In the afternoon, after school was over, the two ate dinner in their room. Yan Bubu asked Feng Chen with a mouthful of fish, “Have all the chameleons and chameleon babies been caught?”
Feng Chen: “En, they have. You won’t ever have to be scared to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night again.”
Yan Bubu hesitated. He silently chewed his fish.
Feng Chen’s danger sense immediately set off alarms. “Don’t find excuses to wet the bed.”
“No, no. I wouldn’t do that.” Yan Bubu hurriedly shook his head.
Feng Chen watched him eat and asked, “Aren’t you tired of fish after so many days?”
This fish is was a big stringy as well as devastatingly bland. He really didn’t know how Yan Bubu could seem so happy after eating it all the time.
“Meat is meat.” Yan Bubu shoved another spoonful into his mouth.
Feng Chen flicked his forehead: “Piggy.”
Yan Bubu giggled cheekily. “I like everything other than meat too.”
“Eat up, eat up. Just don’t eat too much.”
Feng Chen might sound disdainful, but he was actually relieved.
It’s good to always have a good appetite. If Yan Bubu turned his nose at everything, that would be one more problem on his plate.
The next day was the school-wide awards assembly.
A large tarp had been set up on Hive D’s deck. All three classes were standing under the tarp facing a long table. Behind the table stood Captain Su, Lin Fen, Yu Yuan, and the teachers.
A burst of drums and bugles sounded. After the soldiers finished playing a marching song, Captain Su took the loudspeaker someone handed to him and quickly glanced at the dense wall of small text written on his palm.
“Dear students and teachers. The sea is merciless, but it cannot wash away the enthusiasm in our hearts. The rain continues to pour down, but it cannot quench the fire of hope burning within all of us. I believe you have all heard about an incident at our school yesterday, where several students from the junior class, in their own brave and fearless way, collaborated with a student from the senior class to exterminate the chameleons that have threatened our lives…”
Captain Su’s opening speech went on and on until Lin Fen, who was standing next to him, shot him a cold look. He stopped going increasingly off topic and bellowed, “The awards ceremony will now begin! The following students are invited to the front. Qin Shen, Fan Renjing, Yu Ke, Wang Suizi…”
The military music resumed. Yan Bubu found it very hard to stay in line and head to the table with his fellow classmates. He kept turning to look at Feng Chen as he walked.
When he saw Feng Chen standing by his classmates without moving, he thought the teen didn’t hear the announcement and frantically waved at him.
Feng Chen ignored him, so Yan Bubu anxiously shouted, “Big Brother, Big Brother…”
His little classmates also followed suit, “Big Brother, come up! Big Brother…”
Feng Chen couldn’t pretend to not hear them any longer. He had to bite the bullet and go to stand at one end of the long table. Yan Bubu jogged over to be with him.
“Now, we welcome the representative of the students being recognized today to speak.” Captain Su said.
When Feng Chen saw the soldier handing him a microphone, he took a discrete half step back. So after the microphone paused in the air for half a second, it was handed to the grinning Yan Bubu.
Yan Bubu was caught between excitement and nervousness. He clutched the microphone with both hands and just stood there for a few seconds before he went, “Hehe.”
“Say something.” The smiling soldier whispered.
Yan Bubu’s voice came out of the loudspeaker again with an echo, “What should I say…say…say…”
“Something about the chameleons will do.”
Yan Bubu froze for a moment before turning to Feng Chen.
Feng Chen was staring down at the deck. From Yan Bubu’s perspective, he could only see the upturned corner of the teen’s lips.
“Um….we smashed the baby to death…yeah…we smashed it to death…hahahaha…”
The people on deck couldn’t help but laugh along.
Captain Su quickly interjected, “The speech of the representative of the students being recognized is finished. Now to distribute the awards.”
When the awards were distributed, the little children were all given a stationery set. Yan Bubu, wearing his little red flower, couldn’t stop smiling when he received the bag containing stationery from Captain Su. He immediately unzipped the plastic bag to show Feng Chen. “There are new crayons, five pencils…”
Feng Chen was also given a long and narrow box.
The box was heavy in his hand. He didn’t open it until after the awards ceremony was over and he returned to his classroom.
A dagger lay on the inky blue suede cloth. Its sleek profile accentuated the extremely perfect spear-shaped tip and the deep black blade made of military grade material. It glinted razor sharp under the lights.
