An Wujiu’s resistance. His movements were gentler, slowly turning An Wujiu until his back could lie flat on the bed.
“Don’t lie on your side; be careful with your hand.”
Chapter 25: Not the first time
In the face of Zhong Yirou’s words, An Wujiu appeared excessively calm.
“We won’t make a sound.” His expression was so straightforward that it was somewhat adorable.
As this response came out, the other three people all paused at the same time, then burst into laughter.
Zhong Yirou laughed so hard she had to hold onto the table. “You are like two different people in and out of the game; where did that cleverness go?” She pointed at Wu You, who was covering his stomach and laughing, “Even this little brat understands.”
Mentioned by name, Wu You felt slightly embarrassed and cleared his throat, “I’m not a little brat.”
An Wujiu was still somewhat puzzled. He turned his head to look at Shen Ti. The other party was smiling, not exaggerated, with one hand supporting his chin and a faintly ambiguous smile on his lips. He also turned his eyes and glanced at An Wujiu.
After a moment of eye contact, An Wujiu recalled the handcuff incident in the previous underground bunker and suddenly realized something. He understood it all at once and then waved his hand to explain to Zhong Yirou, “We’re not in the kind of relationship you’re thinking of.”
“Really?” Zhong Yirou bit the chopstick tip, suppressing her smile, and glanced at Shen Ti’s face.
Shen Ti nodded with his chin resting on his hand, indicating agreement.
After An Wujiu breathed a sigh of relief, he added a sentence.
“At least, not for now.”
What a guy who absolutely refuses to cooperate.
An Wujiu chuckled dryly, “Let’s eat.”
“How can we eat like this?” Wu You surveyed the dishes on the table, pursed his lips, and got up on his own.
“Hey, where are you going?” Zhong Yirou turned to ask.
Wu You took the apron from the back of Zhong Yirou’s chair and put it on himself, “I’m cooking.”
“The kitchen is on the right; can you handle cooking?” Zhong Yirou was a bit worried, even though she was the one who might explode the kitchen. “Look at the expiration dates on the ingredients in the fridge!”
Wu You didn’t reply, so Zhong Yirou turned her head and muttered quietly, “The kids nowadays really know how to act cool.”
Half an hour later, they saw the child bring in four dishes and a soup, and just by looking at them, it was already hundreds of times better than the previous dark cuisine.
This cooking ability was really not to be underestimated.
Shen Ti smiled, “Nowadays, adults are not as good at cooking as kids.”
Mocked, Zhong Yirou made a throat-slitting gesture toward him.
“I made something simple; there isn’t much left in the fridge.” Wu You took off the apron and sat back in his seat, “Let’s eat.”
“Simple?” Zhong Yirou’s eyes sparkled, and she exclaimed, “You’re amazing, little guy.”
An Wujiu also took a bite, and the taste was indeed very good.
He started to feel curious about Wu You.
Although he was still an underage child, he had managed to complete the game tasks flawlessly, exposing his emotions when necessary and hiding them when required. The aircraft he had built himself also seemed to indicate a very independent life.
“By the way,” Zhong Yirou took a bite of the dish and looked at the other three casually, “You guys aren’t homeless, are you?”
This question seemed to hit a nerve with everyone, and for a moment, there was silence at the dining table.
In the end, it was An Wujiu who spoke up, “I used to live at school, but my mother got sick, and I dropped out. In my last memories, I was staying at the hospital, taking care of her.”
Wu You thought about their private conversation in the game before and spoke, “Don’t you have a sister?”
“Yes…” An Wujiu’s brows furrowed slightly, “But in the hospital, I remember we had an argument, though I’ve forgotten the specific reason. All I know is that she eventually ran away from home.”
“Ran away from home…” Wu You repeated those words softly, then added, “Just like me.”
Perhaps because everyone knew that their current leisure time was just a halftime break from the bloody game, it was very likely that they might not see each other again after this separation. So, everyone was more open and honest than in the game.
