Part 2
He flew forward into the man’s arms. The other toddlers watched in stunned silence as the dirty Alpha carried off their most popular friend.
Yu Shi didn’t mind the mess at all. He squirmed in the man’s embrace and said, “I missed you so much! Mommy said you’d be back by summer break, but it’s almost winter break now. Where did you go? Why did it take you so long to come home?”
Wang Chonghan wiped his hands on his clothes before touching Yu Shi’s exquisite little face.
He chuckled. “You didn’t miss me; you just wanted me to take you to the shooting range. Your mommy won’t let you play with guns. Besides me, who else would run straight from a starship to take you out to play?”
“Uncle Wang, you’re the best! Please don’t tell Mommy… I—I’ll give you half my cake.”
Yu Shi’s eyes sparkled as he pulled a piece of mango cake from his backpack—one he hadn’t been able to bring himself to eat at lunch. He was currently losing his baby teeth, and his mother was very strict about sweets, so he often ate them in secret.
Wang Chonghan laughed heartily, pretending he was going to take a giant bite just to see the boy’s eyes well up with tears, before feeding him the entire cake spoonful by spoonful.
In Yu Shi’s dreams, this strange uncle was always covered in dust and grime because he was constantly out on missions.
Even in his final moments, he had been just as filthy.
He had carried Yu Shi through the dark night, racing through streets and alleys, sticking to the places where the streetlights were broken. The world was full of people hunting them down.
Yu Shi was tucked under the man’s arm. The jostling was so intense he felt like he was going to throw up. The air was thick with the stench of rotting garbage, and dogs barked from the depths of the alleys. He gritted his teeth and didn’t make a sound.
Once they reached an old residential district, Wang Chonghan’s strength finally failed him. He slid down against a wall.
It was pitch black in the alley. His breathing was loud and labored—rattling like a pair of bellows. Every so often, he was seized by a violent fit of coughing that sounded as if his breath might cut off at any moment. His whole body trembled uncontrollably.
Yu Shi had never seen him so pathetic. He felt a deep sense of fear.
In the darkness, he heard a gurgling sound, like the churning of intestines.
Yu Shi reached out and felt the man’s face. “Old Wang, are you hungry?”
Wang Chonghan caught the boy’s restless little hand. His voice was faint as he struggled to respond. “I’m not hungry… Are you?”
Yu Shi shook his head, sounding confused. “If you’re not hungry, why are you drooling?”
His hand was covered in a slippery, warm, and viscous liquid. It was a bit disgusting, but he didn’t find Wang Chonghan gross—because Wang Chonghan had saved his life.
Wang Chonghan gave a pained smile. “Yeah. I guess I am a little hungry.”
He was choked by another fit of coughing. He pulled Yu Shi tight against his chest. “Shi-jun, listen carefully to what I’m about to say next… cough…”
Shi-jun. Yu Shi thought hazily. No one had called him that in a long time.
When he was little, his mother had taught him poetry. When they reached the line, “Do not worry about lacking friends on the road ahead; who in the world doesn’t know you?” she had pointed to the page and told him that his name came from those words.
At the time, Yu Shi had asked excitedly, “Does Mommy want me to be famous and a great man?”
His mother had shaken her head with a smile. “I only hope that in this life, you will never lack for a kindred spirit. No matter how much fame or fortune you acquire, it is never as important as having one person who truly understands you.”
“Oh.” Yu Shi had been a little disappointed.
He felt like he would almost certainly be famous because every teacher praised his intelligence, but his mother didn’t seem to think so.
She had stroked Yu Shi’s head. “A great man isn’t necessarily a good man, but a good man is always a great man. I only want you to be a kind person.”
Yu Shi had thought fretfully that there were lots of kind people. It wasn’t special at all.
“Cough, cough, cough…” Wang Chonghan coughed.
He struggled to give his instructions. “In a moment… go into the residential building and find a family… preferably… preferably old people. Ask them… cough… ask to borrow a comms device and call this number… Do not… do not let anyone see you. If you see anyone in uniform… run immediately…”
He seemed to be in immense pain. Every sentence was followed by a long pause, and the intervals grew longer and longer.
