Black Sky - Chapter 19

For some reason, after Bai Zi left, a strong sense of unease suddenly arose in Meng Yilan’s heart.

This emotion caused her to take out her watch from time to time to check the location of Fatty Qiu and Bai Zi. Seeing that the dot was getting further and further away, meaning that they were getting further and further away from the subway station, but as long as the dot didn’t disappear and was still within the detectable range, Meng Yilan would feel a little relieved.

You Xin’s wound no longer bled, but the situation wasn’t optimistic. The young girl’s originally rosy and round face was now pale and haggard, covered in cold sweat, and she didn’t even have the strength to speak.

Relying on her limited first-aid experience, Meng Yilan had her elevate her legs in place to keep the abdominal muscles relaxed, then snatched Mao Mao’s tattered blanket and covered her whole body, and then turned around and searched the subway station, but couldn’t find any useful medicine.

In the end, Meng Yilan focused her gaze on the hiking backpack next to the sofa. She glanced at You Xin, who seemed to have fallen asleep, and then quietly opened the backpack.

But strangely, Meng Yilan discovered that this backpack was actually equipped with heat-preserving aluminum film, and besides a few pieces of clothing, it contained bags of dark red liquid sealed with plastic bags.

Before Meng Yilan could take a closer look, You Xin opened her eyes.

“Sister Meng…sit next to me…talk to me for a while,” You Xin stared blankly at the ceiling, not noticing Meng Yilan’s actions. She said weakly, “Otherwise…I feel like I’m going to…fall asleep.”

Meng Yilan packed up the hiking backpack, sat next to You Xin, and took her hand.

Mao Mao stuck close to Meng Yilan’s feet, and also sat down on the ground with a thud. Feitian, who had been following Mao Mao, was now sitting alone in a dark corner five meters away from Meng Yilan, not saying a word.

Deliberately ignoring You Xin’s gradually cooling body temperature, Meng Yilan pretended to be casually chatting: “What do you want to talk about?”

You Xin thought for a moment, and asked: “You…and Bai Zi are really a couple, right?”

Meng Yilan: “…”

“Whether it’s the way you…look at each other…” The dying You Xin was still unwilling to give up, and continued to give examples to prove the CP feeling between the two, “Or the tone…of your conversation…it’s all…”

“You should talk less.” Meng Yilan released You Xin’s hand, suppressing the urge to pull up the blanket and cover You Xin’s head directly.

You Xin sighed, and asked softly: “Sister Meng, will I…mutate?”

Meng Yilan shook her head: “The virus has to be transmitted through blood, you were just cut by a knife.”

“Then…” You Xin asked again, “Will I die?”

After being stunned for two seconds, Meng Yilan replied again in an extremely flat tone: “No.”

“Actually…death isn’t scary,” You Xin’s breath was getting weaker and weaker. “What’s scary…is watching the person…most important to you…die.”

When Meng Yilan heard the words “most important person,” she uncontrollably thought of the sentence that Bai Zi had said to her in the doll shop before—To me, you are indeed a very important person.

As if knowing what Meng Yilan was thinking, You Xin said again: “To you, Sister Bai must be very important…”

“No,” Meng Yilan couldn’t bear it any longer, and denied coldly, “I said, we’re not in that kind of relationship.”

“Is that so…” You Xin sighed as if she was very sorry, “But I can…feel that…to you, she must be…a very…important person.”

This time, Meng Yilan remained silent, not rushing to deny it.

And You Xin didn’t speak anymore, only opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling, as if she was lost in thought.

Meng Yilan put down You Xin’s hand, and habitually took out her watch to take a look.

The dot had disappeared.

A piece of her heart was instantly emptied.

As if uncontrollably, Meng Yilan picked up the hunting rifle and walked quickly towards the tracks, but before she was about to jump off the platform, she came back to her senses.

“Wh-what’s wrong…” You Xin, who was lying on the sofa, asked weakly.

Mao Mao seemed to be startled by Meng Yilan’s sudden actions, and stuck very nervously to Meng Yilan’s feet, unwilling to leave even half a step.

Meng Yilan didn’t know what exactly was wrong with her. Her series of actions just now hadn’t gone through any thought process at all, as if they were an instinct or a conditioned reflex. Even now, she didn’t know why she had reacted that way.

Seeing that Meng Yilan was holding the watch that detected the distance tightly in her hand, You Xin’s heart sank: “Is…is something…wrong?”

“No,” Meng Yilan took a deep breath, and shook her head. “It’s just that the distance is too far, and I can’t detect their location anymore.”

You Xin nodded knowingly, and then showed a mischievous smile: “You’re…worried about her.”

According to Meng Yilan’s personality, she should have ignored You Xin’s teasing, but she uncharacteristically defended herself: “I’m worried about you,” while saying this, she shook her head stiffly, “If they come back too late, you’ll be in danger.”

