Chapter 29

An Zhe stood rooted to the spot.

The evening breeze tousled his hair.

He watched as a silver car emblazoned with the Eden logo sharply turned and pulled up in front of them. A man in a white uniform hastily stepped out and took the little girl from Lu Fen's arms, "Thank you for your help."

Lu Fen's expression was indifferent, "Be more careful in the future."

The man got back into the car, "This time was an accident."

With that, he closed the door and the car sped away rapidly, heading in the direction of Eden.

Lu Fen turned back.

An Zhe felt a hint of anger within him.

Then, Lu Fen glanced at him indifferently and said nonchalantly, "Am I a good person?"

An Zhe finally found the right words to describe his feelings.

He felt that Lu Fen had deceived his emotions, if mushrooms were capable of having feelings.

He didn't want to deal with this person anymore, so he turned around and started walking down the road.

After just a few steps, someone grabbed his shoulder.

"Lead the way," said Lu Fen. "I don't know how to get back to the residential area."

An Zhe: "?"

He asked, "Don't you recognize the way?"

Lu Fen replied, "It's been many years since I was last here."

An Zhe pondered for a moment. Lu Fen did have a point; the Colonel spent his time either in the Abyss or at the city gates. It had likely been at least seven years since he last stayed in the main city. In contrast, An Zhe had spent a month in the main city and still remembered the way back.

So he asked, "Where do you live?"

Lu Fen seemed to ponder for a moment before taking out a blue ID card from his chest pocket and handing it over.

An Zhe accepted it. The colonel's card had an entirely different pattern from his own.

His gaze shifted downward. On the back of the card, a string of numbers was gilded in gold.

3124043701.

An Zhe: "."

Recalling his new ID number, he stated expressionlessly, "I'll take you there."

The colonel seemed to have noticed his demeanor. "Unwilling?"

An Zhe: "Willing."

And so, An Zhe guided Lu Fen onto the free shuttle bus within the main city. The bus had seats on both sides, paired together. He chose a window seat, with Lu Fen sitting beside him. With his good looks and the crisp, authoritative uniform of the Judgement Court, Lu Fen stood out in a crowd. Consequently, when they boarded the bus, everyone inside turned to look at them.

An Zhe said, "Get off at the final stop."

"Thank you," Lu Feng said. "Where do you live?"

An Zhe replied, "I'm nearby you."

Lu Feng nodded. "Alright."

The Eden staff's residential area was indeed in this vicinity, but An Zhe had joined later and was assigned to the military's living quarters, which were much farther away. The shuttle bus made several stops before finally reaching its destination after nearly forty minutes, at which point An Zhe alighted.

Eden's younglings appeared well-behaved, but that wasn't always the case, especially when they bombarded him with questions. Consequently, An Zhe would experience periods of sluggishness throughout the day—like now.

In the past, he'd lean against the bus for a quick nap, but with Lu Feng sitting beside him today, he felt it best to stay alert.

So, An Zhe propped his cheek on one hand and gazed out the window at the scenery: the Twin Towers, Eden, and the various other buildings and structures. After two months in a human city, he still found himself in a dream-like state.

As he watched, his eyelids gradually drooped.

Then, he lost consciousness.

A gentle mechanical announcement sounded: "We have arrived at the final stop. Please disembark in an orderly manner. See you next time."

Lu Fen gazed at An Zhe, who was leaning on his shoulder.

The lingering sunlight filtered through the car window, casting a golden glow at the tips of his eyelashes. An Zhe's sleeping face was tranquil, with only the gentle rise and fall of his chest indicating life. He seemed harmless, unguarded, and unprepared for the world outside, like an undamaged child. Lu Fen found it pleasing to see him sleep peacefully like this.

However, the shuttle began to slow down and eventually stopped, prompting the passengers to rise from their seats, their footsteps echoing in the aisle.

An Zhe opened his eyes.

He realized he had slept more comfortably than ever before.

His gaze moved slowly, gradually, towards the side, where he noticed the black fabric and a silver emblem.

Startled, he sat up straight, meeting Lu Fen's gaze, which wasn't cold but didn't seem angry about what had just transpired.

Lu Fen said, "Let's go."

