Killer's Holiday

A pale glow gradually seeped into the darkness, draping the room in a hazy brightness.

Ji Huaishu shifted restlessly a few times, then finally flipped over, sat up, and pulled open the curtains. The ghastly white light made her shrink back on reflex. She stared outside for quite a while before realizing that there was actually sunlight today.

On the final day of their break, Dragon's Return City had cleared up!

No local resident could resist a sunny day, much less Ji Huaishu, who had spent several days moving through the gloomy Marsh. All the irritation of being woken by the light vanished without a trace. She hopped out of bed and gave a small cheer in her heart, pondering where to squander this rare day off.

First, she could go sun herself at the safe workshop... exercise a little, then have lunch at an open-air restaurant... maybe go boating in the public area in the afternoon... though afternoon tea sounded nice too. Or perhaps cycle around the city? Try a picnic on the grass?

By the time Ji Huaishu stepped out of her room, she had even considered copying someone and jumping out the window for a shortcut. But the thought made her stop and look toward Room 302 next door.

This floor was dormitory space specially prepared for senior inspectors. Due to the well-known shortage of personnel, she had been the only one living here from the beginning. But things had changed not long ago. A certain killer, who had rendered great service and been promoted, had received better accommodations and now lived next door to her.

Thinking that playing alone on such a rare day off would be no fun, Ji Huaishu tried knocking. "Hey! You in there?"

"I am. Come in."

The door opened automatically. That bastard Chu Hengkong had actually enabled the room's built-in voice controls. Though he never went out of his way to polish his image, he was never sloppy either. His place shouldn't have been a trash heap... but...

Ji Huaishu took off her shoes in the entryway and went inside. After looking around without finding any slippers, an ominous feeling rose in her heart. On such fine weather, he had neither drawn back the curtains nor opened the windows. The room was steeped in lifeless gloom. She blinked and finally made out her surroundings, then let out a wail. "My god... how exactly have you been living?!"

There were no decorations on the dining table, cabinets, or walls. Everything was blank and white, like a newly finished house. The bench did not even have a back cushion; dirty clothes had simply been tossed over it instead, vividly displaying the leisurely lifestyle philosophy that "a laundry basket is unnecessary when a sofa can serve as one." The dust on the floor was maintained at precisely the level of "it ought to be swept in another two days," making it obvious that he was the sort of savage who only cleaned once every few weeks. All the dried fruit, snacks, and other benefits collected from the team were piled in a corner of the hall. Quite a few seemed to have been opened, but the stack was so high that no one had the courage to investigate further.

Chu Hengkong's dormitory was indeed not a trash heap, because there was hardly any trash here... His dormitory was a doghouse! A bare, unfinished doghouse at that!

"I'm living perfectly normally," Chu Hengkong's voice came from the bedroom. Ji Huaishu rushed in in three quick strides and found him lying flat on the bed, utterly unhurried, wearing the expression of a dead pig unafraid of boiling water. She hurriedly pulled open the curtains to welcome in the sunlight. Looking around, she felt even more despair. "Don't you think your home is missing something?!"

This room was even cleaner than the one outside. Apart from two or three pitiful books on the shelf, there was practically nothing at all... That green coat was hanging over a chair, and there were no other clothes. The entire wardrobe was empty!

Chu Hengkong rolled over and sat up, still wearing the black shirt and trousers he normally wore outside. Faced with Ji Huaishu's interrogation, he remained remarkably calm. "There's less than where I used to live."

"And?" Ji Huaishu glared at him with all her might.

"It doesn't matter." Chu Hengkong found her reaction deeply strange. "It doesn't affect normal living."

"I don't even want to talk about your floor. Forget decorations and little ornaments—where are your clothes? Your slippers? Spare sheets, bedding, and pillowcases?" Ji Huaishu stamped her foot in frustration and pointed at the empty wardrobe. "Comrade Killer, look at that thing. Don't you feel like you ought to buy something?"

Chu Hengkong lowered his head and saw the girl's white socks standing on his grimy floor. He felt a little embarrassed too. "Two sets of clothes are enough to rotate through. Since I live alone, I only bought one pair of slippers... Sorry, I forgot to remind you not to take your shoes off."

