A World Upside Down: Starting with a Letter from My Deceased Father

Chapter 13 Crisis at the Crossroads

After Gao Jie forced him to change his shoes, Lu Yan slunk home and dared not linger outside any longer.

As usual, he performed the ninth set of broadcast qigong twice, and then performed the Zhulong Slaying Technique. Feeling that he had gained an extra 1 jin of punching power, Lu Yan nodded in satisfaction.

Manas: 32

Great, I love this kind of timely feedback!

No matter how much the Black-Faced God exaggerates the concept of delayed gratification, he can't escape the cliché of "bitter before sweet" and "enduring self-castration," which is just... fooling children who haven't experienced hardship.

Lu Yan didn't dare to move around too much at home, for fear of breaking the few pieces of furniture that remained. So he simply lay down fully clothed, pondered for a moment, took out the Rubik's Cube, and with a "click," aligned the white face for the second time.

Alaya: 5

"Buzz!"

Lu Yan was momentarily disoriented, as if he had jumped into another space. When he opened his eyes again, he was high up, with two jet-black, shiny heads below him, reflecting the light.

No, wait, I'm the one emitting light. I've... become a light bulb?

I don't know what the pattern is, it turns into an insect one minute and a light bulb the next. What if it turns into a fly or a mosquito next time? That would be disgusting.

"That junior detective named Lu Yan said that Liu Tong was in a hurry to escape and didn't lay a hand on him. Do you believe him? When I saw him, he was covered in blood, and the ground was covered in blood." A slightly hoarse female voice said. Lu Yan was stunned for a moment, and recognized Zuo Huanhuan at a glance.

"He couldn't possibly be the mole!" The voice sounded even more familiar; it was none other than Zuo Pingbo. Lu Yan had never known that Director Zuo trusted him so much, and he couldn't help but feel deeply moved.

Zuo Huanhuan said, "Let's not talk about this. Are the higher-ups really planning to expand the area of ​​the intersecting zone and completely cover the entire east?"

Keep in mind that if this happens, the number of monsters will multiply. Can our city of Montreal really handle this? If the situation gets out of control and causes heavy casualties, who will take responsibility?

Is he going to delay?

Yes, he has Han Muyun backing him up. Ha, the special envoy of the Mengcheng Special District dispatched by the Deep Blue Council, carrying the imperial sword of the Human Council, what a great official's prestige!

But the internal affairs of our Xia Kingdom are not something that these coalition factions can interfere with as they please. They think they can just follow orders from above and set up a few demonstration zones? Dream on!

"This talk of global unification and shared destiny might fool small countries and nations, but trying to show off here? Aren't you afraid of dying?"

Zuo Pingbo scolded Zuo Huanhuan, then said, "Watch your words! The world shares a common destiny, which is the consensus for dealing with the Black Domain's impact. Don't say anything strange. Besides, we're not trying to overturn the table or smash up the restaurant; we're just fighting for our due interests. Even brothers keep clear accounts; how can there not be some conflicts?"

Zuo Huanhuan mumbled a few words, and just as Lu Yan pricked up his ears to hear them clearly, the screen suddenly switched back to the bedroom.

He felt a sense of loss, always like this, stuck halfway, neither here nor there, like a eunuch.

Looking out through the window, under the wall lamp at the entrance of the tenement building, children were kicking pebbles and running around, several men and women were arguing, and cats and dogs were pouncing around under the lamplight. If this situation were to escalate, could such peaceful days continue? Would my mother, sister, and friends still be safe and sound?

Because the two places are located northeast of Mengcheng, while Yongning is directly east, the two are only 30 kilometers apart!

While he was lost in thought,

"Squeak!"

The bedroom door opened with a click, but Lu Yan didn't look at anyone; instead, he sighed:

"Mom, could you please knock on the door before coming in from now on?"

"Look, I'm already 17 years old. Li Daqiang downstairs is the same age and already has a son. You have to allow me some private space, don't you?"

Xia Xiu simply pushed the door open completely, swung her arm out, and grinned like a weasel that had successfully stolen a chicken: "That's in the future, not now."

Lu Yan sighed again and said, "You said the same thing before," but didn't pursue the matter further.

