Black Sky - Chapter 17

Faced with the suddenly agitated Grandpa Tan, Fatty Qiu drooped his head and said in a low voice, “Uncle Wang, I got separated from him when I was escaping.”

“Got separated?!” Grandpa Tan, who was called “Uncle Wang” by Fatty Qiu, looked shocked. “What about the watches? Can’t you two use those watches to locate each other?!”

Fatty Qiu still kept his head down: “I can’t locate him, it seems…he’s beyond the monitoring range.”

Grandpa Tan raised the iron cane in his hand towards Fatty Qiu. Fatty Qiu was so frightened that he closed his eyes, but didn’t dare to dodge.

The cane stood still in mid-air for a long while, and then was slammed hard on the ground. Grandpa Tan said in a deep voice, “Listen, three women came just now, you…”

While they were still talking over there, Bai Zi heard subtle footsteps coming from behind her. When she turned her head, it was actually Meng Yilan.

Seeing Bai Zi turn her head, Meng Yilan stopped by the railing.

Bai Zi immediately bent down, tiptoed back to Meng Yilan’s side, and regardless of whether the other party agreed or not, she grabbed the other party’s hand and walked downstairs.

In the second basement level, You Xin was casually teasing Mao Mao and Feitian, who were squatting by the sofa. Seeing the two of them returning in a hurry, she turned her head and saw that Bai Zi was holding Meng Yilan’s hand tightly.

Until they sat down on the sofa, Bai Zi didn’t let go, and Meng Yilan didn’t break free either.

If it had been before, You Xin definitely wouldn’t have been able to resist teasing the two of them, but now, the doubts in her heart made her no longer in the mood to joke.

Bai Zi seemed to be completely unaware of her presumptuous actions. She leaned close to Meng Yilan’s ear and said softly, “A Ben is that old man’s son.”

Meng Yilan was about to break free from Bai Zi’s hand, but upon hearing these words, her face immediately darkened.

The footsteps were getting closer and closer. Bai Zi clenched the shoulder strap of the shotgun. She felt extremely regretful for not speaking out to stop Meng Yilan from entering the subway station just now.

On the way from the doll shop to here, Meng Yilan’s cold attitude towards Bai Zi had made Bai Zi temporarily lose her vigilance towards danger.

Logically speaking, there wasn’t anything to worry about from an old man, and it wasn’t like Bai Zi didn’t have the confidence to protect Meng Yilan, but there was always a chance that something could go wrong. If something went wrong, Bai Zi would never forgive herself.

Moreover, she didn’t know the specific layout of this subway station, and she didn’t know if there were any other dangerous people or mechanisms hidden.

Before, at the gas station, when Fatty Qiu took out a gun and pointed it at Meng Yilan, Bai Zi had tried her best to restrain herself from wanting to run over and knock Fatty Qiu down, and twist his neck.

Because she was afraid of accidents.

Although Bai Zi knew that there were no bullets in Fatty Qiu’s handgun, what if Fatty Qiu had hidden other weapons, what if A Ben shot Meng Yilan…

And now, they had just left the wolf’s den, only to enter the tiger’s den.

Thinking of the hunting rifle that the old man was carrying on his back, Bai Zi suddenly stood up, and pulled Meng Yilan towards the glass wall with a hole in it.

While walking, she was planning in her heart how to escape—pushing away the sandbags blocking the tunnel, escaping along the tracks, and if all else failed, fighting to the death with Fatty Qiu and that old man.

But Meng Yilan pulled the anxious Bai Zi back to the sofa, didn’t say anything, but instead placed her other hand on top of the hand that was pulling her.

The warmth of her palm made Bai Zi calm down in an instant. Just then, Grandpa Tan led Fatty Qiu and appeared at the staircase entrance.

Fatty Qiu saw Bai Zi and Meng Yilan, and stood in place in surprise.

“Brother!” Feitian suddenly ran to the staircase entrance and hugged Fatty Qiu.

Bai Zi suddenly understood, Li Feiqiu, Li Feitian.

The two siblings.

Grandpa Tan said to the group, “This is Feitian’s brother,” and then pointed to You Xin, and said to Fatty Qiu, “That’s You Yi’s cousin, and the other two are her friends.”

You Xin, who was usually talkative, didn’t introduce herself enthusiastically. Instead, she stood by the sofa with a slightly gloomy expression, not speaking.

