The Sixth Step Toward the End: Self-Destruction, By One’s Own Hand—translated by Raylight (proofread by Minthe & Trespasserby; C/E edited by Taffygirl13 & lucathia)
Take a deep breath… deep breath, at least I’m still alive!
As for experimental subjects, there are bound to be plenty in this place!
I put my arm around Ezart’s shoulders, which was quite difficult to achieve. After all, he was a lot taller than the average human.
“Ezart, next time remember to leave at least two for me to observe, got it?” I emphasized the two words “got it.”
The other scratched his head as he muttered, “If it weren’t for the fact that An Te Qi doesn’t know the art of disguise, I would have thought you were that guy… Besides, why two? Even for An Te Qi, one is enough. You’re even more troublesome than him!”
“I didn’t even ask you for two males and two females! I’m an anthropologist, specializing in researching behavior patterns. If there is only one left, I would not be able to research their interactions with each other.” I was a little curious and asked, “But who exactly is this An Te Qi that you speak of?”
“He’s a weirdo doctor, and the kind who likes to dissect stuff for research.”
“I don’t really enjoy cutting up stuff.” At most, I just like stabbing.
“Both of you love ‘research.’ It’s just that he likes to play with the dead ones and you like the live ones.”
I glanced at the young master’s extremely anxious expression. Although Mr. Luo Ye was not his biological father, he was still this frantic. Could there be a reason for it, or is it purely because this person is his uncle… His uncle in name.
The young master turned to look at me and started to speak, but halted mid-way. “Gēge, he… No, forget it.”
I was a little confused, but the young master had already informed me that there were some issues that he could not talk to me about, so I ought not to ask further.
Once we reached the scene, the young master leaped out of the car anxiously, shouting “Luo Ye” into the empty air.
I exited the car, slightly surprised. This place did not look like it was a part of Daystar City, and it was not even comparable to Sunset City. The buildings were old and dilapidated, the streets were bleak without even a single lit sign board, and it was extremely filthy. There were only a few homeless people lying around in the corners of the streets. The place appeared as though it was abandoned.
Under Nitewalker’s best efforts, the car had traveled at most thirty to forty kilometers away from our hotel in a mere ten minutes. How could there possibly be such a large difference?
“Luo Ye! Shūshu!” The young master scampered around while yelling loudly, attracting a lot of attention from the homeless, especially since he was not even wearing shoes.
Nitewalker also exited the car. He asked, “Looking for someone?”
“Indeed.”
“The gentleman from before?”
I pondered for a moment before answering, “My speed is faster, so you can just accompany the young master as we split up and look for him. If anything happens, we will contact each other by cell phone.” The young master had not even remembered his shoes, let alone his cell phone.
“Got it.”
I shouted loudly, “Young Master, I will head to the left, so please start searching from the right.”
The young master turned back and yelled, “Okay!”
After parting from the young master, I wove in and out between the buildings. I began to find the situation odder and odder. It was technically incorrect to say that this place was not developed, for there were many large buildings around, and it did not look like a rural village that had not undergone commercial development. However, all the buildings had been abandoned, with only a few homeless people living in them. It was truly peculiar—
I froze in my tracks as soon as I heard a faint sound. Was that a gunshot?
The sound was not loud and was rather muffled. If it were not for the fact that it was a quiet area and that I had been paying close attention to any noises to help find the person I was searching for, I probably would not have noticed it.
I walked to the window. It was just the third floor, so I could not see far into the distance. Could it be that the young master has run into trouble? Or perhaps it was just some insignificant noise?
I should go back and take a look! I was just about to jump down through the window when I heard a faint sound from behind. It was a very small and light “swish” sound, as though the bottom of someone’s foot had lightly brushed against the ground.
I bent my knees slightly, and with a large backward flip, I sailed over a large part of the area and then landed silently. The other was seated behind a pile of waste, and was currently looking at the place where I had originally stood through the reflection of the small mirror they held in their hands.
The other abruptly raised his head, and immediately fired a few shots at me.
“Mr. Luo Ye, I am Charles, the young master’s butler!” I promptly called out.
But against my expectations, his voice was full of grief and indignation as he asked, “Did Ah Ye order you to come and kill me? He’s not even going to personally come over and do it himself?”
“There is no such matter! The young master is also looking for you on the other end of this place. The place was just too large, so we could only split up to look for you.”
As I explained, I observed the other. He had a lot of injuries, many of them still bleeding, and there were even some traces of gunshot wounds. He has to be treated immediately!
“Please believe me.” Once the other stopped firing, I stood still in my place, so as to avoid triggering him and causing him to suspect me further. “That gun does not have much of an effect on me. You have already seen how fast I move. If I truly wanted to kill you, you would have already been dead.”
At this point, Mr. Luo Ye hesitated for a while. He finally put down his handgun and asked, “Ah Ye really doesn’t want to kill me? Does he really understand that I just wished to see him? I had absolutely no intent to seize his family inheritance or make use of him!”
I calmly answered, “The young master is a lot more simple-minded than you think. Such questions would never have crossed his mind. The person who wishes to kill you is definitely not my young master.”
“B-But he was raised by my brother, raised by that heartless fellow…” Luo Ye mumbled for a while. He raised his head and looked at me. “You still have not made any moves. It seems that I really should trust Ah Ye.”
I sighed in relief and said, “Please follow me. We will immediately escort you to the hospital—”
“No!” Mr. Luo Ye rejected the idea immediately. He stubbornly answered, “If I go to the hospital, I’ll have no chance of survival! I’m not sure who is trying to kill me, but as long as they find me, I will definitely get killed!”
“Then please, at least accompany me to find the young master—”
Midway through my words, a loud sound rang out in the distance. This time, it was unmistakably the sound of gunfire, and in that direction was—
“Young Master!”
I turned to leave, but heard Mr. Luo Ye shout behind me, “Bring me along!”
The sound of something hitting the ground? I looked back and saw Mr. Luo Ye who had tumbled to the ground, his face ashen. There was a trail of blood from where he had originally been sitting…
The young master was extremely powerful, much more so than me. Moreover, he had Nitewalker with him. He did not require my assistance, but Mr. Luo Ye very much needed it. Even if I went over with Mr. Luo Ye, that would only put him in danger. In that case, I would have to be responsible for protecting Mr. Luo Ye, and that would once again make the young master feel guilty about forcing me into another battle.
“We will not be going over. Please allow me to deal with your injuries first.”
I walked over to Mr. Luo Ye’s side and crouched down to check on his injuries. It was a lot worse than I had initially thought, and he had lost a lot of blood, too. His clothes were all soaked with blood, but due to his dark-colored clothing, it had not been obvious when I saw him from afar just now.
“What nonsense are you spouting?” Mr. Luo Ye roared in rage, “Ah Ye is in danger! Aren’t you a vampire? Hurry up and go save him!”
