Metronome

“I still​⁠⁠​​⁠‍‌‌⁠⁠‌​⁠⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍⁠‍⁠ want to make a trip to this Antiques,” he said, requesting permission from Qin Zhilu. “Even though this pocket watch can no longer measure time, I’m a little concerned about it.”

A map sent by Qin Zhilu immediately popped up on his terminal, with Zhong’s Antiques highlighted.

Qin Zhilu switched to their private channel. “You don’t need to ask for permission for every little thing. I told you back in District 53, the 199th floor’s supervised subject must have a sense of command over the overall situation. Now I’m adding another rule: you must learn to make decisions. Flame is the 198th floor’s Commander, but right now he is also your team member. He will follow your plan of action, so you must be decisive.”

“Understood, Commander.” An Yu lightly licked his lips. The hot, humid weather made them feel a bit sticky. He started walking in the direction marked on the map.

After a short while, he couldn’t help but say, “Can I protest one thing?”

Qin Zhilu said, “Speak.”

An Yu looked at the potholes on the road under the night sky. “Can you not speak to me like that?”

Qin Zhilu paused. “Like what?”

“‘The 199th floor’s supervised subject must have the big picture in mind,’ ‘The 199th floor’s supervised subject must learn to make decisions’…” An Yu paused. “I’m sorry, I can’t explain why, but these reminders of my status make me a little anxious. It’s like…”

He waited for a moment before Qin Zhilu’s low inquiry came through the earpiece. “Like what?”

An Yu didn’t answer, continuing to stare at the road.

Like watching Ling Qiu cross off days on the calendar and count the remaining bread when he was a child.

Like hearing the housing manager say he was going to take back the subsidized dorm that had sheltered him for ten years.

Like… how he occasionally remembered watching Ling Qiu leave to pick up a new vehicle from the military department—only after losing Ling Qiu did he understand that that departing figure meant that beneath the deep sea, the post that had tethered him had long since drifted away with the waves. He was destined to float alone, until he was shattered by the black tides.

An Yu seemed to have suddenly forgotten how to speak. It was only after he had walked for a long time that Qin Zhilu suddenly sighed again in his earpiece. “I understand. I’ll phrase it differently in the future.”

An Yu’s steps faltered. “Hm?”

“Ling Qiu’s death seems to have left you with a hidden trauma. You’ve begun to consciously perceive the risk of valuable people around you leaving, and to assess how much of a blow such a departure would have on your life. I imagine you’ve probably heard that the junior high-level officers are reservists for the high-level officers. That notion makes you uneasy.”

It took An Yu a long while to digest that. “Is this also Brain’s analysis of me?”

“Of course not. Brain wouldn’t know any of this,” Qin Zhilu paused. “The bunny ears on my screen just told me.”

An Yu was stunned for a moment. “My AI?”

“Mm.” Qin Zhilu’s finger tapped on the terminal, swiped down, released, and repeated. The lop-eared bunny An Yu on the screen wore an expression of forbearance, which then turned to blankness. Finally, taking advantage of a moment when his hand was lifted, he grabbed both of his ears and shrank into a corner.

Qin Zhilu suddenly couldn’t help but laugh. “According to the AI’s reaction, it seems I am the only person you consider to be of irreplaceable value.”

An Yu walked blankly through the night. It was a long time before he murmured, “Weren’t you going to delete that AI?”

Qin Zhilu said leisurely, “That was the original plan.”

“Then why didn’t you?”

Qin Zhilu thought for two seconds. “I couldn’t quite bring myself to do it. It seems to have learned some clever survival tricks. It’s always staring at me with those round golden eyes. It makes one’s heart soften.”

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Qin Zhilu uncapped his fountain pen to write the real-time battle report for him. The nib scratched across the white paper. He said casually, “How do you know my heart didn’t soften?”

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Although An Yu’s performance had far exceeded his expectations, his decision on the snowfield had indeed been a risky gamble, and an unprecedented exception—when he had grabbed the rope on An Yu’s chest and pulled him close, those tearful, trembling golden eyes had thrown his mind into disarray, even if only for an instant.

