Chapter Four: Bat
I am the tomb of sparks, the laughingstock of maggots, the rotting corpse that has always offended the blue sky, a former nothingness that never even had the chance to decay. —"Summary of Disintegration"
The journey back to Freedom House was as short as the journey.
L set off not long after, wearing the same clothes as yesterday. Through the window, you can see him walking away from the door with a hunched back, his steps brisk, no trace of fatigue after exercise.
Backup secretly cursed: "Damn..."
Waiting for L was a luxurious private car with a body painted red and black, like a noble sports car. Two men in suits opened the door for him. L sat in and they closed the door. After L sat firmly, the driver in a neat suit got into the car and drove away slowly in an over-the-top stretch car...
B's expression suddenly looked like he had seen a ghost. Bodyguards and luxury cars in the slums? ! His face was pressed against the glass, his eyes staring at the rear of the car, as if he wanted to burn a hole in it. The bodyguard who escorted L to the car looked very professional, and the car didn't look like a fake, but the combination of all these things just made people wonder.
Could it be that - L is not actually an orphan, but the illegitimate son of a gang boss somewhere?
Or the adopted son of a business tycoon with a secret identity?
He rubbed his eyes. The car had disappeared from sight. Backup came to the door, and just as he was about to open it, he found that it was locked from the outside. He once again said a dirty word: "Fuck!"
He pulled open all the curtains in Room L, but the thought of being confined in this narrow space for nine hours made him feel anxious and restless. This was not the case yesterday, when he was still interested in this place and could spend his time on irrelevant things. But today was different, all his curiosity was diverted in a new direction.
Originally, B was a person who easily liked the new and disliked the old, and became bored and disgusted with the things he already knew.
School, schoolwork, adoptive parents, puzzles, knowledge... When most things in the world made him lose interest, there were only two things that fascinated him. Eyes, and the truth behind them.
Now there is one more person. L, and L's secret. It must be the excitement and joy that people feel from the bottom of their hearts when they encounter a difficult or even unsolvable puzzle.
"Trying to trap me here," he snorted. "It's impossible."
B jumped directly from the window.
There was a huge tree in front of the window. He stretched out his hand to grab it, swayed gently, and stepped on the stable trunk. Climbing down from there, my palms were only slightly worn. Backup rubbed his hands, not minding the slight pain.
Under the noon sun, the grass spreads out like a carpet, the leaves cast shadows of stars, and the fragrance of flowers and the chirping of birds that I smelled in the morning became clear again. Only then did he realize that the knee-high weeds that he had failed to see clearly that night were conifers, which were especially common in this area. The small white flowers covered by needle-like grass tips are called angelonia and are connected like snowflakes. The California sycamores outside the wall grow straight toward the sky. He stood here for the first time and saw the entire building with red brick spiers. It actually doesn't look that shabby, and even exudes a quiet and solemn atmosphere surrounded by lush green plants.
"Oops." Bakcup turned around suddenly and saw a child. He was wearing casual clothes, had red hair, and was clutching a skateboard. He didn't step back immediately, but instead looked at him curiously.
The child smiled kindly: "Did you jump from the second floor?"
A face I have never seen before. Not in the living room yesterday either. Backup just assessed his size and combat prowess before turning away coldly. He really has no interest in talking to anyone who has nothing to do with him.
The red-haired boy didn't care either. "So, you really live in L's room. When I heard from my friends that you were hanging out with him, I thought it was incredible and thought she was lying. After all, there is no way a child can get close to someone like L. It doesn't exist, at least I haven't seen it until now. What did you do to him?"
What have you done? What a strange question. B's center of gravity moves backward. He leaned his back against the wall of the building, stretched his feet lazily forward, and yawned in the sunshine.
"L looks down on everyone. I couldn't stand his attitude, so I challenged him." The boy said. "It's not a puzzle or a childish game like hide-and-seek or racing." Now B became curious - more than talking to each other, he admired the other person's perseverance in talking to him more. So, he listened silently. The red-haired boy threw his skateboard to the ground.
"Punch a hole in the lake in winter and throw down small stones. After picking up the stones, you have to swim continuously under the cold water, and of course hold your breath. In the end, the person who can hold on longer and comes up with the stones will Win. That's the gamble."
"..."