I calmly explained, “The young master is from a combat major and is extremely powerful. In addition, he has another person with him. In contrast, your injuries are immensely serious and need to be treated as soon as possible.”
“I’m okay!” Mr. Luo Ye growled in a low voice, but his extreme agitation appeared to worsen his injuries. His face immediately twisted in pain, and he lowered his head while panting heavily.
I picked up the small bag at my side and retrieved my tablet computer.
“Ah Shuu.”
“What’s up?” His curiosity seemed to be piqued as he asked, “How strange, both the master and servant seem to be really interested in me today. Today has been the most you have poked me ever since you got that tablet!”
I had no desire to continue playing around with him, and immediately turned the tablet computer to face Mr. Luo Ye. I moved the tablet up and down and asked, “Ah Shuu, can you take a look at this person’s injuries, and direct me as to how to deal with them?
“Are you able to see this clearly?” I was a little worried as I asked, “He has lost a lot of blood, and his clothes are dark-colored, so you might not be able to see it clearly—”
“I can see it very clearly. The bleeding must be stopped immediately!” Ah Shuu’s tone turned extremely serious as he said, “Charles, do you have surgical tools on you—Forget it, you probably don’t. Inform me of whatever you can find on hand.”
I instantly replied, “I can use my blood ability to materialize any tools, as long as you describe them to me. If I can take a glance at them, that would be even better.”
“Wait for me!” Ah Shuu answered back. He was likely retrieving his surgical tools.
“Go find Ah Ye!” Mr. Luo Ye glared at me in extreme rage. However, I simply tried my best to secure the tablet to my shoulder with my blood ability so that Ah Shuu could see the situation, and I would not be hindered by it as I treated the injuries.
When I was done securing it, I looked back briefly just in time to see Mr. Luo Ye press the gun against his temple.
“Go and find Ah Ye.” He threatened, “Don’t think that I don’t dare to fire—”
I bared my fangs and pounced on him, biting down on the side of Mr. Luo Ye’s neck…
“Why did you bite him?” Ah Shuu’s voice came from my shoulder, and he asked in puzzlement, “Did you decide not to save him anymore and are planning to eat him instead?”
I lowered Mr. Luo Ye to lay flat on the ground as I answered, “A vampire’s teeth can release a type of fluid that has a similar effect to anesthetics, so I will use it as a replacement for now.”
However, it was rare for me to use it. That was because I seldom took blood from humans directly. Even if I really did so, I would most likely not require such a method.
“Oh, so you are still saving him. Okay, then look at these operation tools.”
I retrieved the tablet to carefully scrutinize the tools that Ah Shuu was showing me. Thankfully, I had previously attempted to research more into controlling my blood ability by studying Poseidynne’s abilities, so as to forge better rapiers and shields. Forming these tools before me should not be a problem.
“Then, cut open his clothes, so that I can check his injuries… Ignore the gunshot wounds for now and deal with the large wounds. Do you have clean cloth and thread?”
I frowned as I answered, “I only have three handkerchiefs. Though they are unused, they are not sterilized. I do, however, have a needle and thread on hand.”
I had a sewing kit in the small bag at my side, stashed in the event that the young master needed a sudden fix such as sewing on buttons.
Ah Shuu straightforwardly answered, “It’s still better than not having anything. Let’s do this one at a time. As for the other wounds, put some pressure on them to stop the bleeding first. Urgh, you only have two hands, what to do…”
“I can use my blood ability to assist with that. Just state what needs to be done. If it is truly out of my capabilities, I will inform you so.”
“Okay.”
In the middle of the treatment, my phone rang. I pressed the speaker key, and then placed the phone in my front breast pocket as I continued treating the wounds.
The young master spoke in an anxious voice, “Charles! Are you okay? Were you attacked?”
“Young Master, I am fine. However, Mr. Luo Ye is injured. I am currently in the process of treating his wounds, so please head left, about eight hundred meters away. We are on the third floor of a building with a red signboard.”
I followed Ah Shuu’s instructions and sewed up the cleaner wounds. At the same time, I memorized the location of the three gunshot wounds, for I would go back and deal with those later.
When I completed everything and saw that Mr. Luo Ye was still breathing steadily, I finally heaved a sigh of relief.
Ah Shuu excitedly said, “Charles, you really do have talent for being a surgeon. Do you want to consider changing your profession? You don’t even need to use anesthetics and scalpels in your operations! So cost-effective! Come to my family’s hospital. We’ll employ you with a high salary!”
I forced a smile. If possible, I would still wish not to have that many opportunities to operate.
“No way! Charles has to be my butler, so he can’t be a surgeon.”
This made me jump in shock. When I turned around, I saw the young master and Nitewalker standing behind me. “Young Master! When did the two of you arrive?”
Nitewalker pointed to the injury on Mr. Luo Ye’s left thigh and answered, “When you started sewing up that wound.”
That was the second to last wound that I had sewn up. To think that I had not sensed the young master and Nitewalker’s arrival in the least bit.
“Charles, you’re really awesome!” The young master praised, “I didn’t think that An Te Qi-bàba would really manage to teach you so well within such a short period of time!”
If anything, it was Ah Shuu who taught me well. But that is not exactly correct either. I have not truly been taught at all!
“Ah Ye, Ah Ye, are you all right?” Mr. Luo Ye gave a few groans. Although he did not seem well, he continued to be more concerned about the young master. “Ah Ye?”
The young master quickly went forward to help Mr. Luo Ye up.
“Are you injured?” Mr. Luo Ye scanned the young master.
“No.” Though the young master said so, there were actually many scrapes on his body, especially on the soles of his feet, where the dirt and blood had mixed together into a mess. However, the young master was probably not lying, since indeed, he would not think of wounds of such degrees as injuries.
I originally thought that the young master would at least inquire about what happened, but he did not say a single word. He only picked up Mr. Luo Ye and said, “Let’s go back to the hotel.”
Once we got in the car, Luo Ye looked at the young master with a grateful and happy face. He was evidently tired though, and did not have much energy to speak. It did not take him long to fall into a deep sleep.
The young master looked at him with a complex expression. Up until now, I still could not tell whether the young master’s feelings toward Mr. Luo Ye’s arrival were positive or negative.
“Young Master, were you two attacked?” I inquired quietly.
The young master nodded, his expression turning solemn in an instant.
“Since you are filming, you might not have time to investigate. Should we request for Melody to go?”
The young master said a little weakly, “There’s no need to investigate. It’s the adjudication squad.”
The adjudication squad… I suddenly understood.
It was the master!
Before I could delve any further into that line of thought, my cell phone rang. The number of times my phone rang nowadays was really beginning to increase. Most of the time, they were looking for the young master, though the people looking for me had increased too, such as Ah Shuu and Curtis.
