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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Twenty-One
Three heads huddled around the phone on the table, six eyes fixated on the chat screen as if trying to pierce through the small square with their intense gazes.
Xin Yi did not reply quickly; there wasn't even a typing indicator flashing. Song Bunan's message lay lonely on the interface, somewhat pitiful. Xiao Mei shook his head in sympathy, patting his brother's shoulder and lamenting that this unrequited love would ultimately come to nothing. Lin Mo Hui disagreed, analyzing that Mighty Falcon's task execution times were always chaotic, and it was very likely he simply hadn't checked his phone.
"Or maybe your emoji scared him off," Xiao Mei mumbled with his mouth full of food, slurring his words as he speculated. "I heard that people from Mighty Falcon never use this stuff; he might think you're being unserious." Song Bunan raised his hand as if to knock him on the head with a bowl but ultimately chose to give up since it was full of rice. "Unserious? I'm so serious that you won't be able to match my seriousness in your next life. I agree with Sister Lin; he probably hasn't looked at his phone. I haven't seen him check it even once when we were in the mountains."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Mei immediately pinched his voice and mockingly said, "Oh, look at you! First, it's a message on the phone, and now it's this stuff. You really like him, don't you? What a good excuse!" His antics made Lin Mo Hui unable to hold back her laughter, doubling over in amusement while also feeding her partner.
In contrast to their harmonious and cheerful exchange of information, Xin Yi was feeling quite overwhelmed. When he received Song Bunan's message, an indescribable emotion washed over him; although the other party had clearly stated he wanted to talk about something important, just receiving a message still brought him joy. Unfortunately, this moment was abruptly interrupted by a phone call from his boss, who was so anxious he began to stutter.
"Quick! Hurry up!" Without specifying what was happening, Xin Yi understood there was an issue and temporarily set aside his reply as he rushed to the Mighty Falcon Building.
Upon entering, he was met with a heavy atmosphere; the captain stood under the lights, smoking intensely, enveloped in an air of urgency. She informed him that the team sent into the mountains to clear out an abandoned laboratory had gone missing.
Gone missing? Confusion crossed his face. That team belonged to Group B and included many seasoned veterans who had undergone numerous cleanup missions; they were not novices. Even with those peculiar individuals in the lab, it shouldn't have resulted in them going missing.
"We lost contact an hour ago. We dispatched other teams to go in and assist them, but there’s no sign of them in the entire laboratory. According to reports from the stationed team in the mountains, no one has been seen entering or exiting."
"Are there secret passages inside?" the boss asked. The captain crushed her cigarette butt and shook her head. "Our team has conducted analyses and measurements; there are no other hollow areas in the mountain."
Xin Yi furrowed his brow as he considered the worst possibility. He looked up and met the captain's gaze softly saying, "Someone is lying."
To put it more seriously, there could be a traitor within their ranks. They could be using their identity as cover to lead that team away from elsewhere, bypassing those stationed there.
Everyone clearly thought of this possibility as well and fell silent. The captain nodded in agreement; it was very likely.
"This laboratory is an old adversary of ours; their movements are hard to detect, and their participants have infiltrated every corner of our current city. The disappearance of this team is a signal warning us that Mighty Falcon is not safe either. I hereby announce that all investigations into the laboratory will be conducted individually; if you feel someone can be trusted, you may choose to team up. Of course, if you still trust me, you can report your findings directly to me."
This was an unspoken hint among them; the captain was subtly indicating that there were issues at higher levels within Mighty Falcon, but she could only express it by pretending that there was a time bomb buried within their entire team—caution was essential.
Everyone fell silent, and after a long pause, they gradually got up to leave. The last to go was the leader, who leaned in close to the captain and whispered something. Xin Yi watched the two of them mumbling and decided to head to his own lounge to pack up his things, preparing to go home for good. Given the current situation, staying would only raise suspicions among those with ulterior motives.
"Any leads?" the leader messaged on a private app.
"Song Bunan contacted me," Xin Yi replied without hesitation, knowing that the leader would never be one to lie.
"That's good. If he can help, it will make our investigation smoother."
"Yeah, I'll reach out to him."
"Alright, we'll discuss the rest later."
The conversation ended there. Xin Yi sat on his sofa and asked Song Bunan what he wanted to talk about. It was already past midnight, and he had thought that the other party would be asleep, but to his surprise, he received an immediate response. The hamster avatar asked if there were any leads related to the laboratory; they could exchange information for mutual benefit, accompanied by a strange smiling emoji.
Xin Yi felt a complex mix of emotions towards Song Bunan. From their first meeting until now, this person had shown him many different sides. At that moment, through the phone, he seemed like an immature child, using various emojis to express his feelings. If it weren't for his strong self-restraint controlling his actions, he would have sent a message asking what the real him was like.