Yu Shi rubbed the man’s chest to soothe him. “Old Wang, if you’re hurting, don’t talk so much. I’ve already memorized the number.”
“Heh,” Wang Chonghan chuckled. “Our Xiao Shi… is the smartest… He hears it once… cough… and remembers…”
“Of course. The principal even praised me the day before yesterday.” Yu Shi told him proudly how he had solved a problem meant for the older kids, stunning everyone.
When he finished, Wang Chonghan didn’t praise him. He just leaned silently against the wall.
Yu Shi waited a while. “Are you really hungry?”
Wang Chonghan didn’t speak.
Yu Shi scrambled up from the ground. “I don’t have any strength to talk when I’m hungry either. You’ll feel better if you eat. I’ll go find you something. Do you want a coconut bun or mango cake?”
Still, Wang Chonghan didn’t answer.
Yu Shi tucked the man’s collar tight to keep the wind out. “I’ll be right back, Old Wang.”
Then he turned and ran.
Half an hour later, he returned clutching a half-eaten bun he had scavenged from a bakery’s trash bin. He was panting and in a hurry, but Wang Chonghan was gone.
He thought Old Wang had abandoned him. He was so upset that tears began to stream down his face. He forgot about the bun and ran back out into the street on his short little legs.
This area had terrible security, and there were few pedestrians at night. A black transport van was parked on the street, looking exceptionally conspicuous.
He saw Wang Chonghan hanging from the back of the van. Someone was poking him with a rifle barrel as if he were a piece of rotting trash.
“Dead,” the man said. “Six shots to the body. His organs are shredded.”
“God damn it. We missed our chance for a live prisoner again.” A man in uniform spat on the ground before taking a combat knife and stabbing the body several times.
Wang Chonghan’s head hung low, like a leaf dangling in the wind. Warm blood dripped onto the ground, pooling in a puddle.
“Forget it. Don’t waste your anger on a corpse. Keep searching the area. I don’t believe we can’t find that kid.”
Yu Shi’s breathing hitched as he sobbed silently. He clamped his hands over his mouth, his tears wetting his fingers and drenching his face. His tiny body shook like a spring, and his legs trembled.
The soldiers heard a sound and turned toward him…
His world returned to silence and darkness.
Yu Shi slowly opened his eyes. The corners of his eyes were wet as he stared blankly at the ceiling.
It took a long moment before he realized it had just been a dream.
A piercing pain radiated from his right shoulder. His arm had been popped back into place, but the joint was severely swollen. With this injury, any chance of escape had been effectively severed.
“Had a nightmare?” a female voice asked.
He shifted his gaze and saw Zheng Miaoran standing there with her arms crossed.
She studied the tear tracks at the corners of his eyes, sounding surprised. “Does it hurt that much? The doctor gave you a painkiller, but it conflicts with the long-acting anesthesia, so he couldn’t give you much. You’ll just have to bear it.”
Her tone was much gentler than before, and there was a hint of pity in her eyes.
Yu Shi didn’t seem to hear her. His eyes were empty.
He thought of the people in black uniforms from his dream and then looked at the blue uniform Zheng Miaoran was wearing. A trace of bewilderment flickered in his eyes.
Part of the reason Qin Yin had dared to take him was because he had once been hunted by the Tiangui military.
The child who had once been the target of a city-wide manhunt had become a rising academic star and a national researcher. To anyone who knew the truth, the irony was extreme.
He closed his eyes, looking exhausted and weary.
Zheng Miaoran felt a twinge of unease. She had never seen Yu Shi look like this. Without his usual mask, he looked as fragile as a piece of ice that would shatter into a thousand pieces if it touched the ground.
She irritably tossed something over, and it landed right next to his pillow.
Yu Shi glanced down and saw a microchip.
“The Major told me to give this to you. He said that once we’re back in the Seventh Zone, he’ll find someone to help you crack the encryption. When that happens, you might have a very different perspective than the one you have now.”
Yu Shi picked up the chip. It was a tiny thing, but it felt as heavy as a mountain.
What secret was hidden inside that made Qin Yin so certain that, after seeing it, Yu Shi would choose to defect?
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