Monster - Chapter 118
Chapter 118: Dream Castle - Confession
Seeing Lou blown up like this to save her, even someone as strong as Lin Sandie felt as if her head had been struck by a heavy hammer. Her mind went blank in an instant. She scrambled to Lou's side, flustered, and saw that her left leg was gone from the knee down. At the constantly bleeding wound, she could see white bone wrapped in flesh and blood. Lin Sandie averted her eyes, took a sharp breath, and only then mustered the courage to turn back and face the gruesome injury.
She felt she should cut away the clothing around Lou's wound and then stop the bleeding, but the wound was bleeding so profusely, she didn't know how to stop it effectively...
Lin Sandie trembled all over. As an ordinary white-collar worker who had grown up in a civilized society, she had never encountered such an unmanageable situation, let alone known how to handle it.
Seeing that Lin Sandie was completely frightened and at a loss by her injuries, Lou struggled to grasp her wrist. Lin Sandie held her breath, her rain-colored eyes reflecting Lou's blood-soaked hand leaving a sticky, bloody mark on her own wrist.
"Don't be nervous," Lou comforted Lin Sandie. Knowing she was in no state of mind to calmly buy things from the points mall, she said gently, "Take off your belt. Stop the bleeding first."
At this moment, Lou's long hair, which had been tied up, had completely fallen loose. The bomb blast had injured her internal organs, causing a large amount of blood to flow from her nose. The blood streamed over her lips, dripping down her elegant chin onto the front of her clothes. She looked like a stubborn child, trying hard to suppress the pain, but her pallor betrayed her.
Lin Sandie saw that besides the wound where her leg was severed, there was also a gruesome gash on her abdomen, constantly oozing blood.
Taking another deep breath, Lin Sandie followed Lou's instructions and first used her belt to tie it tightly above the severed leg to stop the bleeding. After clumsily finishing the task, her hands were covered in blood. Lin Sandie's body, which had grown cold with fear, began to recover, and her eyes turned completely red.
"Does it hurt?" Lin Sandie's voice was choked with sobs as she quickly took out painkillers for Lou to take.
Seeing Lin Sandie like this, Lou couldn't describe how happy she felt inside. If the pain from her wounds wasn't making her feel faint, she might have laughed and thrown herself at Lin Sandie right then and there, asking for a hug and a kiss.
Lin Sandie was afraid of pain. Later, she stopped being afraid. But now, Lin Sandie was afraid that she was in pain...
"I'm fine. It can grow back," Lou said in a light tone, as if she were a gecko that had just lost its tail.
"Teach me. I'll bandage you," Lin Sandie's voice was unusually hoarse, but her hands were no longer trembling.
Under Lou's guidance, she quickly bought a pile of medical supplies and somewhat clumsily treated the wound on Lou's thigh and her other cuts. But Lin Sandie knew that no matter how well she treated it, the leg Lou had lost in the explosion could never grow back.
During this time, the Doberman that had saved Lin Sandie's life also crawled out of the collapsed cave, with only minor scrapes on its body. Lin Sandie realized that while Lou was using her lines to save her, she had also given the Doberman a push, allowing it to escape disaster.
The Doberman was extremely perceptive. Perhaps sensing the tense atmosphere, it didn't bark or make a fuss, instead squatting quietly to the side and licking its wounds.
After finally managing to give Lou emergency treatment for her wounds, both of Lin Sandie's hands were stained red with blood. She looked down at her hands, her eyes losing focus. In her heart, there was grief and hatred, but more than anything, there was always a sense of self-loathing.
"Lin Sandie..." Her body, tempered to be incredibly strong, allowed Lou to remain conscious despite the pain. Seeing Lin Sandie's dazed and distraught state, she raised a hand and turned her face toward her.
"Yes." Lin Sandie quickly turned her head. She was fragile yet so strong it made one's heart ache.
Lou suddenly understood the description Miu had once given of her. It had said Lin Sandie was like a white porcelain vase with many cracks, barely held together. Something heavy was pressing down on her, and she was fighting that heavy, terrifying thing all alone—that sense of being both fragile and strong.
"Wash your hands and carry me back to the car. We still have to go to Star City."
"Okay." Without hesitation, Lin Sandie picked up a bottle of mineral water, walked a short distance away, and, with her back to Lou, began to wash her hands.
The moment she turned her back, her eyes lost focus again. Her gaze was empty as she stared blankly at her palms, watching them return to their original color under the clear water.
The air was thick with the smell of sulfur and blood. After washing her hands, Lin Sandie turned back to look at Lou. She was leaning against a rock, dozing lightly. Around her lay countless blood-soaked gauze pads. Even severely injured, Lou remained composed, as if she had endured such injuries countless times and pulled through every single time.
Lin Sandie watched Lou like this for a long while before turning and walking in the direction the Thunder Gun's bullet had come from. It didn't take much effort for her to find Saya McConaughey under another rock formation, riddled with bullets and barely breathing.
