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墨書 Inktalez
Yan Jien had just arrived at West Lake Park forty minutes ago. In the northeast corner of West Lake Park, not far from Muzhu Village, there was an old villa built by the lake. This villa was constructed in the 1980s by Xu Guanju's father, who was the chairman of the Crown Group and once the richest man in Nanquan. Since Xu Guanju's family moved overseas, the house had been left vacant, only occasionally occupied when they returned home to visit relatives.
Five years ago, after Xu Guanju's father passed away, the house fell into complete disrepair, with no one to maintain it. Now, the exterior walls of the villa were covered in ivy, many windows had shattered glass, and the garden vegetation had overgrown. Most pathways were overtaken by wild grass, and the basement in the backyard had collapsed, leaving a pit about five or six square meters in size. Exposed rebar hung precariously in the air, corroded and ready to fall.
Looking down into the pit revealed a horrifying scene that made one's scalp tingle with fear. The bottom of the pit was littered with corpses; white bones lay exposed on the ground, which was covered with a mixture of sand, blood, and various hairs. Most of these corpses had completely decayed, but from some well-preserved skulls, it could be discerned that the bodies covering the floor were all from rats—no wonder the rats in the wooden house had vanished; they were all here.
In addition to these rat remains, there were over twenty other corpses of varying shapes and sizes, including cats, dogs, goats, and a few birds. Among them were two relatively intact specimens: a recently missing yellow-haired dog and a Golden Eagle.
Amidst these corpses were two groups of more than twenty unidentified creatures huddled together, dozing with their eyes half-closed. At first glance, these creatures resembled rats; however, upon closer inspection, distinct differences emerged. They were completely hairless with transparent grayish-white skin through which their veins were clearly visible. They appeared fragile like newborn rat pups but were disproportionately large—one group on the left was slightly smaller than an average adult rat while the right group was about twice as big.
In terms of morphology, their snouts were longer and wider than those of ordinary rats, with sharp fangs partially visible. Additionally, their forelegs were unusually long compared to their hind legs, with elongated phalanges that looked quite bizarre. Further observation revealed that even within these two groups of unidentified creatures—perhaps mutated rats—there were differences in their forms. The larger group exhibited traits more similar to rats while the smaller group seemed to have evolved slightly further; their foreleg phalanges were even more differentiated and thin membranes connected their forelegs to their hind legs.
Moreover, these two groups of unidentified creatures—or mutated rats—shared another characteristic: their tails were completely fused together like conjoined twins, suggesting a symbiotic relationship. This state resembled what a zookeeper at West Lake Zoo had captured in a photo known as the Rodent King Phenomenon; however, that photo featured actual rats while what lay before him now were mutated versions.
The basement spanned over two hundred square meters. Moving towards the southwest corner revealed damp ground covered in moss on the pillars. Within ten meters of this corner, water completely covered the ground; many corpses floated in it, emitting a foul odor. At the end of this corner was a large hole dug into the wall leading to a well. A beam of conical moonlight shone down from the well opening onto a pile of rubble below where black creatures lurked.
These black creatures bore structural similarities to the smaller mutated rats seen earlier but appeared as larger versions with thicker black skin that was smooth and shiny. Their forelegs had undergone further differentiation; claws resembling curved hooks grew from their thumbs and developed membranous wings connecting their fore and hind legs.
This was indeed a mutated rat that had evolved wings and was only slightly smaller than Clark!
Upon returning to his room, Yan Jien immediately washed his hands in the bathroom before sitting on the sofa to sense all the marked points he had made outside. Yan Weila's residence was not within range of any marked points he could sense; however, he could detect most marked points clearly—especially along his usual route to work and certain points on Dongxin Street and West Lake Street.
As for other marked points beyond this range, Yan Jien could not sense them at all. It seemed this sensing ability was limited and likely affected by distance. To gain further insight into this ability would require more experimentation.
Yan Jien attempted to sense all marked points and discovered that as long as two marked points were within one hundred meters of each other, he could visualize a clear topographical map in his mind; beyond that distance, it became somewhat blurry. In other words, if he could fill in the blurred portions with additional marked points, he would be able to sense that entire area mentally.
Since it was still early, Yan Jien decided to take advantage of this time to fill in those blurred marked points. After stepping outside and marking each point he sensed again in his mind’s topographical map whenever two marked points were within one hundred meters apart proved effective. After repeating this process for two hours, Yan Jien finally completed filling in all blurred marked points.
At this point, his mental map resembled an irregular three-leaf boomerang shape with its top "blade" pointing towards Muzhu Village.
When Yan Jien returned to his rental unit, it was nearly three-thirty; the stairwell was quiet except for his footsteps echoing back at him. Upon reaching the third floor, he spotted Yan Weila's figure.
