Chapter 10: Mom and Dad

"Uncle,"

Outside a flower shop with its rolling shutter closed, a little boy of seven or eight, wearing a backpack, was politely asking the clerk of the neighboring flower shop, "Excuse me, has my dad come back today?"

"Not yet. Didn't your dad say he went to Yunnan to stock up on goods? It's very far from here—no telling how many days it'll take."

The clerk shook his head. "You could go home and ask your mom."

Mom.

Hearing that word, the little boy's expression suddenly stiffened. He politely said goodbye to the clerk and, dragging his heavy steps, wandered aimlessly beneath the dappled shadows of the flower market's hanging floral waterfalls.

His mom—was not human.

Or rather, his mom had been replaced by something that was not human.

Starting about a week ago, Mom had become a little off. She no longer picked him up from school, stayed home all day wearing a green face mask, and never took it off.

There was no more home-cooked food. He and his four-year-old sister ate bread, milk, and cereal for three meals a day.

In the middle of the night, he saw Mom bury her head in the refrigerator, from which came the sound of chewing meat.

Until three days ago, when Mom finally peeled off the green face mask, revealing a big, big smile.

In his own terrified expression, she seemed to realize for the first time that when humans smile, the corners of their mouths cannot stretch all the way down past their ears.

Mom returned to normal.

On the outside.

She started cooking, started going out, started asking him and his sister if they were warm or cold, started getting up in the middle of the night to tuck them in.

But she didn't remember his birthday, didn't remember he was allergic to shrimp and crab, didn't remember the pinky-promise they had made.

The little boy walked aimlessly, his expression dazed.

Over the past three days, he had tried staying at school after class, but the result was being dragged home by Mom.

When he went to stay over at a classmate's house, she would call and urge him back.

Once, he even grabbed his sister and ran to the police station to report that something was wrong with their mom. She came to the station calmly, showed them the household register and her ID, told the officers her son was under too much study pressure and didn't know what he was saying, and then took him away.

Beep beep beep.

The Little Genius phone watch in his pocket buzzed—a call from her.

"Xiao'an, when are you coming back? Mom made your favorite fatty char siu today." A gentle woman's voice came through the phone. "It's really good."

Liar.

He used to love fatty char siu, sure, but ever since he went to Grandma and Grandpa's house a year ago and ate char siu for a whole month, he never touched fatty meat again—the real Mom knew this.

He tried to make his voice sound lively and cheerful. "I'm playing with classmates at the Children's Palace. I'll be back later."

The gentle woman's voice said, "Then hurry back, the sun's almost setting. Your sister can't wait to eat dinner."

"Brother! Help—"

The call cut off abruptly.

He stared blankly at the phone and shivered.

Right—Dad was coming back soon. If she didn't act now, she'd have no chance.

He made up some kind of resolve, felt the table knife tucked at the bottom of his backpack, and walked toward home.

————

"Let time rush on by, I only care about you~"

The moment he opened the front door, he heard Mom humming happily in the half-open kitchen.

The dining table in the living room was laid with quite a few dishes. His sister sat beside it with a terrified look on her face; when she saw him appear, she got so worked up she nearly burst into tears.

"Xiao'an's back?"

Mom called out at the sound of the door opening. "Hold on a sec, there's still a dish of braised spare ribs coming."

"Mm."

He sat down at the table with his backpack in his lap and slowly shook his head at his sister, signaling her not to speak.

"The scallions I bought this time aren't very fresh, so I won't sprinkle scallion bits on top when it's done."

The sounds of stir-frying in the kitchen never stopped. Mom suddenly poked her head out from behind the glass door of the living room and, smiling sweetly at her children, asked, "Is that okay?"

He nodded instinctively. Only after Mom pulled her head back did he suddenly realize something, and every hair on his body stood on end.

From the open kitchen to the living room, it was about two meters.

And just now, when Mom poked her head out into the living room, the sound of stir-frying in the kitchen was still going on! It hadn't stopped at all! And the position hadn't changed either!

"Oh right, your dad's coming home tonight."

Mom's voice was especially cheerful. "Counting the time, he should be here any moment."

Before the words faded, the sound of the door opening rang out.

Dad walked in wearing the same clothes he'd left home in, beaming, with two gifts in his hands.

"Dad!"

He and his sister had just been about to jump down from the table and run over, but Dad was pulled into the kitchen by Mom first. "Hubby, look at the spare ribs I made—how are they, are they good?"

"Mm, delicious."

Dad took a bite, then poked his head out from behind the living room's glass door too, in the same eerie, stiff posture Mom had just used, and smiled at the children: "Xiao'an, go dish out the rice. You and your sister can eat now."

"." He felt as if he'd fallen into an ice cave.

————

【The world's first fifth-generation nuclear power station has been completed on Hainan Island. This marks our country's attainment of a world-leading level in the R&D and application of fifth-generation nuclear power technology.】

【The United States says U. S. troops stationed in Jordan were attacked by drones; three American soldiers were killed and at least 34 U. S. personnel were wounded. A New York State senator has called for U. S. overseas military bases to be contracted out to Prometheus Labs.】

【Israel's second-largest city, Tel Aviv, has suffered a biochemical weapons attack from an unknown source. gen-sys biotech company has announced it will provide medical support.】

The news program on the TV was reporting world events. Mom and Dad ate their meal, occasionally laughing and commenting on current affairs.

He hung his head, staring at the bowl of rice growing cold, his eyes vacant, murmuring: "Why won't you let us leave?"

The front door's security lock was engaged, his phone had been taken, and he could not contact the outside world.

"What are you talking about, Xiao'an? Aren't we family?"

Father smiled and patted his handback—the touch was icy, utterly devoid of warmth.

"Yes, family must stay together forever and ever," Mother echoed, reaching out to stroke the faces of the two siblings.

Crack!

He suddenly surged upward, smashing the tray with his left hand into Mother's skull, while his right hand yanked a dinner knife from his backpack and plunged it into Father's handback.

The dining table was in chaos, soup seeping into the tablecloth, spreading rapidly.

He seized his sister's wrist, pulled her off the stool, and sprinted toward the front door at the fastest speed he'd ever mustered, shouting: "Fire! Help!"

He unlocked the door, gripped the handle, and pressed down hard—just as the door was about to swing open, granting him escape, he was yanked back.

Mother sat in her original seat, but her neck had stretched countless times longer, coiling around his and his sister's waists, yanking them violently back to their places.

"You're a naughty boy, Xiao'an."

Father still smiled, pulled the knife from his handback, not a single drop of blood spilled—"Naughty children must be punished."

Mother and Father both opened their mouths wide, their lips splitting open, stretching all the way to their ears. Beneath the light, the layers of sharp teeth inside their throats were clearly visible.

The gaping maws surged toward the two siblings—just as their jaws snapped shut, two stones flew through the window, piercing Mother's and Father's skulls.

The stones' force was so great that even these non-human beings were thrown backward by inertia, their heads tilting up, nearly toppling from their chairs.

Tap.

A shadow in black flipped in through the window from the tenth floor.

He wore a black night suit, dark sunglasses, a hood, and gloves. Even his shoes were wrapped in multiple layers of black cloth and bound with tape on the outside—his appearance was bizarre.

Eyes met. The black-clad figure—or rather, Li Cheng—scanned the scene, twisted his neck, and rasped: "Have you heard of the Lord of Insects?"

(End of Chapter)