"That is actually a very dangerous duel. It is easy to lose direction under the ice and there is a possibility that you will not be able to swim back to the starting point. The water temperature is also a big problem. It will cause muscle twitching in two minutes, and the paralysis caused by hypothermia can be fatal. In watching Swimming underwater around Qing is also scary. But I can't help it, physical strength is already considered L's weakest point."
"..."
"Well... what I was looking for was that his physical strength was exhausted early, or he could not bear the fear after muscle paralysis and took the initiative to surface. I really underestimated him." The boy sighed with a little regret. . "That guy is an aquatic monster, a water demon! He stayed there for five minutes before coming up. That's not the length of time a human can hold his breath, right?"
"..." Backup tapped the ground with his toes. Smiling contentedly: "What are you focusing on?"
"...a year's supply of cakes, and free errands..." The kid sighed again. "His words are to do something shameful in front of all the children. For example, imitate a cat's meow."
"But you lost." Backup's red eyes flashed wildly and strangely. "You asked him to accept the challenge, but you lost to him. It's really ridiculous, and then?" He moved the weeds with a hint of mockery. "What's the point of telling me this?"
"It's nothing. What does he, who is not close to anyone, see in you? I'm just interested in that."
"...What is he to you?"
B squinted his eyes slightly, which was also what he was curious about. L, who is feared and regarded as a weirdo, is nothing to this group of people. Since L is regarded as a flower and grass on the roadside, it is enough to treat him as an irrelevant passerby. He thought of the sights that always surrounded L but didn't dare to intrude - fearful, cramped and lustful - which made him sick.
"Leader?" he said. "Manager? Custodian? Target? Enemy?"
"No." The child's eyes slowly opened wide, "He is our benefactor."
pause. This time it was B's turn to be surprised. That's really...an unimaginable answer. He had always believed that L's special status was forcibly obtained through violence and brutality.
The red-haired boy showed a strange expression: "You really don't know anything."
"L..." he said thoughtfully, "he organized this place with his own hands and established this place called Freedom House. He is the funder, the provider, and provides the funds for us to survive. As long as we I usually do whatever I can in exchange for it."
"Also, there are police jurisdiction around this house, so it is not an illegal area. In fact, it is safer than the city. As long as L wants to, not even a mosquito can get in."
"..." Is he really an illegitimate child, the child of a gang boss? Distant relative of a dignitary? Inherit your dead uncle's huge estate? "then who are you?"
Backup took a step forward and asked. "Where did you get here from?"
But the child just shook his head and made a silent gesture.
"This kind of question cannot be asked here. This is a rule. L allows everyone to have secrets, and must also work hard to keep each other's secrets."
So use pronouns to refer to each other. So just pseudonyms... "I see."
"You think differently than I do." He said suddenly. "I originally thought you would be more...crazy? There are rumors that you have mental problems, but I don't think so. You are just as withdrawn and abnormal as L, and you hate mediocrity."
"Maybe." Backup raised his head, letting his flaxen hair half cover his eyes. For a moment, he felt like he was being seen through. That must be because the red-haired boy's blue eyes became as sharp and shining as L's.
"Then will you jump down? I can tell you more."
B glanced at the window sill on the second floor through the shade of the trees. He nodded weakly.
The child smiled happily. "Then I look forward to it. L will go out to meet clients at this time every day, and we are free. If you dislike him as much as I do, you can form an evil alliance with me behind the scenes and attack together."
It's a pity that I won't stay here for a long time, B thought coldly and endlessly.
The red-haired boy was cheerful and familiar. He said to himself as if he couldn't see his red eyes: "After defeating that guy, let him be your servant."
He would be beaten to death, no, his bones would be broken... Backup's fingers that had just been broken started to hurt again.
"I said," before leaving, he thought about the challenge again, the physical challenge. It was unimaginable that L would jump into the winter water for a bet. Backup paused as he was about to walk, turned his back to the child and asked:
"Why...L will accept your challenge?"
"Because he doesn't seem to be someone who is easily provoked."
"Um..."
said the red-haired boy thoughtfully.
"'There's nothing to do lately. I'm not hungry.' That was his initial answer. Then he said, 'I'm bored.'"
"That's why L accepted the challenge," he said. "He is so - he does whatever he wants - which makes people jealous."
It was already dark when L came back. Dusk crept into the room like water, and the dim light of the setting sun disappeared in front of the window opened by B.
Backup was worried about how to go back at first. It's definitely not possible from the front door, because the door is still locked. He looked at the thick tree trunk for a few seconds and decided to return the way he came.
