After receiving the gentle kiss at the door, Bretta seemed to sense something and suddenly stopped, reaching out to push him into the room, whispering, "Don't come out."
Suddenly pushed into the door and slammed shut, Bryta met Little White's helpless shrug. After thinking for a moment, she quietly lowered her head and leaned closer to the door, listening intently. A few seconds later, there was no sound from outside the corridor, separated by the door.
He quietly opened the door, revealing a crack, and cautiously peered outside. The outside was empty; there was no one there.
Lin Dao instantly followed the uninvited guest's movements, and a few seconds later, they arrived one after the other in an empty room.
Lin Dao recognized the two people standing in front of him—Wei Tang and Rudolf.
Rudolf smiled apologetically: "I'm so sorry to bother you, Colonel Klindall. But after all this time, I'm sure you've seen my sincerity. It's time for an open and honest talk."
Lin Dao remained calm and composed, slightly raising his eyes to meet the gaze of the middle-aged man with slightly graying hair in front of him, and nodded politely: "Professor Rudolf, you may as well state your purpose."
The former Sub-Alliance and Rudolf were not in a cooperative relationship; the latter had always maintained a neutral stance. Although it had not established a hostile regime in Mechanical Sky City, it wielded considerable prestige. If it harbored any disloyalty, it would be extremely troublesome, and must be guarded against.
Rudolf noticed the wariness in his eyes, chuckled lightly without a care, raised his hand, and said, "Colonel Klindall, you misunderstand. The reason I'm treating you to such good food and drink is naturally to seek cooperation."
Lin Dao disagreed with his so-called "good food and drink," his expression remaining cold and stern. His act of arresting his men upon their first meeting, and giving him a hard time, was not a cooperative attitude.
Rudolph continued, "After meeting Weyton, and with the boy in your team, and with your own experience as evidence, Colonel Klindall should understand that the existence of Xenomorphs is not a simple isolated case."
"Such cases have also appeared in various bases one after another. Soon, the powerful and versatile superpowers possessed by the mutants will transform them from monsters that everyone fears into superior mutants that everyone both fears and envies."
Rudolf's voice was clear and calm, but the facts he spoke were chilling. "After all, in the apocalypse, what's one thing that's never lacking is a clear hierarchy."
“And now, through the Easton Laboratory that you once besieged and wiped out, experimental data has unfortunately leaked out. Soon, a number of seemingly successful but evolutionarily defying experimental subjects—mutant aliens—have emerged within the Arctic Snow Fortress of the Northern Empire.” Rudolf’s expression turned grim as he stared at Lin Dao’s slightly surprised yet composed expression after hearing the news. He said, “Once these artificially created monsters with chaotic and unclear human consciousness appear, they will immediately occupy the high ground of human rule.”
"Then, not only will the last stronghold that humanity has defended be destroyed, but the remaining ordinary humans will also feel greater resentment and rejection towards those who secretly support innately evolved aliens like you."
Rudolf looked at Lin Dao meaningfully: "Colonel Klindall, you are not only a soldier beloved by the people, but also a politician who understands the unpredictability of human nature."
"Instead of passively hiding in a false shell and wallowing in it, why not take the initiative to win the hearts and minds of the people before the situation becomes even more uncontrollable?"
Lin Dao was taken aback. Rudolf's voice was deep and resonant, and his words had a deafening effect.
The other person stared at the former colonel standing upright in the darkness, and finally said, "Colonel Klindall, humanity needs you to rise from the abyss once again."
Upon hearing this, how could Lin Dao, or rather Klindall, not understand what he meant?
Rudolf wanted him—a great general revered by all who had faded into obscurity—to come back to life in a more divine and unbelievable way, to become a god who, in the hearts of humanity plunged into despair and chaos, would defeat the alien race and never fall from grace.
Wei Tang stepped forward, looking at him calmly with an indifferent gaze devoid of any emotion, and said, "If you are willing, I will lend you a hand under Professor Rudolf's instruction."
"Why?" Lin Dao asked, frowning.
Wei Tang: “I owe him two lives.” He said this with complete sincerity. Or rather, he didn’t seem like the kind of person who would naturally conceal his true intentions.
Lin Dao stood still, his gaze sweeping over him before meeting Rudolf's murky eyes behind his one-sided glasses, which seemed to see through everything. He said, "Why do you think I would agree to such an absurd request as pie in the sky?"
Rudolf smiled with narrowed eyes: "At first I was very uncertain, until I discovered that even in your current state, Colonel Klindall, you are still able to be vigilant and put on a human shackle. While you seem to be too hard-hearted towards yourself, you have also gained a seemingly unnecessary weakness."
