Chapter Forty-Four: Demons and Monsters

In East London, on the south bank of the Thames, lies a forgotten corner, obscured by industrial wastewater and urban neglect.

This place used to be a cluster of small workshops and warehouses, but most of them are now abandoned, and the air is filled with the stench of rust, chemical reagents, and the river water all year round.

Deep within these dilapidated buildings lies an old wooden cabin that blends almost seamlessly into its surroundings. It leans askew against an abandoned brick chimney, like a skeleton abandoned by time.

The interior of the log cabin was quite different from its dilapidated exterior. Although simple, it was exceptionally clean. The walls were carefully repaired with salvaged old planks, providing shelter from the wind and rain.

There were no electric lights inside, only a few homemade oil lamps made from discarded glass bottles and cotton thread, emitting a dim, warm glow. A faint scent of herbs and saltpeter wafted in the air, along with a... strange, warm aroma belonging to small animals.

Several stray cats of different colors lazily curled up in a corner covered with an old blanket, or moved lightly on a shelf piled with miscellaneous items. They were the only silent inhabitants of this desolate place.

This is the nest of the "Black Edge Siblings"—the "Chi" and the "Mei".

The older brother, Hei Yuankong, codenamed "Chi," was currently curled up in the only relatively intact old sofa in the room. He was excessively thin, and wrapped in a faded black work jacket with worn edges, he looked even more frail.

His short, blueberry-colored hair was somewhat messy, which made his face look sickly pale, as if he had never seen the sun in a long time, and the dark circles under his eyes were as heavy as bruises.

He breathed very lightly, occasionally triggering a suppressed cough, which caused his body to tremble slightly.

He was using a soft cloth soaked in gun oil to repeatedly and with extreme focus wipe a modified, sleek sniper rifle in his hand.

His movements were gentle and precise, as if he were handling a precious work of art, or rather, an extension of his body.

The glow of the oil lamp outlined his lowered eyelashes, casting shadows like small fans, and his whole being exuded a contradictory aura that mixed vulnerability with extreme danger.

The younger sister, Hei Yuanying, codenamed "Mei," moved silently through the not-so-spacious room, barefoot, like a light and graceful elf.

She had long, slightly wavy, dark blue hair, as thick as midnight blueberries, which was casually draped over her shoulders, making her small face appear even paler and more translucent. She wore a dark red Gothic dress that was clearly ill-fitting and had a tattered hem, as if it had been rummaged through a prop box in an abandoned theater.

But what was most striking were her large eyes—clear amber, like the finest honey, now shimmering with an innocent yet slightly bewildered light under the lamp. She was carefully offering a small dish of stolen milk to a skinny calico cat rubbing against her ankle.

"Brother, look, Little Grey let me touch its belly today." Hei Yuanying's voice was soft and sweet, typical of a young girl. She turned her head and looked at her brother on the sofa with her amber eyes, like a child seeking praise.

Hei Yuankong paused slightly in his wiping motion and raised his eyes. When his gaze fell on his sister, the emptiness instantly vanished, replaced by an extremely complex emotion—a bottomless tenderness, an almost neurotic worry, and a trace of… barely perceptible, fragile pain. He softly hummed in agreement, his voice muffled through his mask: “Be careful, don’t get caught.”

“No, it’s very well-behaved.” Hei Yuanying smiled sweetly and continued to tease the cat. But just a few seconds later, her expression suddenly became somewhat confused. Her brows furrowed slightly, and she tilted her head to look at the cat, a fleeting, almost imperceptible look of bewilderment in her eyes, as if she were trying to recall something.

This brief, fragmented confusion, like ripples on water, quickly vanished. This was her "illness," a memory curse that cycled every three days, making her life like a script that was constantly being erased and rewritten.

Hei Yuankong took in his sister's momentary daze, his fingers gripping the gun barrel tightening silently until his knuckles turned white.

