Bursting Tomato 17

Hill had taken leave to attend the funeral. There was a new head of the security team today, and she hadn't held out much hope, but when he heard that she wanted to attend a friend's funeral, he granted her a day off without hesitation.

Despite the wind, the air was still heavy, as if water-soaked rice paper were pasted over her mouth and nose, making her chest tight and her breath short.

The person she had spoken with just yesterday was now a handful of ashes, lying quietly in an urn.

She had worked for the Dongye Family and had shot more than one troublemaker. In Night City, human life was the cheapest thing—people died here every day—but Hill never imagined that Atmore would be the one to meet such an untimely end.

He had always been clever, with a top-notch instinct for avoiding danger.

How could he be gone so easily?

Yet the facts were right before her. Hill knew this, but she refused to believe what she was seeing, purely out of inner resistance.

Atmore had once said in a joking tone that when he struck it rich, he would buy himself the best burial plot, with wealthy neighbors on all sides. Even underground, he could make friends and finally climb into high society.

And now he had indeed gotten his wish.

To his left lay a great pianist who had lived to ninety-eight; to his right, a rich man who had made it to one hundred and three.

He had only been joking—he would never have actually bought such an overpriced resting place. So who had brought his body back and buried him here?

Hill quietly wiped the moisture from her face and met the eyes of a person holding a black umbrella.

Her expression was solemn and dignified, as if even the wind could not find purchase on her cold white face.

The last handful of earth was spread, and the crowd dispersed amid conversation. They talked of their past with the deceased, of his good deeds and his bad, letting out sighs of regret.

The dark clouds pressed lower, and the wind grew stronger. A lily by the grave was swept away, and Yan Xianchuan looked up, her gaze following its soft white petals.

She recited in a low voice: "So that all things may grow and know, from the ashes of our dead, our martyrs, our lambs, our sacrifices, those who have died and those whose hearts have died."

"Long, long afterward they are merely, nothing but sacred memories, heaps of ashes, the ashes of our sweet, loved, beautiful dead."

"Today, what beauty do we have from which to draw strength and continue?"

"It is the beauty in the ashes."

Hill's voice was slow, but her gaze was like that of a hungry wolf, fixed unblinkingly on her. "How did he die?"

Yan Xianchuan glanced at her, then turned her gaze to Lu Mingqiu. The latter understood and answered on her own, "He died saving someone. I'm very sorry."

Hill fell silent. She didn't know what answer she had hoped for, but saving someone was indeed something Atmore would do.

She opened her mouth, but found no words. Pressing her lips together, she finally said after a long moment, "You sent the notification too, didn't you? Thank you."

The crisp-looking squad leader managed a slight twitch of her mouth, trying to convey some goodwill and gratitude. She repeated, "Thank you."

Hill turned and left, her figure looking somewhat forlorn in the empty cemetery.

"She must be very sad," Yan Xianchuan said.

It wasn't that she felt the same way, but the other's feelings were too obvious—even a blind person could see it.

"Let's go," Lu Mingqiu said, her gaze lingering on Hill's retreating back, yet also seeming to look at countless others with similar experiences, their faces blurred. "We still have much to do."

Even a moment to mourn and grieve was a luxury.

"Are you going to the branch? Do you need me to accompany you?" she asked.

Yan Xianchuan shook her head.

"Then go on your own. Look for Aries; she's the best shot. I've already informed her," Lu Mingqiu said.

Yan Xianchuan's pupils flickered, and she said in an unruffled tone, "She's the one who declared her feelings to you?"

"That's her," Lu Mingqiu said. "She's proficient with almost all firearms. I've seen her test scores—they're on par with mine."

"You think she's very skilled?" Yan Xianchuan asked.

Though her expression remained calm, Lu Mingqiu sensed a trap. Her mind raced, and she said, "She's had training. Such results aren't surprising. After you've trained, you'll be able to do it too."

Yan Xianchuan said coolly, "I'll be better than her."

"I believe you," Lu Mingqiu nodded, showing an expression of agreement.

After leaving the cemetery, they went their separate ways.

In the past, Lu Mingqiu had insisted that Yan Xianchuan stay by her side at all times. Now she was willing to let her go alone—probably a sign of trust.

Yan Xianchuan called a car alone to Minghui Hospital. As before, the hospital was crowded, and it was clear the patients were not from the upper class; the lobby was quite noisy.

The nurses also hurried back and forth, every now and then wheeling a portable emergency bed toward the ER. The ambulance sirens came and went, busy as ants moving their nest.

She didn't take the elevator. Following the overhead directional signs with her gaze, she found the stairs and leisurely descended to the fifth basement level.

Using the same method as before—Lu Mingqiu's approach—she opened the hidden door, passed identity verification, and entered the underground base.

Lu Mingqiu had already sent her Aries's contact number, so Yan Xianchuan texted the other party, "I'm here." Shortly after, Aries, with her thick red hair, came walking over from the depths of the corridor.

