Black Sky - Chapter 26

On the rest of the way back Meng Yilan, never looked back at Bai Zi again.

And Bai Zi, never spoke another word.

Returning to the subway station, Bai Zi, carrying Mao Mao on her back, climbed onto the platform, and immediately saw an old-fashioned machine that she had never seen before by the stove.

Shi Lei was squatting next to it, looking flustered, as if he was repairing something on the machine—presumably this was the radio receiver he had mentioned earlier.

Sister Hua, who hadn’t spoken all along, was walking back and forth on the platform, busy packing up the luggage that had been moved from the gas station, as if she was making final preparations for leaving.

In another corner, Uncle Wang, who was almost lifeless, was dragged next to the tent by Fatty Qiu, and Fatty Qiu was sitting cross-legged in front of the tent. When he saw Bai Zi return, his expression was a little flustered, as if he wanted to say something, but he immediately looked timidly at Shi Lei and Sister Hua, and closed his mouth.

Bai Zi no longer had the energy to investigate whether Fatty Qiu was one of the participants in this plan. The conversation with Meng Yilan in the car had left her with no strength to think.

Now, Bai Zi was just standing blankly in front of the glass wall, her mind empty.

Mao Mao jumped off Bai Zi’s back, but curled up, squatting at Bai Zi’s feet, not daring to move even half a step away, only occasionally poking its head out, looking at Meng Yilan, who was standing by the stove, fiddling with her watch.

Suddenly, Shi Lei said excitedly: “It’s working, it’s connected!”

Then, he immediately put on his headphones, and his fingers were quickly fiddling with the machine. After about a few minutes, he finally began to lower his voice, talking to someone who was connected through the signal.

Bai Zi, who always had excellent hearing, didn’t hear a single word Shi Lei said into the microphone. It wasn’t because she had suddenly lost her hearing, but because she found that she no longer had the desire to know.

No matter what happened next, Bai Zi didn’t care anymore.

After Shi Lei finished the call, he glanced at Bai Zi, who was standing blankly in the distance, and walked to Meng Yilan, whispering a few words to her, and then led her to a corner further away.

“Miss Meng,” Shi Lei said in a low voice, “I’ve already made contact. They’ll arrive tomorrow, and then we’ll follow them to escort the person back. After confirming that the person surnamed You is indeed immune, they’ll immediately release Mr. Lin.”

Meng Yilan lowered her head, looking thoughtful, and didn’t respond.

“But…” Shi Lei frowned, seeming to have something difficult to say. After coughing lightly, he said, “I suggest that Bai Zi be locked up.”

Seeing Meng Yilan frown, Shi Lei quickly added: “Just temporarily, we’ll let her go after those people arrive. I’m afraid that if we’re not careful, Bai Zi will take the person and run away, then we’ll lose more than we gain…”

“She won’t.” Meng Yilan replied firmly.

“Miss Meng,” Shi Lei’s expression changed slightly. After pausing, he said in a deep voice, “I don’t know what Bai Zi has said to you, that makes you trust her so much.”

Meng Yilan was expressionless, and didn’t reply.

“But you should at least think about it,” Shi Lei sighed. “I’ve been trying to help you rescue Mr. Lin for the past year. Even if I don’t have any credit, I’ve at least put in the effort, right?”

“Have I ever treated you unfairly in terms of compensation?” Meng Yilan asked back.

“Of course you haven’t treated me unfairly,” Shi Lei quickly shook his head, unwilling to continue, “But have you forgotten? Back then, if it wasn’t for Bai Zi, Mr. Lin would have been released long ago. Besides, she’s always had ulterior motives towards you!”

Meng Yilan glanced at Shi Lei, and turned to leave. Shi Lei immediately raised his voice a little: “She’ll get crazier and crazier!”

Seeing that the other party had stopped, Shi Lei said in a low voice: “Although they’re immune to the virus, I heard that these people’s brains have been eroded, and they’ll gradually become irritable and angry. If you don’t guard against Bai Zi, you’ll regret it when something happens!”

Meng Yilan raised her eyebrows, and chuckled softly: “Heard?”

Obviously, she hadn’t been persuaded.

“But…” Shi Lei still wanted to persuade her, but Meng Yilan had already turned to leave.

Shi Lei was extremely reluctant to end the conversation, but he could only keep his mouth shut and follow Meng Yilan back to the stove.

At this time, Bai Zi was still standing motionless in front of the glass wall, and Mao Mao was still squatting nervously at her feet.

