Leaving the Town

Natasha sat in the living room, waiting for Yan Shuangying to appear.

Seeing the troubled look on Natasha's face, Yan Shuangying brought out two cups of fresh water-from bottles of mineral water that were six months old.

"Mr. Yan, are you trying to tell me something?"

"You figured it out?" Yan Shuangying took a sip of water. "Looks like you're not too stupid after all. Nothing much. I just wanted to see whether you could work a few things out. If you're too stupid, we might as well stay here and wait to die."

Natasha froze.

She hadn't expected him to be so blunt.

"Let me be frank. I've explored pretty much everywhere I could on my own. Yesterday, I followed your plan just to build a little trust."

Yan Shuangying looked straight at Natasha, his expression still stiff.

He took off the black case he had been carrying on his back and set it on the table before them.

Inside were a finely made sniper rifle and several books that looked ancient.

"From what I've found, the only place that might hold the answer to getting out is the center of town."

"What complications are there?" Natasha brightened at his words, then immediately asked.

"The whispers!"

Natasha understood.

"I tried approaching the houses in the center of town, but the whispers forced me to give up," Yan Shuangying said evenly. "Your arrival has changed things a little."

Yan Shuangying took out the climbing ropes and several chains he had found.

At the edge of town.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Natasha tugged at the ropes secured around her waist and shoulders, then looked at the rope tied around Yan Shuangying's waist.

"Maybe."

"You're just going to send me in like this? Aren't you afraid I'll mess it up?"

That was right. Yan Shuangying would stay outside town while Natasha went in to search.

"Ha-ha." For the first time, Yan Shuangying gave an inscrutable but impressive smile. "Anyone who underestimates what women can do is bound to pay dearly."

Seeing there was no room for negotiation, Natasha decided to risk it.

Neither of them wanted to die here.

Natasha turned to look toward the center of town.

Gentle gusts scattered the mist, and withered yellow leaves danced in the wind.

It was strange for leaves to be falling when it was only July.

The desolate scene already gave Natasha a bad feeling.

She wanted to turn around and say she was giving up, but having come this far, that hardly seemed appropriate.

Yan Shuangying adjusted his hat. "Go on. I'll pull you back in time."

Without further hesitation, Natasha took a deep breath, put on her helmet, and walked toward the town center with light, catlike steps.

As she crossed some invisible boundary, she seemed to hear a buzzing sound, and her heart began to flutter.

Natasha swallowed hard several times. Without her noticing, beads of cold sweat seeped down her back.

"This damned place. If I get out alive, I'm taking a long vacation."

She drew several deep breaths and kept walking.

"La~ la~ la~"

The whispers gradually grew louder.

Natasha could clearly feel her mind slowing down.

"Stay calm! Stay calm!"

Her eyes gradually became bloodshot.

Slowly, she could only keep moving on instinct and a hazy shred of awareness.

Amid the billowing mist.

Natasha walked slowly forward, with no idea how long she had been moving.

Through the haze, she seemed to grab something, then collapsed.

Yan Shuangying noticed that the rope had stopped extending.

He hurriedly tried to pull it back.

The protective chains and helmet clattered crisply.

In the basement of Yan Shuangying's Safe House.

Yan Shuangying sat on the sofa, with the unconscious Natasha beside him.

A table stood in front of him. He held what Natasha had brought out, examining it carefully.

"Cough, cough."

"You're awake?"

Drenched in cold sweat, Natasha jolted awake and gasped for breath.

Yan Shuangying set down what he was holding and checked Natasha's pulse.

"Hmm. Nothing seriously wrong."

Then he promptly withdrew his hand.

Seeing how briskly Yan Shuangying acted, Natasha struggled to sit up.

"I remember grabbing something."

Yan Shuangying held up the object in his hand. "This."

Seeing that she had brought it out, Natasha asked, "Is it useful?"

She didn't want to go in again. The suffocating sensation, the feeling of ten thousand flies buzzing around her ears, had been unbearable.

Eventually, Natasha settled back against the sofa and waited for Yan Shuangying to finish reading.

"I can't read the writing, but I can more or less understand the illustrations. This one and this one-"

Yan Shuangying pointed out two illustrations. "They seem to show ways out. I just don't know whether only one route works or both do. Of course, there's also the worst possibility: neither does, and this book is worthless."

Yan Shuangying laid the book flat on the table.

He leaned back against the sofa.

"Let's give it a try."

"Looks like that's our only option." Yan Shuangying nodded and stood. "No time to waste. Eat something, take the weapons, and we'll leave now."

When Yan Shuangying brought Natasha to the location shown in the first illustration, a faint rumbling seemed to rise around them.

The next moment, dozens of terrifying human-shaped shadows appeared before them.

"Could these people be the original townsfolk?" Yan Shuangying said from the motorcycle. "Hold on tight."

Vrooom-

The motorcycle raced toward their destination.

Natasha turned to look and couldn't help exclaiming, "They're so fast!"

The dirt road was slightly rutted.

The motorcycle wasn't moving particularly fast.

But no matter how slow it was, it was still a motorcycle.

Under Natasha's astonished gaze, Yan Shuangying suddenly swung one foot over to the other side, using his legs as an axis and his feet as a pivot to spin himself and the motorcycle around.

Just like that, the motorcycle changed direction and even bounced into the air.

You could do that?

Why not just push off your right foot with your left and fly away?

"The spot in the picture is less than a hundred meters ahead," Natasha warned promptly, checking the map.

Just then, four figures suddenly appeared ahead.

"There are more up front!"

Natasha was about to draw her pistol and take aim.

Bang, bang, bang...

The instant she finished speaking.

Eight shots rang out in succession, striking the kneecaps of all eight legs.

The four figures abruptly crumpled to the ground.

Natasha sucked in a sharp breath.

She glanced at Yan Shuangying in astonishment.

Yan Shuangying remained expressionless, concentrating on driving forward.

"This is the place." Natasha thought, Please, let this be the place!

Hiss-

The two of them and the motorcycle seemed to pass through a barrier.

"We're out?"

"We're out." Yan Shuangying was as calm as ever.

Beep-beep-

"Agent Romanoff?"

"It's me."

Natasha ended the call on her communicator. Someone would probably come to pick her up shortly.

At that thought, Natasha turned to Yan Shuangying. "Mr. Yan, what are your plans?"

"Me? Naturally, I'll go back to where I was born." Yan Shuangying took out his last cigarette, one he had been saving all this time.

"But this very likely... isn't your original world," Natasha said cautiously.

"Maybe." Yan Shuangying fell silent as well.

"Why don't you come back with me to our place first?"

Yan Shuangying took a deep drag and thought for a moment. "All right."

Natasha breathed a sigh of relief.