There were now three people that Lián Xīng had healed.

  Wu Anming was a grocer in his forties who lived with his family in the suburbs of City C. He was worried about their status; he got infected and lost his memory while he was at work and didn’t know how his family fared. When Lián Xīng had driven him to his house, it had been deserted, with the personal effects gone. It didn’t look like anything troublesome had happened there, so that relieved him. It was assumed his family had moved to the new base at the edge of City C.

  Yang Hǎi Lán had been a secretary at a law firm. She was in her late twenties. She had lived alone with two cats, cats that thankfully had a way to get outside. They were no longer at her apartment, and she just hoped they were alright wherever they were. She took to the kittens Mùchén took care of almost immediately, even helping him with the chores to take care of them.

  Arabelle Porter’s sadness lifted, and she helped get the others settled in the villa.

  The dining table was more full for breakfast the morning after they got settled in their guest rooms.

  The villa was a big one, having belonged to a large family in ancient times and updated throughout the different technological eras Tellus went through.

  What the family lived in was actually what was known as the Lower courtyard in ancient times, but that had bigger rooms that could be modernized over the years. It had its courtyard and was closer to the main entry. It had also been expanded slightly. But behind the Lower courtyard rooms was the inner courtyard, which was even larger. In ancient times, it would have housed the adult family members.

  “It would seem it was good I decided to have the Upper part of the villa and inner courtyard lightly renovated. We will need the space if you keep healing, Lián Xīng.” Lián Liwei spoke up after wiping his mouth with his cloth napkin.

  “Is it habitable?” Light renovation could mean anything.

  He nodded. “I wasn’t sure what we might use some of the rooms for, but I saved some artifacts for decoration. We might need to go get some beds or build them. I made sure to make two new bathrooms back there, and the North Hall could be turned easily into a dorm room and the ancillary rooms as more private bedrooms for couples. If we need anymore than that, we might need to build cabins on the land behind.”

  Well, Lián Xīng thought, at least for now, they would be set. She could tell her healing abilities got stronger with each infected she healed, but it still tired her out. She didn’t think she’d be healing enough where they would need to build separate cabins quite yet.

  “Near here in the suburbs I lived in, there were a couple of furniture stores we can check.” Wu Anming supplied.

  “I’ll go with you.” With Grandpa Liwei’s strength, they would be able to get a fair amount of furniture into one of their vehicles, an off-road truck.

  While the two men were off getting furniture for the back courtyard’s housing, Lián Xīng, the twins, Miss Porter, and Yang Hǎi Lán all went to dust and clean the rooms so that they would be ready for the new furniture.

  When they got to the back Main Hall, Lián Xīng put some polishing mitts on her feet and showed the twins how to have some fun polishing the floors.

  Mùchén and Měi Lán watched her as she began ‘skating’ across the floors before looking at each other with grins and placing the polishing mitts on their feet two and followed after her. Lián Xīng twirled Měi Lán, who let out a giggle as she slid across the floor. Lián Xīng pushed Mùchén softly and watched as he glided to the other side of the room, a laugh coming from him. Lián Xīng let out her laugh while she did a spin herself, nearly falling over, and watched as Měi Lán burst into loud giggles. It’s when she looked up that she saw they had an audience. Arabelle and Yang Hǎi Lán were peeking into the room, smiles on their lips.

  “Ladies, would you like to join us?” Mùchén gave a cute little bow towards the women by the hall’s sliding doors.

  “I don’t know.” Yang Hǎi Lán looked at them with wide eyes, but she looked curious still.

  Skating up to her, Lián Xīng offered her polishing slippers before helping Yang Hǎi Lán to put them on. “It is just like walking; just allow yourself to drag your feet until you start sliding. Have fun!”

  Mùchén slid over to Yang Hǎi Lán and offered his hand like a gentleman.

  The men came back to see the rest sitting on the steps of the back main hall, eating popsicles with big smiles all around.

  Later on, Grandpa Lián Liwei took Lián Xīng aside once, making sure they were being taken care of by Arabelle.

  He closed his office door and turned with a frown on his lips.

  “What’s wrong, Grandpa?”

  “Wu Anming disappeared for some time when we were looking for furniture. He came back after an hour, looking shifty-eyed and maybe even guilty.”

  “You think he might betray us to the base?” Lián Xīng’s brows furrowed.

  “I think it is a possibility if his family was held back from him.” Grandpa stood with his hands behind his back, staring out his window. His face was serious as he no doubt pondered how safe their family was with the newly healed man.

  “So what do we do?”

  “We keep an eye on him, and we prepare ourselves for any fallout.”

  The week that followed held an undercurrent of tension that even the children caught on to.

  Then, one day, Wu Anming left without a word. The small amount of effects that he’d had in his room were gone too.

  “Where did Uncle Anming go?” Měi Lán had been someone that Wu Anming always had a smile for, perhaps reminding him of his daughters.

  “He’s gone to the base.” Grandfather Liwei spoke his gaze off into the distance, his brows furrowed in worry.

  “Will he come back?” Měi Lán fiddled with the hem of her shirt, a habit she had when she was worried by something or for someone.

  As if to answer her question, a notification on Grandpa Liwei’s brace had him hurrying to the surveillance room. Lián Xīng followed.

  Her eyes immediately widened as she saw the screen.

  “Is that a hand-held rocket launcher?”

  Her grandfather nodded before turning a switch on so they could hear the outside.

  “Bring the healer out, and no one in this villa needs to be harmed. If not, we will take this place by force.”

  “If you activate the shields, will they hold?” Lián Xīng looked at the gathering outside their main entrance gate.

  “No matter what, you aren’t going out there.”

  “I will if I need to protect this family, Grandpa.” Lián Xīng then asked her question again about the shields.

  “They’ll hold but only until our saved electricity runs out and then…”

  “Then the family will be vulnerable.” Lián Xīng stared at the screens, she couldn’t let her family come to any harm. She had promised them, and she held to her promises. She kissed her Grandpa on the cheek, “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  “We’ll think of something.”

  She shook her head. “We don’t have the time.”

  Grabbing a jacket, putting on her boots at the entrance, Lián Xīng raised her head high. She talked to her grandfather through the brace, “As soon as I step out, raise the shields.”