Chapter 60

Chapter 60

The entire Mixin Town was shrouded in darkness, with only one corner illuminated. Since his presence had already been exposed, Chu Ya no longer hid and instead turned on the light under the eaves, illuminating the small courtyard brightly.

Chu Ya went to clean the kitchen, meticulously washing away the grease left from roasting meat. When he turned around, he saw the Black Wolf standing at the door.

"Did you deliver the items?" Chu Ya asked.

The Black Wolf's eyes carried a hint of displeasure, so Chu Ya said, "I asked an unnecessary question, thank you."

The Black Wolf nodded with a dignified air, pointing its paw behind it. Chu Ya stepped out of the door and looked down the dimly lit passage, where a bulging burlap sack could be faintly seen on the ground.

Chu Ya glanced at the tall building to the left and whispered, "This is what the orphanage asked you to bring back, right? After I turn off the lights later, I'll bring it inside."

The Black Wolf did not respond, merely sauntering lazily toward the main house.

Shen Juanjuan, after washing his feet, rushed back to the main house in slippers, shouting loudly. He ran to the bedroom door and noticed the Black Wolf lying on the sofa, quickly turning back and rubbing the wolf's body, both nervous and excited as he fled into the bedroom.

"Ahhh, Chen Baolong is catching up, ahhhh, Wang Zhusheng's brother is catching up, help me, help me, Big Black is going to bite me..."

The Black Wolf lifted its head, looking shocked as the child rushed into the bedroom, fell onto the bed, and let out a cry as if being bitten, trembling and begging Big Black not to eat him. It hurriedly got up and walked to the bedroom door, looking around alertly but finding nothing.

"Don't eat me, please don't eat me, ah... my hand, my arm is gone..."

Shen Juanjuan hugged his arm and rolled on the bed, struggling as if seriously injured, then collapsed, saying, "I'm dead."

The Black Wolf rushed to the bedside, wide-eyed and looking around nervously, sniffing the air with its nose. As it extended its paw to nudge Shen Juanjuan, the child suddenly sat up, hugging a teddy bear and bouncing on the bed.

Shen Juanjuan couldn't see the Black Wolf at this moment; his gaze passed over it without any reaction, only singing as he bounced: "Grandpa's little car goes beep beep beep, da da da, beep beep beep..."

The Black Wolf's eyes followed him up and down, its expression gradually darkening. When Shen Juanjuan sat down with the teddy bear, the Black Wolf suddenly opened its mouth wide, taking his arm entirely in its mouth without letting its teeth touch the skin, shaking its head as if angrily tearing.

When Chu Ya entered the bedroom, he saw Shen Juanjuan sitting on the bed playing with the teddy bear, while the Black Wolf glared fiercely, biting his arm.

Chu Ya paused, and the Black Wolf turned its eyes to him, holding the position for two seconds before slowly retreating. It snapped its jaws at Chu Ya twice, indicating it hadn't tightened its teeth, then left the bedroom as if nothing had happened.

Chu Ya tidied everything up, returned to bed, and turned off the light to sleep. Shen Juanjuan naturally leaned over, resting his head on Chu Ya's shoulder.

"Did you think about the raccoon today?" Chu Ya asked with his eyes closed.

"I did." Shen Juanjuan stretched out his fingers in the darkness, tracing, "Small round ears, black eyes, fluffy..."

As Shen Juanjuan spoke, his voice grew drowsy, and his hand fell onto the quilt.

Chu Ya tucked his hand under the quilt and whispered, "Go to sleep."

"Okay, go to sleep," Shen Juanjuan turned over, hugging the teddy bear, mumbling, "Go to sleep, little raccoon."

Just like every other night, Shen Juanjuan's mental energy automatically entered Chu Ya's mental domain after falling asleep.

The mental domain remained dark and gloomy, filled with meteorites and hurricanes, but there was a tiny point of light in the distance. The silver thread twirled in the air and flew toward the light.

Shen Juanjuan was caught in a hurricane midway, spinning until he was disoriented before breaking free and being hit by a meteorite.

"Ha ha ha..." The silver thread tumbled in the air, bouncing off the outer wall of the mental domain and returning.

As he got closer, the light became clearer, revealing a small square of gold, like a field of wheat planted in the dark soil.

Shen Juanjuan flew to the edge of the wheat field, where the "ears of wheat" swayed happily toward him. He used his mental tendrils to carefully stroke them, brushing off the layer of dark mist on their surface. More fine golden threads appeared in the air, touching him affectionately and circling around him. Shen Juanjuan laughed and reached out, planting them next to the "ears of wheat," expanding the field a bit more.

"Ha ha ha."

