Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Great-Uncle

The only ones who had heard Ji Huan's muttering were Wang Xiaochuan and a staff member guarding the entrance.

The staff member peered out from the door and then quickly retreated.

Although the team leader had deliberately sought a secluded spot to talk with Ji Huan, their conversation was inevitably overheard and spread within a small circle. Many people shared similar thoughts with the team leader's colleague, assuming that Ji Huan had lost his mind.

Due to this incident, Wang Xiaochuan privately confronted and even fought with several groups of gossipers. Cough— he lost all of those fights. Eventually, Ji Huan suddenly appeared and effortlessly knocked down everyone attacking Wang Xiaochuan. As troublemakers during the disaster, they were both isolated in a corner under strict supervision.

Ironically, thanks to this incident, in the overcrowded and chaotic refuge center, they found a rare moment of tranquility.

Ji Huan's actions this time were particularly severe. One person, who had survived the earthquake unscathed, ended up with broken bones after being beaten by Ji Huan in the safe zone.

It was the first time Wang Xiaochuan had seen such a side of Ji Huan.

Calm and composed, as Ji Huan's fists connected with his opponents, Wang Xiaochuan distinctly heard the sound of bones shattering. Blood and saliva spewed from their mouths, leaving Wang Xiaochuan, witnessing such a scene for the first time, stunned. He felt his heart momentarily stop, only to resume its rhythm with a "thump, thump, thump, thump..." moments later.

Everything seemed to unfold in slow motion, yet Ji Huan remained incredibly calm, his face devoid of any emotion.

In that moment, Ji Huan was suffused with a fierce aura, so intense that the air around him seemed razor-sharp, as if one could be slashed just by touching it.

Wang Xiaochuan was stunned.

It wasn't until Ji Huan finished taking down the last person, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and reached out towards him that Wang Xiaochuan realized he had unknowingly been sitting on the floor.

Ji Huan hadn't said a word since the fight. When he wore an emotionless mask, Wang Xiaochuan couldn't read his thoughts at all. It wasn't until Ji Huan woke up from his dream that he understood: Ji Huan didn't care about what others thought. All that mattered to him was Hei Dan and his grandfather's whereabouts.

That's right, Ji Huan hadn't been swayed by their words. As his best friend (self-proclaimed), Wang Xiaochuan felt ashamed for having doubted him for even a second.

How could Hei Dan not exist? He had provided the vaccine for Hei Dan since birth! He had even bought baby formula and a frog plushie for him! In a way, he had practically raised Hei Dan!

So what if they had never met in person? Ji Huan wasn't weak enough to rely on illusions to survive. If he said Hei Dan existed, then Hei Dan most certainly did!

Since both Hei Dan and his grandfather were real, the issue now was their location. With two fewer people after the earthquake and the rescue team insisting they didn't exist, would they stop searching? How could they?! An old man and a child—what were they supposed to do?

Synchronizing his thoughts with Ji Huan's, Wang Xiaochuan found himself at a loss. They couldn't even leave this gymnasium! It had already been difficult to sneak out when they were among the others on the wooden floors. Now, being locked away separately, oh no, oh no, oh no! It was all his fault for arguing with them. The guards had been more relaxed before, but now...

For a moment, the only sound that could be heard within the small isolation room was the breathing of the two of them.

One was disoriented, while the other was calm.

Just as Wang Xiaochuan was at a loss, Ji Huan suddenly spoke from across from him.

"Little Chuan, in twenty minutes, I'm going to sneak out."

"Huh?" Wang Xiaochuan froze, lifting his head to look at Ji Huan.

With his hands on the covers, Ji Huan gazed at him with a tranquil expression, "The isolation room in the gymnasium is built beside a window. Most of the affected people have been secured by now, so there shouldn't be anyone wandering around outside. The other three sides of this room are made of thin boards that can block the view from outside. Although the window is a bit high, it's still climbable. There are twenty staff members responsible for the perimeter security of the gymnasium. Every three hours, the outdoor guards will relieve the indoor ones, and they'll retreat inside..."

As Ji Huan described their surroundings, Wang Xiaochuan looked around blankly before realizing: Ah! That's right...

"Thank you. I was just thinking about how I could legitimately get in here." Ji Huan's voice remained as composed as ever. Upon hearing him, Wang Xiaochuan felt a little stunned.

"...So... you had planned to provoke a fight just to get admitted in here?!" H-How... farsighted?! While Wang Xiaochuan was at a loss, Ji Huan had already started observing their environment. Not only that, he even remembered the guards' shift pattern?!

"No, it just occurred to me when I saw them attacking you," Ji Huan shook his head.

Wang Xiaochuan was utterly stunned.

With bated breath, he watched the minute hand of Ji Huan's wristwatch approach the 4 o'clock mark. Glancing casually at the door to confirm that the guards were indeed absent, he then turned his head and found his gaze locking with Ji Huan's.