"That's not the point..."

At that moment, Ji Huaishu felt profound despair. It came from a fundamental difference in perception. Some people felt that a dormitory was still their home and had to be kept in order; others felt that as long as a place to rest had a bed, it was good enough. Generally speaking, the latter were either unfortunate children accustomed to hardship or people who had gone through unusual experiences... Her skin crawled at the thought, and she hurriedly asked, "Hey, did you live in this kind of environment when you were a killer?"

Chu Hengkong looked utterly baffled.

"No. Back then, I lived in a villa converted from an old building. There were carpets everywhere, and famous paintings lined the hallways."

"Then why are you living like this now?" Ji Huaishu nearly broke down. It was like some rich young master willingly living in a doghouse and thinking the doghouse was great. There was no angle from which she could begin to understand it.

"I'm a killer. I only handle work." Chu Hengkong tried to explain this basic common sense to his partner. "Houses, cars, things like that... matters outside work... my boss handled them for me."

"In my mind, your boss has instantly gone from iron-blooded mafia to worried housekeeper!" Ji Huaishu covered her face. "I've had enough. Get up and clean! While the weather's good, wash all your sheets and duvet covers, then come shopping with me!"

Chu Hengkong stared at her in disbelief. "Have you got it wrong? Today is my day off..."

"Get! To! Work!!"

"My vacation was wasted."

Under Ji Huaishu's commands, Chu Hengkong spent nearly an hour and a half tidying his room. Most of it felt entirely pointless, such as wiping dust from places no one ever used, sweeping floors that looked perfectly fine, and washing sheets, duvet covers, and pillowcases that were not even that dirty. Now Ji Huaishu had dragged him to the commercial street, where he walked beneath the sun alongside young men and women, picking out useless little wall hangings, blankets, and potted plants.

Ji Huaishu was examining a round cactus when she heard that and sneered. "Then what had you originally planned to do? Practice martial arts all day?"

"Half the day," Chu Hengkong corrected. "Fish in the swamp for the other half. If I had time, wash my coat."

"My god, I forgot about that coat you never take off..." Ji Huaishu tossed the round cactus into the shopping basket. "Even if you really like a piece of clothing, you don't have to wear it every day, do you? It's not even that pretty."

Chu Hengkong was stubborn. "This coat was a high-end custom piece made for my family. It counts as my... souvenir. It used to look good. It only became like this after being worn for too long."

"Then go get it reinforced at a clothing shop. A higher-grade treatment should be around 400 Flow Pearls," Ji Huaishu said casually.

"...What reinforcement?"

"The craft of the Netherworld Divine Kingdom artisans." Ji Huaishu gave him a look as if this were nothing strange. "Never heard of it, have you? You don't care about anything outside combat and missions, do you? You're practically isolated from normal society. I honestly suspect that if you had no jobs to take, you'd rather faint from hunger on the street than ask whether anyone nearby had free porridge."

Chu Hengkong had no answer. He had to admit that her words struck straight at the heart. In the two months since he had crossed over, he had gained a clear grasp of the personnel situations among the city's various factions, knew the dangerous areas and crime-ridden districts, and had used most common Relic weapons. But he had never cared whether this place had service facilities different from Earth's, nor did he know where to find fairly priced merchants or well-stocked shops.

This city had technology and immigrants from every Dust Island, yet Chu Hengkong knew almost nothing about what made them distinctive outside of battle.

"You're right," Chu Hengkong admitted. "I should pay more attention."

"Riiight?" Ji Huaishu drew out the word. "Hey, look at this! It'd be nice on your desk."

She selected a green succulent that looked like an upright rubber sword. Chu Hengkong glanced at it, then picked up a blue conch shell. "I'd rather put this there. You can listen to the sound of the waves."

When the conch was shaken, wave after wave of surf echoed from within—desolate and bleak. Ji Huaishu's expression became extremely strange. "Wow, you really are psychologically twisted... Of all things, why listen to waves!"

Chu Hengkong stared at her wide-eyed. "Is it a crime that I like fishing?"