After glaring at Bai Zi, Shi Lei began to rummage around everywhere.

It wasn’t until Shi Lei picked up You Xin’s large hiking backpack, and unceremoniously dumped everything inside onto the ground, that Bai Zi came back to her senses slightly.

Besides a few pieces of clothing being scattered around, several bags of transparent plastic bags filled with dark red liquid slid out of the backpack one after another.

“Wow,” Shi Lei threw the empty hiking backpack aside, squatted down, picked up a bag of transparent plastic bags and looked at it carefully. “This is all human blood. That girl, she came here specifically to deliver goods to her cousin.”

Meng Yilan frowned slightly, displeased with Shi Lei’s actions of rummaging through other people’s belongings.

At this time, Shi Lei stood up again, walked to the side of the sofa, and with a wave of his hand, directly overturned the sofa.

Then, he unceremoniously pried open the sofa cushions, throwing out the small objects hidden inside one by one, looking like a robber ransacking a house.

Meng Yilan was about to stop him when a figure flashed, and she saw Bai Zi pressing Shi Lei to the ground by his hair!

“You, you crazy woman, let go of me!” Shi Lei struggled desperately, his face flushed red.

Although Bai Zi was expressionless, the tense muscles on her cheeks clearly showed the uncontrollable anger in her heart.

Sister Hua quickly approached, but when she wanted to reach out and pull Bai Zi away, she was stopped by Meng Yilan’s gaze.

“M-Miss Meng,” Shi Lei endured the pain, and shouted breathlessly, “They’re in cahoots! Bai Zi is dangerous!”

Bai Zi pulled harder again, and Shi Lei’s upper body was immediately pulled up forcefully, and even a “crack” sound like a bone dislocation came.

Shi Lei’s screams attracted Feitian from the tent. Fatty Qiu immediately turned his head back, and without saying a word, pushed his younger sister back into the tent, and quickly pulled up the zipper.

“You wait, just you wait,” Although his waist was about to be broken, Shi Lei didn’t soften his words at all. “They’ll, they’ll be here tomorrow, you definitely won’t, won’t be able to escape!”

At this time, Meng Yilan finally walked forward, and said in a deep voice: “Bai Zi.”

But Bai Zi seemed not to hear, and was still pulling Shi Lei’s hair hard, not moving at all.

Shi Lei continued to curse with gritted teeth: “Inhuman…monster!”

As if a switch had been flipped, Bai Zi suddenly stretched out her other hand and grabbed Shi Lei’s throat, but just as she was about to forcefully press her two fingers into the other party’s neck, her shoulder was gently pressed by the person next to her, and that familiar voice came to her ear: “Bai Zi, let go.”

The tone was not threatening at all, and was even a little soft, but it made Bai Zi instantly release her strength.

Shi Lei took the opportunity to push Bai Zi away, staggering and falling to the side of the wall. His eyes were bloodshot, and his hair was disheveled, obviously having been tortured by Bai Zi to the point of almost losing his life.

“Calm down,” Meng Yilan’s hand on Bai Zi’s shoulder didn’t let go, but instead squeezed it slightly with force. “Things will be over soon, no one will be hurt.”

Shi Lei stubbornly interrupted: “You have to lock this crazy woman up, otherwise, she’ll definitely…”

“Shi Lei,” Meng Yilan turned her head, her tone much harsher. “Don’t touch things that you shouldn’t touch.”

“This is a den of thieves,” Shi Lei said indignantly. “I don’t care if she’s…”

Meng Yilan released Bai Zi, quickly walked to Shi Lei’s side, and said condescendingly, word by word: “Even if this is a den of wanted criminals, it’s not your right to search it.”

Shi Lei was stunned for two seconds, and then laughed awkwardly: “You’re right, Miss Meng, I, I was impulsive.” Shi Lei licked his lips, and added, “But, you saw it, she almost killed me just now. This kind of crazy woman has to be locked up, she…she’s a monster!”

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a sudden loud noise. Meng Yilan immediately turned her head, and saw that Bai Zi had overturned the entire radio receiver, and had even picked up the wooden stick next to it, smashing the machine to pieces.

Sister Hua took two steps back, and Fatty Qiu nimbly hid in the tent.

Everyone could feel that Bai Zi was in a state of extreme anger. Unless she stopped herself, no matter who it was, as long as they got within half a step of her, they would become her next target for venting her anger.

No one dared to step forward to stop her, except for Meng Yilan.

