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墨書 Inktalez
"Kenny once promised me something, but he broke his word." Wu Wentao frowned and pondered for a moment. Song Jiu, beside him, was nearly bursting with impatience, waiting for him to speak. Finally, Wu casually uttered a vague remark.
"Uh-huh," Song Jiu replied, slightly taken aback and not quite understanding. He dug at his ear and asked, "So what happened next?"
"Nothing happened next; it was just like that." Wu Wentao turned his head and shot him an exasperated glance, as if it were obvious.
Song Jiu's face darkened; it was indeed as he expected. Waiting for this blockhead to vividly recount his past was nothing but a pipe dream. However, after waiting so long, he couldn't let himself be dismissed with such an ambiguous statement. Unwilling to give up, Song Jiu pressed on, "Be more specific; what was it about?"
Wu Wentao considered getting up to leave, but Song Jiu anticipated this move and grabbed him by the waist of his pants, playing the rogue: "We agreed on this—either you tell me everything or you don’t say anything at all. What’s with leaving out the beginning and the end?"
Suppressing the urge to kick him, Wu thought to himself, when did I ever agree to that? Looking at Song Jiu's stubborn expression that seemed to say he would die if he didn't get an answer, Wu suddenly chuckled. He was reminded of his younger days in the mercenary group; a warmth unexpectedly filled his heart. With a resigned sigh, he sat back down next to Song Jiu.
"I’m wondering what’s gotten into you today; did you take the wrong medicine?" Wu snatched the drink from Song Jiu's hand and took a couple of swigs. The smoke from his nose and mouth billowed out as he teased, "So idle."
"Let’s trade; you finish your story first, then I’ll answer your questions. Hurry up; I’m feeling restless today," Song Jiu declared, unfazed by Wu's antics. Since he had already decided to be a rogue, he might as well go all in.
Wu Wentao shook his head in amusement. After a pause, he spoke softly, "It's about personal matters."
"Oh," Song Jiu raised an eyebrow as if he had discovered something new. "A man enraged for a woman."
"Call it whatever you want," Wu Wentao replied dismissively, waving his hand as if signaling that they were done with that topic.
Song Jiu stopped his teasing smile and regarded him seriously for a moment before saying thoughtfully, "Unexpected yet understandable; tough guy with a soft heart—got it."
"What a load of nonsense," Wu Wentao chuckled at the comment, feeling invigorated by the light stubble on his lips.
"So because of a woman, you fell out with your boss?" Song Jiu still found it hard to believe. He had heard Ming Junwei and Song Yao recount stories from those years about Wu Wentao and the Blonde Woman. These two had been Kenny's right-hand men and had faced countless dangers together; it was hard to fathom that they would have a falling out over a woman.
"Not entirely." Wu Wentao's gaze sharpened as if recalling past events. He frowned in silence for a moment before quietly saying, "He made promises but didn’t keep them, and showed no remorse whatsoever. That’s what I find hard to accept."
Song Jiu was momentarily speechless, caught between a vague understanding of Wu Wentao's resentment and a sense of futility regarding his blind loyalty. You are a soldier, and he is a commander; the ideals of treating subordinates with respect and caring for the people are merely tales from history. To expect compassion from someone who has unleashed a virus upon the world is somewhat self-deceptive.
At this point, Wu Wentao had surprisingly opened up about his feelings. Song Jiu didn't press further about the specifics of what had transpired between him and his boss; some scars hurt too much to be reopened.
Two grown men sitting under a tree in broad daylight, sharing their thoughts, created an awkward scene that was hard to watch. The air was thick with silence and discomfort as Wu Wentao drifted into memories while Song Jiu felt a bit dazed.
After a long pause, Song Jiu cleared his throat to change the subject. "What about your partner? After working together for so long, doesn't she have any weaknesses?"
Wu Wentao's nostalgic gleam faded from his eyes, his expression returning to normal as he raised an eyebrow. "Everyone has weaknesses."
"Don't play coy with me. I've suffered quite a few losses under her command; I haven't forgotten that grudge."
Wu Wentao took a puff of smoke, shaking his head with a smile. "Remembering won't help you. Not only you; your sister almost met her end at her hands years ago, yet here we are all these years later."
"My sister is my sister; I am me," Song Jiu replied dismissively, snapping off a tuft of grass and muttering, "Once Us establishes connections, we’ll inevitably face your old partner on the battlefield again—new grudges and old scores combined."
"What? Are you planning to kill her?" Wu Wentao smirked, his tone teasing.
Song Jiu snorted coldly, giving him a sidelong glance that was half-smile, half-challenge. "Do you think I can't?"
Wu Wentao studied him seriously for a moment before replying earnestly, "It's difficult."
Song Jiu suppressed his disdain, lightly rubbing the broken finger where the bone still protruded prominently.
"How much do you know about mercenaries?" Wu Wentao asked an unrelated question.
"I was a student before the disaster; what do you think?" Song Jiu shot back with an eye roll.
"Wu Wentao" choked for a moment, suddenly feeling a ridiculous sense of miscommunication. He shook his head and sighed, "Don't dwell on useless things. First, let's find a way to contact 'The Establishment.' It's always better to have a big tree to lean on; you understand that."
"Just a few months ago, I was that big tree," "Song Jiu" thought, feeling a surge of frustration. Reflecting on the past and looking at the present, he felt like a complete loner. He used to have his left and right arms, but now his left arm was getting married, and it was only reasonable not to let him throw himself into danger with "Skull." As for his right arm, "Song the Official," he sighed again, shaking his head and deciding not to think about it anymore.
