Black Sky - Chapter 25

“Where’s You Xin?” You Yuyi stood by the sofa, looking at Bai Zi.

Faced with You Yuyi’s question, Bai Zi’s mind went blank. She stood there a little at a loss, looking around, but found that Sister Hua and Shi Lei were gone.

At this time, Mao Mao ran to Bai Zi’s feet, biting her pants and pulling her hard towards the glass wall.

You Yuyi seemed to understand something. She suddenly threw down the herbs, lifted the sofa cushion, took out a handgun from inside, and jumped over the glass wall without saying a word, looking around on the tracks.

She saw that the direction that once led to where You Yuyi had been trapped had been blocked again by sandbags, and on the other side, one of the seven or eight iron shelves that had been blocking the tracks had been moved away by someone at some point, opening up a wider path.

Behind the shelves, the tunnel seemed to be endlessly deep, with no end in sight.

“Before, when I was looking for the remains here,” Fatty Qiu quickly returned to the glass wall and said to You Yuyi, “Sister Hua moved the shelves over there.”

Bai Zi also remembered that at that time, Sister Hua had specifically run to her side, saying that she had walked along the tracks in the other direction for more than ten minutes, and had suggested that they go directly back to Bei City from the tunnel, but You Yuyi had rejected it.

You Yuyi’s face turned ashen after hearing Fatty Qiu’s words. Holding the gun, she quickly squeezed through the shelves and ran into the depths of the tunnel.

Without thinking, Bai Zi also jumped down onto the tracks, but was stopped by Meng Yilan just as she landed.

Turning her head back, she saw the person who had been anxiously calling her name standing by the platform, looking hesitant, and not speaking for a long time.

Bai Zi stood in place, waiting for a while, and then asked: “What’s wrong?”

But Meng Yilan only stared at Bai Zi with a slightly awkward expression, not speaking.

Not far away, You Yuyi’s figure was running further and further away. Bai Zi felt extremely guilty for not keeping her promise to take care of You Xin, so she couldn’t care about Meng Yilan and wanted to turn around and leave.

“I’ll go too.” Before Bai Zi could move, Meng Yilan suddenly jumped down onto the tracks.

Bai Zi frowned, wanting to refuse Meng Yilan, but seeing Fatty Qiu, who was the only one left on the platform, she didn’t feel at ease letting Meng Yilan be alone with him, so she nodded.

Seeing that both Meng Yilan and Bai Zi had left the platform, Mao Mao, who had been hiding behind the pillar, immediately propped herself up with one hand, quickly hopping towards this side, and finally nimbly jumped onto Bai Zi’s back, hanging on Bai Zi’s back like a backpack again.

Bai Zi, whose body had recovered by half, steadily caught Mao Mao, and then, with Meng Yilan, chased after You Yuyi in a group.

The tunnel was pitch black, and Meng Yilan turned on the flashlight, following closely behind Bai Zi.

This side of the tunnel was different from the area where Bai Zi had gone to find You Yuyi before. There wasn’t a trace of stagnant water on the road, and it was very dry.

This reduced Bai Zi’s worries a little. She didn’t want to see the kind of mutant that jumped out of the water and tried to attack Fatty Qiu again.

The three of them kept running forward. Besides the sound of breathing and footsteps on the tracks, there wasn’t any other sound in the tunnel.

After about ten more minutes, Bai Zi saw some colorful lights coming from ahead, and You Yuyi, who wasn’t far away, finally stopped, as if something was blocking her way forward.

After Bai Zi and Meng Yilan ran closer, they discovered that what was blocking You Yuyi was actually a subway car.

The back door of the car was wide open, and the car was filled with densely packed mutant plants emitting strange lights.

Bai Zi thought of what You Xin had said, that these plants emitted lights because they had absorbed human blood containing the mutant virus—in other words, this subway car, which was now decorated with colorful lights like a festive float, was actually a slaughterhouse where countless people had died.

You Yuyi didn’t hesitate at all. She glanced into the car, and immediately jumped inside with her gun.