The handle of this knife was on the long side, but the centre of gravity was at the neck of the knife, balanced on both sides. The scabbard wasn’t new, its dark brown leather surface shows signs of age. The stitching was worn and a little fuzzy, showing that it was often hung around the waist and well loved by its past owner.
Feng Chen picked up the dagger and saw that there was a note inside. The brief was written in a flowing script reminiscent of a dragon flying through the sky.
“This is the dagger I used when I was young. Its name is ‘Fearless’. Time does not diminish its sharpness. It’s yours now – Lin Fen.”
Feng Chen stared at the note for a while before putting the dagger back inside and slowly closing the lid.
In the afternoon after school was over, Yan Bubu just returned to the their room before he whipped out his prize and set out all the stationery on the small table.
“Look, Big Brother! There’s so much stuff. One pencil, two pencils, three pencils…eraser, flower eraser….”
Yan Bubu gleefully surveyed the pile of stationery. Then his eyes fell on the box nearby, which he recognized as Feng Chen’s award. He curiously picked it up and opened it.
“Wow, a dagger.” Yan Bubu took out the dagger and exclaimed, “This dagger looks cool.”
Feng Chen was sitting in bed reading a book, his eyes didn’t even leave the page. “Don’t take the blade out. Just look at it like that.”
Yan Bubu held the dagger and studied every inch of it. Then he sat next to Feng Chen. “Where’s the one I bought for you? Let me see.”
Feng Chen took the sheath containing the dagger from his back and tossed it on the bed.
Yan Bubu put the two daggers side by side and compared them. He started muttering quietly, “Look at the little one I bought you, its sheath is shiny and even has jewels on it. This award dagger looks so old. The sheath is cracked. And the uncle who sold me the dagger I gave you said he used it to kill dragons and also helped Sasaka fight the Dark Witch. It’s the best dagger ever.”
After he finished this critique, he didn’t get the agreement he wanted from Feng Chen. He was immediately wary and looked at him. “You can’t use this dagger. Use the one I gave you, oh.”
Feng Chen turned the page. “I can’t bear to use the one you gave me. What if the jewels fall off or the blade breaks?”
Yan Bubu hurriedly said, “It’s fine. I’ll buy you another one if they fall off.”
“No, that’s not the same. This one is irreplaceable.” Feng Chen put down his book and solemnly stated, “Since this is your birthday gift to me, I must cherish it well.”
“Ah, so it’s like that…” Yan Bubu was both flattered and touched. He hurriedly said, “Then, then be careful with it in the future.”
“No.” Feng Chen shook his head. “I have to store such a precious dagger somewhere safe. I’ll use the one I got today on a daily basis. So what if it breaks when I’m fighting a mutant species or something. It’s not special like the one you gave me.”
Yan Bubu thought this made a lot of sense, so he reached for it. “Then I’ll take it and put it in my cloth bag.”
“All right then. You can hold onto it.” Feng Chen said, “Make sure none of the jewels on the sheath fall off.”
Yan Bubu nodded solemnly. “Don’t worry, they won’t.”
Thus, Feng Chen smoothly retrieved the dagger called Fearless and pinned it to his back.
The days passed calmly. Yan Bubu didn’t have another bout of fever, and the Hives were all peaceful now that the terrible mutant species have been eradicated.
But during this period, one of those feverish patients who had been kept in quarantine actually evolved into a sentinel.
The news that people with fevers could actually become special forces instead of turning into zombies soon spread to the Hives. Everyone was talking about it.
Feng Chen also heard of this. He even met that sentinel at Military HQ.
It was a girl of eighteen or nineteen, with a petite figure and a pretty face. She was sitting in Yu Yuan’s office while being examined by the medical officer. At the time, she also had a mighty brown bear quantum beast with her that was taller than even her standing up.
Because the girl had already come of age, of course she joined the Western Union Army. When she followed the soldiers to get her uniform, Feng Chen watched her leave in a daze, not noticing that his eyes were full of admiration.
If Yan Bubu could be like this, how good it would be…
Yu Yuan patted his shoulder as he passed by and whispered, “Everything will be all right.”
During this period, the repair of the ships were in full swing. No one ever asked Feng Chen to dive for machine parts, but he would make trips to the shipyard whenever he could. When he came across places where the water was too deep, he would dive down with a few other sentinels to search.
Due to his young age and the fact the the shipyard waters were shallow enough for Grade C and D sentinels to handle, the soldiers didn’t arrange for him to go into the water. However, he was always the first to change into his diving suit and was so eager they let him be.
