Chapter 17
So-called Kindred
The SUV cut through the city's neon sea and finally ca to a stop in the underground parking garage of a skyscraper.
Lu Li followed Lin Lu and Ning Ye into the elevator, watching as Lin Lu pressed the button for the top floor.
"We're here."
"...Our Base is...on the top floor?"
"Mm, good view." Lin Lu leaned against the elevator wall, her tone breezy. "And cheap rent."
"...The top floor is cheap?"
"Nobody wants to rent it." Ning Ye didn't look up from her phone, her fingers flying across the screen. "How many days was the last tenant hanging from the ceiling—3 or 4? Can't rember. Either way, cleanup was a real ss."
"Don't listen to her." Lin Lu casually slapped the folder in her hand onto Ning Ye's head. "That was the one before last."
Lu Li: "..."
‘So people have still died there, right?!’
The elevator rose smoothly. Lin Lu's gaze drifted, landing on Lu Li without intent.
Truthfully, today had surprised her a little.
It was supposed to be routine—eting a witness who had encountered a Calamity. She'd seen plenty of those people. Most just wanted soone to talk to.
But this one...
Silver hair bundled ssily at the back of her head. Skin pale as paper. The whole person so thin it seed a gust of wind could carry her away.
She wore Colored Contact Lenses to hide her natural eye color, but the expression underneath couldn't be hidden—exhausted, guarded, and a trace of sothing else...hard to na. Like soone the world had discarded long ago, stubbornly grasping at sothing with both hands.
Lin Lu let out a quiet sigh inside.
This kind of child—she'd seen her before.
Long ago, Ning Ye had been the sa.
DING—
The elevator doors opened, cutting off Lin Lu's thoughts.
****
Lu Li had assud their so-called Base would be so basent hideout with bounty posters plastered all over the walls. She'd even braced herself for cigarette butts and empty bottles covering the floor.
But the mont the elevator doors opened, she admitted: poverty had limited her imagination.
Floor-to-ceiling windows occupied an entire wall, looking out over Foggy Ford City's glittering nightscape—ten thousand lights like a spilled galaxy. Inside, warm amber lighting. Leather sofas. A solid wood coffee table. Several paintings on the walls that looked expensive just to glance at.
In the corner sat an enormous snack cabinet, stuffed to the brim.
How does this place feel more valuable than her own life?
"What are you staring at, co in."
Lin Lu had already kicked off her short boots and was padding barefoot across the plush carpet. She glanced back at Lu Li, who was still rooted in the doorway, and suddenly furrowed her brow.
"Wait."
"That..."
"Don't move."
Lin Lu's fingers ran down along her hair, smoothing out the tangles one by one.
"Not bad hair quality, just too dry. I'll get you a bottle of hair oil later—don't let this head of hair go to waste."
Lu Li felt like a cat being forcibly grood. She wanted to pull away but didn't dare, and could only let the other person do as she pleased.
"There." After a mont, Lin Lu withdrew her hands, satisfied. "Much more presentable. Co in—no need to take off your shoes."
****
"Why are you standing?"
Lu Li stiffly sat down at the edge of the sofa—only the very edge, her whole body drawn taut like a bowstring.
Lin Lu glanced at her and suddenly sighed.
"This child...relax. I'm not going to eat you."
As she said it, she reached out and pinched Lu Li's cheek.
!
Soft.
But too thin—barely any flesh at all.
"Why are you so thin? Don't you eat properly?"
Lin Lu's fingers slid down from her cheek to her collarbone, fingertips carrying a faint coolness.
"Mm..."
Lu Li didn't know how to answer.
Being scrutinized like this made Lu Li instinctively shrink back. But the sofa's thick backrest was right behind her—nowhere to retreat—and she sank straight into the soft cushions.
She couldn't exactly say she'd only been born a few days ago, that she didn't even have a normal appetite yet, could she?
"Ning Ye, get the new recruit sothing to eat. And—give her that thing."
"What a bother..."
Ning Ye slowly pulled off her headset, dragged her feet over to the fridge. She didn't even ask Lu Li what she wanted—just scooped up an armful of sparkling water and snacks, and dumped them all onto the coffee table with a clatter. Then she rummaged through a drawer and pulled out a small black square box, tossing it over.
"This is..."
Lu Li opened it. Inside, a brand-new smartphone lay quietly at rest. Black body, smooth lines, factory screen protector still attached.
"The phone is encrypted—it can access the Night Wanderer Society's internal network, but it also works as a regular phone. Talk-ti is reimbursed." Lin Lu waved a hand. "My and Ning Ye's contact information is saved inside. Call whenever sothing cos up."
