Chapter 374: Lin Yuhsia!
Chapter 374: Rat King’s Daughter, Lin Yuhsia! Ch’en and Talulah!
After everyone had washed up, they realized Alina hadn’t woken up yet. Ren pulled back the covers and saw her sleeping soundly. He pinched her small nose.
Alina, gradually realizing she couldn’t breathe, frowned and opened her eyes to see Ren observing her.
"Wah!" She frantically covered herself with the blanket.
Ren squinted and smiled. "What are you covering? What haven’t I seen? Get up. I’ll take you to explore Lungmen."
"Oh... oh oh." Alina shyly covered her face.
With Ren’s forceful assistance, Alina put on every new outfit he had created, from the smallest to the largest. They then left the hotel.
Just as they reached the entrance, they encountered two people: Schwarz, and a Zalak with purple hair and a purple dress. They seemed to have been waiting.
"Hello, Mr. Ren, I am Lin Yuhsia. My father is Lin. I greet you on his behalf," Lin Yuhsia immediately introduced herself.
Ren chuckled. "Oh, the Rat King. But rather than him, I’d prefer to get to know you, Miss Lin."
Lin Yuhsia covered her mouth and chuckled. "Of course. I also really want to get to know you, Mr. Ren."
? Schwarz glared at her. What a quick tongue.
"Ahem, Mr. Ren, I heard you are visiting Lungmen. I am here to be your guide at the request of my elders and Commander Wei Yanwu."
"Miss Beatrix..."
"Mr. Ren can just call me Schwarz. All my friends do."
"Alright. Then I’ll trouble you, Schwarz."
"Mr. Ren, there are some places the Guard Bureau isn’t familiar with, but I am. I can also be your guide," Lin Yuhsia suddenly interjected.
This made Schwarz frown. "Huh? Is there any place the Guard Bureau isn’t familiar with? I’ve enforced laws in every district."
Lin Yuhsia narrowed her eyes. "The Slums. Are you very familiar with it?"
"Uh..." Schwarz was choked. She was familiar with Lungmen from the Upper to the Lower District, but the Slums were the only exception. The Guard Bureau couldn’t manage that area; it was under the control of the underground emperor, the Rat King. Lin Yuhsia was his daughter.
"Are there still Slums in such a developed place?" Yukino frowned. Skyscrapers stood tall, cars passed through the streets, and people came and went endlessly. It was not much different from a modern city.
Ren pinched her serious face. "You can’t just look at the surface of things, or you’ll suffer greatly. The prosperity here is because this is Lungmen’s Upper District. The Lower District is where ordinary people live, and the Slums... most people there, besides being poor, are also Infected with Oripathy."
[Note: Oripathy is a terminal disease in the world of Arknights, caused by exposure to a mineral called Originium. It grants the Infected powerful abilities (Arts) but slowly crystallizes their bodies, eventually leading to death. It is also a source of great social discrimination.]
Ren had already told them about this land, including the disease. Although it wasn’t difficult for him to eliminate Oripathy—his eyes could see the conceptual death lines of Originium—this world still seemed to need the mineral. If it suddenly disappeared, the land would likely become more chaotic.
Lin Yuhsia and Schwarz both couldn’t help but look at him more after hearing his words. They had both learned from their elders that this man was a big shot Lungmen couldn’t afford to offend. Wei Yanwu had issued a death order that no one was to provoke him.
"Since there are two guides, that’s good. Let’s go then."
Under their guidance, Ren and the others began their tour.
On the other side, in a place that was not Lungmen, Wei Yanwu, Ch’en, and Talulah stood before a tombstone.
Wei Yanwu took a deep drag from his pipe. "Here lies Talulah’s father, and... your mother."
Ch’en, who had learned the truth, spoke with an exceptionally cold voice. "So this is an unmarked grave."
Wei Yanwu chuckled with bitterness. "Yes. Perhaps because names only have meaning for the living. On this land, burial is merely an idealized saying. All graves will eventually disappear." He spoke of the suffering of this land, but also of human helplessness. "This grave is the farthest Lungmen had ever reached."
He had personally brought his younger sister and her husband, Edward Artorius, here to expand Lungmen. But they were targeted by Koschei. The first time, they repelled him. But he returned. They lost completely.
Wei Yanwu was forced to choose between Edward and the child in his sister’s womb. He followed Edward’s dying wish and chose the child, Talulah. Subsequently, for Lungmen, his sister was married off to a Yanese noble and gave birth to a second child, Ch’en. Later, his sister died of melancholy.
He raised both children. But Koschei was not going to let them go; he set his sights on Talulah, and she was taken away.
[Inorin Note:
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