When people were in despair, it was as though a thin, transparent gray film covered their eyes, making the whole world seem gray, everything looking exactly the same, without the slightest difference.
That was how Lin Hanzhi had spent his adolescence. He lived in his own pain and despair, sinking endlessly through the tide, unable to catch hold of any driftwood. When something did occasionally appear, it was only an insubstantial bubble, punctured before he could grasp it with a crisp little pop.
He was numb and muddleheaded, yet his ferocity showed in full. The boy's back was always straight as a poplar, but no one knew just how much weight rested on it.
But after he mastered his forty-sixth Bone Blade, there was little left that could make him feel pain or torment.
Most of the anomaly management officers knew what had happened to the Lin family, or had received kindness from Lin Yan and Ning Xiao, and generally still cared about Lin Hanzhi. Seeing him return reeking of blood, they had thought of showing him some concern. But every time they approached, Lin Hanzhi reacted like a small animal terrified of humans, every muscle taut as he drove them back with a wary look from his peach-blossom eyes, then left.
After this happened a few times, everyone realized how unapproachable Lin Hanzhi was and stopped taking the initiative to talk to him.
Yue Yuan kept constant track of Lin Hanzhi and naturally knew that the boy was far too withdrawn. When Lin Hanzhi next applied for a solo mission, he proposed assigning him teammates, telling him that sooner or later, he would have to learn to get along with others.
Unhappy with this arrangement, Lin Hanzhi sat in Yue Yuan's director's office all that day with his arms