Chapter 43: What is a ‘little girl’s’ attack, I laugh and win
012 remembered that his partner was coming to the Rose Bar to drink honey wine.
Before leaving, he said to the bearded man, “Give me honey wine.”
The bearded man handed him all the jars of honey wine from the counter. 012 said, “Not enough.”
The bearded man shot a glare at the pale-faced young man sitting nearby, and irritably said, “There’s more in the warehouse; go get it yourself!”
012 lightly stepped onto the counter and climbed into the warehouse to fetch the wine.
As the little bird bat disappeared behind the curtain, Yu Yan turned to the bearded man and said, “Boss, I want to commission you to find someone for me in the underground city.”
012 emerged carrying a large box of honey wine. The bearded boss frowned and muttered, “The money just received isn’t enough to cover what the daughter spent.”
012 ignored him and returned to the Golden Light District with Yu Yan.
At night, with a single line of light fading into the darkness, only distant starry points in the stacked buildings of the underground city were visible.
Yu Yan sat on the balcony, with two jars of honey wine beside him, taking occasional sips.
He suddenly laughed, tapped one of the jars against 012’s cheek, and teased him, “Little girl.”
012 replied, “Hmm.”
Yu Yan wondered, “Why don’t you refute me and say you’re not a little girl anymore?”
012 said, “If you want to call me that, you can.”
“Oh, such a good temper?” Yu Yan finished the remaining honey wine in one gulp, smiling as he pinched 012’s cheek with two fingers.
“Let me see if you really look like a little girl… Hmm, you do!”
012 lightly sniffed the alcohol scent coming from him and noticed that he seemed different from usual—his mood was higher and he laughed more.
To humans, this state was likely intoxication.
Yu Yan used both hands to cradle his face and said seriously, “Hmm? What’s this?”
He lifted 012’s ear feathers on either side of his head.
“It’s a little bird.”
“And this?” Yu Yan pressed down on 012’s shoulders, forcibly spreading his closed wings.
“It’s a little white bat.”
He answered his own question and then started laughing to himself.
012 sniffed his fingers, grabbed his wrist, and pulled his hand close to his face, licking the alcohol off his fingers while keeping his eyes on him.
Yu Yan locked eyes with him, his fingertips tracing down the bridge of his nose, slowly sliding to the tip of his nose, and lightly tapping his lips.
012 watched his every move and suddenly leaned in, mimicking his earlier actions by cupping Yu Yan’s face.
“Hmm, what’s this?”
He imitated his way of speaking, though his tone lacked liveliness.
“It’s my partner.”
Yu Yan was pushed back against the chair, wanting to say the imitation wasn’t quite right but could only let out a chuckle.
012’s eyes grew even brighter, almost pressing his entire body against Yu Yan. Suddenly, he felt himself being lifted off the ground and was startled into spreading his wings.
Yu Yan, laughing as he picked him up completely, said, “Surprise attack!”
“Not coming!” Yu Yan tossed him aside and quickly retreated into the room.
Having just returned to his senses from the affectionate moment, 012’s ear feathers almost flared up. He darted into the room, tackling the mischievous partner trying to escape onto the carpet.
Realizing he couldn’t struggle free, Yu Yan immediately said, “Ah, I can’t, I’m hungry, I need to get something to eat.”
012 leaned his head on Yu Yan’s stomach and said firmly, “You’re not hungry, you’re lying to me.”
Yu Yan laughed and said, “Alright, I’m not hungry, but I need to go to the bathroom. Third Brother needs to pee, let me go.”
012 didn’t release him and carried his cunning human partner into the bathroom.
Then—
Yu Yan said, “…You’re not actually planning to help, are you?”
Yu Yan added, “I was just joking, I don’t actually want to.”
But no matter how much he tried to sweet-talk, 012 was determined to help.
In the small bathroom, only restrained breathing could be heard.
After a few minutes, 012 released him, leaned against his shoulder, and said, “You think, you see.”
