Ling Cage: Twelve Talismans? I have everything I need.

Chapter 134 Mental Preparation (4K)

Inside Dragon Bone Village.

Yang Chen and Bai Yuekui stood in front of Bai Yuetian's door.

Yang Chen raised his hand and knocked, but after waiting for a moment, no sound came out.

"Is he not here?" Yang Chen asked, puzzled.

After hearing this, Bai Yuekui knocked on the door and called out, "Brother."

There was still no sound coming from inside, and the windows were covered by curtains so that the situation inside could not be seen.

Yang Chen placed his hand on the doorknob.

A soft "click" sounded.

The door was easily pushed open; clearly, Bai Yuetian hadn't locked it from the inside.

Yang Chen and Bai Yuekui entered the room one after the other.

The curtains were drawn, and the room was dimly lit, with only the flickering light from the screen illuminating the room's outline.

Bai Yuetian was sprawled out on the sofa, wearing a strangely shaped VR device on his head, a wide, exaggerated, and lewd smile on his face that almost reached his ears.

He was completely immersed in the virtual world and was oblivious to the commotion at the door and the shouts that had just come in.

He would occasionally let out a few ambiguous "hehe" laughs, and his fingers would sometimes make grasping motions in the air, as if touching something that didn't exist.

Yang Chen and Bai Yuekui exchanged a glance, both showing helpless expressions.

Bai Yuekui even rolled his eyes, speechless at his brother's current state.

Yang Chen tiptoed and quietly walked to the sofa.

Looking down at Bai Yuetian, who was completely absorbed in his own world, he reached out and ripped the VR device off his head.

"Whoa?! Who?! Who attacked me?!"

The world instantly shifted, and the beautiful scenery before my eyes was replaced by the familiar ceiling of the room.

Bai Yuetian was startled by the sudden interruption.

He suddenly sat up on the sofa, waving his hands frantically. The lewd smile on his face vanished instantly, and he looked around in a panic.

He looked around in a daze, and it took him several seconds to focus and see Yang Chen standing in front of him, weighing the VR device in his hand.

And his sister, who was not far away, stood with her arms crossed, looking at him with a cold expression.

"Orange, orange? Yue Kui?" Bai Yuetian felt guilty instantly, and his expression became somewhat awkward.

He instinctively reached out to take the equipment back, but Yang Chen easily dodged him.

"How did you get in? You didn't even knock." He tried to preemptively strike, but his voice grew softer and softer.

Bai Yuekui snorted coldly, his voice devoid of any emotion: "I knocked, but you didn't answer. I thought you were dead inside."

Bai Yuetian then belatedly realized that he did seem to have heard some noise just now.

But I was in the middle of a crucial part of the story and didn't have time to pay attention to it.

He chuckled twice, trying to change the subject: "Um...did you need something?"

"Didn't you two go to the ecological base today?"

Seeing his confused expression, Yang Chen sighed and said directly, "Your dad has put both of us on the wanted list today."

"Oh, they're wanted?" Bai Yuetian repeated unconsciously, then suddenly realized what was happening and his eyes widened instantly.

"What?! A wanted notice?! Why?! What did we do?!"

He looked incredulous.

It's just a little money from him, it shouldn't warrant a warrant for his arrest, right?

“No, that’s not right.” He suddenly realized another problem and looked at the two of them with a puzzled expression.

"How did you know about this? You didn't go to the ecological base today? You went to Jiuchuan instead?"

Yang Chen nodded, confirming his statement: "Yes, Yue Kui and I went to the beach for a while today."

As soon as Yang Chen finished speaking, Bai Yuetian paused. He looked at Yang Chen, then at Bai Yuekui, who was standing next to him with a blank expression.

"Well, you lied to me this morning and said you had something to do at the ecological base." He pointed at the two of them and accused them with great resentment.

"So you two secretly went off to play without me? Are you even family anymore?!"

"Damn it!" Bai Yuetian wailed and slumped back into the sofa.

"I'm not in love anymore, I really am not in love anymore. You guys go out on dates, leaving me all alone at home to grow mushrooms."

Bai Yuekui looked at his dramatic performance, his brow twitching slightly, and said coldly, "Is that the point? The point is that Dad should know everything by now."

Upon hearing this, Bai Yuetian's playful smile froze: "How did you suddenly find out? How were we exposed? Wait a minute, didn't ASH clean up all the surveillance footage?"

Yang Chen glanced at him: "Your dad found the designer from that jewelry store and had her draw portraits of us based on her memory."

"Oh," Bai Yuetian nodded as if suddenly realizing something, then immediately pointed at Yang Chen, trying to shift the blame.

"Then this is your fault!"

