Old Wang’s Meeting Gift

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

And he was speaking Chinese.

People said the whole universe spoke English, but that made no sense at all.

The words "Afterlife" were Chinese to begin with. This place had been built by Chinese people, its architecture was Chinese in style, and most of its residents were Asian. Black and white people were comparatively rare.

Here, Chinese was the official language.

Neither Gordon nor Lincoln had been born and raised in Afterlife, but their parents had come here, as had generations of their ancestors. They were descendants of the chosen, and their identities had brought them here from all over the world, to the Inhumans’ only city—

Or rather, town.

As descendants of Inhumans, and because they were destined to come here someday, they had been required to learn Chinese from childhood.

Especially Gordon.

For over twenty years, he had been Afterlife’s only means of "transportation" to and from the outside world. He needed to deal with people from all over the globe, so naturally, he knew the major languages from around the world. He spoke all six major languages.

Though he was white, his fluent, authentic Chinese was smoother than that of some celebrities.

"Who are you? Where am I?" Skye looked nervous and frightened.

Gordon smiled faintly. "I’m Gordon. This is Afterlife, a magical place. It is also your home."

His tone was gentle, and the way he looked at Skye was like he was looking at his own younger sister. That put Skye somewhat at ease. Not having eyes isn’t so bad, after all.

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

"One hour."

Lincoln suddenly walked over, his expression somewhat strange. "You were brought here as soon as you arrived. I thought you’d sleep for at least two days. Your constitution is better than I imagined. It’s unbelievable! I also detected a strange energy in your body. Could it be that you awakened two abilities?"

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

Because he had never seen it happen.

"I’m not really sure."

Skye shook her head slightly, then asked, "What exactly are you going to do to me?"

As she spoke, she hurriedly tried to sit up.

"Don’t move, don’t move!"

Lincoln hurriedly soothed her. "The current is stable right now and connected to the bioelectricity in your body. If you move, things could easily go wrong. You might explode like a bomb, or burst into flames like a match… Alright, actually, you can’t move at all. These needles have locked your nerves. Other than your head, you can’t move anything, and you can’t use your ability either… Holy shit!"

Before he could finish, Lincoln froze in shock.

Every stainless-steel needle burst free and shot into the walls. Several grazed the left side of his face, leaving it burning with pain.

That was terrifying.

How had she done that?

How could Skye’s Inhuman ability be this powerful?

Had she really awakened less than two months ago?

I think I overdid the act a little. The electrical stimulation really does make people excited and unable to control themselves. Lincoln, you wouldn’t understand. It’s because you don’t have a girlfriend… Skye realized the persona she had been maintaining had collapsed, so she decided to switch to another one. She instantly raised both hands at Lincoln and threatened, "Tell me everything, or I’ll tear this place apart!"

"Don’t get worked up, please don’t get worked up! We’re good people, really!"

Lincoln backed away as he spoke. "Come on, put your hands down. If we start fighting, this entire house will be destroyed… Building houses is a pain. We don’t have machinery; it’s all done by hand!"

Of course Skye could not simply lower her hands. Her first persona had collapsed; the second one could not collapse too.

"We brought you here to help you, to help you become yourself."

A gentle voice suddenly rang out.

A beautiful woman with somewhat strange features pushed open the door and entered.

The exposed portions of her face were covered in faint cracks…

Yes, cracks rather than scars. She looked like shattered glass pieced back together, like a torn Barbie doll sewn back up. Beautiful in an eerie way, beautiful in a horrifying way.

"Who are you?" Skye’s heart raced as she knowingly asked the question.

"She is the guide of the Inhumans, a witness to history, the leader of Afterlife, Jia Ying."

Love and respect appeared on Gordon’s face. "She is also your mother."

Mother…

What a familiar yet unfamiliar word.

Skye was dazed for a moment.

She had been adopted several times and had had several mothers, but none of it had ended well.

Now another one had appeared, and this one was the very first.

Looking at the scars on Jia Ying’s face, Skye remembered what Old Wang and Carl had told her.

Those scars were proof of suffering, suffering more than ten times worse than childbirth. Her mother truly had not had it easy.

Thinking of that, Skye’s eyes reddened. She stammered, "You… you really… really are my mother?"

"Of course."

