DA chapter 80

Because the ancient town was so large and the Soup Surface provided no clear direction, Lin Jia and the others seemed small and lost within it.

The Soup Surface didn’t provide any guidance. Shops lined the streets, filled with dazzling goods. Perhaps clues were hidden among them, but it would be hard to notice even if they brushed past.

From beginning to end, Lin Jia’s gaze never fell on the goods. Yan Xu was the same. Only the siblings and the cat kept turning their heads while walking, looking at the shops on both sides, searching for something mottled.

Meanwhile, Lin Jia and Yan Xu observed to see if there were any NPCs beyond the Fishman.

From the riverside to the southern part of the town, no such NPCs were visible. Lin Jia stopped in front of a guesthouse. This area was full of guesthouses, one after another. He chose the one with the best exterior.

By the time the Fishman announced the Soup Surface, the sun had already begun to set. In a four-star cloud layer, day and night don’t change instantly, but the dangerous night was approaching and they needed a place to rest.

However, they couldn’t choose just any place. They had to make sure there were no NPCs nearby and, more importantly, none inside the guesthouse.

Otherwise, encountering something at night without any clue about the Soup Surface would leave them with little chance of survival.

The four of them first checked the guesthouse thoroughly, inside and outside. After confirming that there were no NPCs or anything unusual, they checked a few other nearby guesthouses as well.

By the time they finally confirmed that this one was safe to use, night had fallen completely.

The guesthouse that Lin Jia had chosen had two floors and a courtyard. In the yard, there was a water vat half the height of a person, filled with water. Under the night sky, the water looked pitch black.

The second floor had four rooms, and the first floor had two rooms, a kitchen, and a dining area.

“You two pick a room,” Yan Xu said, turning his head. “Stay together.”

He was speaking to the siblings.

They looked up at the two floors. Clearly, the safest rooms were the two in the middle on the second floor. But they hesitated. First, they had been brought along as an afterthought, so they felt awkward about taking the safest rooms. Second, even if they chose those rooms, they wouldn’t feel safe if Lin Jia and Yan Xu stayed downstairs.

The older brother was named Lian Ye and the younger sister was named Lian Xin.

Lian Ye said, “Brother Yan, you guys choose first.”

Yan Xu glanced at Lin Jia. “We don’t have to stay together, right?”

Lin Jia replied indifferently, “I think so too.”

It was clear that Lin Jia wanted to keep his distance. Yan Xu pretended nothing was wrong. “You choose first.”

No matter what Lin Jia chose, Yan Xu would pick the room next to it to keep Lin Jia within sight.

Lin Jia wasn’t interested in a polite back-and-forth over rooms. He went straight upstairs and chose the second room out of four.

Yan Xu watched as Lin Jia entered, turned on the light, and closed the door.

After a while, the door opened a crack—and the cat was tossed out.

Yan Xu: “…”

Even though he hadn’t merged with the cat yet, he felt embarrassed, as if he himself had been thrown out.

Suppressing the bitterness in his chest, Yan Xu pointed to the room on the right side of Lin Jia’s and suggested to the siblings, “You two should stay there.”

He took the room on Lin Jia’s left, near the stairs.

Lian Ye and Lian Xin nodded. As Yan Xu was about to return to his room, Lian Xin hurriedly asked, “Brother Yan, are you hungry? I saw that there are ingredients in the kitchen.”

The kitchen fridge was stocked with fruits and vegetables, and the stove had pots, pans, and seasonings—everything needed for cooking.

“No need. I’m not—” Yan Xu took a few steps, then stopped. He looked up at the lit room on the second floor. Seeing that this person probably hadn’t eaten properly in a few days, Yan Xu changed his words: “Can you cook?”

Lian Xin nodded. “My brother can. He cooks really well.”

Yan Xu glanced at the sky. “Just make something simple.”

Eager to prove their usefulness, the siblings went all out.

Yan Xu sat on the swing in the courtyard. The cat stood beside it, aggrieved and angry. “He almost crushed my nose when he closed the door.”

