CH 26.3

After Lion is outside of Nianluo’s reach, he finally slows down to check on Bunny following closely behind.

“That bruise on your neck…” he gestures, “was from Black Glove?”

Bunny nods, then thinks for a moment before smiling, “it doesn’t hurt anymore.”

Lion raises his brow, “what else did he do?”

Bunny avoids his gaze before mumbling, “asked questions.”

Lion is knitting his brows at the answer, “keep your distance from him.”

Bunny nods towards the ground, then quietly asks, “brother… did I cause trouble for you?”

Who is he calling brother here…

Lion really has no idea how to deal with him. This guy quickly starts fraternising with whomever if they even show him the slightest goodwill. It makes one question how he even got to the fourth floor in the first place.

If Doctor is danger personified, then this guy is purity personified. A little rabbit hopped into a den of jackals. He might be torn apart at any second.

“Not at all.” Lion stops looking and says with a taciturn tone, “it’s not the first day Black Glove and I have been sabre-rattling.”

Lion’s legs are long and stride great. Bunny almost has to start running to catch up with him.

“But…” Bunny glances around and lowers his voice to tell Lion of his discovery, “I don’t think Black Glove is sick.”

Lion has returned to his own territory now, and slows back down, “he was never sick.”

“Why is he pretending?”

Lion smiles a little, “to live longer, of course.”

He walks into his own cell; the others disperse save for Xin Yongyuan and Bunny.

“Huh?” Bunny doesn’t understand, “but…”

“Enough.” Xin Yongyuan interrupts him. He is no longer as invisible when there are only the three of them, “what is your relationship with Nianluo?”

“None.” Bunny answers immediately without having to think. He glances towards Lion; he is leaning lazily against the bed, not seemingly about to intervene.

“None? Why would Black Glove ask you about what happened before you were imprisoned then?” Xin Yongyuan then turns to Lion, “I didn’t say anything earlier, but now that there are only us, I’ll be talking.”

Lion scratches his head, mumbling, “don’t…”

“Since you ran into that Doctor in the courtyard, you’ve been reckless.” Xin Yongyuan ignores Lion’s frustration, and chastises him, “going to Black Glove? At this timing? Were you insane?”

Bunny, the cause of all this chaos, looks at the frustrated Lion, then at the angry Xin Yongyuan, and decides to take a step back to leave the stage to them.

“Or what, leave him with Black Glove?” Even if he knows it is foolish to argue with Xin Yongyuan——As he can never win a battle of words, Lion is still insistent on replaying the exact same back-and-forth with him.

“It’s the same as sending him to his death.”

Xin Yongyuan looks up with a sharp, piercing gaze, “and when was the last time there were no deaths this floor? The others are fine, but not him?”

Lion is stuttering like a broken cassette. Xin Yongyuan stops him once more, “or, is it that for you, he is more important than all the others, and even… yourself?”

The Bunny blinks and retreats another step.

Although it was plain for them both to see, neither pay him any attention.

“Don’t ignore the premise.” Lion does his best to properly argue, “I am only doing what I should. He is still one of my men. If I can save him, I cannot just leave him at Black Glove because of some risk that could exist, and hasn’t come to take place.”

“I cannot.” Lion asserts himself, “xiao-Xin, I will never give up on any companion of mine.”

“This means, you are only doing this because of that sense of justice and companionship that still lives on in you?” Xin Yongyuan glances back at Bunny, who is watching Lion with reddened eyes, “and for no other…”

“Xin Yongyuan,” Lion raises his voice, “I’m actually about to snap.”

Xin Yongyuan shuts up.

Lion’s tone relents a little, “why did you put it that way?”

Xin Yongyuan looks back at Bunny, “because this guy is really weird.”

Lion follows his gaze.

The Bunny, pitiful, weak, and helpless, is shaking under their gazes.

“He is definitely weird.” Lion agrees.

“Bunny, you and I both know, that ever since you came to the fourth floor, regardless of scale, there have been countless attempts to figure you out…” Xin Yongyuan takes some time to explain.

Bunny looks lost with his eyes darting between them, “figure me out?”

Lion’s face is souring quite visibly, and he immediately makes it a statement, “oh! Oh, figure me out, right.”

Oh. His arse. He didn’t understand, did he?

Lion looks away, with an even more annoyed look on his face.

Xin Yongyuan continues unabated, “of course, I must say, the guise is really perfect…”

“Guise…” Bunny looks back at himself, this time reacting much sooner, “you mean, I’m pretending to be like this?” He pauses, “but how? No, like, I should pretend to be stronger than I am if I’m pretending, shouldn’t I?”

They are on the wrong channel again. Poor them.

Lion continues observing the patterns on the fence.

Xin Yongyuan remains steadfast, “regardless, it is far too unnatural for a murderer of four to act this meek.”

“I was set up.” Bunny looks at Lion, “brother…”

Xin Yongyuan is glaring at him now.

Bunny quickly changes his words, “Lion, I’ve told you before I want to find the real killer… didn’t you also promise to help me?”

The patterns on this fence sure are neat, thinks Lion.

“Then, there is at least one thing you cannot deny.” Xin Yongyuan is watching Bunny’s face very closely, so as not to miss the most minute detail in his expression, “you are part of Nianluo.”

Bunny refutes, “I am not.”

“That would be interesting indeed.” Xin Yongyuan’s tone is a little cold, “you say you are set up, and want to find the real person behind this; yet you do not even know what power is behind that ‘company’ you are accused of committing wire fraud against?”

Bunny takes a couple of seconds to finally react, “so when Black Glove asked me where the money is gone, it is because Xingda Conglomerate is actually part of Nianluo?”

Xin Yongyuan has kept his eye on Bunny every single second. He concludes – that it is flawless.

Either he really is not pretending, and is as dumb and harmless as he looks, or the disguise is so natural and convincing that it is beyond human.

This either means, Bunny is actually innocent, or, immensely, incredibly dangerous.

Lion finally breaks his silence, “then I have a question. Jian Si.”

Bunny… That is, Jian Si, turns to Lion.

“If you did not know anything, and does not know how to do anything, how did you survive being interrogated by Black Glove?”

Jian Si opens his mouth, but shuts it once more.