How to quell a woman's gossip-loving nature is undoubtedly a global problem. Lu Yan simply emphasized this habitually to prevent any lady from taking advantage of the situation.

A little head poked out from beside Mom's legs, its bright eyes wide open. A black dog with its ears standing straight up was crouching nearby.

"Brother, did you turn into a Calabash Brother and fight Transformers?"

Lu Yan once bought his younger sister a stack of knock-off comics from street vendors, such as "Calabash Brothers vs. Transformers" and "Ultraman vs. Black Cat Detective," to help her pass the time.

Lu Yan said with a smile, "Yes, I not only scared away the Transformers, but also killed One-Ear."

As he spoke, he jumped out of bed, slipped on his slippers, and realized that he still had a lot of bruises on his body from a few days ago and his strength control was also very poor. So he simply paid for a hotel outside and stayed there for three days and three nights without daring to see his mother and sister.

After thinking for a moment, I was about to include my late father's letter when I suddenly remembered the line, "When I receive this letter, it will probably be my last day." My hand paused, and I ultimately didn't reach out.

There's no need to subject a woman who's been single for 16 years to the experience of being widowed twice!

I'll keep this letter to myself and reveal it at a more opportune time later.

In the living room, the orange incandescent light swayed gently in the breeze.

After a while, Xia Xiu carefully brought out a round box, about ten centimeters in diameter. Even through the plain white paper, you could smell the creamy aroma inside.

Without keeping her in suspense, she picked up a pair of scissors and deftly cut open the packaging, revealing a small, simple cake. The cake had a light brown bread base covered with a layer of creamy yellow filling and was topped with seven small red flowers, except for one that looked rather odd, as if it had been added later.

Xiao Hua had awkwardly arranged four characters in brown sugar beside her:

"Happy birthday."

Lu Yan leaned over to look. "Mom, didn't I have my birthday last month?"

Xia Xiu chuckled and took Lu Yan's arm, saying:

"When I turned seventeen last month, I had a bad memory and forgot to prepare anything, so I just made a bowl of egg noodles."

This time, the cake shop was having a sale, and I suddenly realized, what a coincidence! Today is your lunar birthday.

I quickly grabbed one and asked for an extra butter flower to make a total of seven, but unfortunately, they were sold out of chocolate chips.

Xia Xiu's voice dimmed for a moment, then brightened again: "The owner of the cake shop, Mr. Zhou, is a kind person. He immediately poured out brown sugar and wrapped the words 'Happy Birthday' around my cake. I think it's not much different."

Lu Yan felt a lump in her throat. She spoke as if nothing was wrong, but she had come home an hour later than usual today. No wonder she hadn't seen anyone for half a day when she got home. Her decision to buy a cream cake was no coincidence. She had probably gone to wait for someone far away after the stall closed.

Lu Keke stood beside Lu Yan, took a deep sniff, clapped her hands and exclaimed, "Mom, brother, it's exactly the same as the one in the 'Magic Cube Building'!"

Lu Yan has also seen the Magic Cube Building. In the third episode, "The Amazing Story," the guests and their friends celebrate their birthdays every month thanks to the magical calendar and get to eat a birthday cake every month.

He didn't say anything, but rubbed Lu Keke's head.

Before long, the three of them sat together, placed candles in the candles, and lit them.

Lu Yan laughed and said, "Coco, you blow it."

Lu Keke climbed onto Lu Yan in a few moments, imitating the actions in the cartoon, clasping her hands together, closing her eyes and making a wish. Xia Xiu was anxious and was about to get up to interrupt, but Lu Yan gently shook his head and stopped her.

The little girl muttered something, which was hard to make out. Suddenly, she opened her eyes, her expression becoming slightly ferocious. She blew hard, her cheeks quickly deflated, and the flames flickered gently.

Lu Yan shouted "Good!" and pushed the cake to Xia Xiu, lit it again with a match, and gave her a look.

Xia Xiu smiled helplessly and had no choice but to blow out the candle as well. By the time it reached Lu Yan, the candle had already shortened.

He lit the candles, closed his eyes, clasped his hands together, and silently made a wish:

May our family be safe and sound, and may you, Dad, also be safe and sound.

"call……"

The candlelight went out, and beyond the dim lamplight lay a deep, dark night.