Monster - Chapter 147
Chapter 147: Center City - Disappointment
Before pushing open the main door, Lou subconsciously straightened her clothes.
"Heh." Miu, who had been silent and witnessed the entire process, let out a mocking chuckle.
"Little Crow, how do I look?" Lou ignored the scoff, regretting that there was no mirror nearby to check her appearance.
"You mean, can this look attract Lin Sandie?"
"Can it?" Lou glanced at Miu.
"...Probably." Miu, who had been observing, knew best how infatuated Lin Sandie was with Lou.
Lou's smile widened. She took a deep breath and twisted the doorknob.
Pie's mission for Lou, for some reason, made her feel relieved. She seemed to have a reason to approach Lin Sandie, which made her uncontrollably joyful.
Lou felt this was wrong. She should be hard-hearted, shrewd, and clear-sighted, leaving behind everything that made her feel romantic... Yet, in her hopeless search, in the uncontrollable flutter she felt when facing Lin Sandie, and in the face of so many emotions, there was a moment when Lou wanted to accept her vulnerability, to accept her flaws.
Perhaps, perhaps starting her life anew was what Little Rabbit would have wanted.
Lou comforted herself this way, calming the thorn that constantly pricked her heart.
The tightly shut door was quickly opened by Lou. To avoid disturbing Lin Sandie, she hadn't used her Line to scout inside before entering, so she didn't know what she would find. In her mind, she had simulated the entire meeting process: Lin Sandie wouldn't be on the first floor, but rather in her study on the second floor, or resting in her room. To see her, Lou would first cross the living room on the first floor, then walk up the stairs to the second floor, and then she would knock on Lin Sandie's door.
She saw Xing Meilu sitting on the sofa on the first floor.
"Lou?"
"Uh... where's Lin Sandie?" As Lou asked this, her Lines were already frantically surging to the second floor, but she couldn't find Lin Sandie.
"She's not here right now."
Lou pouted. This time, Lin Sandie had played a trick on her, not being there but using her Island to set up such a ruse, making her rush in. Was there any point in doing this?
"Why are you here?" Lou asked.
"You brought me here, and not long after, Sandie came to find me." Xing Meilu raised an eyebrow in confusion. She had always thought Lou knew about this, since Lou was the one who brought her to Lin Sandie.
Hearing Xing Meilu's reply, Lou awkwardly lowered her foot, which she had been about to cross. She had brought Xing Meilu here earlier simply to find an excuse to get close to Lin Sandie. Unexpectedly, as soon as she arrived, Jian Yi pulled her into watching Lin Sandie's surgery live stream, which made her emotions snap. She then ran to find Lin Sandie, only to be driven away, and her mood plummeted, completely forgetting about Xing Meilu.
"Sorry, something came up, and I forgot about you." Lou shamelessly apologized. She probably sensed Lin Sandie's intention—did Lin Sandie think she was irresponsible and wanted her to apologize to Xing Meilu?
"..." Xing Meilu looked at her speechlessly.
"What did Lin Sandie tell you?"
"Some follow-up matters about the Scorpion surgery." Xing Meilu originally didn't want to say much, because Lou didn't seem interested in her affairs. But seeing Lou look at her seriously, waiting for her to continue, she reorganized her words and went on, "Lin Sandie said that after the surgery, my emotions would be suppressed, but the monsterization might not be reversible. However, ordinary people can't tell, so there won't be any immediate impact. It's just uncertain whether the monsterization will be exposed to ordinary people later, because Tree is in charge of this."
"Hmm, Tree's original intention isn't to plunge Leviathan into chaos, so he'll desperately hide the fact that people are mutating. The bottom line is that ordinary people can't see it, otherwise the entire Leviathan would collapse." Feeling that Lin Sandie hadn't told Xing Meilu too many secrets, Lou only touched on the matter briefly.
"So what are your plans next?"
"After the surgery, I'll go back to my parents." Xing Meilu's expression was a little downcast. She had been a captain in the Inspectorate, but because of Saya, she was now like this, her entire life changed, and Saya's soul was nowhere to be found.
"...When you knew Saya, she was already deeply mired in trouble. You couldn't save her."
"Yeah."
"We have to look forward, right~" Lou patted Xing Meilu's shoulder.
"I know. What about you, what about you and Lin Sandie?" Xing Meilu asked. Lin Sandie had personally told her that she liked Lou, but seeing Lin Sandie again, even though she said nothing, her terrifying weakness indicated some issues.
"I came to find her." Lou avoided Xing Meilu's gaze. "But she doesn't want to see me. Do you know where Lin Sandie went?"
"She didn't want to say much, so I didn't ask. I can't help her." Xing Meilu sighed softly. "Her body is worrying. You shouldn't make her angry in the future."