Climbing the ten-meter-high sycamore tree is unexpectedly easy. When he was a child, he often climbed trees, using the bulges of the trunk to reach the forks, and then walking along the branches, maintaining his balance like walking on a high wire until he came to a flat place. As a child, he hid behind the leaves and watched the passers-by at his feet, enjoying himself.
The boy closed the window, leaving it the same as when he left it. L opened the door wearing a thick coat, the same one he had left in, dark brown with a fluffy hood.
"You know what," Backup paused and finally couldn't help but complain. "You should wear leather boots, a gold-rimmed monocle, and hold a magnifying glass, matches and a cigar - then you would look like a real detective. Unfortunately, the hair ruins everything. No matter how you look now, you are not from where you are. But the young master of Han Dynasty was a homeless man who picked up other people's clothes..."
The reason why he didn't finish speaking was because the first thing L did after coming in was to lock the door. The action was unsettling, and the fact that he was in the same room with L gave him a sense of excitement and trepidation at the same time. L's next move is always difficult to predict.
But the young man who was dressed in an old-fashioned way and with most of his body covered by a big sweater simply looked at the window with penetrating eyes.
"You're out." He asserted.
"You..." B suddenly became speechless. "How did you know?"
"You know it without reasoning." L seemed helpless in the face of a fool, and he didn't bother to explain the evidence for this inference. He took off his coat, shoes, and satchel one by one and threw them aside, feeling much more relaxed as if he had gotten rid of a big burden. Socks are also thrown everywhere. He clattered to the window and checked its lock and closure. Obviously, L must have set up some mechanism somewhere to monitor whether anyone has opened it... "Backup, I'm thinking about changing the locks and installing a fence here."
"No, you can't do that." B said fiercely, then raised his voice and shouted, "You have no right to keep me locked up! Making the room look like a prison is anti-freedom."
"...Really? I thought you were imprisoned voluntarily." L rubbed the edge of the glass with his fingers, then closed the curtains, plunging the room into darkness.
The two wild animals waiting for an opportunity just looked at each other quietly.
B didn't move his eyes.
"What kind of fence do you mean?"
He suddenly smiled. "Iron? Wooden? As dense as a mental hospital, or the hospital's furnishings that exist simply to cut off the scenery? Spending time in escape rooms is much more interesting than waiting for you to come."
Wait...L rarely heard a hint of dissatisfaction in that word. Backup was dissatisfied with waiting and anxious with waiting for him. It was indeed not a good experience, and L himself absolutely did not want to experience it. Essentially, he is asking a child to endure long stretches of silence and boredom. But so what, "I don't have any proof."
he said suddenly. Then he said in a casual tone: "I knew Backup would leave."
"Call me B."
"Speaking of which, why did you come to Skidrow? Why, what were you looking for, what were you running away from?" L approached the boy, and the latter's body became a little tense. He shifted his gaze and stared at the floor, his tense body slowly relaxing.
"You never answer my questions." These words sounded a bit angry. "So I won't answer you either!"
"I didn't expect an answer." L said quietly. "I'll find them myself."
"..."
L turned on the light again, and the room suddenly became unacceptably bright.
B was so stabbed that he narrowed his eyes, and it took him a few seconds to see L's appearance clearly. L's eyes were jet black, so rich that they seemed to absorb all the light. He can have black eyes even if he wears contact lenses, but there is a decisive difference between them that cannot be made up by makeup or imitation of words and deeds.
After a long time, he said.
"I don't know what I'm looking for. I don't know where to go, what to do, how long to live." He said it deliberately vaguely. "If L could see what I see, he would understand."
In this regard, L showed a lack of interest. Backup let out a sigh of frustration. His attention was quickly diverted again, because L came to the ground where the bag had just been thrown away and squatted down.
Take out different things from the bag in sequence. There were folders, thick files, computers, walkie-talkies, some cookies and candies... He finally took out a wallet.
"what is that?"
L took out a wad of bills, all of them in hundred-dollar bills. One, two... That's definitely more than ten. The image of the limousine and bodyguards came to Backup's mind, and he guessed that L robbed the bank with the help of those people, or got the card of a certain tycoon and took out the money openly. It was not a small amount of money, but L held the money as if he were holding a piece of disgusting garbage. "They...where did this money come from?"
L simply replied, "Today's reward."
Um...
"Is this why you went out? What kind of job can earn so much?"