Today was Sunday, which meant there was no school. Feng Chen left Yan Bubu with some writing and math homework after lunch and prepared to go to the shipyard.
When he was about to leave, Yan Bubu tried to stop him. He took out a notebook from behind his back and said mysteriously, “Big Brother, my drawing is finished.”
Feng Chen knew that he had been working on this picture for a long time, scribbling out half of the notebook. Since he poured his heart and soul into it, the teen took it and praised, “Not bad. This house is especially well drawn.”
Yan Bubu’s joyful smile slowly faded at his words. “That’s not a house.”
“Oh…this is a road with cars on it.”
“It’s not a road, it’s the sea. And the things on it aren’t cars, but our ships.”
Feng Chen glanced at him before looking back at the drawing. “This sea is quite big, ah. And there are a lot of fish inside. All kinds of fish.”
Yan Bubu pouted. “That’s not the sea anymore. That’s the sky and the stars in the sky.”
Feng Chen coughed twice, looking serious and focused. “Not bad. There are even people on board the ships. I’m certain these two are us based on their round heads.”
Yan Bubu looked at the two small circles he was pointing at. He gasped in shock. “How could those be people?! Those are two jars of preserved vegetables placed on the side of the ship. Don’t you know about those jars?”
“Of course I do. Am I not allowed to tease you anymore?” Feng Chen’s finger moved to the side and pointed to the big and small circles on the cabin roof. “These are also preserved vegetable jars.”
Yan Bubu was even more upset now. He looked down and muttered, “They’re not preserved vegetable jars, they’re us…”
Feng Chen choked on spit. He looked closer at those two circles. Although they didn’t look like people no matter how he looked at them, he nodded. “En, I recognize them now. They really are us.”
“This is the two of us sitting on the roof of the cabin looking the stars when the rain stops.” Yan Bubu had a hint of aggravation in his voice.
Feng Chen: “It hasn’t stopped raining for so long, so how could I have thought of us sitting on the roof of the cabin looking at the stars? You can’t blame me for not recognizing it.”
“Fine…I guess I can’t blame you.” Yan Bubu took the notebook and said, “Actually, the birthday present I want most right now is this.”
“A drawing?”
“No.” Yan Bubu shook his head. “I wish the rain would stop and you could take me to see the stars in the sky. I’m beginning to forget what they look like.”
Feng Chen was silent for a moment. Then he pinched Yan Bubu’s cheeks. “That won’t happen. The rain will definitely stop one day and we’ll go see the stars.”
Yan Bubu nuzzled against his palm. “En. The sky will be full of stars, and we’ll look at them together.”
Feng Chen turned and went to get his raincoat from the cabinet. “I’m going to the shipyard. I’ll be back later. Remember to practice writing and do the math questions.”
“How long are you going out for today?” Yan Bubu asked.
Feng Chen: “Half an hour.”
“You also said half an hour last time, but it was actually 42 minutes.” Yan Bubu remembered very well.
Feng Chen asked, “How do you know the time?”
“I went to the dining room and asked an uncle.”
Feng Chen: “Anyway, I’ll be back in no more than an hour. You shouldn’t keep bothering people about the time.”
“Oh.”
Although Feng Chen went to the shipyard for less than an hour each time, Yan Bubu was still very reluctant to see him leave. He wanted to come too, but Feng Chen didn’t let him. He could only stand in the corridor until the teen disappeared from sight before going back to the room.
Remembering Feng Chen’s instructions, Yan Bubu went back to their room and took out his composition book and started writing.
“Flower, bug…oops.”
Chagrined, he looked at the misspelled words in his book and turned to get an eraser, only to find it not within reach, but on the bedside table.
Not wanting to move, he held out his hand to the eraser and whispered, “Awubengga Adawuxiya…”
Then he watched the eraser fly to him.
Yan Bubu felt that his magic was getting stronger than ever recently. He was also getting more skilled at using it.
He no longer needed to get up to grab what he wanted. He just had to hold out his hand and then recite the spell and that thing would automatically fly over.
For example, if he wanted to drink water, he would reach for the glass and recite the spell. Then the water bottle would unscrew itself, pour some water into it, and float towards him and land firmly on the table when it was almost full.
When he wanted some toilet paper, only a section would detach from the roll and float to him instead of the entire roll.
It was to the point when he was drawing, he didn’t even need to recite the spell. Whichever crayon he stared at would float up from the paper box and land in his hand.
Again, after he held out his hand to the eraser, the eraser floated steadily over.
