deia had never been in a situation like this before—being scolded, being fussed over, and having old people threatening to kill her boyfriend just because he happened to be dating her.
Sora gripped her shoulders tightly, looking straight into deia’s eyes like there was sothing urgent she needed to say.
"Listen carefully," Sora said, her voice trembling slightly. "You can’t just date anyone you et, especially in this world. Most n out there will only use you. And worse ... if he runs out of food, he could even sell you to bandits just to survive."
The man in the ski mask stepped closer, arms crossed and frowning. "Is he still sitting in that van you ca with? It hasn’t moved since you arrived."
He narrowed his eyes, clearly suspicious. "If he were a real gentleman, he would’ve co with you right away instead of leaving you to handle everything alone."
deia quickly stepped in to defend Lucian. "If he had co with , wouldn’t it be even harder for you to trust ?" she argued calmly. "Even with just and my brother here, you’re already this cautious. Imagine if I brought more people."
For a mont, they all fell silent until Sora sighed softly. "I suppose you’re right ... In this kind of world, we don’t have the luxury of lowering our guard."
She then shifted her gaze toward Finn, changing the subject. "And this young boy, what’s his na?"
deia subtly signaled Finn to speak up.
Finn, who had been doing his best to stay invisible, realized there was no escape now. He straightened his back and said nervously, "M-My na is Finn! And I’m her brother!"
One of the old n let out a small chuckle. "So, your parents must’ve been the ones who helped our deia survive all these years," he said warmly.
Finn gave an awkward smile and quickly glanced at deia, silently begging for help.
But instead of saving him, deia only gave him a sharp glare — a silent warning to keep his mouth shut and not ruin the story.
"Y-Yes," Finn replied nervously. "But since I was taken by the military when I was really young, we just reunited recently."
Sora leaned forward, frowning slightly. "How did you manage to escape?"
Finn opened his mouth to answer, but deia quickly stepped in, cutting him off before he could say anything stupid. "That’s not important right now," deia said firmly.
She imdiately shifted her expression, eyes softening and lips trembling, like soone about to burst into tears. The perfect expression to make people lower their guard. "He’s suffering ... a lot," she said, voice shaking. "Because of the chip in his head."
"If he feels even the slightest bit of stress, he turns into a monster," deia explained. "And ... when he turns back into a human, that’s when the real nightmare starts."
The scientists exchanged worried looks, clearly disturbed. It was like they were silently communicating, and deia could tell they already knew exactly what she was talking about.
"Are you sure you’re telling the truth?" Sora asked quietly, her voice barely calm. "He really ... turns back into a human after becoming a Lost?"
That question only confird deia’s theory. It seed like these people were the ones who first created the chips. Later, the military’s current scientists probably developed them further until they beca ’perfect.’
"It’s true," deia said without flinching. "Do you want to prove it? I can show you."
Finn’s face went pale instantly. He had never turned into the Lost before, and he certainly didn’t want to now.
Even worse, if deia wanted to make it happen, she would need to stress him out.
And Finn really, really didn’t want to know what the demon standing next to him would do to make that happen.
"Can you help us?" deia pleaded. "Please, I beg you. Weren’t you the ones who ca up with the idea for these chips in the first place? Doesn’t that an you should take responsibility for the sins you committed back then?"
"Sins?" the old man scoffed. "What we did back then wasn’t a sin."
deia narrowed her eyes, intrigued by the way he said it. "And why do you think that?" she asked sharply.
The old man clicked his tongue. "It would have been a sin if our goal had been to control those children. But the truth is, we made the chips to stop people from losing their minds when they beca the Lost."
He clenched his fist. "Those bastards twisted our invention and turned it into sothing terrible."
The man in the ski mask quickly nudged him. "Don’t talk like that in front of our little Snow!"
"I’m just being honest!" the old man grumbled.
Sora sighed heavily and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Alright, how about we continue this talk inside the church? The air is getting colder."
She gently took deia’s hand, but just as deia was about to step inside, she glanced back.
"Can I bring my boyfriend over?" she asked casually. "He’s probably freezing if I leave him sitting in the van too long."
All three of them stiffened. Their blood seed to boil the second she ntioned her boyfriend again.
"Fine," the man in the ski mask grumbled, cracking his knuckles. "But if he isn’t good enough for you, I’ll punch him right in the face."
Punch him?
deia’s lips twitched into a small smirk. ’If anyone dares lay a hand on Lucian, I’ll punch them first.’
’Hey, system, give their stats,’ deia thought silently.
[The system is currently updating. Response may be slower than usual.]
[Results will appear shortly.]
deia sighed in frustration. The system really picked the worst ti to need days for an update.
She wasn’t asking for much. She just wanted their nas. It would make her story more convincing if she could call them by na and act like their long-lost little Snow.
But with the system down, deia would have to find another way.
She kept calm and smiled faintly. "But before I go and call him," she said softly, "can I ask you sothing?"
They nodded warmly. "Of course, dear. Ask anything."
"Well ... ever since I escaped the military base, it’s been really hard for to rember everything clearly." deia lowered her head, staring quietly at the dusty ground. "If you don’t mind ... could you tell your nas?"
Sora gasped, imdiately covering her mouth with trembling hands.
"Oh my dear ... my poor little Snow," she whispered. "You must have suffered so much you can’t even rember your past."
The gray-eyed old man sighed deeply. "Don’t force yourself to rember it. There’s nothing worth holding onto from those days anyway."
Sora wiped the corner of her eyes before softly introducing them. "The one with the sharp tongue is Eldon Graves," she said, nodding toward the gray-eyed old man.
Eldon simply grunted, avoiding deia’s gaze as if he was too embarrassed to be part of the conversation now.
Sora continued, "The one with the ski mask is Gideon Brooks. Don’t mind his grumpy face, he’s always like that."
Gideon crossed his arms and huffed, but didn’t deny it.
"And lastly," Sora smiled a little, "the red-haired one who keeps watching us from behind is Walter Hensley."
Walter, who had been standing quietly near the door, gave deia a small awkward wave when his na was ntioned.
deia quickly morized their nas, making sure to associate them with their appearances.
Eldon, the serious gray-eyed old man.
Gideon, the protective and short-tempered ski mask man.
Walter, the quiet but gentle redhead.
"Thank you for telling ," deia said sweetly. She gently clenched her fist, acting like she was struggling to hold back tears. "I’m really happy to hear your nas again."
’Finally,’ she thought. ’Now I just need to make them trust completely.’
After learning their nas, deia made her way back to the van, which was hidden behind a five-story hotel.
Earlier, Eldon had offered to accompany her to et her boyfriend, but deia imdiately declined and instead asked them to watch over Finn for a while.
"Where’s Finn?" Lucian stepped out of the van the mont he saw deia walking alone from the church.
"Honey," deia called out with a small bounce in her step as she approached him. "I think I have grandparents now."
Lucian tilted his head, frowning like he was silently thinking, What kind of nonsense is that?
Once deia stood in front of him, she explained everything that had just happened at the church, how she was apparently part of the first batch of child experints, and how the old scientists had once helped her.
She made sure not to ntion anything about the real body owner, knowing that Tian and Ethan were watching and listening from a distance.
As deia expected, Lucian’s face darkened within seconds.
"I—" he started, but deia quickly kissed him on the lips before he could say another word.
"If you dare say sorry, that’ll be your last kiss for the next two weeks," she warned.
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