Chapter 91

Chapter 91

"Your hands and feet are so small, but are they hands and feet, or paws?" Yan Bubu earnestly inquired, "In cartoons, it's unclear. Your hands and feet are just a blur."

Yan Bubu clenched his hand into a fist, showing it to Binunu: "In cartoons, they're just a blur, indistinct, like a bun. But your hands and feet are so clear now... well, paws, tiny paws."

"I haven't had steamed buns in such a long time," Yan Bubu mused, holding Binunu's small paw to his mouth, mimicking eating a bun. "So fragrant, so delicious... hahaha."

Then he extended his own hand towards Binunu's mouth, "Try mine, take a bite."

Binunu stared at him without moving. Yan Bubu smacked his lips, "Like this, see? So tasty... mmm, really good..."

Binunu's mouth twitched slightly, then withdrew its paw, expressionlessly staring out the window.

Yan Bubu continued, "Shall we ask brother to take us out to build a snowman tomorrow? You don't wear any clothes; aren't you cold? Lions have fur, but you don’t. Shall I find you some clothes to wear?"

Suddenly, Binunu leaped off the windowsill and darted to the stairwell, bouncing down the steps.

Feng Chen and the black lion were skinning the bear when the window was pushed open with a bang. A round figure darted past him, quickly disappearing into the darkness.

The black lion immediately dropped what it was holding and chased after it like a flash.

Feng Chen, watching the two quantum beasts disappear, could only tell the black lion through their psychic connection: "Come back soon..."

Yan Bubu walked down to the fifth-floor corridor and knocked on the frost-covered window.

Hearing the noise, Feng Chen wiped a patch of frost from the window and mouthed to Yan Bubu, "Go back."

Yan Bubu stood still, so Feng Chen added, "I'll be done soon."

Yan Bubu pointed behind him and shouted against the window, "Binunu ran away!"

Feng Chen shook his head, "It's okay, it went to play with the lion."

Yan Bubu thought for a moment, "I want to go find it."

"The lion has already gone."

"But I still want to go," Yan Bubu insisted.

Feng Chen frowned, pointing towards the stairway, "Go back! Or I'll thump you!"

Yan Bubu reluctantly ascended the stairs, looking back every few steps.

Back on the sixth floor, Yan Bubu sat by the window for a while, then opened his password box and arranged the few grasshoppers on the table.

"One, two, three, four, five."

After a moment of silent contemplation, he carefully returned the grasshoppers to the password box and went downstairs to wait for Feng Chen at the stairwell.

Feng Chen finally finished dealing with the brown bear, jumped inside, and quickly closed the window. Yan Bubu hurried over to help him brush off the ice flakes.

Feng Chen stopped him, "Don't, I'll take it off." He then removed his thick clothing, shook off the ice, and hung it near the heating vent in the hall.

"Let's go upstairs," Feng Chen said, leading Yan Bubu up the stairs.

Yan Bubu, looking somewhat dejected, whispered, "I think Binunu doesn't like me, that's why it ran away."

Feng Chen glanced at him, "I think it just wanted to go out and play."

"Is that so? It wanted to play?"

Feng Chen added, "If it didn't like you, it wouldn't have protected you in the Haiyun Tower this afternoon, nor would it have followed us back."

"But still..." Yan Bubu looked towards the window again.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it will come back," Feng Chen said with a light laugh, "I'm not worried about it facing any danger."

"Why? What if it encounters zombies or mutants?" Yan Bubu asked, his tone becoming anxious.

Feng Chen replied, "Your quantum beast is very powerful. No mutant or zombie can defeat it."

"My quantum beast is very powerful," Yan Bubu nodded seriously, then added thoughtfully, "But I still think it's not Binunu."

"Is it Sasaki?"

Yan Bubu hesitated, then shook his head, "No, not that either."

"Then what is it?" Feng Chen asked.

Yan Bubu pondered seriously and after a moment said, "I think it's just itself, neither Binunu nor Sasaki. It's very... very..."

Unable to find the right words, Feng Chen suggested, "Very special?"

"Yes, very special."

Feng Chen asked, "Do you want to give it a new name?"

Yan Bubu quickly shook his head, "No, I'm afraid it might get upset and want to hit me if I change its name."

Feng Chen laughed, "Okay, let's not change the name then. But don't call the Binunu I made for you 'Binunu.'"

"Why?"

"I think it would also be unhappy," Feng Chen ruffled Yan Bubu's hair. "I think your quantum beast is a bit temperamental."

Yan Bubu agreed wholeheartedly, "Indeed, it does have a bit of a temper."

Once on the sixth floor, Yan Bubu ran to the sofa, picked up the toy Binunu, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Binunu. I have to change your name. You can't be called Binunu anymore, or the other Binunu might hit people, even tear you to shreds."

Yan Bubu shivered, imagining the scene.

Turning to Feng Chen, he asked, "Brother, what new name should we give it?"

"You decide. It can be anything, like Bench, Table, Chair," Feng Chen said nonchalantly, drinking a glass of water.

