Black Sky - Chapter 5

Meng Yilan never imagined that she would meet Bai Zi again under such circumstances.

Although the other party was extremely disheveled at this time, Meng Yilan still recognized that clumsy smile.

“Bai Zi?” The slicked-back man stepped forward and took off his night vision goggles.

Bai Zi narrowed her eyes and looked at the other party.

She remembered this man, named Shi Lei, about thirty years old, who used to be a private detective hired by Meng Yilan. Half a month before Bai Zi was bitten, she had met Shi Lei at the city pier.

It was also on that day that Bai Zi did “that thing” that made Meng Yilan regard her as a lunatic- pushing Shi Lei and the so-called “important information” he was going to give to Meng Yilan all into the sea.

Seeing Bai Zi, Shi Lei felt a faint pain in his wrist. When the two were entangled at the pier, Bai Zi bit Shi Lei’s left wrist in a moment of desperation, the wound was so deep that the bone was visible. To this day, there are still tooth marks on his wrist.

Shi Lei looked at Bai Zi warily: “What are you doing here?”

Before Bai Zi could answer, the short-haired woman asked coldly: “Hey, have you been bitten?”

Bai Zi looked at the short-haired woman, but did not reply. Apart from showing a smile to Meng Yilan, she had a cold and indifferent attitude towards everyone else – whether in the past or now.

The short-haired woman raised her gun at Bai Zi again without hesitation, and Meng Yilan finally spoke: “I know her.” Then, she turned around and slightly blocked the muzzle for Bai Zi.

Meng Yilan’s actions made Bai Zi stunned for a moment, but the short-haired woman did not put down her gun: “How do you know she hasn’t been bitten?”

“If she mutates,” Meng Yilan raised her eyebrows, “I’ll shoot her.”

The short-haired woman’s momentum seemed to be suppressed by Meng Yilan’s attitude. She opened her mouth, but couldn’t say anything. The burly man behind her interjected: “Are you guys planning to have a party here?”

Compared to the excitement here, the military cap man holding the baseball bat was quite calmly squatting down to check the “mutant” lying on the ground. He flipped through the shirt worn by the mutant, and after seeing the blue number printed on it, he curled his lip: “Damn, it’s not him again.”

The burly man walked to Meng Yilan’s side, raised his hand to press down the gun held by the short-haired woman: “Miss Meng, if you insist on letting outsiders join, we will not be responsible for anything that happens.” Then, he turned to the military cap man and said, “A Ben, quickly deal with this, we can’t stay here for long.”

The fat man was still sitting stupidly on the ground, looking frightened. The short-haired woman kicked him, and the fat man came back to his senses. He gasped and wiped the sweat from his head, and together with the military cap man A Ben, dragged the “corpse” on the ground to the empty room next door, and then cautiously closed the door.

The burly man raised his hand and looked at his watch, and ordered again: “It’s almost four o’clock in the afternoon now. A Ben and Fatty Qiu, come down with me and try to get it done within half an hour. The others stay here.” He looked at the short-haired woman, “Sister Hua, communicate with the walkie-talkie if there is any situation.”

The fat man, called “Fatty Qiu”, looked terrified when he heard this arrangement, as if he hadn’t recovered from his near-death experience just now: “Me? Uncle Ma…”

Before he could finish speaking, A Ben stuffed the baseball bat in his hand to Fatty Qiu, and then took out a small machine from his pocket, opened the electronic map, and led the way to the stairwell without saying a word.

Seeing this, Fatty Qiu turned his head to look at the short-haired woman Sister Hua, who gave him a teasing smile and didn’t intend to help him. Fatty Qiu had no choice but to follow behind the burly man Uncle Ma unwillingly.

Soon, there were only four people left in the laboratory.

The atmosphere was a bit awkward. Shi Lei put the night vision goggles back in his bag, and looked at Bai Zi with unkind eyes, but did not speak, Meng Yilan stood by the door with her arms crossed, pursing her lips, as if she was struggling with something, Sister Hua was not polite at all.

