I always hoped that when I came out of the medical examination room, someone would be waiting for me outside

An Yu‍​‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌​⁠‌‍⁠​​​​‍​​⁠‌​ stood under the eaves, watching the increasingly bizarre snowstorm.

The sky quickly turned dim and the wind whipped snow dust everywhere, like a naughty child haphazardly playing with sand art.

“The Mirror is very perceptive; it has already sensed Jian Xing is in danger. Whenever this happens, the weather becomes very strange, and the aberrants fall into a frenzy, even fighting among themselves. This has happened a few times, and gradually, no one even dared to harbor ill intentions towards Jian Xing.”

A-Yue looked at the falling snow. “Poison is the most hopeful way to kill Jian Xing. I’m afraid I won’t have enough time to kill him before I’m executed. If that happens, he’ll bear an even heavier burden, and—” he lowered his gaze and gave a bitter smile, “—he’ll truly be left all alone.”

An Yu silently watched A-Yue’s bleeding palm—when he was released from the folded space, he was so startled he lost his footing and scraped his hand on the ground. An Yu lightly held the shattered mirror fragments in his pocket and felt the clamor in his mind with his consciousness.

A moment later, A-Yue suddenly noticed something unusual. He looked at his palm in surprise—the irregular wound was automatically stopping its bleeding, rapidly scabbing over and flaking off.

“I’ve never seen such a terrifying ability…” He looked up at An Yu blankly and said, “And you hide your abnormalities flawlessly. You wouldn’t be…”

“A Protector,” An Yu said candidly. “I accepted a mission from the Main City to rectify the time-space order of the orphanage.”

The amber eyes opposite him trembled. “People outside know about us?”

“Yes. I’m sorry, it’s too late.”

The overly intense gaze made An Yu a little uncomfortable. He shifted his gaze and continued, “The person in black clothes is my Commander. I don’t know what he’ll do to Jian Xing. But we have to go to the innermost layer of the Mirror, so we must kill Jian Xing.”

A-Yue’s lips trembled at his words, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he only managed a “Hmm.”

He looked at Pat and the others nearby. “Then they are also…”

“All of them are Protectors.”

The chaotic snowstorm interfered with communications. The public channel crackled with static, and Jiang Xiao came online, saying, “I’m almost there, but I encountered many aberrants gathering towards the activity room on the way. What’s going on?”

An Yu calmly replied, “The Mirror is playing tricks, and it seems the ‘greedy bugs’ here are more sensitive than in District 53.”

He was separated from his Commander, and the person that helped conceal his true identity was gone.

“Understood.” Jiang Xiao heard this and decisively assigned the combat plan. “Everyone, I’ll intercept some on the way. The rest of you protect the Corner.”

The three teammates in An Yu’s line of sight simultaneously raised a hand to touch the earpieces tucked into their ears.

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

In just a moment, from behind the distant, dim snow dust, large groups of restless shadows pressed closer again.

A-Yue looked at An Yu worriedly. “There are hundreds of aberrants here. You only have—”

“Don’t worry,” An Yu said, looking at his teammates entering a battle-ready state. “They are all very powerful.”

In the public channel, the snarls and sounds of fighting from Jiang Xiao’s side could already be heard. He said excitedly, “It’s an honor to be recognized by you.”

Pat didn’t say much. As usual, he charged into the tide of aberrants before they got too close. Slade immediately followed, instructing in the channel, “Look after Corner.”

“Don’t worry,” Fengjian, who had been on countless missions with Slade, smiled easily. “We’ll take care of Corner, and everyone else too.”

The sky was dark and even the snowstorm seemed gloomy. The bizarre screams and bloodiness almost drove A-Yue to madness. He turned his head and looked at the person standing beside him—he was the quietest presence in the entire scene. The terrifying close-quarters battle in front of him and the space he occupied seemed like two separate worlds. He gazed blankly at the falling snowstorm, as if nothing concerned him.

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After a while, the pupils of those golden eyes suddenly sharpened.

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He turned his head, watching An Yu close his eyes and frown to endure something. At the same time, a severely wounded aberrant nearby suddenly seemed to have been shot. Blood burst out of the wound and the monster quickly bled to death.