“Charles, where the hell did Ah Ye run off to?” Once I picked up, I heard Director Xiao complain indignantly, “We agreed to meet at seven, but now it’s already eight o’clock. Even he’s pulling a diva act, he should be here by now!”
I quickly explained, “Something happened to the young master’s uncle, so we went over to deal with it. We are about to reach the hotel soon.”
Director Xiao swore for quite a while, and finally concluded by shouting, “Hurry and get over here!”
“Understood!”
The young master turned to look at me.
“It was Director Xiao. We have missed the meeting time.”
The young master nodded and said to me, “Charles, help me carry my uncle upstairs once we’re there. Nitewalker, follow them and don’t leave their side. If it’s too late by the time I return to the room, then just go to sleep before me!”
At this point, he stared me right in the eyes as he said, “Charles, in the near future, I might be very busy, so you have to obediently go and sleep. Don’t you dare stay up and wait for me!”
“… As you wish.”
There were only a few people in the hotel lobby. It seemed that some had headed over to the filming location first. Director Xiao had both arms crossed, looking as though he was about to explode in anger. He seemed to have waited for the young master’s return to deal with him. Even the other people with him had dissatisfied expressions on.
Before he walked up to them, the young master quietly told me, “Charles, bring Shūshu upstairs.”
“As you wish.” I was a little worried, but still supported Mr. Luo Ye with Nitewalker’s help as we walked straight ahead.
The moment the young master walked up to the crowd, he immediately bowed and apologized, “Sorry, I am late.”
“So you know that, too?” Director Xiao burst into a lecture, “You’re still a newbie. Let me tell you, don’t act as though you’re a bigshot. Before this, I thought you were a rarely seen good kid. I didn’t think that you would change so much in such a short while!”
As Director Xiao scolded him non-stop, his assistant beside him nervously whispered, “D-Director Xiao, he’s the Sun Emperor’s little brother!”
Director Xiao glared at him and roared, “So what? I know Ah Ye well, and this is not the first time I’ve chewed him out. When have I not scolded him when we were shooting? I’m still living just fine, ain’t I? Like hell I’ll be scared!”
After he reprimanded the assistant, he then turned back to continue lecturing the young master. The young master, however, did not say a single word in return, but merely listened to him with his head lowered. He was only wearing a thin T-shirt with cropped pants, and was not even wearing shoes. His feet were dirty, and his appearance was quite pitiful…
I walked past the young master. Though I truly wanted to stay with him to bow down and apologize together, I could not do so.
“Why are you giving me that pathetic act? To think you aren’t even wearing shoes! If you were to get injured, how would we film later? So the scratch on your face wasn’t enough for you? Believe me, I’ll sue you for breaching the contract!”
I heard the young master’s timid voice from behind me, “I was in too much of a hurry so I forgot to put on my shoes. I’m sorry…”
I could not help but turn back to look, and happened to see the assistants and the surrounding people trying to soothe the director one after another, “Director Xiao, don’t be angry at him anymore!”
Director Xiao still had an enraged expression, but he suddenly shot a baffled look at the people trying to dissuade him. All of them were staring at the young master in pity, their previous dissatisfaction having more or less faded.
“Weren’t you all cursing him even more than I was just now? What’s with the sudden change of attitude?”
The assistant said in a hushed tone, “He looks so pitiful. It really seems like he didn’t do it on purpose!”
Director Xiao looked as though he had seen a ghost, and turned toward the young master in doubt. The young master just happened to be sneaking a peek at him; because of his lowered head, he was looking upwards cautiously. The moment he caught Director Xiao looking at him, he immediately retracted his gaze and returned to staring at his toes, remorse written on his face.
Director Xiao looked the young master up and down. This made the young master so nervous that he seemed not to know what to do. He did not dare to move at all. Only his toes twitched around uneasily.
“This pitiful look of yours doesn’t seem half bad? Stylist! Call the stylist over!”
“Huh?”
The young master raised his head, seeming lost. Watching Director Xiao order the stylist about, he obediently stood in place to let the stylist do their job, seemingly used to it. In the end, the hotel staff went up to them to request that they do not do their styling in the middle of the lobby. Only then did the group of people charge over to the black van in a grandiose manner, driving off without a second glance.
Seeing this, I finally felt a little more relieved. When I turned around, I saw that Mr. Luo Ye’s face had turned extremely pale…
“Mr. Luo Ye! My sincerest apologies, we will head upstairs now!”
A smile stretched out onto Mr. Luo Ye’s face as he said, “Don’t worry, seeing you so concerned about him makes me very happy, too.”
His voice was so feeble that I felt frightened, and I quickly supported him as we headed to the room.
Along the way, I was a little upset as I said, “Nitewalker, if I get distracted again in the future, please call my attention back.”
Nitewalker asked doubtfully, “Is this also part of a chauffeur’s job scope?”
I was somewhat at a loss for words. However, Nitewalker did not wait for my reply, and seemed to have come to his own conclusion as he commented, “You are a butler, yet you also have to be a doctor. Very well, I will call out to you next time.”
When we returned to the room, I checked Mr. Luo Ye’s wounds carefully. There were a total of three bullet wounds, which truly made me feel a little uneasy…
“There should be two more bullets stuck inside.” Mr. Luo Ye even said so himself.
As I had suspected, these are not injuries that I should be treating.
Mr. Luo Ye vigilantly warned, “You have to swear not to bring me to the hospital, or I’ll leave immediately!”
I raised my head and sincerely beseeched, “Mr. Luo Ye, I must remind you that I am not professionally-trained medical personnel, so it may be risky if I treat it. If any undesirable consequences were to happen as a result, that would be extremely regrettable.”
Although I may have had the fine-sounding title of a medical student, I had merely attended a few days of classes before the classes were canceled… To top it off, I had not even gotten into the course through my own efforts; I had dissected every part of the human body under Doctor An Te Qi’s orders in the past, but those were, after all, dead people. They could not possibly die a second time from my dissection. Under Ah Shuu’s instructions just now, I had stitched up many wounds, but that was just sewing. For a butler, sewing was an essential subject to study. It was just that the material for sewing changed from cloth to skin, so it was not a terribly big difference.
However, the task now was to extract bullets from a living person!
“I can tell that you did a pretty good job before. Just do the same thing now.”
“Perhaps I could manage stitching wounds together, but these are gunshot wounds, and the bullets are still stuck inside. I am afraid that this is beyond my capabilities.”
Mr. Luo Ye crawled up from the bed, his expression immediately turning paler, as sweat dotted his forehead. However, he did not speak, and forced himself to stand up. No matter how I tried to stop him, he would wave off my hand stubbornly, and staggered at a faltering pace toward the door.
Though Nitewalker was blocking the door and could not possibly let Mr. Luo Ye leave, it was impossible for Mr. Luo Ye to withstand any kind of torment in his current condition.