They swiftly executed the plan they had previously agreed upon.

The window was positioned at shoulder height, with a smooth wall offering no footholds and no furniture nearby to leverage on. Wang Xiaochuan took on the role of a ladder for Ji Huan. Though not particularly strong compared to boys his age, he was fortunate that Ji Huan's weight fell within a safe range. After boosting Ji Huan up, Wang Xiaochuan had neither the means nor the time to climb up himself.

Peering outside through the window and before making the jump, Ji Huan turned his head to look at Wang Xiaochuan.

With sparkling eyes, Wang Xiaochuan looked at him and whispered earnestly, "We must find Hei Dan and Grandpa!"

Ji Huan nodded, offering him a smile before gracefully leaping off the bed like a nimble leopard.

The slender youth with inky black hair and dark eyes crouched by the window frame, offering him a faint smile. A gentle breeze wafted through the window, playfully tousling his locks, softening the typically stoic youth's demeanor considerably...

In Wang Xiaochuan's memory, Ji Huan is forever frozen in this moment.

Without considering how to deal with the impending guards, without worrying about potential scolding, Wang Xiaochuan didn't think of anything. His mind was solely occupied with:

This time, surely Ji Huan could find Hei Dan and Grandfather, right?

Staring at the empty window, Wang Xiaochuan foolishly smiled.

***

With no one in sight, Ji Huan crept along the wall, carefully evading the patrolling staff. He vaulted over the fence and landed outside the protected area.

Exiting the reserve was just the first step; the more challenging question was where to go next and how to find Hei Dan and Grandfather.

Deciding to start with the mountains, Ji Huan headed that way.

But this path was doomed from the start: as the area most "affected" by the news, the mountainous region where Ji Huan's home lay had been entirely sealed off.

There was only one route into the mountains, and Ji Huan attempted to scale it from another direction. However, after climbing a short distance, he encountered a conspicuous fluorescent barrier and a guard on duty.

Before being discovered, Ji Huan retreated. Yet, in those brief steps, he noticed something unusual: claw marks.

Not the prints of ordinary small wild animals native to the mountains, these were enormous, so large that Ji Huan initially didn't recognize them as claws.

In addition, Ji Huan also found black ash on the soles of his shoes.

Suddenly, he recalled the dream he had before the earthquake, envisioning the monster that lunged at Hei Dan and Grandfather. A word instantly surfaced in Ji Huan's mind:

"Monster."

Hiding behind a boulder, Ji Huan halted his steps.

If it were just a plain earthquake, things might not be so grim. Though Grandfather had poor eyesight, he was, after all, a... monster. It should be no issue for him to protect himself and Hei Dan during the quake. But if this disaster wasn't merely an earthquake but rather an incident caused by a monster, with the public being told it was an earthquake...

Hei Dan and Grandfather were in grave danger!

Grandfather was a monster that fed on human and other monster flesh. With this preconceived notion in mind, Ji Huan's heart jolted into chaos.

No, he couldn't panic. If he pondered carefully, there must be some logic to this situation. If he observed closely, he would surely find useful clues.

Forcing himself to calm down, Ji Huan retreated a safe distance and hid in the shadow of the boulder. He began to silently observe the opposite side.

Indeed, clues started to emerge...

Ji Huan noticed helicopters hovering in the sky, periodically passing by. These aircraft had previously flown over the sanctuary, and people said they were used for airdropping food. However, through Ji Huan's observation, these helicopters didn't seem to be for airdrops but rather for transportation.

What are they transporting?

Watching the helicopters fly overhead, Ji Huan ran in the direction they were heading.

***

Meanwhile, at the site where the helicopters had landed, within a lush and undamaged garden, concealed by layers of greenery, there was a magnificent house that perpetually smelled of incense.

In one of its bedrooms, a person who had been lying on the bed suddenly opened their eyes:

"I... I think I heard a baby crying..."

"Huh? I... I didn't hear any crying, did you?" The person standing by the bed listened attentively before shaking their head.

The person in the bed didn't continue speaking. After a moment, they closed their eyes again, seemingly about to fall back asleep.

Seeing that he was about to doze off again, the attendant by the bedside spoke softly and urgently, "Um... Your dinner is here. Would you like to have something before resting?"

"And... The Wang Family's... They've caught the one from the Wang Family."

"Great-Uncle?"

The figure in the bed remained silent, eyes closed as if asleep, yet also seemingly awake.

Just as the person standing by the bed was about to withdraw, the occupant suddenly spoke:

"What else have you captured, apart from that creature from the royal family?"

Despite it being summer, he was covered with a thick silk quilt. As he spoke, his hand emerged from beneath it, firmly pointing towards the southwest corner.