Shen Juanjuan, lying in bed, suddenly laughed, smacked his lips, and turned over to continue sleeping soundly.

Chu Ya, however, couldn't fall asleep. Knowing that a guide in the differentiation period would uncontrollably release mental energy during sleep, he allowed Shen Juanjuan's mental energy to play in his mental domain, lying quietly in the darkness, thinking about Gu Lin's words.

Black sore disease, it turns out he also had black sore disease...

No, not that he had contracted it, but that the virus within him had been activated.

Is there still hope for me? Am I going to die too?

When he heard from Gu Lin about the deaths of his parents and Yun Tuo, the last bit of hope in his heart was crushed, and in extreme pain, he had even thought that dying might be better.

But now, lying in bed with Shen Juanjuan nestled beside him, the fear of death that had been suppressed during the day crept back, chilling his thoughts and making his body tremble with cold.

He held Shen Juanjuan's hand in his palm, feeling the soft, warm touch, which calmed his racing heart and helped him think more clearly.

Gu Lin said that the item left by his father could combat the black sore virus. He must not have lied, because Director Liu also mentioned that his father had been researching a cure for black sore disease and had made significant progress.

... He put the research results in a box and hid it in a secret place, telling you where it was ... He was researching a cure for black sore disease ... He must have told you ...

Chu Ya repeated Gu Lin's words in his mind, trying to recall when his father had mentioned the location of the box.

But he couldn't remember anything.

He searched through every corner of his memory, but his father had never even mentioned the research, let alone the box.

Chu Ya began to feel anxious and frustrated, but he kept reassuring himself not to rush, to stay calm. The clue must be hidden in some sentence, something he had overlooked at the time.

He had always avoided confronting the fact that his parents were gone, deliberately avoiding memories of their interactions. It seemed that as long as he avoided thinking about it, they were still alive, waiting to appear in the abyss, in front of him.

Now, however, he had to pull the plug on his memories, and scenes of his interactions with his father played in his mind like a movie, as clear as if they had happened yesterday.

Sitting across the desk, listening to his father's low, gentle voice asking about his studies, he could feel the warm breeze blowing in from outside, hear the slight rustling of paper as his father turned the pages.

Chu Ya tore open the scab on his heart, blood and pus gushing out, but he had to endure the excruciating pain, carefully analyzing every word his father had said.

Xiaoya, I've been quite busy lately and haven't had the chance to sit down and have a proper conversation with you. How has your time at school been...?

I had someone send you two books; have you read them yet...? If you have some free time, take a look.

Books?

No, they're just ordinary military manuals; there's no secret hidden in them.

Xiaoya, did you go for physical training this week? Once Dad is done with this busy period, I'll go with you.

It seems like my son has grown taller again. Stand up and let me measure you... Not bad, you've grown half a centimeter.

Chu Ya's eyes were closed, but tears kept overflowing from the corners, sliding down his cheeks, trickling into his hair, and finally leaving a cold, damp patch on the pillow.

No, none of these are right.

Think about when was the last time you spoke to your father?

That's right, the last time I saw him was the day before I was about to inspect the Abyss.

Father called me to his study and gave me some advice for the Abyss, and he also said, he also said...

Chu Ya suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze piercing through his tears, fixed on the ceiling.

"Xiaoya, actually, your mother and I once lived in Keke Town, at 75 Wushan Street. I haven't had the time to visit it since then. I wonder how that house is doing now..."

75 Wushan Street, Keke Town.

75 Wushan Street, Keke Town!!

Chu Ya abruptly sat up.

Shen Juanjuan planted the newly sprouted golden silk seeds and noticed that the big black dog had also appeared here, standing steadily in the tornado as usual, with several black lines connected to its body.

Feeling familiar with it, Shen Juanjuan quickly flew over to greet it, circling around it to observe.

"Big Black Dog, where do you live? You come every night, are you looking for me? You look so handsome, Shen Miaomiao's quantum beast somewhat resembles you, but it's not as good-looking as you. Its butt is so big, like a table."

The big black dog looked at him coldly, but he didn't notice, continuing, "Are we friends now? But I don't know your name. Do you not have a name? Can I give you one?"

The big black dog raised its ears warily, and Shen Juanjuan began to rack his brain: "Chen Baolong? Wang Zhusheng's brother?"

The big black dog moved its paw, seemingly wanting to swipe at him, but restrained itself because it was still absorbing the black substance from the outer wall of the mental domain, only standing there and growling lowly.

"Big Black? Is Big Black okay? Shen Miaomiao's quantum beast is also black, but it's different from you, not as good-looking as you." Shen Juanjuan said with a biased eye.