“I swear, in the name of my honorable father, that I absolutely will not send you to the hospital.”
Mr. Luo Ye froze in his tracks. He turned to look at me, and smiled. “You are an honest child.”
I am a hundred years older than you. I sighed, and went up to bite him. Looking at the unconscious patient, I once again opened my tablet.
“Ah Shuu, teach me how to remove bullets…”
Thankfully, there was a second set of bedsheets in the closet. If the hotel staff were to change the sheets, they might directly call the police upon seeing the bed covered in fresh blood.
After taking another close look at Mr. Luo Ye lying on the bed and confirming that his breathing was stable, I turned to ask, “Nitewalker, could you stay here and look after Mr. Luo Ye? Um, may I inquire if you are good at combat?”
I hesitated for a moment, before I then asked another question, “Would you mind taking part in battle?”
“I am very strong and like to fight!” Nitewalker bluntly said. “Where are you going? The young master told you to obediently go and sleep.”
“I remembered that the young master has yet to eat dinner. As a result, I am planning to go out and buy some food for the young master to eat upon his return. I am merely buying a late-night snack, and will go to sleep once I return.”
Nitewalker gave it some thought before agreeing, “Okay.” He lay sideways on the long sofa, turned on the television, and started channel-hopping.
I looked at him, and abruptly recalled another matter. I asked, “Nitewalker, when the two of you were being attacked, did you take part in the battle? Did the young master stop you?”
“I did.” Nitewalker nodded. Then, he shook his head and said, “No, the young master only said that I had good fighting skills.”
So I am the only one he would stop from doing so? I could not help but feel a little regretful about the promise that I had made with the young master not to fight. However, how was I to know at that time that the young master was… A master whom others would be willing to fight for?
I ought to find a time to talk about this matter with the young master.
I walked over to the dining hall. Though it was almost eleven o’clock, there were still a dozen or so people present. After looking at the operating hours of the store and confirming it closed at twelve, I concluded that, as I had expected, takeaway was the only option we had. Though the hotel provided room service, it was highly likely that the young master would not be willing to wake us up with the noise it might make.
I ordered several dishes with bread and milk. Hopefully, these would be enough for the young master. Though the flavor would definitely be compromised after leaving the food out for a while, it would just have to do for now—
“Hi!”
I turned to see a woman standing to the side. She was wearing an exquisite silver mermaid dress, her lips painted a bold red. Though her facial features were not remarkably striking, she still looked rather beautiful due to her carefully styled look.
“You’re really handsome.” As she said so, she reached out a hand to touch my face.
I took a step back to avoid it. I had encountered bold ladies before, but it was simply not common for someone in such formal dress to do such a thing.
She said in a disappointed tone, “You’re so good-looking. No wonder I’m not your cup of tea.”
I politely replied, “That was not my intention. It is just that this is our first time meeting each other. I am not used to the closeness.”
“So what?” The female invited with implications, “Wanna go with me?”
“My apologies, I am still in the middle of work.”
I felt a little awkward. If this were to happen on the streets of Sunset City, it would have been much easier to deal with. That was because people flirting with each other was basically part of the street scenery in Sunset City, be it between men and women, women and women, or men and men. However, the current situation was at a dining hall in Daystar City. The people around us were already gossiping among themselves while peeking over from the corner of their eyes. I was truly at a loss on what to do next.
“Work?” The lady did not seem to believe me and asked sarcastically, “What kind of job doesn’t allow you to get off work even at eleven o’clock? Don’t tell me you work twenty hours a day?”
I calmly replied, “I am a butler. As long as my master requires me, all twenty-four hours a day are my work hours.”
“Butler? So a butler can be as handsome as you?” She seemed to finally believe me, but the situation did not turn for the better. As she spoke, she moved closer step by step, “If all butlers were as handsome as you, I would also want to employ one!”
I retreated bit by bit, almost backing onto the balcony. I could not endure much longer and waved at the service staff to ask, “May I inquire if the meal that I ordered is ready?”
“I will help you ask the kitchen.” The server’s expression was rather subtle. It seemed like he was trying to keep a professional smile on, but it looked more like he was sniggering to himself. His expression was extremely inappropriate, and the fact that he had not taken the initiative to help a customer in trouble was unacceptable.
However, now was not the time to be rating the service staff. Rather, I needed to properly find a way to settle the matter without being disrespectful.
“Okay, I’ll stop playing with you, you poor thing.”
Just as I was at my wit’s end, the girl took a step backwards out of her own volition. This made me heave a huge sigh of relief. If her intention was merely to tease me, there was no harm done, though it made me feel rather resigned.
“Could you stand here and wait for me?” She begged persistently. “Just for a little moment.”
I was a little troubled, but the server nearby had crossed both hands in an “X” shape—Why is he not coming over—indicating that my order was not ready yet. Standing here was not a problem anyways, so I nodded my head.
She pounced over and gave me a kiss. Although it was just a courteous hug and a peck on the cheek, it was still extremely embarrassing when the other person was a stranger, and with onlookers sneakily glancing over.
She ran toward the balcony, her laughter like tinkling bells. Though she had a mature appearance, the way she held herself was innocent and carefree, which made me momentarily feel less bothered about what had just happened. However, the onlookers had started gossiping among themselves. They did not speak loudly, but there were still many words that could be vaguely heard and most of them… were not good remarks.
Both of her palms rested on the balcony as she looked at the night view outside. No one was at the balcony despite there being seating, for the wind was rather strong. It was not suitable for one to have a meal in such a place, and the wind was too much even for occasionally walking out to observe the evening scenery.
She spun around and actually sat on the railings of the balony, humming a song. She looked very content despite the alarming situation.
I quickly said, “That’s too dangerous. Please come back down!”
She turned with a smile. “Thanks! Being able to chat with a hottie like you at the very end was really nice.”
At the very end?
The silver mermaid dress suddenly vanished. I rushed over with my X-speed, and looked down. Her silver silhouette was descending at high speed.
Seeing the situation, I immediately jumped after her, but was unable to keep up with her falling speed. She raised her head and glanced at me, seeming a little surprised. Following that, she smiled before quickly falling down further from me. In the end, she turned into a pool of blood that blossomed across the ground.
I slowly landed beside the blossom of blood with slight regret. If I had immediately jumped after her instead of looking downwards from the handrails before I jumped, perhaps I would have been able to save her in time.
But the incident had been too abrupt. My first thought had been along the lines of suicide, but I had also suspected the possibility that she had undergone modification or was perhaps even a non-human. In such a case, she would have been fine even if she jumped off a building, so I had thought she was simply teasing me still… I had forgotten that this was Daystar City, not Sunset City.
This was the second time, the second time I had seen a suicide since arriving here only three days ago.
Perhaps…
There was truly something terribly wrong with this city.