Meng Yilan released Bai Zi’s hand, her expression normal: “Hello.”

Although Bai Zi didn’t speak, the gaze she gave Fatty Qiu was extremely sharp.

“Ah, hello, hello,” Fatty Qiu laughed awkwardly twice, not daring to look at Bai Zi. “I…”

“He’s my son’s friend,” Grandpa Tan answered for Fatty Qiu. “The two of them went out to take care of something, and just came back. My son will probably be back in a little while…”

Suddenly, the light bulbs on the ceiling flickered a few times, and then went out, leaving only the faint light reflected by the stove.

Mao Mao seemed to be frightened, and with the blanket in its feet, ran to Bai Zi’s side in two or three steps.

“The generator is having problems again,” Grandpa Tan sighed, took the iron cane by the wall, and pulled Feitian, who was tugging at Fatty Qiu’s pants, and said to Fatty Qiu, “Feiqiu, go up and take a look.”

Fatty Qiu agreed, and was about to go up, but Bai Zi said, “I’ll help you.”

Grandpa Tan smiled: “You’re just a girl and you know about that stuff, you’re really something.”

Meng Yilan looked at Bai Zi in confusion, while Bai Zi bent down, pulled Mao Mao’s hand that was tugging at her pants, and guided it to sit next to Meng Yilan.

Seeing that Bai Zi wasn’t looking at her, Meng Yilan wanted to take out the handgun from her waist and hand it to Bai Zi, but was stopped by Bai Zi instead.

Before leaving, Bai Zi glanced at Meng Yilan, then rubbed Mao Mao’s head, and thought to herself, please take care of her for me first, I’m counting on you.

Watching Bai Zi leave with Fatty Qiu, Meng Yilan looked uneasily at Grandpa Tan, who was squatting by the stove. He took out a pipe from his pocket, and was trying to light it with the stove, while Feitian was sitting on the ground next to him, staring at the fire in the stove, expressionless.

You Xin, who was supposed to be the most talkative, was now leaning against the pillar, staring at the ground with a gloomy expression, lost in thought.

Meng Yilan stood up, and walked slowly to the glass wall, Mao Mao dragged the blanket, twisting her butt and following behind Meng Yilan.

Outside the glass wall, the rusty tracks were soaked in dirty water, and unknown plants climbed all over the moss-covered stone wall.

“Are you two biological sisters?”

Meng Yilan, who was looking at the tracks, turned her head and found that Grandpa Tan, who had asked the question, was looking at her.

“No.” Meng Yilan replied casually, but suddenly discovered that You Xin was bending over, taking out a dark thing from her hiking backpack, and was raising a finger to her lips, gesturing for Meng Yilan to be quiet.

“So you two are very close,” Grandpa Tan didn’t notice You Xin’s actions at all. He puffed out a smoke ring, and held the hunting rifle by his feet in his arms. “You gave her the gun, but she didn’t want it,” he said, looking at Mao Mao by Meng Yilan’s feet, “Before leaving, she even made that little thing stay next to you, letting it protect you, right?”

Meng Yilan didn’t reply, but her hand unconsciously covered the handgun on her waist.

Suddenly, Grandpa Tan turned his head, raised the hunting rifle, and looked at You Xin, who was changing the spare batteries for the stun gun: “Girl, what are you doing?”

The extremely nervous Meng Yilan had already taken out her handgun and pointed it at Grandpa Tan.

…

And at this time, Bai Zi, who was standing in front of the engine, was pointing the shotgun, which had no bullets, at Fatty Qiu.

“Sister, I’m sorry for what happened before,” Fatty Qiu raised his hands, looking apologetic. “Don’t worry, I will never hurt you and Miss Meng again.”

Bai Zi asked in a deep voice: “Where did the people in the subway station go?”

Fatty Qiu opened his mouth in surprise, seemingly not expecting the other party to even know this, and after being silent for two seconds, he said: “There was originally an old man in his seventies or eighties, who was said to be the administrator here, and a woman, about twenty years old.”

Bai Zi was still holding the gun: “Does your sister know that you killed someone?”

“I didn’t!” Fatty Qiu suddenly became agitated. “Before we tied up that old man, he must have been bitten by a mutant. In the middle of the night, he actually mutated, we could only…then, we threw him onto the tracks.”