“Is…that so…” You Xin closed her eyes, a smile on her lips. “To you…I’m really…important.”

Seeming to be a little annoyed, Meng Yilan, as if wanting to prove something, said: “The most important person to me isn’t her, it’s never been her.”

You Xin opened her eyes: “You…already…have…”

“Yes,” Meng Yilan nodded. “I already have someone I like, and that person can’t be Bai Zi.”

After a long silence, You Xin curled her lips, and replied softly: “Oh.”

Then, the two didn’t speak anymore.

Compared to You Xin, who no longer had the energy to explore the answer, Meng Yilan began to fall into an extremely tangled vortex.

It can’t be Bai Zi, then who could it be? Lin Quwei?

While asking herself this question, Meng Yilan was surprised to find that she couldn’t clearly recall Lin Quwei’s face.

That man, who she had once regarded as extremely important, and had even secretly resolved to spend the rest of her life with, was now gradually becoming blurred in her heart.

Mao Mao seemed to sense Meng Yilan’s anxious emotions, and also seemed extremely uneasy because of this, but only tightly grabbed Meng Yilan’s pants, not daring to disturb her.

She didn’t know how long had passed, but Meng Yilan couldn’t help but pick up the watch again to take a look. On the screen, which she had originally thought would still be empty, a dot had actually reappeared, but the location of the dot was coming from the completely opposite direction, and seemed to be only about ten meters away from Meng Yilan.

At the same time, the sound of something metallic falling to the ground came from upstairs.

“What’s tha…” Just as You Xin opened her mouth, Meng Yilan immediately covered her mouth, and then, carrying the hunting rifle, quickly walked towards the stairwell.

Because Fatty Qiu and Bai Zi hadn’t repaired the engine, the entire subway station was still pitch black, and the hunting rifle wasn’t equipped with a flashlight either. Meng Yilan could only bite the bullet, bend down, and tiptoe to the second floor.

In the darkness, Meng Yilan immediately discovered that not far away, there were two people holding flashlights approaching this side. Behind them, there didn’t seem to be anyone else.

If Bai Zi was here, what would she do?

Meng Yilan immediately felt extremely annoyed at herself for thinking of Bai Zi again. She pursed her lips, deliberately sweeping the name “Bai Zi” out of her brain, and began to talk to herself neurotically, planning her next course of action. In this situation, she could only strike first and kill one of them first; maybe she would still have a chance of winning.

Just as Meng Yilan raised the hunting rifle, preparing to aim, she saw the face of one of them clearly. It was actually Shi Lei.

For some reason, seeing Shi Lei’s face, she immediately thought of what Bai Zi had said—Shi Lei, is not trustworthy.

Although she hadn’t verified any of the words that Bai Zi had said, Meng Yilan realized that she had already placed Shi Lei in an untrustworthy position.

At this time, Meng Yilan saw the face of the other person clearly. This time, she almost didn’t need to think at all, and immediately shouted: “Sister Hua?”

Standing behind, Shi Lei immediately raised his gun and aimed it at Meng Yilan, but was stopped by Sister Hua in front of him: “Miss Meng?”

“Sister Hua,” Meng Yilan breathed a sigh of relief, and asked, “Do you have any first-aid medicine?”

Having just recognized each other, Meng Yilan didn’t ask why the other party would appear here. Instead, she immediately led Hua and Shi Lei to You Xin’s side. Sister Hua, who was always cold and sarcastic, uncharacteristically didn’t ask too much about You Xin’s identity. Instead, she immediately put down her backpack, took out first-aid supplies, and began to check You Xin’s injuries.

“Miss Meng, I finally found you,” Shi Lei pulled Meng Yilan to the side, and was about to pour out his heart, but was attracted by a red-haired child tugging at Meng Yilan’s pants: “What’s this? A red-haired orangutan?” As he said this, he raised his leg, wanting to chase Mao Mao away.

Mao Mao bared its teeth at Shi Lei, and even hit Shi Lei’s foot hard with its only remaining left hand.

“How did you find this place?” Meng Yilan turned sideways, shielding Mao Mao behind her, and asked directly.

Perhaps sensing that Meng Yilan’s attitude towards him wasn’t very good, Shi Lei wisely quickly explained his and Hua’s course of action: “After you left, we packed up our things, and rushed in the direction you left, but we couldn’t find you no matter what. In order to avoid getting lost, we had no choice but to follow the map towards Bei City first.”

While listening to Shi Lei’s explanation, Meng Yilan watched Sister Hua pour disinfectant on You Xin’s wound: “And then you walked to this area?”

“The watch showed that there was someone with the same watch here,” Shi Lei nodded. “I thought it might be you, so I brought Sister Hua here, and then…”

At this time, Meng Yilan saw Hua take out a long needle and disinfect it on the stove, seemingly preparing to stitch up You Xin’s wound. She immediately walked over to stop her: “A professional doctor will be here in a while, it’s better to leave this job to her.”