The Sixth Step Toward the End: Self-Destruction, By One’s Own Hand—translated by Raylight (proofread by Minthe & Trespasserby; C/E edited by Taffygirl13 & lucathia)
Take a deep breath… deep breath, at least I’m still alive!
As for experimental subjects, there are bound to be plenty in this place!
I put my arm around Ezart’s shoulders, which was quite difficult to achieve. After all, he was a lot taller than the average human.
“Ezart, next time remember to leave at least two for me to observe, got it?” I emphasized the two words “got it.”
The other scratched his head as he muttered, “If it weren’t for the fact that An Te Qi doesn’t know the art of disguise, I would have thought you were that guy… Besides, why two? Even for An Te Qi, one is enough. You’re even more troublesome than him!”
“I didn’t even ask you for two males and two females! I’m an anthropologist, specializing in researching behavior patterns. If there is only one left, I would not be able to research their interactions with each other.” I was a little curious and asked, “But who exactly is this An Te Qi that you speak of?”
“He’s a weirdo doctor, and the kind who likes to dissect stuff for research.”
“I don’t really enjoy cutting up stuff.” At most, I just like stabbing.
“Both of you love ‘research.’ It’s just that he likes to play with the dead ones and you like the live ones.”
I glanced at the young master’s extremely anxious expression. Although Mr. Luo Ye was not his biological father, he was still this frantic. Could there be a reason for it, or is it purely because this person is his uncle… His uncle in name.
The young master turned to look at me and started to speak, but halted mid-way. “Gēge, he… No, forget it.”
I was a little confused, but the young master had already informed me that there were some issues that he could not talk to me about, so I ought not to ask further.
Once we reached the scene, the young master leaped out of the car anxiously, shouting “Luo Ye” into the empty air.
I exited the car, slightly surprised. This place did not look like it was a part of Daystar City, and it was not even comparable to Sunset City. The buildings were old and dilapidated, the streets were bleak without even a single lit sign board, and it was extremely filthy. There were only a few homeless people lying around in the corners of the streets. The place appeared as though it was abandoned.
Under Nitewalker’s best efforts, the car had traveled at most thirty to forty kilometers away from our hotel in a mere ten minutes. How could there possibly be such a large difference?
“Luo Ye! Shūshu!” The young master scampered around while yelling loudly, attracting a lot of attention from the homeless, especially since he was not even wearing shoes.
Nitewalker also exited the car. He asked, “Looking for someone?”
“Indeed.”
“The gentleman from before?”
I pondered for a moment before answering, “My speed is faster, so you can just accompany the young master as we split up and look for him. If anything happens, we will contact each other by cell phone.” The young master had not even remembered his shoes, let alone his cell phone.
“Got it.”
I shouted loudly, “Young Master, I will head to the left, so please start searching from the right.”
The young master turned back and yelled, “Okay!”
After parting from the young master, I wove in and out between the buildings. I began to find the situation odder and odder. It was technically incorrect to say that this place was not developed, for there were many large buildings around, and it did not look like a rural village that had not undergone commercial development. However, all the buildings had been abandoned, with only a few homeless people living in them. It was truly peculiar—
I froze in my tracks as soon as I heard a faint sound. Was that a gunshot?
The sound was not loud and was rather muffled. If it were not for the fact that it was a quiet area and that I had been paying close attention to any noises to help find the person I was searching for, I probably would not have noticed it.
I walked to the window. It was just the third floor, so I could not see far into the distance. Could it be that the young master has run into trouble? Or perhaps it was just some insignificant noise?
I should go back and take a look! I was just about to jump down through the window when I heard a faint sound from behind. It was a very small and light “swish” sound, as though the bottom of someone’s foot had lightly brushed against the ground.
I bent my knees slightly, and with a large backward flip, I sailed over a large part of the area and then landed silently. The other was seated behind a pile of waste, and was currently looking at the place where I had originally stood through the reflection of the small mirror they held in their hands.
The other abruptly raised his head, and immediately fired a few shots at me.
“Mr. Luo Ye, I am Charles, the young master’s butler!” I promptly called out.
But against my expectations, his voice was full of grief and indignation as he asked, “Did Ah Ye order you to come and kill me? He’s not even going to personally come over and do it himself?”
“There is no such matter! The young master is also looking for you on the other end of this place. The place was just too large, so we could only split up to look for you.”
As I explained, I observed the other. He had a lot of injuries, many of them still bleeding, and there were even some traces of gunshot wounds. He has to be treated immediately!
“Please believe me.” Once the other stopped firing, I stood still in my place, so as to avoid triggering him and causing him to suspect me further. “That gun does not have much of an effect on me. You have already seen how fast I move. If I truly wanted to kill you, you would have already been dead.”
At this point, Mr. Luo Ye hesitated for a while. He finally put down his handgun and asked, “Ah Ye really doesn’t want to kill me? Does he really understand that I just wished to see him? I had absolutely no intent to seize his family inheritance or make use of him!”
I calmly answered, “The young master is a lot more simple-minded than you think. Such questions would never have crossed his mind. The person who wishes to kill you is definitely not my young master.”
“B-But he was raised by my brother, raised by that heartless fellow…” Luo Ye mumbled for a while. He raised his head and looked at me. “You still have not made any moves. It seems that I really should trust Ah Ye.”
I sighed in relief and said, “Please follow me. We will immediately escort you to the hospital—”
“No!” Mr. Luo Ye rejected the idea immediately. He stubbornly answered, “If I go to the hospital, I’ll have no chance of survival! I’m not sure who is trying to kill me, but as long as they find me, I will definitely get killed!”
“Then please, at least accompany me to find the young master—”
Midway through my words, a loud sound rang out in the distance. This time, it was unmistakably the sound of gunfire, and in that direction was—
“Young Master!”
I turned to leave, but heard Mr. Luo Ye shout behind me, “Bring me along!”
The sound of something hitting the ground? I looked back and saw Mr. Luo Ye who had tumbled to the ground, his face ashen. There was a trail of blood from where he had originally been sitting…
The young master was extremely powerful, much more so than me. Moreover, he had Nitewalker with him. He did not require my assistance, but Mr. Luo Ye very much needed it. Even if I went over with Mr. Luo Ye, that would only put him in danger. In that case, I would have to be responsible for protecting Mr. Luo Ye, and that would once again make the young master feel guilty about forcing me into another battle.
“We will not be going over. Please allow me to deal with your injuries first.”
I walked over to Mr. Luo Ye’s side and crouched down to check on his injuries. It was a lot worse than I had initially thought, and he had lost a lot of blood, too. His clothes were all soaked with blood, but due to his dark-colored clothing, it had not been obvious when I saw him from afar just now.
“What nonsense are you spouting?” Mr. Luo Ye roared in rage, “Ah Ye is in danger! Aren’t you a vampire? Hurry up and go save him!”