"It's not about fishing. The sound of the waves is the most depressing sound in the world." Ji Huaishu snatched the conch and put it down. "Imagine sitting alone on a cliffside, looking out at the sea. Heaven and earth are empty, and there's nothing but hollow waves. That empty loneliness feels like it could strangle someone to death. Cold and lonely."

"Your way of thinking is completely abnormal." Seeing that she had already headed for the cashier, Chu Hengkong tried to argue his case before paying. "Besides, I don't see what's so good about this thing..."

Ji Huaishu held the little plant beside her face and looked at him with a beaming smile. "Think about it again. Don't you think it's cute?"

"Fine, I'll buy it." Chu Hengkong readily followed her lead. "I'll buy it."

They spent another hour buying all kinds of clothes. The sheer variety of materials opened Chu Hengkong's eyes: silk spun by a certain insect, cool even in summer; lightweight metal from scorching regions, which felt like cloth to the touch yet retained heat; fabric sewn from colloid and plastic, resembling denim but extremely wear-resistant. By the time they were done with all that, it was already noon. She dragged him to a restaurant converted from a large wooden ship, where they ate stewed chicken, salad, and seafood noodles.

"Half my vacation is gone."

"Don't be silly. You're on vacation right now!" Ji Huaishu said happily, the Pendant on her chest glinting silver.

Today, she wore sunglasses, a long-sleeved white shirt, and fitted jeans. Her golden hair was not tied into a ponytail but draped over her shoulders. One could see her effort to project mature charm, but the stray tufts that always stuck up made the outfit look somewhat mismatched.

Ji Huaishu noticed his gaze and looked back expectantly. Chu Hengkong could not quite bear to say anything hurtful, so he said, "The Pendant is nice."

It was a sparkling little thing, a cluster of ray-like protrusions rising from a crescent-shaped base, like a meteor ascending from the depths. Ji Huaishu smiled without warmth. "I wear it all the time..."

"I know," Chu Hengkong said frankly. "It's just the only thing I can compliment."

"Screw you." Ji Huaishu reached out to pinch his tentacle, but gave up because it was too slippery. She wiped her sticky hand. "Still, it is pretty. My dad said it was on me when he found me. It might be a Relic from my biological parents."

This time, Chu Hengkong was genuinely startled. "You're not your dad's biological daughter?"

Ji Huaishu looked at him as if he were an idiot.

"Why would you think a single man with black hair and black eyes would have a daughter with blonde hair and purple eyes..."

"This place is such a mess already. Why would anyone care about hair color? Besides, you look exactly like him."

"Really?" Ji Huaishu leaned over the table toward him. "You think I look like Dad?"

"Your temperament is exactly the same," Chu Hengkong declared without hesitation.

"Is that sooo? I seeee."

Ji Huaishu immediately brightened up. She wound the seafood noodles into a bundle with her fork and happily ate them. Chu Hengkong's mouth twitched. He felt as if he was wasting time. This was clearly a rare, perfect day, yet they were spending it talking about such meaningless things.

Was this what a vacation meant in the conventional sense? Changing into nicer clothes, going out to stroll around, eat, drink, and buy things, trying to make life different from normal.

"I still prefer fishing," Chu Hengkong said. "Or playing games at home."

"Don't be so old-fashioned... Wait, what does playing games mean? Card games and stuff?"

Chu Hengkong tried to explain. "Video games. You control other people on a screen, make them walk around, buy things, drive, or fight..."

"Wow, wow, wow. That sounds so empty. Why not do that in real life instead?" Ji Huaishu took off her sunglasses and looked at him.

Chu Hengkong took out his phone and waved it at her. "Because games often have things reality doesn't. I've got lots of old games saved on my phone and play them whenever I have time. Unfortunately, it's out of power now, so I can't play."

"Oooh." Ji Huaishu examined it for a while. "Why don't you try buying a charging plug?"

"..."

"I can tell you've never heard of one. Come with me after lunch."

