“Thanks to the Clearing Bureau’s help? You mean someone from the bureau had already made contact with Happiness Apartment before? But according to the Clearing Bureau’s records, the first discoverer of this apartment was me. So did that person discover it and not report it? Or…”
After pondering over Administrator Matron’s words, Leon tentatively began,
“Excuse me, are you referring to some relatively ordinary kind of help, or the fundamental kind of ‘help’ that turned both of you into what you are now?”
“Of course, the most fundamental kind.”
The most fundamental kind… meaning this Happiness Apartment was actually ‘created’ by someone from the Clearing Bureau?
But… how could that be possible? Recalling the “common sense” Red-haired Bureau Director and Emma Senior had told him, Leon couldn’t help but subconsciously furrow his eyebrows.
For anomalous items, ‘creation’ and ‘forging’ are two completely different concepts.
The anomalous items ‘produced’ by the Clearing Bureau are mostly like Taurus Director, forged from remnants recovered after completing cleaning tasks, preserving core abilities to create them. Essentially, uncontrollable existing abnormalities are ‘modified’ into basically controllable anomalous items.
And if neither Administrator Matron’s statement nor his understanding were wrong, then this Happiness Apartment… this [Parasitic Spirit Dwelling] no longer followed this common knowledge—it had been created from nothing!
Such an important matter must be clarified! But…
“Anna…”
“You guys chat first.”
Upon receiving Leon’s troubled gaze, the frail girl, though extremely curious in her heart, still smiled understandingly and stood up to walk toward the inner room.
“It’s freezing lately; I’ll check if Melanie and the others have kicked off their blankets so they don’t catch a cold.”
“Thank you for your trouble…”
Not wanting his family to have too much contact with the “world beneath the surface,” after Anna entered the inner room and closed the door, Leon let out a sigh of relief and asked seriously:
“If possible, could you please tell me how that person helped you back then?”
“What’s wrong?”
Seeing Leon’s suddenly serious expression, Administrator Matron seemed to also notice something amiss and hesitantly said,
“Young man, you must tell me honestly, is there any rule in your bureau that forbids helping us become what we are now?”
“It’s less about forbidding, and more about being simply incapable…”
After briefly describing the difficulty of doing so in terms the other party could understand, Leon reassured the slightly worried-looking Administrator Matron,
“Don’t worry, you don’t need to be concerned about that person facing punishment. This ability to create abnormalities is something I’m hearing about for the first time, and there are no related regulations within the bureau.
Besides, you’ve been anomalies for almost a hundred years. Although our people from the Clearing Bureau have better physical fitness than ordinary people, most of our lifespans are similar to those of normal people. That person from back then has likely long passed away.
Also, because this involves creating abnormalities, this matter is truly very important. If possible, I hope you can describe it as detailed as possible.”
“Hearing that won’t bring trouble to my benefactor, I’m relieved…”
After recalling for a bit, Administrator Matron hesitantly began,
“There’s nothing that can’t be said, it’s just that we don’t know much ourselves… Hmm… The predecessor of this apartment was the Alms House my husband and I remodeled from our own property, which you should have already found out, right?”
“Um-hmm.”
Seeing Leon nod, Administrator Matron touched her white curly hair and continued calmly,
“My hair wasn’t originally white; it gradually turned white after I suffered through a severe illness.
That illness brought continuous pain, and I could only endure it with excessive sleeping pills and painkillers. I could only stay conscious for three to four hours a day, but even during these few hours of consciousness, I would constantly vomit and have diarrhea due to the side effects of the drugs…
Sigh… Though I didn’t want to leave my husband, after enduring for several years, I really didn’t want to live anymore. I planned to apply to convert the Alms House into a municipal facility and then quickly stop taking medicine and die.”
Speaking in a calm tone about the origin of her white hair, Administrator Matron’s eyes gradually became fierce as she continued coldly,
“I submitted that application thirty times, and my husband, despite his lame leg, went to the municipality hundreds of times, but the answer was always to go back and wait.
At that point, I realized that the municipality probably didn’t want to take it over. Once the two of us old folks died, the people accommodated in the Alms House would surely not end well.”
Administrator Matron, full-faced with resentment, said,
“The property of the Alms House was under my name, and my husband, due to some past matters, didn’t have the qualification to inherit the property. So I really didn’t dare to die and could only endure, trying to find other ways out for the people in the Alms House.
In the end, although I successfully sent some people away, most of the people in the Alms House had no labor capacity and couldn’t find other places. Moreover, my body was also getting worse at that time.
According to my husband, my heart stopped three times in the last month, and the number of times my breathing stopped was countless. Yet, even though I managed to hold on, I was slowly reaching my limit…”
Heart stopped… and yet survived such a situation, huh…
While listening to Administrator Matron’s past experiences, although it might be inappropriate, Leon still remembered what he had heard from the Red-haired Bureau Director.
Only extremes are remembered by people, only obsession dares to move forward fearlessly, only madness can comprehend greatness.
Or rather, whether positive or negative, only the purest and most extreme things can leave a mark in this world.
…
“But I really didn’t want to die, nor dared to die.”
Unaware of Leon’s thoughts, Administrator Matron, recalling those painful days, had a somewhat grotesque expression as she said,
“On the last day, except for occasionally opening my eyes, my heartbeat and breathing had completely stopped. I was practically dead, and even my soul briefly left my body, seeing my own appearance lying on the bed…
However, I still forcibly returned! There was no other reason—I just wouldn’t accept it! I wanted to know why, why signing a single paper could save so many people, yet why was there no one willing to approve my application!”
After taking a few quick breaths, Administrator Matron’s expression softened slightly. She held the hand of the burly old man who had silently returned and was standing behind her, lowering her voice to continue, “But although my soul returned, my body had indeed completely died. My prepared husband called the person responsible for arranging the deceased’s appearance.
