Monster - Chapter 148
Chapter 148: Center City - Conditions
Briefly losing her target, Lou didn't know where to go next. She returned to Lin Sandie's room and rummaged through drawers and closets for clothes. Her build was similar to Lin Sandie's, and she quickly found a hoodie and a pair of jeans.
After changing out of the flamboyant evening gown, Lou took a cold shower in the early hours of December, then shivered and burrowed into Lin Sandie's bed.
The room, unused for half a year, smelled of dust, but Lou didn't mind. She often slept rough and had stayed in worse conditions.
She slept for a few hazy hours until her phone suddenly rang at dawn.
Lou picked it up and glanced at it.
"Sister Lirou, what's wrong?" Lou yawned, seeing the sky outside was already bright. It was a little past 7 AM.
"Lou Lou, oh my, I almost died of fright just now," Wang Lirou's voice, tense and reverting to its original form, came from the other end of the phone.
"Did you see yourself in the mirror without makeup?"
"Get lost! Of course not!"
"What is it then?"
"I went to clean your house just now, but I got caught in a ghost wall, couldn't get in at all..."
Lou shivered, a jolt of electricity shooting up her spine. She sprang from the bed, urgently shouting into the phone, "Lin Sandie is at my house!"
She immediately hung up, disregarding the risk of harming herself by using her ability over such a long distance, and began a long-range infiltration.
Lou sat on the edge of the bed, head bowed, hands hanging at her sides. More invisible lines surged from her, growing in number and density, gradually enveloping her entire being. Her body became indistinct, like a spindle, and these lines quickly resonated with her belongings in her Black Goat Walled City house.
This method allowed for rapid transfer, but before her abilities fully recovered to Main World levels, using it was extremely strenuous and caused significant damage to her body. Also, because the transfer took a long time, Lou's defenses were almost zero if anyone with ill intentions was nearby. But to prevent Lin Sandie from escaping again, Lou wanted to see her as quickly as possible.
The dimness before her brightened, and the living room of the secondhand house Lou bought in the Black Goat Walled City gradually appeared. Various rabbit items there also emitted lines that resonated with those on Lou's body. Lou's vision gradually cleared, and she cast her gaze towards her room. The tightly closed door was twisted open, and Lin Sandie appeared at the doorway, pulling a small suitcase.
She also saw Lou standing barefoot in the living room, her face showing surprise. But the next second, her figure rippled like water, completely vanishing before Lou. Not only was Lou's vision distorted, but the space beneath her feet also suddenly collapsed. She fell downwards, moving further and further away from the Lin Sandie who looked like a reflection in water.
Lin Sandie still didn't want to see her.
Lou couldn't help but feel a little angry. She had tried so hard to find Lin Sandie, but the other party wouldn't even give her a chance to speak.
The unretracted lines continued to grow from the rabbit items falling with Lou, pulling at Lou like a piece of paper. This slowed her descent, and her vision became much clearer than when she did nothing. Lou saw Lin Sandie retreat into the room and close the door.
"Lin Sandie! You're surrounded! Coming out to be my girlfriend is your only way out! You can't beat me if you resist! You wouldn't dare jump out the window! I repeat! You're surrounded! I advise you to come out obediently, turn over a new leaf, and be a good top, and I can forgive the brutal fact that you once killed me!!"
Lou spouted nonsense. At this moment, she continuously let the lines pull her body, slowing her descent. She was getting closer and closer to Lin Sandie. And because of the downward distortion of space, her infuriating words echoed through the entire building, making the residents on the lower floors temporarily think there was something wrong with their ears, and they all rushed out of their homes.
In this level of battle, an unprepared Lin Sandie certainly couldn't gain an advantage. After several rounds of distortion and Lou's intrusion, the latter stood steadily back in her own living room.
"Lin Sandie!" Lou shouted triumphantly, her feet, red from the cold air, stepped forward to open her room door.
"Lin Sandie! Will you be my Guide!?"
