"How did he die?" Chu Lian asked softly after a long silence. She could hardly believe that the slightly chubby boy who had always been quietly watching her was now gone. Though it wasn't directly her fault, if she hadn't brought them here—if her mission hadn't drawn these people—he might still be alive, at least not dead from this incident.
"Before that big monster fell, a few smaller ones dropped from above. Most of them died instantly, but one was slowed by something on the way down, so it didn't die right away. Zhang Feng happened to be walking right there… and then…" Chu Chu trailed off, but Chu Lian already understood.
She fell silent again. Maybe this school trip was a mistake from the start. If not for her, none of this would have happened. "Take me to see him." She glanced around, noticing her classmates' changed attitudes—resentment, dislike, indifference? She couldn't tell, but she had to see for herself.
Chu Chu knew that after this, the others would subconsciously put the blame on Chu Lian. Right now, staying here would only make her the target of their dislike. Taking the chance to step away might change things. She nodded, went to speak briefly with the teacher, and then returned to say, "Teacher Ning said you shouldn't carry this burden in your heart. She said this isn't your fault. She'll calm the students down, and they'll understand eventually that it was just an accident."
Chu Lian didn't care for such words. She had already placed Zhang Feng's death on her own conscience. Without answering, she just moved her lips slightly, whispering words no one could hear: "An accident? Maybe. But someone still has to pay the price, someone still has to take responsibility."
Seeing her expression, Chu Chu knew she hadn't let it go. At times like this, you had to walk out of it yourself—nothing others said would help. She simply held Chu Lian's other hand and led her, with Inori, outside.
"She'll come around," Cai Ya said. Having grown up in a powerful family and entered the music industry at a young age, she saw things more clearly than most her age. She understood that this tragedy was nothing more than accidents piling up—no one's fault.
"Chu Lian-chan isn't that fragile. She just feels guilty, but she won't lose herself over it," Ruriko Nana murmured softly from beside her.
"Don't underestimate Chu Lian. Her resolve is far stronger than ours. This won't shake her. She's just going to see for herself to feel a little better," Lux Lyle said, twirling a lock of golden hair around her finger as she gazed in Chu Lian's direction.
Sometimes the bystanders truly see more clearly than those involved. Even Chu Chu, who considered Chu Lian the most important person to her, couldn't see it clearly—her worry clouding her judgment.
"Chu Lian, you'll move past this. I believe in you." Li Xiu'er listened to their words, clasping her hands together over her chest and silently praying for Chu Lian.
"Nana, do you know what these creatures are? There's no record of them in my family archives. If they were unique to Huaxia, there should have been some leak before now. They're far too dangerous," Lux whispered to Ruriko Nana, asking about the monsters.
"We don't have any records of such creatures in Neon either. They don't seem like lifeforms that could evolve naturally on Earth. Even in the Otherside, there's no way such dangerous beings could exist. They're too dangerous—so dangerous that no ecosystem could tolerate them," Ruriko Nana said. Though she didn't know their true origin, her guess was strikingly close to the truth.
"Then we'll have to wait until Chu Lian returns to ask her. I really hope these things never appear again. If they do, our world will be in danger," Lux sighed. She desperately wanted to know where these creatures came from so that, should they appear again, they could be dealt with.
Across from them, Cai Ya watched the two girls whispering, a trace of dimness in her eyes. Her family was no less powerful than theirs, yet in matters like this, she knew far less. From the look of things, even in Huaxia, only a few factions knew of such hidden matters. Her own family, a vast yet purely commercial clan, had never encountered such things—let alone had records of them.
"Perhaps this is an opportunity—one that could make my family even more prosperous," Cai Ya thought, fixing her gaze on them. She was already considering how to convince her family to believe her and support her in building closer ties.
While the girls chatted, Chu Lian was pulled by Chu Chu to a large, single-story building. Chu Chu spoke briefly to the guards at the door, who glanced at Chu Lian and nodded for them to pass.
Inside were rows of beds covered with white sheets and quilts. Chu Lian knew that everyone lying beneath them was already dead—victims of this so-called accident, the most innocent of all. Compared to those who had been parasitized by xenomorphs and then brutally dismembered and devoured, they were almost fortunate—they still had whole bodies left.