Bai Zi wanted to stop her, but saw that the other party had already walked quickly towards the depths of the car. She thought about it, and turned her head to look at Meng Yilan, intending to have her wait here, but the other party spoke first: “Let’s go together.”

Meng Yilan’s expression was firm, and Bai Zi could only obediently turn her head, and after jumping onto the car, she pulled Meng Yilan up as well.

While walking forward with Mao Mao on her back, Bai Zi carefully looked around.

In the car, among the various colorful plants, there were occasionally one or two skeletons wearing various clothes and pants lying down. Because they were shrouded in the dreamy lights, they looked like a group of drunkards who had fallen asleep at some midnight party.

You Yuyi walked faster and faster. Even if Bai Zi quickened her pace, she could only barely keep up with the other party.

After passing through about seven or eight cars, Bai Zi finally saw the end of the subway. At the same time, You Yuyi, who wasn’t far away, suddenly stopped.

Bai Zi poked her head out and saw that Sister Hua and Shi Lei were sitting by the wall at the very end of the car.

For some reason, a strong sense of foreboding rose in Bai Zi’s heart. She was about to open her mouth to stop her, but You Yuyi had already run towards the two of them.

Then, Bai Zi saw that in the second-to-last car, under the seats, Shi Lei and Sister Hua were quickly closing the old wooden door that connected the two cars, cutting off their line of sight.

Shi Lei and Sister Hua even installed a few iron bars on the wooden door, and put on a padlock, You Yuyi and You Xin were completely locked in the first car.

Mao Mao jumped off Bai Zi’s back, and hid under the seat out of fear.

Bai Zi came back to her senses, and she prepared to step forward quickly, but was stopped by the person behind her grabbing her hand.

In an instant, the feeling of unease that had been lingering in her heart for a long time was suddenly twisted into a rope by a pair of invisible hands, and tightly wrapped around Bai Zi’s neck, quickly tightening.

Bai Zi didn’t turn her head. She knew that she didn’t need to turn her head.

Shi Lei, as if he didn’t see Bai Zi, looked directly at Meng Yilan behind her, his excited emotions overflowing: “Miss Meng, everything inside is sealed off, they definitely can’t run away.”

Although Sister Hua didn’t speak, she gave Bai Zi a meaningful look, and then quickly turned her gaze away, standing to the side.

The sealed car didn’t make any sound. You Yuyi inside seemed to offer no resistance to being suddenly imprisoned.

Bai Zi stood there blankly, her mind unable to process what was happening. Her hand was still being held tightly by the person behind her, and that force didn’t decrease but increased, as if she was afraid that Bai Zi would suddenly disappear.

“The radio is almost repaired,” Shi Lei paced excitedly to Meng Yilan’s side. “We can contact that side in a while, and have them send someone over to pick up the goods.”

Meng Yilan didn’t reply. She was staring intently at the person in front of her.

But that person didn’t move, like a puppet.

“Thanks to Sister Hua for discovering this place, otherwise it would have been difficult to catch her,” Shi Lei chattered on. “I checked the subway station, and there were traps everywhere. It was impossible to lock her up there…”

“You guys go back first.” Meng Yilan suddenly interrupted Shi Lei, her tone cold.

Shi Lei was stunned. He looked at Meng Yilan in confusion, and then glanced at the back of Bai Zi’s head. Then, he curled his lips, nodded, and left with Sister Hua.

After the two had walked away, Mao Mao dared to crawl out from under the seat. It looked curiously but also confusedly at the two people in front of it, who were still silent.

“Bai Zi,” Meng Yilan finally released her hand. “I just wanted to tell you about this…”

“Just now,” Bai Zi turned her head, looking at the other party, “Did you have Shi Lei lure me up there?”

Meng Yilan didn’t speak, which was considered an agreement.

At this time, Bai Zi finally understood.

From the beginning, Meng Yilan had been one of the planners of this scheme.

After thinking for a while, Bai Zi said again: “Maybe it’s because I didn’t explain it clearly to you before, so you wanted You Yuyi to replace me…”

“Not replace,” Meng Yilan said coldly, “I never intended to hand you over.”

