Black Sky - Chapter 15
When Meng Yilan woke up, she was surrounded by a large pile of plush toys. She felt dazed, as if she had returned to her childhood, to the time when she was four or five years old and her mother would secretly place newly bought, exquisite dolls on her bed.
But the firewood pile that was still burning in front of her immediately pulled her back to reality. Meng Yilan turned sideways and saw that the curtains were still tightly blocking the cold wind from the outside, but she didn’t see Bai Zi’s figure, and even Mao Mao, who should have been sleeping next to her, was nowhere to be seen.
But Meng Yilan didn’t feel panicked. Instead, she lay lazily on the teddy bear doll, slowly took out her watch, and looked at the time—5:00 PM.
She had actually slept for ten whole hours, without having any dreams during that time.
This state hadn’t occurred for nearly several years. Ever since Lin Quwei was arrested and imprisoned, Meng Yilan had been living in a state of constant turmoil and anxiety, often staying up late to work until the early hours of the morning before falling asleep, and then being troubled by nightmares for two hours before suddenly waking up in shock, and then staring at the window waiting for dawn.
Today, although there was no longer any dawn, Meng Yilan had a rare good night’s sleep.
Suddenly, she felt a pain in her waist, so she reached out and took out a hard object from beside her—a compressed biscuit.
Seeing it, she thought of that nearly two-meter-tall mutant again.
It was just an ordinary compressed biscuit, but Bai Zi had almost risked her life for it.
At that time, after taking the compressed biscuit from that person’s hand, Meng Yilan had seemingly nonchalantly stuffed it into her pocket, but then resisted the dizziness caused by extreme hunger, and quickly rummaged through the emergency supplies in the store, eating other food—only because she didn’t want to eat this hard-won compressed biscuit so easily.
Meng Yilan sat up, put the compressed biscuit into the hidden compartment of the emergency supplies backpack, and then suddenly felt that something was wrong. She quickly touched her waist—the handgun was gone.
Just then, the curtains were suddenly lifted, and Mao Mao jumped up from the first floor, baring its teeth and pulling Meng Yilan towards the first floor.
This time, Meng Yilan began to feel nervous. She didn’t even have time to fix her hair, and followed Mao Mao down to the first floor.
Arriving at the door of the store, panting, Meng Yilan saw a light faintly coming from about ten meters away. It was Bai Zi, who was holding a handgun, her face indifferent, but the gaze in her right eye was extremely sharp.
Meng Yilan’s heart tightened, and she walked slowly out of the door. Only then did she see a young woman with a ponytail, whom Bai Zi was pointing a gun at.
“Hi,” the woman was a head shorter than Bai Zi, and although her hands were raised high, she greeted Meng Yilan cheerfully as soon as she saw her, seemingly not caring at all about being pointed at with a gun. “Pretty sister, you’re so tall!”
Like a loyal dog guarding its territory, Bai Zi immediately turned sideways, blocking the woman’s gaze from looking at Meng Yilan.
Meng Yilan didn’t dare to approach rashly, nor did she reply. Instead, she warily looked at the person’s attire.
Unlike Meng Yilan and Bai Zi, who had left the gas station in a hurry, this woman had extremely complete equipment: a wool hat with a light, warm clothes and pants, and heavy hiking boots, and even a hiking backpack that was half her height.
But although her equipment was complete, her shoes and pants were covered in mud, as if she had come from traversing mountains and ridges.
“My name is You Xin, the You from swimming, and the Xin from lamp wick,” the young woman actually began to introduce herself without any wariness, and showed a rather sunny smile. “Don’t worry, I haven’t been bitten anywhere on my body.”
Bai Zi and Meng Yilan were still silent. What had happened at the gas station made them dare not relax their vigilance easily.
“I’m just passing by and wanted to rest,” You Xin looked innocent. “You don’t need to be nervous.”
Bai Zi immediately retorted: “You clearly wanted to come in just now.”
“I was just tired from walking,” You Xin touched the sweat on her forehead, and explained sincerely, “I really didn’t want to rob you…”
“Do you have any weapons on you?” Meng Yilan raised her eyebrows.