An Zhe rubbed his eyes, waking up as quickly as he had fallen asleep. Following Lu Fen, they stepped off the shuttle. A gentle chill accompanied the evening breeze as he pointed to a structure ahead, "That's Building 24."

Lu Fen gave a brief "Thank you" before heading in that direction.

An Zhe followed closely behind.

Midway, Lu Fen said, "That's far enough."

Silent, An Zhe continued to trail him.

In Unit 04, Lu Fen pressed the button for the 37th floor, and An Zhe ascended with the elevator to the same level. Simple choices like Unit 01 or 02 didn't require anyone else's guidance.

Looking at the remains of the seal on the door of Unit 01 that had been torn off just last night, An Zhe mused that the colonel was still unaware his misdeeds had long been exposed.

His neighbor across the hall, in Unit 01, had its seal removed a month ago, something he'd witnessed firsthand. This indicated that Lu Fen had spent at least one night here back then, making it impossible for him to be unfamiliar with the route.

Yet, Lu Fen pretended not to know the way, asking An Zhe to lead him. It meant—Lu Fen was deliberately toying with him, making him do unnecessary labor.

Unfortunately, when An Zhe saw Lu Fen's ID card, the man's lie was instantly revealed.

Just then, Lu Fen remarked, "You're quite conscientious."

The man genuinely believed An Zhe was dutifully guiding him—An Zhe's expression grew even more indifferent at this thought. He met Lu Fen's gaze, and Lu Fen returned it.

An Zhe mimicked Lu Fen's aloofness, turning around and approaching Door Number Two. He placed his blue ID card against the sensor.

The sensor emitted a crisp "beep," followed by a green light illuminating. Immediately after, the door lock clicked open automatically.

An Zhe turned back, looking at Lu Fen.

Lu Fen was briefly taken aback before he said, "What a coincidence."

An Zhe's face remained expressionless.

"What's wrong?" There seemed to be a hint of curiosity in Lu Fen's eyes, but just a second later, as if he had figured everything out, his gaze softened into a smile, and the corners of his lips curled up.

"I wasn't lying to you," he said. "A month ago, I held a pre-war meeting in the main city and then went to the outer city."

An Zhe replied, "Seal."

"The military knew I returned to the main city, so they sent someone to clean up," Lu Fen explained.

An Zhe responded with a simple, "Oh."

But he had no intention of trusting this man again.

He turned away and headed home. Just then, a sharp and hurried "beep" sounded from Lu Fen's door.

He looked back to see Lu Fen swiping his card, yet the sensor, displaying the correct card, was flashing a vibrant red light.

Lu Fen furrowed his brow.

An Zhe regarded him with suspicion.

Lu Fen dialed a number and briefly explained the situation.

An explanation came through the receiver.

After hanging up, Lu Fen looked at An Zhe and said, "Three years ago, the main city upgraded their ID cards. Mine wasn't updated in time."

An Zhe realized that perhaps he had indeed misjudged Lu Fen.

However, but...

The main city's roads were anything but complicated, and the buildings all had prominent numbers. As long as one boarded a shuttle bus, even a mushroom like him would know when to alight.

For a moment, he wavered. But in the end, considering the spore's sake, he said, "Then... you can go to my place first?"

Lu Fen agreed happily.

After inviting Lord Arbiter to sit on the sofa and turning on the television for him, An Zhe went into the kitchen.

Before entering, he asked, "Have you eaten?"

Lu Fen said no.

An Zhe had meant to hint that Lu Fen could go downstairs to the communal cafeteria to eat, but Lu Fen's answer carried a hidden meaning—that he would be cooking for both of them today.

An Zhe sliced two more potatoes. The main city's communal cafeteria provided food as well as ingredients, and over the past month, he had gradually grown accustomed to making his own soup—it was richer and more flavorful than what was served at the cafeteria.

He put the diced potatoes and small pieces of smoked meat into the pot, added water, then poured in milk. Turning on the stove, he covered the pot and returned to the living room.

The news was reporting on the successful progress of the dispersal center's restoration work.

Lu Fen was seated on the couch, engrossed in his textbook, seemingly in a good mood.