She straightened the office chair that had fallen to the ground, sat down, and put her legs on the desk in a brazen manner; the most calm Bai Zi leaned against the wall opposite Meng Yilan, with her hands in her pockets, looking like she had everything under control.

Meng Yilan raised her eyes and looked at Bai Zi.

Since the day she was arrested, everything had changed dramatically.

During this period, Meng Yilan always dreamed of Bai Zi from time to time. She seemed to be constantly torn by a sense of guilt that could not be made up for. Meng Yilan had asked someone to check on Bai Zi’s whereabouts, but there was no news. Helplessly, she could only put the matter aside for the time being – she had more important people to save.

But now, the important people had not been rescued yet, but she met Bai Zi again. Moreover, Meng Yilan was surprised to find that the strong disgust she once had for this “lunatic” seemed to have disappeared at some point, and even a little joy surged in her heart when she recognized the other party.

Meng Yilan turned her gaze to Bai Zi’s blood-stained shirt.

At this time, Bai Zi looked up and looked at Meng Yilan.

Their eyes met, and after a moment, Meng Yilan lowered her head in embarrassment and rummaged through her luggage bag: “I have clean clothes here, you can change into them.”

Shi Lei and Sister Hua looked at Bai Zi’s shirt at the same time, which was as dirty as if she had just come out of a slaughterhouse.

After discovering the two people’s scrutinizing eyes on Bai Zi, Meng Yilan directly carried her bag, grabbed Bai Zi’s sleeve, and quickly walked towards the empty room next door.

“Uncle Ma said,” Sister Hua put a piece of chewing gum in her mouth, “we will not be responsible for any mistakes.”

“Alright,” Shi Lei glanced at Sister Hua, and looked at the departing two people with an annoyed expression, “You won’t be treated badly.”

Bai Zi, who was pulled into the empty room, looked at Meng Yilan blankly, vaguely remembering how the other party used to avoid her. When she came back to her senses, the door behind her had been closed by Meng Yilan.

In the darkness, Meng Yilan turned on the flashlight, took out water and a towel from her bag, and stuffed clean clothes into Bai Zi’s hands, then turned around.

Bai Zi looked at Meng Yilan’s back, and after a long while, she clamped the clean clothes between her legs and took off her top.

Listening to the rustling sounds of wiping her body coming from behind, Meng Yilan suddenly spoke again: “I…I thought you…”

Seeing the other party hesitating, Bai Zi said: “Thought I became like a zombie?”

“You, speaking…” Meng Yilan was stunned.

“I don’t stutter now.” Bai Zi nodded.

This situation was a bit ridiculous. It was clearly Bai Zi who had severe stuttering in the beginning, but now it was completely the opposite. Meng Yilan was uneasy, while Bai Zi calmly looked at the clean underwear in her hand – for her, the size was too big.

In the end, Bai Zi took off her old underwear and directly put on a thick sweater. Compared with Meng Yilan, Bai Zi’s bust size could be said to be a drop in the bucket. In addition, she had lost a lot of weight these days, so even if she didn’t wear underwear, she couldn’t see any difference.

Meng Yilan corrected quite seriously: “Not zombies, but ‘mutants’.” Then she coughed lightly, “This year, you…”

“A year?” Bai Zi stopped taking off her pants, “Only a year has passed?”

The torture she had suffered here made Bai Zi feel like she had lived for hundreds of lifetimes.

“Only a year, but the whole world…has changed.” Meng Yilan seemed to remember something, and asked in a deep voice, “Don’t you know anything?”

Bai Zi didn’t reply, only focusing on putting on her jeans. Because Meng Yilan’s legs were longer, she had to bend over to roll up the trouser legs.

“Bai Zi?” Meng Yilan tilted her head in confusion.

