Half a month later.
"Get up! Stop lying in bed and get moving!"
Su Jin felt a chill as his mother pulled away the covers.
"All you do is eat and sleep. Can’t you find something else to do? Another delivery arrived—more canned food! You buy it and don’t even eat it!"
Her nagging went on. Frowning, Su Jin felt for his eye mask and put it back on.
He turned over and muttered, "You really can talk..."
"Get up! That RV you bought the other day nearly made your father die of anger!" His mother stood with her hands on her hips. "You get a little money and start throwing it around. What are you thinking?"
"You won’t find a partner or go to work. You lie around or buy things all day. What will your boss think when you’ve been off work this long?"
"Oh, come on..." Su Jin wrapped his pillow around his head. "Mom, please stop. You’re killing me. I’m on vacation. Can’t I sleep?"
Smack!
A hand smacked his waist.
"Keep being lazy. A little money and you think you can do anything!"
"I made that money for you two..."
"Don’t start! Your father and I don’t need your money. Just take care of yourself. If you get married without asking us to pay for it, we’ll be grateful enough."
"Ask you for money? I’ll buy a place outright, with my own money. Why would I need yours?"
"That would make your father and me proud," his mother said with a laugh. Then she added, "But at this rate, you won’t save a thing. Get up and return the RV and those cans. Listen to your father. Stop wasting your money."
"I can’t return them. They’re for the future. If the apocalypse comes, don’t eat my canned food."
"You’re crazy! Breakfast is ready. Get up and eat!"
As her voice receded, Su Jin lowered the pillow and sprawled across the bed.
The last half-month had been peaceful. Wang Yuntong had done nothing. After all, Su Jin had filmed what happened to Wang and his men in the alley, including their disastrous "snow play."
If it got out, Wang would never be able to show his face in those circles again.
After that, Su Jin had gone home to be with his family and rest.
But within a week, his parents had started finding fault with him.
He could not help himself either. He kept buying supplies for an apocalypse and had even bought an RV.
Most days, he cycled between sleeping, eating, scrolling through his phone, and worrying.
Just as he was drifting off again, his phone rang.
"Tch... Who is it now?" Su Jin reached for it sleepily.
"Brother Hui, still asleep? It’s Lei Dong. My mom saw yours yesterday and heard you were home. Are you there now?"
"Leizi? Aren’t you working in Nanjing?" Su Jin sat up and rubbed his face.
"I took some leave. Come out for a meal. We’ll have some drinks tonight and get a massage afterward. My treat."
"Alright, alright. The usual place."
Su Jin let out a breath, got up, and washed.
Lei Dong had been his close friend since high school. They had stayed in touch after college.
They rarely got to see each other now, so Su Jin was happy to meet him.
Back in his room, he dressed and looked at the notice that had been lying on the desk for some time.
With a helpless sigh, he put it in his pocket.
...
"Brother Hui, I heard you made a lot of money."
At a hotpot restaurant, Su Jin dipped a slice of meat into the broth and looked up with a smile. "Who told you?"
"My mom. Yours was showing off at the square dance," Lei Dong said with a grin. "All the women were jealous. Someone even wants to introduce you to a woman. So how much did you make?"
"A little over a million."
"Holy shit! What kind of gig pays out that much in one go?" Lei Dong's eyes practically bulged out of his skull.
"I took a project at a new hospital and sold a lot of equipment. It wasn’t easy money. Afterward, I quit. I’m thinking of staying home."
"Come on. What can you do in a small city like this? You’re not planning to live on that million forever, are you?" Lei Dong looked doubtful.
"I could wait tables or deliver food. That sounds fine to me," Su Jin said seriously.
"Did something happen to you?" Lei Dong leaned forward. "Don’t tell me you made the money selling your ass and it messed you up."
"If I could have made it selling my ass, I would have. That damn job was worse." Su Jin gave an angry laugh. "Enough about me. Are you still at the observatory?"
"Yes. The pay isn’t much, but it’s steady. I’ll probably still need help from my family later," Lei Dong said, taking a drink.
"What more do you want? You’re a scientist. Plenty of people envy your workplace."
"A scientist? You sound like those old ladies who don’t know anything." Lei Dong tapped the table. "I process images and make graphics. I didn’t study astronomy."
"It’s a different field to me... But working with scientists sounds impressive. Is it interesting?"
"Not usually. Same things every day." Lei Dong smiled wryly. "But before I came back, I did hear two strange stories."
"Oh? Tell me." Su Jin added more meat to the pot.
"I don’t know the details. Two people at the observatory in Lijiang went mad while observing space. It wasn’t just here—people at observatories abroad went mad too, and some attacked others. What are the chances? It’s like something out of Cthulhu. You know Cthulhu, right?"
"And some stars they’d observed before... they can’t find them now. Maybe something’s blocking them, or maybe they’ve vanished. Isn’t that strange?"
Su Jin trembled slightly. His chopsticks stopped, and he slowly looked at Lei Dong.
"Is that true?"
"What’s with that look? You look like a murderer. You scared me." Lei Dong shifted uneasily. "It’s true. Why would I lie? It’s been in the news, and on Douyin. The clickbait accounts make it sound like a ghost story."
"Well... that’s what clickbait accounts do." Su Jin changed the subject and kept eating.
Lei Dong narrowed his eyes. "Brother Hui, something really happened to you, didn’t it? You made a fortune but you’re not happy. Pull yourself together. Where’s the old you?"
"I’m lost. I don’t know what to do next." Su Jin took a breath and looked at him. "Leizi, if you had a choice, would you be a coward for life, or a hero just once?"
"Who isn’t a coward these days? I’ve been one for ages. What kind of childish question is that?"
"Me too. Let’s drink."
They clinked glasses and emptied them.
Rain began to fall outside, then grew heavier and noisier.
Su Jin looked toward the window. The air felt damp and cold, and his stomach clenched.
"It’s raining. Let’s play billiards later. The rain should stop by tonight—holy shit!" Lei Dong grabbed a trash can and held it out to him.
The sound of rain finally reached Su Jin. His stomach spasmed, and he felt sick.
He managed to hold the bile down.
Lei Dong lowered the trash can. "What’s wrong with you? Nothing about you seems right."
"Just... lingering effects." Su Jin wiped his mouth and gave a strained smile. "I haven’t felt well lately. Could you drive me home?"
...
At home, Su Jin stood on the balcony with a cigarette in his mouth and looked up at the sky.
Heavy rain was still falling.
Behind him, his parents sat watching television in the living room.
He turned back toward the lights in the homes around him, his thoughts unsettled.
For more than half a month, he had tried to forget the past and numb himself.
But his body and his actions would not let him.
To feel another person’s loss as your own... however much he resisted, signs of danger seemed to be appearing in this world.
His eyelids slowly lowered. For a moment, the buildings before him seemed to become a desolate landscape from another world.
When he opened his eyes again, he reached into his pocket.
Fear is a reaction. Courage is a choice.
He had faced fear and made his choice before. There was no reason to put it off or deceive himself any longer.
Before he could unfold the repeatedly folded Company notice, it dissolved into sparks. They flowed into the back of his hand and formed a flame-shaped emblem.
[Third Xinhuo, welcome to the Company!]