"About myself…" The girl drifted back into confusion. "I don't know. I was always in a big white room, sometimes soaking in a huge glass tank. There were lots of people in white coats. Miss Kelly and Mr. Freeman were the nicest to me, but I didn't like Mr. Freeman. He looked at me weird, always saying I was the best BOW, a work of art, worth a fortune. I liked Miss Kelly the most. I had to eat nutrient paste three times a day, but sometimes she'd sneak me chocolate…" She paused. "It wasn't as good as your fried rice."
Ignoring T-Lilith's comment about the fried rice, Li Yexing's nerves were on edge. The Freeman she mentioned was almost certainly the idiot who went tumbling down the cliff with the truck, courtesy of the Tyrant. And she just said she was… a BOW?
BOW—Bio-Organic Weapon—the blanket term for the monsters in the Resident Evil series. The Tyrants unleashed by the convoy last night were BOWs, as were Lickers, Hunters, and the like. And this girl just called herself a BOW?
Li Yexing's mind flashed to Resident Evil 7, where the Baker family took in Eveline, an E-series BOW disguised as a little girl, only to be turned into monsters themselves. If this girl was…
Normally, Li Yexing would've gasped in horror, but knowing she'd been sealed in a tank, he didn't even dare breathe too deeply, terrified of inhaling some virus. His sofa was probably a goner. The jacket draped over her? Toast. The pan she ate from? Done for!
"You're scared?" the girl asked suddenly.
"Not at all…" Li Yexing forced himself to stay calm. He wanted to ask what kind of abilities she had but was afraid she'd give him a devilish grin and say, "Wanna find out?" No way. He had to contact Argall ASAP. This girl was a hot potato—if she stayed another night, Roples would be ground zero for a biohazard by morning.
He pulled out his phone and dialed Argall. No answer, even after several tries.
"What's with this jackass not picking up? Did he die on some woman's belly?" Li Yexing muttered, frowning. He glanced at T-Lilith, who was looking around curiously. She caught his gaze, and their eyes locked.
Damn… she's too cute!
Li Yexing groaned, rubbing his forehead in despair. Screw it—if he got infected, so be it. His life was shit anyway. If things went south, he'd put a bullet in his temple and call it a day. He slumped down and shoveled the remaining half-plate of fried rice into his mouth.
T-Lilith watched the sulky man, puzzled. She didn't get why he was so pissed. He was eating such delicious food—what was there to mope about?
She stared, motionless, as he polished off the rice and tossed the plate and pan into the sink. Then she tugged at his sleeve. He turned, confused.
"What's up?" he asked.
She raised her hand, three fingers poking out from the oversized sleeve. "I need to eat three times a day."
"Huh?"
"Three times—morning, noon, evening."
"Didn't we just have lunch?"
"That leaves dinner."
"You're not full?"
"I'm full now, but I'll be hungry tonight, so I need to eat again."
What kind of dogshit logic was that? Then again, it wasn't exactly wrong.
"We'll deal with dinner later. Once I reach my employer, you're outta here." He pointed at the bathroom. "Now, go take a shower."
He turned on the faucet to wash the dishes. T-Lilith dropped his jacket at the door and stepped into the bathroom. Soon, the sound of running water filled the air, mixed with a strange "Aow~~" from her.
Water too cold? Li Yexing wondered.
Before long, he'd cleaned the dishes, and T-Lilith emerged, dripping wet, her pale skin glistening. She grabbed his dirty jacket off the floor and draped it over herself, which made Li Yexing feel… weird.
He flopped onto the sofa and tried calling Argall again. Still no answer. T-Lilith sat beside him, silent, just staring.
Li Yexing felt like an idiot. If he were the upgraded Li Yexing, he'd probably have this girl in bed by now, making her scream—or getting himself screamed into oblivion. But the real him? His experience with pretty girls was practically zero, let alone one wearing nothing but his jacket. He couldn't just kick her out—she was valuable cargo, a multi-hundred-thousand-dollar job that'd set him up for a while. The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he got. He lit a cigarette, then froze. Why did this feel like the awkward aftermath of a one-night stand?
Li Yexing, what the hell are you thinking?!
Seeing him puffing away in silence, the bored silver-haired girl started rocking back and forth on the sofa, muttering, "Dinner, dinner…"
Losing patience, Li Yexing stood. "I'm stepping out. Stay here, don't move, and don't touch my stuff."
She didn't respond, just kept swaying, no clue if she'd heard him.
"Tch." He smacked his lips, walked out, and locked the door behind him. It was pointless—second floor wasn't high; she could jump out a window if she wanted—but locking it felt right.
After a ten-minute walk, he reached a bar. It was quiet in the daytime, with a weaselly bartender wiping glasses. Li Yexing strode up and rapped a glass on the counter.
"I'm looking for Argall."
The bartender glanced up, then went back to wiping. "Boss ain't here."
"Get Argall. Now. Or I'll twist your head off." Nice words didn't work—time for Roples-style social skills. Li Yexing's voice turned icy, his heart, rattled by T-Lilith, hardening again.
"Hey, you crazy Asian mutt," the bartender snapped, but a flicker of panic in his eyes betrayed him. "Boss left two days ago, hasn't been back. Phone's dead too. Why would I lie? Ask them." He nodded at the daytime drunks in the bar.
The answer didn't satisfy Li Yexing, but he knew the bartender wasn't lying. No one was dumb enough to bullshit a rabid dog like him. Problem was, this made things worse. If even the bartender couldn't find Argall, he was either off on some big job or in deep shit.
Leaving the bar, Li Yexing's head throbbed. He was stuck with a cargo worth hundreds of thousands, and no way to reach the client.
Feeling like a storm cloud, he wandered the streets, stopping instinctively at a shop. Looking up, he saw it was a clothing store.
His mood darkened further.
Li Yexing returned to his cramped apartment, shut the door, and looked at the silver-haired girl swaying like a pendulum on his sofa. He tossed a pile of shopping bags beside her.
"Try these on. See if they fit."
T-Lilith opened the bags, revealing an assortment of clothes.
"For me?" she asked, expressionless, though her red eyes seemed to sparkle.
"Go change. You do know how to put on clothes, right?" Li Yexing avoided her gaze, shrugging off his jacket and hanging it on the rack. Taking his cue, T-Lilith shed his dirty jacket and slipped into the new clothes. After some rustling, she said, "Done."
He turned to look. She was transformed: a white tee with red Russian text reading "Сука блядь," a black leather biker jacket with a beige fur collar, black hot pants with a buckle, thigh-high black socks, and beige ankle boots.
The sizes seemed fine, but the outfit… Li Yexing knew his fashion sense sucked. If he were the upgraded Li Yexing, he'd probably think less clothing was better. Not exactly appropriate.
"Go check the mirror, see if you like it," he said, hoping she'd at least approve. But she shook her head. "No need. It's definitely pretty."
"Why?" A ripple stirred in his chest, a warm current flowing through.
"Because your fried rice was delicious, so the clothes you picked must be pretty," she answered matter-of-factly.
The warmth in Li Yexing's heart turned to Siberian frost. What was I even expecting?
Ignoring his rollercoaster of a face, T-Lilith spread her arms, spinning in place, humming an odd tune: "New clothes, new clothes…"
She seemed pretty happy.
"So, T-Lilith, what did you wear before?" Li Yexing asked, curious about her cheerful mood.
"Usually nothing. Sometimes white clothes."
"White clothes?"