Hmm… I don’t remember clearly, but the embalmer was a young man. Aside from having naturally downturned corners of his mouth, making him look like he was crying, he was actually quite ordinary. However, his eyes were very bright, and it seemed he could see things others couldn’t.”
A young man with a naturally sorrowful face and bright eyes?
Carefully noting down these characteristics and preparing to ask the Red-haired Bureau Director tomorrow, Leon softly inquired,
“Is this person…”
“Yes, it’s him.”
Giving an affirmative reply, Administrator Matron looked complicatedly and said, “He asked me if I had any remaining wishes, but at that time, I was filled with hatred, wishing to immediately turn into a crazy evil spirit and kill everyone in the municipality, so I shouted at him.
But after listening to the reasons, the young man didn’t heed me. Instead, he asked my husband if he wanted to meet me again, but the price would be dying instantly.”
At this point, Administrator Matron paused for a moment, then firmly squeezed the burly old man’s hand, her eyes filled with tenderness as she said,
“My husband didn’t agree immediately. He asked the young man with the natural sorrowful face what he would need to pay if he wanted to see me more often instead of just once. After hearing his question, the young man, although somewhat surprised, thought for a moment and then told my husband that besides meeting me once, he could also let my husband’s soul stay with me forever.
But since my soul had endured torment for several years and was stronger and more resilient, binding our souls together would cause my husband to lose most of his humanity and wisdom, becoming a mere subordinate to my soul…”
So… he agreed, right? Looking at the burly old man who was holding Administrator Matron’s hand with one hand and secretly reaching for the large scissors with the other, Leon blinked involuntarily, feeling both moved and speechless, unsure of what to say.
No moving around!
Having noticed the burly old man’s actions early on, after pinching his hand hard to make him behave, Administrator Matron apologized,
“Rest assured, I’m watching him. He won’t cut you.”
“Ah… it’s fine, it’s fine.”
After secretly touching the pendant hanging on his chest to ensure he could react in time, Leon couldn’t help but ask,
“Then later, did he tie your souls together and put them inside this building?”
“Something like that.”
Upon hearing this, Administrator Matron’s eyes dimmed slightly, and she looked dejected as she said,
“But we didn’t initially have the strength we have now. Back then, we couldn’t even eat or drink like living people, let alone talk to the people inside.
It wasn’t until the Alms House was reclaimed by the municipality and the remaining people were forcibly driven away by the Public Security Bureau that we could barely show a little presence during the deepest part of the night.”
Leon nodded upon hearing this, thought for a moment, and asked, “So you grew stronger over time?”
“Not exactly… our current state is actually an accident.”
After answering Leon’s question, Administrator Matron quietly turned her head and buried her face in the burly old man’s arms, speaking with a muffled tone,
“One orphan who was driven out of the Alms House tried to sneak back in the middle of the night and nearly fell while climbing over the wall. My husband and I were worried and briefly appeared to support him.
That child probably sensed something, got scared, screamed, and ran away, but later came back a few times. The news that we might still be around spread among those who were driven out.”
Clutching her fists tightly in deep regret, Administrator Matron trembled all over, saying, “Then… many children heard the news and came back hoping to see us again. We… we showed up a few more times.
When people really saw us, more people came back, and even those who had found other ways out and were sent away earlier returned from other counties.
But… but… winter came afterward… that winter was unusually cold, and they were all… so fewer and fewer people could come, and their physical conditions worsened each time… and… and…”
“…”
And… most of them froze to death during the first winter after being driven away?
At this point, Leon tilted his head slightly, his eyes stinging a bit, and recalled the relevant files he had seen before.
About a hundred people were expelled from the Alms House. Due to their lack of labor capacity, most of them didn’t survive the winter that year and froze to death near the Happiness Apartment.
However, when their stiff, shriveled bodies were discovered, most of their faces were smiling. This incident even made the news at the time, and there were a few newspaper clippings preserved in the archives.
I originally thought that their smiles were due to hallucinations before freezing to death, but now it seems that their smiles were genuine.
“Condolences…”
Looking at Administrator Matron burying her face in the burly old man’s arms, obviously crying silently, Leon regretted asking these questions and pressed his lips together, unsure of what to say. Meanwhile, the burly old man, who was gently patting the matron’s back, spoke up at this moment.
“One hundred and three.”
After emotionlessly uttering this number, the burly old man rarely said a few more words, speaking hoarsely and warmly: “The final thoughts of those children, I received them.”
“…”
So… the reason you two can now resemble living beings is because of the one hundred and three people who were driven out from Happiness Apartment that year and froze to death outside, as well as many others who once lived in this building, genuinely believing that you were still here…
After roughly understanding his meaning, seeing Administrator Matron beginning to sob softly, Leon felt at a loss and clenched his fists, then quickly changed the topic: “What about the young man with the sorrowful face? Did he come back later?”
“He did… he visited once.”
After wiping her tears against the burly old man’s chest, Administrator Matron whispered,
“After that winter, it was about three years later when he came to see us again.
After seeing our situation, he was somewhat surprised, saying our ‘progress’ exceeded his expectations. He asked what we had done over the years and why we became so strong so quickly, wondering if we had killed the people we hated.
But after hearing our explanation, he seemed somewhat disappointed, asking why we didn’t think of revenge, and then never came back… Oh, right!”
After trying to recall, Administrator Matron uncertainly said, “We also asked about his recent situation, asking if he was still working as an embalmer. He said he had stopped doing embalming work and joined the Clearing Bureau, becoming an official? Executor? Or something like that… Does your Clearing Bureau have such a position?”
(End of Chapter)