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An Yu murmured, “The effect is very small now…”

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“Yes, just chatting with the insomniac child.”

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An Yu: “…”

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“I want to try to make him sleep. I will temporarily disable your access to the private channel,” Qin Zhilu said calmly and immediately disconnected the channel.

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“What’s wrong?” A-Yue looked at him questioningly. “Jian Xing… is he okay?”

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But at this moment, he still couldn’t fathom A-Yue’s thoughts. He had already decided to kill Jian Xing, yet he was still worried about whether Jian Xing was okay.

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“Look at the mirror,” An Yu said softly. “And let me look at you too.”

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Today was his second day since transferring from District D to District B. The assistant supervisor, Teacher Li Yin, had asked him to proactively talk more to a boy named Jian Xing. The teacher said he always couldn’t sleep, had no friends, and was very pitiful.

Coincidentally, today was the day for physical examination and A-Yue saw Jian Xing from afar—a small person  standing in line. People in front, behind, and beside him deliberately kept their distance, but he seemed to be used to it. He quietly went through the various procedures, and when ordered to undress, his expression didn’t change in the slightest. He obediently stripped himself naked.

That body covered with scars terrified A-Yue.

A child next to him whispered, “Stay away from him, he’s high-risk. See those scars? That’s half a year of hazardous gene testing.”

Jian Xing happened to turn his head, and although they were far apart, A-Yue’s gaze met his.

That empty look, described by other children as like a living ghost, made A-Yue’s heart ache as if it was pricked by needles for a long time.

After A-Yue finished his examination, Jian Xing, who was ahead of him in line, still wasn’t done. He asked around and learned that although Jian Xing no longer had to undergo hazardous gene tests, his physical examinations were more rigorous than other children’s, involving multiple intracavitary probes. Those cold forceps and tubes would be inserted into his body, and each time took two hours longer than anyone else’s.

A-Yue had no choice but to squat under the eaves and wait. When it was almost dark, he jogged to the cafeteria to get a biscuit, then jogged back to continue waiting.

Finally, when those weak footsteps sounded from behind him, he perked up, jumped up, and looked back. “Jian Xing!”

From not far away, those golden eyes flinched in surprise.

“Hi!” A-Yue immediately pulled out a biscuit from his pocket. “Um, my name is A-Yue, I’m from District D. I don’t have any friends here yet. I just saw you seemed really nice. Want to get acquainted?”

Jian Xing was stunned for a long time before hesitantly reaching out and taking the biscuit.

“For me?” His eyes were full of bewilderment.

“Yep!”

“You’re here… waiting for me?”

“Uh-huh.” A-Yue nodded vigorously. “The cafeteria’s closed. I’ll walk you back to the activity room.”

He thought Jian Xing would be difficult to approach and would come up with a thousand reasons to refuse him, but Jian Xing nodded vigorously almost before he finished speaking.

They walked through the rain from the cafeteria to the activity room. On the way, Jian Xing broke the compressed biscuit in half, and they each ate their half under the rain, finishing just as they reached the activity room door.

One night, much later, Jian Xing woke up from a nightmare again. A-Yue habitually rolled over and hugged him, coaxing him to go back to sleep.

Jian Xing suddenly said, “Thank you.”

He had never said those two words before.

A-Yue, who had been drowsy, jolted awake completely.

Moonlight streamed through the window onto Jian Xing’s face and tears gradually welled up in those golden eyes.

“You often asked me what it felt like to undergo the hazardous gene test, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Actually, after a while, it didn’t hurt as much. But the more I did it, the more I felt disconnected from this world every time I came out of the medical examination room. I really wanted to… kill myself.”

“I always hoped that when I came out of the medical examination room, someone would be waiting for me outside,” Jian Xing lowered his head and gently picked at his nails, “To take me back, no matter where.”

According to A-Yue’s memories, that was the last nightmare Jian Xing had before the incident. That night, he couldn’t help but kiss Jian Xing’s tears, then his lips, and then they hugged each other and fell asleep.

Before falling asleep, Jian Xing knelt beside him almost devoutly, softly pleading, “A-Yue, please never leave me.”