Yu Yan took a deep breath, pinched his face, and his smile turned dangerous. “Oh, so this is how we’re playing it.”
He pulled his chin towards himself.
The two of them stumbled into the room, entangled with immense strength, and Yu Yan, like a cold, ruthless executioner with ironclad arms, made him shiver on the bed.
Expertly combining his recent practice with massage techniques, Yu Yan made him let out a “chirp.”
“Chirping won’t help. You need to properly apologize to Third Brother and say you’re sorry, understand?”
…
In the first half of the night, they were on the bed, and in the latter half, they were in 012’s bird nest.
As the advantage in physical strength shifted, it ended up on 012’s side.
On the third day, the little bird bat remained stubbornly in the house, unwilling to leave.
Yu Yan, feeling as if he was dealing with an addiction, couldn’t stand it any longer and began urging him, “Yao’er, don’t you have work to do?”
“Have you rested too long? It’s time to get to work.”
Seeing 012 wasn’t listening, he had to pull out his trump card and gave him a doubtful look, “If you stay in the nest every day and never go out, can you really support me?”
Faced with his partner’s skepticism, 012 finally agreed to leave the nest. With a face that showed no trace of his clingy nature, he stood at the door and asked Yu Yan, “Will you leave?”
Yu Yan, dragging his feet and wearing his coat as he saw him off, said, “I promise, I’ll definitely still be here when you come back.”
After 012 left, Yu Yan also went out for a walk around the streets near the Golden Light District, moving his arms and legs like a retired old man.
In the distance, under the shadow, several small, dark figures with large bags scurried through the streets, searching for trash that could be recycled.
These were the neighborhood kids Yu Yan had seen a few times before; they lived like little wildcats or mice.
Yu Yan stood in place and watched them for a while. When the small figures noticed his gaze, they quickly scattered and ran away.
In the afternoon, Yu Yan went out for another walk and saw the small figures again.
He waved toward them, “Kids, come here, I have something for you to eat.”
In a well-ordered human residential area, such statements would likely be perceived as a tactic of a child trafficker, and the kids would stay away.
But in the underground city, children, especially those who are irradiated, deformed, and ill, are not valued. They are often considered less valuable than ordinary food.
No one would use food to deceive them; most people living here simply ignore them, treating them like pests.
When Yu Yan waved for the second time, one child timidly said, “We don’t dare go over there. That’s the Golden Light District. The boss there is very scary.”
The underground city has no order, and conditions vary greatly between districts.
In areas like the Golden Light District, which have “protection,” ordinary powers do not dare to cause trouble and are relatively safe. Those who do not live there also avoid entering, as it would be seen as a provocation.
Yu Yan reassured the children, “Don’t be afraid. I’m asking you to come over, and the boss here won’t cause you any trouble.”
He pulled out colorful candies, and the sight of them made the children waver, emerging from the shadows in the corners.
Seeing their condition clearly, Yu Yan squatted down and let them come closer to share the candies.
“Here, this is yours.”
The child with thin limbs but a notably large belly received a yellow candy.
It smelled sweet, and when he put it in his mouth, the flavor was a sweetness he had never experienced before.
Yu Yan patted his swollen belly and asked, “You often have stomach pains, right?”
The child nodded obediently with the candy in his mouth, his eyes eagerly fixed on the remaining candies in Yu Yan’s hand.
Yu Yan told the child, “After you go back, you might poop out some small worms. Don’t be afraid; once your stomach gets smaller, the pain will go away.”
The child’s symptoms indicated parasitic worms in the stomach, a common issue in the underground city due to polluted water sources. If mutated leeches lay eggs in the water, drinking untreated water could lead to this kind of enlarged stomach disease.
Normally, a few pills would solve the problem, but these children struggle to get even food, let alone medication.
“There’s no more candy today. Come back tomorrow, and I’ll give you some then,” Yu Yan said.
