At the beef noodle shop, Nan Yue met another young person.
It was a girl with twin braided ponytails, standing not very tall—perhaps around 1.5 meters—wearing a jumper dress, looking like a child at first glance.
However, there were no children in the scavenger world; if there were, they would all be in school, so everyone simply glanced at her before looking away.
Since it was peak dining hours, the shop was crowded and seats were scarce, with only one empty spot remaining at Nan Yue's table of four.
The girl carried a large bowl of noodles, her eyes searching the room until they lit up upon seeing the vacancy at Nan Yue's table, though she hesitated after seeing Gu Xiang Kai, who looked like a fierce thug.
After a moment, the girl approached anyway, looking at the trio cautiously with large, round eyes filled with wary curiosity.
Gu Xiang Kai was somewhat impatient. "If you're going to sit, then sit. Don't just stand there like a gate guardian."
Zhu Xi Ning smiled slightly. "Come on, sit here. We don't mind."
The girl broke into a bright smile, set her bowl down, pulled a notebook from her pocket, took the pen clipped to it, and carefully wrote a few words.
"Thank you :)"
Gu Xiang Kai looked at the neat handwriting, his eyebrows twitching as his voice instinctively softened.
"...Can you... not speak?"
The girl stared intently at Gu Xiang Kai's lips, making him realize belatedly that she likely couldn't hear either.
She was judging what he said by reading his lips.
Gu Xiang Kai wanted to slap himself for being so aggressive toward a disabled girl.
Nan Yue had never seen a disabled scavenger before either, and as the girl sat down, she asked slowly.
"...Were you... injured during a mission?"
The girl understood, shaking her head with a smile before scribbling in her notebook again.
"No, I've always been like this."
The girl smiled and lowered her head to eat her noodles, leaving the three teammates lost in their own thoughts.
As fellow scavengers, Nan Yue knew how disadvantageous a disability could be in a mission, but for her to survive this long and reach the letter city states, she had to be incredibly capable.
Nan Yue thought for a moment, pointed to the notebook, and after receiving permission, took it and wrote down her name and Neural Interface ID.
"This is my name. If you run into any trouble here, you can contact me."
In the real world, a disabled person could face many troubles, let alone a girl.
Many scavengers suffered mental breakdowns after years of missions, and some were naturally inclined to bully the weak.
While Nan Yue wasn't a saint, she was willing to offer what help she could to the girl.
The girl nodded and gave a smile, revealing a small snaggletooth that made her look very cute.
Nan Yue and her team didn't stay long, leaving the space to the girl as they departed.
Walking down the street, they were still discussing her. "So there really are disabled scavengers. I've never met one before."
Zhu Xi Ning looked back, her brow furrowed. "Neither have I, and I've never heard of a scavenger born with a disability."
"Generally, any injuries a scavenger sustains in a mission world vanish upon returning to the real world, so disabled scavengers are quite rare."
"And she's a deaf-mute. How has she survived until now?"
Zhu Xi Ning hesitated for a moment. "I feel like her disability is a bit strange. My gut tells me she might not be telling the whole truth."
Nan Yue wasn't surprised. "If she's really been like this since she was a child as she says, it's normal for her to be guarded. Otherwise, she wouldn't have survived this long."
"Besides... with my case as a precedent, I don't think anything is too strange anymore."
Zhu Xi Ning went silent. That was true; if they were talking about strange, the girl's situation was definitely not as weird as Nan Yue's.
So Zhu Xi Ning began to study Nan Yue seriously, her gaze making Nan Yue's face darken.
"What are you going to see by staring every day? It's not like this is the first time you've seen me."
Zhu Xi Ning scratched her cheek. "I don't know if it's my imagination, but I feel like your body... is a bit black."
Nan Yue was confused.
"How should I describe it? It's like your whole person is covered in a layer of black aura. It's very faint, but the color is deeper near your heart."
Zhu Xi Ning rubbed her eyes. "Is my vision blurry?"
Nan Yue pondered for a moment. "It's probably because your ability has grown stronger, and since I told you about it, you've finally noticed."
"Observe it more and see if this ability can be developed for other uses."
Zhu Xi Ning agreed with a giggle.
The Neural Interface chimed, and Nan Yue opened it to see that the girl from earlier had added her as a friend.
The girl's ID was: Mute but not Deaf.
Nan Yue was speechless.
Mute but not Deaf: Hello, Sister Nan Yue. My name is Bai La La.
Strongest A-Nan in History: Hello. Contact me if you ever need anything.
Mute but not Deaf: Your team name is so interesting, haha.
Nan Yue saw that Bai La La had liked the photo she just uploaded.
Admittedly, having an actual person in her social space felt different.
Gu Xiang Kai had been feeling guilty, expressing it by standing next to a trash can and smoking like a madman.
His melancholy and weary appearance attracted quite a few passing girls.
A beautiful woman with long legs and a slender waist even came over to strike up a conversation.
"Hey handsome, are you alone? Let's get to know each other."
Gu Xiang Kai didn't say a word, simply pointing his thumb behind him, playing the cool act to the fullest.
The beauty's gaze followed his thumb, seeing two beautiful women of different styles standing not far away, pointing and whispering toward them.
The woman's brows shot up. "Fine, so you're a scumbag. What a waste of such a handsome face. Ptooie!"
Gu Xiang Kai was stunned.
He had tried to look cool but ended up being misunderstood, and before he could explain, the beauty had already drifted away.
Gu Xiang Kai's deflated look made Nan Yue and the other laugh heartily.
In truth, if the thing inside her wasn't making her so uneasy, she would have liked to never enter a mission again and just live a normal life in this world with her companions.
But...
What was a normal life?
As scavengers, purifying the world was their normal life.
Nan Yue remained inwardly vigilant. Even after leaving, the influence of the mission worlds would remain in one's heart; she must not confuse her identity.
Finally, the fifteen days were up. The three of them locked their rooms, settled the housing fees, and walked toward the Purification Center together.
"Hey, isn't that Bai La La?"
While they were still a distance away, they saw a small figure in the crowd swipe a card at the entrance of the Purification Center and vanish.
"She's entering a mission too."
Nan Yue watched for a few more moments. "I hope everything goes well for her."
She looked up at the gates right in front of them. "Beauty Squad, I wish us luck as well."
Nan Yue extended her arm, bringing her fist forward. Zhu Xi Ning joined in with a laugh, while Gu Xiang Kai hesitated for a long time before reluctantly cooperating with a pout.
"I wish us luck."
Rate on N.U.