"...I'll try. But can she walk on her own now?" It had only been a few days. When she watched the "surgery live stream" before, Lin Sandie's legs were both weak and powerless.
As she spoke, Lou had already taken out her phone, preparing to ask everyone she knew who knew Lin Sandie.
"She can, but not for long distances."
"I'll ask around."
Lou's Lines could extend very far. She had basically monitored everyone she had met since her resurrection, including Cheng Gui, Jian Yi, Sui Xi, and others. However, Lin Sandie wasn't with any of them. All she could do now was call them and ask if they knew Lin Sandie's whereabouts.
Jian Yi, the most likely to know, replied that she didn't. She said that before Lin Sandie left, she continuously used her Island to distort the vision of everyone approaching her, and then disappeared. Cheng Gui, who was temporarily staying at Lin Sandie's house, also didn't know.
Lou even asked Sui Xi, Madam Julian whom she met in Disorder Land, and so on, but everyone she and Lin Sandie knew in common had no idea of Lin Sandie's whereabouts.
Xing Meilu saw Lou's increasingly pale face and suddenly remembered Chen Meili, Lin Sandie's college classmate whom she had met while investigating cases related to Lin Sandie. She kindly called to inquire, but the result was naturally negative.
"Where might Lin Sandie have gone? Do you have any clues?"
Lou pinched her brow bone, frowning in thought. She knew most of the people Lin Sandie knew, and she had already monitored them with her Lines. If Lin Sandie appeared near them, she would have some inkling.
"I can only think of her old home. I'll go look there." Lou said, walking out without even saying goodbye.
Xing Meilu watched her retreating back, saying nothing, just taking a deep breath and wishing Lin Sandie all the best in her heart.
"Little Crow, can you monitor the others in Center City?" After leaving the Bite Mark organization's base, Lou walked towards a nearby car rental company.
She had just asked so many people, and although they verbally said they didn't know where Lin Sandie went, Lou didn't easily believe them, especially Jian Yi.
"The most crucial thing now is to find Lin Sandie before Tree does. Be professional, this isn't a game." Miu said, already flying away.
Of course, I know this isn't a game.
Lou thought to herself. She hadn't eaten dinner, hadn't changed her clothes, and after renting a car, she drove towards Lin Sandie's rural old home.
The last time she went to Lin Sandie's old home for the funeral, it took about 4 hours to drive from Center City. As a Sentinel, Lou generally didn't forget roads she had traveled, so reaching the destination wasn't a problem.
Lou left the hotel at 4 PM, encountered an assassination on the way, and then talked with Xing Meilu. It was now almost 7 PM. The car gradually drove out of the city, and while vehicles occasionally sped by on the highway, the overall atmosphere became quiet, with only occasional streetlights and fluttering white snow visible.
The last time she went to Lin Sandie's old home was more than half a year ago. Lou had rested her head on Lin Sandie's lap the whole way, and they talked about Sentinels and Guides.
Lou absentmindedly let her Lines drive the car. She drifted, thinking about her interactions with Lin Sandie over the past year, realizing that although their actual time together wasn't long, it had left so many memorable impressions.
Lou had always regretted Little Rabbit's premature departure, her inability to accompany her, and her inability to face various challenges with her. She always felt that since Little Rabbit was her Guide, she should have faced these things with her.
This was also why she had once intensely resented Little Rabbit and wanted to break their Binding. But the emptiness remained, and now this regret, the void in her heart, was filled by Lin Sandie.
Lin Sandie, Lin Sandie, Lin Sandie... Lou kept calling Lin Sandie's name in her heart, as if these three words held magic. After she resurrected and woke up, she always subconsciously called out this name.
The drive was long, but this wasn't like her search for Little Rabbit. She had a destination in her search for Lin Sandie; no matter how winding the road, she would always get there.
In the deepest part of the night, Lou arrived at Lin Sandie's old home, the two-story townhouse. However, this search also left her disappointed; it was pitch black, and Lin Sandie wasn't there.
Lou took a deep breath, took out the key she had secretly kept when she left, and opened the door to go inside.
The house hadn't been lived in for too long and was covered in a layer of dust. Lou didn't turn on the lights, instead using the moonlight streaming in from outside to survey her surroundings. It was like her home in the Main World; she was always out, and every time she returned, silence and dust greeted her.
She went up to the second floor, to Lin Sandie's room. Standing at the doorway, she could see everything inside clearly: the bedding neatly made, the desk tidily arranged, every item imbued with Lin Sandie's unique warmth.
The last time Lou stood at the doorway, she had seen Lin Sandie's sleeping face.
Lou took another deep breath, preparing to go downstairs and leave. Passing the second-floor bathroom, she glanced inside and saw two toothbrushes, one red and one white, neatly placed facing the same direction in a cup by the sink.
For no reason, Lou felt a pang of disappointment, her entire heart feeling empty.
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