Bai Zi, who had changed her clothes, was stunned by the soft call. A year had passed, and just from looking at her back, one could feel that Meng Yilan had lost a lot of weight. There was also an unmasked sense of fatigue on her originally delicate and flawless face.

This woman, who had made her worry for nearly ten years, thought that she would never see her again. Now, the two of them were chatting like old friends who had been separated for many years.

Of course, Bai Zi didn’t think that Meng Yilan would develop a good impression of her because of the rescue a year ago. At most, the guilt made Meng Yilan temporarily put down her former “disgust” for her.

This “sense of inferiority” had been with Bai Zi since she was born. She knew that because of her appearance and physical condition, she would always be the one who was rejected and forgotten. Therefore, Bai Zi had always believed that Meng Yilan could not possibly fall in love with her, and had never hoped that Meng Yilan would fall in love with her. More accurately, Bai Zi simply “didn’t want” the other party to fall in love with her.

What’s more, Meng Yilan’s heart had long been occupied by a man named “Lin Quwei”.

“After I woke up,” Bai Zi finally spoke, “I was locked up here.”

“Locked up until now?” Meng Yilan frowned, “What did they do to you? How is your body?”

Bai Zi skipped the first question: “Seems okay.”

Her physical condition was more than okay, it was simply a rebirth – her night blindness was cured, her visual ability was greatly enhanced, and even her speech was no longer stuttering.

Feeling that Bai Zi was no longer moving, Meng Yilan turned her head and shone the flashlight on the other party. This person was two sizes smaller than before. Her sweater looked a bit like a child stealing adult clothes, but she seemed to be in good spirits. After wiping her face clean, she looked like a young man who was new to the world with her neat buzz cut.

In this year, it wasn’t just the world that had changed, but also this woman who had once been regarded as a “lunatic” by her. Both her temperament and appearance seemed to be those of a completely different person.

Meng Yilan looked down at Bai Zi’s bare feet, and then frowned: “I didn’t bring extra shoes.”

“It’s okay.” Bai Zi didn’t feel cold. At this time, her body was in an extremely comfortable state.

Meng Yilan then realized that something was wrong. She unconsciously held Bai Zi’s hand. This person, who was still wearing thin clothes just now, had incredibly warm palms.

“Do you have a fever?” Meng Yilan frowned.

Bai Zi shook her head.

Meng Yilan pushed up Bai Zi’s sleeves and touched her arm, which was also hot, and then she saw the bite mark on the other party’s elbow – the place where Bai Zi was bitten a year ago in order to protect her.

Meng Yilan seemed to have thought of something, quickly pulled down her sleeves, and then leaned closer, whispering in Bai Zi’s ear: “Don’t let them know you were bitten.”

Before Bai Zi could agree, Meng Yilan stuffed the dirty clothes that the other party had taken off into her bag: “I’ll ask them if they have extra shoes later. We still have to walk for half a day to get back to the camp.”

Bai Zi asked in confusion: “I’m going with you?”

“Yes,” For some reason, Meng Yilan was a little uneasy, “Just temporarily. When you get to a safe place, you can decide where to go next.”

“Why are you here?” Bai Zi asked again.

Meng Yilan was stunned, and her face suddenly became stiff.

But Bai Zi just didn’t know what was good for her: “Is it for Lin Quwei?”

Lin Quwei – Meng Yilan’s senior and partner, and also the most important person in Meng Yilan’s heart, who was imprisoned three years ago for being involved in a shocking national corruption case.

“It’s none of your business.” Meng Yilan said with an uncontrollably cold face.

Bai Zi looked indifferent, and did not have the slightest emotional fluctuation because of the other party’s coldness.

The two were deadlocked for a long time, and Meng Yilan finally softened her attitude: “Sorry.”

Hearing Meng Yilan put down her pride and apologize to her for the first time, Bai Zi was stunned in place.

Meng Yilan took a light breath: “Back then, you did that for me…”

Before she could finish speaking, Bai Zi interjected: “That was my own will, it’s none of your business.”

