The Blue Blanket

Vogelbaum sat calmly in his chair, watching the two children on the screen.

One sat on the carpet, while the other stood before him, their hands briefly clasped together.

A moment later, he made his decision.

"Arrange a second meeting."

"Remove the other toys from the room."

"Leave only the blue blanket."

A few days later, Lin Mo was brought back to that room.

This time, the caregivers did not repeatedly ask whether he was afraid as they had before, and the researchers treated him much more naturally.

Someone even handed him a carton of apple juice before he entered the Game Room.

Lin Mo held the carton and took big gulps, mumbling a question whose answer he already knew.

"Will I see her again today?"

"Yes."

A caregiver straightened his collar for him.

"You two can play a little longer."

Lin Mo did not ask anything else. He had already achieved his goal anyway.

Judging by the current situation, Vought seemed to think the first meeting had gone well. The better the results, the less likely Vought would be to end the arrangement.

That suited his plan. The only thing he needed to watch out for was that Vought never conducted experiments without a purpose.

The first meeting had been to test whether Joanna would attack him. He had no idea what they were up to with this second one.

The metal door slowly opened. Lin Mo entered the Game Room and soon stopped in his tracks. The room had been emptied. The blocks, picture books, toy cars, and stuffed animals were all gone, and even the children's table and chairs had been removed.

Only a blue blanket lay in the center of the colorful carpet.

Lin Mo recognized it at once. It was the thing Homelander had always clutched in his arms as a child.

Before their first meeting, Vought must have deliberately left it in her original room.

Now, it had been placed alone in the center of the area where the two would meet.

Their purpose was obvious. Vought wanted to see whether they would come to blows over it. Their methods were as disgusting as ever.

That blanket had been the only thing Homelander had owned as a child. The show had made it clear how much he treasured it.

They knew perfectly well how dependent Homelander was on that blanket, and that he had once attacked a caregiver who tried to take it away.

If Lin Mo touched the blanket first, what would she do?

Warn him?

Snatch it back?

Or attack him outright?

Lin Mo looked up at the Observation Window. There were more figures behind the glass than last time.

These people were clearly eager to see what would happen next in the experiment. But he had no other choice, so Lin Mo slowly made his way over to the blue blanket.

Avoiding the experimental variable too obviously would only look suspicious.

Lin Mo walked to the center of the carpet and sat about half a meter from the blanket, lowering his head to fiddle with his fingers.

About a minute later, the isolation door on the other side slowly opened.

Joanna appeared in the doorway. Compared with last time, she entered the room noticeably faster.

Her blond hair was still a little messy, and she wore the same loose white lab gown.

But this time, she did not linger in the doorway to study her surroundings. The moment the door fully opened, she raised her head and began searching.

Her gaze swept across the empty room. It paused noticeably on the blue blanket on the floor, but finally settled on Lin Mo.

She did not approach the blanket. She did not even spare another glance for the most important thing in her life.

She walked straight up to Lin Mo, and he lifted his head.

Joanna did not sit down. First, she looked down at his face, as though checking whether the person before her matched her memory.

Then she reached out and gently touched his wrist, right where she had grabbed him last time.

Her touch was light, skin briefly brushing skin, as though she were stroking some precious treasure.

Lin Mo froze for a moment too. He really had not expected that. A brief stir also ran through the researchers in the Observation Room.

"She didn't prioritize contact with the blanket."

"Force output and heart rate are both in the lowest range."

Joanna did not move her fingers away.

She kept her head lowered, carefully studying Lin Mo's skin. There were no bruises, no wounds, and no sign that he had ever been hurt there.

That quietly put her at ease.

Lin Mo had originally thought that when she let go immediately after hearing him say it hurt, she had merely reacted instinctively to unfamiliar feedback. Now, however, it seemed there was far more to it. Perhaps she was easier to reach than he had thought.

Three days had passed, and she still remembered. She remembered where she had grabbed him, and she remembered him saying it hurt.

The first thing she did upon seeing him again was not look for the blanket she depended on most, but check whether that spot was all right.

It was not that she lacked empathy. No one had ever taught her what it meant to hurt someone.

Lin Mo looked down at her fingers, more or less understanding what she wanted to know.

"It doesn't hurt anymore."

Joanna lifted her little face. She seemed to understand those words.

Her tense shoulders relaxed slightly. Lin Mo raised his hand and gently touched the back of hers.

"You did really well this time."

Although Joanna said nothing, her body gave an honest answer. She did not pull away from his touch.

Only after that brief check did she turn to look at the blue blanket on the floor.

At that moment, Lin Mo distinctly felt everyone behind the Observation Window tense up.

The real test of the experiment was only now beginning. Rather than wait for Joanna to pick it up herself, he stood and walked over to the blanket.

The security personnel immediately readied themselves. The anesthetic gas valve was placed on standby, and the sonic device finished charging.

Joanna remained where she was, her eyes following Lin Mo. She neither warned him nor rushed at him.

Lin Mo bent down and picked up the blue blanket. The soft fabric carried a faint scent of detergent.

Its edges were already worn, clearly from long use, but this was the only thing Joanna had been allowed to keep for any length of time.

The experiments changed, but this blanket was always returned to her afterward. To a child who had never had a real family, perhaps it had become more than an object.

It was safety itself.

Holding the blanket, Lin Mo walked back to Joanna.

In the Observation Room, Frank and Marty lowered their voices.

"What's he going to do?"

"Wait."

Vogelbaum stared into the room.

"Let's see how Lin Mo handles it."

Lin Mo did not deliberately hide the blanket behind his back or pretend to claim it for himself. That would go against his original intentions and might sour their relationship, making it harder to get close to her next time. Besides, Vought had not told him to do anything.

So he decided to handle it his own way and held it out to Joanna.

"Here."

Joanna looked at the blanket, then at him, seemingly unable to understand. But instinctively, she slowly reached out and took one corner.

Lin Mo immediately let go, without hesitating or deliberately tugging on it. The entire blanket returned to her arms.

Joanna hugged it, and Lin Mo could clearly feel her body relax.

In the Observation Room, a researcher immediately said in a low voice:

"The competition variable wasn't established."

Marty frowned, irritated.

"We should have required Lin Mo to use the blanket first."

Vogelbaum did not respond. He was beginning to look forward to Joanna's reaction.

He watched Joanna stand there holding the blanket, her gaze fixed on Lin Mo. Unlike usual, she did not wrap the whole blanket tightly around herself.

A few seconds later, she did something no one had expected.

Joanna walked over to Lin Mo. Grasping one corner of the blanket, she lifted her arm. The blue fabric fell over Lin Mo's shoulders first, then covered her as well.