Chapter 25
In the evening, Shen Yuzhe had another dream.
He dreamed of walking through a corridor adorned with portraits. At the end of the corridor was a massive floor-to-ceiling window, through which bright sunlight streamed in.
He approached slowly and looked out through the window, revealing an endless garden.
“What’s down there?” he asked.
…
Then, Shen Yuzhe woke up—this garden, he had remembered it for the second time.
But compared to the time he was choked by Ma Er, this time, the memory was significantly clearer, and the dream’s scenery was more distinct.
…The process of him approaching the window didn’t seem like he was moving on his own…
…What was that place in the garden?
…Why did even his dream self ask that question?
…Who was he asking?
Though he still had no clues, Shen Yuzhe carefully went over the dream’s content several times. These fragments were precious clues for him to recover his past.
After thinking it through, Shen Yuzhe blinked his eyes and took a while to realize where he was.
It was already bright outside, and Shen Yuzhe sat up, looking at the clothes scattered around him. His head was pounding again.
The tower was very quiet. He climbed out of bed, intending to go downstairs and grab something to eat. However, he thought it would be better to inform Kai in advance. So, he turned and went upstairs.
Compared to the three floors cluttered with clothes, the fourth floor was much emptier, with almost no decorations except for a large cushion… well, it was actually a giant mattress.
Kai was buried in it, facing away from Shen Yuzhe, still asleep.
Shen Yuzhe called out to him, but there was no response. He approached.
However, as soon as he got close, Kai suddenly sprung from the mattress and pounced on Shen Yuzhe, his hand forming a claw-like attack. He hadn’t fully awakened yet, and these actions were instinctual reactions!
When Shen Yuzhe let out a pained groan from the attack, Kai’s unfocused gaze gradually focused on the person beneath him.
He seemed somewhat surprised and irritated. “What are you doing up here?”
Shen Yuzhe was a bit frightened and replied with a pale face, “I… wanted to grab something to eat.”
“Go downstairs and eat by yourself,” Kai said, his expression dark.
Shen Yuzhe rubbed his aching waist and quickly got up, running downstairs. He felt unfairly treated. If he had known, he wouldn’t have bothered waking Kai up.
He shouldn’t have assumed that he and Kai had grown closer just because they had some interaction last night. The reality proved otherwise.
At the moment, Kai was like a cold-blooded beast that had completely sealed off his emotions. Shen Yuzhe decided to keep his distance until Kai dropped his guard. Otherwise, Kai might bite his neck in a fit of anger…
Kai was indeed quite upset, but rather than being angry with Shen Yuzhe, he was irritated with himself for sleeping so deeply. He couldn’t believe he had slept soundly enough for someone to get so close to him before waking up.
It was incredible because his hearing could cover almost the entire base, and he would remain alert even during deep sleep.
However, last night, he had smelled the scent in the air, and it had granted him a long-lost deep slumber, free from any worries or vigilance.
Kai didn’t know that Shen Yuzhe had already deeply reflected on his actions. Instead, he put on his jacket and went downstairs. He subconsciously wanted to get closer to that guy to observe him some more.
But unexpectedly, as soon as Shen Yuzhe saw him, he shrank his shoulders as if he had been frightened.
Kai: “…”
Next, the two of them sat facing each other in silence while eating. Shen Yuzhe finished his meal first, got up, and went downstairs.
Kai felt a bit unhappy. He perked up his ears and heard that guy trying to open the tower’s door but failing. So, he walked back upstairs and stood at a distance, asking with lowered eyes, “I want to go out. How do I open the door?”
Kai’s narrowed eyes stared at Shen Yuzhe, and he replied, “Why do you want to go out?”
Kai had asked the same question last night and refuted the possibility of “knowing” him, so there was no reason for the other person to hold onto him like this.
Actually, when it came to “asking questions,” Shen Yuzhe was a bit puzzled as well. As long as he was in the base, Kai could ask him these questions at any time. But Kai had insisted on using “that method” to bring him back.
“Are you planning to keep me locked up here?” Shen Yuzhe furrowed his brows, finding his actions confusing.
Kai swallowed a piece of meat, glanced at him, and said, “You’re not allowed to go out for seven days.”
Shen Yuzhe was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized, and his face turned red.
…Could it be that Kai was afraid of being ridiculed for having a “power” that didn’t work well, so he didn’t want to let him out?
Kai’s next words quickly confirmed Shen Yuzhe’s conjecture. He said earnestly, “I’ve already said I won’t touch you. You should cooperate.” With that, he got up, pointed his finger up and down, and said, “There are six floors in the tower; you can explore as you like.”
Shen Yuzhe felt like banging his head against the wall. Did he really have to act so convincingly? What was going on!?
But Kai had already left, leaving behind those words and not caring whether Shen Yuzhe was willing or not.