On her forehead, she wore the Crown of Thorns, and the black ring that could trigger explosions was still on her finger.
Lin Sandie stopped some distance away from her, watching Saya with an icy gaze.
Saya gave her a smile, her deep blue eyes still holding a hint of teasing and mockery. She knew she wouldn't survive—not with her current injuries, and not with Lin Sandie standing before her. Neither would let her live.
But seeing Lin Sandie now, Saya was suddenly reminded of the days after she discovered Xu Yao's body. It was because of Xu Yao's death that she had completely fallen into darkness. She had sworn to make those who had harmed Xu Yao pay the price, so she had killed and retaliated madly until there was no turning back.
She just felt a little sorry for Xiao A'Lu...
Lin Sandie's expression was blank. Without a word, she raised the gun in her hand and fired several shots at Saya, until the light faded from the latter's eyes and she became a warm corpse.
Just then, a mountain breeze blew past, and the sunlight, which had been hidden by clouds, shone through again. Lin Sandie looked around and realized she was at the foot of the mountain. In the distance, the Dream Castle on the mountainside had completely collapsed. Only its original shape was faintly visible, as if it had been smashed haphazardly by a giant's fist.
After waiting a moment to confirm there would be no more explosions nearby, Lin Sandie approached Saya's body, collected the Crown of Thorns and the explosive Pin she had left behind, and put them in her Space Bag before returning to Lou's side.
Lou was still sleeping, showing no signs of waking from her exhaustion and pain. Lin Sandie saw her disheveled hair and wretched state, nothing like the usual Lou. She silently tied up her hair, cleaned her face, and then lifted her onto her back, continuing down the mountain with the Doberman.
"Lin Sandie, don't blame yourself," Lou said, her arms around Lin Sandie's neck, her voice weak as she tried to comfort her.
"Has anyone ever told you you're terrible at comforting people?" Lin Sandie's voice was calm, betraying neither joy nor sorrow.
"I don't think so." Lou was already groggy, answering Lin Sandie's question subconsciously.
"I've been reading Madam Lilo's poetry collection a lot recently. There's a poem in it that I really like," Lin Sandie suddenly brought up an unrelated topic.
It was late May in the Disorder Land, on the cusp of summer, and the wind across the wilderness carried a hint of stuffiness. Lin Sandie carried Lou down the mountain. As far as the eye could see, there was a rugged, undulating horizon, jagged rocks, thick cacti, and wildly growing shrubs, with the occasional small animal darting past... The golden morning light spread over it all, laying out a magnificent panorama of the wilderness before her.
But what Lin Sandie felt most was the blood that seemed to be seeping from Lou's wound again, for the spot on her back pressed against it now felt warm and sticky.
"What poem?" A hint of a smile crept into Lou's voice. She had written countless poems for Little Rabbit, but no one had ever written one for her. Of course, the poem Lin Sandie mentioned wasn't written by her, but rounding up, it could be considered a gift from Lin Sandie, right?
After a pause, Lin Sandie gathered her emotions before speaking.
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate." Lin Sandie's voice was a little hoarse. At first, it was just gentle, like the current breeze.
"Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimmed." The hoarseness gradually faded. Although Lin Sandie's voice remained gentle, one could feel the deep affection and anticipation within it.
"But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st; Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st." Lin Sandie remembered how vibrant Lou always was, remembered their first meeting, remembered how she had made a mess of her home, and remembered how, though she always made her angry, she was afraid of her being truly angry, cautiously taking her hand and asking if she was mad...
"So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee." Lin Sandie recited the poem she had memorized, her expression gentle, her voice seeming to soothe Lou's wounds.
"Lin Sandie, are you confessing to me?" Carried on Lin Sandie's back, Lou felt her steady steps and rested her chin on her shoulder, asking with a smile.
"Yes." Lin Sandie didn't hesitate or shy away, giving Lou a direct, affirmative answer.
The smile on Lou's face seemed to freeze for a moment. She had expected Lin Sandie to mock her as usual, not to be so direct. She was stunned for a long while before laughing a little awkwardly. "I'm a cripple now. You don't mind?"
"No. Didn't you say it could grow back?" Lin Sandie turned her head slightly, her upturned lips brushing against Lou's cheek.
"Oh." For some reason, Lou's face felt hot. She avoided Lin Sandie's gaze and buried her face in the crook of her neck.
Lin Sandie continued to carry Lou down the mountain, not pursuing the topic or asking Lou for a response. Her eyes shifted to the red machines that appeared at intervals across the wasteland.
Those were the Universal Game Machines Lou had mentioned before. Many sources indicated that if you could beat a randomly selected game on one of the Disorder Land's Universal Game Machines, any wish would be granted.
Lin Sandie planned to take Lou back to the car first and have the Doberman watch over her. Then, she would find a game machine and play. If she succeeded, she would wish for Lou's leg to grow back. If she failed... then this was as far as she, Lin Sandie, could go.
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