"Then let's call it Bench," Yan Bubu said, gazing at his tin doll Binunu with a touch of sorrow, and softly called out, "Bench."

"Hey, your name is Bench now. Actually, it sounds quite nice, you'll get used to it..." Yan Bubu kissed the newly named 'Bench' on its head and then placed it back in the cloth bag.

"Let's go to bed."

Yan Bubu put the password box into the cloth bag as well, placing it on the cabinet in the bedroom he shared with Feng Chen.

Feng Chen lay flat with his eyes closed, while Yan Bubu tossed and turned beside him, occasionally lifting his head to stare at Feng Chen.

"If you move again, go sleep on the sofa in the living room," Feng Chen said coldly.

"You're not asleep?" Yan Bubu asked, surprised.

"Obviously."

Yan Bubu suddenly sat up, "Actually, I thought of a name for the lion and wanted to tell you, but I was afraid you were asleep."

Feng Chen opened his eyes and looked at him without speaking.

"Sasaki," Yan Bubu announced.

Feng Chen frowned, "You've been excited all this time just to come up with the name Sasaki?"

"Yes, Sasaki," Yan Bubu's eyes sparkled in the dark, "What do you think about Sasaki?"

"Whatever you like, just be quiet and don't disturb my sleep," Feng Chen turned over.

Yan Bubu contentedly lay down, "Alright then, the lion will be called Sasaki."

Silence returned to the room, and then suddenly Feng Chen spoke again, annoyance in his voice, "Didn't you dislike Sasaki? Why name the lion that?"

"I don't dislike it anymore. I like Sasaki now," Yan Bubu explained. "Since Binunu and Sasaki are always together, the lion should be called Sasaki."

Feng Chen replied, "They're not always together, just always in the same episode... Besides, don't they always fight?"

"Exactly, the lion and Binunu are always fighting, so the lion has to be called Sasaki," Yan Bubu said.

Feng Chen was left speechless and finally fell silent.

The cold moonlight shone down, illuminating the snow-covered city. The still-standing tall buildings stood silently in Haiyun City, adding to its quiet, desolate solitude.

A round ball moved swiftly under the moonlight, occasionally leaping high and then falling, closely followed by a large black lion, its paws kicking up snow. The large and small figures racing across the snow broke the stillness of the city.

Unable to shake off the black lion and with threats proving futile, Binunu saw a pipe on a half-collapsed building and swiftly darted into it.

The black lion, reaching the spot, skidded to a halt, leaving long tracks in the snow.

The pipe was not even half as big as its head, so it could only peer into it. After watching for a while and seeing Binunu didn't come out, it decided to just wait there.

At the other end of the pipe in the corridor, Binunu emerged. It looked back at the patiently waiting black lion and silently ran off into the distance.

Binunu hopped forward in the snow, its small figure moving through the ruins, and finally stopped in an open space.

Not far from the clearing was a deep hole, the same place they had encountered the foundation stone during the day.

Binunu looked around to ensure its position, then began to dig energetically with its paws in the snow. After digging for a while, it lowered its body, sniffing the snow carefully with its small nose, then moved to a different spot to continue digging.

……

The moment the door was gently pushed open, Feng Chen instantly opened his eyes.

A round figure darted in through the doorway. He lay still, eyes half-closed, silently observing.

Binunu tiptoed into the room, glanced around, then climbed onto the table opposite the bed, opened the cloth bag, and took out the password box.

Binunu, having been psychically connected with Yan Bubu in the cocoon, knew the box's code. Its small paw swiftly tapped the combination, opened the lid, placed something it was holding inside, then closed it and put it back in the bag.

Binunu made no sound; the only noise in the room was Yan Bubu's deep, cat-like snores. After completing its task, it jumped off the table and left the room.

As the bedroom door closed gently, Feng Chen closed his eyes to sleep again.

The black lion entered the house, braving the wind and snow, just before dawn. It shook off the ice in the corridor, bringing in a chill. Upon entering, it immediately saw Binunu lying in the fifth-floor hall.

Binunu was nestled in a pile of sofa debris, contentedly holding a piece of wood in its mouth. The black lion scratched its matted mane, breaking the ice chunks that still clinked together, and approached Binunu with a stern look in its eyes.

Binunu lay still, but its dark eyes watched the black lion. After a moment of eye contact, it clenched its teeth, snapping the wood into several pieces.

Unmoved by its threat, the black lion softened its gaze, tinged with a hint of helplessness. Finally, it lay down beside Binunu and closed its eyes, at ease.

When Yan Bubu woke up, he saw Feng Chen was no longer in the bedroom.

"Brother, brother," he rubbed his eyes and was just stepping out of the suite when a robot glided over, its lights blinking, playing a voice message from Feng Chen.

"There's food warming in the kitchen. Eat breakfast and then follow the projection lessons. I'm going out for a bit and will check what you've learned when I return at noon."

After listening to the message, Yan Bubu sulked for a while before returning to his room to put on socks and wash up, then went to the kitchen to eat the warm breakfast.