Shen Yuzhe slumped to the ground, feeling dejected, and engaged in another session of soul-searching.
Since Kai didn’t seem to mind, why was he making such a big deal out of it? He could just go with the flow. Sacrificing a bit of freedom for his own safety wasn’t a big deal, especially since he hadn’t really been “done” to; it was just a “name without substance”…
Compared to those unfortunate women, he was already quite lucky.
…
He made an effort to shake off his embarrassment, gradually calming down, and reviewed the purpose of staying here: the immediate task was to find the right time to investigate the existing terrain, analyze the feasibility of escape in this place, and seek suitable allies to join.
After some thought, it seemed that he could only do the first two tasks after seven days. As for the last one… currently, there was only one person he could contact.
Well, if you ignored this irritating relationship, the current situation was still favorable for him.
Shen Yuzhe sighed, gave himself a pep talk for a while, and then reluctantly headed upstairs.
Kai wasn’t on the fourth floor. Shen Yuzhe climbed another level and found that the fifth floor was a semi-open terrace. Kai was casually leaning on the railing, looking outside.
Shen Yuzhe had initially intended to approach him, but he remembered the morning’s experience and hesitated a bit.
Just in time, as if Kai knew he had come up, he moved slightly to the side, making some space.
Shen Yuzhe then walked over, but he chose the other end, keeping a considerable distance from Kai.
Kai: “…”
When he looked outside, Shen Yuzhe suddenly felt delighted.
The tower was the tallest building in this base, and standing here, he could almost overlook the entire sandbox!
Not to mention the garden and pond around the tower, he could see the small houses, trees, and even the activities of other “little people.”
He saw Little Wolf. That guy actually lived in the nearest building to him. He had just run out of there and hopped onto a tree nearby, leaping among the treetops like a monkey.
He seemed to be right at home here, judging by his agile movements and cheerful demeanor.
Further away, a few “little people” were fighting, apparently competing for food. Shen Yuzhe couldn’t see their faces clearly, but one of them seemed to have a distinctive figure, likely Yuli.
Because of his limp, he walked unsteadily, making it easy to recognize him.
Little Wolf jumped onto a tree near them, watched them for a while, and then joined in, making those people extremely angry, but unable to catch him due to his agility…
Shen Yuzhe couldn’t help but chuckle as he stood there, feeling a strange sense of superiority as he observed everything in front of him.
But his smile quickly faded because he suddenly realized that the Giant also observed them in the same way.
It seemed that Zoeis understood human nature very well, especially people’s desires: food, desire, power, status, and even this position of overlooking everything were all used to their fullest potential. These were distributed as rewards for the strong, motivating them to strive for it.
… It was really pitiful. These people were deeply entangled in the “honor” manipulated by others.
While Shen Yuzhe was overlooking the base, Kai was quietly sizing him up on the side. He noticed Shen Yuzhe alternating between smiling and looking serious and was curious about what was going on in his mind. However, Kai didn’t speak as he was not much of a conversationalist.
In the following days, Shen Yuzhe and Kai had very little interaction.
Since Shen Yuzhe had decided to wait for Kai to lower his guard first, he didn’t actively initiate conversations, and Kai didn’t pay much attention to him either. They coexisted peacefully.
Apart from eating and sleeping, Shen Yuzhe spent his time on the top floor watching what was happening outside. He could always see Little Wolf getting into fights with others, and that guy was indeed formidable, winning even when outnumbered five to one.
These days weren’t very boring, but they were just too calm and surreal.
On the fourth day, after finishing his meal, Shen Yuzhe had just climbed to the top floor when he saw a familiar figure.
It was Joe. He had somehow made his way to the base of the tower, but he wasn’t standing openly outside the iron railing. Instead, he was lurking around the nearby bushes, occasionally looking up in this direction.
Shen Yuzhe guessed that Joe might be looking for him, so he immediately went to ask Kai to open the door for him.
“I want to go out for a moment; a friend has come to see me,” he said.
“What friend?” Kai frowned, as if he couldn’t believe that Shen Yuzhe still had “friends” in this place. It was an unusual word here.
“A friend I met during the card game last time, named Joe,” Shen Yuzhe explained.
Kai didn’t look pleased at all.
Shen Yuzhe wasn’t sure what bothered him, as he had been quite cooperative in the past few days…
He tried to persuade Kai, saying, “He’s already nearby, and I just want to talk to him for a few minutes. I won’t go far. Is that okay? Or you can let him in, and we can talk downstairs.”
Kai stood up with a stern face. Although he wasn’t happy about it, he went downstairs to open the door for Shen Yuzhe. However, he reminded him by holding his arm, “Talk through the railing. I’ll count to five hundred silently, and remember to return to the tower before then.”
Shen Yuzhe was speechless. Seriously, big brother!?
