Mental Illness Evolution Manual - Chapter 36

Hill had taken a day off. A new security chief had taken over today. She hadn’t held out much hope, but the new chief had readily granted her a day’s leave when she explained that she had to attend a friend’s funeral.

Despite the wind, the air was still stifling, like wet rice paper stuck to her nose and mouth, making her chest feel tight and unable to breathe.

The person she had spoken to yesterday was now a handful of ashes, lying quietly in a jar.

She worked for the Dongye family, and she had shot more than one person who had done wrong. In Night City, human life was the least valuable thing, people died every day, but Hill couldn’t imagine that the one to meet the fickle fate would be Atmore.

He was always so smart, his ability to avoid danger was top-notch.

How could he be gone so easily?

But the facts were there, Hill knew it herself, her unwillingness to believe what she saw was purely out of her own resistance.

Atmore had once said jokingly that when he got rich, he would buy himself the best cemetery, the neighbors lying beside him would all be rich people, so he could make friends even in the underworld, and he would finally enter the upper class.

He had indeed gotten his wish.

On his left was a great pianist who had lived to be ninety-eight, on his right was a wealthy man who had lived to be one hundred and three.

He was just talking, he would never really buy such an overpriced burial place, so who brought his body back and buried him here.

Hill quietly wiped away the tears on her face and met the gaze of a person holding a black umbrella.

Her expression was solemn and respectful, her cold white face couldn’t even hold a strand of wind.

The last handful of soil was laid on top, the crowd dispersed, talking among themselves. They talked about their past with the deceased, they said good things about him, they also said bad things about him, and they sighed with regret.

The dark clouds pressed down lower, and the wind gradually picked up. A lily in front of the tombstone was blown away. Yan Xianchuan looked up, her gaze following its soft white petals.

She recited softly, “For the sake of all things that grow and know, from the ashes of our dead, our martyrs, our lambs, our victims, those who have died and those who have died in their hearts.”

“Long, long after they are only, but only sacred memories, heaps of ashes, the ashes of our sweet, beloved, beautiful dead.”

“Today, what beauty do we possess, to draw strength from it and continue on?”

“It is the beauty in the ashes.”①

Hill’s voice was very slow, but her eyes were like a hungry wolf, she stared at her without blinking, “How did he die?”

Yan Xianchuan glanced at her, then turned her gaze to Lu Mingqiu, the latter understood and took the initiative to answer, “He died saving someone, I’m sorry.”

Hill fell silent, she didn’t know what kind of answer she wanted, but saving people was indeed something Atmore would do.

She opened her mouth, but she didn’t know what to say, she pursed her lips, after a long pause, she finally said, “You sent the notice too, thank you.”

The capable captain barely moved the corner of her mouth, trying to show some kindness and gratitude, she repeated, “Thank you.”

Hill turned and left, her back looked a little desolate in the empty cemetery.

“She must be very sad.” Yan Xianchuan said.

She wasn’t feeling the same way, she was just observing, it was too obvious, even a blind person could see it.

“Let’s go.” Lu Mingqiu said, her gaze was long, she looked at Hill’s departing back, as if she were looking at countless other people with the same experience, their faces blurred. “We have a lot to do.”

Even a moment of mourning and sadness was a luxury.

“Are you going to the branch, do you need me to accompany you?” she said.

Yan Xianchuan shook her head.

“Then you go by yourself, find White Sheep, she’s the best at shooting, I’ve already notified her.” Lu Mingqiu said.

Yan Xianchuan’s pupils flickered, she said calmly, “The one who declared her love to you?”

“That’s her.” Lu Mingqiu said, “She’s proficient in almost all firearms, I’ve seen her test results, she’s on par with me.”

“Do you think she’s very good?” Yan Xianchuan asked.

Her expression was still flat when she said this, but Lu Mingqiu felt that there was a trap, her mind raced, she said, “She’s been trained, it’s not surprising that she has these results, you can do it too after you’ve trained.”

Yan Xianchuan said in a flat tone, “I’ll be better than her.”

“I believe you.” Lu Mingqiu nodded, showing that she agreed.

They dispersed after leaving the cemetery.

In the past, Lu Mingqiu had required her to be inseparable, now she was willing to let her go alone, it was probably a sign of trust.

Yan Xianchuan hailed a car and went to Minghui Hospital alone, it was the same as last time, there were a lot of people in the hospital, you could tell that they weren’t upper class, the lobby was a little noisy.

The nurses were also coming and going in a hurry, every now and then they would push a portable gurney towards the emergency room, the ambulance sirens came and went, they were busy like ants moving house.

She didn’t take the elevator, she looked at the route signs hanging above her head and found the stairs, she slowly walked to the fifth floor below ground.

She opened the hidden door according to Lu Mingqiu’s method last time, went through identity verification, and came to the underground base.

Lu Mingqiu had already sent her White Sheep’s contact number, Yan Xianchuan sent a message to the other party saying “I’m here,” soon, White Sheep, with her thick red hair, walked over from the depths of the corridor.

