Chapter 155: Old Wang's Welcome Gift (Part 2)

"Hi, you're awake, Skye." Gordon appeared suddenly.

He actually spoke in Mandarin.

The notion that everyone in the entire universe speaks English is completely absurd.

The very name "Afterlife" was Chinese to begin with; this place was founded by the Chinese, the architecture is in the Chinese style, and the residents are predominantly of Asian descent, with far fewer Black and white people.

Here, Mandarin is the official language.

Neither Gordon nor Lincoln are native-born residents of Afterlife, but their parents came here, and their ancestors for eight generations came here. They are the descendants of the chosen ones, and their identities brought them from all over the world to this place—the sole city of the Inhumans, or rather, the town.

Because they are descendants of Inhumans and are destined to make a pilgrimage here, they have been required to learn Mandarin since childhood.

Especially Gordon.

He is the only "transportation method" between Afterlife and the outside world over the past twenty years or more, needing to deal with people from all corners of the globe, so naturally, he speaks the world's major languages and has mastered all six primary tongues.

Although he is white, his fluent Mandarin is smoother than that of certain actors.

"Who are you, and where am I?" Skye looked somewhat nervous and frightened.

Gordon smiled slightly. "I'm Gordon, and this is Afterlife, a magical place, and also your home."

His tone was very gentle, and the way he looked at Skye was as if he were looking at his own younger sister. This put Skye at ease a bit, thinking that not having eyes was actually not so bad after all.

"How long have I been here?" Skye asked hastily.

"An hour."

Lincoln suddenly walked over, his expression somewhat peculiar. "You were sent straight here the moment you arrived. I thought you'd be asleep for at least two days. Your constitution is much better than I expected—it's incredible! I also detected a strange energy inside your body; could it be that you've awakened two abilities?"

"No one can awaken two abilities," Gordon interjected, his tone extremely absolute.

Because he had never seen it happen.

"I'm not very sure."

Skye shook her head slightly, then asked, "What on earth are you planning to do to me?"

As she spoke, she made a hurried move to sit up.

"Don't move, don't move!"

Lincoln quickly placated her. "The current electrical current is very stable, linked with the bio-electricity in your body. Any movement will easily cause problems. You might explode like a bomb, or burn like a matchstick... Well, actually, you can't move at all anyway. Those needles have locked your nervous system; aside from your head, you can't move anything, and you can't use your ability either... Holy crap!"

Before his voice even faded, Lincoln was dumbfounded.

All of the stainless steel needles blasted outward simultaneously, embedding themselves deeply into the wall. Several of them grazed right past the left side of his face, leaving a burning, stinging pain.

This was terrifying.

How on earth did she do that?

Why is Skye's Inhuman ability so powerful?

Has she really been awakened for less than two months?

"I feel like I might have overdone it a bit. The crucial thing is that kind of electrical stimulation really tends to make people emotional and uncontrollable. Lincoln, you wouldn't understand because you don't have a girlfriend..." Realizing that the persona she had maintained was shattered, Skye decided to switch to a different one. She instantly raised both hands, aimed them at Lincoln, and threatened, "Tell me everything, or I'll tear this place apart!"

"Calm down, please don't get excited. We're the good guys, really the good guys!"

Lincoln retreated step by step as he said, "Come on, put your hands down. If we start fighting, the entire house will be destroyed... Building houses is a huge hassle; we don't have machinery, we rely entirely on manual labor!"

Of course, Skye couldn't just let it go like this. The first persona was ruined, but the second one couldn't be.

"Bringing you here was to help you, to help you become who you truly are."

Suddenly, a gentle voice sounded.

Pushed open the door was a beautiful woman with a somewhat peculiar appearance.

Her exposed face was covered with rather inconspicuous cracks...

Yes, cracks rather than scars. It looked like shattered glass pieced back together, or a torn Barbie doll sewn up once more—gorgeous in a bizarre way, hauntingly beautiful.

"Who are you?" Skye's heart accelerated as she asked a question she already knew the answer to.

"She is the guide of the Inhumans, the witness of history, the leader of Afterlife, Jiaying."

Admiration and respect surfaced on Gordon's face. "And she is your mother."

...

...

Mother...

Such a familiar yet unfamiliar word.

Skye fell into a brief trance.

She had been adopted several times and had had several mothers, but none of the outcomes had been good.

Now another one had appeared, and this time, it was the original one.

Looking at the scars on Jiaying's face, Skye recalled the things Old Wang and Calvin had said.

Those scars were the testimony of agony, pains far exceeding childbirth tenfold. Being a mother was truly not easy.

Thinking of this, Skye's eyes turned red, and she stammered, "You, are you really, really my mother?"