“A professional doctor?” Shi Lei frowned. “Who else is there?” As he said this, he took out his gun warily, and turned his head to look around.

Meng Yilan led Shi Lei to the glass wall leading to the tracks: “The injured girl’s cousin, she’s trapped in a place, and Feiqiu and Bai Zi are bringing her back.”

“Bai Zi?” Shi Lei seemed to be extremely sensitive to this name. “You found her?”

Seeing Meng Yilan nod, Shi Lei even said excitedly: “That’s great, as long as she didn’t get lost.”

Meng Yilan frowned.

Shi Lei lowered his voice: “Miss Meng, I received a message from that side on the way here.”

The so-called “that side” referred to the guard in the research institute who was responsible for watching over Lin Quwei.

“They said that the plan has changed,” Shi Lei continued to say in a low voice. “The ‘goods’ must be sent to them within this week. If things go smoothly, they can release Mr. Lin immediately, but if the time is exceeded…”

Meng Yilan raised her voice angrily: “But they promised a month!”

“Miss Meng,” Shi Lei shook his head. “The situation is getting worse and worse now. The government has ordered to speed up the vaccine research plan, and they can only speed up the process too.”

Meng Yilan laughed in anger: “Only one week left…”

With such a short amount of time, she wouldn’t have time to find other “goods”.

“Don’t worry,” Shi Lei comforted. “Isn’t there still Bai Zi?”

Hearing these words, Meng Yilan calmed down instead. She neither refuted nor agreed, but only looked at Shi Lei with a profound gaze, not saying a word.

“You saved her life, and you don’t want to hand her over, I can understand that,” Shi Lei said earnestly. “If it were a year ago, then of course it would be ‘repay a drop of kindness with a spring of gratitude’, but in this world now, who still cares about that?”

Seeing that Meng Yilan was still silent, Shi Lei thought that his words had taken effect: “Back then, we had a month, and could find find other ‘goods’, but now there’s only one week left. Are you going to let Mr. Lin die for that crazy woman?”

“Shi Lei,” Meng Yilan suddenly asked back, “Why are you so concerned about this task?”

Shi Lei was stunned: “Miss Meng, of course I’m thinking about you, and besides, that’s what that crazy woman owes us!” As he said this, he stretched out his hand, showing Meng Yilan the teeth marks that Bai Zi had bitten on his wrist. “Have you forgotten? She threw the evidence that I had finally found into the sea, and bit me like a mad dog! Miss Meng, if it weren’t for her, Mr. Lin would have been acquitted long ago…”

“Speaking of this,” Meng Yilan nodded. “I really wanted to ask you, back then…”

Suddenly, hurried footsteps and panting sounds came from the tunnel.

Then, Shi Lei saw Meng Yilan in front of him tremble all over. The gaze that had been slightly gloomy suddenly lit up. He saw her take out the watch from her collar, look at it, and then immediately jump over the hole in the glass wall with that annoying red-haired orangutan, landing on the tracks covered with stagnant water, running towards the depths of the tunnel without saying a word.

Meng Yilan couldn’t explain her current mood.

Just like before, when she discovered that the red dot on the watch had disappeared, she had suddenly lost control and picked up the hunting rifle, wanting to rush into the tunnel to find Bai Zi. Now, hearing the sounds in the tunnel, which had been silent for a long time, again, and seeing the red dot that had disappeared reappear on the watch, Meng Yilan couldn’t control herself and jumped onto the tracks.

But after only running a few steps, Meng Yilan stopped again. She remembered the news that Shi Lei had just told her—she had to use the “goods” to exchange for Lin Quwei within a week.

Meng Yilan, who had originally thought that she still had time to think of other ways, seemed to have been forced into a corner.

Suddenly, she didn’t want to face Bai Zi anymore.

But before Meng Yilan could think too much, the messy footsteps were already approaching, and then, she saw Fatty Qiu running towards her weakly, holding a flashlight by himself.

Meng Yilan immediately looked behind Fatty Qiu, and after discovering that there was no one else, she asked in a hoarse voice: “What happened?”

Fatty Qiu stood in front of Meng Yilan with a pale face, and showed that expression that looked like he was about to cry again, but was completely unable to speak because he was out of breath.

For the first time, Meng Yilan vented her anger completely, and asked sternly: “Where’s Bai Zi?!”

Fatty Qiu trembled all over in fright: “Just now…the tunnel…collapsed…”

Meng Yilan’s heart turned cold.

“Sis… sister, she…” Fatty Qiu choked up and said, “Was…was buried alive…”

For the first time in her life, Meng Yilan experienced a strange sensation—she suddenly felt like a hole had been drilled in her heart, and her whole being was being sucked into this hole little by little.