Nan Yue forced herself to suppress the scream rising in her throat.
This had nothing to do with her psychological value.
Even someone with the strongest mental fortitude would be terrified waking up to such a sight.
Biological instinct used fear to avoid danger and seek safety.
"Grandmother, when did you come in?"
At this moment, Nan Yue could deeply empathize with Amin.
Grandmother eavesdropping outside the door at night and then standing by the bed upon waking up.
Who could endure this?
"Grandmother came to wake you up. Sleeping too much is bad for your health."
Grandmother slowly straightened her body, and Nan Yue even heard the audible clicking of her bones.
"Grandmother is going to rest for a while. You stay home. Breakfast is already made."
Nan Yue understood. Grandmother rested during the day.
This should be the best time for Nan Yue to look for clues and escape.
Grandmother closed the door.
In the brief moment Grandmother entered the room earlier, Nan Yue had caught a glimpse of the bedroom layout.
It was unexpectedly tidy.
Even in the darkness, she could see that besides a bed, there were several large wooden chests.
Nan Yue's eyes narrowed. The chests were not locked.
Grandmother sluggishly closed her door.
Nan Yue walked to the dining room and saw the so-called breakfast.
A bowl of white porridge, a steamed bun, and a small dish of pickles.
Nan Yue sniffed it and found no strange odor.
It was fresh food, though she had no idea where it had come from.
Nan Yue knew that generally, the food provided in missions was edible.
Even if there were issues, they were rarely fatal.
There was a small chance that an upset stomach could affect mission progress, but such occurrences were rare.
Nan Yue had some doubts about her luck, but the passage of time in the mission was normal.
She had been inside for nearly a day and was bound to get hungry if she didn't eat.
Rather than waiting until she was exhausted and vulnerable, Nan Yue felt it was better to take a chance.
She took a sip of the porridge.
There was no strange taste, but the flavor was very bland.
She then took a bite of the bun. Both the taste and texture were poor.
One could not be picky during a mission.
Nan Yue finished her meal quickly and began searching the house.
The apartment was not large, and Nan Yue finished searching the common areas within an hour.
There were gains, but not many.
She found no extra information in the living room, but the windows were sealed shut.
Nan Yue could see the residential complex outside.
She saw no pedestrians. It looked like a place where not many people lived.
The plants and grass were withered.
Nan Yue pulled hard, but the window did not budge.
Her combat score was high and her strength was significant, yet the window would not open at all.
This proved she could not leave through here.
Nan Yue was not trying to find a shortcut.
She was wondering whether the mission had sealed the window or if Grandmother had.
Nan Yue leaned toward it being Grandmother.
If the mission did not want her to go this way, it could have simply not included windows.
Since they existed but were locked, it was likely a clue.
Had Grandmother effectively imprisoned Amin?
Another strange point was that Nan Yue searched the kitchen and refrigerator again.
Aside from the spoiled food, she found nothing else.
Where did the porridge come from?
Nan Yue had a bad feeling, but since nothing had happened an hour after eating, it probably was not poisonous.
However, she would not dare eat it again.
Nan Yue turned her gaze toward Grandmother's bedroom door.
She sighed. She had to take the risk and go in.
She had originally thought about waiting to see if Grandmother would go out for a walk, but she could not afford to delay.
Without food, she could only maintain her condition for a day or two. She had to leave as soon as possible.
More importantly, she had a nagging feeling that Grandmother would not leave.
Grandmother likely watched her all night to prevent her from escaping.
That was why she needed to rest during the day.
Nan Yue walked over quietly and turned the doorknob.
As expected, Grandmother's door was not locked.
Nan Yue stepped inside softly, hesitating for a moment before closing the door.
The light outside was bright, and she was afraid it would wake Grandmother.
Once the door was closed, Nan Yue was left alone with Grandmother in the confined space.
Grandmother lay stiffly on the bed with her eyes closed.
Nan Yue could not even hear her breathing.
She waited for a while. When Grandmother showed no movement, she finally felt safe enough to examine the room.
Grandmother's room was simple, without much in it, but several photos hung on the wall.
The frames were wiped very clean, showing that Grandmother cherished them.
However, the person in the photos was not the Amin that Nan Yue had seen.
It was a woman who looked somewhat like Amin.
In the photos, Grandmother also looked younger and bore a resemblance to the woman.
The two of them were leaning against each other, clearly sharing a close bond.
Compared to the somewhat strained photo of Amin and Grandmother, this woman and Grandmother were obviously much more harmonious.
This was likely Grandmother's daughter, Amin's mother.
Grandmother had been mourning her.
Nan Yue did not have Amin's memories and did not know what happened to her mother, but she was clearly gone.
Amin had been raised by Grandmother since she was a child.
After scanning the room, Nan Yue looked at the large wooden chest.
She moved carefully and opened the unlocked chest.
The chest was packed full.
Nan Yue flipped through it gently. Inside were a girl's dresses, clothes, and toys.
Bit by bit, they represented the accumulation of a girl's life.
The clothes were all clean, and the patterns were not outdated.
Even though Grandmother's living conditions were poor, she must have given everything for her daughter.
Amin's mother must have grown up very happy.
Nan Yue's fingers paused. She felt a piece of paper.
She gently pulled the paper out.
It was not the notebook she expected to find, but a thin, neatly folded document.
To put it simply, it was a death certificate.
Amin's mother was named Liu Min.
The cause of death was severe hemorrhaging during labor, and she could not be saved.
Nan Yue felt her mind becoming cluttered.
There seemed to be many clues, but she could not piece them together.
Her intuition told her not to stay in this room any longer. She needed to leave immediately.
Nan Yue hesitated for only a second before putting the death certificate back where she found it.
She closed the wooden chest as quickly as possible and left the room.
Almost the moment she closed the door, she heard a thud.
Grandmother had gotten off the bed.
Her heartbeat grew more intense.
Nan Yue held her breath and pressed herself against the door to listen.
Her posture was uncannily similar to Grandmother's from the night before.
Grandmother's footsteps were very light, and Nan Yue knew she would not hear much.
But then she heard a bang. Grandmother must have opened that wooden chest.
Nan Yue slowly backed away. She was safe for now.
Fortunately, she had not taken that death certificate.
It seemed this item was extremely important to Grandmother. If it went missing, there might be immediate danger.
The academy taught that it was best to keep clues on one's person once discovered, but Nan Yue's intuition had just saved her.
The noise inside subsided, and Grandmother did not come out.
It seemed that because Nan Yue had not violated any taboos, she was temporarily safe.
Nan Yue rubbed her fingers, as if she could still feel the texture of that slip of paper.
The name on the slip belonged to Amin's mother, but the name was identical to the one Nan Yue had found on the notebooks in her room.
Rate on N.U.