Their acquaintance in the canteen last time couldn’t be said to be very pleasant. Yan Xianchuan first made some rude comments about her feelings, then she saw her embarrassment when she was rejected on the spot, not to mention that Lu Mingqiu had specially come to find her afterwards.

White Sheep must have felt bad when she found out that her crush was married young.

But this time they met, she didn’t have any resentment at all, she was still the same enthusiastic and cheerful person, she took the initiative to greet her.

On the way to the training room, she couldn’t stop praising herself, “To be honest, my shooting skills are the best in the entire Night City branch! Among all the Starfire members, I’m definitely in the top ten. Many psionics focus on developing their abilities, they don’t care much about firearms, but I’m better than them.”

“Don’t worry, I’m very experienced, I’ll definitely teach you well.”

“By the way, you were called away by Yellow Canary last time, did you go on another mission? I thought about it later, what you said was actually very reasonable, I really don’t know her true personality, but some people, even if they only know one side of her, will be captivated by her charisma.”

White Sheep clenched her fist, she was full of energy, “So my next goal is to find a way to understand her other side! I won’t give up.”

Yan Xianchuan: “…She said she’s married.”

White Sheep waved her hand nonchalantly, “I don’t believe it, she must have said it to make me back down, she doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would waste time and energy on love, and she’s so busy, she probably doesn’t have time to date.”

Yan Xianchuan glanced at her, she thought it was ridiculous, she said, “Listen to the second half of your sentence, then think about your goal, don’t you think it’s contradictory?”

“No, it’s not.” White Sheep said confidently, “Others are others, I’m me.”

Lu Mingqiu was undeniably exceptional; it wasn’t surprising that people admired her. But as Yan Xianchuan listened to the boasts, a feeling of intense discomfort settled in her chest, a persistent irritation like a fishbone lodged in her throat.

What kind of person is Lu Mingqiu, her soul is bright and transparent, how could you covet her? If she were with you, it would be a waste of her brilliance.

As she listened to White Sheep’s series of plans and future fantasies, Yan Xianchuan really wanted to leave, but she had a mission, she had to make sure she learned well.

She had to endure it.

It was just that the longer it went on, the harder it was to bear. Yan Xianchuan wasn’t a pushover who would just swallow her anger, she immediately said rudely, “Can you stop talking about this? I don’t want to hear it, I’m not interested.”

White Sheep was stunned, “Okay, I won’t say it anymore, I’m sorry, I’m just a chatterbox.”

Yan Xianchuan: “I’ve noticed.”

They had been talking the whole way, and they had arrived at the training room. Yan Xianchuan’s ears were finally free, but she still didn’t like White Sheep very much.

Fortunately, the other party was indeed very good, she could talk about the performance and feel of various firearms like she was reciting a scripture, she was very knowledgeable, and she was very dedicated during the teaching process, she didn’t hold back anything.

Yan Xianchuan was also very focused on learning, she wanted to finish the course quickly.

—She was afraid that if she spent a few more days with this person, she would lose her temper and do something.

It wouldn’t look good, and her relationship with Lu Mingqiu probably wouldn’t look good either.

She could already use a gun, but she wasn’t a top-tier expert. White Sheep explained many techniques, she learned them after practicing a few times, and she also learned all the knowledge about prediction and sniping, her progress was rapid.

In the afternoon and evening, White Sheep had nothing left to teach.

As she was leaving, White Sheep stopped her, she took out a beautifully packaged box from the bag she had brought, she asked expectantly, “Can you do me a favor? Can you take this to Yellow Canary? You were brought by her, you’ll definitely be able to see her again, I can’t see her.”

The box was wrapped in colored paper, it was tied with a ribbon, it was square, she didn’t know what was inside.

Yan Xianchuan looked at it, then she looked at her, she said, “No.”

White Sheep didn’t expect to be rejected at all, she was still talking, “There’s no special situation, it’s not allowed to look for her, it will delay her work… what?”

She looked shocked, “I didn’t hear you clearly, did you say no? Why?”

White Sheep hurriedly explained, “It’s not anything strange, it’s a little doll I made, it’s a custom in our hometown, it’s a symbol of safety.”

“There’s no reason.” Yan Xianchuan said, “I just don’t want to.”

She washed her hands, walked past the other person, and was about to leave.

White Sheep chased after her, not giving up, “It’s just a small favor, I can pay you.”

Yan Xianchuan didn’t even bother to respond, she pushed open the door and went out, feeling refreshed.

When she returned to the ground, it was completely dark, the dazzling lights were all lit up, like a colorful galaxy.

Yan Xianchuan hailed a car, she sat in the car and looked out the window, she could see the giant airship in the city center, it spread its wings and soared through the night, the flames it spewed out turned into advertisements, then exploded into fireworks, falling like stars.

This scene played out every night, everyone was used to it, no one would look up.

The people on the side of the road were the same, some were drinking, some were fighting, some were kissing.

She returned to the Quhai Building and saw Lu Mingqiu, the other party smiled at her, and she felt that it wasn’t bad to be unchanging.