Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Phantom Spy

As the city seethed with unseen turmoil, a pivotal figure at the heart of the storm awoke unguarded from her slumber, gazing in bewilderment at an unfamiliar ceiling.

Livida stared for a long time before she realized she was no longer in that dull, pallid world. She was outside, in a world ablaze with color.

The ceiling was adorned with glowing planetary stickers, while the surrounding walls were covered in charming watercolor paintings of anthropomorphic animals—lions, tigers, cats, dogs, mice, pigs, cows, sheep—all holding hands in a great circle, merrily dancing. It was the sort of scene one finds most often in a child’s imagination.

Yet such innocence captivated Livida, though she was now a maiden in the bloom of youth. It seemed she could spend the whole day simply gazing at the cartoon drawings on the walls.

A slender man in simple clothes passed by the window, furrowing his brow at the scene.

He opened the door and entered, immediately meeting the girl’s startled eyes.

A gentle aura radiated from him as he spoke, “Hello, my name is Chen Tu. Last night I saw you wandering the streets, looking travel-worn, so I found a place for you to stay for a while.”

Travel-worn was an understatement. Livida was filthy from head to toe, resembling a stray kitten, her black dress dirty and ill-fitting, her face marred by streaks of grime, utterly incapable of caring for herself.

Chen Tu took out a handkerchief and, with practiced ease, cleaned the stray kitten’s face and smoothed her wrinkled dress.

Livida studied him. His appearance was young, but his eyes held a deep, ancient melancholy, reminiscent of generals and scholars she had met, yet broader and more profound.

Especially his hands—long, fair, cool and gentle, without a single scar or blemish, as if sculpted from jade.

Recalling what others had done, Livida replied, “My name is Livida. Livida Kachester.”

Chen Tu felt a slight discord; the girl’s manner seemed too rigid, almost rehearsed.

“Well then, Miss Livida, I don’t know whether you’ve run away from home or have some other unspeakable difficulty. I’d advise you to seek help from the Bureau of Public Security. My place is decent, but I really can’t manage someone like…”

He hesitated, struggling to get the words out.

“…someone like you—a girl who’s expecting.”

Livida tilted her head, showing no sign of embarrassment, her lips curving upward. “Yes, I’m going to be a mother. I want him to be born in the outside world, to see the scenery with me.”

Chen Tu was dumbfounded, his mouth agape, unable to comprehend such romantic notions. He chuckled helplessly, “Which young lady are you, exactly? I really can’t keep up with you youngsters.”

Livida asked, “Where is this place?”

“The Nanhai City Safe Children’s Welfare Home. It may not look like much, but I’m the director here. Honestly, I hope you don’t disrupt our daily life, but if you truly need help, I won’t hesitate to offer it.”

Livida nodded.

After Chen Tu left, Livida stepped out of the room and made her way through the corridor into a spacious courtyard.

The yard was empty, but she could faintly hear the sound of children reciting lessons.

She followed the sound to a room where over twenty children sat upright, diligently learning their native language from a female caregiver.

Suddenly, all the children turned to the window to stare at Livida, and she found herself at a loss.

“Hi?”

The children erupted into chatter.

“She has golden hair!”

“And green eyes, so pretty!”

“I know, I know—blonde hair and emerald eyes!”

“Are we getting a foreign kid here?”

The caregiver rapped heavily on the table, “Quiet, quiet. Any questions will wait until after class.”

When class ended, Livida was surrounded by children peppering her with questions.

It was her first time seeing so many children, and she felt excited.

Yet her answers were often disjointed and awkward, so after the initial novelty wore off, most children stopped pestering her.

A few still invited her to join their games, and Livida naturally joined in their hide-and-seek and hopscotch.

Her coordination was poor, so she often finished last, prompting laughter from the others.

Hearing their teasing, a strange flutter rose in Livida's heart—it reminded her of the feeling of being excluded from play long ago.

That feeling was called… anger.

The air rippled, a massive shadow stirred, ready to obey its mistress's command and destroy these ignorant children, to wash this cozy courtyard in blood.

But the children, oblivious, continued their play.

Just as the dark emotion was about to spill forth, a hand as white as jade seized Livida’s wrist, the stern gaze as tangible as stone, making Livida shrink like a child caught misbehaving.

As her negative emotions faded, the beast’s muffled growl vanished into the cracks of space, retreating unwillingly into its shadowy lair, waiting for the next summons.

Livida turned to see Chen Tu’s stern face.

He dragged her out of the courtyard; the children parted for them without realizing their director had appeared.

In a quiet spot, Chen Tu shook his head and sighed, “I was truly mistaken—you’re an esper. Did Amest send you to find me?”

Seeing Livida’s confusion, Chen Tu pressed, “Who are you, really?”

“I am Livida,” she replied.

“No, I mean your true identity. What is your status in the center of the biohazard crisis?”

Livida seemed to ponder deeply. “They call me Leviathan. They say I am humanity’s treasure, Amest’s ultimate trump card. But I just wanted to see the outside world. Most importantly…”

This girl, possessed of immense power, merely touched her flat belly, innocent and naive. “I hope he won’t be like me, forever trapped in that white place.”

Chen Tu fell silent. The outline of the story began to take shape—a girl raised in a laboratory, upon mysteriously conceiving a child, developed a yearning for freedom, setting off a journey of escape and pursuit.

But Chen Tu knew the problem ran deeper.

The girl possessed overwhelming power, yet had never had a mentor to teach her how to use or control it.

Just moments ago, she had nearly turned the tranquil welfare home into a bloodbath over a petty dispute among children.

As a powerful wielder himself, Chen Tu understood all too well the destruction wrought by unchecked power.