"It has nothing to do with you."
L gave him a cold glance. B was silent and watched helplessly as L stuffed the banknotes into the cupboard. He wasn't longing for them, he was just thinking about how much trouble he could cause L if the money was stolen quietly.
It is said that he founded this place and built this house of freedom. However, a house that is about to be demolished in a slum has no investment value...
No matter how L rents or buys it, the ideal homeless children's shelter will not last long. Moreover, I am really curious as to where he got such a large amount of money.
Backup sat on the ground, L squatting behind him. He lifted up his white loose clothes, revealing his waist and flat belly. The smell of disinfectant came from behind, irritating the nasal cavity. The most distinctive thing is the feel of L's hair. They stick up in all directions like seaweed, so even if L's face is not close, they will still sting his skin.
Keep rubbing against his sensitive back.
At the same time, the wet cotton soaked in disinfectant also clung there, rubbing the injured area. Young B's body was like a canvas, covered with long, vertical and horizontal scars.
Some are scabbed over, but most are still brand new. Blood is an inferior pigment that turns dark red when it solidifies. The wounds overlapped each other and were particularly dense near the waist. As for why it hasn't healed yet, it's because the flesh was cut too deep, or the blade was cut down too hard, leaving an incision nearly two centimeters deep. If it were a painting, it would be a cathartic painting composed of chaos and disordered lines. In addition to the stab wounds, there were scars and burns unevenly distributed throughout his body.
L cleaned these up without saying a word.
B wanted to speak, but held his tongue. He spent too much energy fighting the pain, and even so, he was still shaking slightly under the stimulation of the alcohol.
Why did L go out of his way to clean the wound after wiping away the blood? It's not because I like it or hate it. On the first night, he lifted up his clothes and exposed the scars all over his body. L didn't even blink, but bit his thumb in slight confusion. L was fascinated not by the wounds but by the mystery behind them—the same expression he had when he reasoned that Backup was not an orphan. When L knocked him down and stuck his hand behind his back, he saw that the wounds were winding like snakes and wrapped around his arms. Some were injured by sharp objects, and others seemed to be left after being hit by hard objects. bruises. L didn't ask any questions.
Don't ask – let the secret remain a secret. The rules here.
So L must be doing this to observe them better and make more assumptions...
Rather than wanting him to be cured.
While L was observing, the wet square cotton stopped, and more alcohol seeped into the wound, making Backup almost scream.
"Huh...huh..." The frizzy hair poked at his back as he sucked in the air. "Ho ho..." B made a gasping sound like laughter.
So L's movements continued, he pressed lighter and rubbed slower, as if to make up for the lack of concentration just now. Ironically, if Backup is a hyena and gets lost in the forest, then L who picks him up is the black panther who is supposed to be the prey. L licked his wounds, not for treatment, but because he longed for the taste of blood, or to study the composition of the blood, or even to collect some to take back.
—He couldn't find the blood-stained jacket he originally wore anywhere. And pants.
"L," L didn't ask about the source of the blood. Such an obvious abnormality should have been noticed at first sight. L noticed, but didn't ask. Backup said in a low voice: "You could have driven me away."
"..."
"That night. You could kick me out, if... if you insisted." Lock the door, or force him away. L must have kept him for some purpose. Not out of sympathy. He took a deep breath, and then asked cautiously, as if to confirm again: "Now, are you still interested in the answer to the puzzle?"
Backup turned his head and caught L's lustless eyes, feeling like they were swallowing him up. He suddenly felt that his blood was flowing faster - there was also pain - his mouth was dry and he felt dizzy. While waiting for L's answer, B was wandering between heaven and hell, wanting to laugh loudly and cry uncontrollably. Such a contradictory mentality exists only because of one answer. If it's "no", then B doesn't mind jumping out of the window now, running out of the forest and disappearing - this was his original plan.
L looked at him.
Then he lifted his lips into a faint, approving smile.
"Yes."
B's high-hanging heart dropped, and his tense nerves, roaring blood, and beating heart all slowed down. In the end, he didn't cry or laugh, he just stared into L's eyes dully and obsessively.
He was determined to give more hints.
Backup sat upright, curling his knees in front of his body and wrapping his arms around them.