After breakfast, in a better mood, he started searching for Binunu and the black lion upstairs and downstairs.

"Binunu, Sasaki."

Yan Bubu went down to the fifth floor and saw Binunu lying in a pile of sofa debris, but the black lion was nowhere to be seen.

"Good morning, Binunu," Yan Bubu waved his hand slightly. "Did you go out to play last night? When did you come back?"

Binunu didn't even look at him, so Yan Bubu awkwardly went back upstairs, only to return moments later, struggling to carry a wooden stool.

"I found this in an empty room. You've already gnawed away the sofa, try chewing on this, see if you like the taste."

Binunu turned over, presenting its back to him. Heaving, Yan Bubu placed the stool beside Binunu: "Try it, give it a try."

Ignored by Binunu, he crouched in front of it, examining it closely.

Binunu, seemingly disliking being stared at, quickly turned and scurried into a nearby corridor, disappearing into an empty room with a loud bang of the door.

Yan Bubu listened at several doors but, hearing nothing, returned to the sixth floor.

He started preparing for his class, bringing the cloth bag to the living room and taking out the Binunu doll and password box.

"Binunu—" Yan Bubu started to call the doll by its name but stopped abruptly, whispering instead, "Good morning, Bench..."

He placed 'Bench' on the sofa, then opened the password box and arranged the grasshoppers on the table: "Good morning, little grasshoppers. I'm about to start my class, you listen too."

One, two, three, four, five… six.

Six?

Yan Bubu paused, recounting the grasshoppers.

Indeed, there were six.

He stared at the grasshoppers for a while, then picked them up one by one to look at them closely.

Yan Bubu was very familiar with these grasshoppers; he knew each one's unique characteristics.

One had a small lump at the joint, another had a black spot on its grass stem abdomen...

Although Yan Bubu didn't know which one was missing yesterday, he had inspected all six on the table and confirmed they were indeed his grasshoppers.

The missing one had also returned.

Holding the six grasshoppers in his palm, tears suddenly welled up in Yan Bubu's eyes.

"Did you come back by yourself? Did you?"

He put down the grasshoppers and looked around, checking under and around the bed, even opening the wardrobe to peek inside.

"Uncle Wu, Uncle Wu," he called out softly.

The room was quiet, without any response.

He searched the bathroom, even lifting the toilet lid. Finally, he returned to the living room and crouched beside the small table, tearfully staring at the grasshoppers.

"Uncle Wu brought you back, right? He's still with me, isn't he?" Yan Bubu sobbed, gently touching the grasshoppers with his finger. "I know he's always with me, I know... He knows I miss him, he'll always be with me..."

In the shadow of the staircase stood a small, round figure. It turned and quietly descended the stairs after seeing Yan Bubu crying and then laughing.

Feng Chen was at the foot of Haiyun Mountain, beside him a sheer cliff leading up to a cave entrance.

It was the western entrance of Haiyun Mountain where he had once fought, and where Wu You had fallen from the cliff.

Feng Chen, wearing thick gloves, was shoveling the thick snow. He had already dug a large, half-person-deep pit, and the black lion was nearby, digging snow with its paws and occasionally sniffing the ground.

The air was so cold that his breath instantly froze, forming ice on his scarf. Frost turned into beads, then into thin, elongated strands.

After shoveling away more snow, a piece of fabric became visible. He dropped the shovel and used his hands to clear the surrounding snow, revealing a complete corpse.

Although the corpse's features were unrecognizable, Feng Chen could tell from the body shape and clothing that it was indeed Wu You.

The snow covered Haiyun Mountain, hiding any trace of green from the once lush peaks. The cave halfway up the mountain was free of snow, with some bedding and plastic sheets scattered on the ground, evidence of the many people who had stayed here before hurriedly departing.

The place looked the same as on the day of the great evacuation, except now a raised mound of earth had formed at the previously flat western entrance.

Feng Chen, dragging a large bag made of plastic sheets, rode on the black lion's back into the cave. At the mound, he unfolded the plastic and began filling it with handfuls of earth.

Once the mound was nearly complete, he stopped and sat down, his eyes fixed on the snowstorm outside the cave.

"Uncle Wu, didn't you always say you were the cleverest, never at a disadvantage? How come you ended up lying here?" He patted the mound, "Braggart."

"I wanted to find you a nice place to rest, but now Haiyun City is all snow. No matter where you sleep, you'd be lost by the next day. I was afraid I'd have to dig you out again, so I thought, why not let you rest here..."

"No one will disturb you here, and you won't be buried by snow. It's the last place you stayed... I'll bring Yan Bubu here in a few days... I know he misses you... Although I know it doesn’t change anything, I still want to say, thank you for saving Yan Bubu... Don't worry, we'll keep living well."

A tear fell from Feng Chen's eye, freezing mid-air before hitting the ground with a faint sound.

The ice crystal reflected the yellow earth inside the cave and the grey, snowy sky of Haiyun City.