He quickly lowered his eyes, concealing the turmoil of heartache and despair within them, and continued to wipe his gun. This gun was his only and last resort to protect his sister.

Their tacit understanding needed no words. When night fell completely and the oil lamps were dimmed to their lowest setting, it was time for them to "work".

Hei Yuan silently moved to the only broken window of the wooden house facing the abandoned factory area and set up his sniper rifle.

He didn't need a scope; his eyes, which could see perfectly in the dark, were his most accurate measuring stick. He was like a lifeless stone statue, blending into the darkness, with only the faintest sound of his breathing proving his existence.

Hei Yuanying, on the other hand, moved like a true ghost, silently slipping into the shadows of the factory area. Her petite figure was the best disguise, and her steps were as light as a feline.

She did not carry a long gun, but only two modified, extremely short-range but terrifyingly accurate, and almost silent miniature pistols at her waist.

Her mission was not to launch a direct assault, but to eliminate any "small fry" who might get close to her brother's hiding place, or, in certain special missions, to carry out close-range, "artistic" executions.

There was no specific objective tonight, just a routine "warm-up" and territorial patrol. A stray dog, perhaps starving, caught the scent of food in the cabin and whimpered as it approached. Hei Yuankong didn't even change his breathing rhythm; his fingertip on the trigger twitched almost imperceptibly. A hundred meters away, the stray dog ​​collapsed to the ground, a tiny red dot on its forehead, not even having time to whimper.

Almost at the same time, two homeless men who had quietly approached from different directions, trying to "have some fun" in this unclaimed land, also collapsed without a sound.

Hei Yuanying's figure flashed through the shadows, like an illusion. She returned to the window, facing the window above, and lightly made a "done" gesture. Her amber eyes shone brightly in the darkness, carrying a pure innocence and cruelty as if she had just completed a prank.

They were like demons and monsters, huddled together, killing each other, existing in this ruin forgotten by civilization. The brother was the only lighthouse and shackle for the sister in the fog of memory, and the sister was the only remaining hope and vulnerability of the brother's humanity.

They were each other's medicine, and also a poison that seeped into each other's very bones. They scorned the morality and order of the human world, and followed only their own twisted and simple rules of survival: take jobs, kill, get money, buy food and medicine, and then return to this small nest where they coexisted with cats, briefly pretending that this was the whole world.

However, the peace was destined to be broken.

A few days later, an uninvited guest appeared outside the cabin in an elegant yet dangerous manner that was completely out of place with their surroundings.

Morse Black, codenamed "Dream Snake," is the core coordinator of the BXX organization. He wore a well-tailored dark gray trench coat, his blond hair was impeccably styled, and his emerald green eyes were as deep and cold as the finest emeralds.

He stood alone in the overgrown clearing in front of the cabin, without any attendants, like a gentleman passing by by chance. But the aura emanating from him, a mixture of high-quality cologne and an invisible pressure, made the lazy cats around the cabin stand on end and whimper softly.

Hei Yuankong sensed the Dream Serpent almost the instant it appeared on the horizon. Like a startled venomous snake, he instantly went into battle mode, his sniper rifle silently aimed at the newcomer's forehead.

Hei Yuanying, like a startled fawn, quickly hid in the shadows behind her brother, her amber eyes fixed on the door, filled with vigilance and a hint of... barely perceptible curiosity.

The snake stopped at a safe distance, raised its hands to indicate that it had no weapons, and wore an impeccable but cold smile.

"Good afternoon, I apologize for disturbing you." His voice was gentle and pleasant, like the low hum of a cello, yet it sent a chill down Hei Yuankong's spine. "I have no intention of offending your territory. However, I have heard that two young men with superb marksmanship live here, so I have come to pay them a visit."

Hei Yuankong did not respond; the muzzle of his gun remained motionless, and his cold gaze, through his mask, was fixed on Meng She.