"Wu Wentao" felt he had been talking too much. He chuckled and said, "Let's focus on the matter at hand. By the way, did you ask 'Jin Bo' if there are any weapons on the island? It feels awkward not having anything on us."
"He might still be asleep. I'll go find him later," "Song Jiu" nodded, noting this down. He stood up and brushed off the dust from his pants. "I'm going for a stroll. Are you coming?"
"No, I'm going to check on 'Groom.' It's been years since I've enjoyed this kind of excitement," "Wu Wentao" laughed heartily, giving "Song Jiu" a pat on the back before swaying off towards the "Stilt House."
"Jin Bo" didn't return until noon when the cooking smoke began to rise. He was accompanied by "Song Yao" and "Luci," all three looking quite disheveled, their clothes covered in dust and ash. At first glance, "Song Jiu" thought they had run into some trouble, but after asking, he learned they had taken an early morning trip to the forest behind the island.
"I'm starving; I hope lunch is ready," "Jin Bo" complained in his usual hasty manner. "Fang Fei" brought over some water for them to wash up while "Island Master" hurriedly rushed towards the open "Coast," clearly impatient.
Hearing "Jin Bo's" shout made "Song Jiu's" stomach rumble as well. He asked, "Where do we eat on the island?"
"There’s a cafeteria, but 'Akin' arranged a beach banquet; we can go there," "Fang Fei" replied with a light smile as she handed towels to the two girls. Taking advantage of the fact that no one else was around, she winked at "Song Jiu," mischievously asking, "Where's your 'Barbie Doll'?"
Just when he thought he had managed to put that issue aside temporarily, it was brought up again.
"Song Jiu" looked speechless and was about to brush it off when he suddenly paused. "I don't know."
"Song Yao" and "Luci" turned their heads at the sound, their expressions somewhat strange.
"I really don’t know; if you hadn’t mentioned it, I would have forgotten," "Song Jiu" admitted nervously. Earlier that morning, Natalia had left the "Stilt House" lightly and then disappeared; he had no idea where she was now.
Seeing he wasn't joking, "Fang Fei" frowned and said, "Little ' Jiu Jiu,' that's not fair! Go find her quickly; the island is so big, and she's just a foreign girl—don't let her get lost."
"Yeah, speaking of this, I wanted to ask you too. What's the situation between you and that girl, as well as Luo Yu?" Song Yao chimed in, tugging at Song Jiu's ear and tossing him onto the bed. "You're an adult now; I shouldn't have to ask about these things. But since we all live under the same roof, you can't just ignore it."
Song Jiu sat there dumbfounded, his face turning red from his sister's teasing.
Luci exchanged glances with the two girls and whispered, "Alright, Jiu Jiu is not a child anymore. Let him handle it himself."
Song Jiu swallowed hard, thinking to himself that Sister Qian should tone it down a bit. They were all acting like parents; no one should be pointing fingers at anyone else.
Just as Song Yao was about to say more, there was a sudden knock at the door.
Song Yao shot a glare at Master Jiu and hurried over to open the door. Standing outside were none other than Luo Yu, Yuan An, Dai Wei, and Barbie Doll Natalia.
"Hey, you're back!" Luo Yu had known Song Yao the longest, and their friendship had always been strong without any awkwardness.
"Ah, yes, just got back," Song Yao replied, her expression returning to normal as she took Luo Yu's hand and led her back into the room. Yuan An and the others followed in behind them and immediately spotted Song Jiu sitting dazedly on the edge of the bed.
Before Song Jiu could say anything, Luo Yu smiled first. In a casual tone as if chatting about everyday life, she pulled Natalia over from behind and presented her to Song Jiu with a grin. " Brother Jiu, you weren't keeping an eye on her? She wandered around the Coast for quite a while by herself. I thought you were with her."
Song Jiu felt his facial muscles twitching uncontrollably. He recalled that Luo Yu had never called him Brother Jiu before. Staring blankly at Luo Yu as she placed Natalia's delicate hands into his rough ones, he didn't get a chance to speak before she turned back to chat with Song Yao and the others. Then she left the room with Yuan An and Dai Wei, leaving several people behind staring at each other in confusion.
Everything felt so natural yet so unnatural at the same time.
After a long moment, Luci cleared her throat lightly, wearing a mischievous smile mixed with a hint of helplessness as she linked arms with Song Yao and Fang Fei and pushed the door open to leave.
The wooden house returned to its quiet state, sunlight streaming through the window sill, casting half of the floor in light while leaving the other half in shadow.
Natalia remained silent, gently sitting beside Song Jiu. She tilted her head and looked at him for a while, her curly eyelashes framing her big watery eyes that blinked innocently as if trying to say something that no one could understand.
Song Jiu let out a long sigh, his stiff body relaxing as he looked down at the small hands in his palm, feeling both amused and helpless.
"Song," Barbie Doll softly parted her lips, uttering a somewhat unrefined yet fragrant Chinese character.
Song Jiu was taken aback, turning his head to murmur, "Ah."
Natalia's lips broke into a sweet smile, and suddenly she leaned forward, planting a soft kiss on Song Jiu's mouth.
Such a beautiful kiss from a lovely girl, illuminated by the warm sunlight, should have been a delightful moment like spring rain. However, Song the Official felt a jolt, as if someone had stepped on his tail. The fierce spirit he once had in the face of mountains of corpses and seas of blood vanished entirely, leaving him as nothing more than a flustered youth.
Song Jiu pulled his hand away from Natalia's and paced around in place for a few moments. He raised his hand to touch Barbie Doll's chestnut-colored hair that reflected the sunlight. He moved his lips but ultimately said nothing, sighed, and ran out of the room.
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