I calmly explained, “The young master is from a combat major and is extremely powerful. In addition, he has another person with him. In contrast, your injuries are immensely serious and need to be treated as soon as possible.”
“I’m okay!” Mr. Luo Ye growled in a low voice, but his extreme agitation appeared to worsen his injuries. His face immediately twisted in pain, and he lowered his head while panting heavily.
I picked up the small bag at my side and retrieved my tablet computer.
“Ah Shuu.”
“What’s up?” His curiosity seemed to be piqued as he asked, “How strange, both the master and servant seem to be really interested in me today. Today has been the most you have poked me ever since you got that tablet!”
I had no desire to continue playing around with him, and immediately turned the tablet computer to face Mr. Luo Ye. I moved the tablet up and down and asked, “Ah Shuu, can you take a look at this person’s injuries, and direct me as to how to deal with them?
“Are you able to see this clearly?” I was a little worried as I asked, “He has lost a lot of blood, and his clothes are dark-colored, so you might not be able to see it clearly—”
“I can see it very clearly. The bleeding must be stopped immediately!” Ah Shuu’s tone turned extremely serious as he said, “Charles, do you have surgical tools on you—Forget it, you probably don’t. Inform me of whatever you can find on hand.”
I instantly replied, “I can use my blood ability to materialize any tools, as long as you describe them to me. If I can take a glance at them, that would be even better.”
“Wait for me!” Ah Shuu answered back. He was likely retrieving his surgical tools.
“Go find Ah Ye!” Mr. Luo Ye glared at me in extreme rage. However, I simply tried my best to secure the tablet to my shoulder with my blood ability so that Ah Shuu could see the situation, and I would not be hindered by it as I treated the injuries.
When I was done securing it, I looked back briefly just in time to see Mr. Luo Ye press the gun against his temple.
“Go and find Ah Ye.” He threatened, “Don’t think that I don’t dare to fire—”
I bared my fangs and pounced on him, biting down on the side of Mr. Luo Ye’s neck…
“Why did you bite him?” Ah Shuu’s voice came from my shoulder, and he asked in puzzlement, “Did you decide not to save him anymore and are planning to eat him instead?”
I lowered Mr. Luo Ye to lay flat on the ground as I answered, “A vampire’s teeth can release a type of fluid that has a similar effect to anesthetics, so I will use it as a replacement for now.”
However, it was rare for me to use it. That was because I seldom took blood from humans directly. Even if I really did so, I would most likely not require such a method.
“Oh, so you are still saving him. Okay, then look at these operation tools.”
I retrieved the tablet to carefully scrutinize the tools that Ah Shuu was showing me. Thankfully, I had previously attempted to research more into controlling my blood ability by studying Poseidynne’s abilities, so as to forge better rapiers and shields. Forming these tools before me should not be a problem.
“Then, cut open his clothes, so that I can check his injuries… Ignore the gunshot wounds for now and deal with the large wounds. Do you have clean cloth and thread?”
I frowned as I answered, “I only have three handkerchiefs. Though they are unused, they are not sterilized. I do, however, have a needle and thread on hand.”
I had a sewing kit in the small bag at my side, stashed in the event that the young master needed a sudden fix such as sewing on buttons.
Ah Shuu straightforwardly answered, “It’s still better than not having anything. Let’s do this one at a time. As for the other wounds, put some pressure on them to stop the bleeding first. Urgh, you only have two hands, what to do…”
“I can use my blood ability to assist with that. Just state what needs to be done. If it is truly out of my capabilities, I will inform you so.”
“Okay.”
In the middle of the treatment, my phone rang. I pressed the speaker key, and then placed the phone in my front breast pocket as I continued treating the wounds.
The young master spoke in an anxious voice, “Charles! Are you okay? Were you attacked?”
“Young Master, I am fine. However, Mr. Luo Ye is injured. I am currently in the process of treating his wounds, so please head left, about eight hundred meters away. We are on the third floor of a building with a red signboard.”
I followed Ah Shuu’s instructions and sewed up the cleaner wounds. At the same time, I memorized the location of the three gunshot wounds, for I would go back and deal with those later.
When I completed everything and saw that Mr. Luo Ye was still breathing steadily, I finally heaved a sigh of relief.
Ah Shuu excitedly said, “Charles, you really do have talent for being a surgeon. Do you want to consider changing your profession? You don’t even need to use anesthetics and scalpels in your operations! So cost-effective! Come to my family’s hospital. We’ll employ you with a high salary!”
I forced a smile. If possible, I would still wish not to have that many opportunities to operate.
“No way! Charles has to be my butler, so he can’t be a surgeon.”
This made me jump in shock. When I turned around, I saw the young master and Nitewalker standing behind me. “Young Master! When did the two of you arrive?”
Nitewalker pointed to the injury on Mr. Luo Ye’s left thigh and answered, “When you started sewing up that wound.”
That was the second to last wound that I had sewn up. To think that I had not sensed the young master and Nitewalker’s arrival in the least bit.
“Charles, you’re really awesome!” The young master praised, “I didn’t think that An Te Qi-bàba would really manage to teach you so well within such a short period of time!”
If anything, it was Ah Shuu who taught me well. But that is not exactly correct either. I have not truly been taught at all!
“Ah Ye, Ah Ye, are you all right?” Mr. Luo Ye gave a few groans. Although he did not seem well, he continued to be more concerned about the young master. “Ah Ye?”
The young master quickly went forward to help Mr. Luo Ye up.
“Are you injured?” Mr. Luo Ye scanned the young master.
“No.” Though the young master said so, there were actually many scrapes on his body, especially on the soles of his feet, where the dirt and blood had mixed together into a mess. However, the young master was probably not lying, since indeed, he would not think of wounds of such degrees as injuries.
I originally thought that the young master would at least inquire about what happened, but he did not say a single word. He only picked up Mr. Luo Ye and said, “Let’s go back to the hotel.”
Once we got in the car, Luo Ye looked at the young master with a grateful and happy face. He was evidently tired though, and did not have much energy to speak. It did not take him long to fall into a deep sleep.
The young master looked at him with a complex expression. Up until now, I still could not tell whether the young master’s feelings toward Mr. Luo Ye’s arrival were positive or negative.
“Young Master, were you two attacked?” I inquired quietly.
The young master nodded, his expression turning solemn in an instant.
“Since you are filming, you might not have time to investigate. Should we request for Melody to go?”
The young master said a little weakly, “There’s no need to investigate. It’s the adjudication squad.”
The adjudication squad… I suddenly understood.
It was the master!
Before I could delve any further into that line of thought, my cell phone rang. The number of times my phone rang nowadays was really beginning to increase. Most of the time, they were looking for the young master, though the people looking for me had increased too, such as Ah Shuu and Curtis.
