Monster - Chapter 54

Chapter 54: Master of Facial Expressions

Probably due to both physical and mental exhaustion, Lin Sandie slept especially soundly that night, only waking with a start when her alarm went off.

Once she emerged from her deep sleep, Lin Sandie felt her wounds were both painful and itchy. She resisted the urge to scratch and opened her eyes.

"Good morning~ Lin Sandie~" The moment she opened her eyes, a gentle voice sounded in her ear. Lin Sandie turned her head and saw a face identical to her own, just like looking in a mirror. The difference was that the other face always wore a smile that made people feel at ease.

Well-rested, Lin Sandie no longer felt yesterday's irritation. She gave a deadpan "Mm," pretending everything was normal as she tried to get out of bed.

"It's time to change your dressings." Lou beat her to it, throwing back the covers. She had, at some point, already brought the medical supplies from the living room into the bedroom. After pulling back the blanket, she immediately grabbed the large bag of medicine from the nightstand, stepped right over Lin Sandie, and landed lightly on Lin Sandie's side of the bed. Her movements were so practiced they seemed rehearsed countless times.

"I..." Lin Sandie wanted to say she would do it herself, but ultimately, she gave up on refusing Lou. She always felt that the more she refused, the more it would seem like she cared about the other person.

"Then thank you." Lin Sandie also threw back the covers and sat up. She watched Lou, who was already kneeling on the floor and unpacking the bag of medicine, and took a silent breath. With a calm expression, she lifted her nightgown, intending for Lou to treat the knife wound on her abdomen first.

"The wound on your collarbone isn't too serious, but it needs to be disinfected, you know," Lou reminded her, holding a bottle of antiseptic.

"Mm." Lin Sandie lightly bit her back teeth and pulled her sleeveless nightgown up higher.

Lou reached out to help her take off the top, moving closer to start disinfecting Lin Sandie's wounds.

"I was wrong to drag you into the shower yesterday." Hearing Lin Sandie suck in a breath from the pain, Lou lightened her touch.

"But I hadn't cleaned myself up properly before coming to see you. Taking a bath was also a way of showing you respect~" Lou added with a grin.

"Can you tell me about the Legislators?" Lin Sandie's back was straight, her face devoid of expression.

"I can't~"

Lin Sandie lowered her head and glared at Lou, her eyes filled with anger.

"I'm kidding~" Lou rested her chin on Lin Sandie's knee and looked up at her with a smile.

"Do you enjoy teasing people?"

"Who's the one who's always stone-faced, and even your smiles are fake?" Lou continued disinfecting the wound. "I don't like seeing that kind of expression on my face."

Lin Sandie didn't like Lou making all sorts of idiotic expressions with her face, and likewise, Lou didn't like Lin Sandie wearing a dead person's expression on her face.

"Are you telling me what to do?"

"I am telling you what to do." When it came to bickering, Lou was never afraid.

"What are Legislators?" Lin Sandie immediately disengaged from this childish behavior, refusing to let Lou lead her by the nose.

Her world had collapsed yesterday, and only today had she managed to rebuild some semblance of order and rules. Though it was still shaky, she wouldn't allow Lou to destroy it so easily.

"They're... well, a special manifestation of power in Leviathan, I guess. All Legislators have a scale-shaped brooch. Do you remember it? I saw that you're a Legislator." After applying antiseptic to all of Lin Sandie's wounds, she began applying a transparent gel to speed up the healing process.

Throughout this, Lin Sandie sat perfectly straight, letting Lou treat her. Her right forearm had also suffered a severe gash, so even if she refused, applying the medicine herself would have been difficult. Before Yan Ting passed away, this was a job she would have wanted to do.

"A Scale Brooch?" Lin Sandie thought hard. A long time passed, and Lou had already re-bandaged the wounds on her abdomen and arm before she finally said, "I remember a few years ago, I went back to my hometown to visit my mother's grave. I happened to see a beautiful brooch among her belongings and wore it for a while."

"A few years ago?" Lou recalled one of her earlier speculations.

"I don't remember exactly. Four or five years ago. Help me get dressed, I'll go look for it."

"Can we eat breakfast first?" Lou directly helped Lin Sandie put her sleeveless nightgown back on and asked earnestly.

"...What do you want to eat?" Lin Sandie slightly averted her gaze from Lou, feeling her whole body flush with heat. Her facial expression, however, remained unchanged. Being naked and having a woman who was not quite an acquaintance—and who looked exactly like her—apply medicine to her body would make anyone with a shred of modesty feel shy and uncomfortable.

Fortunately, the ever-joking Lou didn't say a single word about Lin Sandie's figure; otherwise, the latter would have probably burst her stitches on the spot from embarrassment.

"Meat, eggs, and soy milk."

"There's no soy milk, only regular milk... and the milk in the fridge is probably expired." Lin Sandie got up and walked out, her right arm now in a sling Lou had put around her neck.

"I already bought some." Lou followed behind Lin Sandie.

Lin Sandie glanced at the clock in the living room. It was only 7:30 in the morning.

"What did you buy?" Just as Lin Sandie asked, Lou had already placed an apron over her head and tied a neat bow behind her back.

"Bacon, eggs, soy milk, and sausage." Lou seemed to have fully immersed herself in playing house with Lin Sandie, as considerate as a housewife.

"Alright then." Lin Sandie walked to the open-plan kitchen and took out a frying pan. "Why did you ask me about the specific time I got the brooch just now?"

