I Hope You Know What's Good for You

A knowing glint flashed through Lin Mo's eyes.

Since the system had come online last night, his attitude toward Vought had changed. If it came to that, he wouldn't mind shaking up its leadership.

Vought didn't know that, of course. They probably still thought Lin Mo was just a test subject trapped in the Bunker, one who was cooperating for now.

Since Edgar had come to him, Lin Mo was happy to hear his terms.

Perhaps he could even change the fates of a few important people along the way and earn himself some energy.

After all, he was still two hundred points short of the amount needed to choose a low-energy world to travel to. Right now, he was broke.

A story character showing up at his door at a time like this looked an awful lot like a walking bundle of energy.

It would almost be disrespectful to the system not to open it.

"Wait here for me."

Lin Mo reached out and stroked her head, trying to persuade her.

Joanna immediately shook her head, moving Lin Mo's hand with it and mussing her already messy blond hair even more.

"No."

"Listen to me."

"No." Joanna kept shaking her head.

"I'll be right back."

"That's what they say every time they take you away."

Joanna stared at him, her voice tight with unmistakable anger.

"Sometimes it's an hour. Sometimes it's half a day."

She remembered every separation, even exactly how long Lin Mo had been gone each time.

Those little things, long since forgotten by everyone else, had never truly passed for her.

"This time is different."

Lin Mo wasn't surprised she felt that way. Living in Vought's environment was bound to affect her, but he couldn't give in to her on everything.

"How is it different?"

"Before, they decided when I came back."

"This time, I decide." Lin Mo made the promise solemnly.

Joanna looked at him.

A brief silence fell over the room.

She could sense that something about Lin Mo had changed.

Since that morning, he no longer seemed to be enduring Vought with the same cool restraint he always had.

His voice was still calm, but beneath that calm was a frustration she couldn't quite describe.

It was as though something that had bound him for a long time had suddenly vanished.

"Then how long?"

Joanna finally relented.

"An hour at most."

"Thirty minutes."

"You've learned to bargain?" Lin Mo was rather surprised. His little girl was growing up.

"Twenty minutes."

"How did it get shorter?"

Joanna didn't answer. She just stared at him.

She looked ready to cut it down to five minutes if Lin Mo said one more word.

"Fine. Thirty minutes."

Lin Mo said helplessly, "If I'm gone longer than thirty minutes, you can come find me."

He figured that if the elders from his old hometown had raised Joanna, she would have been formidable at the market. The vendors wouldn't dare make a peep when she haggled.

Joanna's eyes brightened slightly with anticipation.

"Any way I want?"

Lin Mo paused as he got up. Realizing what she meant, he immediately warned her.

"No crashing through the door."

"Then I'll go through the wall."

"No tearing down walls."

"Through the ceiling."

"No damaging the Bunker."

Joanna frowned.

"Then how am I supposed to get in?"

"Just open the door normally," Lin Mo replied as he got out of bed.

"That's too slow."

"It takes one second."

"Crashing in is faster."

"..."

Lin Mo suddenly wondered if letting her move around freely had been a mistake.

But seeing how reluctant Joanna was to let him go, he reached out and gently hugged her.

"Wait for me to come back."

Joanna stiffened slightly.

Then she raised her arms and held Lin Mo tightly.

Yet her touch was gentle, as if she were holding something fragile and precious.

"You promised. Come back soon. I'll miss you."

"I promised."

"Stay with me when you get back."

"Okay."

"No more experiments today."

"Okay."

"And don't talk too much to other women."

Lin Mo raised an eyebrow. What was this about?

"What does that have to do with the experiments?"

"Nothing."

Joanna answered as though it were obvious:

"But I don't like it."

"Edgar's a man."

"Don't talk to him for too long, either."

"..."

Well, apparently Joanna's possessiveness didn't discriminate by gender.

Lin Mo let go of her and turned toward the door.

Halfway there, Joanna suddenly caught the hem of his shirt from behind.

Lin Mo looked back.

She stood where she was, head lowered, her fingers gripping his shirt with no sign of letting go.

All the force and danger she had shown the researchers seemed to vanish in that moment.

"Lin Mo."

"Yeah?"

"You won't lie to me with them, will you?"

Lin Mo looked at her.

After a moment, he raised his hand and rested it gently on Joanna's head.

"No."

"Never?"

"Never."

Joanna finally let go.

Lin Mo opened the door.

The researcher outside was pale, his forehead beaded with cold sweat. When the door opened, he instinctively took half a step back.

Joanna stood behind Lin Mo, watching the researcher coldly.

"I'm starting the clock."

The researcher froze, still unsure what was going on.

"Thirty minutes."

Joanna raised a finger, a faint red glow appearing in her eyes.

"One second over, and I'll come find him myself."

"I'll get Mr. Lin Mo there as fast as I can!"

The researcher answered without the slightest hesitation.

He had never spoken so smoothly in his life.

Lin Mo looked at the man's terrified face and couldn't help shaking his head.

"You don't have to be so nervous."

The researcher forced a smile.

Easy for you to say. You're not the one about to have your head split open by a Laser Beam.

Lin Mo stepped out of the room.

The metal door slowly closed behind him.

Just before the gap disappeared, he saw Joanna still standing where he had left her, her pale eyes fixed on him without blinking.

The smile on Lin Mo's face gradually faded.

It seemed he really couldn't let this meeting run too long.

Otherwise, Edgar wouldn't just be facing a test subject Vought had kept locked up for eighteen years. He would also have to face a Homelander whose patience had run out.

Fried Chicken Uncle, I hope you know what's good for you.

Lin Mo followed the researcher at a brisk pace. Along the way, quite a few people stopped what they were doing when they saw him.

Some were curious. Some were wary. But most gave him the same appraising look he had seen for more than a decade.

Most of the staff looked down on him and Joanna. Perhaps, deep down, they had never considered the people they called their research subjects human.

He had grown used to it long ago.

It had been eighteen years.

Since he was an infant, these people had looked at him that way. In Vought's eyes, he and Joanna were nothing more than unusual company assets.

The only difference was that one was more valuable, while the other was easier to control.

Before, Lin Mo hadn't bothered to take issue with it. Or rather, it hadn't been time yet.

But now...

"Mr. Lin Mo."

The researcher's voice drew him out of his thoughts.

"We're here."

Ahead was a private conference room. Through Lin Mo's X-ray vision, he could tell it was made of some special metal. Its heavy alloy door stood open.

Lin Mo walked in. Only one person was seated inside.

Stan Edgar.