Yang Chen raised an eyebrow and retorted without hesitation, "Then you also bear some responsibility. Who told you to have nothing better to do than provoke your younger self and get kicked down? How could you not remember it?"

Bai Yuetian was taken aback, then retorted with a stiff neck, "Then, then you went to find Yue Kui when he was little! Why don't you say that?"

“But I took photos of Yue Kui when she was a child,” Yang Chen said matter-of-factly. “Those are precious records.”

Bai Yuetian was taken aback: "That's true."

The photo instantly flashed into my mind: "I actually quite like that crying face photo myself."

The moment he finished speaking, a cold gaze locked onto him.

Bai Yuekui crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes dangerously: "Whose photo are you calling a crying face?"

Bai Yuetian immediately jumped to her feet and hurriedly waved her hands: "No, no! I didn't say anything! I meant... cute! Especially cute!"

He tried to get away with a forced laugh, glancing pleadingly at Yang Chen.

Yang Chen tacitly looked away.

Just as Bai Yuetian felt he was about to freeze from his sister's gaze.

The ASH mobile terminal announced at the opportune moment: "Yang Chen, Yue Kui, Yue Tian. According to my calculations, I should have already told Bai Jingyu everything. You can now head over there."

Upon hearing this, Yang Chen looked at Bai Yuetian, who had slumped back onto the sofa with a guilty and conflicted expression, and said, "What do you mean? Are you leaving now? Yue Kui and I came back specifically to call you."

Bai Yuetian paused for a moment upon hearing this, his eyes darting around: "This is a bit sudden, I...I'm not ready yet."

"Then why did you ask me to meet you at the exhibition hall back then?" Yang Chen said speechlessly.

"Oh, that was then, and now it's now."

He looked at Yang Chen and Yue Kui and continued, "Although he knows about these things, he's only 31 years old. In his eyes, Yue Kui and I are still just little kids!"

"Why are there suddenly two kids this old? Isn't that a bit strange?"

The more he talked, the stranger the matter seemed to him: "Yuekui, think about it, the current Dad doesn't have those experiences. Although Ash told him, how will he view us?"

"Besides," he said, his voice even lower.

"He's quite happy right now."

Looking at his cowardly appearance, Bai Yuekui's earlier displeasure dissipated, replaced by a complex sense of understanding.

She understood, of course, what her brother was struggling with.

Now that Bai Yuetian has said this, he is starting to have some doubts.

Bai Yuekui stammered, "I...I'm a little unprepared too."

“Right?” Bai Yuetian found agreement.

"Come and sit down for a while. It's still early, no rush."

Yang Chen glanced at Bai Yuetian, then at Bai Yuekui beside him, and helplessly led her by the hand toward the sofa.

Seeing this, Bai Yuetian moved to the side.

"What if your dad gets impatient waiting?" Yang Chen asked Bai Yuetian after sitting down.

Upon hearing this, Bai Yuetian seemed to have found a point of retaliation and immediately glanced at Yang Chen sideways: "Still calling him 'your dad, your dad'? When we actually meet, are you going to change how you address him? Are you really prepared for that?"

Yang Chen was speechless after being taken aback by these words.

Yes, I was so focused on urging the brother and sister that I forgot about my own situation.

He used Bai Jingyu's money to give gifts to Bai Yuekui.

He subconsciously touched his nose, his imposing manner instantly diminishing, and his voice softening. "Well... well... let's wait a bit longer. I need to prepare myself mentally."

After saying that, he followed Bai Yuetian's example, leaned back into the sofa, and let out a long sigh.

A subtle silence fell over the room for a moment.

The three individuals, capable of standing on their own in the apocalypse, find themselves in a state of indescribable tension and awkwardness now facing a "young father."

Seeing this, Bai Yuetian raised his eyebrows smugly, as if he had won a battle, but that smugness was quickly replaced by greater bewilderment.

His eyes were vacant, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

Bai Yuekui looked at Yang Chen, who had suddenly become listless beside him, and then at his brother, who was also out of sorts across from him. Strangely, the hesitation in his heart subsided a little.

She sighed softly, leaning slightly closer to Yang Chen.

ASH's mobile terminal quietly flickered with a faint light, seemingly patiently waiting for these three "older children" to complete their "mental preparation."

The night sky over Hisakawa City is now adorned with stars.

Bai Jingyu sat alone in his spacious but deserted office. The main light was off, and only a reading lamp on the corner of the desk emitted a lonely yet warm glow.

The number on the clock changed another digit; the night grew deeper.

The terminal screen in front of him went out, reflecting his slightly tired but sleepless face.

At this moment, his heart felt as if it were being slowly roasted over a low flame.

Anxiety, anticipation, and an indescribable fear intertwined and entangled.

He had been sitting here for a long time.

After emerging from the ASH central space, he was overwhelmed by a massive amount of information.