"Therefore, I am certain that if it were you, you would be able to tightly grip the venomous fangs of your monster body at the moment when humanity is teetering on the brink of collapse and about to lose its humanity. For your own sake, and for your own weakness."
Lin Dao was stunned by what he heard. His hands clenched tightly at his sides, and his jawline remained tense as he remained silent for a long time.
Rudolf suddenly stood by the window with his hands behind his back, looking at the bright moon emitting a soft white light above the cold mechanical city in the desert. He said with a deep meaning and a hint of worry, "Colonel Klindall, humanity will eventually see the light of day in the abyss."
Lin Dao paused upon hearing these familiar words, then turned to leave.
Behind him came Rudolf's soft murmur as he looked up at the moon and sighed:
"...In the midst of fervent singing, a chill sets in; in the heavens, an abyss is seen. In all eyes, nothingness is seen; salvation is found in despair...A wandering soul transforms into a long serpent with venomous fangs. It does not bite others, but bites itself, ultimately perishing..." [Note]
Lin Dao stopped when he read the first sentence, turned his back to him and listened quietly. After a moment, his dark eyes reflected the moonlight. After a long while, he said in a deep voice, "I accept your proposal. However, all the information you intercepted about Bretta must be formatted and deleted after you send me a copy. Easton Labs doesn't need another test subject like him."
Rudolf raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing this: "I promise you."
The following day, Rudolf expressed official support for them, including a friendly willingness for Vetang to provide full assistance.
Xiang You noticed Lin Dao's nodding expression and knew that the matter must have been discussed and negotiated beforehand.
After speaking privately with Lin Dao, he received some instructions and some undisguised concealment. Xiang You vaguely sensed that something had changed in the other party's heart, and he made a decision.
Perhaps soon, he will want to be honest with his old friend.
After reporting to the Asian Alliance about the defection and cooperation of Rudolf and Weitang, the White Eagle mutants, Xiang You requested permission to go to the Polar Snow Fortress to investigate the human experiments conducted in violation of international experimental laws. In reality, this was also a way to probe the true nature of these unfinished experimental subjects.
The Asian Union's top officials quickly convened an emergency meeting to review the important information he had reported, and soon issued their approval.
"When conducting a special investigation, it is crucial to proceed cautiously and avoid alerting the target."
Lin Dao scoffed coldly when he saw the last four characters of the reply, finding it quite interesting.
Meanwhile, Blaita, completely unaware that they were about to depart for the Arctic Snow Fortress, was preoccupied with how to subtly and unwittingly demonstrate to Mr. Lin Dao that his mechanical white mouse had returned. However, he had yet to have the opportunity.
Xiao Bai, however, urged him anxiously to leave Mechanical Sky City more than once, in a tone that suggested it was hopeless.
Bryta was happily fiddling with his mechanical white mouse when he noticed that Mr. Lin Dao had been looking serious and very busy these past two days, and that compared to his previous tense standoff with Mr. Wei Tang, he could even see them talking in hushed tones in private.
Thinking of what Wei Tang had once told him, Bleta felt a vague unease.
Later, when he wanted to visit Mr. Lin Dao, he unexpectedly heard Wei Tang's voice coming from his room.
"...According to my previous investigation, those experimental subjects did not actually possess human consciousness, but were no different from puppets, humanoid weapons that could only understand attack commands."
Then came Lin Dao's cold voice: "I understand. Once an arrest is made, kill the suspect immediately."
Upon hearing this, Bryta instinctively shivered.
Experimental subject...wasn't he an experimental subject too?
If Mr. Lin Dao knew that he was also an experimental subject, would he...? Absolutely not! He is Klindall.
Britta immediately shook her head, turned around and nimbly left, quickly returning to her room.
He frowned and thought for a long time. Even if he didn't, Mr. Lin Dao would be in a difficult position if he were discovered in front of everyone.
Bretta's face scrunched up. Little White, knowing what he was thinking, quickly egged him on: "Tata, you want to learn to be human, but you're not a real human after all. You need to wake up! He still thinks he's human. It was a mutant who infected him and turned him into this. He can shoot other mutants without hesitation, so why wouldn't he do the same to you? Have you forgotten?"
Blaita was reminded by Little White of the first time he met Klindall, when Klindall shot and killed the survivor next to him.
He could protect him all the way to rescue him from the collapsed laboratory, or he could kill the person he had just rescued without batting an eye.
As Bryta recalled this, he hesitated and felt afraid. He liked Mr. Lin Dao, and he was afraid to see the other man look at him with that cold and hateful gaze.
