Monster - Chapter 129
Chapter 129: Star City - A Person's Collapse
Following the address Xu Lan provided, Lou quickly found Carlo's family. They lived in a slum in Star City's west district, near an abandoned port. Most of the residences were converted shipping containers—poorly soundproofed, stuffy, and airless—but for just twenty to fifty points, one could own a "house" here.
The residents typically converted the containers into two-story structures, with the upper level serving as a bedroom and the lower as a living area. The sanitation facilities were abysmal, however, so a variety of unpleasant odors naturally permeated the air, a fact that even the heavy downpour outside couldn't conceal.
Lou, dressed in a red gown fit only for a formal occasion, was a stark anomaly in such a place. Yet, she showed no sign of discomfort or unease, as if she had witnessed far worse. Warmly welcomed by Carlo's family, she took a seat on a stool in the lower level of the container, which had a ceiling clearance of only about 1.7 meters.
The heavy rain hammered against the top of the container, a vexing sound like pebbles striking sheet metal.
Carlo's father, Johnny Mel, looked much older than before. By age, he should have been in his late thirties, yet his stooped back and graying hair made him appear closer to fifty.
Carlo's mother was not present. When Carlo ran out to greet Lou, he explained that his mother, who was about to go into labor, had been taken to the hospital. The long journey had been hard on her, and he needed to bring her some food later.
"I thought you were all asleep," Lou said.
It was nearly eleven at night. After flashing Lou a welcoming smile, Carlo's father returned to kneading dough; they planned to continue their small breakfast business in Star City. His ten-year-old twin daughters were helping nearby, while his four-year-old son and one-year-old daughter were already asleep on the upper level.
Carlo had rambled on, telling Lou all of this. She listened patiently, and when he finally paused, she took out the "Nightmare" she had won at the auction. The skull was inside a plastic bag.
Johnny, who had been watching them, stopped his work and approached, his expression grave. Unlike Carlo, who still clung to illusions, he knew what had happened to his mother in Thriller Paradise. Ever since the points had stopped coming in, he had suspected that his mother, Zhao Anfu, was likely dead.
"This is a Remnant," Lou said, handing the skull to Zhao Anfu's son. "It will let you have good dreams. Beyond that, it has no other effect."
"Thank you." Johnny took the skull with both hands, staring at it for a long moment. His eyes, bloodshot from exhaustion and late nights, welled up with tears.
It was only then that Carlo, who had remained blissfully unaware, seemed to grasp the reality of the situation. After a long silence, he didn't erupt in a tantrum as a typical teenager might upon learning the truth. Perhaps he had long suspected it, but his heart had refused to accept it. His grandmother, gone for so long; his parents, falling silent at the mere mention of her name... all the signs had pointed to the likelihood that she would never return.
Carlo's eyes widened as he stared at the skull, his lips pressed into a thin line. He glanced forcefully at his father, then back at Lou, but said nothing. His mouth quivered as tears streamed down his cheeks.
"Dad, Carlo..." the twin sisters murmured, walking over to gently take their brother's hand while furtively studying their father's expression. A life of poverty teaches children to be experts at reading the faces of adults.
"It's all right. You two go on up and get to bed," Johnny said, ruffling his daughters' hair and sending them to the upper level of the container.
Lou scratched her cheek with a finger and stood. "I've made the delivery. I'll be going now."
"I'll... I'll see you out." It was still pouring outside. Forcing down his grief, Carlo grabbed an umbrella and followed Lou.
"You have to believe your grandmother has gone to a better place," Lou said with a comforting smile, putting an arm around Carlo's shoulders once they were outside.
"Yeah," Carlo mumbled, biting his lip, his voice listless. "I hope she can go back to that place she dreamed about, to travel with the girl she met there."
Remembering the properties of "Nightmare," Lou asked casually, "What kind of place did your grandmother dream about?"
"It was a place with a lot of primitive tribes, I think. Grandma said she was always in a daze then and couldn't remember things very clearly." Carlo sighed softly. "She was always so happy when she talked about her dreams. After her sleeping sickness was cured, she always regretted not being able to see the little girl from her dreams anymore."
A sudden chill ran through Lou.
She dropped her arm from Carlo's shoulder. The scattered clues began to connect in her mind, and hazy memories sharpened into focus.
Her own accent was southern Leviathan, because the first language she had ever formally learned was Leviathan, taught to her by a woman from the south. A teacher. She was patient with children. She would always disappear so suddenly... because she was entering Lou's world in her sleep.
