City D
Hela, also known as [HeLa Cell], was curled up in the back seat of a car. Sun Hai was driving, occasionally glancing at Hela in the rearview mirror.
Hela had been watching Sun Hai the whole time, too.
Both of them had plenty on their minds.
Honestly, I never expected something like this to happen two months after coming home. If I weren't the only one on the team with time to spare, I wouldn't bother with her.
Sun Hai thought with an exasperated expression, glancing at Hela in the rearview mirror again.
Sigh... Still, the girl's had it rough. Her whole family is gone, and now she's having mental problems too. I hope she recovers soon.
What is he taking me away for? After he carried me off, he took me somewhere with lots of people, and there was a strange white person who looked me over. Then he used some strange method to make me drink some water. It did replenish quite a lot of energy, though. Now he's put me inside this hunk of iron, but he probably won't do anything to me.
Even so, to be safe, Hela kept watching Sun Hai in case he suddenly made a move on her.
But to Sun Hai, the way Hela stared at him without expression looked like a child's curiosity, so he didn't think much of it.
They drove on like that for about an hour before finally stopping at a building.
Sun Hai drove into the underground parking garage and picked a parking space at random.
Once the car had come to a stop, he turned off the engine, opened the door, and got out.
Then he walked to the back door and opened it.
When he opened the door, Sun Hai saw Hela still sitting curled up on the seat.
Hela turned to look at Sun Hai, too.
Sun Hai, meanwhile, found himself in a bind.
Uh... Now this is tricky. She can't understand me, so how do I get her out of the car? I can't just carry her again, can I?
Sun Hai tentatively reached out and gently took Hela by the wrist.
Hela thought it was a little strange when Sun Hai took her hand, but she chose not to make any rash moves. For now, it was better to go along with him.
Seeing that Hela didn't resist, Sun Hai breathed a sigh of relief and gently pulled her toward the outside of the car.
At first, Hela didn't know what Sun Hai meant when he tugged at her a couple of times, but she soon realized he probably wanted her to get out of the hunk of iron.
Hela then got out of the car.
After pulling Hela out, Sun Hai closed and locked the car door.
Still holding her gently by the wrist, he led her outside.
Hela stared at Sun Hai without expression.
He should already think I'm one of his kind. He probably won't do anything to me, just like that group of ants back then.
The two walked out of the underground garage, through the residential complex, and into an apartment building. They came to the elevator, opened it, and stepped inside.
"Ding~"
The elevator doors closed, and it slowly rose.
Sun Hai stood calmly in the elevator, holding Hela by the wrist, but Hela was a little less composed.
What a strange feeling. Why do I feel heavier?! Is it because I came into this little room?
Hela turned to glance at Sun Hai.
But why doesn't this thing next to me find it strange? Did he come into this room on purpose? What is he bringing me here for?
Right now, Hela only felt that her fragile body was very uncomfortable under the resistance of the elevator's upward movement, just as uncomfortable as when she made an insect's body larger.
Should I make myself a little lighter?
But as soon as the thought occurred to Hela, the elevator arrived at its floor with a "ding."
The sensation of the elevator suddenly stopping made Hela dizzy, and she nearly stumbled off her feet.
That gave Sun Hai a fright. He hurriedly reached out with his other hand and steadied her by the shoulder.
Hela really must be weak. She almost fainted just riding an elevator.
Sun Hai reflected that it seemed he would have to take even greater care of her from now on.
Hela, meanwhile, was still completely bewildered.
Next, Sun Hai led Hela to his apartment and took out his key to unlock the door.
A room that was neither large nor small appeared before Hela. How to put it? It wasn't all that nice, but it was refined.
It felt like the home of someone who knew how to live well.
"All right, you'll be living here from now on. I have a spare room, but no spare bed. For the next couple of days, you can sleep in my bed. I'll make do on the sofa."
After saying that, Sun Hai led Hela inside. Without worrying about whether she understood him, he took a blanket and pillow out of a cabinet and put them on the sofa.
Once he had done all that, he sat on the sofa with his eyes closed, as if resting. After all, far too much had happened today, and it had left him exhausted in both body and mind.
Hela stood blankly where she was, showing no intention of sitting down and continuing to stare at Sun Hai.
Is he resting now? Should I take this chance to kill him?
But as soon as the thought crossed Hela's mind, Sun Hai opened his eyes again, and she could only abandon the idea.
Sun Hai sat up on the sofa, glanced at Hela, then walked straight into the kitchen and got to work.
When Hela saw Sun Hai enter the kitchen, she stood there in a daze for more than ten seconds, then glanced at the sofa. She felt she might use less energy if she sat on it.
So Hela sat down on the sofa.
The moment she sat down, Hela was instantly enamored with it. It was more comfortable than anywhere she had ever been, and she felt that if she weren't hungry, she could lie there forever.
It was warm and comfortable, and used so little energy. It was simply wonderful.
Hela kept shifting her body on the sofa, trying to find a more comfortable position, and gradually went from sitting to lying down.
Twenty minutes later.
When Sun Hai opened the kitchen door and came out carrying two bowls of noodles, he saw Hela lying on the sofa like a kitten, her expression still blank.
Sun Hai was a little speechless at the sight, but he was still happy. At least it proved the child wasn't so foolish that she didn't even know how to sit.
Sun Hai set the two bowls of fragrant beef noodles on the table, then sat down on the sofa himself.
"Let's eat."
He pushed one bowl toward Hela, then slowly began eating his own.
Sun Hai figured that since she knew to sit on the sofa, she would surely know how to eat, too. If she didn't eat, she must not be hungry.
Sure enough, when Hela saw the bowl of noodles pushed toward her and Sun Hai already eating, she immediately understood that it was for her.
She sat up, looked at the bowl of fragrant beef noodles, and reached straight in to grab them.
"Hey, wait!"
That gave Sun Hai a fright. These noodles had just been cooked and were scalding hot. A normal person would definitely get burned touching them.
Before Sun Hai could stop her, Hela had already grabbed a handful of noodles and put them in her mouth, showing no sign of feeling the heat.
Sun Hai was startled, then hurriedly grabbed Hela's hand to examine it.
He found that her hand had indeed been scalded bright red.
"Can't you feel pain?!"
Sun Hai couldn't help asking, while Hela looked at him with a bewildered expression.
Hela found it very strange. What is he doing now? Wasn't he the one who told me to eat? Why is he suddenly stopping me?
Hela had indeed been burned, but an injury of that degree hardly counted as an injury to her, because with her powerful recovery ability,
it would heal in two seconds.
Sure enough, Hela's scalded, reddened hand soon returned to normal.
But Sun Hai happened not to see it.
He sighed and began blaming himself for being so muddleheaded.
With her mind in that state, even if she knows how to eat, that doesn't necessarily mean she knows how to use chopsticks.
With no other choice, Sun Hai picked up Hela's chopsticks and fed her himself.
He picked up some noodles and held them in front of Hela.
After hesitating for 0.5 seconds, Hela ate the noodles in front of her in one bite. Sun Hai continued feeding her like that, one mouthful at a time.
By the time she finished the whole bowl of beef noodles, a full hour had passed.
Sun Hai put down Hela's bowl and chopsticks, then looked at his own noodles, which had congealed into a lump.
He sighed, then threw them into the trash.
"I'll have to get her a spoon for meals from now on."