Little did he know that while he pondered these thoughts, Song Bunan was holding his phone and sneezing loudly. Rubbing his itchy nose, Song Bunan wondered who could be talking about him at this hour. Meanwhile, Xiao Mei, who was sitting nearby engrossed in a game, subtly shifted away, prompting Song Bunan to lean over and try to infect his friend with a sneeze.
Xin Yi contemplated the smiling emoji and analyzed whether it would be better to meet in person or just chat over the phone. The current situation was unclear; although he needed relevant information desperately, trusting him seemed risky…
"Don't worry! If you're uneasy about talking on the phone, you can come to my shop! I guarantee safety!" The other party seemed to have read his mind and sent another message during the brief pause in their conversation, accompanied by a grinning rabbit emoji giving a thumbs-up.
He believed it would be interesting to trust him. Xin Yi thought this as he typed back an affirmative response, suggesting that Song Bunan choose the time.
They agreed to meet at five in the afternoon. According to Song Bunan's explanation, he usually woke up in the afternoon and planned to stay up late tonight. Why stay up late? Xin Yi wondered internally while typing out a message suggesting an early rest instead. He wanted to get closer to Song Bunan, even if it was just like how he casually interacted with clients mentioned in his social circle—sharing small talk outside of work.
Yet deep down, he hesitated. After feeling envy towards Song Bunan's life came an overwhelming sense of dread; he feared that getting too close would hinder his ability to work coldly and ruthlessly as he did now. Even if this coldness was merely a mask—a façade sculpted from ice affixed to his face—every assumption and imagination was blocked by this fear deep within him, convincing him that he could never live like Song Bunan; it was simply impossible.
He felt like a statue submerged in silence at the bottom of the sea; the creatures around him would never join him.
Xin Yi stared at those unfamiliar emojis on the screen and resolved to hide his envy towards Song Bunan's family and friends, his admiration for those eyes, and his growing interest in him. He decided to treat this person solely as a colleague with whom he needed to collaborate multiple times for work. Yes, just a colleague—no one develops feelings for so-called colleagues; work was already taxing enough without diverting attention towards curiosity about everything concerning them.
He turned off his phone and recalled a conversation he had with the boss a couple of days ago. The boss had suddenly remarked, “The captain has always praised you as a natural Mighty Falcon, someone who adheres to regulations and gets things done quickly and efficiently. You’re agile and composed, a strong and resolute warrior. But I don’t see it that way.”
He didn’t ask why, for in the deep-set wrinkles of the boss’s eyes, he saw tenderness. The boss lit a cigar and continued slowly, “You are strong; decades of experience have equipped you to handle any unexpected situation. You could easily take on the role of captain without issue. But you’re not truly strong; you dwell on what you lack, pondering endlessly. The calmness everyone perceives is merely a facade you wish to hide behind. Since meeting Song Bunan, there’s been an increase in uncertainty in your eyes—not about the outside world, but about yourself.”
Unable to argue, he lowered his head and avoided looking at the person beside him, trying to bury his thoughts like an ostrich hiding its head in the sand. But the boss didn’t let up. “You’re contemplating what life would be like if you could grow up as smoothly as Song Bunan did. You envy his character, admire the ease that comes with his seemingly perfect life, and long for everything he possesses—things that don’t even appear in your dreams. That’s why you wavered when facing him; you wonder what kind of person he is and what his private life looks like.”
“Am I right?” His silence brought a smile to the elder’s face. The shorter man gently ruffled his hair and said not to overthink it; there was no gap between them—just two different flavors of life. “He might even appreciate your way of living.”
Could that be true? Would someone with a happy family envy a life wrapped in loneliness during moments of solitude? Xin Yi was puzzled at the time, but now that he had tucked away his emotions, it suddenly seemed easy to understand. Perhaps he would; after all, someone who has had a smooth journey might be drawn to another's tumultuous path and start imagining how their life would change if they were in that position.
After all, many times, other people's lives seem far more interesting.
He was unaware that after agreeing not to speak with Song Bunan for a while, the other person was experiencing intense excitement. Xiao Mei was annoyed by the noise; suddenly filled with exuberance, he rolled around on the bed like a worm, even knocking his pillow off. He patiently finished his game and turned back to kick at Song Bunan, cursing, “Did you eat two pounds of stimulants?”
With laughter that wrinkled his entire face like a dumpling, he raised his phone as if holding a sacred decree. The screen read: “Let’s meet at my shop at 5 PM; I can’t get up in the morning and will have to stay up late tonight.” The reply came back: “Okay, rest early.”
Xiao Mei coldly splashed water on his enthusiasm: “Is meeting under the guise of work really worth getting this excited about? It’s not like you’re going on a date.”
However, the person caught up in excitement paid no mind; he continued writhing on the bed with his phone in hand, mumbling something about taking the first step towards a long journey and expressing feelings once they got familiar—whether it worked out or not didn’t matter.
What a love-struck fool. Xiao Mei scoffed at his brother’s antics.
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