Deep in the Living
Chapter 168 - 162: Going Home

Chapter 168: Chapter 162: Going Home

No. 4 Middle School, the athletic field.

The bloody scent that had stained the track had long been washed away, leaving only memories of the past three years.

A boy and a girl were exercising on the field,

but the girl wasn’t stepping on the ground, and you couldn’t see her in person; she was instead packed in a backpack, sticking closely to the boy’s back, which didn’t hinder their conversation.

The game of pretending to be teacher and student had ended, and matters regarding special promotions were already clarified.

Now was the time to walk and talk while relaxing, just like the rest period given before the college entrance exams.

"Luo Di, if we really complete the Warrant this time, and I officially get promoted to go to the Corner, what will be your plan afterward?"

"I’ll stay in Mingwang City until I become an Official Investigator, then I’ll probably head directly to the Capital City to find Yu Ze."

"Won’t you stay in Jupiter City for a while?"

"I’ve already said goodbye to my family and Gao Yuxuan. After a trip home to pick up important things from my bedroom, there’s really no reason for me to stay."

"Isn’t Anna still here?"

"I have looked up her situation through the investigator system. Anna’s family is rather special. Her father was one of the first humans to accept the Corner’s gene technology modification, which endowed their family with superhuman physiques.

Sooner or later, Anna will also be transferred to the Capital City."

*tsk* The class monitor inside the backpack smacked her lips, "Can’t you say something nice, like you want to move to the Corner quickly to meet me, so you don’t want to waste time here?"

Luo Di immediately changed the topic, "Do you need to go back to your own house later?"

"Go back for what? Isn’t my father already turned into a vegetable by you? I heard he even lost an eye, and he’ll probably spend the rest of his life in the hospital, which is good.

Besides, my home has already been moved out using Isabella’s ability. Didn’t we sleep at my place last night?"

"I thought you would want to go back for revenge or something."

"What revenge? I’ve come to realize, if my father hadn’t controlled me like a puppet, I would probably still be a good girl with no chance of encountering the Corner.

I would likely graduate smoothly from No. 1 Middle School and, with some luck, become an Intern Investigator like Anna.

If not lucky, I’d probably work in some company, climbing to a mid-level position through my father’s connections and forcing a smile every day to deal with interpersonal relationships. How boring is that?

Meeting you and encountering the Corner’s system early—all thanks to my father.

This kind of person should never be allowed to die; letting him live is the best gift."

Luo Di originally thought the class monitor had this kind of purpose for returning to Jupiter City, especially since tomorrow would decide her future direction—either death or going to the Corner.

"Then that’s settled. Should we stroll around other parts of the school, or shall we go straight to my place?"

"We only have so much time, hanging around too long is meaningless.

Let’s go straight to your place. I’ve prepared a special disc, a super horror disc, and we can watch it together at midnight."

"Sounds good, let’s pick up some groceries first, and I’ll cook something for you. By the way, should we invite Anna too? This might be our last meeting."

"If Hua Yuan and his group somehow track us down through some means, Anna would inevitably be searched and her memories might reveal everything, better not.

When everything is over, just pass my message to Anna.

We already said our goodbyes last time."

"Alright."

...

[No. 13 Settlement District]

Standing at the bus stop, Luo Di could distinctly feel a cold breeze blowing through the buildings, caressing his face, tingling on his tongue.

Although the taste was familiar, it now carried an extra hint of deathly stillness.

Due to two anomalies and the rumors about Luo Di frequently bringing family corpses back home after the No. 4 School incident, the occupancy rate of this district had dropped below 20%. With the district being nearly twenty years old, the local authorities had decided on demolition.

The demolition sign was affixed to each building,

with demolition scheduled to take place in two months, followed by Taishe Group taking over to reconstruct a modern, new settlement district still free for use by the economically disadvantaged.

Carrying fresh groceries, Luo Di walked into the deepest building and climbed the stairs to the top floor.

Seeing the seal on his own door, Luo Di didn’t tear it off but instead carefully entered the home.

Just as Director Wang had said, everything inside was untouched, simply dusty from long disuse.

