nChapter 33: Chen Xiaoyuan’s Choice

nTranslator: Pluto Editor: Tehrn

nThe wind came through the broken window and teased the curtains which were originally a baby blue color.

nI like the color baby blue, a lot.

nOn my 9th birthday, my dad suddenly came home. I found out from our relatives’ discussions that he had divorced my mom when I was very young, so that was the first time I actually saw him. The father, who looked so unfamiliar to me, gave me a dress he had brought in the north. The dress was made of a smooth material, and it was baby blue—a color we rarely see in that backward little hometown. It only took one look for someone like me, who only owned hand-me-downs from my cousin, to be instantly mesmerized by that fantasy-like color.

nFor the following week, I wore it to school every day until I was forced to change out of it. The sky looked exceptionally blue to me during that time, matching my dress perfectly. The dinner we had during those few days were also very scrumptious. My mom’s smile was also exceptionally beautiful when she was with my dad.

nUnfortunately, my dad quickly disappeared again. My mom cut up the dress and threw it out. She pulled my hair yelling that I was not allowed to cry because my dad only bought me a present to cheat her out of her money. Just like that, I returned to wearing my cousin’s old sportswear.

nBut those things were none of my business, I still like the color, baby blue.

nThat was the reason why my mood instantly lifted when I walked into this apartment decorated with baby blue curtains. He looked at me, holding my hand. His eyes were so beautiful when he said, “I knew you would like this, so I chose this apartment.”

nRegardless of how he had changed, he was still so gentle. The wish that I did not even dare to think about in the past was actually happening to me now—just the two of us, accompanying each other day and night. It was just like a dream.

nIf we were unlucky, nobody would pass by for several days. Each time, when he had no choice but to inject his mouthpart into my arm, he would say these words so regretfully and gently to me: “Xiaoyuan, you are really a good woman. I will definitely cherish you…”

nHe would never sip too much from me. When I started to feel faint, he would immediately stop. Every time he withdrew his mouthpart from my flesh, blood would spray out and stain my baby blue curtains. Once, I secretly washed them with mineral water, not expecting that he would find out. I had never seen him so angry before. After his explosive rage, he hugged me and sobbed, “I can only stay by your side if we have that water...”

nHis body trembled, and even his mouthpart started buzzing. After that incident, I did not wash those curtains again.

nOne could call me childish, but I secretly carved an umbrella at the corner of the wall. Under that umbrella, I wrote “Chen Xiaoyuan and Pei Jun”.

nWhen I leaned on the window sill, waiting to snipe any passers-by, I could touch that carving and trace the words with my fingers. Each time I managed to snipe someone down, he would praise me happily and drag the corpse back. As time went by, Ah Jun commented that the fluid from dead people was not fresh, so he told me to target their legs whenever possible. Even though I felt sympathetic, but it was unavoidable.

nThere was a wall clock in the apartment. Its outer casing had already melted, but the hands on the clock continued steadily. It was hard to believe that so many images ran through my head in such a short amount of time. I leaned over the window sill and shot a bullet toward the sky. Ah Jun had been outside for more than an hour. In the past, he would never leave for such a long time. Could the situation be as that man described? Was Ah Jun hurt by him?

nThis was such a critical moment, yet the two of them were not speaking. If one of Ah Jun’s arms was really severed, he should rush back up here, right? What should I do?

n“Brother! Come here quick! The duoluozhong is here! I cut off its mouthpart, but it seems to be alive…”

nSuddenly, the young woman’s voice rang out again. Momentarily, the wave of emotion that overwhelmed me was neither the relief knowing Ah Jun’s whereabouts, nor my concern over Ah Jun’s loss of his mouthpart. It was anger.

nWho was she? How dare she talk about my gentle and kind Ah Jun like he was a bug!

nHowever, that anger only lasted for a short while. In the next second, my mind was occupied with a very realistic problem. I had to rush over to save him. If he did not have his mouthpart, I would hoist the girl’s dead body up, and her blood will drip into his mouth. Albeit a little unfresh, but I don’t think Ah Jun will mind.

nI quickly stood up and cleared the traps in the stairways, rushing toward Red Heart Desserts.

nOther than my enhanced vision, I did not develop any other passive skills. During the initial stages of my evolution, I already noticed that there was something wrong with Ah Jun. At that point in time, I quietly told myself that it was alright for me even if I sacrificed some passive skills, as long as I could help him. I hope my prayers were heard so God can let us be together.

nIf that was the case, God will surely still keep us together, right? The Ah Jun that was lying behind the cake display counter will definitely stand up energetically and smile at me saying, “Xiaoyuan, you are really a good woman…” right?

nI could not remember how long I was screaming, but after that blow on the back of my neck, everything in front of me went black.

nWhen I woke up, I found myself tightly bounded, gagged, and blindfolded. I could not see anything, and I could not say a word. I could only hear the sounds around me with my ears. At that moment, the girl who was shouting for her brother was speaking rapidly.