Bai Zi thought of the glowing plants in the tunnel. If what You Xin said was true, that place was probably where the real Grandpa Tan’s corpse was located.

“Sister,” Fatty Qiu said in a low voice, “Listen to me, I really…”

Bai Zi interrupted him coldly: “What exactly are you people?”

Fatty Qiu’s face was extremely ugly. He took a deep breath, and confessed: “There’s a zoo nearby. Before, Uncle Wang was a cleaner in the zoo.”

Bai Zi thought of Mao Mao’s strange reaction at the entrance of the subway station. As expected, it had seen that old man before.

“His son was originally a bus driver, but he lost his job three years ago due to mental problems. Later, he met Uncle Ma, who worked at ‘Black Bridge’, and often followed him, taking on some odd jobs.” Fatty Qiu suddenly fell silent at this point.

Bai Zi didn’t let him off the hook: “What about you?”

Fatty Qiu lowered his head, his face full of shame: “A repairman at the zoo.”

“You’re not…” Bai Zi remembered that Sister Hua had said before that Fatty Qiu was a teacher.

“That’s fake,” Fatty Qiu smiled wryly. “Before, I wanted to take the graduate entrance exam for biology, and then become a teacher, but…I failed the exam five times. Later, I needed money, so I could only work as a repairman in the zoo, and that’s how I met Uncle Wang.”

Bai Zi nodded: “I can tell that your sister likes you very much.”

“She’s just a child,” Fatty Qiu said with a smile, but his eyes turned red. “She doesn’t understand anything, and thinks I’m a teacher, she’s so proud…” As he said this, Fatty Qiu became agitated again. “But I really haven’t killed anyone, I swear!”

Bai Zi smiled: “What about Uncle Ma?”

“I never thought of killing Uncle Ma, A Ben took it upon himself!” Fatty Qiu’s face turned pale. “We had originally agreed that we would only snatch the ‘goods’, but since we didn’t find the ‘goods’, we planned to drug you all and rob you of some money, but I didn’t expect A Ben to directly…”

“What exactly are the ‘goods’ you’re looking for?” Bai Zi suddenly asked.

Fatty Qiu was stunned for two seconds, and asked back in confusion: “Aren’t you the inside agent?”

Bai Zi didn’t speak.

“Alright,” Fatty Qiu put down his hands, and rolled his eyes. “In this world, no one tells the truth!”

Bai Zi put the muzzle of the gun against Fatty Qiu’s forehead.

Fatty Qiu immediately raised his hands, speaking quickly: “They’re those people who are immune to the mutant virus!”

“Immune?”

Fatty Qiu nodded: “Normally, after people are bitten, they will be infected with the virus, and gradually lose their minds, but some people, after being bitten, can still remain conscious.”

Bai Zi couldn’t help but be stunned, remembering Meng Yilan had said that sentence, The goods I’m looking for are to save Lin Quwei.

So, the so-called goods, was me.

Just as Bai Zi was lost in thought, she felt her pants being grabbed by something. She was about to kick it away, but discovered that it was Mao Mao, who should have been by Meng Yilan’s side.

Looking at its anxious expression with bared teeth, Bai Zi felt a surge of unease in her heart. Just then, a gunshot rang out from downstairs.

Bai Zi disregarded Fatty Qiu, and turned around and ran with the gun.

Just as she ran back to the second basement level, Bai Zi saw Grandpa Tan—that is, Uncle Wang—struggling on the ground in a sorry state.

You Xin, who always had a sunny smile, was now straddling Uncle Wang’s waist with a gloomy face, holding the stun gun that she had secretly replaced with spare batteries.

Meng Yilan was standing in front of the two, carrying the hunting rifle that originally belonged to Uncle Wang, pointing it at Uncle Wang on the ground.

Seeing that Meng Yilan was unharmed, Bai Zi breathed a sigh of relief.

Feitian, who had been hiding in the corner, ran towards Fatty Qiu, who was following behind Bai Zi.

“Where’s my cousin?!” You Xin said, stepping aside and pressing the stun gun against Uncle Wang’s neck.

Immediately, Uncle Wang trembled all over, foaming at the mouth, but couldn’t even make a sound.