Lu Li carefully unwrapped the packaging and took out the brand-new phone. The mont the screen lit up, the familiar startup display filled her eyes.
That sense of terrifying isolation—it finally dissolved, in this instant.
"...Thank you."
Lin Lu raised an eyebrow but said nothing, only reaching into the drawer again to pull out an envelope and tossing it over just the sa.
"An advance."
"Not much." Lin Lu lounged lazily against the sofa, her tone offhand. "Consider it a signing bonus. Missions will be paid per job going forward—this is just enough to get your life stable first."
"...Thank you."
Lu Li took the envelope, feeling the thick wad of bills inside through the paper. Her fingers trembled faintly.
"What? Moved to tears?"
"N-no..."
"Alright, relax."
"Since you're...already here, from now on you're one of us. If sothing's hard, just say it—don't carry it alone."
Lu Li was silent for a long ti.
"...Why?"
"Hm?"
"Why are you being so good to ? We only just t."
"Because you remind of what I used to be."
She let go and leaned back into the sofa, her gaze settling on the city ablaze with lights beyond the window.
"Yeah, superpowers—sounds great, right?" Lin Lu's hand held, seemingly from nowhere, the white silk thread she'd used to slay the Calamity earlier. "But who ever knows the price behind it?"
"Most of the ti, we're just forced into it—dragged into this world against our will, swept along with no choice but to keep going. The Night Wanderer Society...ha. Call it a bunch of pitiful people huddling together for warmth~?"
This ti, Ning Ye beside her, for once, didn't contradict her.
"Mm...yeah."
"So, this child—rember to co find your big sister when sothing happens, okay?"
"Hungry?"
"I ordered takeout. It'll arrive soon."
****
While idling through the wait for takeout, the news channel was broadcasting a report.
...In the early hours of this morning, a gas leak incident occurred at an abandoned construction site on the city outskirts. It has been confird that there are no casualties, and relevant departnts are conducting follow-up procedures...
Lu Li stared at the familiar Unfinished Building on the screen and went quiet.
Gas leak. Soone who didn't know any better would think they were watching the Holy Grail War.
That was clearly where Lin Lu had dealt with the Calamity just now.
"You get used to it." Lin Lu seed to read her thoughts, her tone flat. "There's no way the authorities would make the truth public. The less ordinary people know, the better."
"...Has it always been like this?"
"Always." Lin Lu changed the channel, then absently tossed a grape into her mouth, speaking indistinctly:
"Fear, anxiety, despair...these negative emotions are the best fertilizer. Modern society—short on everything, except people who want to die and people who want to kill."
She paused, and glanced toward the city lights blazing outside the window.
"You know why people like us are permitted to exist? Oh right—you probably don't know yet. Actually, the authorities have their own people to handle situations like this. They're far more professional than we are."
Lu Li shook her head.
"Because the authorities' people alone can no longer hold back the tide—so they turn a blind eye to our existence."
Lu Li thought back to that rainy night. The black monster. How she had beco what she was now.
If Calamities were hatched from negative emotions...
Then what was the thing inside her?
DING-DONG—
The doorbell cut off her thoughts.
"Takeout's here." Ning Ye stood up. "I'll get it."
A few minutes later, the coffee table was covered in food. Sushi, fried chicken, skewers, desserts...a dazzling spread that made Lu Li's eyes swim.
"Eat." Lin Lu handed her a pair of chopsticks. "Don't be shy."
Lu Li hesitated, then picked up a piece of sushi and placed it in her mouth.
Fresh fish lted on her tongue, carrying a faint hint of wasabi.
And just as Lu Li was enjoying the food—
"Oh, by the way."
Lin Lu suddenly spoke.
"Co in for a full physical tomorrow afternoon."
Lu Li's chopsticks froze mid-reach. The fried chicken in her mouth suddenly lost all its flavor.
"...Physical?"
"Onboarding procedure." Lin Lu bit into a skewer, her tone casual. "Every new recruit does it—just checking whether the body has been contaminated by a Calamity or anything like that. Don't worry, it's just routine."
"What's wrong? You don't look well."
"N-nothing." Lu Li managed to stretch out a smile. "Just a bit tired."
"Then go ho and rest early." Lin Lu stood up. "I'll walk you out."
"No need, I can—"
"I'll walk you out."
Lin Lu's tone allowed no room for refusal.
She walked over and naturally helped Lu Li adjust her collar, pulling the loose, oversized jacket snug.
"It's cold outside. Don't catch a chill."
Warmth.
And a little...guilt. After all, she had deceived soone.
She didn't know how much longer she could stay here.
Or whether tomorrow's physical would expose everything.
"Let's go—your big sister will walk you ho."
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