When this person was happy, he tended to tease others; when unhappy, he kept to himself, like during that train ride a month ago, when he seemed disinclined to engage in conversation with An Zhe.

Having cooled down after the initial surge of emotions from feeling betrayed, he had spent time in the kitchen, chopping potatoes, pondering over his relationship with Lu Fen.

The key to finding the spores lay in building a good rapport with Lu Fen.

And to establish a good relationship with a human, one needed to understand their preferences.

Thus, An Zhe sat down beside Lu Fen. He noticed that Lu Fen was reading a small poem in the textbook that depicted an autumn scene.

Lu Fen: "You teach this?"

An Zhe: "I'm still learning."

Lu Fen's initiative in asking a question confirmed to An Zhe that the man was indeed in a good mood.

So he responded, "Colonel."

Lu Fen put down his textbook and looked at him. "What's the matter?"

"On the train before," An Zhe lowered his eyes slightly and said softly, "It seemed like you didn't want to talk to me. Did I do something wrong?"

Lu Fen gazed deeply into his eyes.

"No," he said casually. "It was my issue."

An Zhe: "I see."

Lu Fen: "Does it bother you that much?"

An Zhe: "Mm-hmm."

After a brief silence, Lu Fen reached out his hand.

His fingers lingered on the skin of An Zhe's neck for a moment before moving downward to remove the bullet casing hanging around his neck.

An Zhe looked up at him, a hint of confusion in his eyes. He had no idea when Lu Fen had noticed the existence of the bullet casing.

"I killed the Black Market boss. You were by her side then. Were you working for her?"

An Zhe shook his head. "I only followed Boss Xiao."

"3260563209, at the city gate." Lu Fen continued. "Teammate or boyfriend?"

An Zhe replied, "Friend."

Lu Fen held the bullet casing around An Zhe's neck. "Who's this?"

An Zhe remained silent. He couldn't speak, but his silence was an answer in itself.

After the silence, Lu Fen didn't push for more. He put the bullet casing back into An Zhe's collar.

"I've killed many people. But in the recent mass killings, you were there," he said. "It surprises me that you can still say I'm a good person under these circumstances."

An Zhe recalled and realized it was true.

The first time they met, Lu Fen had killed Fan Si. The second time was with Du Sai; that night, hybrids infiltrated the city, and he'd killed another seventy-three people.

A month later, he found himself once more within the quarantine walls, witnessing the execution of Judgment Day as countless gunshots echoed.

Finally, on the train leaving the outer city, Lu Fen issued the order to detonate Sector 6, right beside him.

Lu Fen had killed many people connected to him.

Nonetheless, this didn't hinder An Zhe from considering Lu Fen a good person. Firstly, he knew that Lu Fen was exceptionally skilled at identifying hybrids. Secondly, even if he were to be recognized as one and killed by Lu Fen, or if he were to be caught in the destruction of Sector 6, there wouldn't be much to say. He had come to a human base and thus needed to abide by human rules.

But Lu Fen was the one carrying out the executions.

"Are you... upset about this?" An Zhe asked.

"No," Lu Fen replied, looking at him. "I know what I'm doing."

"Then..." An Zhe only managed to get out one word.

What was the source of the emotional fluctuation?

Yet, it seemed that Lu Fen could read his thoughts.

"I've never gone against my principles," he said, "but there was no one to judge whether I was right or wrong."

Recalling the young judge Selan's words to him, An Zhe asked, "You're uncertain if the people you killed deserved it?"

"No, I'm certain," Lu Feng looked out the window. His green eyes were like an icy, frozen lake, remote and silent. "I just sometimes wonder... about the choices I've made. What exactly am I judging, and who will ultimately judge me?"

An Zhe didn't fully grasp his meaning. When humans went mad, they might utter incomprehensible ravings.

Yet, he felt that he understood.

Gazing at Lu Feng, he said, "I didn't hate you because of those things."

Pausing, he added, "You didn't do anything wrong."

Lu Feng looked back at him, in a long silence. So long that An Zhe almost mistook the coldness in those eyes for gentle, cool water.

As twilight gently descended upon the room, Lu Feng extended his right hand to ruffle An Zhe's hair.