Bei Tian’s heart started racing as she looked at the woman who was also staring straight at him. How could this be? His eyes traveled towards the chains that were on the woman’s arms and legs.
“Mr. Bei… that is not my mother.” Kai’s croaky voice woke him up from his stupor. He immediately squinted before he nodded.
“Who is she?”
“I don’t know.” Kai shrugged. “We found her bloodied outside of the colony. To be exact, my son found her. She was unconscious but alive. There was a lot of blood in her clothes but she didn’t have any wounds on her body. At first, I wasn’t planning to take her in but she— she looked like that. So I… I got curious.”
“Did she attacked anyone? Why is she in chains?”
“She had episodes and would just start screaming and pounding her head. She said her head hurt a lot. And then she would lose her consciousness and when she wakes up, she could barely remember what happened.”
Bei Tian’s face immediately changed. He took a step towards the woman and immediately notice the alertness in her eyes. “Tell me everything, Kai… Why is she in chains?”
“She— She is very strong and she asked us to put the chains around her.”
“How strong?”
“Physically and fast too. She could easily break the chains but she told us to put her in an isolated room like this so she won’t be able to hurt anyone else.”
Bei Tian nodded.
“Kai… You are really talking as if I’m not here.” The woman suddenly said. “Are you not going to introduce me to the handsome gentleman?” The woman’s smirked reminded him too much of Lily, Bei Tian felt goosebumps all over his body. Even her voice had the same similarity. He stared at her face, wondering why she really looked like her. Except for the white highlights that the woman had, everything about her was just… scarily reminding her of Lily.
“I am Bei Tian.” He uttered as he stopped walking a few feet away from her. “How about you?”
“Jane Doe.” She casually shrugged and looked at Kai. “Is this the person that you said could help me?” Kai nodded in response.
“He is a family acquaintance. An expert in rare cases like this.”
“Is he going to take me somewhere so he could dissect my body?” There was a hint of mockery in her tone. Be Tian immediately wondered if she was mocking him… or herself.
“No. Nothing like that. You can trust him.” Kai’s voice turned gentle. “I will leave you two alone.” She said before turning her back. Kai left the door open as she stepped out of the secret room.
“Are you just going to stare at me like that?” the woman uttered, an eyebrow lifted. Her words were enough to wake Bei Tian up from his stupor. “Do I remind you of someone?”
Bei Tian pursed his lips in response. “I am just curious. What do you remember?”
“Tubes, blood, and white lights.” The woman turned silent. “And I remember killing people… lots of them.”
“You seemed too casual? Are you not afraid that I am working for the government?”
“I trust Kai.” The woman said. “So? Can you help me get my memories back?”
“No.”
The woman frowned. “If you can’t help me… then why are you here?”
Bei Tian put his hands inside his pockets. “I don’t know.”
“You— ” the woman squinted. “Kai wouldn’t call you if you are useless. Tell me honestly, are you going to test my abilities?”
“No.” Bei Tian answered. This woman spelled trouble for him. It doesn’t take a genius to guess that this woman was an experiment. Did she kill her way out of the laboratory to escape? “You heal fast too, right?”
The woman nodded. “I’m a freak.”
“Can you use elements?”
“No.” She answered. “But I don’t need those to kill people.”]
“Hmmm.” He stood, tilting his head as he observed her. “How old are you?”
“I have no idea.”
A long stretch of silence descended between them before Bei Tian shrugged and turned towards the door. “I can’t help you. I don’t know why Kai called me but I don’t have the capability to help you out.” He started walking towards the door and met Kai who was just standing on the narrow way. “I suggest you let her live in this house. She is not someone that you should keep next to you.” The woman had those crazy scheming eyes, just like Lily.
“Why? Is there something wrong with her?”
“You don’t want to get involved with her. Just because she looked like Lily doesn’t mean that you can trust her. You are putting everyone here in danger, including yourself.”
“Mr. Bei…”
“Kai,” he interrupted the old woman. “Let her leave.” If she was some sort of an experiment then it means people are looking for her. This would make Kai and the rest of the Zhou Family a target. Seeing the woman turned silent, Bei Tian walked past her. “I know the way out. I am leaving. You shouldn’t just trust anyone because they look like someone you once knew Kai.” He said gently before he leaned and kissed Kai’s temple.
Then without waiting for her to utter another word, Bei Tian left the secret room and the Zhou residence.
Bei Tian lived long enough to know that humans were all emotional beings and to be honest, he wasn’t going to blame Kai for letting that woman inside her house. After all… Kai used to be so close to Lily. The woman’s face must have reminded her too much of her mother. He started walking towards the bar that he owned.
Bei Tian might look like he was a nobody but he actually owned a lot of bars that were scattered all throughout the colonies. These bars were used to gather information and sell it to other people who wanted it. When Bei Tian entered, he was immediately greeted by the bartender who gave him his favorite alcoholic before he could even ask for one.
“Tough day, boss?” the man behind the bar counter asked.
“Hmmm.” He nodded and downed the drink in his hands. “Any new news?”
“No. We have some leads though.” The man uttered before he handed Bei Tian a ring. This ring is just like a USB from the past. Except this one would immediately let you see the information in your head once you wear it. Without any hesitation, Bei Tian put the ring on his left ring finger and frowned as the surge of images floated in his brain. Slowly, his face morphed into an ugly scowl as he watched everything from the files to images to videos that the other bar had gathered for him.
After a few minutes, Bei Tian opened his eyes and looked at the ring on his finger. Then he watched as the ring slowly turned into dust and disappeared. It was one of the characteristics of the ring. This was to avoid passing the information to anyone other than him. Aside from these self-destructing properties, the ring would not also show the images if it won’t recognize the brain waves of the people wearing it.
“Thank you.”
“Are you planning to stay for a while? Should I prepare a room for you?” the man casually asked.
“No, I am leaving in a few minutes.” Bei Tian would never stay in one place for a long time. That was something that kept him alive all these years.
“Leaving? Where are you going?” the sudden voice of the woman who sat next to her, made him froze.
“Why are you here?” He frowned.
“You told Kai to make me leave. So I left.” The woman shrugged and turned towards the bartender. “I like to have what he was drinking. And he is going to pay for my drinks, thank you.” She beamed at Bei Tian and ignored the dark look on his face. “So…where are we going?” the woman’s pale face reflected the red and blue light of the bar as she added. “You are taking me with you… right?”