Most of these children were infected with parasites and had various other health problems. One child was covered in red sores, while a little girl had a white film over her eyes, nearly blind, so she clung to a ragged bag draped over another child.
Others had deformities; one child, unable to stand due to leg or spine issues, crawled on all fours.
As Yu Yan fed a child wrapped in candy-coated pills, the child shrank back with a scrunched-up face. Yu Yan smiled and patted the child’s dirty head.
When 012 returned, the children, who had been surrounding Yu Yan, scattered upon seeing him.
Despite their ailments, the children were quite agile, including the one who crawled.
Yu Yan stood up and said, “You’re back.”
012, who had seen Yu Yan playing with the group of children, appeared thoughtful.
…
The next day, after 012 left, Yu Yan prepared some candy pills and set out to encounter more children in the nearby area. The same group of children was active on the edge of the Golden Light District.
Yu Yan handed out candy and asked, “Why did you dare to come over today?”
“The boss here said that from now on, kids from nearby can come in and pick up trash,” the oldest child explained.
That explained the increase in the number of children.
When 012 returned in the afternoon and saw Yu Yan still there, he seemed very pleased. Without a word, he sat beside Yu Yan and began to gently comb his hair, as if they had been apart for a long time.
Yu Yan asked, “Did you specifically have those children come to the Golden Light District?”
012 responded, “I’m doing the same thing you did.”
Yu Yan was puzzled, “Hmm?”
012 explained, “In the lab, you prepared butterflies for me.”
At that time, Yu Yan had thought 012 might get bored, so he had provided many butterflies as toys. Now, seeing Yu Yan interact with the children, it seemed 012 had prepared a group of children for Yu Yan as well.
To 012, they were the same thing.
Every day, 012 would go out for a while. Yu Yan never asked what he did, and 012 never told him. He only ever asked before leaving, “You’ll wait for me today, won’t you?”
“Yes.”
With that assurance, 012 would leave contentedly.
Yu Yan’s activities expanded further; after exploring the nearby districts, he traveled by himself to the Rain Street to buy supplies.
He brought back a bouquet of flowers. In the underground city, where plants were scarce, flowers were expensive as they were transported from residential areas within the city. Nevertheless, Yu Yan bought a bouquet upon seeing them.
He remembered that the little bird bat liked flowers and enjoyed decorating its nest with them.
On the way back, he encountered a few familiar children in a street corner.
After taking the medicine for a few days, their swollen bellies had reduced, making them look even smaller and thinner.
The children curiously gazed at the large bouquet of flowers in Yu Yan’s hands. Yu Yan smiled and asked, “Do you think they’re pretty?”
Having never seen such large, colorful flowers before, the children nodded in unison.
Yu Yan picked a few flowers and handed one to each child.
For a little girl who had no hands, Yu Yan gently tucked a golden flower into her hair.
“They look beautiful,” Yu Yan complimented her.
Soon after returning to the Golden Light District, Yu Yan saw the children again, peeking around the door from the balcony.
Yu Yan went outside and asked, “What’s up? Did you come to find me?”
The lead child handed him a handful of dark, small seed balls and said, “These can also bloom into very tiny, transparent flowers. You can even eat them.”
After delivering their gift and receiving a piece of real candy each in return, the children happily ran off.
Yu Yan took the small gift from them and stood in the yard, considering planting the seeds to see what would grow.
Yu Yan dug out a hoe from the basement, rolled up his sleeves, and started digging in the yard.
The first dig uncovered a skull.
Yu Yan: “…”
He calmly reburied the skull, moved to another spot, and began digging again.
This time, another skull surfaced.
With the next dig, he found a leg bone.
After filling in the holes, Yu Yan leaned on the hoe and thought to himself that the bones were buried too shallowly—anyone could uncover them with just a bit of digging.
The seemingly beautiful silk ribbon bird had a brutal habit: they would bury the bones of their slain enemies and prey near their nests to intimidate other creatures.