Lou pulled open the room door, and something flew out. Lou dodged, then heard a rolling sound as it scraped across the wooden floor. She looked down and saw that what had been thrown out was a wooden hand model, the kind used for decoration or by art students for sketching.
Lou saw that all the fingers of the hand model were curled, except for one middle finger, which was clearly flipped at her.
Lou was furious and strode into her room. She didn't see Lin Sandie. The room wasn't large. She glanced at the bed, confirmed no one could hide under it, then walked towards the large wardrobe.
If Lin Sandie had been prepared, Lou might have taken it more seriously, but with Lin Sandie unprepared and her own mental state good, she really didn't take Lin Sandie's combat power seriously. She had traveled through so many worlds; fighting a hundred like Lin Sandie would be no problem.
But she clearly overlooked one problem: Lin Sandie also knew that Lou wouldn't truly harm her, which was enough to give Lin Sandie the courage to resist.
The moment Lou opened the wardrobe, a strong, irritating sensation rushed out. Lou felt her eyes being pricked by needles and screamed, covering her eyes.
"Ahhhhhh!"
Lin Sandie's heart almost leaped out of her chest. She abruptly kicked Lou in the abdomen, then, taking advantage of her fall, scrambled out of the wardrobe and ran towards the room door.
"Lin Sandie! You actually used pepper spray on me!!?" Lou had been sprayed directly in the face and was now speaking with a sob. One hand rubbed her eyes, while the other, completely obeying her body's instincts, grabbed the fleeting figure.
Lou's mere instinct was enough to overpower Lin Sandie, who was fighting for her life. The latter's collar was grabbed by Lou, and she was thrown backward, knocking the already unsteady Lou to the ground as well.
Lin Sandie's face turned pale, and she pressed the pepper spray she clutched in her hand again.
"Szzzzzzzz—"
Hearing that ominous sound, Lou didn't even think. She grabbed Lin Sandie's wrist and slammed it hard against the edge of the bed.
Lin Sandie cried out in pain, and the pepper spray fell to the floor.
"I just wanted to talk to you!!" Lou shrieked, grabbing Lin Sandie, who was kicking wildly beneath her. Her eyes stung terribly, completely unable to open and see Lin Sandie at that moment.
Lin Sandie didn't speak, just kicked and struggled with all her limbs, which was unlike her.
"Lin Sandie! I really want to talk to you!" Lou's face was streaked with tears, her eyes swollen and red, and her face felt scorched. She finally managed to grab both of Lin Sandie's wrists and used her legs to pin her down.
Lou, with red eyes, saw Lin Sandie's eyes were also red. She pursed her lips, her eyes full of tears, looking at Lou with a mixture of stubbornness and grievance.
Lou's mind went blank, and she quickly released Lin Sandie's hands.
The latter covered her face and began to sob softly.
As if she had committed some grave error, Lou wiped her face casually, moved off Lin Sandie, and helped her sit up.
"If, if you really hate me, I'll disappear from your sight," Lou said softly, twisting her fingers as she sat beside Lin Sandie. Her voice carried a hint of a choke, whether from the tears in her eyes or from sadness.
Lin Sandie hugged her knees, sobbing softly, her whole body trembling.
Seeing her silence, Lou bit her lip and moved closer, almost pressing against Lin Sandie's body.
She waited quietly until Lin Sandie's sobs subsided. Lou, as if certain of her, gently rested her chin on Lin Sandie's shoulder, her nose inhaling the scent of her loose hair.
"I couldn't find you anywhere. I even went to your old home. I was so anxious, worried that the moment I saw you, there would be someone I didn't know by your side, and that person would be Tree's manifestation."
Lou spoke softly, with a hint of a spoiled tone.
Lin Sandie slightly raised her head and looked at Lou's face, which was identical to her own. Both their faces were equally tired, their eyes equally red, their cheeks equally flushed, as if looking into a mirror.