"My adoptive father is an evil and heinous person." He said solemnly. "He had all the bad habits that an adult could have, he loved drinking, and became very violent when he was drunk. At that time, he would raise whatever was handy - a kitchen knife, a wool duster, a bat, a pistol - and point it at us. But he doesn't like to leave marks, especially marks that can be seen in obvious places. The scars he leaves are hidden and he can use other excuses to cover up the past. The adoptive mother is indifferent to these."
"My adoptive father is a teacher from the middle class. Perhaps because of this, he has a special preference for children who are naturally smart. He highly respects talents and talents and believes that they are rare and cannot be copied. He can do this for Put up with a child's shortcomings, other flaws, or distasteful character traits."
B's oral tone was very distant, as smooth as reading from a script. When he talked about his adoptive father's secret habits, the broken glass hidden under the neighbor's tires, stealing and insulting students, and his frequent drunken attacks, it was as if he was talking about a person. stranger. "Ah—" he said, "he's not afraid of red eyes."
"Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen me." He said, "My adoptive father had unrealistic expectations for me, so he could control his violence after raising the weapon and not really chop it down. I rely on his kindness. I've only survived to this day."
"Survived," L said.
"That's right. There's also luck," B said with a sinister smile, "and wisdom."
"I see."
"But that kind of luck comes at the expense of another person's misfortune." His tone turned cold, "What I got was something that originally belonged to others. That was not my wish, but my wish... Never happened." Realizing that L had discarded the wet cloth and returned the alcohol bottle to the medical kit, he stood up from the ground. "What is L's wish?"
"..."
"Ideal? Goal? Belief?" Pause. "A cherished thing?"
"..."
"Okay. When I didn't ask-"
L pulled off the corner of his clothes.
"What?" Backup turned around angrily. At this time, L also stood up and pulled him in one direction.
"Where are you going?" L unlocked the door. Lead him through the corridor and climb the steps to the third floor. They did not enter any room, but found a hidden skylight at the end of the corridor. Push it gently with your hand and it opens.
It leads to the roof.
Climbing up to the roof was much easier than climbing up the tree, not to mention having L pulling him up.
The same hand can also be used to hit him or apply medicine, but at this time it provides the purest help. Backup grabbed it without hesitation.
The roof has red and brown tiles, which reflect a faint light in the moonlight. There is nothing to support the body, so he can only rely on his body weight and the center of gravity shifted backward to maintain balance on the 45-degree incline.
L didn't sit down. He seemed to prefer any place that was closer to the sky. This was true in the Garbage Mountains, and it is true now. The wind blew up the hem of his clothes, and what B could capture was the whiteness of the fabric—spotless whiteness.
"L..."
The night wind made him feel a little cold. Then came inexplicable heart palpitations and confusion. In B's understanding, L will not come to a place for no reason... maybe L intends to push him down from here.
Therefore, he sat forward a little and leaned closer to L.
L didn't do anything boring. He looked at the sky with almost the same eyes as that day. Longing, loneliness, apathy, detachment—a mixture of one or all of them. This made him follow his line of sight.
Endless black, and the faintly visible stars twinkling in the curtain. Not clear, not bright, at least quiet. The numerous numbers make the field of vision out of focus, but other than that, it cannot bring about other feelings.
L looked at it quietly for a long time, then suddenly lowered his head.
"Don't you want to know?"
"Know," B said, "What?"
"I want to be a detective."
After saying that, L sat down. Backup then remembered that he had asked this question before - he had asked about his ideals, but he didn't get the answer, so he gave up.
The boy curled up his legs and returned to his usual position. "Not the ordinary kind..." He kept his volume and tone unchanged, and slowly turned his head. Then, he announced extremely seriously:
"What I want to be is the world's best detective."
B was stunned for five seconds before bursting into laughter. He was laughing so hard that he had to take a deep breath to avoid suffocating.
...
He took the same pills he had taken the previous few days. Ten minutes later, I was dragged into a deep sleep by the strong effects of the medicine.
L stretched the quilt to the side, got out of it, and stood up. The boy lay on his stomach like a dead man, unable to even hear his breathing.
At this time, L turned on the computer. After a while, a sound came from the speakers - it was the emotionless female voice of Xinwen Network, mechanically reading a piece of news from a few days ago:
"Two people were found dead after a gas explosion at a Los Angeles home. The cause of death is under investigation. Autopsy reports indicate the deaths occurred before the explosion."
"...Toxins were detected in the body...The man's legs were stabbed eight times and hit with blunt objects, resulting in comminuted fractures."
"The deceased were a couple."