I Want to See You

Lin Mo watched Joanna gulp down both bottles of milk and still look as though she wanted more. He cursed Vought again in his heart.

Look how hungry she is. She probably hasn't had milk more than a few times.

Now Vought wanted to turn their brief contact into long-term observation. That suited him perfectly. The more time he spent with Joanna, the more he could teach her.

A few weeks later, after his time in the sun ended, Lin Mo was taken alone to a new education room.

A middle-aged researcher Lin Mo had never seen before was waiting to speak with him.

Instead of the light blue uniform worn by ordinary caregivers, the man wore a neatly buttoned white lab coat.

Lin Mo sat down, his legs dangling above the floor, and pretended to look around with curiosity.

He glanced down at the toes of his shoes, then up at the researcher, acting like a child who had no idea why he had been brought there.

"Lin Mo, you've been getting along very well with Joanna lately," the researcher said approvingly.

Lin Mo nodded and put on a delighted expression.

"She likes playing with me."

"And do you like her?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Lin Mo appeared to think hard for a moment before answering.

"She plays with me."

That answer was enough. He couldn't exactly launch into a long speech.

A gentle smile appeared on the researcher's face.

"So you'd like to keep seeing Joanna often, wouldn't you?"

"Yes."

"Then you both need to follow the arrangements here."

The researcher slid a picture in front of Lin Mo. It showed a child sitting in an examination chair while several staff members stood nearby recording data.

"Physical examinations make sure neither of you is sick."

The second picture showed a child demonstrating an ability behind reinforced glass.

"Ability tests help you control yourselves better."

In the third picture, two children sat in a room full of toys.

"Only after you complete your examinations and training can the researchers decide whether you're ready to keep seeing each other."

The researcher laid the three cards out in order.

The cause and effect had been made so simple that even a young child could understand it at a glance.

"So you must cooperate with every experiment," the researcher said.

"It's for your own good."

Lin Mo looked at the cards on the table.

He had heard that line many times before.

Whether the person being told to obey believed it didn't matter at all.

Lin Mo showed no resentment. Anyone could play dumb. He tilted his head as though he hadn't quite understood.

"If I don't get checked, I can't see Joanna?"

"Of course, if you aren't feeling well, you shouldn't take part in activities together."

The researcher had not answered directly.

"What if I feel fine?"

"The researchers need to examine you to confirm that."

"So I still have to get checked?"

"Yes."

The researcher smiled as he spoke:

"Children who follow instructions get more activity time."

Lin Mo lowered his head and traced two uneven circles on the tabletop with his finger.

A few seconds later, he asked quietly:

"Does Joanna know too?"

"She will."

"What if she doesn't listen?"

"Then we'll have to reduce the time you spend together for a while."

The researcher's tone remained gentle, but his words were cold. "That isn't a punishment. It's simply that when she's emotionally unstable, she shouldn't be in contact with you."

Lin Mo couldn't be bothered to ask more. Vought kept repeating the same few lines. In the end, it only pushed around those it thought wouldn't fight back.

As the researchers themselves had said in the original story, Homelander had been fully capable of killing everyone in the Bunker laboratory and escaping. He hadn't done it for psychological reasons.

But in reality, the researchers studying Homelander had never dared to truly hurt him. Even a rabbit would bite when cornered. Whatever his psychological flaws, Homelander would certainly fight back if his life were threatened.

Yet Vought seemed to think that because it couldn't control Joanna, Lin Mo would be easy to control instead.

Joanna noticed the change almost immediately.

Before their next activity together, she arrived nearly twenty minutes late.

Lin Mo sat alone at the dining table. The lunch laid out on it had already gone a little cold.

No explanation came from the Observation Room. At last, the isolation door on the other side opened, and Joanna walked in clutching her blue blanket.

Her hair was a little messy, and her face was darker than usual. After sitting down, she looked back at the closed isolation door for a long moment.

"They took blood."

She was telling Lin Mo what had happened.

"I can see that."

Lin Mo pointed to the tiny puncture on her arm.

"Did it hurt?"

"No."

Given how tough her body was, an ordinary needle could barely injure her, and a wound that small would heal quickly.

The pain wasn't what bothered her. She looked at Lin Mo, her pale eyes seeming to speak for her.

"I said no."

Joanna sat beside Lin Mo and continued.

"They said I couldn't see you if I didn't do it."

Lin Mo fell silent, which was rare for him. This had happened sooner than he had expected.

It seemed Vought had already turned Joanna's need to see him into leverage.

If she refused to obey, she couldn't see Lin Mo.

Simple and effective.

"So you did it?" Lin Mo asked.

Joanna nodded slightly. Her eyes dimmed, and, as though remembering something else, she went on.

"They took a lot."

"Then they made me hit things."

"Hit what?"

"The wall."

It seemed they had been recording the upper limit of her strength.

Joanna had always hated those tests. She didn't like striking things over and over at the broadcast's command, and she didn't understand why the researchers were so eager to watch her destroy things.

"They only opened the door after I finished."

When she had finished speaking, she looked up at Lin Mo.

"Did you only come because I listened?"

The question weighed on Lin Mo. For Joanna as she was now, this arrangement really was better than what had come before.

In practical terms, her living conditions were improving.

Lin Mo didn't plan to change that for now. They were still too young. If he rashly broke the existing rules, Vought would only go back to the crueler methods it had used before.

For the time being, going along with the company's arrangements might indeed be the least harmful choice for Joanna.

But he couldn't let Joanna believe their relationship was nothing more than a reward from Vought.

Lin Mo turned toward her and looked at her seriously.

"They opened the door after you cooperated with the examination."

"Mm."

"But I didn't come to see you because they told me to."

Joanna didn't understand. She blinked.

Lin Mo deliberately slowed down.

"They set the time, but I chose to come in because I—"

"Wanted to see you."

Joanna stared at him, her small mouth slightly open, her expression blank with surprise.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yes."

"Not a reward?"

"No."

"You aren't a reward I get for finishing an experiment," Lin Mo said. "And neither am I."

Joanna lowered her gaze to the tabletop between them.

She could easily understand complex shapes and numbers, but she couldn't immediately grasp an emotional distinction that had no concrete form. Or perhaps she was simply too young.

As she understood it, the researchers opened the door, and the researchers decided when they could meet.

So it was only natural for her to think Lin Mo was no different from sweets, picture books, or television: something she could have only after obeying.

Lin Mo held out his hand. "Even if they don't give me a reward, I still want to see you."

Joanna looked at his hand, then placed hers in it without hesitation. She gave Lin Mo a small smile. Why think so hard about it? If she couldn't figure it out now, she could leave it for her future self. Lin Mo had taught her that too.

"I understand."