Lou leaned closer to Lin Sandie, her nose brushing against her face, their breaths quickly mingling.
Until Lin Sandie grabbed Lou's clothes at her chest and pushed her away.
Her body was much weaker than before. Lou's mind wandered, but she quickly pulled her attention back.
"Can I be your Sentinel? I, I want to embark on the rest of my life with you," Lou said somewhat nervously, looking at Lin Sandie with eager anticipation.
Lin Sandie could make her let go of Little Rabbit.
Lou stared intently at Lin Sandie, who was still panting and holding her shoulders, awaiting her answer.
"Okay," Lin Sandie looked at Lou, her gaze focused and firm, "but my condition is that you go to Jian Yi for an operation to forget everything about your former Guide, and never remember her again."
Lou felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her. She stared blankly at Lin Sandie's face, suddenly finding it incredibly unfamiliar.
"In return, from now on, no matter what happens, I will never leave you, until the end of our lives." Lin Sandie grabbed Lou's arm, her gaze so sincere. "I will give you love, I will be your family, lover, friend, everything you want, I will give you."
"Does it matter if I remember Little Rabbit?" Lou's lips moved, and she asked tremblingly.
"It matters a lot to me. This is my only condition."
Lou suddenly stood up, looking at Lin Sandie with incomprehension.
"If you can't accept it, then don't talk about binding with me," Lin Sandie's tone turned cold.
"How could I forget her!" Lou's face was pale, and she shouted uncontrollably at Lin Sandie, "Your demand is too selfish!"
Lin Sandie also stood up, crossing her arms, watching Lou pace back and forth in front of her.
"She's the one who raised me! My feelings for her are different from my feelings for you. I see her more as an elder! Why would you make such a demand!?" Lou whined like a child.
"If you hadn't obsessively searched for her for hundreds of years, I wouldn't demand this of you!" Lin Sandie's temper flared. She sounded like she was jealous of a stranger. "You've been consumed by the idea of finding her. Don't you realize what state your mind is in?"
"Since I'm asking to be your Sentinel, I'll naturally let her go!"
"Really? Then if there's information about that Little Rabbit now, can you not go look for her? And if you really find her, what do you plan to do? If she's always alone, not teamed up or bound with anyone, how would you treat me?"
Lin Sandie's words silenced Lou for a moment. Her head was spinning, and she couldn't bring herself to say that she would abandon Little Rabbit and continue to be with Lin Sandie.
"You're just using me as a painkiller right now, don't you understand?" Lin Sandie grabbed Lou's arm, forcing her to look at her. "And painkillers always wear off eventually. Do you want me to spend the rest of my life taking care of a Sentinel who's gone mad over another Guide?"
"Do you think I can do that, Lou?"
"She, she's my family, not a lover..." Lou said weakly, not daring to meet Lin Sandie's eyes.
"No matter what you consider her, she's become an indispensable part of you, hasn't she?"
Lou was silent.
Lin Sandie exhaled slightly. "You are the same to me, Lou. I love you more than anything."
Lou looked up and saw Lin Sandie's red eyes, filled with a determination that could burn through anything.
"But I will look forward. I won't become a second Lou, nor do I want to live the rest of my life with your imprint." Lin Sandie released Lou's hand and turned to pull her suitcase. "If I can truly leave Leviathan and enter the Main World, I will use other means to forget you, to forget everything I experienced with you, before that happens."
"You can keep dwelling in the shattered past, but I won't. I genuinely want to form a bond with someone, and that person must reciprocate with equal affection."
As she spoke these words, Lin Sandie appeared remarkably calm, as if this was the answer she had long pondered. After what she went through with Yan Ting, she would never compromise on such matters again.
Seeing Lin Sandie about to leave, Lou instinctively grabbed her hand.
"...You stay. It's relatively safe here."
Having said that, she silently walked out, found a pair of shoes in the shoe cabinet, and left her Black Goat Walled City residence, looking utterly dejected.
Comments
Post a Comment