You Xin immediately shook her head: “I don’t have a knife, a gun, or a grenade, oh—” She suddenly paused, and took out a dark little thing from her pocket. Bai Zi almost pounced over, but heard You Xin continue to say, “I have a stun gun, but it’s out of power. Do you have a charger?”
Meng Yilan thought for a long while, tilted her head slightly: “Let’s talk inside.”
“Thank you!” You Xin excitedly tiptoed, seemingly unable to restrain herself from praising, “Sister, you’re really so pretty! Were you a model before?”
Bai Zi frowned almost imperceptibly, but after exchanging a glance with Meng Yilan, she still obediently put away the handgun, and said to You Xin in a low voice with a cold face: “Keep your voice down.”
You Xin immediately closed her mouth, her two big eyes rolling around on Bai Zi and Meng Yilan, and then tiptoed towards the door of the store, but was stopped by Bai Zi again.
Without saying a word, Bai Zi took the stun gun from her hand, confirmed that it was out of power, and then let her in. You Xin secretly glanced at Bai Zi’s dull left eye surrounded by burns, stuck out her tongue, and said in a low voice: “You’re so fierce.”
Hearing these words, Meng Yilan was slightly stunned, and turned her head—Bai Zi is fierce? How could that be?
As if to prove what Meng Yilan was thinking, Bai Zi looked at Meng Yilan intently with clear almond eyes, and asked softly with a gentle expression: “Are you feeling better?”
This was not only not fierce, but also very much like a Samoyed with bean eyes, trying to please its owner.
Meng Yilan nodded, but didn’t reply. She led the two into the store.
Looking at the interaction between the two, You Xin, who was walking behind, couldn’t help but narrow her eyes.
“Wow,” seeing Mao Mao standing on the counter, You Xin immediately excitedly approached it. “How come there’s a monkey here? It’s so big, just like a person!” As she said this, she reached out and rubbed Mao Mao’s bald head without any politeness.
Mao Mao was obviously angered by You Xin, bared its big front teeth, pushed the other party’s hand away, and jumped to Bai Zi’s feet in one fell swoop.
You Xin squatted down with interest and continued to observe Mao Mao: “This monkey has such big teeth…”
Meng Yilan stood by the edge of the cliff and turned her head: “Mao Mao.”
Hearing this, Mao Mao immediately nimbly jumped onto the second floor in two or three steps, and then, like before, hooked the steel bars with its feet and stretched out its left hand towards Meng Yilan.
“It’s so smart!” You Xin was like a machine dedicated to making exclamations, very noisy.
Bai Zi ignored You Xin. Instead, she walked forward extremely skillfully, bent down, and lifted Meng Yilan onto the second floor.
You Xin’s two big eyes narrowed again. Just as she was lost in thought, Bai Zi completely ignored You Xin’s existence and nimbly climbed to the second floor. When You Xin came back to her senses, she was all alone.
“Hey—” You Xin called out in a suppressed voice towards the second floor covered by curtains, “How do I get up there?”
Bai Zi lifted the curtains, poked her head out, and stretched out her hand towards You Xin: “Bag.”
You Xin quickly took off her backpack and handed it to the other party.
Watching the slender Bai Zi effortlessly lift her hiking backpack, which was so heavy it felt half-dead, You Xin couldn’t help but exclaim again, “Wow, you’re so strong! Your girlfriend power is Max!”
Being praised for her strength for the first time, Bai Zi was a little taken aback, remembering that just a year ago, desperately holding back a mutant for Meng Yilan on the rooftop had almost cost her half her life.
Seeing Bai Zi standing there blankly, You Xin turned her head to look at the cliff where the cold wind was blowing straight through, feeling a little scared: “What about me? Don’t forget about me!”
Bai Zi came back to her senses, looked at You Xin again, and turned her head to call out softly: “Mao Mao!”
Mao Mao, who was perched on top of the teddy bear doll’s head, heard her name but only bared its teeth and shook its head.
Meng Yilan, who had just opened the emergency supplies, glanced at Mao Mao, who was unwilling to move, and put down the few cans of fruit in her hand: “I’ll do it.”
Hearing Meng Yilan’s voice, You Xin, who was downstairs, nodded happily again and again: “Okay!”
“No need, you just woke up, go drink some water first,” Bai Zi refused with a blank expression, and then bent down to pick up a small pebble, throwing it at Mao Mao’s belly, “Come here quickly!”