She also said “it’s none of your business”, but unlike the cold Meng Yilan, Bai Zi was now slightly curling the corners of her mouth, and her eyes were gentle.

Meng Yilan remembered the day when they first met, the first time they met at the gym, Bai Zi looked at her with such eyes. At first, Meng Yilan thought that she would become a rare good friend with Bai Zi, but as time went on, she could clearly feel that Bai Zi, who seemed to always be indifferent to everything around her, was particularly concerned about her alone.

Perhaps it was more than just concern, but an “obsession” to give everything for her. But this “obsession” was just right. Bai Zi never explicitly expressed her love, nor did she bring any sense of coercion to Meng Yilan.

Until Bai Zi pushed Shi Lei into the sea, along with the “important evidence” that could save Lin Quwei from prison – from then on, Meng Yilan decided to completely break with Bai Zi.

Suddenly, there was a soft knock on the door.

“Miss Meng, we need to talk.” It was Shi Lei’s voice.

Meng Yilan did not reply immediately. She lowered her voice and leaned close to Bai Zi’s ear: “Don’t mention to them that you were locked up here, pretend to be an ordinary person.”

After speaking, Meng Yilan turned around, but was grabbed by the sleeve by Bai Zi behind her: “Shi Lei is not trustworthy.”

“Miss Meng?” A low call came from outside the door again.

Meng Yilan turned her head, and her eyes became cold again: “I said, it’s none of your business.”

Then, she turned around and opened the door.

Shi Lei walked in, looking anxious: “Miss Meng, we need to talk.”

Meng Yilan turned her head and glanced at Bai Zi, who consciously walked out. The door behind her was closed a little anxiously, but Bai Zi didn’t care. After she returned to the laboratory, she was immediately scrutinized from head to toe by Sister Hua, who was chewing gum. Finally, Sister Hua looked at Bai Zi’s bare feet and raised her eyebrows: “Aren’t you cold?”

Bai Zi didn’t reply, but just walked to the wall and stood there as before.

Sister Hua rolled her eyes: “Wearing a tattered clothes, not even wearing shoes, I really suspect you’re not human.”

The words “not human” made Bai Zi think of Meng Yilan’s words to her to “pretend to be an ordinary person”. She looked down at her feet, and then turned around and walked out.

Although she didn’t know why, if it was Meng Yilan’s request, Bai Zi would do it.

Sister Hua looked at Bai Zi’s back, raised her eyebrows, and spat lightly.

Bai Zi ignored Sister Hua’s provocation and left the laboratory on her own. She remembered the guy who almost killed Fatty Qiu – that is, the mutant. He had a pair of very warm black boots on his feet. If Bai Zi wore them, she should look very “ordinary”.

Without the need for lighting, Bai Zi easily passed through the pitch-black corridor and came to the door of the room where the mutant’s corpse was abandoned. Opening the door, she immediately saw the “corpse” lying in the corner. Bai Zi walked closer and squatted down, and nimbly took off the pair of black boots and put them on her feet – luckily, the shoes were only slightly larger and did not hinder walking.

Just as Bai Zi was about to leave after putting on her shoes, she suddenly heard a faint gasp.

Bai Zi turned her head and looked at the motionless corpse. After a long while, she slowly walked closer again and squatted down. Among the countless rotten wounds, Bai Zi tried hard to identify the person’s appearance, but because his facial features were covered by the fetid pus flowing from the wounds, Bai Zi couldn’t even find the location of his nose. Despite this, she immediately found the slightly open mouth – the gasp just now seemed to be coming from here.

Bai Zi raised her eyebrows. She suspected that there was something wrong with her hearing, because there was a gunshot wound between this person’s eyebrows that could not be ignored – the kind that killed him with one shot. At this moment, Bai Zi saw that the pair of lips actually trembled, and in the next moment, a gasping sound like a rusty iron door being slowly closed came from his mouth.

Then, the originally closed eyes suddenly opened.