"Why did you come, Red?" Royce asked instead of answering, his gaze unreadable, tone edged with something deeper.
Lina's eyes narrowed. "Because someone failed," she snapped, stepping closer. With a swift, sharp movement, she grabbed his shoulder and forced him to face her. "Are you really asking me that?"
Their eyes locked—hers burning with frustration, his steady and silent.
"You promised me. You would wait."
"I waited and waited. They said you.. you.. you faced the same end as others. I could not believe."
Lina pulled back her hand, her expression hardening again. She lowered her head facing the wooden floor.
"We have been misled, Red. They manipulated us." His voice was low—soft and helpless—with a trace of sadness buried in its depth.
"What do you mean?" Lina tilted her head, confused. Her eyes peered into his looking for answers.
"We need to get out of here first." He took off his long overcoat and draped over her shoulders.
Seeing that, she no more looked like a killer, he pulled her out, swiftly reached the deck and when no one was noticing, they left the yacht through the backdoor.
Lina silently followed him out. Her mind all over the place, not knowing what to believe.
One was everything she'd lived for, another was for whom she'd believed everything for.
Royce led her to his car and silently drove off, the engine humming softly against the quiet tension between them.
Neither of them spoke during the ride.
After nearly half an hour, the car rolled to a stop at the peak of a mountaintop. The view that unfolded before them was breathtaking. From this height, the entire Wuying City lay sprawled beneath them—its glowing lights shimmering like scattered stars, rivers snaking through its heart, ports blinking in the distance, and the dense outline of bamboo forests hugging the edges.
The wind was crisp. Silent.
Lina stepped out, the breeze brushing against her face, lifting strands of her hair. She narrowed her eyes at the city below—beautiful, thriving, unaware.
"You need to brace yourself for what's coming next." Royce said, standing beside her. "Red, I feel humane here in this world. As if I'd always belonged here."
Lina didn't respond right away. She crossed her arms and stared out at the lights, waiting for him to continue.
"Red, we are in the past. Almost a hundred years ahead or could be more." He paused, took a deep breath. Not sure, if she believes in anything he saying.
"And there's no way to go back," Royce said, his voice low but firm. "We were killed just to be sent here."
He turned to her, eyes steady, searching her expression.
"Trust me."
His words carried weight—each one more raw, more real than the last. No mask, no code phrases, just truth laid bare.
Before Lina could answer,
a loud voice crackled through her earpiece.
"Senior, senior!!! What is he saying?!"
She flinched slightly, inwardly cursing. Only then did she realize—she had forgotten to remove the earpiece.
Royce raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
"Later," she muttered sharply, pressing the tiny button to disconnect. She slipped the device off and tucked it into the small pouch at her waist, sealing it shut.
A moment of silence followed, thick with tension.
"You've got an assistant, too?" Royce's lips curled into a smirk, his tone laced with amusement.
"That's a first. I wonder if that means they treat you well or not!" He scoffed. If they treated her better, they would not have sent her. Her mother was one of the 'The Founders'. It was cruel of her to kill her own child.
"Ashton." Lina called out.
Royce froze. It has been a long time since someone called him by this name.
"Hmm?"
"Nothing is making sense right now. I thought.. I thought you died. But you are still here, alive and thriving maybe? If you are alive, then are the others alive too?"
"Quite the genius one. Aren't you? You are right. And we have been trying to find out the truth. But as you know, time passes faster here than ours, right?"
"I need time to digest all of this, Ashton."
"Take your time. Trust me we've all been there. Just don't do anything of the list, okay? Just stay still. Halt the mission. Take in and feel the things this world been offering you."
"We will see."
"Come to me after you've sorted it out." He paused. His eyes stared at the girl in front of him. His hands almost reached out to touch her face but he took it back. His hands back into the pocket, clenched into a fist. "Red, I've missed you."
She did not answer but her heart wanted to shout. 'I've missed you too, Ashton.'
______________________________________________________
Lina laid on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Her eyes blank but her mind was full.
Scenes of her world flashed in her mind.
She had once questioned the system of her world. She also had wanted to escape from that world. But Ashton made her believe. No, they made Ashton to force her to believe.
As long as she can remember, they were never a child, there were no child in her world. It's just them adults, frozen in their age. Time was slower there. Some, who were older than the majority, were called 'The Founders'.
They controlled their world, the people in them and everything going around them.
Ashton said this world is their past. But people in this world age, grow up and die.
But she did sense one thing.
The roads, the buildings, the architecture were strikingly similar.
Just that, their was was covered in mist and fog. They had never seen any roads, building surfaces clearly. But she knows the step counts, the turnings, the waterbodies.
This world was much better than their. It was clear, colorful, lively and particularly had the freedom.
She had guessed by now why the ones before her got stuck here.
'Did they get used to it? Did they grew attached to this?' The question loomed over her mind.
But she had already known the answer.
'They just could not go back. No one who transferred here can go back. '
But her mother had sent her here willingly. She never once stopped her.
Her mother's face flashed in front of her.
That day for the first time, she had seen her falter, unable to suppress her emotions.
'Did she know?'