“Charles, where the hell did Ah Ye run off to?” Once I picked up, I heard Director Xiao complain indignantly, “We agreed to meet at seven, but now it’s already eight o’clock. Even he’s pulling a diva act, he should be here by now!”
I quickly explained, “Something happened to the young master’s uncle, so we went over to deal with it. We are about to reach the hotel soon.”
Director Xiao swore for quite a while, and finally concluded by shouting, “Hurry and get over here!”
“Understood!”
The young master turned to look at me.
“It was Director Xiao. We have missed the meeting time.”
The young master nodded and said to me, “Charles, help me carry my uncle upstairs once we’re there. Nitewalker, follow them and don’t leave their side. If it’s too late by the time I return to the room, then just go to sleep before me!”
At this point, he stared me right in the eyes as he said, “Charles, in the near future, I might be very busy, so you have to obediently go and sleep. Don’t you dare stay up and wait for me!”
“… As you wish.”
There were only a few people in the hotel lobby. It seemed that some had headed over to the filming location first. Director Xiao had both arms crossed, looking as though he was about to explode in anger. He seemed to have waited for the young master’s return to deal with him. Even the other people with him had dissatisfied expressions on.
Before he walked up to them, the young master quietly told me, “Charles, bring Shūshu upstairs.”
“As you wish.” I was a little worried, but still supported Mr. Luo Ye with Nitewalker’s help as we walked straight ahead.
The moment the young master walked up to the crowd, he immediately bowed and apologized, “Sorry, I am late.”
“So you know that, too?” Director Xiao burst into a lecture, “You’re still a newbie. Let me tell you, don’t act as though you’re a bigshot. Before this, I thought you were a rarely seen good kid. I didn’t think that you would change so much in such a short while!”
As Director Xiao scolded him non-stop, his assistant beside him nervously whispered, “D-Director Xiao, he’s the Sun Emperor’s little brother!”
Director Xiao glared at him and roared, “So what? I know Ah Ye well, and this is not the first time I’ve chewed him out. When have I not scolded him when we were shooting? I’m still living just fine, ain’t I? Like hell I’ll be scared!”
After he reprimanded the assistant, he then turned back to continue lecturing the young master. The young master, however, did not say a single word in return, but merely listened to him with his head lowered. He was only wearing a thin T-shirt with cropped pants, and was not even wearing shoes. His feet were dirty, and his appearance was quite pitiful…
I walked past the young master. Though I truly wanted to stay with him to bow down and apologize together, I could not do so.
“Why are you giving me that pathetic act? To think you aren’t even wearing shoes! If you were to get injured, how would we film later? So the scratch on your face wasn’t enough for you? Believe me, I’ll sue you for breaching the contract!”
I heard the young master’s timid voice from behind me, “I was in too much of a hurry so I forgot to put on my shoes. I’m sorry…”
I could not help but turn back to look, and happened to see the assistants and the surrounding people trying to soothe the director one after another, “Director Xiao, don’t be angry at him anymore!”
Director Xiao still had an enraged expression, but he suddenly shot a baffled look at the people trying to dissuade him. All of them were staring at the young master in pity, their previous dissatisfaction having more or less faded.
“Weren’t you all cursing him even more than I was just now? What’s with the sudden change of attitude?”
The assistant said in a hushed tone, “He looks so pitiful. It really seems like he didn’t do it on purpose!”
Director Xiao looked as though he had seen a ghost, and turned toward the young master in doubt. The young master just happened to be sneaking a peek at him; because of his lowered head, he was looking upwards cautiously. The moment he caught Director Xiao looking at him, he immediately retracted his gaze and returned to staring at his toes, remorse written on his face.
Director Xiao looked the young master up and down. This made the young master so nervous that he seemed not to know what to do. He did not dare to move at all. Only his toes twitched around uneasily.
“This pitiful look of yours doesn’t seem half bad? Stylist! Call the stylist over!”
“Huh?”
The young master raised his head, seeming lost. Watching Director Xiao order the stylist about, he obediently stood in place to let the stylist do their job, seemingly used to it. In the end, the hotel staff went up to them to request that they do not do their styling in the middle of the lobby. Only then did the group of people charge over to the black van in a grandiose manner, driving off without a second glance.
Seeing this, I finally felt a little more relieved. When I turned around, I saw that Mr. Luo Ye’s face had turned extremely pale…
“Mr. Luo Ye! My sincerest apologies, we will head upstairs now!”
A smile stretched out onto Mr. Luo Ye’s face as he said, “Don’t worry, seeing you so concerned about him makes me very happy, too.”
His voice was so feeble that I felt frightened, and I quickly supported him as we headed to the room.
Along the way, I was a little upset as I said, “Nitewalker, if I get distracted again in the future, please call my attention back.”
Nitewalker asked doubtfully, “Is this also part of a chauffeur’s job scope?”
I was somewhat at a loss for words. However, Nitewalker did not wait for my reply, and seemed to have come to his own conclusion as he commented, “You are a butler, yet you also have to be a doctor. Very well, I will call out to you next time.”
When we returned to the room, I checked Mr. Luo Ye’s wounds carefully. There were a total of three bullet wounds, which truly made me feel a little uneasy…
“There should be two more bullets stuck inside.” Mr. Luo Ye even said so himself.
As I had suspected, these are not injuries that I should be treating.
Mr. Luo Ye vigilantly warned, “You have to swear not to bring me to the hospital, or I’ll leave immediately!”
I raised my head and sincerely beseeched, “Mr. Luo Ye, I must remind you that I am not professionally-trained medical personnel, so it may be risky if I treat it. If any undesirable consequences were to happen as a result, that would be extremely regrettable.”
Although I may have had the fine-sounding title of a medical student, I had merely attended a few days of classes before the classes were canceled… To top it off, I had not even gotten into the course through my own efforts; I had dissected every part of the human body under Doctor An Te Qi’s orders in the past, but those were, after all, dead people. They could not possibly die a second time from my dissection. Under Ah Shuu’s instructions just now, I had stitched up many wounds, but that was just sewing. For a butler, sewing was an essential subject to study. It was just that the material for sewing changed from cloth to skin, so it was not a terribly big difference.
However, the task now was to extract bullets from a living person!
“I can tell that you did a pretty good job before. Just do the same thing now.”
“Perhaps I could manage stitching wounds together, but these are gunshot wounds, and the bullets are still stuck inside. I am afraid that this is beyond my capabilities.”
Mr. Luo Ye crawled up from the bed, his expression immediately turning paler, as sweat dotted his forehead. However, he did not speak, and forced himself to stand up. No matter how I tried to stop him, he would wave off my hand stubbornly, and staggered at a faltering pace toward the door.
Though Nitewalker was blocking the door and could not possibly let Mr. Luo Ye leave, it was impossible for Mr. Luo Ye to withstand any kind of torment in his current condition.