Unperturbed, Dream Serpent continued in his magnetic voice, "Let me introduce myself. I am Morse Black. I admire your...talent. In this chaotic era, talent should not be buried in ruins. I can provide a platform where your abilities receive true respect, and...commendable rewards." His gaze swept over the simple wooden hut, the meaning clear.

"We don't need it." Hei Yuankong's voice came through the mask, hoarse and cold, carrying a hostile tone that kept people at a distance.

“Don’t be so quick to refuse, young man.” Meng She’s smile deepened, his gaze seemingly unintentionally sweeping over Hei Yuan Kong’s pale fingers, which trembled slightly from exertion, and behind him, Hei Yuan Ying’s eyes, which flickered in the shadows, filled with both fear and a hint of longing.

“I know you’ve had a tough time. Illness requires expensive medication, and… memories need a safer, more stable environment to be maintained, don’t they?” His last words, like a venomous snake’s tongue, precisely struck the brother and sister’s deepest secret and Achilles’ heel.

Hei Yuanying's body trembled violently, and she instinctively grabbed her brother's clothes. Hei Yuankong's aura instantly turned violent, almost as if he was about to pull the trigger.

“I mean you no harm.” Dream Serpent took a half-step back at the opportune moment, his tone still calm. “I’m simply offering you an option. Follow me, and you’ll no longer have to struggle for survival, no longer have to worry about tomorrow’s food and medicine. You’ll receive the best equipment, treatment, and… the opportunity to complete ‘works’ that truly match your skills.” He paused, as if casting bait, “Of course, you have complete autonomy; I never force anyone. I’ll give you two days to consider. I’ll come back in two days.”

After speaking, he nodded slightly, like a gentleman concluding a visit, turned gracefully, and disappeared calmly around the corner of the ruins, as if he had never been there.

The area in front of the wooden house was deathly silent again.

Hei Yuankong slowly lowered the gun, but the tension in his body did not ease at all. He suddenly turned around and looked at his sister behind him.

Hei Yuanying was also looking at him, her amber eyes filled with complex emotions—fear of strangers and the outside world, panic at having her secrets exposed, but deeper still, a long-suppressed, faint yearning for a "normal" life, for escaping the torment of poverty and illness. She saw in her brother's eyes an almost overflowing, intense protectiveness and resistance.

“Brother…” she began timidly.

"Shut up!" Hei Yuankong interrupted her abruptly, his voice hoarse, carrying a low growl of anger, like that of a wild beast.

He grabbed her wrist with such force that she cried out in pain, "Don't even think about it! Don't you know what kind of people those are? They're monsters who eat people without spitting out the bones! If we get close to them, we won't even know how we died!"

“But… he said it could cure the illness… so we wouldn’t have to go hungry…” Hei Yuanying struggled, tears welling in her eyes, “We don’t have to stay here forever… we can…”

"You're not allowed to go anywhere!" Hei Yuankong practically roared, pulling his sister close and glaring at her with bloodshot eyes. His mask heaved violently with his rapid breathing. "Everyone outside is a liar! They're all trash they'll use and then throw away! Only I! Only I will protect you! Do you understand?!"

His loss of control frightened Hei Yuanying and the cats in the house, who scattered in panic.

Hei Yuanying looked at her brother's distorted face, at the familiar, suffocating madness in his eyes, and swallowed back the weak defense that was on the tip of her tongue, "maybe just one mission would be enough," which turned into silent sobs and deeper confusion.

The argument ended with Hei Yuanying's silence and Hei Yuankong's heavy breathing. For the next two days, the wooden house fell into an unprecedentedly cold and deathly silence. The brother and sister lived under the same roof, yet they were like strangers.

Hei Yuankong became even more gloomy and irritable, like a wounded wild beast trapped in a cage. Hei Yuanying, on the other hand, often sat in a corner with her knees drawn up to her chest, staring blankly at the gray sky outside the window, lost in thought.