Bai Zi said in a deep voice: “But I’m willing…”

“Your willingness is your business,” Meng Yilan said a little impatiently. “I said that I would safely send you to Bei City, and I will definitely send you to Bei City safely.”

“But,” Bai Zi couldn’t help but reveal her true feelings, deciding to show Meng Yilan the scar, “I couldn’t survive in Bei City a year ago. What’s the point of you sending me back now?”

Meng Yilan was stunned, but soon, her expression returned to normal: “That’s your business, it has nothing to do with me.”

Just this sentence made Bai Zi completely come back to her senses.

This was how things should have developed, Meng Yilan would send her back to Bei City, and then the two would have no connection.

Perhaps it was because of the past few days together that Bai Zi had mistakenly thought that the distance between her and Meng Yilan had narrowed, or perhaps it was because of Meng Yilan’s gentle comfort in the utility room before that Bai Zi had lost her composure for a moment, and had even attempted to reveal her scars to gain the other party’s sympathy.

“You’re overreacting a bit,” Seeing the obviously sad expression on Bai Zi’s face, Meng Yilan frowned, lowered her eyes, and her tone softened a lot. “Even if I hand her over, it’s just for some antibody experiments, it won’t be life-threatening, and You Xin will be able to receive more comprehensive treatment, and completely heal her wound.”

Bai Zi refused to give up: “You Yuyi is innocent.”

For some reason, seeing Bai Zi defending You Yuyi like this, Meng Yilan became angry, and began to say things without thinking: “Lin Quwei is the one who’s innocent!”

The two were stunned in place for a moment, and Mao Mao was even frightened and grabbed Bai Zi’s pants tightly.

After a while, Meng Yilan added in a deep voice: “You Yuyi is a wanted criminal, she can’t be considered innocent.”

Her patience seemed to have run out, and she exuded a chilling aura that Bai Zi had never felt before.

A year ago, Meng Yilan had also had a similar ruthless attitude towards Bai Zi, but that was a strong rejection shown towards someone she extremely hated, and not like now, a kind of unquestionable and condescending arrogance.

Not only a year ago, but even in the ten years or so that Bai Zi had been paying attention to Meng Yilan, she had never seen the other party treat anyone with such an attitude.

Especially when Meng Yilan shouted the words “Lin Quwei” in an angry tone, Bai Zi suddenly felt like she was awakening from a dream.

After a long while, Bai Zi said faintly: “I understand.”

A feeling of inexplicable annoyance rose in Meng Yilan’s heart. She bit her teeth, turned around, and walked quickly towards the end of the car.

When she was about to walk to the next car, Meng Yilan turned her head, and only then did she discover that Bai Zi behind her was still standing there motionless, and Mao Mao was clinging tightly to Bai Zi’s pants, its round eyes staring at Meng Yilan with a pitiful expression.

Meng Yilan’s heart softened, and she said again: “Shi Lei and Sister Hua will send medicine to You Xin, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

Bai Zi’s body trembled slightly, and then turned around, giving Meng Yilan a faint look, before walking towards her slowly with Mao Mao.

Looking at Bai Zi’s face, which had suddenly become extremely indifferent, Meng Yilan felt a suffocating feeling that made it hard to breathe.

She couldn’t help but recall the look in Bai Zi’s eyes when she had said “I’m willing” to her before.

At that time, Meng Yilan also felt suffocated, but it was a warm, suffocating feeling. Now, she felt like she had fallen into an ice cave thousands of meters deep, so cold that even her heartbeat had slowed down.

In the darkness, Meng Yilan walked quickly in front, while Bai Zi followed slowly about five or six meters behind,

Mao Mao obediently lay on Bai Zi’s back, not daring to make a sound.

After walking for about a few minutes, Bai Zi, who had been staring at the ground, finally raised her head, looking at Meng Yilan’s back with a dazed expression.

In the next moment, Bai Zi looked towards Meng Yilan’s front, only feeling that the dark distance, like her future, had no light at all.