Beginning with the Ubume Bird-Chapter 549 - 45 Walking at Night and the Skull
"Ah, Cha, you’re here too."
Ever since Chang Yu had rejected Li Yan, he had been frantically and meticulously checking each piece of data for the pocket-sized version of the individual soldier’s equipment he had made for Li Yan, striving for perfection. On the other hand, he somewhat dreaded facing Li Yan and Cha Xiaodao again.
With a shrug, Cha Xiaodao said, "I won’t disturb you."
He brushed past Chang Yu and whispered in his ear, "Don’t take it to heart, you didn’t do anything wrong."
Having said that, Cha Xiaodao, clutching his books and rocks, whistled at the giggling girls on the other side, "Can I get a spot here, ladies?"
Yanzi stood crisply in front of Chang Yu, "What did you just say?"
Chang Yu, looking into Yanzi’s bright eyes, couldn’t suppress his emotions and kissed her passionately.
But he quickly lifted his head, "What’s that taste in your mouth?"
Chang Yu smacked his lips, "It’s actually quite fragrant."
Blushing furiously, Yanzi said, "It’s just steamed green shellfish."
As they locked eyes, both burst into laughter.
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"Ahem, ladies and gentlemen, Enfield’s new model of individual soldier Giant Ymir is the world’s first individual soldier device to utilize eight Tri-Orb Devices. It is a product of Enfield’s first combat equipment testing department, and the chief engineer is Robert..."
"Pff~ Hahaha."
Wrapped in a blanket that only revealed her rounded shoulders, Yanzi laughed so hard she shook.
"Be serious."
Chang Yu scratched his head.
Yanzi pouted and jabbed Chang Yu in the ribs with her toes, "Men always pretend to be serious only after they put their pants on. Why didn’t you ask me to be serious just now, huh? Tell me?"
"Stop it, stop it."
Chang Yu caught Yanzi’s foot, and they tussled in bed for a while until they were both exhausted. Then, Chang Yu hesitantly said:
"Yanzi, Mr. St. Yves gave me a large bonus, and I think I can buy back your indenture now."
Yanzi’s eyes widened with surprise, "Really?"
Chang Yu nodded vigorously.
Lying against the headboard, Yanzi caught Chang Yu’s hand and fiddled with it excitedly for a while, "Then, would you be willing to go back to Yuandu? Remember, we’re both from there."
Chang Yu’s expression clearly wavered.
"I, maybe later..."
Yanzi interrupted him calmly, "Forget it, you don’t really want to go back."
She looked down, disappointed, "But it’s still better than being a prostitute. I just really miss my mom. I still remember when I was little, our family bought Tongxin Fireworks from Jiangxi. We hired people to set off fireworks, and the whole county could see clearly. My mom held me in her arms, and the scene was so lively."
"...But I’ve never seen fireworks in Yuandu."
Chang Yu muttered a response.
Yanzi said no more.
Chang Yu took a deep breath, "Yanzi, give me some more time. I’ll be able to earn more money in the future. We’ll settle down here, and by then, we can take the sea train I’ll repair personally, and we’ll go back to Yuandu. I can buy lots of fireworks for you, alright?"
Yanzi looked at Chang Yu and blinked, "Then, you mustn’t go back on your word."
"Definitely."
Chang Yu was resolute.
Their shadows slowly merged together in the candlelight.
"I’ll get ready and pick you up tomorrow night, we’ll leave this place, okay?"
Late at night.
Chang Yu wearily emerged from the apartment entrance, walking under the banner that read "Together We Prosper: Four Seas Chinatown" on the pitch-dark street.
Afar on the mountainside, an array of steam lights and Neon fireworks stood out distinctly, but Chang Yu still could not make out the path under his feet, taking each step with extra caution.
"Bang!"
Chang Yu felt as if his right leg had been viciously struck by an iron mallet, and he instantly lost balance, tumbling to the ground with a cry of agony, thrashing violently as blood pooled around him.
A scruffy man with a protruding forehead, small mustache, and reddish-brown hair stepped out from the shadows. His face, wrinkled like orange peel and covered in fuzz, held a hunting shotgun as he coldly surveyed Chang Yu on the ground, approaching slowly like a wild wolf closing in on its prey.
"Wait, I can give you all the money I have, please don’t kill me."
Chang Yu shouted in English, yet the man before him remained unmoved.
He scanned Chang Yu’s still tidy clothing back and forth, without a word, and aimed the shotgun at Chang Yu’s chest, ready to pull the trigger a second time.
"Wait, wait."
Chang Yu’s pupils shrank to pinpoints; he couldn’t believe what was happening to him at that moment.
Just as the mustachioed man was about to squeeze the trigger, someone patted his shoulder. He turned instinctively, and in that moment, felt as if he had been hit head-on by a cannonball.
Putsh~
The gun did not fire, and Chang Yu felt something splatter over his head and face. His fingers were struck by something sticky, and when he looked down, he saw a chunk of blood-drenched skull fragments.
Chang Yu clutched his mouth tightly, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets at the shocking scene before him.
Rip~
Smoke rose, and the brief light of a match illuminated Cha Xiaodao’s face. The ember of a rolled cigarette glowed red in the darkness,
"Can you stand up?"
Chang Yu’s mouth hung open, unable to utter a word.
Cha Xiaodao, frowning, crouched down and searched Chang Yu, finally pulling out a handgun.
He waved the handgun in front of Chang Yu: "Enfield is an arms company, didn’t you ever learn to shoot?"
"I, I’ve been shot, I never thought..."
"He shot wide. The bullet went through the calf." Cha Xiaodao lifted Chang Yu’s injured leg: "A few days of rest and you’ll be fine. Why didn’t you shoot? You said you grew up in San Francisco, but nearly every man in San Francisco knows how to shoot. Why didn’t you?"
Cha Xiaodao, clearly frustrated, questioned Chang Yu over and over, as if not shooting back was an unforgivable sin.
Chang Yu fell silent, and after a long while, Cha Xiaodao reached out to help him up.
"I’ll take you to the mountain train, be more careful next time."
"You, what did you just do? I saw his head burst open... "
"Don’t ask too many questions. I don’t have the thick skin to bluff like some people."
It was not until they reached the tracks and the train thundered into view that Chang Yu finally exhaled in relief.
"Thank you, Cha, I owe you one again."
"No big deal, get on the train, and bandage your wound when you get back. I’ll handle the rest."
Chang Yu nodded, just about to board, when Cha Xiaodao called out to him again.
"Chang." Cha Xiaodao, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth: "I won’t always be around, not every time. You need to learn how to shoot."
Chang Yu’s face was pale, still not fully recovered from the recent ordeal, and he shakily replied, "I know."