Mao Mao finally came to Bai Zi’s side with great reluctance, but then turned around, grabbed the steel bars with her left hand, her butt facing the first floor, and stretched out a dirty foot towards You Xin.
Seeing this different treatment, You Xin crossed her arms in dissatisfaction, but was unable to say any words of blame to this monkey that she couldn’t even identify the species of, and could only turn to ask Bai Zi: “Why don’t you come down and lift me up?”
Bai Zi, however, directly bent down, and stretched out her hand towards her from the second floor in an extremely perfunctory manner.
You Xin pouted again, reluctantly raised her hands.
Fortunately, she was slender, and with the help of one hand and one foot, You Xin was lifted onto the second floor like a piece of cargo, her hands raised high.
Lifting the curtains, seeing the room full of colorful dolls, You Xin exclaimed exaggeratedly again: “Wow! It’s so cozy?” She squatted next to the teddy bear doll that was taller than a person, “And there’s a bear this—big!”
“Miss You,” Meng Yilan smoothed her long hair, sat by the firewood pile, and took a sip of boiled water, “We’re leaving soon.”
You Xin was stunned, frowning with reluctance: “Leaving? So soon? Where are you going?”
“What about you?” Meng Yilan asked back.
You Xin glanced at Bai Zi, and then sat next to Meng Yilan familiarly, saying in a low voice: “I asked first, whoever asks first, gets an answer first.”
Meng Yilan leaned away slightly, looking a little wary, and didn’t speak.
“That’s too rude,” You Xin moved her butt closer to Meng Yilan again, “I’ve already given my name, but I don’t even know what your surnames are.”
Bai Zi saw that the two were very close, as if whispering, and felt a pang of frustration in her heart. She forcibly resisted the urge to glare at You Xin, and instead snatched the biscuit that Mao Mao was about to put in its mouth, taking a large, resentful bite.
Mao Mao was stunned for a second, then stood up, raised her long left hand, and slapped Bai Zi’s back hard with a bared teeth.
Meng Yilan, who had been paying attention to this side, immediately picked up a piece of hard candy from her feet and handed it over: “Mao Mao.”
Mao Mao immediately took it, and then turned back arrogantly, waving the candy in front of Bai Zi, and then sat down next to Meng Yilan again, pouting in anger.
A strange scene appeared—Meng Yilan was sandwiched between You Xin and Mao Mao, while Bai Zi sat alone opposite them, like an isolated outsider, still chewing on the dry compressed biscuit in her mouth, looking rather miserable.
Secretly laughing to herself, You Xin took her backpack and showed Meng Yilan a smile that was so gentle it could drip water: “Sister, I have some food here too…”
Meng Yilan, however, suddenly stood up, walked to the corner of the wall, took out a bottle of mineral water from her bag, and walked to Bai Zi’s side.
Bai Zi didn’t react for a moment, still holding a mouthful of biscuit in her mouth, with some crumbs stuck to the corners of her mouth, looking up at Meng Yilan, who was standing next to her, like an idiot.
“Here.” Meng Yilan shook the bottle.
Bai Zi quickly swallowed the biscuit and took the mineral water: “Thank you.”
She was about to unscrew the cap when she saw Meng Yilan sit down directly next to her, and then, very naturally, picked up a branch and poked at the firewood pile that was about to go out.
Seeing Bai Zi and Meng Yilan suddenly sitting together, Mao Mao, not wanting to be outdone, propped herself up with one hand, and moved to the other side of Bai Zi, regardless of past grievances.
The situation instantly changed 180 degrees. Looking at the two people and one monkey in front of her, who looked like a family of three, You Xin, who had been holding back for a long time, finally couldn’t help it, and clutched her stomach, laughing softly.
“What are you laughing at?” Bai Zi felt inexplicable.
You Xin didn’t reply. She only stopped laughing when tears were about to fall, and then took out a bag of potato chips from her bag, panting: “I’m planning to go to ‘Ping An Subway Station’.”
Meng Yilan was stunned: “Ping An Subway Station?”
“What about you?” You Xin tore open the bag, and the aroma of barbecue-flavored potato chips immediately made Mao Mao, who was still chewing on the hard candy, stop her mouth.