Their encounter in the cafeteria last time could hardly be called pleasant. Yan Xianchuan had first made a very blunt assessment of Aries's feelings, then witnessed the awkward scene of her being rejected on the spot, and on top of that, Lu Mingqiu had come specifically to find her. Aries, having learned that the object of her affection had married young, must not have felt very good about it.

But this time, she showed no grudge at all. She was still that warm and cheerful person, greeting her proactively.

On the way to the training room, she chattered on about herself. "Honestly, in the entire Night City branch, my marksmanship ranks first! Among all Spark members, I'd rank in the top ten. Many espers focus more on developing their abilities and don't pay much attention to firearms, which lets me edge them out."

"Don't worry. I'm very experienced, and I'll make sure to teach you well."

"By the way, you were called away by Oriole last time. Did you go on another mission? I thought about it later, and what you said actually made sense. I don't really know her true personality. But some people, even if you only know one side of them, you can't help but be won over by their charisma."

Aries clenched her fist, full of energy. "So my next goal is to find ways to understand her other side! I'm not giving up."

Yan Xianchuan: "...She said she's already married."

Aries waved her hand dismissively. "I don't believe it. She definitely said that to make me back off on my own. She doesn't seem like someone who'd waste time and energy on love, and besides, she's so busy—she probably doesn't even have time to date."

Yan Xianchuan gave her a sidelong glance, finding it absurd, and said, "Listen to the second half of your own sentence, and then think about your goal. Don't you find it contradictory?"

"No," Aries said, justified and confident. "Others are others, and I am me."

Lu Mingqiu was indeed excellent, and Yan Xianchuan wasn't surprised she was liked. But listening to this person's bold declarations made her feel like something was stuck in her chest, unable to rise or fall—like a fish bone caught in her throat.

Who did Lu Mingqiu think she was? Her soul was radiant and brilliant—how could someone like her covet it? If she ended up with someone like this, it would be like a pearl cast into the dust, a waste of heaven's gift.

Listening to Aries's string of plans and future fantasies, Yan Xianchuan felt like leaving on the spot, but she had come with a mission and had to ensure she learned well.

So she endured it.

But the longer it went on, the harder it was to bear. And Yan Xianchuan wasn't the type to swallow her anger. She said bluntly, "Can you stop talking about that? I don't want to hear it, and I'm not interested."

Aries was taken aback. "Alright, I'll stop. Sorry about that. I just tend to be chatty."

Yan Xianchuan: "I've noticed."

They had been talking the whole way, and now they reached the training room. Yan Xianchuan's ears were freed, but she still found Aries somewhat irritating.

Fortunately, the other was indeed capable. She spoke about the performance and feel of various firearms as if reciting from a well-loved list, knowledgeable and articulate. During the teaching, she was also very attentive and held nothing back.

Yan Xianchuan focused wholeheartedly on learning, hoping to finish the course quickly.

—She feared that if she spent a few more days with this person, she'd be tempted to throw a punch.

And then the scene would not only be ugly, but it would also damage her relationship with Lu Mingqiu.

She already knew how to use guns; she just hadn't been at the top tier. Many techniques Aries explained once, Yan Xianchuan would practice a few times and get them down. She also wrote down everything about prediction and sniping, making rapid progress.

In just an afternoon and an evening, Aries had nothing more to teach.

As she was leaving, Aries called out to her. She took a delicately wrapped box from her bag and asked, brimming with hope, "Can you do me a favor? Could you give this to Oriole for me? Since you're the one she brought in, you'll definitely see her again. I can't see her."

The box was wrapped in colored paper and tied with a ribbon—square and neat, its contents unknown.

Yan Xianchuan looked at it, then at her, and said, "No."

Aries had never expected to be refused. She was still speaking, "There's nothing special about it; it's not allowed to contact her casually, it would interfere with her work... What?"

Her face was filled with astonishment. "I didn't quite catch that. You said no? Why?"

Aries quickly explained, "It's not anything weird. It's a little doll I made—it's a custom from my hometown, meant to bless the bearer with safety."

"No particular reason," Yan Xianchuan said. "I just don't want to."

She washed her hands and brushed past the other, about to leave.

Aries refused to give up and chased after her. "It's just a small favor. I can pay you."

Yan Xianchuan didn't even look at her. She pushed open the door and stepped out, feeling refreshed and light.

When she returned to the surface, the sky was completely dark. The brilliant lights were all on, like a colorful river of stars.

Yan Xianchuan called a car and sat inside, gazing out the window. She could see the giant dragon in the city center spreading its wings and soaring through the night. The flames it breathed turned into lines of advertisements, then burst into fireworks that fell like shooting stars.

This scene played out every night, and everyone had long since grown used to it—no one looked up.

The people on the streets were the same as ever: some drinking, some fighting, some kissing.

She returned to Quhai Tower and saw Lu Mingqiu. The other smiled at her, and Yan Xianchuan felt that perhaps unchanging wasn't so bad after all.