Chapter 55 - 2#

Only Fang Xiyu noticed him standing behind the railing in the corner for a long time.

Although Chu Chenli had indeed come to find Fang Xiyu, the latter still deliberately or inadvertently blocked his view of Ye Lanzhou.

If someone as outspoken as He Ziyue had been standing there, she would have grumbled viciously, saying something like “What’s there to see in a scumbag?” or similar.

In comparison, Fang Xiyu’s personality was much more gentle.

He never blurted out words that might inadvertently wound Chu Chenli.

Even if Chu Chenli personally said he didn’t care anymore, Fang Xiyu would probably just nod and murmur “Mm-hmm” in agreement, then turn around and stubbornly maintain that subtle thoughtfulness that wasn’t easily shown on the surface.

When Chu Chenli brought up the gathering, Fang Xiyu thought about it for a moment with difficulty, but still shook his head.

Then Chu Chenli’s gaze involuntarily drifted toward Ye Lanzhou again.

Fang Xiyu moved two steps closer to that direction, saying that it wasn’t entirely about monitoring—ahem—Ye Lanzhou.

The main reason was still the experiments that Yingchen Base had performed on him.

Although he seemed lively and bouncing around now without any discomfort, even the doctors couldn’t determine whether the changes in his body were good or bad. During his umpteenth check-up the day before yesterday, an unknown pathogen had been discovered. Fortunately, it wasn’t highly contagious and was quickly eliminated.

Several other experimental subjects who survived from Yingchen Base had similar conditions, so even though they had physically recovered, they still had to stay in the medical area for continued observation.

For now, their symptoms posed no threat to others, and keeping them hospitalized was purely for their own safety and health.

If it were Fang Xiyu, with the doctors and Hua Jin around, Shen Xuanyi could certainly grant him an exception.

But Fang Xiyu was worried it might affect his teammates, so he had been obediently staying here.

Of course, that was Fang Xiyu’s own explanation.

In the end, Chu Chenli didn’t say much more, just nodded and said okay, they’d meet up another time.

Later, when he saw the others, he roughly repeated the reason Fang Xiyu had given.

“…The doctor said it would take at least another three months of observation before making a final judgment. Until then, they should all stay in the medical area.”

He Ziyue initially wanted to complain, but her peripheral vision caught the unfamiliar face of Xiao Bai. She paused for a moment, then slapped her forehead.

“I almost forgot we’re back…” she murmured to herself. “Three months, it’s actually pretty fast.”

Back in the game, forget three months—sometimes you could cross three different worlds in three days. Teammates who greeted you from across the door in the morning might be separated by life and death by noon. That was why most of them were especially sensitive to “time.”

But now they were back in reality, and in a relatively safe medical area; there was no need to be as tense as before.

He Ziyue gradually relaxed. “I’ll bring some gifts to visit him later.”

Hua Jin held a list in one hand and a map in the other, glanced left and right, then bypassed the somewhat nervous Xiao Bai and shoved them into He Ziyue’s hands. “I’m leaving the navigation to you.”

He Ziyue took the map, gave it a quick glance, crumpled it, and stuffed it into her pocket.

“Don’t worry, I’ve already studied the entire base map. The navigation system is all up here.” He Ziyue pointed to her head, then walked forward with an air of determination. “Just follow me—Hua Jin, why are you tugging on me?”

Hua Jin pulled her hat and, when she turned around, showed her the list. “Did you forget the captain asked us to pick up some things?”

He Ziyue complained, “We can buy them at the end after we look around.”

Hua Jin crossed her arms and gave her a sidelong glance. “Are you sure you’ll still remember to buy things after you’ve shopped around?”

In the past, whenever there was a rare moment to relax, He Ziyue was always one of the last ones standing, never stopping until she collapsed unconscious.

Seeing He Ziyue wilt instantly, Hua Jin sighed. “Forget it… At least let’s get our bearings first. I’ll go buy the stuff with A’li later. Si Yue—Si Yue, just keep an eye on her.”

Chu Chenli happened to be right next to them. He took the list and scanned it. “Buying alcohol?”

Hua Jin explained, “The captain asked us to get it. It’s said to be an old brand. He’s going to visit his father next week, and he can’t go empty-handed.”

Chu Chenli said, “Then I’ll go buy it. You guys go ahead and have fun.”

Xiao Bai, who had been too timid to speak, instinctively raised his hand and chimed in, “I’ll go with you!”

The “little brother” naturally had to follow the “big brother.”

Before the others—especially Mu Yanshen—could voice any opinion, Chu Chenli nodded in agreement. “Then Xiao Bai and I will go buy the alcohol, and we’ll meet up with you afterward.”

This “you” naturally included Mu Yanshen.

But unexpectedly, this time Mu Yanshen didn’t object. He just told Chu Chenli to hurry.

They agreed to meet at the tallest building they could see from where they stood.

Chu Chenli waved at Xiao Bai, who immediately trotted over to follow.

After the two walked off a short distance, He Ziyue snapped out of their rapid-fire exchange. “…Do they even know the way?”

“They can probably ask someone, maybe,” Hua Jin said uncertainly.

“Li’ge isn’t a little kid; he won’t get lost that easily.” Mu Yanshen pushed Hua Jin’s shoulder forward and said to He Ziyue, “Go to the place you most want to go. Help this guy get back a sense of being alive.”

