Reason

Darnell squatted on the curb beside the food truck, a double cheeseburger in his left hand, a jumbo cola in his right, and a straw dangling from his mouth.

He had a unique style of eating, much like a python swallowing its prey; he shoved the entire burger into his mouth, his cheeks bulging like a hamster's, then gave a forceful gulp, his Adam's apple bobbing once, and it was gone.

The cola was the same; he inserted the straw, sucked with his cheeks, and the liquid level in the cup plummeted, emitting a hollow, slurping sound.

A chubby, bald white man leaned against the window behind the food truck, watching him with an expression somewhere between admiration and fear.

"Brother, the way you eat reminds me of my ex-wife."

"Hmm?"

"She treated my savings account the exact same way."

Darnell ignored him because he had spotted Lin An.

Across from the gate of Columbia University, that slender figure in a windbreaker with a backpack had just stepped down the stairs.

Darnell's movements instantly doubled in speed.

The remaining half of the burger and the last third of the cola were all shoved into his mouth, and with a few rhythmic chews, everything vanished.

He crumpled the empty cup and wrapper into a ball and tossed it toward a trash can three meters away with a basketball-shooting motion.

He missed.

"I'll pick it up later!"

He straddled his Roadster Bicycle, his legs pumping like pistons; the bike accelerated from a standstill to twenty miles per hour in less than three seconds, and with a sharp turn of the handlebars, he pulled up steadily in front of Lin An.

"Bro, get on!"

Lin An glanced at him, then at the paper ball that hadn't made it into the trash, and climbed onto the back seat.

"You have ketchup on the corner of your mouth."

"Where?"

"On the left."

Darnell stuck out his tongue to lick the corner of his mouth and smacked his lips.

"Is it gone?"

"It's gone."

"Alright, hold on tight."

The bicycle merged into the flow of traffic.

Darnell had already ridden the route from Manhattan back to the Jamaica Community twice; he knew it like the back of his hand and didn't need navigation to find his way back.

But today, he was riding slower than usual.

It wasn't because he was tired; Darnell never felt tired when riding a bike.

It was because of something Lin An had said after getting on the bike.

"Darnell, we can't go to New Jersey for now."

"What?!"

Darnell whipped his head around, causing the handlebars to wobble.

"Why?!"

"Watch the road first."

Darnell turned his head back, but his mouth didn't stop.

"Bro, you spent the whole day at the 103rd Precinct and the university, and I waited for you outside all day. I ate a burger, two colas, and three orders of fries... that owner has a problem with how he fries them, the oil temperature isn't high enough, they taste like sponges... that's not the point. The point is you said we were going to find that... what was it?"

"Traplex Bio."

"Right, that Tra-whatever, you said at noon you wanted to go give them trouble, I even decided which shirt I was going to wear tomorrow, and now you're telling me we aren't going?"

"Which one are you wearing tomorrow?"

"My blue polo shirt, the one with the polo player logo on the chest. I've worn it for three years, it really makes me look..."

Darnell caught himself.

"No, don't change the subject! Why aren't we going?"

The bicycle turned a corner, and the low-rise buildings of the Jamaica Community appeared on the edge of his vision. The setting sun dyed all the rooftops orange-red, as if the entire neighborhood were slowly burning.

Lin An's voice came from the back seat.

"The intelligence provided by Inspector Morales, combined with my own deductions, led to a conclusion."

In reality, this was the result of someone analyzing it for him within the Bullet Screen.

"That company called Traplex Bio has its headquarters in New Jersey, but they are conducting human experiments in an abandoned factory district in Brooklyn. It has already been discovered by the New York Police and the FBI, and Sergei Kuzmin's men are responsible for security and the transport of test subjects."

"I know that, you already told me."

"The FBI is already watching them."

Darnell's pedaling rhythm faltered for a moment.

"A few days ago, the 60th Precinct and the FBI conducted a joint operation, raiding Sergei's stronghold in Brooklyn. They arrested seven people and seized over thirty guns and a batch of medical equipment.

Sergei himself wasn't on-site, but the FBI has already filed an arrest warrant for him."

"Wait a second."

Darnell slowed the bike down, turned his head, and looked at Lin An out of the corner of his eye.

"Are you saying that this Sergei guy is the one who sent the kidnappers to attack me?"

"Correct."

"And the FBI is currently hunting him down?"

"Correct."

"And you want to go after the pharmaceutical company that hired him because of me?"

"Correct."

Darnell was silent for two seconds, then took a deep breath.

