Chapter Eleven: Test Subject?
Previously, Lin Lei had tried to ask the little one for her name, but he’d never received an answer. Now, unexpectedly, she had volunteered the information herself.
Her large eyes fixed on Lin Lei. “Name, Daddy doesn’t know, you know.”
Lin Lei paused for a moment. “You mean you haven’t told Ling Da your name?”
She nodded emphatically. “Name... can’t say, but you can know. Because you’re a good person.”
Receiving a ‘good person’ card, Lin Lei’s expression was subtle, thoughts racing. Even to Ling Da, whom she called ‘Daddy,’ she hadn’t revealed the name. Did this mean her name held a special significance, something not easily shared?
Lin Lei raised his brows, murmuring the name under his breath, “Thirteen...”
It sounded more like a number than a name.
He frowned, looking again at the little one. “You said ‘they’ call you Thirteen. Who are ‘they’? Are they your family?”
She shook her head. “No family. They, white bad people.”
White?
Was she referring to skin color or clothing?
Lin Lei opened his phone, searching for some images and showing them to her.
“That one!”
When he scrolled to a picture of a researcher in a white lab coat and mask, she nodded, then rolled up her sleeve to show him.
“Very bad people! They stabbed me!”
Lin Lei frowned, examining her fair arm and indeed found several needle marks.
Piecing together his suspicions and the fact that Thirteen was more a designation than a name, Lin Lei thought it unlikely the little one had lived in a hospital; it was more probable she’d been in some special research facility...
“Could it be that the little one escaped from a research institute studying ability users?”
The more he considered it, the more plausible it seemed.
Lin Lei also realized this matter was far from simple, carrying deeper implications. His eyes narrowed. “Don’t tell anyone else about any of this! No matter how well someone treats you, don’t say a word.”
She nodded again. “Only tell you. You’re a good person.”
Lin Lei nodded and smiled, gently ruffling her hair.
She tilted her head up, eyes filled with hope. “No more Daddy. Can you... be Daddy?”
Lin Lei couldn’t help but laugh again.
Her emotions were direct and pure, like a blank sheet of paper; whoever treated her well, she would call ‘Daddy.’ Compared to Ling Da, his own care tonight had undoubtedly been better.
After all, days had passed, and she hadn’t even changed clothes, still dirty and neglected—Ling Da obviously hadn’t cared for her, more so ignored her.
“You’d better call me brother.” He himself was only in his early twenties; having a ten-year-old daughter would be absurd.
The little one widened her eyes, muttering the word over and over. “Bro... brother.”
Lin Lei was in no hurry to correct her.
He turned on the television, and her attention quickly shifted to the screen, becoming thoroughly absorbed.
“So, she knows about ‘Daddy’ and pistols because of the television?” Lin Lei mused.
The little one had little understanding of common knowledge, not even grasping the concept of male and female. Her insistence on calling people Daddy and her knowledge of using a pistol likely came from watching TV at Ling Da’s home these past days.
Taking advantage of the moment, Lin Lei took out his PDA and sent the photo he’d just taken of the tattoo on Thirteen’s nape to Li Xueshu, asking if he recognized it.
He then forwarded it to Huo Qi as well.
These two were the ability users he knew best.
No sooner had he sent it than Li Xueshu replied almost instantly.
“No matter where you saw this symbol, you must keep your distance from whoever or whatever bears it!”
Though it was the middle of the night, Li Xueshu had just been woken by Lin Lei’s call, so it was normal she hadn’t slept. Yet her immediate reply and unusual attitude signaled trouble.
Realizing something was amiss, Lin Lei swiftly retracted the message he’d sent to Huo Qi.
Given that it was late and Huo Qi was not one to check work messages after hours, he probably wouldn’t see it anyway.
After a moment’s hesitation, Lin Lei also recalled the image sent to Li Xueshu and deleted the photo from his PDA.
Then he promptly called Li Xueshu, steering clear of the tattoo topic and instead asking, “Are you able to come out right now?”
Li Xueshu didn’t hesitate. “Where are you?”
...
Half an hour later.
In a small hotel not far from the Investigation Bureau.
“What exactly is that symbol?” Lin Lei looked across at Li Xueshu.
Her eyes were sharp. “That symbol is connected to an old extraordinary group in Shaya called ‘Serpent Devouring Its Own Tail’... Where did you see it? Don’t tell me it was on someone?”
Lin Lei’s mouth twitched. “It really was on someone...”
Li Xueshu’s expression shifted, guessing, “Was it the awakened one you met today?”
Lin Lei nodded, briefly recounting his experience and added, “I suspect this little girl escaped from some special place, probably a research facility or something similar...”
Li Xueshu frowned and nodded. “Your guess is accurate. If she bears that mark, it means she’s an experiment of ‘Serpent Devouring Its Own Tail.’ From the symbol you sent and the fact she’s called Thirteen, she must be one of their most highly regarded subjects!”
“Coincidentally, some time ago, a research institute under ‘Serpent Devouring Its Own Tail’ was attacked. The facility was destroyed, and most of the experimental subjects escaped...”
“There was news about it online, but the internal details were hidden—ordinary people don’t know the truth. If I’m right, the little one escaped at that time.”
Lin Lei nodded in understanding. He remembered seeing such news on the breakfast shop’s feed when he first arrived.
A research institute called ‘Black Serpent’ had been attacked.
He’d remarked at the time on the chaos of this world.
Now, thinking back, that ‘Black Serpent’ institute was most likely under ‘Serpent Devouring Its Own Tail.’
He hadn’t expected it to be connected to extraordinary powers.
Li Xueshu soon frowned again. “But Qinghe Prefecture isn’t under the influence of ‘Serpent Devouring Its Own Tail,’ and the institute is thousands of miles away...”
“Moreover, the attack happened quite a while ago. How did the little one come to Qinghe Prefecture, and why haven’t the group’s people come after her? What happened in between...”
Lin Lei also frowned deeply.
The little one had no understanding of the world, no grasp of basic concepts. It would be impossible for her, alone, to traverse such a distance.
Li Xueshu suddenly looked at him. “What exactly is her gift?”
Lin Lei paused, then answered, “Her ability allows her to ‘steal’ my pistol from a distance, and she can bring others along in spatial transfer...”
Li Xueshu narrowed her eyes. “She likely possesses an extremely rare [Spatial] ability. A gift that allows spatial transfer with others is at least B-grade or higher.”
“With such a power, her escape from ‘Serpent Devouring Its Own Tail’ makes sense. But even with her ability, crossing thousands of miles to arrive in Biyang is unusual. I suspect a special force that attacked the group might have brought her here.”
Lin Lei nodded slightly, then asked, “But why would these people leave her alone, letting her wander in Biyang City?”
Li Xueshu shook her head. “Perhaps something unexpected happened, or she triggered her ability under stress and accidentally transferred herself here... Ultimately, only she knows.”
She looked up at Lin Lei. “How exactly she escaped from ‘Serpent Devouring Its Own Tail’ and arrived here isn’t something we need to pursue right now.”
“The real question is your attitude and your choice...”