"Did she ever say the little girl's name?" The smile vanished completely from Lou's face. She stopped walking, her cold, dark gaze like a piercing sword that would strip anyone of the courage to lie. The eyes that were usually filled with mirth were now so fierce and profound they inspired fear.
Startled by Lou's sudden interrogation, Carlo instinctively took two steps back. The umbrella no longer shielded her, and rain streamed down her face, making her delicate features look almost savage in the gloomy night.
"G-Grandma said... she said she was a little rabbit in her dreams, and she called the little girl... Little Fool..."
"Urk..." Before Carlo could finish, an invisible line coiled around his neck and lifted him off the ground. The umbrella he was holding clattered to the pavement. Gasping for air, Carlo clawed at the unseen line around his throat, his legs kicking wildly as he stared in terror at the woman who had so abruptly turned on him.
"Who taught you to say these things?" Lou's voice was heavy with the pressure of a coming storm. Looking at this stranger before him, Carlo was so frightened he began to cry.
His face flushed red as he continued to kick, on the verge of suffocation.
"The things you just told me—who taught them to you?" Lou released the line from Carlo's neck. He dropped to the ground, gasping for breath and sobbing, a warm wetness spreading through his trousers.
"No one taught me! G-Grandma told me!" Carlo sobbed, scrambling backward, looking at Lou as if she were a demon.
Lou watched him silently, her gaze seeming to bore right through him. Under that stare, Carlo, who had planned to bolt the second he caught his breath, didn't dare move. He could only sob and tremble uncontrollably.
"Get up," Lou commanded coldly. "Go back."
With that, she turned and stalked back toward the family's container, her entire presence as oppressive as a dormant volcano.
It's a trap! This is a trap set for me! Lou was nowhere near as composed as she appeared. Inside, she was manic, wanting to destroy everything she saw.
How could Zhao Anfu be the Little Rabbit?! How could she possibly be the Little Rabbit who had stayed by her side as she grew up, who had traveled with her!
The rain made Lou's eyes feel dry. She blinked. Her hands, steady even after killing countless monsters, now trembled uncontrollably. She remembered Zhao Anfu's face before her death, old and lined with wrinkles. Details that should have been hazy and long-forgotten now washed over her mind and soul, again and again, like the relentless rain.
Back at the family's container, Lou used her gun to force the family of six to leave with her—something her former self would never have done to civilians. She took them back to the hotel, booking them a family suite. Only after the children were settled in their rooms did Lou, who had been sitting on the sofa like a statue, finally motion for Johnny and Carlo to sit across from her.
She was soaked to the bone, water dripping from the ends of her hair, yet she remained unmoved, her gaze fixed on the father and son like a drawn sword.
"Tell me everything about Zhao Anfu. If I catch either of you in a lie, I'll shoot." Lou clicked off the safety on her handgun. She didn't need it; unseen by the father and son, lines emanated from her body, making her resemble an enraged Medusa from mythology.
"You first," Lou said, pointing at Carlo.
Carlo, also drenched, was terrified of Lou. He trembled violently under her predatory gaze as he recounted his grandmother's past in detail.
"When I was little, Grandma told me stories about her life. She said that when she was young, she had sleeping sickness for a while. She'd suddenly fall asleep and couldn't wake up. In her dreams, she was a little rabbit doll, and there was a little girl... she called that little girl Little Fool..." At this, Carlo broke down completely, sobbing. He had endured too much that night—learning his beloved grandmother was dead, being terrorized by Lou, getting soaked in the rain, and being dragged to a strange place with no idea what would happen next. It was more than a thirteen-year-old could bear.
"Don't you dare cry!" Lou roared, furiously raising her handgun and firing three shots into a nearby vase. It exploded into pieces on the floor. From behind the locked door of the other room, the faint, suppressed sobs of the children could be heard.
"What happened after that!" Lou demanded, her voice manic.
"Grandma... Grandma said," Carlo sobbed, using every ounce of his strength to control himself, "that her sleeping sickness was cured. After that, she could dream normally, but she never saw that girl again. Then... then she married Grandpa, and they had my uncle and my dad... and then Grandpa and my uncle died..."
Stammering, Carlo finished recounting what little he knew of Zhao Anfu's life—just a few scattered fragments.
"Your turn." Lou's gaze shifted to Carlo's father, Johnny Mel, Zhao Anfu's second son.
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