She leaned on a clothes rack with one hand while holding a washbasin in the other, her hair damp, clearly just out of the shower. She wore a cream-colored spaghetti strap nightgown made of silk, which looked very smooth; in the dim light of the hallway, some details were faintly visible.
Yan Weila was surprised to see Yan Jien. "Mr. Yan, you're still awake this late?"
"I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk," Yan Jien replied, his gaze sweeping over her chest where two hills were faintly visible beneath the sheer fabric, separated by a deep ravine that looked quite enticing.
"I'm going to hang up some clothes," Yan Weila said, a slight blush appearing on her face as she turned to head to the rooftop.
"I'll help you," Yan Jien said, snatching the washbasin from her hands. He discovered there was only one piece of clothing inside—a pair of pink ice silk panties.
After placing the basin on the drying rack, Yan Jien began to help hang up the clothes while Yan Weila stood beside him, leaning on the rack.
"All done." After finishing, Yan Jien handed the washbasin back to her.
"Thank you," Yan Weila said, her face slightly flushed as she accepted it with both hands.
"Then I'll head down," Yan Jien said.
"Um..." Yan Weila hesitated.
"What is it?" Yan Jien stopped in his tracks.
"Weren't you going to help me with some ice packs?" Yan Weila's voice was very soft.
"You haven't done it yet?" Yan Jien asked in surprise.
"No..." Yan Weila lowered her head, nervously clutching the hem of her clothes.
"Then why did you go hang up clothes just now?" Yan Jien asked, somewhat speechless.
"I..." Yan Weila's face turned as red as a monkey's bottom.
"Forget it, I'll go get the ice packs," Yan Jien said, shaking his head.
Five minutes later, he returned to the rooftop with a plastic bag full of ice cubes.
"Come in," Yan Weila said as she opened the door. The room was unlit, but moonlight allowed them to see inside clearly.
The room was small, less than ten square meters, containing only a bed, a wardrobe, a table, and a chair, making it feel quite cramped.
"Just put the ice on the table," Yan Weila said as she sat on the edge of the bed.
"Does your foot still hurt?" Yan Jien asked.
"A little bit."
"Which foot?"
"My left foot."
"Stretch it out; I'll help you with it." Yan Jien sat down on the chair.
Yan Weila extended her left foot towards him. Since she had washed clothes while standing, she wasn't wearing any shoes. Her foot was fair and delicate, translucent and smooth.
Yan Jien tore open the plastic bag and poured some ice cubes into his left palm. He then grasped her foot and placed it flat on the ice cubes.
"It hurts~" Yan Weila whimpered softly.
"Just bear with it; it'll be fine after a moment," Yan Jien said gently applying pressure.
"Mmm~" Yan Weila bit her lip.
After treating her left foot, he moved on to her right foot.
Yan Jien tried to sit up straight and keep some distance from her, focusing his eyes on the ceiling instead of looking at her.
Even so, he could still catch whiffs of a unique fragrance lingering in the air—fresh yet subtly rich—making him feel somewhat entranced and slightly restless inside.
"Okay... all done," Yan Weila said as she pulled back her foot.
"Mm." Yan Jien tied up the plastic bag and tossed it into the trash can.
"Thank you," Yan Weila said.
"You're welcome. Make sure to rest well. If it still hurts tomorrow, go to the hospital for an X-ray. Don't risk injuring your bones," Yan Jien said as he got up.
"The hospital?" Yan Weila looked a bit troubled.
"What's wrong?" Yan Jien asked.
"I don't like going to the hospital," Yan Weila said, looking down.
"But if you hurt your bones, you have to go to the hospital," Yan Jien frowned.
"I don't think I hurt my bones," Yan Weila replied.
"You should go buy some pork ribs tomorrow and make soup to replenish your calcium," Yan Jien said, seeing that she was unwilling to go and not wanting to force her.
"Okay," Yan Weila nodded.
"Then I'm leaving," Yan Jien said as he walked toward the door.
"Um..." Yan Weila called out to him again.
"What now?" Yan Jien asked helplessly.
"I'm not going to be able to move around easily tomorrow. Can you help me get a takeout of fried noodles?" Yan Weila asked.
"That..." Yan Jien hesitated a bit.
"I'll pay for it," Yan Weila said.
"It's not about the money," Yan Jien said, feeling a bit helpless. Did he look like someone who was short on cash?
"Then what is it about?" Yan Weila asked, confused.
"Fried noodles aren't very tasty," Yan Jien replied.
"Then what should I eat?" Yan Weila asked.
"What do you have in your fridge?" Yan Jien countered.
"I have noodles, eggs, and some vegetables," Yan Weila said.
"Then I'll make you some egg fried noodles tomorrow afternoon," Yan Jien said.
"Okay, thank you," Yan Weila smiled.
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