Chapter Fifty-Four: Confession

Watching Li Qingshui and the others leave, Liu Chang felt the spasms in his stomach subside. He wiped the remnants from the corner of his mouth and rose from the floor. After cleaning up his own vomit, he returned to his bed.

“Don’t be afraid, I won’t kill you,” Liu Chang reassured the trembling female doctor, rubbing his hands stained with blood.

“Exactly, he won’t kill you,” the fat man, seeing the situation, had already climbed down from his bunk. He kept his voice controlled and tried to sound hearty. “They were too shameless, threatening us, so they got what they deserved. I just don’t understand why we let them eat meat today—it’s beyond me. You did well!”

He walked over to Liu Chang and patted his shoulder.

“What’s ‘well’? I’m not used to this,” Liu Chang replied, shaking his head as if to rid himself of the dying woman’s expression from his mind. He went to the water barrel and began to wash the blood from his hands and knife.

While he did so, Li Qingshui entered from outside, laid the little girl on the bed, and came over to wash his hands at the barrel.

“Sorry about earlier; I was a bit emotional,” Liu Chang said, forcing a smile at Li Qingshui.

“No worries, you did much better than I expected,” Li Qingshui replied, flicking water from his hands and smiling back. “This isn’t your first time seeing blood, is it?”

“No, it’s the second,” Liu Chang scrubbed at the blood on his hands. “But I wasn’t as calm last time, nor did I think so much about it.”

“Why think so much? But seriously, you really did a great job!” Li Qingshui praised him again.

“But I still woke up that doctor,” Liu Chang said, now rubbing the back of his hands.

“In times like these, people sleep lightly. Even the slightest noise can wake them—you couldn’t have avoided it,” Li Qingshui laughed. “Even if you hadn’t woken her, the sound of moving the corpse would’ve done it. There’s no way to stay completely silent with so much going on. Nowadays, even the faint sound of arterial blood spraying could rouse a sleeper. Don’t overthink it; you’re just someone who tends to dwell on things.”

Li Qingshui’s words carried a hint of meaning.

“It’s not that I want to overthink—it’s just that certain things force themselves into my mind,” Liu Chang finally finished washing his hands and turned to go back to bed.

“Then let me tell you just one thing—for survival!”

For survival!

Liu Chang didn’t know why, but hearing those four words suddenly gave him peace, more useful than any grand reasoning. He lay down, savoring those words, paying no mind to Li Qingshui, who was still discussing a ‘confidential deal’ with the female doctor, nor to the little girl watching him. To his surprise, he fell into a deep, restful sleep.

He slept soundly until the bright light of the next morning. When he opened his eyes, Liu Chang realized it was the first time he’d slept so late. Seeing the crimson mist outside, he knew he’d nearly slept until noon.

Sitting up, the first person he saw was still Li Qingshui.

“You’re awake?”

“Yeah.”

“Seems something’s happened.”

“What is it?”

“That woman went to inform on us!” Li Qingshui pointed at the door.

“How do you know?” Liu Chang was startled, bouncing up from his bed.

“I sensed it,” Li Qingshui sat on the bed, tapping his fingers. “She’s been acting strange since last night. When she walked out smiling, I suddenly realized it was the first time she’d smiled in days.”

“That was definitely a fake smile!” Li Qingshui rubbed his temples. “And anything fake means she’s hiding something!”

As he spoke, the dormitory door was pushed open, and several armed soldiers walked in—led, as expected, by the female doctor.

“Someone reported a murder. Outside, we found blood-stained scraps of cloth, as well as some hair and nails,” the leader was the captain Liu Chang had seen several times before. He stood and said, “There’s no need for you to argue whether you committed the murder. We’re soldiers, not police or judges. The victim was in your dorm last night; that’s been confirmed. This morning, she’s gone. You’re highly suspect.”

The captain spoke with some regret, “Please understand, we don’t have much time to investigate these matters. Because you’ve been reported and are highly suspect, I can only temporarily expel you. If you’re innocent, please don’t blame me.”

“We understand,” Li Qingshui nodded, not debating, but instead turning to the female doctor. “Why?”

“No reason—I was afraid you’d kill me while I slept,” the doctor replied with a blank look, now twisted with a hint of malice.

“I said we wouldn’t kill you,” Liu Chang said, puzzled.

“Ha, why should I believe you? Honestly, I don’t trust you at all—not a word you say,” the doctor stepped forward. “You’re all so good at pretending. Eating meat together by day, wielding knives by night—what’s beyond people like you?”

“Ha, you’re Liu Chang, right? Don’t look at me with those innocent eyes. None of you are good people. From the first day, I knew you weren’t,” she continued, her voice steadily rising, as if venting days of dissatisfaction and anger—or perhaps just her own fear. “From the start, you grabbed beds. That family of four took three beds; you were worse, five people took four. Did you ever consider one of those beds should have been ours?”

“Ha, five people taking four beds, sleeping soundly—what right do you have to pretend to be good? When my parents died, did you ever think of giving up a bed for them?”

Her voice was nearly hysterical. “Maybe you thought about it, maybe you justified not giving up beds with excuses to fill the gap in your conscience. Everyone is selfish—I don’t blame you, so don’t blame me for my decision today.”

“I have no sense of safety sleeping with you, so I reported you. Maybe after you’re expelled, you’ll have nowhere to sleep and get eaten by monsters on the first night. Or maybe, with your abilities, you’ll survive the first night—but what about the second…”

Her voice softened, her expression returning to a dull rationality. “But what happens to you, who cares? I just want to sleep peacefully here…”

Before she finished, the door opened again. The little girl, the fat man, and Zhu Lin were escorted in by three soldiers.

Seeing the three brought back, Li Qingshui frowned. “Captain, could we stay in the military compound? We have meat—enough to save others, perhaps to offset part of our crime…”

He pointed to the three large buckets of meat, but in return, the captain only shook his head coldly.

“In that case, we have hunting skills. Let us stay, and we can contribute food to the unit every month…”

The captain’s brows twitched at Li Qingshui’s words, but he still shook his head firmly.

From his attitude, Li Qingshui understood just how seriously the military took ‘maintaining stability’. Seeing this, he sighed deeply, then spread his hands in resignation. “Fine, I am a brain domain mutant.”