Chapter 335: Why aren't you crying?

Following the marks on the map, Ying Duo made his way through the tangled corridors.

To be honest, before entering here, Yang Yixie had done quite a bit of mental preparation.

After all, Luo Jinyou in reality had already been tortured by the Mutation into that ghastly state; his subconscious surely wasn't a pleasant place—maybe as soon as he entered he'd find mountains of corpses and seas of blood, or various twisted, horrific Mutation scenes, or even like in some horror games where you round a corner and run straight into love.

So what happened?

The corridors were spotless, the lighting soft, and aside from hardly seeing anyone, there was nothing unusual.

It was completely unlike the awful scene he'd imagined, but one should always prepare for the worst.

Before getting into real combat, he wanted to figure out just what this body was capable of.

Although he had already experienced a burst of speed while dragging Luo Wen yuan along, that was merely Ying Duo's basic attribute; in a real fight, this would still be only the most basic of basics.

Yang Yixie was still confident in his reaction speed; the only question was whether his body could follow his thoughts.

Thus, Luo Wen yuan and Wen Jing yun, who were monitoring Ying Duo's movements via the Observation Key in the lab, both froze.

All they saw was Ying Duo, who had been rushing toward Luo Jinyou's location, suddenly stop, then jump in place and perform a backflip.

Luo Wen yuan: "?"

Wen Jing yun: "??"

Before they could react, Ying Duo followed with a side hand-spring, then a front flip, then several consecutive graceful tumbling moves, his whole body becoming a whirlwind of Ying Guang Lu in the corridor, continuously flipping forward.

Luo Wen yuan's mouth slowly opened, and Wen Jing yun's finger hovered in midair, unsure whether to lower it.

The two just silently watched the screen, watching the teenager freely display himself in the research institute's corridor—if one could even call that a "display".

After flipping about a dozen times, Ying Duo finally agreed to stop.

He stood in place, lowered his head to look at his hands, then nodded satisfied.

Although his body was usually stiff during activity, in combat he could fully execute whatever movements he wanted.

That was already enough—far more agile than his own body.

In the Jian Kong Shi, Luo Wen yuan, who had just closed his mouth, opened it again.

Because the teenager started running again.

It wasn't an ordinary run; it was the same all-out sprint that had just launched him into flight, his whole body a bolt of Ying Guang Lu lightning, dragging a long afterimage down the corridor, passing through several monitor screens in the blink of an eye.

"He, he this is..." Luo Wen yuan stammered.

Wen Jing yun stayed silent for two seconds, then let out a soft sigh.

"... Luo Jinyou's roommate," she said, "really lively."

Luo Wen yuan: "......"

Lively?

You call this lively?

He glanced at the green blur in the monitor that had just shot through several screens, then at his wife's calm expression, opened his mouth, and finally said nothing.

Forget it.

At least that kid probably means no harm to little Jinyou.

——————————————

Ying Duo quickly ran to Wen Jing yun's room.

It was a door no different from the other rooms in the corridor, marked with a number like the rest, the only difference being that it required a key card to open.

Ying Duo pushed the door open and entered; the room wasn't large, but it was decorated warmly.

On the wall hung a few whimsical pictures, on the windowsill sat several pots of pixel plants, the desk was stacked with a few sketchbooks, and the closet door in the corner stood half-open, revealing neatly folded small clothes inside.

But Ying Duo's gaze didn't linger on any of those; he went straight to the bed in the center of the room.

A lump lay on the bed.

Under the blanket it bulged out like a little mound, the top of the mound faintly showing a few tufts of white fluff—no, wait, that should be hair.

Ying Duo walked over and reached out directly.

"Whoosh!" the blanket was flung open.

On the bed lay a small curled-up figure.

It was a boy who looked no older than five or six, with a soft mess of white hair sticking up every which way, his little face buried in the pillow, eyes shut tight, and at the corner of his mouth hung a strand of drool from whatever sweet dream he was having.

The most striking thing was on his head.

A long string of "ZZzz...." was rising from his forehead, bobbing slightly with his breath.

Yang Yixie stared at that string of "Z" for two seconds.

Then he lowered his head and looked again at the small figure curled up into a ball.

At first glance, he almost thought there was a white puppy lying on the bed.

Especially that messy white hair and the curled-up posture, which were practically identical to some kind of furry little animal.

"... Luo Jinyou," Yang Yixie said calmly.

No reaction.

The "ZZZ" kept rising.

Ying Duo stayed silent for a second.

Then he reached out, grabbed the small figure by the scruff of the neck, and lifted him off the bed.

Six-year-old Luo Jinyou wobbled twice in midair, then slowly opened his eyes.

They were a pair of blue eyes no different from those he'd have as an adult, but right now they were filled with bewilderment, and because he wasn't fully awake from his drowsy state they also carried a film of moisture.

He blinked.

He lowered his head and saw that his feet were off the ground, being held by someone; he then lifted his head and saw a weird guy wearing a strange cat-ear hood holding him.

He stared dumbfounded for a full three seconds.

"...... Where's my blanket?" That was the first sentence he uttered.

His voice was soft, with the babyish milkiness typical of a child, and a hoarse rasp from just waking up.

After syncing, Ying Duo no longer just saw bubbles; he could actually hear sounds.

He silently lifted the tiny bundle, turned, and walked toward the doorway.

A cold wind rushed in from the hallway, causing Luo Jinyou to hunch his neck; he instinctively tried to pull himself into his clothes, but his back collar was being held, so he couldn't move.

So he could only keep floating in midair, staring blankly at the walls rapidly receding around him.

"Where are we going?" he asked again.

Ying Duo still didn't answer.

"Who are you?"

Still no answer.

"Do I know you?"

"Why did you pick me up?"

"Where's my blanket???"

A barrage of questions slammed forward, the soft milk‑toned voice echoing down the hallway, paired with the helpless little figure swaying in midair.

Ying Duo's steps finally paused; he looked down at the little creature in his hand.

Luo Jinyou was looking up at him, his eyes filled with confusion and a hint of grievance, his mouth slightly pursed, wearing an expression that said, "Why are you ignoring me?"

Ying Duo was silent for a second.

"Why aren't you crying?" he asked evenly.

Yang Yixie himself is devoted to collecting all kinds of NPC CGs, especially those that can be flicked onto someone's face with a "slap" as a black‑history moment.

Luo Jinyou was stunned for a moment.

Then he chose to mute himself on the spot.

Not because he was obedient, but because he suddenly found the tone of the person in front of him amusing, like the machines in his father's lab.