He needs to process this alone, and he needs an absolutely quiet environment to wait.

He awaits his children from the "future".

But time ticked by, and there was still no news of their arrival.

The initial excitement and longing upon learning the truth were gradually worn away by the waiting.

Another, deeper emotion began to quietly grow and spread.

He couldn't resist calling out softly to the air, his voice ringing out clearly in the quiet office.

"ASH".

Soft blue light particles appeared quickly, and ASH's virtual image silently appeared beside the table.

“They…” Bai Jingyu paused, seemingly finding it difficult to speak.

"...Haven't they arrived yet?"

His gaze wasn't on Ash, but rather on his clasped hands.

“Yes, Bai Jingyu,” ASH’s voice was gentle. “They haven’t arrived in Jiuchuan City yet.”

A suffocating silence fell over the office once again.

Those memories of the "future" that ASH had just forcibly implanted into his mind now surged up uncontrollably.

Theresa's death, Yue Tian's angry and disappointed eyes, Yue Kui's departing figure, and the cold muzzle of the gun pressed against his chin...

And then, the long suffering and struggle that Yue Kui experienced afterward.

He failed to protect Theresa.

He also failed to take good care of Yue Tian and Yue Kui.

He even... almost lost them completely, and in despair, chose to end his own life.

Although ASH said that Yue Kui later learned part of the truth and felt guilty towards him.

But can the pain and burden that he caused, which ran through Yue Kui's life, really be offset by mere "guilt"?
Does she... still hate him, this incompetent father?
So that's why you don't want to see him?

This thought, like a vine, coiled around his heart, tightening more and more, bringing waves of dull pain.

He suddenly closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

When he spoke again, his voice was so low and hoarse that it almost didn't sound like him.

"Is it because...they still hold a grudge against me?"

He finally raised his head and looked at ASH's image, his eyes revealing an unprecedented vulnerability and self-doubt.

"You resent me for not protecting Lisa, for not fulfilling my responsibilities as a father... for not protecting them?"

Those memories were too real; the pain and self-blame of losing everything almost overwhelmed him.

In his view, the most reasonable explanation was that his children did not want to come and see him.

ASH gazed at him silently, then gently shook her head.

"No, Bai Jingyu." Her voice remained gentle, soothing Bai Jingyu.

“They never held a grudge against you. Especially Yue Kui, who suffered far more than you can see from your memories, but she understood your predicament and choices at the time, and that guilt stemmed from that understanding.”

"Then why..." Bai Jingyu's voice was urgent.

Why haven't they come yet?

ASH seemed to pause slightly, as if it were receiving or processing information from afar.

Then, the corners of her mouth curved upwards, revealing a smile tinged with helplessness.

“According to the information I just synced,” ASH’s tone became somewhat subtle.

"Yue Tian, ​​Yue Kui, and Yang Chen have just arrived in Jiuchuan City."

Bai Jingyu suddenly stood up from his chair.

"We've arrived in Jiuchuan City!?" His voice instantly rose, all the previous gloom dissipated, and his eyes flashed with an astonishing light.

"Where are they? I'll come pick them up right now!"

ASH's image remained calm: "No need to pick them up, they're here very quickly, they're already downstairs at the company now."

"We're already downstairs!?" Bai Jingyu's heart suddenly raced.

He almost subconsciously raised his hand to quickly straighten his already crisp, wrinkle-free suit jacket, and then hurriedly smoothed his hair.

His fingers even trembled slightly. He took a deep breath to calm his rapid breathing and stepped around the desk to rush towards the door.

Just now.

"Boom, boom, boom."

Three clear and steady knocks sounded, unhurriedly, just before he was about to touch the doorknob.

The sound instantly froze Bai Jingyu in his tracks.

His feet froze on the spot, his outstretched hand hovering in mid-air, just inches away from the cold metal doorknob.

Those knocks on the door seemed to strike a chord deep within his heart.

The office was so quiet you could hear a pin drop; the only sound was his own suddenly heavy breathing.

coming.

They were right outside the door.

Not downstairs at the company, but already standing outside his door.

Just one door away.

All the eagerness, all the longing, all the words that had been rehearsed countless times for the meeting, all froze at this moment.

ASH's virtual image floated quietly to the side, silently watching him.

The silence, lasting only a few seconds, seemed to stretch on indefinitely.

The person outside was very patient and didn't knock again, just waited quietly.

Finally, Bai Jingyu raised his hand again and firmly grasped the cold doorknob.

Then exert force.

"Click."

The door lock clicked softly, and the heavy office door was slowly pulled inward.

The light from the corridor outside the door streamed in.

In the light, the silhouettes of three people were clearly visible.

　I'm still figuring out how to write it; the next chapter will be a little later.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)