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An Yu said, “Oh.”

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A huge padlock hung on the narrow door. Just as An Yu hefted it, Flame reached out and bent the shackle. The solid metal deformed completely before An Yu’s eyes. The lock fell and nearly smashed his foot.

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The shop was small, and it was a bit cramped with five people. The three walls were lined with jam-packed display shelves. The merchandise consisted mostly of ornaments and beaded strings, as well as some ancient instruments he couldn’t name.

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“It seems this pocket watch is the only surviving time-keeping device in District 34, even though it has lost its function,” Lumen said, glancing at the watch in An Yu’s hand. “That guy Lao is definitely not crazy. He understands the situation far better than the others.”

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He carefully turned the thing around and looked at the label on the back.

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“It’s used for keeping time. I guess it has some timekeeping function,” Lumen said. He skillfully removed the glass cover, released the pendulum, and paused. After two seconds, the pendulum remained motionless. He sighed. “As expected, it can’t be used either.”

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An Yu nodded and flipped it over to look at the price tag. “Nine hundred and thirty. So expensive.”

Flame was puzzled. “You want to buy it?”

“Mm…” An Yu hesitated. Seeing these old instruments reminded him of the Commander—of the young Qin Zhilu who had not yet killed his family, who had just been released from the laboratory back into human society, and who liked to sit under the bookshelf and play the acoustic guitar.

He glanced at the price tag again. “If I don’t have cash, how can I pay?”

“The owner is already dead. If there are no heirs, his property will be absorbed into the Bait City’s treasury,” Yan said with a slight sneer. “Just take it. Just have to report it to Black Tower when you get back.”

An Yu nodded and carefully put the metronome down. “Let’s come back for it after the mission is complete.”

No one answered; the others were busy inspecting the remaining items.

Qin Zhilu asked in their private channel, “You don’t even know what this thing is, do you.”

“No, this is the first time I’ve seen one.”

“What are you buying it for?”

“It’s a gift for you, Commander. I thought you would like it,” An Yu paused. “Zhu Tao said he regularly gives Commander Feng small gifts to maintain their relationship. He suggested I do the same.”

Qin Zhilu was silent for a long while after hearing that. “Did he also tell you what kind of relationship they’re maintaining?”

An Yu was baffled for a moment, then said hesitantly, “Zhu Tao said that all relationships in the world must be diligently managed.”

Qin Zhilu fell silent. An Yu thought he didn’t like the idea and was about to say they might as well save the money, when he heard a faint sigh in his earpiece.

It seemed the Commander had laughed.

“Alright,” Qin Zhilu said. “Giving me things on a regular basis. That’s a good habit.”

“Okay, if you approve of this method, then I’ll continue,” An Yu said, relieved. He added meticulously, “On the condition that it doesn’t interfere with my plan to save money and pay off my debt.”

Qin Zhilu: “…….”

The team found nothing and was about to leave when a message simultaneously popped up on their terminals.

Qin Zhilu’s voice also grew serious.

“Just now, the District 34 hospital sent an emergency report to the Main City. The dermatology department has detected the same strain of virus from a large sample size. Its similarity to the previous plague’s viral sequence is extremely low. It is a new virus. The relevant sequence data has been reported to Brain.”

An Yu was surprised. “Isn’t the plague here supposed to have an interval of six to nine months? It’s only been three months since the last one.”

Qin Zhilu paused. “Not only that. Drones on the periphery have detected a large number of abnormal frequencies. A comparison with the database confirms they are water ant aberrants, but the amplitude is larger. There may be new mutational characteristics.”

The night sky suddenly flashed brightly. Immediately after, a clap of thunder boomed, and in an instant, the rain began to pour down.

The plague and the water ants had arrived at the same time.

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Author’s Note:

There will be snow fragments in the next chapter. The mini-theaters are dropped according to the plot’s progress, so don’t be anxious—