“I swear, in the name of my honorable father, that I absolutely will not send you to the hospital.”
Mr. Luo Ye froze in his tracks. He turned to look at me, and smiled. “You are an honest child.”
I am a hundred years older than you. I sighed, and went up to bite him. Looking at the unconscious patient, I once again opened my tablet.
“Ah Shuu, teach me how to remove bullets…”
Thankfully, there was a second set of bedsheets in the closet. If the hotel staff were to change the sheets, they might directly call the police upon seeing the bed covered in fresh blood.
After taking another close look at Mr. Luo Ye lying on the bed and confirming that his breathing was stable, I turned to ask, “Nitewalker, could you stay here and look after Mr. Luo Ye? Um, may I inquire if you are good at combat?”
I hesitated for a moment, before I then asked another question, “Would you mind taking part in battle?”
“I am very strong and like to fight!” Nitewalker bluntly said. “Where are you going? The young master told you to obediently go and sleep.”
“I remembered that the young master has yet to eat dinner. As a result, I am planning to go out and buy some food for the young master to eat upon his return. I am merely buying a late-night snack, and will go to sleep once I return.”
Nitewalker gave it some thought before agreeing, “Okay.” He lay sideways on the long sofa, turned on the television, and started channel-hopping.
I looked at him, and abruptly recalled another matter. I asked, “Nitewalker, when the two of you were being attacked, did you take part in the battle? Did the young master stop you?”
“I did.” Nitewalker nodded. Then, he shook his head and said, “No, the young master only said that I had good fighting skills.”
So I am the only one he would stop from doing so? I could not help but feel a little regretful about the promise that I had made with the young master not to fight. However, how was I to know at that time that the young master was… A master whom others would be willing to fight for?
I ought to find a time to talk about this matter with the young master.
I walked over to the dining hall. Though it was almost eleven o’clock, there were still a dozen or so people present. After looking at the operating hours of the store and confirming it closed at twelve, I concluded that, as I had expected, takeaway was the only option we had. Though the hotel provided room service, it was highly likely that the young master would not be willing to wake us up with the noise it might make.
I ordered several dishes with bread and milk. Hopefully, these would be enough for the young master. Though the flavor would definitely be compromised after leaving the food out for a while, it would just have to do for now—
“Hi!”
I turned to see a woman standing to the side. She was wearing an exquisite silver mermaid dress, her lips painted a bold red. Though her facial features were not remarkably striking, she still looked rather beautiful due to her carefully styled look.
“You’re really handsome.” As she said so, she reached out a hand to touch my face.
I took a step back to avoid it. I had encountered bold ladies before, but it was simply not common for someone in such formal dress to do such a thing.
She said in a disappointed tone, “You’re so good-looking. No wonder I’m not your cup of tea.”
I politely replied, “That was not my intention. It is just that this is our first time meeting each other. I am not used to the closeness.”
“So what?” The female invited with implications, “Wanna go with me?”
“My apologies, I am still in the middle of work.”
I felt a little awkward. If this were to happen on the streets of Sunset City, it would have been much easier to deal with. That was because people flirting with each other was basically part of the street scenery in Sunset City, be it between men and women, women and women, or men and men. However, the current situation was at a dining hall in Daystar City. The people around us were already gossiping among themselves while peeking over from the corner of their eyes. I was truly at a loss on what to do next.
“Work?” The lady did not seem to believe me and asked sarcastically, “What kind of job doesn’t allow you to get off work even at eleven o’clock? Don’t tell me you work twenty hours a day?”
I calmly replied, “I am a butler. As long as my master requires me, all twenty-four hours a day are my work hours.”
“Butler? So a butler can be as handsome as you?” She seemed to finally believe me, but the situation did not turn for the better. As she spoke, she moved closer step by step, “If all butlers were as handsome as you, I would also want to employ one!”
I retreated bit by bit, almost backing onto the balcony. I could not endure much longer and waved at the service staff to ask, “May I inquire if the meal that I ordered is ready?”
“I will help you ask the kitchen.” The server’s expression was rather subtle. It seemed like he was trying to keep a professional smile on, but it looked more like he was sniggering to himself. His expression was extremely inappropriate, and the fact that he had not taken the initiative to help a customer in trouble was unacceptable.
However, now was not the time to be rating the service staff. Rather, I needed to properly find a way to settle the matter without being disrespectful.
“Okay, I’ll stop playing with you, you poor thing.”
Just as I was at my wit’s end, the girl took a step backwards out of her own volition. This made me heave a huge sigh of relief. If her intention was merely to tease me, there was no harm done, though it made me feel rather resigned.
“Could you stand here and wait for me?” She begged persistently. “Just for a little moment.”
I was a little troubled, but the server nearby had crossed both hands in an “X” shape—Why is he not coming over—indicating that my order was not ready yet. Standing here was not a problem anyways, so I nodded my head.
She pounced over and gave me a kiss. Although it was just a courteous hug and a peck on the cheek, it was still extremely embarrassing when the other person was a stranger, and with onlookers sneakily glancing over.
She ran toward the balcony, her laughter like tinkling bells. Though she had a mature appearance, the way she held herself was innocent and carefree, which made me momentarily feel less bothered about what had just happened. However, the onlookers had started gossiping among themselves. They did not speak loudly, but there were still many words that could be vaguely heard and most of them… were not good remarks.
Both of her palms rested on the balcony as she looked at the night view outside. No one was at the balcony despite there being seating, for the wind was rather strong. It was not suitable for one to have a meal in such a place, and the wind was too much even for occasionally walking out to observe the evening scenery.
She spun around and actually sat on the railings of the balony, humming a song. She looked very content despite the alarming situation.
I quickly said, “That’s too dangerous. Please come back down!”
She turned with a smile. “Thanks! Being able to chat with a hottie like you at the very end was really nice.”
At the very end?
The silver mermaid dress suddenly vanished. I rushed over with my X-speed, and looked down. Her silver silhouette was descending at high speed.
Seeing the situation, I immediately jumped after her, but was unable to keep up with her falling speed. She raised her head and glanced at me, seeming a little surprised. Following that, she smiled before quickly falling down further from me. In the end, she turned into a pool of blood that blossomed across the ground.
I slowly landed beside the blossom of blood with slight regret. If I had immediately jumped after her instead of looking downwards from the handrails before I jumped, perhaps I would have been able to save her in time.
But the incident had been too abrupt. My first thought had been along the lines of suicide, but I had also suspected the possibility that she had undergone modification or was perhaps even a non-human. In such a case, she would have been fine even if she jumped off a building, so I had thought she was simply teasing me still… I had forgotten that this was Daystar City, not Sunset City.
This was the second time, the second time I had seen a suicide since arriving here only three days ago.
Perhaps…
There was truly something terribly wrong with this city.