“You too?” Zhong Yirou furrowed her brow, “Isn’t it better for someone your age to stay at home?”
Wu You lowered his head, scooped up a few mouthfuls of rice, and mumbled indistinctly, “I escaped.”
Then he didn’t continue.
The atmosphere suddenly became somewhat heavy. Zhong Yirou tapped the edge of her bowl, “It’s okay; you can stay at my place anytime!”
After saying that, she smiled, “Anyway, we’re not penniless losers!”
Having finished a peaceful lunch, An Wujiu sat on an abandoned energy canister, watching Zhong Yirou weld prosthetic fingers while Wu You wiped his aircraft, and Shen Ti dozed off, leaning against a shipping container.
In this tranquil afternoon, far from the chaos of the Holy Altar, it felt more like a dream.
They had been competitors in the game just a few days ago, but perhaps due to similar circumstances and the bond formed through the life-and-death struggle, they had become partners who could peacefully coexist.
An Wujiu couldn’t let go of the fact that he still didn’t know where his mother was.
Everything in the hospital matched his memories, so why wasn’t his mother there? Could it be because there wasn’t enough money for treatment and hospitalization, so she was transferred elsewhere?
If his mother was still in Philadelphia, maybe he could find answers by searching one hospital after another, but that would require a lot of time and effort, and he might not even get accurate information.
He glanced at the time; it was already 2:30 in the afternoon.
Upon learning about his concerns, Zhong Yirou thought for a moment and offered him some advice.
“If you’re looking for a patient, you can try asking for help from Matol Corporation,” she pulled a chair and sat beside An Wujiu, “It’s the monopolistic biopharmaceutical company in Philadelphia. The medical system here is isolated, and hospitals tightly manage their user information, making it challenging to investigate. However, almost every hospital uses Matol’s drugs and medical equipment, and Matol has a stake in every hospital. They submit monthly reports, and there might be some useful information in there.”
“Matol…”
“That’s right,” Zhong Yirou crossed her legs, “The hospitals nowadays are like small businesses, all turned into subsidiaries of the Matol Group through commercialization. It’s better to start from the top rather than searching one by one.”
Her logic made sense.
“But I don’t have any connections.”
“It’s indeed challenging.” Zhong Yirou ran her fingers through her hair and twirled it with her finger. “I knew someone before, but now he’s run off to the Holy Altar with a pile of debts and gone off the radar. Probably dead.”
“You can see the list of deceased people.” Wu You walked over with a bucket, “It’s the list that’s posted on the panel every two weeks. I’ve received it.”
Zhong Yirou shrugged, “I’ll take a look next week. But even if he’s alive, he definitely doesn’t have Matol Group employee access now.”
She patted An Wujiu’s shoulder, like a reliable big sister. “Don’t worry too much. Rest and heal properly this half-day. Tomorrow morning, we’ll enter the next round, and your hand can’t afford any more injuries.”
An Wujiu nodded slightly.
In a way, he considered himself lucky to have met these people.
“Do we need to return to the game pods ourselves?”
Wu You nodded.
“What if we don’t make it on time?” An Wujiu asked again.
“We’ll die,” Wu You told him bluntly.
An Wujiu expected this answer. If everyone entering the Holy Altar had their custom neurointerfaces installed, killing participants in the game would be a simple task.
“With round after round like this, when will it end?”
Zhong Yirou sighed deeply, “We don’t know either. They say that when desires are completely satisfied, you can leave the Holy Altar, but whether that’s true or not, no one knows.”
In the evening, lights lit up in the abandoned factory. An Wujiu sat at the entrance, gazing at the gray-black sky outside, devoid of a single star.
Vaguely, a memory of his father appeared in his mind.
It seemed like he had once held him and looked at the stars through a telescope.
“Not sleeping?”
An Wujiu heard Shen Ti’s voice and turned his head. Shen Ti had a lollipop in his mouth and walked closer before looking down at him.
“You’re eating candy again?” An Wujiu said out of concern, “Consuming too much artificial sweetener is bad for your health.”