nShe sounded very furious: “There are many ways to stop her from harming others! But I can’t kill an unarmed and defenseless person! I can’t do it!”

n“So, you plan to live in this pocket dimension for your entire life?” her brother dragged his words.

nThey did not notice that I had already regained consciousness.

nThe girl was rendered speechless. Even though I could not see, I could feel the stagnant atmosphere. After a while, she quietly said, “I don’t believe that this is the only way! Didn’t you mention that there were other pocket dimensions with other forms of challenges beside such ‘two teams battle’? Since there are all sorts of pocket dimensions in the world… it is possible that there are other ways of ending this. What about Brother Ji? I want to get his opinion on this.”

nEven though she did not know what a pocket dimension was, from the way they spoke, she had the inkling that they were not siblings.

nThe brother said something softly and indistinctly. The girl could not hear him properly, and immediately asked, “What?”

nHe replied curtly, “Nothing.”

nBut he was closer to me, so I heard what he said clearly. He said, “You guessed that right quickly.”

nHonestly speaking, I wasn’t an intelligent child since young. Right now, they had made me totally confused. It did not matter whether they kill me, there was only one thing that concerned me: “How is Ah Jun, and where is he?”

nThe “brother” paced around, seemingly frustrated. I did not dare to move, maintaining my original position, fearing that they might find out that I was awake. He finally sighed and said, “Fine. What you said does make sense. I can’t just ignore your feelings about this. We’ll just leave her here and wait for Ah Ji to return, okay?”

nThe girl seemed relieved, and there was even a hint of gratitude in her voice, “Thank you. Let’s do that!”

n“Let’s go. Marcie and the others must be getting impatient…” the “brother” sounded defeated. The girl replied with an “okay”, and both of their footsteps slowly drifted farther and farther away. The door opened and closed, the room fell silent.

nWoah… I actually survived?

n“Wait for me, Xiao Jiu. I want to check again to see if that woman is tied up properly.” Suddenly, I heard the “brother” speaking from outside the room. I was shocked and quickly held my breath.

n“Alright, make it quick…” the girl said standing at the door.

nThe man walked through the door, I heard some odd sounds of something being cut up. Next, the footsteps stopped in front of me. Suddenly, someone took off my blindfold. Luckily, I was prepared and continued to close my eyes.

nA hand gripped my chin and twisted my face upward, roughly. The grasp was so tight that it hurt. Shortly after, the man said softly, “I know you’re awake… open your eyes and look around.”

nI shuddered as I opened my eyes. The multiple pieces of Ah Jun’s dismembered body, his bodily fluids and blood, spread out across the room in front of me, and his decapitated head was placed right in front of me. My favorite feature of his, the Korean celebrity-like long eyes, was now staring vacuously back at me. There was his mouthpart, and there were his arms, but they were all thrown to the far side of the room…

nI heard myself making an incomprehensible “wuu wuu” noise, I think I was crying.

nThat smiling man with fox-like eyes placed something into my ear and walked out of the door. I only realized at that point that they had carried Ah Jun and myself back to our apartment. Right beside me was the baby blue curtains that I loved so much.

n“Is she still unconscious?” a girl’s voice came faintly from outside the door.

n“Yes, she is still unconscious,” the man replied.

nI was too occupied to consider what that man was planning because the scene of the terrible state that Ah Jun was in was the only thing that filled my eyes.

nI did not expect to hear the man’s voice in my ears at that point in time.

n“That person is called Pei Jun, right? He had abandoned you, he went ahead and died first. But his death wasn’t painful. He was able to leave this horrible world and a woman that he did not love. I guess it can be considered somewhat of a relief.

n“He doesn’t love you. But because you could help him hunt, he had to be bounded by you. That must be too miserable—I guess dying was his liberation.

n“You are so pitiful. Abandoned by your dad when you were young and having nobody who loves you. Even your mother often call you a burden. After all, if you did not exist, your mother would have remarried long ago… you’re such a waste of space.”

nHis voice seemed to hold a mysterious power, and it merged with the scene of Ah Jun’s dead body creating a hallucination of psychedelic abstract art. I cried so hard that I could not hear what he continuously said, much less considered why he knew so much. The only sentence that struck me was one that seemed to have a life of its own: “I loosened the ropes just now. Why don’t you look into the drawer beside the window?”

nAfter I had freed myself, I went to open the drawer. “You have no lover, and no one loves you. How should you continue living all by yourself?” this sentence continued echoing through my mind.

nI saw the familiar metal bullet floating within the drawer.

n“I’m sorry,” I don’t know who I was saying this to… perhaps to myself. This world is too scary for me, I can’t take it any longer. “Bang!” With the sound of a gunshot, the last thing that I saw was the curtains covered by my blood. They were no longer their original baby blue.

n“Oh gosh…”

nLi Zhijun, who had just walked down the building, paused. His eyes brimmed with tears as he said to Lin Sanjiu, “I think that sound came from the 15th floor.”

n