"Of course."

Jiaying walked over and stroked Skye's cheek, saying softly, "Ever since you were stolen away, I've been looking for you, and now I've finally found you. Our family is finally reunited. This is wonderful."

"Yeah, a family."

Skye murmured, "Mother, Father, and Wang..."

Jiaying was quite happy at first.

Although the desire for revenge was fermenting within her heart—even making her eager to drag the entire Inhuman race into the fray, because without the help of the Inhumans and relying solely on herself, she certainly wouldn't be able to exact revenge on Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D., which would be no different from courting death.

Still, her daughter was very important, and maternal affection still existed. Before reaching the point of having to choose between the two, it was impossible to tell which mattered more, so seeing that Skye cared about her as well made her naturally very happy.

She had already witnessed some of Skye's abilities just now—they were stronger than anyone else in the history of the Inhuman race, at least based on the history she knew.

Originally, although she intended to exact revenge on Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D., she had recruited very few Inhumans; after all, those Inhumans had no grudge against Hydra or S.H.I.E.L.D., and were neither willing nor likely to follow her.

But her daughter would surely help her, wouldn't she?

However, upon hearing the few names Skye mentioned, her smile instantly froze.

A father's feelings, which had evolved from romantic love into parental affection due to the child's appearance, had also transformed from parental affection back to indifference due to the child's disappearance. Jiaying was well aware that her relationship with Calvin was somewhat delicate:

They both loved Skye and still held feelings for each other in their hearts, but ultimately, things were different now.

She was even well aware that Calvin would much rather Skye go with him than with her, which was why he had sent Gordon to fetch Skye the moment he received the news.

Yet now, it seemed the daughter was getting along quite well with Calvin?

No, they must be separated!

On the contrary, that last name made her feel a certain sense of approval; it felt rather nice.

The surname "Wang"? Also Chinese. Splendid. Chinese people are truly wonderful...

"It seems you already have someone you fancy?"

Of course, Jiaying wouldn't show any of this in front of her daughter. A mother's smile hung on her face. "When you have time, bring him to meet me. Anyone you set your eyes on certainly won't be ordinary..."

Before she finished speaking, she saw Skye's eyes light up. "We can do it right now!"

Jiaying was slightly stunned.

Her daughter was truly impatient. Could it be that she had already gotten involved with that "Wang"?

That's the one drawback of living in America; it's nothing like China. Back in our day, families kept a tight leash on things. Women weren't even allowed to attend private schools—a woman's lack of talent is a virtue, and they certainly couldn't be caught holding hands or mingling with men. It only got a little better after several hundred years...

Just as she was thinking this, she saw Gordon suddenly vanish.

What happened?

Gordon's Inhuman ability was very special, allowing him to perceive extremely faint energy fluctuations and spatial shifts. Could it be...

The thought had barely formed when she saw Gordon reappear.

"Jiaying, there are enemies in—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Gordon's expression shifted once more, and he vanished in an instant.

The next moment, a deep red ribbon flew in from outside the window, paused briefly in front of Skye, affectionately brushed against her face like a flattered pet, and then burst right through the door.

What, what was this thing again?

What on earth was happening?

Was that ribbon chasing Gordon?

Did it seem to have a mind of its own?

Bang!

The heavy door was smashed open, and a disheveled Calvin rushed inside.

"Skye, my daughter!"

The moment he laid eyes on Skye, his face immediately bloomed into a wide smile, and he opened his arms, walking toward her.

Suddenly, a figure blocked his path.

"You are not welcome here."

Lincoln's face was cold, his raised right hand crackling with electrical currents. "You shouldn't have come!"

"Calvin, how did you get here?" Jiaying's focus was different from Lincoln's.

Throughout the entire Afterlife, only she, several elders, and Gordon knew its precise location, and only Gordon could bring people here.

Now that Calvin had suddenly appeared, it meant the location of Afterlife had been exposed.

This was too dangerous! Too terrifying!

"That doesn't matter, not at all."

Calvin rubbed his hands together and said with glee, "Jiaying, our family of three is finally reunited. This is wonderful! Oh right, I also brought you a gift. You're definitely going to like it!"

"What gift?" Jiaying glanced at Calvin's briefcase. Inside, there were bound to be scalpels, suture needles, or other medical tools—or rather, tools for murder.

And of course, the most important and dangerous serum.

"Just a little token of my appreciation, nothing much."

A voice sounded, and a plump young man appeared like a gust of wind, dragging a limp, dead-fish-like person in his grip.

"Hello, Ms. Jiaying, you can call me 'Little Wang'." Just a little token of my appreciation, nothing much.

He casually tossed Whitehall onto the floor right in front of Jiaying.