Yan Xu looked at the silhouette in the upstairs window and smiled faintly. “You brought him here. What kind of treatment did you expect?”

It sounded like he was talking to the cat but also comforting himself.

The cat puffed up. “I didn’t do it on purpose!”

Lin Jia wasn’t someone the cat had chosen. That night, when the living dead arrived at the villa, the cat realized that Lin Jia was going to feed it to them. So, it dragged Lin Jia into the Underwater World to save itself.

“Then…” Yan Xu asked. “What is his life like in the real world?”

The cat thought for a long time. “I remember he’s in real estate. His company built many buildings, including many city landmarks.”

“You have no idea how rich he is!” Even the cat was amazed. “His house is huge, with several elevators inside. And his watch—the one he’s wearing now—is called…uh…anyway, it’s insanely expensive.”

As the cat described Lin Jia’s extravagant life, Yan Xu thought it made sense that Lin Jia wanted to go home. Everything started because of him, so no matter what methods Lin Jia used to get close to him in order to return home, Yan Xu should bear it.

Yan Xu asked again, “What about his family?”

Just as the cat was about to answer, the siblings finished cooking a table full of dishes. Lian Xin ran over to call Yan Xu for dinner.

Now that the cat only had Yan Xu to talk to, it immediately acted like a normal cat when others were around.

Yan Xu patted the cat on the head, signaling for it to go call Lin Jia.

Even though he was a cat himself, there were still differences before merging. The cat could call Lin Jia, but since Lin Jia was distancing himself on purpose, Yan Xu wouldn’t be able to get him to open the door.

The cat went. Lin Jia opened the door.

“Yan Xu told you to come eat,” the cat said.

Lin Jia stepped out. He really hadn’t eaten or rested well these past few days, and stamina was essential in the Fish Belly.

On the way to the dining room, Lin Jia casually asked, “What did you talk about with Yan Xu?”

The cat was surprised. “How did you know I was talking to him? Oh—you were spying on us from your room!”

“If your resistance to him affects the merging, will you take responsibility for the consequences?” Lin Jia asked calmly. “I allowed you to interact with him to build familiarity and supervised it. Any problem with that?”

The cat felt that his reasoning was completely convincing. “We didn’t talk much. He asked about your real-life situation. He probably wants to understand you.”

Lin Jia: “You told him?”

“Was I not supposed to?” the cat asked cautiously. “But don’t worry. I didn’t say much. I only mentioned your company. I didn’t mention other things, like you being kidnapped or your fear of the dark.”

Lin Jia looked at the cat with a complicated expression. “Only the company?”

“Ah, I also said you’re rich.” The cat couldn’t figure out his reaction. “So… do you want me to say things or not?”

Do you want me to say things or not?

Lin Jia paused for a moment, then quickly regained his composure. “Whatever.”

Soon, they arrived at the dining room. Lin Jia glanced inside.

There was a table for six. The siblings sat on one side and Yan Xu sat alone on the opposite side, facing away from the door.

Lin Jia walked in, brushed past Yan Xu, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

Silence filled the table. Lian Ye cautiously asked Yan Xu, “Brother Yan, do you like the food?”

Yan Xu replied, “Not bad.”

Lian Ye glanced at Lin Jia, but he seemed too cold, so Lian Ye didn’t dare speak to him. His gaze shifted to the cat sitting on the empty chair. Suddenly, he thought of something. He put down his chopsticks, went to the kitchen, and brought out a plate of boiled chicken breast.

“I cooked some meat for the kitty.” Worried that the cat might knock over the plate, Lian Ye put the shredded chicken on the floor, carried the cat down from the chair, and set it in front of the plate.

Pets could indeed provide some emotional comfort. The siblings’ attention shifted to feeding the cat, leaving only Lin Jia and Yan Xu at the table.

“Eat. It’s not hot anymore.” Lian Ye patted the cat’s head.

Then he turned back. “Brother Yan, what should we do? The cat won’t eat.”