The big black dog first looked shocked, then angry. After the black lines connecting it to the mental domain retracted, it suddenly raised its tail and lashed out at him with a swift strike.

Shen Juanjuan screamed and rolled in the air, crashing into a tornado. While spinning rapidly with the wind column, he suddenly felt that the action of the big black dog using its tail to hit people was so familiar...

...just like Shen Miaomiao's quantum beast, the silver wolf.

Shen Juanjuan hurriedly broke free from the tornado and saw the big black dog leap up, dashing agilely into the bright gap behind it.

"Wait, wait for me." Shen Juanjuan chased after it, diving into the gap along with the big black dog.

The view changed rapidly, the tornado and meteorites disappeared, and he found himself suspended in mid-air at home, with Shen Miaomiao's silver wolf quantum beast lying on the sofa, convulsing painfully.

Shen Juanjuan, who was already familiar with this nightly scene, skillfully extended his mental tentacles, wrapping around the black wolf's body and gently stroking its head.

The black wolf quickly calmed down, and Shen Juanjuan carefully combed through its fur, fiddled with its ears, and pinched its nose, becoming increasingly certain of his earlier guess.

"You are the big black dog, right? Shen Miaomiao said I can't see you clearly, but I can see you there, right? Let me touch your head again... I didn't recognize you at first, but both of you use your tails to hit people in such an annoying way. But could you really be so handsome? You're so ugly, like a table, how could you possibly be that handsome big black dog?"

The black wolf showed no reaction, and Shen Juanjuan continued to mutter, immersed in the shock of realizing that the black, fuzzy quantum beast in front of him was the big black dog.

Only when the black wolf completely calmed down and he found himself turning black again did he quickly return to his own mental domain.

"Little raccoon, little raccoon, little—Hey! Slow down, this crack is too small, don't pull my head in, can we find another crack to go through—Hey!!"

...

After thinking about 75 Wushan Street, Keke Town, Chu Ya immediately got out of bed, took the cane leaning against the headboard, and left the bedroom.

The black wolf, which was comfortably lying on the sofa, quickly got up and followed him.

Just as Chu Ya's hand touched the doorknob, his mind suddenly became clear. There were sentries monitoring him outside, and if he went to Keke Town like this, he would expose everything to Gu Lin.

No, he mustn't act rashly; he must be cautious. He could only go to Keke Town under absolutely safe conditions.

Chu Ya slowly removed his hand from the doorknob, stood there for a long time, and then returned to the bedroom step by step.

As dawn approached, the heavy rain that had lasted for days finally stopped. Chu Ya lay in bed, listening to the sound of rain turning into the dripping of water from the eaves, watching the sky outside the window gradually brighten, with white fluff drifting down.

Shen Juanjuan wriggled like a worm, rubbing his eyes and scratching his bottom, placing his warm little feet on Chu Ya's stomach. His eyes still closed, he started mumbling a song.

"Grandpa's little car goes beep beep beep, da da da, beep beep beep..."

After singing a few times, he opened his eyes, met Chu Ya's gaze, and smiled drowsily, "Brother."

"Go to the window and look outside," Chu Ya said.

Shen Juanjuan got up, wearing the pajamas Chu Ya made for him, and ran to the window in slippers.

"It's not raining anymore. Wow! Wow! Wow!"

He seemed to have seen something incredible, exclaimed three times, and turned to point excitedly at Chu Ya, "Look, quick, look!"

Stars and spots of light danced in Chu Ya's eyes: "I've already seen it; it's snowing outside."

The entire Mixin Town had turned into a sea of white. Shen Juanjuan, fresh and excited, rode his steel ball car at the front, curiously looking around. The Black Wolf followed them, but kept glancing at the empty building on the left, its eyes cold and teeth bared. It tried several times to sneak over to that building, but was always stopped by Chu Ya.

"Don't go. We can't afford any more injuries right now."

"Growl!" The Black Wolf growled in dissatisfaction.

"We can't alert them. I'm waiting for an opportunity," Chu Ya turned to look towards Keke Town. "I need to find a chance to get there. But first, I need to fully recover from my leg injury. Let's not rush."

Shen Juanjuan grabbed a handful of snow and laughed loudly at Chu Ya. "So much snow, so much snow."

"Do you like it?" Chu Ya pushed his wheelchair closer and brushed the snow off his hat.

"Yes, I like it very much."

Shen Juanjuan rode his steel ball car ahead, laughing loudly and turning back to shout at Chu Ya, "You can't catch me, I'm a snow car, a flying snow car."

Chu Ya smiled at him, then taunted, "Come on, you think I can't catch you? You don't have feet, do you? Just wait."