"Bro."

Darnell's voice suddenly became very calm, so calm it didn't sound like him at all.

"Just tell me straight what we're going to do. I'm not smart, I don't understand the situation here."

"What I mean is, we can't go to New Jersey for the time being."

Lin An explained.

"The FBI is currently giving the pharmaceutical company a hard time, and that company is the mastermind behind the experiments Sergei was conducting in the Brooklyn District; Sergei was just the one executing them...

To summarize, we have two enemies now: one is Traplex Bio, and the other is Sergei. We can't touch the former right now, so we have to go after Sergei first."

"Then bro, why would Traplex Bio want to kill me?"

Darnell asked.

[Host, ask Darnell if he's done anything before, like going to a hospital for a physical exam, donating blood at a blood bank, or showing off his stamina and endurance in public.]

[Is there a connection there?]

[Wait, I think I understand what the brother above means.]

[Host, tell Ni Ge to think carefully. Has he done any physical exams in public before?]

[Right, your stamina and endurance are so strong it's not normal. You ride a bicycle like you're riding a motorcycle. It wouldn't be strange if some pharmaceutical company had their eye on you.]

[The guy above is right. Companies like that doing human experiments love finding people with special constitutions.]

[Especially someone like Darnell—eighteen years old with the face of a thirty-eight-year-old, infinite stamina, and amazing recovery. Isn't he just a walking experimental sample?]

[I bet fifty cents that Darnell definitely exposed his constitution somewhere.]

Lin An looked at the Bullet Screen, then shifted his gaze to the back of Darnell's head.

"Darnell."

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever gone to a hospital for a physical exam? Or donated blood? Or shown off your special traits in a crowded place?"

Darnell's pedaling slowed down.

"Bro, is there a problem with that?"

"Answer me first."

Darnell was silent for a few seconds.

"Last autumn, a Mobile Medical Van came to the neighborhood next door. They said it was a free physical exam and they were giving away twenty-dollar grocery gift cards. My mom wouldn't let me go, but I was hungry, so I snuck off and went."

He paused.

"The medical van drew my blood, checked my blood pressure, and measured something... lung capacity? Anyway, it was all that stuff. The nurse who drew my blood had to poke me three times before she found a vein. She said my veins were especially hard to find, like... like they were buried inside my muscles."

[Holy crap.]

[That confirms it.]

[Free physicals, gift cards, specifically targeting neighborhoods like Jamaica—isn't that just fishing?]

[That Mobile Medical Van definitely had issues. A normal physical exam wouldn't require three pokes to find a vein unless his vascular structure is different from a normal person's.]

This was bad.

Lin An narrowed his eyes, thinking of Darnell's mother and sister.

"When you went to the medical van for the exam, did you register your home address?"

"No, I filled it out with random info. I was afraid they'd come to the house and my mom would find out I went for a physical, and she'd be really mad."

After Darnell finished that sentence, it was quiet for about three seconds.

The bicycle moved steadily along the streets of the Jamaica Community, the setting sun illuminating his overly mature profile.

By this point, he had also realized a shred of the truth.

"Will the stupid things I did bring trouble to my mom and sister?"

"Why did you run to that abandoned factory in the Brooklyn District that night?"

Lin An countered with a question for Darnell.

The latter spoke with righteous indignation.

"I couldn't find a job, so I had to go to other neighborhoods to do some zero-dollar shopping. That day, I went to the Brooklyn District to sell some stuff, then I felt like someone was tailing me, so I hid in the abandoned factory, thinking I'd head home at night, and then..."

"Then things are fine; the situation hasn't reached the worst-case scenario."

Darnell turned this sentence over in his mind twice.

"What does that mean?"

"It means they don't know your mom and sister's information, only yours."

Lin An's voice came from the backseat, as steady as if he were stating a weather forecast.

"Their target was you from the very beginning. The Mobile Medical Van drew your blood, confirmed your constitution, and then archived your information, waiting for a buyer.

But because the information you filled out was fake, they know nothing about your other circumstances besides what you look like."

Darnell didn't stop pedaling, but his back stiffened noticeably for a split second.

"That pharmaceutical company bought my info, that Tra..."

"Traplex Bio bought your blood."

Lin An corrected him.

"But the blood was only part of it. They want you as a person—a living specimen."

"What the f*ck, motherf*cker, goddamn b*tch..."

Darnell was furious, and the speed at which he pedaled the Roadster Bicycle accelerated, causing it to lunge forward like a racing motorcycle.

