r18novel Chapter 42 Wounds
Chapter 42 Wounds
The sunlight was excessively bright.
Lin Mo stopped what he was doing and frowned. He was repairing an abandoned fishing boat moored on the outskirts of the base. Sweat dripped down his forehead, but he felt as if an invisible film was covering his skin, making him extremely uncomfortable.
That's the feeling of being spied on.
"elder brother."
A sleek voice came from behind her, trembling slightly. She was clutching a tablet computer tightly in her hand, her knuckles turning white from the force.
Lin Mo straightened up and took the tablet.
On the screen was a huge poster that dominated all the news headlines. It was a candid photo intercepted yesterday by the base's security system—in the photo, he was facing away from the camera, his muscles sculpted like chiseled knives in the sunlight, holding an oil-stained wrench in his hand, while behind him, Suya was peeking out at him as he worked, her eyes filled with dependence.
The title is shocking: "Butcher and Saint: A Post-Apocalyptic Pastoral?"
"How did they get this?" Lin Mo's voice turned cold, like an ice cube falling into a deep well.
"I don't know." Suya's voice was low. "Acha said that the base's perimeter surveillance has been experiencing frequent signal interference lately. Someone has infiltrated, or... there's a telephoto lens with a longer reach."
Lin Mo didn't speak, but swiped his finger across the screen.
The comment section has already been flooded with comments.
"My God, is this the ruthless monster? He looks so strong, and I feel so safe with him!"
"That girl must be Suya, right? She's so pitiful, being controlled for so many years."
"I heard they were modified? Is that true? I want to see them fight!"
"Will they transform again? I really want to see what the 'twin virus' looks like when it takes effect."
Every word was like a needle, pricking their newly scabbed wounds.
They are no longer the "Phoenix's" experimental subjects, but have become exhibits for people to explore in the new world.
"Brother, I..." Suya raised her head, her eyes reddening, "I want to go back."
She was referring to that enclosed basement where only the two of them lived. There, they felt safe; there were no stares, no judgments, no greedy, inquisitive, or fearful gazes.
Looking at his sister's pale face, Lin Mo felt a surge of violent impulse. He wanted to destroy the tablet, destroy the cameras, and gouge out all the spying eyes.
But he simply took a deep breath and turned off the screen.
"No need to go back."
He turned around and looked at the speedboats that occasionally flashed across the distant horizon—those were reporters, so-called "fans," or curious onlookers. They circled the waters, which had just calmed down, like sharks that had smelled blood.
"This is our home," Lin Mo said softly, but with an undeniable firmness. "We've repaired the bell, we've repaired the boat, and now we need to learn how to repair this wall."
"But……"
"They're looking at the 'Perfect Weapon'," Lin Mo interrupted her, his gaze sweeping over the speedboats that were barely visible. "But we are Lin Mo and Su Ya."
He picked up a rag, wiped the grease off his hands, and then reached out to gently grasp Suya's cool fingers.
"Walk."
"Where to?"
"To the dock."
"But...they'll film us."
"Let them take the pictures."
Lin Mo, holding his sister's hand, strode towards the dock.
The flashlights on the speedboat instantly lit up, like a silent storm of lightning.
Lin Mo did not dodge. He straightened his back, standing like a wall in front of Su Ya, but he did not attack, he was not angry, only a kind of indifferent calm.
He walked to the dock, picked up a harpoon, and began to repair the cable.
Suya hid in her brother's shadow, her fingers gripping the hem of his clothes tightly. She could feel those gazes piercing her skin like X-rays, scrutinizing her bones, her genes, everything about her.
"Look, that's Suya! She's so thin!"
"Are they really repairing the ship? Are they going out to sea?"
"Hey! Lin Mo! Look this way! Smile!"
Someone was shouting, the sound coming through a loudspeaker, both shrill and comical.
Suya's body was trembling slightly. She wanted to escape, to hide in the mirrored labyrinth of her consciousness, where at least it was quiet.
But Lin Mo's hand was clenched tightly.
"Don't be afraid." His voice was only audible to the two of them. "They want to see monsters, they want to see weapons."
He stopped what he was doing, turned around, and faced the cameras directly for the first time.
His eyes were no longer the crimson of slaughter, nor the coldness of revenge, but a bottomless darkness. It was a calm that came after experiencing hell, an indifference that came after seeing through life and death.
The flashbulbs were going off like crazy.
Lin Mo neither dodged nor attacked. He just stood there, like a statue, like a mountain.
Then, he did something no one expected.
He turned around, took a fish he had just caught from the box next to him, and handed it to Suya.
"Go wash up, we're having fish tonight."
Suya paused for a moment, then took the fish. The fish was still thrashing about, its cold scales pressed against her palm.
She watched her brother's retreating figure. He remained standing in front of her, like a wall, blocking out all prying eyes and noise.
The flashbulbs were still going off, and the speedboats were still lingering.
But Suya suddenly stopped shaking.
Holding the fish, she turned and went into the cabin.
She did not run away.
She was just making dinner.
This is their resistance.
It's not about killing, not about revenge, not about showing off so-called "perfection".
Instead, under the watchful eyes of countless people, they eat dinner like ordinary people.
The sunlight in the new world is still blinding, and the old wounds still ache faintly.
But Lin Mo knew that they were learning to bloom new flowers on this wound.