Officer Huang quickly lifted his head off Su Xi’s belly, moving so suddenly that he almost pulled a muscle in his side. Pretending that nothing had happened, he held his right fist to his mouth and fake-coughed twice.
“You must be thirsty. I’ll pour you some water...” While speaking, Officer Huang glanced to the side to see a young man he didn’t recognize standing at the door. He was dressed in a black and white striped sweater and a pair of jeans, wearing glasses. He looked down-to-earth and shy.
Officer Huang had thought that it would be Mischievous Monkey or Zhong He. Why were there so many strangers visiting today?
“Who are you looking for?” he asked.
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“Ms. Su.” Mi Shi was holding a heavy basket of fruit in his hand. It looked expensive.
Standing at the door, he said awkwardly, “Hello, I’m...I’m Mi Shi, a student of Ms. Su’s. I often attend her music class...”
“It’s you.” Lounging on the bed, Su Xi remembered the boy in her class. She adjusted her posture and said with a smile, “Why are you here?”
Mi Shi smiled. “I heard you are at the hospital waiting for your delivery, Ms. Su. I happened to be in the neighborhood, so I swung by to visit you.”
“Oh, that’s very kind of you.” Su Xi was a little touched.
“Haha, here. Have a seat.” Officer Huang’s expression softened a little when he heard that the boy was a student of his wife’s. He took the fruit basket from Mi Shi and found him a chair. Then Officer Huang walked back to the window with his hands on his hip, his relaxed stance belying his readiness to make a shot at any time should something happen.
No matter how quick Mi Shi could move, he believed his level 6 God of Firearms would be quicker.
“I and the rest of the class really miss you without your class, Ms. Su.”
Su Xi chuckled. “I’d like to go back to school as soon as possible. It gets boring staying at the hospital all day.”
Mi Shi said with enthusiasm, “You don’t know the half of it, Ms. Su. With the substitute teacher, the class gets only a third of the usual number of attending students. That shows how popular you are.”
“Really?” Su Xi couldn’t hide her pleasant surprise.
“Really.” Mi Shi glanced at her pronounced belly. “When is the baby coming out, Ms. Su?”
“The doctor said it should be next week,” Officer Huang chimed in.
Mi Shi smiled at him. “Is it going to be a boy or a girl?”
Su Xi stroked at her belly. “Old Huang and I didn’t ask. We want to give ourselves a surprise.”
“Yeah,” said Officer Huang. “Boy or girl, we’ll love them all the same.”
Then Su Xi and Mi Shi talked about school, the conversation light and pleasant. Officer Huang offered a few comments every once in a while, slowly relaxing.
Su Xi had been stuck in the room for days, not moving a whole lot with only Officer Huang and the nurses to talk to—Mischievous Monkey and Zhong He mostly stood guard outside. Officer Huang considered it a good thing for her to have a chance to chat with her student.
The conversation shifted from school to music, and half an hour passed like that. Su Xi was feeling a little tired, while Mi Shi only grew more and more excited like he had no shortage of topics to talk about.
“Ahem.” Officer Huang was attentive to his wife’s condition. “Hey, Little Shi.”
“Hm?” Mi Shi turned around to look at Officer Huang, still smiling.
“My wife needs her rest now. Why don’t you continue the chat next time?”
It was obvious that Mi Shi wanted to chat longer, but he felt embarrassed for overstaying his welcome. “Yes, yes. I talk too much.”
“It’s a good chat.” Su Xi smiled. “But I do get tired easily these days. You know, I fainted suddenly a few days ago and didn’t wake up for two days... My husband was terrified. That was why he insisted on bringing me to the hospital.”
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“Have a good rest, Ms. Su.” Mi Shi stood up, his gaze lingering on her. “Once you’ve delivered your child safely, I...and the other schoolmates will come visit you...”
Su Xi nodded. “Sure.” 𝗳r𝐞𝐞w𝐞bn𝚘ve𝚕.co𝐦
Mi Shi took his leave.
Officer Huang walked him out, gently closing the door behind him. On the bench outside, Mischievous Monkey and Zhong He sat quietly. Mischievous Monkey had his eyes closed, resting, while Zhong He was staring down at his phone. They both looked distracted, when in truth they were on high alert.
“I’ll leave you here,” said Officer Huang.
“Yeah, you don’t have to walk me out. Goodbye, Officer Huang.” Mi Shi turned to leave, but he stopped after taking two steps like he had just remembered something.
Calmly, Officer Huang moved his hands to the guns holstered by his sides.
Mi Shi didn’t turn around. Neither did he do anything unusual. He simply stood there, silent.
“Little Shi?” Officer Huang called out softly, taking a step back to maintain a safe distance.
Rather than answering, Mi Shi, with his shoulders gently shaking, lifted his right hand and wiped his face. Then he did it again.
Officer Huang realized that he was crying.
“It’s nice...” Mi Shi didn’t turn around. While sobbing, he muttered, “Ms. Su is happy. I...can I be happy like her? Can I be free like her...?”
“Of course you can,” Officer Huang said while drawing his guns.
“Yes, I can, I will. Just like...” Mi Shi’s tone grew determined, and he slowly turned around.
His eyes had melted into two empty holes, from which brown viscous fluid gushed out. It looked like a mix of blood and some green liquid. His face split into pieces like a shattered mirror, the cracks flickering an eerie green light.
Twisted into a strange smile, his mouth moved to finish the sentence.
“...Like a human!”
Bang, bang, bang!
Officer Huang made three shots without hesitation, hitting Mi Shi in the eyebrow, chest, and kneecaps. Green fluid splattered out from the three wounds.
However, Mi Shi merely shuddered rather than collapsing—he was no regular freeriders, but the freerider prime, meaning he was half as powerful as a pride monster.
He growled, and a powerful ripple of air currents shot out, throwing Officer Huang off his feet. Just before he could smash through the window at the end of the corridor, the floor curved with a crack, morphing into a sturdy wall to catch Officer Huang. Meanwhile, walls emerged to block off the doors to the other wards and the stairways like a concrete seal.
At the same time, two snake-like shadows had shot across the floor, quickly seizing Mi Shi’s feet before climbing along his body, restraining and strangling him.
Mi Shi screamed, unleashing waves after waves of powerful currents, accompanied by highly-corrosive green fluid; it was like a downpour of sulfuric acid.
“Sacred Shield!”
Officer Huang summoned a giant translucent light element shield to cover himself and his two fellow awakeners. Hiss. The corrosive fluid splattered on the light shield like sulfuric acid raining on a glass window, quickly melting it and generating light green poisonous gas, which spread through the corridor in no time.
The three of them immediately held their breaths. Still, the poisonous gas burned where it came into contact with their skin.
Officer Huang threw reservations out of the window, consequences be damned.
There was only a single thought on his mind: kill Mi Shi!
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