Chapter 349: Conversation

After hearing what Hu Maomao said, the smile on Zhang Wenda’s face slowly faded.

The once-bright sky of the Inner World grew overcast, and its warm palette slowly shifted to cool, somber tones.

Silence fell between them, and the atmosphere grew heavy.

He understood just how devastating the “1999 Incident” had been for Hu Maomao. Because of her ability to see into people’s hearts, she had almost no friends. No matter how much she claimed not to care, the Third Line had been her home—her only safe harbor.

But all of that had been destroyed. Her home was completely gone. Just the thought of it was enough to understand her despair.

He waited until the Little Black Cats in the forest had started brewing a new potion and plumes of white steam began to drift toward the sky. Only then did Zhang Wenda finally speak again, his voice encouraging. “It’s okay. We haven’t lost yet. The Third Line is gone, so we’ll just build a new one.”

Hu Maomao looked at him, her expression complex. “Is that really possible?”

“Of course it’s possible!” Zhang Wenda declared, his tone firm. He pointed a hand toward the bizarre, phantasmagorical world outside the rift. “So the world has gone to hell. So what? Have we ever been afraid of that?”

“Back then, weren’t all the ideological tides, big and small, just as chaotic? Didn’t we figure out the rules, bit by bit, and ultimately restore order to the world? If they could do it, why can’t we?”

“The Third Line started from nothing, too. If they could do it, why the hell can’t we?”

Zhang Wenda gave her a light punch on the arm, trying to cheer her up. “I’ve just started gathering a few people. Come help me. I need someone with your psychic abilities.”

Hu Maomao was silent for a long time before she finally looked up and said, “Call me ‘Auntie’.”

Hearing this, Zhang Wenda instantly broke into a laugh. “Auntie? I’d call you ‘Grand-aunt’ if you want.”

“Alright, let me give you the short version. I basically took over a small organization in Area 2 to get things started…” Seizing the moment, Zhang Wenda quickly summarized the story of how the Federation came to be.

Hu Maomao pondered for a moment before replying, “Sticking together for survival is a fine goal for now. But once we’re stronger, we’ll need to find a way to align ourselves with the core ideology of the Third Line.”

“Sounds good. You can help sort that out once you’re back. I never really paid much attention to that side of things in the Third Line.”

“Besides, the current setup is too chaotic. If we really want to build a new Third Line, we have to establish proper divisions. We also need to get rules and regulations in place as soon as possible.”

As soon as Hu Maomao got into the right mindset, she began talking nonstop, pointing out all the things Zhang Wenda’s new organization was lacking.

‘Looks like she’s stronger than I thought. Even after going through something so traumatic, she’s able to pull herself together this quickly.’

‘She might look like a fragile little girl, but she’s incredibly strong on the inside.’

“Auntie, Auntie,” Zhang Wenda cut in. “Let’s worry about all that after we get out of here. This isn’t the time.”

Hu Maomao glanced outside the rift and finally fell silent. “I wonder how long this will last. I’ve been here for two days already, and I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“If you had, you’d be long dead, wouldn’t you?” Zhang Wenda sat on the ground and gave a huge stretch, working out the soreness in his overexerted muscles.

Hu Maomao frowned at his words. “You’re that arrogant? Think you’re so great just because you’re a 03?”

“Yep, being a 03 *is* a big deal.” As Zhang Wenda spoke, the Three Colors materialized beside him.

Yellow, laughing gleefully, dove straight into Hu Maomao’s arms, chirping, “Auntie! Auntie!”

Hu Maomao caught Yellow in her arms and looked around the Inner World with curiosity. Strictly speaking, this was the first time she had ever observed the place in such detail.

“You know, your case is really unusual. You can actually let creatures from your Inner World out to help you. The other 03s don’t seem to be like you at all.”

“Isn’t that normal? Every 03’s abilities are different, depending on their interpretation of the Three Colors,” Zhang Wenda said, walking over to the rift to peer outside again.

Holding Yellow’s hand, Hu Maomao followed him. “So what do we do now? Just wait?”

“We wait. Since it’s a weather phenomenon, it shouldn’t last too long.” Zhang Wenda grabbed a Little Black Cat that had scurried over to watch the excitement, tossed it toward the entrance to stand guard, and started wolfing down some food to regain his strength.

‘It’s rare to get a moment of downtime like this. Once we’re on the move again, who knows if there’ll be time to eat.’

“Once this blizzard passes, we’ll go find the person who left the markers. If they’re really one of us, our organization will grow a little stronger.”

“Yeah. I hope they haven’t suffered too many losses.” Hu Maomao fell silent, her gaze fixed on the world outside.

After a moment, Hu Maomao looked over at the eating Zhang Wenda. “Still no sign of Song Jianguo?”

The light in Zhang Wenda’s eyes dimmed for a second before quickly returning to normal. “No, haven’t found him.”

Seeing this, Hu Maomao walked over and patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry. You’ll definitely find your little girlfriend.”

“What makes you think she’s my girlfriend?” Zhang Wenda asked, looking at her with surprise.

Hu Maomao sighed in exasperation. “Really? Are you two really going to try and lie to *me*?”

Zhang Wenda dodged the question and turned it back on her. “What about you? Not planning on finding a boyfriend?”

Hu Maomao sat down, wrapping her arms around her knees. “I’m not looking,” she said, her tone calm. “I’m used to being alone. It’s nice. Besides, I don’t like the idea of changing myself for someone else.”

“Besides, who would be into someone who looks like me now? A pedophile?”

“Heh, good point.” ‘But those are just excuses,’ Zhang Wenda thought. He’d known Hu Maomao for a while now. Her biggest problem was, and always had been, her ability.

‘Mind Reading and Mind Control were certainly powerful abilities. But if the person sleeping next to you had them, you’d have to guarantee you’d never do anything wrong—or even *think* about it—for your entire life. And that was something almost no one could do.’

“By the way, how come your body stays like this? Why don’t you age?”

“It’s a secret.”

“Come on, tell me. Auntie, Auntie.”

At Zhang Wenda’s prompting, the two chatted for a long time about everything from work to their personal lives. It wasn’t until it was nearly time to sleep that Zhang Wenda was finally certain: the Hu Maomao before him was the real deal.

‘That’s right. From the moment they met until now, he had been testing her, making sure the woman before him was the real Hu Maomao and not an imposter.’

‘The closer someone was to him, the more vigilant he had to be.’

‘It might have been overly cautious, but he couldn’t help it. In a situation like this, he couldn’t afford to be careless for a single moment.’

Maybe Hu Maomao knew, maybe she didn’t. But in the end, she said nothing about it.

The blizzard raged all day without stopping. Zhang Wenda and Hu Maomao slept inside the Inner World.

In a state between dreaming and waking, he was jolted awake by a Little Black Cat. The Little Black Cat that had been on watch was bouncing on his chest. “Consciousness Body! Consciousness Body, wake up! It changed outside!”

“What?” Zhang Wenda scrambled to his feet and looked out through the rift.

The plains, once shrouded by the giant black pillars, had returned to their previous state. The ground was unnaturally smooth.

“Maomao! Maomao!” Zhang Wenda’s shouts caused Hu Maomao to sit up from within a pile of sleeping cats that served as her blanket. With a one-eyed black cat perched on her head, she looked over, her eyes still heavy with sleep.