Suddenly, Chu Ya pushed his wheelchair forward, and Shen Juanjuan screamed in fright, pedaling hard to speed up, his body swaying back and forth.

"Aaaaaah!"

Chu Ya shouted, his wheelchair almost taking flight. "When I catch you, I'll skewer you through and through, then throw you to pieces."

"Aaaaaah, Big Black Dog save me, Chen Baolong save me, Brother Wang Zhusheng save me, Aaaaaah! Mental defense, mental defense! My raccoon, save me, my quantum beast, save me!"

The steel ball car and the wheelchair sped down the snow-covered street, their shouts and laughter shaking the snow from the eaves. The Black Wolf kept baring its teeth, irritably grabbing two handfuls of snow and stuffing them in its ears before leaping onto the roof nearby, keeping a distance as it moved forward.

"Big Black Dog, don't run away, Big Black Dog, come down and chase us." Shen Juanjuan called out to the Black Wolf's back.

"Big Black Dog?" Chu Ya raised an eyebrow.

Shen Juanjuan explained, "I see it every night where you are. It's a big black dog, very handsome, nothing like its ugly appearance now." He sat up straight on the steel ball car, half-closing his eyes solemnly, and mimicked the Black Wolf's paws in front of him. "It looks like this, with a few black stripes on its body."

"What black stripes?" Chu Ya asked.

Shen Juanjuan described it with words and gestures, and Chu Ya's expression grew increasingly complex, his gaze deepening as he looked at the Black Wolf.

"...I just found out it's that big black dog. If I close my eyes and leave a slit, they really look alike..."

"...What do you think about naming it Shen Wangwang? Shen Miaomiao, does that name sound good? Shen Wangwang, Shen Wangwang, Shen Wangwang!"

Chu Ya snapped back to reality. "What name?"

"I've been talking for so long, and you didn't hear a word!" Shen Juanjuan frowned, his face showing anger.

He had passed the initial phase of differentiation and was no longer as easily angered. Seeing him about to get upset again, Chu Ya quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention. Please say it again, I'll listen carefully this time."

Shen Juanjuan pouted for a few seconds before saying, "I named it Shen Wangwang."

"What?! Shen Wangwang?"

Shen Juanjuan looked at him seriously. "What? Don't you like it?"

"…It’s okay."

For the next few days, the two did not leave Mixin Town.

The Black Wolf would go to Keke Mountain every few days to hunt mutants. With nothing else to do, and having brought spices from the orphanage, Chu Ya focused on cooking, experimenting with different dishes every day—stewing, braising, stir-frying, and more.

Fortunately, no matter what he cooked, Shen Juanjuan ate it all with relish, even when he forgot the salt or added too much chili powder. Shen Juanjuan would eat continuously, tears streaming down his face, while shoving large bites into his mouth and praising the food, feeding some to the Black Wolf.

"Here, Shen Wangwang, have a piece of meat."

"Growl!"

The Black Wolf swatted the meat away with a paw.

"Brother, look, it's wasting food."

"Don't call it Shen Wangwang, it doesn't like it."

"But it is Shen Wangwang. What can I do if it doesn't like it? I don't like being called Shen Juanjuan either, but I still have to be called Shen Juanjuan."

Since Chu Ya had the Black Wolf deliver meat to the orphanage once, the Black Wolf understood his intentions and later only hunted larger mutants, leaving a small piece of meat for themselves and sending the rest to the orphanage.

Once, the Black Wolf caught a mutant badger, and Chu Ya used the badger fat to make a small box of ointment for chilblains, which gradually healed the chilblains on Shen Juanjuan's hands and feet. Shen Juanjuan's face, chapped and peeling, always had two red cheeks. Chu Ya applied the badger fat to his face daily, and it gradually improved.

Everything seemed peaceful. Chu Ya cooked and did housework, helping Shen Juanjuan with his homework and punching bag training, allowing Shen Juanjuan's mental energy to explore his mental domain at night.

Every day, they had meat and staple foods, and Chu Ya's bone injury recovered quickly, allowing him to discard his crutches. However, he knew the yard was under surveillance, so he concealed his condition, using crutches or a wheelchair when going outside.

One morning, he rolled up his sleeve and looked at the black mark that hadn't grown or faded, knowing it was time to act.

He no longer stayed only in Mixin Town but took Shen Juanjuan and the Black Wolf for leisurely walks outside the town, gradually expanding their range.

However, a quantum bird always followed them from the sky, keeping a distant watch. Chu Ya observed carefully and found there were three quantum birds: a hawk, a pigeon, and a goose. They never appeared together, meaning three sentries were taking turns to monitor him.