Villain Boss Chapter 217
Translated by Digitalian (ko-fi)
Chapter 217: The Life Of A Puppet
The moment Shen Youyou rushed to the top floor, she realized something was amiss.
Her superpower disappeared.
The top floor of the laboratory building was an open platform with floor-to-ceiling windows on all four sides. The glass of the windows had been shattered by the shock wave of the explosion, leaving only the steel and concrete remains licked by flames.
Through the flames, a blurry figure could be seen leaning against a pillar in the middle of the platform.
Dodging the falling dust and debris, she slowly ran toward that person.
"Su Qin." She reached out and put her hand on that person's shoulder.
The person leaning against the pillar fell diagonally to the ground. The clothes fell open, revealing the mold inside.
It was fake.
There was no one on the top floor.
The fire raged and soon engulfed the mold.
She covered her mouth and nose, and using the advantage of her modified body, rushed out the door.
The instant she leaped over the flames, a loud bang came from above.
Unable to withstand the flames, the decorative beam at the top crashed down.
Shen Youyou braked suddenly, but still couldn't dodge in time and was knocked to the ground by the thick beam.
"Cough, cough."
Slammed down in the middle, the human skin was stripped away, revealing a metallic skeleton beneath. The little girl tried to push against the beam pressing down on her with her only movable hand, but to no avail.
The fire engulfed her, and the intense heat nearly melted her metallic frame.
It was so hot... so scalding.
The heat was like that of a crematorium, like... the fire that awakened her.
Ah, the scorching heat was etched deep in her memory. It was a fire like the one today. She woke up in that fire.
When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the flames that were devouring everything, and that person's warm embrace.
The vulnerable human held her in his arms, dodging the burning flames and various obstacles.
His body was very soft, completely different from her hard bones. His voice was also soft. Even when facing a crisis that could take his life, the voice he spoke to her was gentle, a gentleness that was out of place in the perilous environment.
"Don't be afraid. I’ll definitely get you out of here. Don't be afraid..."
Don't be afraid.
Afraid? Not understanding what he was talking about, she just nodded blankly.
He then smiled.
Yes, at that moment, she saw the slight upturn of his lips and the bright glint in his eyes.
Later, Shen Bai told her that it was a smile.
Humans used various facial expressions to express their emotions, such as smiling or crying...
She seemed to understand, but not quite, yet she realized that the expression she saw was a good one, so she tried very hard to learn that expression, to be like that person.
"What's your name? I've been here for so long and I still don't know your name—117? Is that your code name? Then what's your real name?"
Name? I didn't have a name. She shook her head.
"How can you not have a name? Everyone should have their own name." He seemed to sigh, his voice low. "How about this? I'll choose a name for you, okay?"
She grasped his hand. The skin on his hand was grayish, but burning hot.
"Wait a minute, let me think..." he exhaled and murmured, "Once you get out of here alive, I'll tell you the name I've thought of..."
She nodded again.
After waiting for a while, the person next to her stopped talking.
She tilted her head to look at him and poked his shoulder.
He remained silent.
Why wasn’t he talking? Why didn’t he open his eyes? Did he not want to talk to her? Did he dislike her because she didn't have a name?
She indeed didn't have a name. In her memory, people only called her 117. He said that was a code name, not a name.
She had a code name, but no real name.
Later, the fire was extinguished, and she was brought back to the laboratory. However, the first person she saw after waking up never appeared again.
He didn’t keep his promise to tell her her name.
Why didn't he come? Had he left?
"He's dead." Through the thick, specially made glass, Shen Lang looked at her with utter disgust. "Because of you—an experiment—my son actually lost his life protecting something like you! How foolish!"
Oh, realization dawned on her. That person was dead.
She didn't understand life, but she knew what death meant.
There used to be many samples like her in the laboratory. Over time, they were thrown into the landfill or the crematorium... Slowly, she was the only one left in the laboratory.
The people coming and going said that all the other samples had died.
Yes, those companions never came back. They disappeared.
That person, like the other dead samples, had disappeared from this world.
He hasn't told her her name yet, so she could only continue using the code name 117. It was just a code name. Even if she tried hard to learn human habits and live like a human, she could never be the same as a real human.
She was just a puppet.
She could never be like a human... She didn't even have her own name.
What a pity...
"Youyou!"
A hoarse voice drifted through the flames and into her ears.
"Youyou!"
The voice kept calling out that word, over and over again.
"Youyou! Where are you?"
Shen Youyou's fingers curled up subconsciously. She slowly opened her eyes and looked in the direction from which the sound came.
"Shen Youyou."
The young man sat opposite her and placed a stack of documents on the table.
He rested his chin on his hands, leaned slightly forward, and adopted a very relaxed posture.
"From now on, this will be your name."
Shen Youyou? Shen Youyou.
She murmured it to herself twice and nodded.
The person in front of her had bright eyes and a gentle smile, just like the person who had woken her up.
"From today onwards, the laboratory will cease to exist. You’ll be with me from now on, and I’ll take care of you." He sat up straight and extended his hand to her. "Youyou, please give me your guidance."
She stared blankly at his hand.
He smiled, took her hand, and shook her fingertips. "This is a handshake, which means we're friends from now on."
How warm his hands were, just like that person's.
She instinctively grasped his fingers, holding them tightly, as if trying to gather the fleeting warmth in her palm.
She knew that her actions didn’t comply with the base's regulations.
In the laboratory, if she touched any humans without permission, they would beat her with sticks that crackled with electricity.
The electric current stimulated the skin, which in turn generated pain that stimulated the brain. If the brain was damaged, she would die.
—She wasn’t human, yet she still would feel pain and die just like humans.
To avoid being beaten, she never dared to touch humans like this.
However, at that moment, she seemed to be bewitched by something, and she held onto his hand tightly, refusing to let go.
She wasn’t beaten.
The man just smiled and let her hold his hand.
"My name is Shen Bai. You can call me brother or by my name."
Shen Bai, Shen Youyou.
"Youyou!"
The voice came from near and far, persistent and unwavering.
Through her vision blurred by thick smoke, she spotted that familiar figure.
"Shen... Shen Bai..."
She tried to call his name, but found herself unable to make a sound.
Shen Bai, don't come over. Don’t come any closer. Don't be like that person, who walked into the fire for a puppet like me.