Yan Xu hadn’t spent much time with the cat lately. He had been busy searching for Lin Jia these past few days, so the cat had handled its own meals. He didn’t know why it refused the meat.

Lin Jia calmly continued eating, showing no intention of helping.

After all, the question wasn’t directed at him.

Unable to openly ask the cat why it wouldn’t eat, Yan Xu looked at the plate on the floor and noticed that the chicken breast was unsalted.

He picked up the plate, added a few dishes from the table that he thought tasted good, and put it back down.

The cat still didn’t eat.

Lian Xin didn’t think much of it and asked curiously, “Brother Yan, is this your cat?”

Yan Xu instinctively glanced at Lin Jia.

Lin Jia wiped his mouth, stood up, picked up the plate from the floor, and placed it on the table. Then, he lifted the cat and set it on the table as well.

Once it was treated with proper “status,” the cat immediately started devouring the food.

Lian Xin suddenly understood. “So it’s Brother Jia’s cat.”

Lin Jia didn’t deny it. “Raised it for a while.”

Pathetic. His heart started pounding again because of just one sentence.

Yan Xu, feeling unsettled, picked up his glass and drank the water in one go.

The sky grew darker and darker. Lian Xin glanced outside. “Brother Yan, is it very dangerous at night here?”

Lin Jia heard Yan Xu say, “If something happens, call for help.”

The siblings’ expressions turned serious. They understood that nighttime was dangerous, but they could always ask Yan Xu for help.

Lin Jia put down his chopsticks. “Take your time.”

He stood up and saw that the cat was still gnawing on a rib. He grabbed the cat by the scruff of its neck and carried it out of the dining room.

“I feel like Brother Jia isn’t very happy,” said Lian Ye, scratching his head. “Did we say something wrong?”

Yan Xu watched Lin Jia’s departing figure without saying a word. After a moment, he stood up and followed.

Lin Jia had just started to close the door when a hand suddenly pressed against it.

He had already let go and stopped closing it, but Yan Xu didn’t push it open either. The gap in the door was narrow—on either side, they could only see each other’s blurred outlines.

Lin Jia raised his eyes and met Yan Xu’s gaze through the crack. “Captain Yan?”

Yan Xu smiled. “I suddenly figured out why you were angry last time in the Fish Belly.”

Lin Jia insisted, “I wasn’t angry.”

Yan Xu said, “You didn’t want me to put myself in danger because of others.”

Lin Jia fell silent for a moment.

Yan Xu still smiled. “You’re angry for the same reason now, right? You’re afraid something will happen to me and mess up your plan to leave the undersea world.”

Lin Jia opened his mouth, but Yan Xu continued.

“The reason I haven’t fused with the cat isn’t because I don’t want to. It’s because I don’t know what will happen after the fusion. This is a four-star Fish Belly. It’s better to be cautious and wait until we get out before merging. Don’t worry. Once we leave, I’ll fuse with it. Oh, and I remember that promise—the one about staying alive for you. I haven’t forgotten. It won’t delay your plan to leave.”

He had come all this way just to explain and reassure him.

But at the same time, Yan Xu lightly pierced through the thin layer of pretense—the “live for me” was really “don’t disrupt my plan.”

Lin Jia simply admitted it. “As long as Captain Yan remembers, I’m reassured.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t forget,” Yan Xu said. “I’m right next door. If anything happens, whether you can handle it or not, call me.”

Without waiting for Lin Jia to respond, Yan Xu gently closed the door for him. “Rest.”

Click—the door shut, leaving only a patch of shadow lingering beneath the gap.

Yan Xu was very obedient. Even after the truth was laid bare, he didn’t cry or make a fuss.

But in this world, only children who cry get candy.

Lin Jia stared at the shadow for a long time. Somehow, he sensed a trace of loneliness in it.

A thought suddenly surfaced uncontrollably:

Why should only those who cry get candy?

The thought vanished as quickly as it came.

Night fell heavily and deeply.

Danger crept closer in silence.

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