a.m.
Ruan Yu stood on the third-floor balcony of the President Mansion, holding her cell phone, and finally answered Hans’s call.
"Damn it, Ruan Yu, I’ve been calling all day, why didn’t you answer?! How did it go with the general? Is he willing to help us transport the Heavenly Falling Objects?" Hans asked anxiously.
"I convinced him, he’ll help," Ruan Yu said nonchalantly, lighting a cigarette as she spoke.
"I have bad news, 042 has been taken away by Red’s people," Hans said.
Ruan Yu let out a cold laugh, "I’ve got bad news too, Chen Jing is probably killed by Wei Tianyang."
"What?! She... she’s part of the Superpower Special Forces! How could..." Hans said in agitation.
"Damn it, we underestimated 091’s potential, we underestimated Wei Tianyang..." Ruan Yu said with a laugh.
"Are you still able to laugh? The company will not let us off... FUCK! We’ve wasted a year, achieved nothing, lost two Heavenly Falling Objects, and to mislead others, even deployed fighter jets to bomb the Medicine People transportation point... damn it..."
"I said from the beginning! Wei Tianyang’s body shouldn’t have been disposed of! We should have kept it in the lab, not thrown it in the morgue!"
Hans was full of regret.
"Don’t start with me, Hans, after Wei Tianyang’s heart stopped beating, you were the first to suggest we quickly find a new batch of Medicine People to initiate the next round of experiments! I did you a favor, I threw him in the morgue, where else could he go?!" Ruan Yu said angrily.
"What do we do now...? I think we should run, forget Tiantai Pharmaceutical, we leave this country, disappear..." Hans said.
"You’re a real idiot, Hans. Tiantai Pharmaceutical’s board is just waiting for us to run so they can pin all the shit they’ve done in Chicken Snake Country on us."
"And... you think you can disappear from Tiantai Pharmaceutical? Fuck, do you need me to remind you who’s backing Tiantai Pharmaceutical?"
While Ruan Yu was talking, she exhaled a cloud of smoke and looked up at the moon, suddenly feeling a chill.
"SHIT! SHIT! FUCK! Damn! Shit!" Hans was freaking out on the other end of the phone.
"Enough, Hans, Tun Yun will help us transport the remaining Heavenly Falling Objects to the border, I’ve already contacted the company, our priority now... we need to grab our last lifeline," Ruan Yu said.
"You mean Wei Tianyang? Where is he? Forget it... what good is knowing? What can we do now to capture him? We can’t even give an account to the United Council!" Hans said in panic.
"I didn’t tell you, I found another superpower special force through the underground channels... um... the abnormal kind... he’s been active in Chicken Snake Country for a long time, and he’s already killed a colleague from Churi Country," Ruan Yu said.
"Really? You’re not lying to me? Fuck! I knew you’d have a way! Is that guy tough?" Hans asked.
"Believe me, he’s a million times stronger than Chen Jing. I didn’t want to involve him before because I was afraid of owing him favors... You don’t have to worry about this, Hans. Oh, and one more thing... don’t fucking whine and complain in front of me like a little bitch. You go clean up our data in the Qiyang parks, make it snappy, Red Pharmaceutical... they’ve started picking peaches," Ruan Yu said coldly.
"Alright, I am on it, I’ll leave at dawn. By the way... I am... really curious, how did you convince Tun Yun?" Hans asked.
Ruan Yu took a drag on her cigarette, the tip glowing on and off.
"I have my ways," she said lightly.
Konse Night Market, 11 p.m.
Despite the drizzle, there were still many civilians setting up stalls on the street, probably because the departure of the conservative military regime made the citizens of this city a bit less cautious.
Barbecue was currently the easiest form of business, Kacha told Wei Tianyang, that a year ago, before the civil war broke out, he often came out with a few Medicine People to have barbecue skewers.
Wei Tianyang also took the opportunity to ask about money.
The response he got was that Yaha would only provide cash to a select few. This money was mainly used to purchase supplies for the Black House, but essentially, they could also freely allocate a portion for themselves.
Of course, no one complained about this. After all, everyone was a work in progress. Yaha gathered them, provided shelter, ensured a full stomach, and an opportunity for revenge. He had shown extreme benevolence and righteousness.
Not to mention, Yaha’s ability on its own, was a panacea for every illness within the organization.
Wei Tianyang nodded in agreement. If it were before, he would definitely want money. But now... money hardly meant anything to him anymore.
The two walked towards a street close to the refugee camp, where a bunch of stalls had been set up on both sides—small stands, with not too many customers.
Wei Tianyang noticed among the people roaming the street, there were some new refugees mixed in, evident by their ragged and charred clothing.
At first, he thought he had seen more deceased, but then he realized that the group of refugees were negotiating with the street vendors, seemingly begging for food.
As the two sat down and ordered food, Wei Tianyang shared his confusion.
"It’s really strange, why don’t they go to the refugee camps?" Wei Tianyang said.
"The refugee camps are tightly controlled, and they can only accommodate so many due to limited space. Besides, some people can’t stand being confined inside, so they’d rather wander the streets," Kacha explained.
While speaking, he had already finished ordering: 20 skewers of meat, two servings of leeks, 10 skewers of beef tendons, a fish, four cans of beer, and a small pot of shrimp.
Looking at the menu, Wei Tianyang’s mouth had already started to water.
The owner was an old man running the shop with his son and daughter-in-law. A rough calculation indicated that this meal would cost only 10 Civilian Coins.
"You’ve gained some weight recently, haven’t you?" Kacha said.
Wei Tianyang nodded. Since entering the Black House, his diet had improved, and routines had been established; he even got to drink coffee. Over the past two months, his weight had shot up from a skeletal 85 pounds to 110 pounds.
His arms were no longer as thin as poles. Moreover, with more people around and increased socializing, his spirits had uplifted.
"Your abilities may be the strongest among us. I have a feeling, Ishmael, that you can not only lead us to achieve revenge but also accomplish even greater things," Kacha said with a smile.
"Greater things... Kacha, I have indeed always been searching for a greater meaning. Our powers, they can be used for something more meaningful," Wei Tianyang replied.
"I understand how you feel; we’ve all had similar sentiments. I remember when you were in Yaha’s room, and the tension was palpable, that really made me sweat," Kacha mentioned.
"Yaha, she wants more than just revenge, I can see that. I don’t know if I can help her realize that wish, I... I don’t know what the future holds," Wei Tianyang shook his head.
Would he always stay in Yaha’s Black House?
No.
He was on a quest for a greater meaning.
Justice? That wasn’t enough. The word justice was powerful, yet too vague, too generalized.
He needed to make this greater meaning more concrete. It was a nebulous concept; the Black House wouldn’t provide him answers, nor could Yaha.
"Are you going to leave us?" Kacha asked cautiously.
Wei Tianyang smiled and shook his head, "I’m not sure, but..."
Before he could finish, they heard a succession of shouting and cursing behind them.
Wei Tianyang turned around to see a refugee in a black jacket flipping a table over at a stall. Behind the man was a swarming crowd.
"We need to eat! The country is at war! We went to join the Liberation Front, starving along the way, and yet being chased down by the army, and you lot are comfortably doing business in the city! Taking advantage of disaster, aren’t you?! What’s smashing up your shop? Say one more word, and I’ll kill you!" the man yelled furiously.