The moment Luo Di stepped into the house,

the class monitor also climbed out of the backpack, reached out her hand to touch the wall, merging the retirement home’s space with this one to achieve isolation and containment.

Then she tied an apron around her waist in the kitchen and picked up cleaning tools to start a major cleanup.

Luo Di also immediately went to his bedroom,

packing up all the collectible discs he had bought with his scholarship, planning to send them to the Youth Apartment in Mingwang City. The most important diary hidden in the drawer would also be mailed along.

"Luo Di~ you seem to really like keeping a diary, don’t you?"

The class monitor, who was cleaning, stuck her head out and quietly asked a question.

"Write, just keep writing.

After you leave, I have to catch up on everything that happened during my hospitalization."

"Then you start packing things up first, I’ll take care of cleaning the house.

Remember to leave some B-grade movie discs for us to watch later. I remember last time we saw the fifth part of ’Friday the 13th’ and the second part of ’Halloween’."

"Don’t you have a very scary movie?"

The squad leader pointed to the clock on purpose, "It must be played at midnight, it’s only just after five now, still early."

"Alright then."

Returning to his own home once more, and it would be the last time.

Luo Di also picked up a broom, opening his parents and sister’s rooms for the first time in three years, cleaning them for the last time.

Deep into the night,

The pitch-dark sky suddenly amassed a large number of rain clouds, and raindrops the size of beans continuously tapped on the windows just like that night."

A movie about a murderer had just ended; the time had reached midnight exactly.

Finally, it was the squad leader’s turn to play the so-called horror movie she had specially brought.

"Luo Di, I’m a bit hungry! And it feels a bit cold with the rain, if there was a bowl of hot soup it would be nice... try to get more, I’m afraid I won’t be full later."

"Sure."

Since we bought more food today and tomorrow we need to return to the sorority, might as well make it all."

Soon, a big plate of beef strips with green peppers and winter melon meat soup, along with four whole big buns, were served.

"Hmm? What disc is this, it doesn’t even have a cover?"

Luo Di, who was serving dishes, also caught a glimpse of the squad leader squatting sneakily in front of the disc player, handling a disc that had neither a cover nor even came wrapped in burlap.

"Hehe, you’ll know when you see."

As the odd disc began playing, the lights inside the house flickered unstably before shutting off entirely, and even the sound of rain outside the windows became quieter.

Buzz buzz buzz~

The TV first displayed dense snow dots, then they disappeared,

Without any introduction from movie producers, or any title, the movie began airing.

The camera was focused on an ancient well in the woods.

Something seemed to be slowly climbing out of the well,

Buzz~

After an unstable surge of electricity,

A thin woman with black hair covering her face and dressed in white had climbed out of the well, now steadily approaching towards the direction of the screen.

It seemed slow,

But with every flicker of the screen, she moved a bit closer.

Until the woman completely appeared in front of the screen,

The next scene caused Luo Di’s blood pressure to rise, his spine heated up, and he subconsciously wanted to touch the pig’s head that was placed beside the sofa.

Buzz~

The TV flickered.

A pale arm, bony like dry bones, actually stretched out from inside the television.

Following that,

The whole body climbed out completely, seeming a little weak upon entering the real world, first falling to the ground before slowly standing up.

A special eyeball among her hair stared out,

However,

the eyes were not gazing at the two people but rather at the steaming hot winter melon meat soup.

The person in front was none other than ’Mu Mu’ from the Seven Sisters.

The squad leader suddenly said, "Eyeball sis, feel free to eat! Luo Di’s cooking is really fragrant, you’ve really had a hard time hiding inside the disc all the way here.

Tonight we two will sleep here!"

Eyeball sis nodded repeatedly, then she picked up the soup spoon and poured the hot soup right into her eye sockets.

"Squad Leader, you!?"

Wu Wen turned her head and gave a thumbs up, "Don’t worry~ Eyeball sis and I had the best relationship, her eyes can see through everything, she recognized the two of us the first time at the Fighting Hall.

She is considered a person from Jupiter City, a genuine Huaxia national, joined the sorority after me.

By the way, leave the bedroom for us tonight, you sleep on the sofa alone, absolutely no sneaking in during the night."