Chu Chu glanced at Chu Lian's expression and found it unchanged—still as calm as ever. Only by looking closely into her eyes could one see the faint shimmer of moisture hidden there.
After walking several meters and turning a few corners, they reached another room. Before opening the door, Chu Chu turned and said, "The people here were killed by those monsters in various accidents. The bodies aren't pleasant to look at, so you should be prepared."
Chu Chu thought Chu Lian had never seen such a scene. Humans naturally react differently when seeing the corpses of their own kind compared to other species. No matter how humanlike another race might be, it couldn't replace that feeling. That was why she gave the warning—so Chu Lian wouldn't be too shaken.
Seeing Chu Lian nod, Chu Chu pushed the door open and stepped in first. Just as Chu Lian was about to follow, she felt Inori grab her hand. Looking up at her, Chu Lian asked, "Inori, what is it?" Inori shook her head, unable to explain why she'd done it. Deep down, she simply didn't want Chu Lian to see the bodies of her own people—because that was a sight that could make anyone feel despair. The aversion had surged from somewhere deep within, causing her to hold Chu Lian back instinctively.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I've already been through scenes like hell itself just now. Do you think I'd be afraid of this? Even if he's my classmate, I won't show a weak side because of it. I want to be your safest harbor," Chu Lian said, meeting those wine-red eyes and seeing the conflict in their depths. She understood a little, and so she comforted her.
Hearing Chu Lian's reply, Inori finally felt at ease. Perhaps it was Chu Lian's confidence, or perhaps it was that last sentence—but she knew then that this wouldn't break Chu Lian.
After calming Inori's heart, Chu Chu's voice came from inside the room: "Big Sis, are you… not planning to look?" She had been waiting for a while without seeing Chu Lian enter, and upon turning back, she caught sight of her speaking with Inori, seemingly hesitating at the door.
"No, I was just thinking about what I should say to him. After all, he was one of my admirers. Since he died because of this, I should at least fulfill one of his wishes," Chu Lian replied, her voice growing closer. She was even joking. Realizing her emotions were affecting those around her, she quickly tucked away all the guilt, returning to her usual self. It might seem a bit carefree, but it was better than letting everyone worry.
"Hmph, not allowed. Even if he was your admirer, that doesn't mean he gets special treatment. Even I haven't gotten a promise from you, so how could he have his wish fulfilled?" Chu Chu's eyes curved with a smile, clearly relieved to see Chu Lian bounce back so quickly. She hadn't felt anything for Zhang Feng and wouldn't be too concerned about a classmate's death. Her earlier silence had been purely out of worry for Chu Lian.
Chu Lian only smiled at her words without confirming or denying them. She stepped to Chu Chu's side, looking at the white-covered bed before them. "This is it?" Because the incident had happened so suddenly, even though hospitals and emergency services had mobilized, the death toll was too high to send everyone to hospitals at once. Most bodies had been kept here temporarily.
With hundreds of beds, more than half occupied, finding one specific person wasn't easy. Even in this section alone, a quick glance showed dozens of beds—yet Chu Chu had found it quickly.
Rolling her eyes, Chu Chu pointed to a spot near the head of the bed. "Big Sis, there's a number there. The back of the card has the deceased's information. Since Zhang Feng was in our class, we were told exactly where he was placed…"
Looking up, Chu Lian indeed saw a tag reading "No. 217." Presumably, his details were on the reverse side. "Ahem, I didn't know that," she said, coughing twice before straightening her expression. "Lift it. Let me see him."
Truthfully, she couldn't believe Zhang Feng had died like that. According to the data she'd previously scanned, his luck was graded B—meaning no major life calamities and certainly no early death. She didn't blindly trust the system; she simply felt from the bottom of her heart that this boy's life shouldn't have ended here.
Just as Chu Chu reached to lift the sheet, the white quilt moved. The sudden motion startled her—and both Chu Lian and Inori, whose brows furrowed as their faces paled.
It was one thing to imagine it, but for it to actually happen—someone coming back from the dead—was terrifying…