That night, after Bretta transformed into human form, the once carefree lab rat had his first nightmare. In the dream, Lin Dao, upon discovering that he was a lab rat, pointed a dark, cold, hard gun at him.
With a loud "bang!", Blaita was jolted awake from his nightmare. Little White, who shared his thoughts, stood quietly beside him and said, "Scared, aren't you?"
Bretta opened his mouth, as if to say "I'm not afraid," but in the pitch-black night, all he could see was Mr. Lin Dao's cold gaze when he discovered his identity.
He closed his slightly parted lips, his face revealing an unprecedented sense of loss; he was afraid to see that look in his eyes.
Moreover, the increasingly close contact and actions of Lin Dao and Wei Tang subtly indicated to Blaita that they had a very important task to undertake.
Bryta felt that perhaps she really should leave sooner, just as Chu Hui had suggested.
He was just a lab rat to begin with, why should he try to learn human emotions?
"Right, right! It's completely useless! We're mutants, so we should be in the wasteland eating a few more delicious mutants!" Little White said in his mind, stretching out her delicate white petals.
After a long period of blandness, Bryta did indeed lick her lips absentmindedly.
Even now, though he still thinks of Mr. Lin Dao from time to time, and of the comfortable touch on his lips, his face gets hot and his heart beats faster.
But strangely, he reverted to being that cowardly little lab rat who wanted to get close but was afraid to get close.
After all preparations were complete, on the eve of his departure for the Arctic Snow Castle, Lin Dao finally had some free time and knocked on the door of Blaita, whom he hadn't seen for several days.
Blaita had just returned to her original form and finished taking a bath when she heard the noise. Startled, she jumped off the white vine and urged the white vine to hide quickly. She hurriedly transformed into human form, wearing clothes that didn't fit her well, with the collar crooked and the buttons misaligned, and hurriedly reached out to open the door.
The moment the door opened, Lin Dao's tense nerves relaxed after a long day. He looked down at him lazily and casually said, "Did you do something wrong? Why are you so flustered?"
Just as Bryta was about to shake her head and say no, her eyes suddenly caught sight of the still-smooth white down on her hand gripping the doorknob: "!"
He gasped, immediately retracting his paws and hiding them behind his back, forcing himself to remain calm and feigning ignorance: "N-no, that's not it." Then, belatedly, he realized—his ears hadn't changed back either!
However... it seems Mr. Lin Dao didn't notice?
Lin Dao relaxed, a faint smile on his face. He had naturally seen the little guy's slip-up. He glanced down at the sides of Bryta's wet blond hair and the fluffy ears that had quietly tucked back, pretending not to see them. He continued to lean over with great interest, leaning close to the earlobe that Bryta had just carefully tucked back halfway, letting out a low chuckle from his chest. His not-so-warm breath fell on Bryta's tense ear tips.
Then, Lin Dao casually lowered his head to admire his still-red earlobes after he had turned back to normal.
Lin Dao's eyes darkened: Cute, I want to bite.
“We’re going on a very dangerous mission tomorrow, it’s not suitable for you, so you’ll stay here.” Lin Dao said this, but his mind was elsewhere. He lowered his eyelids slightly to look at Bretta, who was almost completely enveloped in his arms. “Do you understand?”
Having already planned an escape route, Bleta was so guilty that she didn't dare look him in the eye, and hurriedly shook her head, saying, "I know."
Lin Dao raised an eyebrow: "...?"
“!” Bretta realized what was happening and nodded hurriedly, then shook her head hastily: “...Mmm.”
Lin Dao gazed at him silently, without even saying "Wait for me to come back." In the end, he suddenly pulled Blaita into his arms, rested his chin on Blaita's shoulder, and after a few seconds of silence, said, "Tata, will you miss me?"
Bleta blinked, feeling a strange, bittersweet sensation in his heart upon hearing those words. He nodded obediently, "Yes."
Lin Dao seemed to have heard a satisfactory answer, and reached out to ruffle his fluffy, soft hair: "Then think of me every day."
Bryta nodded again, thinking: It will definitely happen.
A note from the author: Note: The text is quoted from Mr. Lu Xun's "Epitaph". I personally have great respect for Mr. Lu Xun.
P.S.: Some people are curious about Tata's abilities. You can check out the title—pay attention: The Nightmare of the Alien!
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2022-02-12 23:17:24 and 2022-02-13 22:44:17!
Thank you to the little angels who watered with nutrient solution: Rain Master (20 bottles); Wuyan (5 bottles); Alice and Manteng (1 bottle each);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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