“The gas station on Dongwan Road.” Meng Yilan didn’t hide any information from You Xin anymore.
You Xin bit off a large piece of potato chip: “Dongwan Road?”
Mao Mao was attracted by the crisp sound of the potato chip breaking, and moved her butt. She seemed to have done a lot of intense mental struggle, and finally climbed next to You Xin, showing that extremely longing and pious look towards the potato chips.
Meng Yilan stirred the firewood pile: “Do you know where it is?”
“My cousin should know,” You Xin thought for a moment while chewing on the potato chips, “She started from Bei City before, and it took her a few days to get to Ping An Subway Station, she should have passed that road, right…”
“Your cousin?” Meng Yilan stopped what she was doing. “You’re also from Bei City?”
You Xin shook her head: “I’ve never been to Bei City since I was born.”
Meng Yilan raised her eyebrows: “What about other green zones?”
“I haven’t been to any of them.” You Xin took out half a potato chip and handed it to Mao Mao.
Meng Yilan nodded: “No wonder.”
“Huh?” You Xin turned her head, and threw the potato chip that was about to be bitten into Mao Mao’s mouth into her own mouth instead. “What do you mean, no wonder?”
Mao Mao angrily bumped You Xin’s shoulder with her bald head, You Xin smiled so hard that her mouth couldn’t close, and then saw Meng Yilan take out a necklace from her collar, with a watch hanging on it.
“Oh, that thing…” You Xin sat up straight, while Mao Mao slumped on the teddy bear doll, chewing on the hard candy in frustration.
“ID watch,” Meng Yilan said, and then put the watch back into her clothes, “No wonder you don’t have one.”
Just now, the reason why Meng Yilan was so wary of You Xin was because when she first woke up, she saw that there were no other dots approaching on the watch, which showed that You Xin’s identity information had not been entered into the identity system that the government had newly created to deal with the mutant virus.
Currently, everyone entering and leaving the green zone must first enter their identity into the new system and wear a specially customized ID watch.
“I’m from Pinghua County,” You Xin curled her lips, and took out a piece of paper from her bag. “This is a temporary identity certificate that I got there. The last time I was tested for the virus was three days ago.”
Meng Yilan glanced at the piece of paper: “You’re going to the subway station to find your cousin, in order to go to Bei City to record your identity?”
You Xin chuckled: “I do like that watch, I heard it’s super power-saving, it can be used for several months on a single charge, and it can also be used for positioning or something—but, if I have to go to that damn green zone to record my identity first, then forget it, I wouldn’t even want a computer if you gave me one.”
For some reason, You Xin expressed an extreme disdain for words like “government” and “green zone.”
“We…” Meng Yilan hesitated slightly, and looked at Bai Zi, “We are going to Bei City.”
“Oh—” You Xin suddenly became excited, “You guys are lost, right!”
She quickly scanned the thin clothes on the two of them, and chattered again: “No wonder you’re wandering around the zoo dressed like this. How about this, you come with me to the subway station, and then I’ll have my cousin take you to Bei City!”
Meng Yilan and Bai Zi looked at each other.
Currently, they really had no other way to find the road back to the gas station, and the other dot displayed on the watch was even far away at the bottom of a chasm of unknown depth, basically out of reach.
It was hard to say whether they were lucky or unlucky. They had encountered a maniac like A Ben and almost lost their lives, but in less than a day, they had encountered You Xin in this dangerous red zone, who seemed to be able to help them return to Bei City.
“Where is the subway station?” Bai Zi, who had been silent for a long time, finally asked.
You Xin replied without thinking: “Very close.”
“How close?” Bai Zi asked again.
You Xin looked at the ceiling, thought for two seconds: “After leaving the back door of the zoo, turn right for about five hundred meters?”
Meng Yilan and Bai Zi both showed surprised expressions. Bai Zi asked again in disbelief: “Then what are you doing here?”
“I just ran into you. I’ve been alone these past few days, it’s so uncomfortable…” You Xin ate another potato chip, chewed it thoughtfully, and suddenly smiled mischievously. “Speaking of which, how long have you two known each other?”
The two were stunned again, not expecting You Xin to suddenly throw out this question.
Before they could answer, You Xin’s eyebrows curved, and she continued to ask with a curious expression: “Has anyone ever told you two are a good match?”