Their next destination was not far from the restaurant, on the tree-lined Green Surge Road: a recently renovated three-story building. The shop was arranged like a museum, with oil paintings, ships in bottles, and all sorts of strange little objects. The owner was an old man, and he was delighted to see Chu Hengkong. "Ah, Inspector Chu! Take whatever you want!"

This place was called Iron Oar Shop—the very store Chu Hengkong had smashed up on his first day after arriving. Chu Hengkong took off his coat and set it on the counter, waving away the old man's offer. "Thanks, but I'll pay normally. Please reinforce my coat, and give me a charging plug too."

The old shopkeeper searched through the warehouse for quite a while before handing him a little device that looked much like a power bank.

"There aren't many of these left," the old shopkeeper told him. "Very few Dust Islands dare use 'electricity' as an energy source... You know, it's extremely, extremely dangerous in every respect... So its energy conversion rate is low too. You might need to spend 200 Flow Pearls to... let me think, what was that word..."

"Charge," Chu Hengkong said.

"That's right, charge!" The old shopkeeper was delighted. "How interesting. Whenever I see these unusual little things, I want to buy them. Please wait twenty minutes while I work on your coat."

Chu Hengkong found a round slot for inserting Flow Pearls on the back of the charging plug. Its "charging cable" was a strip of malleable metal that automatically changed into the shape of a USB connector when brought near his phone. He tried charging it and discovered that it actually worked.

"My god."

Ji Huaishu glanced sideways at him. "Is this really worth marveling over?"

"Very much so."

The old shopkeeper was quick with his hands and finished treating the coat in little more than ten minutes. Once the reinforcement was complete, the dark green coat looked brand new. To Chu Hengkong's delight, the family crest on its back had returned. It was a staff formed by two little snakes coiling around each other. It had originally been worn down from years of use, but now it looked as vivid as if it had just been stitched.

Carrying bags upon bags of goods, they returned to the dormitory and remodeled the doghouse into "something barely fit to live in." Once they were done, Chu Hengkong opened his phone one-handed, went straight to the emulator, and selected an old game from the early twenty-first century.

"What's this... Pokémon Emerald...?" Ji Huaishu craned her neck to look.

"A very classic old game." Chu Hengkong did not take his eyes off the screen. "If you're curious, sit beside me and watch."

Watching the pixelated little person step out of a truck, Ji Huaishu could not help sighing. "Your Dust Island is so strange! What's interesting about something that looks like a stick figure drawing?"

Ten minutes later.

"Catch it! Ah, it got away... Throw another ball, throw another ball!!"

"There are no balls left."

"Go buy some, hurry!" Ji Huaishu was brimming with enthusiasm. "I want to catch that little green thing!"

Twenty minutes later.

"Why does this yellow fox keep running away? Does it have no manners?"

"Don't take a game so seriously."

"That little green thing's damage is so pathetic... How does something like that survive in the wild? Can I fight for it?"

Another ten minutes later, Ji Huaishu clutched a bag of potato chips with a solemn expression.

"Let's make a deal. One bag of potato chips for ten minutes of playtime, okay?"

"What if I say no?"

"Then I'll take it." Ji Huaishu bared her teeth.

"You're a captain, at least have some manners." Chu Hengkong was heartbroken. "Why are you actually trying to snatch it?!"

With a strange cry, Ji Huaishu stretched out her wicked claws and pounced, fighting him for the phone like an oversized child. Seeing how focused she was, Chu Hengkong simply gave it to her. Ji Huaishu cheered as she took over the game, and the two of them stared at the tiny screen, grinning. When he looked away from the game, he noticed that a cushion had been added to the wooden bench, making it comfortable to sit on. The cleaned room was bright and tidy, and the floor reflected the light from outside.

"Do you want to go boating tonight?" Ji Huaishu asked casually.

"Sure," Chu Hengkong said. "It's a day off anyway."

They were squeezed together over the game. Strands of golden hair brushed past his ear, while the girl's startled cries rang out in the room from time to time. Chu Hengkong felt that this really was a little wasteful of time, yet he also felt that it would not hurt to pass a while longer like this.

He had to admit that this kind of holiday was not bad either—far more pleasant than vacationing alone.