Hua Jin glanced at Mu Yanshen. “You seem a bit off today…”

But He Ziyue excitedly hooked her arm around Hua Jin’s neck and dragged him forward. “It’s rare to relax, so don’t be so grim. Today’s hero is you—seize the day, Hua classmate!”

Mu Yanshen added a nudge from behind, and before Hua Jin could turn around to glare, He Ziyue yanked him away.

Si Yue followed not far behind, watching them mess around, a faint smile curling at the corner of her lips.

But as she entered a different fork from Chu Chenli’s path, she couldn’t help glancing back. Of course, there was no trace of Chu Chenli or Xiao Bai anymore.

It was their first time here, and standing at the crossroads, Chu Chenli had also looked unfamiliar and lost.

Yet when he left with the list and Xiao Bai just now, he had seemed to already know which direction to go.

Maybe he just made a decisive guess and picked a random path…

Si Yue silently thought to herself, then withdrew her gaze.

…

On the other side.

Xiao Bai followed behind Chu Chenli, initially looking down and just keeping pace, but soon his attention was caught by the noise around him.

After passing through a narrow, dim alley, it opened up into a bustling street.

Pedestrians flowed back and forth, shops lining both sides with a dazzling array of goods displayed at their entrances.

It was lively, but not quite like the bustling cities in Xiao Bai’s memory.

No dazzling neon signs, no traffic jams of private cars—only an occasional bus-like vehicle slowly passing through the middle of the road. There were more people pushing bicycles, and the most common were simply pedestrians.

Behind the shops were rows of tidy residential buildings, almost indistinguishable from one another in appearance—new and pretty, clearly all built in the same batch.

At the visible end of the street was a square, with a fountain and a statue at its center. From a distance, it didn’t look like a human figure but more like some animal statue, standing vaguely under a canopy of trees.

Only on either side of the square were slightly taller buildings—none exceeding ten stories at a glance, but which still stood out like giants among dwarfs here.

Overall, it lacked a certain “modern” feel, but the faces of the pedestrians showed none of the anxiety or unease seen in people from smaller bases. Someone passing by was discussing a classic movie that had been re-released at the cinema.

This place felt like a different world, isolated from everything—stable and peaceful.

Xiao Bai was almost dumbstruck. He didn’t even notice that Chu Chenli had walked far ahead.

It wasn’t until the person behind nearly bumped into him and a passerby reached out to steady him that Xiao Bai snapped back to reality.

“Ah, thanks—” Xiao Bai stumbled and barely regained his balance, but before he could finish thanking the kind passerby, the person lowered his head and pulled up his collar, as if not wanting his face to be seen.

The kind stranger hurried past Xiao Bai and quickly disappeared from sight.

Xiao Bai stood there bewildered when he heard an impatient “Tch” from behind. “Do you have no eyes?!”

He instinctively stepped to the side and turned around, meeting the fierce face of a young boy.

The boy wasn’t bad-looking—could even be called cute—but the pleasing features were completely overshadowed by his vicious expression and tone; every twist of his brow and flash of his eye exuded a prickly aggression.

Xiao Bai almost thought he must owe this family years of unpaid debts.

He stepped back again, blushed slightly, and lowered his head. “Sorry…”

The other was aggressive, and Xiao Bai’s habitual thinking made him assume it was his fault for spacing out and blocking the way. Besides, he never liked to start trouble, so he honestly apologized and stepped aside.

The unfamiliar boy found it uninteresting. He looked down at Xiao Bai arrogantly, threw out a “Scram,” and finally skated away on his board.

Other pedestrians gave him a wide berth.

Xiao Bai scratched his head, vaguely feeling he might have unknowingly run into some tough customer.

But faced with that boy, he didn’t feel afraid—just worried it might cause unnecessary trouble, giving him a faint headache.

Chu Chenli was waiting for him at the entrance of a nearby alley.

Xiao Bai hurried over. “Sorry, I—”

Chu Chenli asked, “What happened just now?”

Xiao Bai said sheepishly, “Almost bumped into someone. I was looking too intently.”

Chu Chenli glanced at the buildings behind him. “It really is an unexpected place.”

As he spoke, he walked into the alley.

Calling it an alley, it was much wider than the passage they’d come through, with a solid wall clearly visible at the end.

Here, there weren’t many people, and most shop doors were tightly shut. Only one near the end had its wooden door half-open, with a flag-like sign swaying in the wind above the doorframe.

Xiao Bai quickly followed Chu Chenli. When they got close to the end, he realized there was another alley before the wall.

But Chu Chenli stopped in front of that sign, pulled out the list, and compared it to the flapping sign.

Xiao Bai also instinctively looked up. The name on both the sign and the list was “33” ( Thirty-three ). In front of the shop sat a half-man-tall wine jar, and the half-open wooden door let out faint wafts of liquor.

They found the place selling alcohol with almost no effort.

Xiao Bai was both surprised and amazed. “A’li, have you been here before?”

Chu Chenli squinted, trying to see every detail on the sign, and murmured in reply, “Seems like I’ve seen it in a dream…”

Xiao Bai listened, utterly confused.

Chu Chenli didn’t explain further. He put away the list, stepped over the threshold, and walked into the shop.

Xiao Bai didn’t have time to think more; he instinctively followed inside.