As Long as You're Not Hitting Him, It's Fine

"Will you always stay with me?"

Joanna asked him that sometimes.

Caught off guard, Lin Mo answered while looking through the childish picture books the researchers had prepared. They were one of his few pleasures here.

"As long as I can, I'll come see you."

"Because you want to?"

"Yes."

Hearing the answer she wanted, Joanna broke into an adorable smile and watched Lin Mo read without blinking.

She didn't like anything in the picture books. She would much rather watch Lin Mo.

Lin Mo had noticed her intense gaze long ago, but he paid it no mind.

Still, sometimes he wondered... how had Joanna started protecting him so quickly?

Was this some domineering heroine's possessive love?

Once, when a caregiver approached, she stepped between them.

When someone criticized Lin Mo's actions over the intercom for failing to meet requirements, she immediately looked up at the observation window, open hostility in her eyes.

The clearest example came when a caregiver entered to replace the monitoring device on Lin Mo's arm. The device had been prepared specifically for him, and Joanna had one too. It could track basic readings such as their heart rates.

The clasp malfunctioned, so the caregiver tried several times to fasten it.

A hint of impatience appeared on Lin Mo's face. He didn't like wearing the thing either. It felt awkward, but he put up with it. It was nothing important.

Joanna stood at once and glared at the caregiver. She had seen Lin Mo's impatience and mistakenly thought he hated what the man was doing.

The caregiver stiffened. Under Joanna's hostile stare, his hands grew even clumsier.

"It's fine."

Sensing something was wrong, Lin Mo spoke before she could act, but Joanna kept staring at the man.

The caregiver finished the replacement as quickly as he could and fled the Game Room.

Only after the isolation door closed did Joanna sit down again.

"If you don't like him, I'll hit him."

She said it calmly, without anger, as though she were stating the obvious solution.

Lin Mo frowned slightly, then relaxed. As long as she wasn't hitting him, it was fine.

Joanna's dependence on him was turning into a desire to protect him, but that wasn't a bad thing in itself.

As for anyone trying to bully him, Joanna wouldn't need to step in. His eyes would already be glowing red. It would definitely be the work of that evil Starlight.

That day, a new set of hero figurines sat in the Game Room. One wore a blue cape and stood with its hands on its hips; another wore silver armor.

Several ordinary civilian figurines stood beside them.

Clearly, Vought hoped the toys would teach the two children the idea that "Superheroes protect civilians."

That gave Lin Mo an opportunity.

He placed the blue-caped figurine on the table and looked up at Joanna.

"This one's strong."

Joanna glanced at it and said with confidence,

"Not as strong as me."

Lin Mo didn't argue. He picked up a civilian figurine and held it in his palm, where it looked especially tiny. "This one's weak."

Joanna touched it with a finger. The slightest pressure nearly crushed its flimsy body. "It would break in one squeeze."

The plastic figurine was barely half the size of her palm.

"That's why you need to be gentler." Lin Mo held her wrist and slowly eased the pressure.

Joanna pouted, unconcerned. "If it breaks, we can get another one."

That was how things had always worked in her life. Broken blocks were taken away, damaged toy cars were replaced by researchers, and destroyed experimental equipment was repaired.

It was hard for her to understand that some things couldn't be replaced. All she needed was Lin Mo.

"You can't replace people like that."

Lin Mo set down the figurine and looked her in the eyes, speaking clearly, word by word.

Joanna immediately objected, her little brows drawing together. "They keep replacing the caregivers. One leaves, and another comes."

"They're not the same person."

"They're all the same." She stuck out her chin, her voice firm.

"How are they the same?" Lin Mo asked.

"They're all scared of me. They all wear the same clothes."

"And... they all tell me to obey."

Her answer was blunt and cruel. For a moment, Lin Mo had no reply.

This was part of Vought's plan. Those people were considered expendable, and Vought didn't allow Joanna much contact with them. The staff also deliberately avoided forming personal relationships with a high-risk test subject.

So, to Joanna, they were simply a group of people in identical uniforms, carrying out identical orders.

One disappeared and another appeared. There was no difference.

"Everyone is different," Lin Mo finally said.

Joanna looked at the figurines on the table. A long while passed before she spoke in a muffled voice.

"But they're mean."

"Some of them are." Lin Mo didn't deny it. He lightly tapped one of the figurines, his voice growing somber.

Vought's researchers had been hurting her all along. Even if some were only following orders, that didn't erase the malice behind everything that happened here. If he lied and told Joanna that everyone was protecting her, it would only make it harder for her to tell genuine kindness from cruelty.

"But not everyone is the same." He looked at Joanna again, his gaze gentle. "Some people are weak, and some are strong. Strong people can be cruel, and weak people can do everything they can to help others."

Joanna pointed at the blue-caped figurine, her eyes widening slightly with puzzled curiosity.

"The strong protect the weak?"

"Yes." Lin Mo nodded.

"Why?" She tilted her head, golden hair slipping down beside her cheek.

"Because weak people might not be able to protect themselves."

"That's their problem." Joanna frowned at once, as though the answer were obvious.

Her response didn't surprise Lin Mo.

Joanna had never had a normal upbringing, nor had she ever felt the satisfaction of helping someone else.

Naturally, no one had told her that strength also came with responsibility. Lin Mo didn't entirely agree with that idea himself, but he needed Joanna to understand it.

Lin Mo tried an example closer to her own life, softening his voice. "Suppose you had a big blanket that kept you warm, and someone beside you was shivering from the cold."

Joanna instinctively hugged the little blue blanket in her arms tighter, clutching its edge. Quietly but earnestly, she said, "I could share it with you."

"What if it wasn't me?" Lin Mo asked softly. "What if it was a child you'd never met? He hadn't taken anything from you or hurt you. He was just cold and had no blanket."

He paused and looked into her eyes. "Would you share a little with him?"

Joanna lowered her head and stared at her toes, her little brows tightly furrowed. She stayed silent so long that Lin Mo thought she wouldn't answer. Then she spoke softly, a trace of dependence in her voice. "Do you want me to share?"

"It's not up to me. You decide for yourself." Lin Mo stroked the top of her head, her hair soft and smooth beneath his hand.

"Then why should I give him any?" She looked up, her eyes full of confusion. She couldn't understand why she should give something up for a stranger.

"Because you have plenty, and he needs help right now."

Joanna still didn't understand, and her small mouth puckered into a pout. She was willing to share her blanket with Lin Mo because she saw him as someone like her, the only light in her cold world.

But why should a stranger with no connection to her deserve any of her warmth?