Jia Ying walked over and stroked Skye’s cheek. Softly, she said, "After you were stolen away, I kept searching for you. Now I’ve finally found you. Our family is finally reunited. This is wonderful."

"Yes, a family."

Skye murmured, "Mother, father, and Wang…"

Jia Ying had been very happy at first.

Though the desire for revenge had fermented inside her, even to the point that she wanted to drag the entire Inhuman race into it, she could not exact revenge against Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. on her own without the Inhumans’ help. That would be no different from courting death.

But her daughter was still very important. There was still family affection. Besides, it had not yet come to a point where she had to choose one or the other, so it was impossible to tell which mattered more. Seeing that Skye cared about her as well naturally made her happy.

She had just witnessed some of Skye’s ability. It was stronger than that of anyone in Inhuman history—

At least, the history she knew.

Though she had planned to take revenge on Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D., she had only managed to recruit a few Inhumans. After all, those Inhumans had no grudge against Hydra or S.H.I.E.L.D.; they were neither willing nor able to follow her.

But her daughter would definitely help her, wouldn’t she?

Yet the moment she heard the names Skye mentioned, her smile froze.

Carl’s feelings for Jia Ying had deepened from love into familial affection after their child was born. But after their child disappeared, that familial affection had turned into ruthlessness. Jia Ying knew very well that her relationship with Carl was delicate:

They both loved Skye, and they still had each other in their hearts, but they were no longer the same.

She even knew clearly that Carl would rather Skye stay with him than with her. That was why, as soon as she received word, she had Gordon bring Skye here.

But now, it seemed her daughter got along quite well with Carl?

No. They had to be separated!

As for that last name, Jia Ying actually approved of it. It did not sound bad.

His surname was Wang? He was Chinese too. Very good. Chinese people were good…

"So, it seems you already have someone you like?"

Naturally, Jia Ying would not show any of this in front of her daughter. Wearing a motherly smile, she said, "When there’s time, bring him to meet me. Anyone you’ve taken a fancy to must be extraordinary…"

Before she could finish, Skye’s eyes lit up. "We can do it now!"

Jia Ying was slightly stunned.

Her daughter really could not wait. Had she already done something with that Wang?

Living in the United States was bad in this regard. It was nothing like China. Back then, families kept a close watch over their daughters. Girls could not even attend private schools. A woman’s virtue was in her lack of talent, much less being physically intimate with men. It only got a little better after several hundred years…

As she was thinking this, Gordon suddenly vanished.

What had happened?

Gordon’s Inhuman ability was very special. It allowed him to sense extremely faint energy fluctuations and changes in space. Could it be…

The thought had barely formed when Gordon reappeared.

"Jia Ying, an enemy has intr—"

He had only gotten halfway through the sentence when Gordon’s expression changed again, and he instantly disappeared.

The next moment, a dark crimson ribbon flew in through the window. It paused before Skye, affectionately brushed against her face, then burst through the door.

What… what was that?

What exactly was happening?

Was that ribbon chasing Gordon?

It seemed to have a consciousness?

Bang!

The front door was slammed open, and a disheveled Carl rushed inside.

"Skye, my daughter!"

The moment he saw Skye, his face broke into a huge smile. He opened his arms and started toward her.

Suddenly, someone blocked his path.

"You are not welcome here."

Lincoln’s face was cold. Sparks crackled from his raised right hand. "You shouldn’t have come!"

"Carl, how did you get here?" Jia Ying’s concern was different from Lincoln’s.

Only she, several elders, and Gordon knew Afterlife’s exact location. Only Gordon could bring people here.

Now that Carl had suddenly appeared, it meant Afterlife’s location had been exposed.

That was too dangerous, too terrifying!

"That isn’t important. Not important at all."

Carl rubbed his hands together and said delightedly, "Jia Ying, our family of three is finally reunited. This is wonderful! Oh, right, I brought you a gift too. You’ll definitely like it!"

"What gift?" Jia Ying glanced at Carl’s suitcase. It surely contained scalpels, suturing needles, and other medical tools—or rather, tools for killing.

And, of course, the most important and dangerous thing: the serum.

"Just a small token of my appreciation."

A voice rang out. A slightly chubby young man appeared like a gust of wind, carrying a limp man as if he were a dead fish.

"Hello, Ms. Jia Ying. You may call me Little Wang."

With a casual toss, he threw Whitehall before Jia Ying.