“I know,” Shen Ti leaned against the edge of the door and mumbled vaguely, “But I always want something in my mouth; otherwise, I feel uncomfortable.”
Is it like how some people constantly crave cigarettes? An Wujiu wondered.
Zhong Yirou, sitting in front of a workbench, overheard and loudly commented, “That’s called oral fixation; it’s something usually seen in infancy.”
“Infancy?” Shen Ti found it unbelievable, but then he suddenly heard a very soft laugh. He turned his head and looked down again, discovering that it was An Wujiu who was laughing.
It seemed like it was the first time he had seen An Wujiu amused.
This beautiful face was usually either so calm that no flaws could be seen or so manic that it was intimidating. But now he was smiling like a child, as if a paper-folded, fragile flower had bloomed with vitality at a certain moment.
“What are you laughing at?” Even though his tone was unfriendly, Shen Ti’s lips were also curved with a hint of a deliberate smirk.
An Wujiu’s face looking up appeared very easy to tease, even though he knew very well that this was a formidable character not to be underestimated.
This contrast seemed to make him even more charming.
“Going back now.” An Wujiu spoke softly, stood up, and picked up the small stool that Zhong Yirou had given him. The space Shen Ti had left for him was quite narrow, so An Wujiu had to squeeze past him, brushing against his shoulder.
Shen Ti’s body temperature felt colder than others’.
After a quick wash and tidy-up, they each went to rest. The container that Zhong Yirou had arranged for them was blue and contained a bed slightly wider than a single bed. Initially, An Wujiu had considered sleeping on the floor, but there were many boxes of medical supplies piled up on the ground, leaving very little space.
Shen Ti took a shower in the bathroom, while An Wujiu got on the bed first. He lay down on his side obediently to ensure that he only occupied half of the space, and then closed his eyes.
The container wasn’t very soundproof, and An Wujiu could even hear the sound of running water as well as the sound of Zhong Yirou patting her face while applying skincare products.
Perhaps it was because of Zhong Yirou’s profession, but there was a smell in the air that resembled a mix of chemicals and metal, making him strangely familiar. Since waking up from the Holy Altar, An Wujiu had been in a state of heightened alertness for a long time, although he didn’t show it.
At this moment, this familiar sensation inexplicably triggered anxiety in An Wujiu.
He couldn’t fall asleep.
Without the sleeping gas, An Wujiu found that whenever he closed his eyes, an intense sense of alertness inevitably took over, and his heart began to count seconds on its own.
Even though his pain receptors were dulled, there was a moment when An Wujiu once again felt a sharp pain in his heart, as if many fine threads were tightly winding around it, almost strangling it.
He clenched his clothes over his chest, furrowing his brow.
Nevertheless, An Wujiu still didn’t open his eyes and tried to convince himself to fall asleep. After all, he might have to leave this place early tomorrow and head to another battlefield.
Soon, he heard footsteps outside, followed by the sound of the container door opening.
The footsteps gradually approached and paused.
Then, An Wujiu felt the other half of this cold, hard hospital bed sinking slightly. It was the warmth and breath of another person.
He couldn’t distinguish whether it was the scent of body wash or the person himself. A faint scent of sandalwood gradually filled the air.
In a hazy moment, his shoulder was suddenly grabbed by a hand, as if someone was trying to turn him over. An Wujiu immediately opened his eyes, looking at the person next to him with a vigilant expression.
The only source of light in the room was a sliver of light seeping through the door crack, falling perfectly on Shen Ti’s figure. He was wearing a white shirt; his hair wasn’t completely dry, and there were still tiny water droplets at the ends. His cat-like eyes looked soft even in the dim space.
“It’s not the first time; why are you still startled?”
Shen Ti’s tone was casual. He continued to hold An Wujiu’s shoulder, as if he had no intention of stopping despite An Wujiu’s resistance. His movements were gentler, slowly turning An Wujiu until his back could lie flat on the bed.
“Don’t lie on your side; be careful with your hand.”