After preheating the pan and coating it with a thin layer of oil, Lin Sandie, with her right arm still in a sling, could only crack the eggs with one hand. She was somewhat surprised at how skillfully she managed it on her first try, as if she had practiced for a long time.

"We suspect that you seeing monsters is related to the brooch." Lou assisted Lin Sandie, unwrapping the bacon as she spoke. "From what we know so far, the rulers of Leviathan are actually composed of Rulers and Legislators. They have corresponding brooches—the Rulers' brooch is a sword and shield, and the Legislators' is a scale. The brooches can be given to others, and one person can hold multiple brooches, possessing dual or multiple powers. As for the specific domains they rule or manage, I haven't found that out yet."

"Go on," Lin Sandie said, her expression grim. She started frying the sausages. The kitchen filled with the savory aroma of meat and the faint crackling of the pan. The two of them really looked like a couple at home.

"Usually, people with power are granted more permissions, like the ability to see the true nature of certain things. You're a Legislator, so you can see the truth of this world. The theory is similar to being an official in a government department—you have the clearance to view confidential files." Lou handed Lin Sandie a plate. "This is Little Crow's theory."

"That makes sense. It also explains why so few people know about the monsters." Lin Sandie took the plate and started frying the last three strips of bacon, her mind replaying the time she got the brooch and the time she started seeing monsters.

"I learned from Bai Xuan that you're investigators from another place, and that there's something wrong with Leviathan. But she wasn't very clear; she didn't have much time then."

The reason Lin Sandie knew Lou wasn't from Leviathan was because Bai Xuan had mentioned investigators and monsters before she died. But she had passed away in front of Lin Sandie before she could talk about the Tower Worlds.

"Leviathan is one of many Tower Worlds. Tower Worlds are reflections of the Main World, but most of them are chaotic, with chaos and distortion taking all sorts of forms. It's likely that only under these conditions can special individuals like Sentinels and Guides be born. Mature Sentinels and Guides are then brought to the Main World to carry out missions across the various Tower Worlds. Because after being chaotic for too long, many Tower Worlds can no longer maintain their balance. Their inhabitants are pushed to the brink of collapse, which can even trigger chain reactions. We have to eliminate the root of the problem in this Tower World and re-establish order. If the source of the chaos cannot be eliminated, the entire Tower World will be erased."

"..." Having just taken out the clean, polished knife and fork and turned around, Lin Sandie saw that after finishing this long speech, Lou was already picking up bacon with chopsticks and eating it.

"I understand. So what's the specific problem with Leviathan now? Too many monsters?" Lin Sandie also sat down at the dining table, ready to enjoy her own breakfast.

"More or less. According to our projections, in two years at the latest, there will be no humans left in Leviathan." Lou looked up and saw the fastidious Lin Sandie trying to use a knife and fork despite her injured right arm. She immediately leaned over and helped cut her breakfast into pieces.

"A world governed by monsters. Is that a problem?" Lin Sandie was a little embarrassed and could only hide it by asking a serious question.

Lin Sandie felt like her brain hadn't been working properly for the past two days.

"No, it would cause worldwide chaos and even affect the stability of the Main World."

Lin Sandie said no more, eating her breakfast with her head down as she thought.

"Lin Sandie, are you going to the Disorder Land next?"

"It's highly likely I have no choice. Although I have no attachments left in this world, being killed at random is not what I want. I can only follow their arrangements for now."

"I'll probably be going too." Lou chewed on the sausage in her mouth. "After the scene I caused, those people's patience with me must have reached its limit. Besides, I don't like being passive. The Disorder Land is a chaotic place; I'm sure I can uncover more mysteries there. That will give me more opportunities to fight back. Want to go with me? We can look out for each other."

Lou swallowed her food and looked at Lin Sandie, extending a sincere invitation. This was, in effect, Lou proactively telling Lin Sandie that she could protect her.

Lin Sandie glanced at her silently and shook her head, refusing. "They'll also have more ways to deal with you, to kill you."

"Then let's see who dies first," Lou, having been rejected, just smiled and didn't press the topic, since Lin Sandie clearly had other ideas. "You just said you have no attachments left?"

"My younger brother was also infected and turned into a monster. About half a month ago, he murdered my father and stepmother," Lin Sandie said expressionlessly, putting a piece of sausage that Lou had cut for her into her mouth.

Lou looked at Lin Sandie with a questioning gaze; she clearly didn't know about this.

"First thing tomorrow morning, I have to go home for the funeral."

"Oh." Lou tilted her head back and finished the last of her soy milk, then walked barefoot over to Lin Sandie and cradled the latter's head against her chest.

"..." Lin Sandie felt her head touch something soft, and a steady heartbeat reached her ears.

"Feeling any better?" Lou lowered her head and asked earnestly.

"No," Lin Sandie said, her face blank. "But thank you."

"Heartless woman," Lou muttered, releasing Lin Sandie's head and taking out her phone.

"What are you doing?"

"Going home with you for the funeral, of course. Your old home must have lots of photos of Mom, right?" Lou asked with a beaming smile.

"She's my mother."

"Besides, it'll be a hassle for you to handle the funeral alone. Look, your injuries haven't even healed yet." Lou walked over to the sofa, threw herself onto it, and connected a call to Wang Lirou. "Sister Lirou, something's come up..."

Lin Sandie fell silent. She suddenly realized she truly was all alone, with no one to rely on. She probably wouldn't be able to continue her job at Dudian Red Wine Company either. After all these years, she didn't even have a single friend she could talk to.

Trash. Useless. Go die! Lin Sandie cursed herself internally. She finished the food on her plate and, with a placid expression, placed it in the dishwasher.

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