“Bai Zi!” This time, it wasn’t a gentle persuasion, but an unbelievable loud shout.

Seeing Bai Zi, who had been acting like a rabid dog, suddenly stop her movements because of her shout, Meng Yilan couldn’t hide the surprise and panic in her heart.

Bai Zi, panting, straightened her body, but her back was facing Meng Yilan, not turning her head.

“It’s a waste of effort,” Shi Lei sneered deliberately, saying, “It’s useless even if you smash the machine, they’ve already fixed the location, and are already on their way.”

Bai Zi ignored Shi Lei. She took a deep breath, and finally turned her head to look at Meng Yilan, a smile on her face that was both mocking and self-deprecating.

Then, while panting, she said softly: “Lock me, up.”

As early as when Bai Zi had been frantically swinging the stick to smash the radio receiver, her fisherman’s hat had been shaken off and fallen to the ground.

At this time, Bai Zi raised her head, and the short, spiky hair on her head had grown a little longer. The scarred left side of her face was clearly displayed in front of Meng Yilan, her whole person exuding an evil aura, but she also seemed to be pulled by some emotion, causing the gaze she gave Meng Yilan to have a hint of pleading.

“Otherwise,” Bai Zi released her hand, and the wooden stick fell to the ground. “I really don’t know what I’ll do.”

Meng Yilan pursed her lips, and then said coldly: “Are you, threatening me?”

Bai Zi didn’t reply, but only stood there quietly, facing Meng Yilan with a calm gaze.

It wasn’t a threat, but only a sincere statement of her inner thoughts.

Just now, when Bai Zi heard Shi Lei say the words “Inhuman monster,” an uncontrollable sense of agitation surged from the bottom of her heart.

Then, countless fragments of her life flashed before Bai Zi’s eyes—in her youth, she was isolated by her classmates because she was weak; without her parents’ knowledge, her half-brother Bai Sang spoke to her coldly; after the fire, her brother turned against her, and her relatives kicked her around like a ball, and she couldn’t even get enough to eat; she went to Bei City to work, but was slandered and reported by her colleagues, leading to her unemployment…

At that time, in such a seemingly normal world, Bai Zi always felt like an outsider.

And now, in this abnormal world, she was being called a “monster.”

All the memories were constantly impacting Bai Zi’s brain. When she finally came back to her senses, she discovered that she had almost twisted Shi Lei’s neck off.

Meng Yilan hadn’t noticed Bai Zi’s abnormality. She said again: “Bai Zi,” As if she was thinking about something, after a long while, she continued, “If you really don’t want to go back to Bei City, you can leave.”

Bai Zi was slightly stunned.

“I was too obsessed before,” Meng Yilan said expressionlessly, but her right hand was secretly clenching tightly. “I was always thinking that I had to safely bring you back to Bei City in order to repay your kindness, but since you’re not willing, then there’s no point in me insisting.”

Meng Yilan, who was constantly explaining, didn’t know that besides the words “you can leave,” Bai Zi hadn’t heard a single word after that.

I could leave.

Meng Yilan no longer needed me.

Not even the thought of using me to exchange for Lin Quwei was there anymore.

After all, with You Yuyi, Meng Yilan would soon be able to reunite with Lin Quwei, and she was just an unnecessary “monster.”

“You said,” Meng Yilan continued to say to herself, “That a year ago, you couldn’t survive in Bei City, then now, you should go find a place that suits you.”

A place that suited me?

A year ago, I couldn’t find one. How would I find one now?

Before, Bai Zi had indeed planned to leave alone, but it wasn’t to find a place that suited her, but to stay away from Meng Yilan, and not bring her trouble.

In the end, Bai Zi nodded: “Okay.”

Seeming not to have expected the other party to respond so quickly, Meng Yilan was stunned in place.

Bai Zi bent down, picked up the fisherman’s hat, and put it back on her head.

Then, she curled the corners of her mouth towards Meng Yilan, showing that sincere smile as always.

Without waiting for Meng Yilan to speak, she turned around, and walked towards the stairwell.

Her figure was thin, and her steps were light, as if she had no worries at all.

Seeing that Bai Zi was about to leave, Mao Mao quickly dragged the tattered blanket and followed, during which, it looked back at Meng Yilan reluctantly.

At this moment, Meng Yilan was staring intently at Bai Zi’s gradually receding back with a blank expression.

Being ignored, Mao Mao curled its lips, propped itself up with one hand, and climbed the steps one by one, following Bai Zi as she left.