It wasn’t until You Xin let go that Uncle Wang’s tense muscles relaxed. He was covered in sweat, looking half-dead, and after a long while, he said weakly, “I…I can’t breathe…”

Seeing that You Xin was about to pick up the stun gun again, Fatty Qiu immediately stepped forward: “I know where she is, I’ll take you there.”

You Xin looked at Fatty Qiu. Just as she was distracted, Uncle Wang suddenly picked up the iron cane next to him, pulled out the long sword hidden in the cane from one end, and stabbed it at You Xin. At the same time, Meng Yilan pulled the trigger and shot Uncle Wang in the shoulder.

The sword fell to the ground, but You Xin’s abdomen had already been cut, and the pain made her fall to the ground.

Bai Zi quickly kicked the long sword away, and suppressed Uncle Wang, who was wailing and clutching his shoulder.

Meng Yilan immediately pointed the hunting rifle at Fatty Qiu, but unexpectedly, Feitian, who was only half a meter tall, actually stood in front of Fatty Qiu.

Fatty Qiu immediately squatted down, hugged his sister in his arms, with his back facing Meng Yilan.

Seeing this scene, Meng Yilan had no choice but to put down the gun first.

You Xin, clutching her abdomen, shouted to Fatty Qiu with difficulty: “Hey, you said just now that you knew where my cousin was, was that true?”

Fatty Qiu turned his head, looked at Meng Yilan, who had already put down the gun, and then looked at You Xin, nodding.

You Xin, panting, begged Meng Yilan and Bai Zi: “Can you, can you help me, find my cousin…”

Meng Yilan frowned: “But you…”

“My cousin will take you back to Bei City safely, and,” You Xin tugged at the corners of her mouth, “She’s a doctor, she can save me.”

Hearing these words, Bai Zi and Meng Yilan looked at each other.

“I can lead you there,” Fatty Qiu said again, “As long as you guarantee that you won’t hurt my sister.”

“How long will it take?” Meng Yilan asked.

Fatty Qiu estimated the time: “Walking along the tracks, round trip, about half an hour.”

At this time, Uncle Wang had already passed out from the pain. Bai Zi let go of him, and then picked up a few pieces of clothing from the clothes rack, tore them into strips, and simply bandaged You Xin’s abdominal wound, but the blood that kept flowing out instantly dyed the strips red.

“Please,” You Xin grabbed Bai Zi, “Save my cousin.”

Bai Zi ignored You Xin, but turned her head to look at Meng Yilan.

Meng Yilan stared at Bai Zi’s right eye for a long while, and then nodded: “I’ll go, you stay here and take care of her.”

“Also take care of my sister,” Fatty Qiu quickly begged Bai Zi, “Sister, please.”

Bai Zi gave Fatty Qiu a cold look, didn’t say anything, and after bandaging Uncle Wang’s gunshot wound, who was unconscious, she said to Meng Yilan with a blank expression: “I’ll go, you stay.”

In fact, Bai Zi didn’t think that they should waste time and risk going to save You Xin’s cousin, but since Meng Yilan wanted to save her, then she would do everything possible to complete this task for Meng Yilan.

After Bai Zi tied up Uncle Wang’s hands and feet, she followed Fatty Qiu and quickly walked towards the glass wall with a hole in it, and then jumped onto the tracks covered with stagnant water once again.

Mao Mao tugged at the blanket, wanting to follow, but was slapped back by Bai Zi with a gentle slap, and it could only stand far away behind the glass wall with Feitian, looking at Bai Zi with a resentful expression.

With Meng Yilan’s help, the three quickly pushed away the sandbags blocking the tunnel, preparing to set off.

Without any words of farewell, watching Bai Zi run along the tracks into the depths of the tunnel behind Fatty Qiu, Meng Yilan couldn’t help but call out: “Bai Zi!”

Bai Zi turned her head, and saw Meng Yilan running towards her with difficulty, the dirty stagnant water flooding her calves.

When she finally came to Bai Zi’s side, Meng Yilan handed the handgun on her waist to Bai Zi: “Take the gun with you.”

Bai Zi frowned: “No…”

“I’ll use this.” Meng Yilan tugged at the hunting rifle strap on her shoulder.

Bai Zi nodded, took the gun, and still without saying goodbye, directly turned around and followed Fatty Qiu, running towards the depths of the tunnel again.

Meng Yilan stood blankly in place, watching that thin figure gradually run away, unable to utter the words in her heart “Return quickly.”