Yan Bubu looked at the eraser, ready to receive it from the air as usual, but his eyes suddenly became unfocused at that moment. He saw what appeared to be a huge black object in the centre of the room.
Yan Bubu wasn’t surprised at all at this development. His eyes often went blurry recently and often saw a large black mass. Usually he just needed to rub his eyes.
But even after rubbing his eyes this time, he was surprised to find that not only was it not better, the huge black object in his vision was becoming clearer and clearer.
…A big black head, black body, and four paws and tail…
Yan Bubu: !!!
He hadn’t forgotten his run ins with the chameleons. His scalp suddenly went numb as his blood stopped flowing. He just dumbly sat there.
The black thing was coming this way, and Yan Bubu was stuck with his hand outstretched. Only his eyes could move around.
His eyes trailed down from its long mane to the light yellow beast eyes that sent a shiver down his spine. Then they continued down to the paws that sank deep into the carpet.
Each claw was hard and curved like a sharp blade.
Tiger?
No, he’s seen tigers before. They’re not completely black and certainly didn’t have such long fur.
This was… This was…
Yan Bubu suddenly remembered the animal shows he had seen on TV.
This was a lion.
Yan Bubu no longer know whether he was still breathing or not. He just watched as the black lion came towards him and opened its mouth.
To! Eat! Him! Up!
Yan Bubu’s soul finally returned to his body. He was about to scream and run away when he felt something land in his palm.
And the black lion didn’t pounce on him and bite him. It closed its mouth again and lazily went to lay down by his side.
Yan Bubu looked down at his trembling palm and found there was an eraser there now.
He stared at the eraser for a moment before turning to the black lion again. His teeth clattered as he called out in a small voice, “L-l-lion…”
The words just came out when that black lion stopped lazing about and suddenly raised its head to look at him.
Yan Bubu was frightened by its sudden movement and couldn’t help but stare.
But the black lion’s eyes were even wider than his. Those light yellow eyes weren’t fierce at all. They were also filled with fright.
Yan Bubu and the black lion stared at each other. When he realized it wasn’t going to bite him, he gradually calmed down. Various thoughts cycled rapidly through his mind.
He recalled a time when he was writing where he also saw a black shadow. It should be this lion. And then there was the night when he wanted to drink water. He wondered if the black shadow that poured water for himself was this lion too…
Neither child nor lion moved. Yan Bubu was the first to calm down and asked cautiously, “Lion, how did you end up in my room?”
The black lion stayed silent.
“Can you talk?” Yan Bubu asked.
The black lion shook its huge head.
“Can you understand what I’m saying?”
The black lion hesitated but nodded.
Yan Bubu thought for a moment and then asked, “Then will you eat me?”
He held his breath nervously in anticipation.
The black lion shook its head again, this time very emphatically. The mane around its head flew through the air.
Yan Bubu sighed in relief. “Okay, that’s good. Don’t worry, I won’t eat you either.”
After saying this, Yan Bubu stared unblinkingly at the black lion, his gaze gradually becoming strange as his eyes started to glitter.
It was to the point where the black lion was a little scared to look at him and quietly turned away.
Yan Bubu scooted on his butt over to the black lion and asked again, “Did you run away from the zoo? I’ve seen a tiger run away from the zoo, but it was fiercer than you, so I don’t think it was one of your friends.”
The black lion’s eyes didn’t leave the small patch of carpet in front of it as it shook his head.
“So where did you come from? Did you swim across the sea? Like Binunu? There’s an episode where Binunu swam across the sea to find his dad. He’s so awesome…”
Yan Bubu’s hand was already stroking the black lion fur again and again. “What’s your name? Do you have a name?”
The black lion simply plopped down entirely and buried its face in its front paws.
Yan Bubu’s fear of the black lion was completely gone. His heart was bursting with joy. He lovingly stroked the black lion’s fur and kept rambling, “Aiya, you’re so pretty. So, so pretty. Do you have a home? I don’t think so. Why don’t you live with us? This is the home of my brother and I. He’s gone to the shipyard now, but when he comes back, I’ll beg him to let you stay, okay?”
Yan Bubu saw that the black lion wasn’t responding so he circled around to its head and squatted there to continue persuading, “I can share my meat with you everyday. If you don’t have a name, I’ll think of a nice name for you. If you want a daddy, I can also be your daddy.”
The black lion’s body shuddered violently. It slowly raised both paws and held down its ears too.