"That b*tch nurse, she poked me three times... three times! I thought she just had bad technique at the time, but now I know, she was trying to draw more of my blood!"

The more he spoke, the more agitated he became, his speech speeding up as flecks of spit flew out.

"She drew my blood and only gave me a twenty-dollar gift card! Twenty dollars!!! Is my blood only worth twenty dollars? Motherf*cker..."

He tilted his head back and roared at the sky.

"My blood is worth at least two hundred... no, two thousand!"

[233]

[The point of anger is actually the price]

[Darnell: My blood was sold cheap, this is an insult to my character]

[He isn't angry that he's being targeted; he's angry that he was sold for peanuts]

[A twenty-dollar gift card, low damage, high insult]

"Bro, what should we do now?"

"Go home and eat first, then go to the furniture factory..."

"No, bro, didn't you say you were going to go find that guy named Sergei and give him trouble?"

"Eat first, we'll talk after we're full... your sister and mom happen to be off work tonight."

"Oh, right, yeah, goddamn it, I forgot. Tonight's dinner is important, we can't miss it!"

Amidst Darnell's grumbling, the two returned to the bottom of the Jamaica apartment building, where Darnell locked the bicycle to the iron railing.

The lights in the stairwell were the same as ever, with only one bulb at the corner of the second floor still lit, emitting a faint yellow glow.

On the second floor, when Darnell pushed open the front door, the heat and the aroma of meat rushed out to meet them.

"Mom, we're back!"

Mary's voice came from the end of the hallway.

"Darnell? Is that you and Lin An back?"

"Right here!"

"Then what are you still standing at the door for? Come in and wash your hands! The beef is going to get cold!"

Darnell changed into his slippers and glanced back at Lin An.

"Bro, you're in for a treat today. When my mom stews beef, even the dogs in the building next door sit under the window waiting for it."

Entering the living room, Lin An could see through the kitchen door that a deep red enamel pot was set on the stove. White steam was escaping from the gap in the lid, filling the living room with the rich scent of beef and spices.

Mary was standing with her back to the door, stirring the contents of the pot with a wooden spoon.

"Mom."

Darnell called out.

Mary turned around, her gaze passing over Darnell and landing directly on Lin An.

Then that face lit up just like a lightbulb.

"An, you're back. Find a seat, dinner will be ready in a moment."

After saying this, she turned back to the stove and lifted the lid of the enamel pot.

A more intense aroma surged out, carrying that rich mellowness that only comes from beef slow-cooked in red wine and tomatoes for three hours.

She carried the pot to the living room and began to serve the food.

Three plates, with clearly different portions.

The plate in front of Lin An was piled the highest... large chunks of stewed beef, soaked in a deep red broth, accompanied by chunks of carrot, potato, and a few slices of onion stewed until translucent.

On the edge of the plate sat a piece of golden cornbread, its crust slightly cracked to reveal the fluffy interior, brushed with a layer of glistening honey.

Darnell looked down at his own portion; there were clearly two fewer pieces of beef, and the cornbread was a size smaller.

"Mom, isn't this favoritism a bit too obvious?"

"Why do you need to eat so much?"

Mary stood with her hands on her hips, looking at him with righteous indignation.

"I know you went out, you must have eaten plenty. You haven't even wiped the tomato sauce off the corner of your mouth; you must have been eating junk food, getting all fat and sturdy... look at An, he's so thin a gust of wind could blow him away."

"Mom..."

"Eat!"

Darnell shut his mouth.

Mary sat at the head of the table, and without performing any prayer or ritual to thank God, she simply announced that dinner had begun and started eating.

Before long, Mary asked Lin An with concern.

"How is it? Is the saltiness just right? I used less salt this time, since you said it was a bit salty last time..."

Lin An took a bite of the beef.

The meat was stewed until tender, melting in his mouth with almost no need to chew, the acidity and sweetness of the red wine and tomatoes balanced perfectly, with a faint aroma of thyme and bay leaves in the aftertaste.

"Just right, it's delicious!"

A huge smile bloomed on Mary's face, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes bunching up like a flower.

"Eat more, eat more, there's still more in the pot."

She picked up a spoon and, without waiting for an answer, ladled another large scoop of beef onto Lin An's plate.

Darnell looked at the few lonely pieces of meat on his own plate and silently took a bite of his cornbread.

The only sound left in the living room was the clinking of knives and forks against plates.

Then, the sound of the door opening and another set of footsteps came from the entrance.

"Mom, I'm home."