Wang Yanfei shot another glare at Alvina, making her shrink with guilt.
The room was still dark, and he could barely make out the outline of the curtains.
He waited a moment, letting his breathing steady, then turned over, got out of bed, walked to the window, and pulled the curtain open a crack.
A layer of grayish-white light pressed against the horizon, as if someone had torn open a thin slit in the distance, and the night was reluctantly retreating.
He withdrew his gaze and picked up the "skin" hanging over the back of the chair.
Because he had washed it yesterday, the surface was no longer sticky, but the inside still held plenty of water. It was cold and damp to the touch. With a gentle squeeze, thin droplets trickled down between his fingers.
Wearing this would definitely feel terrible, but he had no other choice.
Worse still, he knew something was wrong with it. If he had taken it off any later yesterday, who knew what might have happened.
But without this skin, he could not even walk through that one door.
Once he accepted that simple fact, he took a deep breath and followed yesterday's method, putting the skin onto his body bit by bit.
With the experience from the first time, his movements were much more efficient.
The chill seeped inward along his skin. The "skin" clung to him like a living thing, swallowing his outline little by little.
When he reached the neck, he paused slightly, then pulled the final "head layer" over himself.
The skin tightened. His facial features twisted subtly for a moment, then gradually smoothed out.
Benjamin had returned.
——————————
The bathroom light clicked on.
The pale light drove out the darkness, accompanied by a faint hum.
Standing before the sink, Wang Yanfei turned on the tap and splashed cold water onto his face.
The icy water slid down his cheeks, washing away a bit of drowsiness and also erasing the last trace of wishful thinking in his mind.
He lifted his head and looked at the mirror.
The mirror reflected the familiar, yet still somewhat foreign, face of a middle-aged man.
His brow ridge was heavy, faint bluish shadows lingered beneath his eyes, and his stubble was unevenly shaved. His entire face looked utterly exhausted.
He curled the corner of his lips slightly, then furrowed his brows.
The Benjamin in the mirror did the same, as if someone on the other side was mimicking him.
A chill crept up the back of his neck. He quickly averted his eyes, shut off the water, and turned toward the kitchen.
——————————
The kitchen was simple.
An old refrigerator, a machine that looked like a microwave, and a small dining table.
He opened the refrigerator door. Rows of individually packaged paste-like meals sat neatly inside, exactly like the canned food he had eaten in the cave, just repackaged.
Wang Yanfei pulled out two portions, tore open the outer packaging, placed them into the machine, pressed the button, and waited for the food to heat.
While he waited, he quietly pushed open Jessica's door.
The little girl was still curled under her blanket, sleeping deeply, her hair a mess, only a bit of her small face peeking out.
Thinking of her adorable expression yesterday, the corners of his mouth softened involuntarily.
He closed the door gently and returned to the kitchen.
Ding.
With a soft chime, the machine stopped.
He brought out two servings of yellow paste, placing one in a small bowl on the opposite side and leaving the other in front of himself.
Sitting down, he picked up a spoon and slowly scooped it into his mouth.
When he first ate this in the cave, he thought it was acceptable. Now, all he tasted was a hard-to-describe bitterness.
At some point, a white shadow appeared at the edge of the table.
Alvina crawled up, tilting her head. "Human, I want some too."
Wang Yanfei was in no mood to tease her. He simply scooped a small portion aside with the spoon.
The white snake moved closer, sniffed it, flicked her tongue in disgust, but still lowered her head and ate it.
Soon, he finished his meal, rinsed the bowl and spoon briefly, then returned to the bedroom. He picked a plaid shirt from the wardrobe, changed quickly, and pulled on the tactical jacket.
Alvina slipped into the clothing with practiced ease and coiled herself around his chest.
Once both man and snake were settled, Wang Yanfei zipped up, making sure no strange bulges were visible, then opened the door and went downstairs.
——————————
Morning wind blew through the street corner, bringing a hint of wet dew.
The sky had not fully brightened. A layer of grayish daylight hung between the buildings, and the streetlights had not completely turned off. The cool white light mixed with the dawn, casting the street in a dim, chilly haze.
People were already outside.
Most walked with heads lowered, stepping forward in similar rhythm, expressions indifferent.
However, whenever someone passed him, they would still instinctively give a slight nod.
Wang Yanfei returned the gesture with a faint nod of his own.
A few steps later, he noticed something odd—many of those who nodded at him were also wearing the same tactical jacket he was.
It seemed this thing was not personal clothing but standard work attire.
Following the flow of people, he continued forward.
People from small streets gradually merged into the main road. The sparse pedestrians became a long, dense stream, like water guided by channels, all silently moving toward the same direction.
No one spoke. Only the soft scraping of shoes against the pavement broke the silence.
Ahead, a white wall slowly came into view.
It was impossibly tall, stretching all the way to the edge of vision, its sides nowhere to be seen.
A yellow warning line ran along the base. The line on the ground had been stepped over countless times, its color dimmed, clearly there for a long time.
Beside the warning line stood a soldier in black exoskeleton armor.
Seeing the approaching crowd, he raised a hand, signaling them to stop. Then he pulled the yellow warning line aside, opening a passage.
The line naturally slowed as they filed through, one by one, into the world behind the white wall.
——————————
Inside the wall was an expanse of white buildings.
The outer walls and the ground looked as if they had been molded in one piece, the seams treated so cleanly it was hard to see where anything connected. Only several uniform green plants placed along the roadside added the slightest touch of "living color" to the vast whiteness.
Not daring to look around too obviously, Wang Yanfei observed with the corner of his eye.
Round robots glided along the ground like slow-moving metal spheres. High above, several massive armored machines clung to the walls, shaped like mechanical spiders magnified dozens of times. Their eight metallic legs moved joint by joint as they crawled.
Compared to the run-down residential street outside, this felt like a completely different world.
The group passed through a slightly curved white corridor.
At the end of the corridor, the view suddenly opened up.
A futuristic train sat waiting at the edge of a high platform.
Its body was a cold silver-white, its lines smooth. There were no traditional doors, only a slightly darker area on the side that suggested where the entry point was.
The people at the front stepped forward one by one, taking out a blue identity card from their pockets and swiping it against the scanner on the door panel.
A beep sounded.
Several round hovering drones floated out from inside the carriage and stopped in front of them.
A blue light scanned them from head to toe and back again.
Once confirmed, a green checkmark appeared on the drone's display screen, and the person stepped into the carriage.
The people behind followed the same procedure—swipe the card, accept the scan.
The line moved quickly, and soon it was Wang Yanfei's turn.
He pressed the blue identity card against the scanner.
A blue light descended from above, sweeping down his body.
He instinctively held his breath, not daring to blink.
Two seconds later, a checkmark appeared.
Only then did Wang Yanfei exhale softly and step onto the train with the others.