lin had left the Sanctuary because, after a long silence, Gu Yi finally sent good news. Although the exact location and ti hadn't been pinpointed, at least a general area was confird.
In the western United States, in Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park — a world-famous natural heritage site — there stood a small cottage brimming with the scent of nature by the largest body of water, Yellowstone Lake.
lin was sitting on the sofa, reading a book and sipping coffee, enjoying a peaceful and quiet morning when suddenly…
Click—
The sound of a door opening from the backyard echoed, and soone stealthily slipped into the house, trembling as they hid in the utility room.
"Hmm? Him? Did I just stumble into a plotline?"
Detecting who had snuck into his ho, lin's face lit up with an amused smile. He picked up a blanket and walked toward the utility room.
"Hey, you okay?" lin asked the trembling man before him.
Hair sticking up like horns, a scruffy beard, tal skeleton and claws hidden under his skin—who else could it be but Wolverine?
…
…
"Cold…" Logan rubbed his body, his voice shivering.
"Yeah, I can see that." lin tossed the blanket to Logan as he spoke. "Wrap yourself up, take a hot shower, and change into clean clothes. Then we'll talk."
"Th-thanks…"
After leading Logan to the bathroom to clean himself up, the two sat facing each other in the living room.
"Leftover beef from yesterday. It's not much, but it should do." lin placed the food in front of Logan.
Logan glanced at lin, then at the food, and imdiately dug in, devouring almost enough beef for two grown n.
"Thank you. Thank you for everything you've done for ," Logan said gratefully.
"No need to ntion it. There are still good people in the world, aren't there?"
"You're right," Logan nodded, his mind drifting through bittersweet mories. But he couldn't help a hint of self-mockery, knowing that good people around him often t bad ends.
"Looks like you had a rough night, kid," lin said with a smile.
"I guess you could say that… Wait, you don't look that old," Logan suddenly realized, puzzled by lin's casual address.
"Appearance never tells the whole story, does it?" lin replied, smiling aningfully at Logan.
Almost on instinct, Logan's hands shot out six gleaming tal claws, his beastly instinct sensing danger despite the ordinary tone of lin's words.
"Is this how you treat soone who just saved you?"
"Uh… sorry." Logan awkwardly retracted his claws, embarrassed by his impulsive reaction.
"No worries."
"I'm Logan."
"Just call lin."
"Thanks, lin. Really, thank you. But I've got sothing important to do. I'll co back to repay you later," Logan said, getting up to leave. Part of him genuinely had unfinished business, and part of him didn't want to drag lin into trouble if his pursuers tracked him here.
But lin's next words froze him in place, making him tense up all over again.
"Logan, you brought trouble with you the mont you stepped into this house. But it's not a big deal. Why don't you sit back and rest a while? Trust , you really need it."
"You're a mutant too?!" Logan blurted out, realizing lin must've read his mind.
"No."
"Then how…"
"There are people with powers in this world who aren't mutants, Logan. You know that better than anyone. You've killed enough of them yourself," lin said casually.
"Hey, buddy, I don't know who you are, but for your own good, stay out of this—" Logan started, but before he could finish, his body froze like a puppet, obediently returning to sit on the couch.
"Calm down, Logan. Beast instincts can warn you of danger, but they can also cloud your judgnt. Try to control them. Rember, you're a man, not a beast." As lin spoke, he wrapped Logan in a gentle field of Cosmos energy.
Soon, the raging fire inside Logan's heart died down, replaced by an unprecedented sense of ease.
"How do you feel?"
"Amazing. I've never felt this relaxed before. How did you… No, I an, thank you." Logan thanked him again, realizing lin truly ant no harm. He felt guilty for almost hurting him earlier.
"Just lending a hand. No big deal. You can do it too — though it's not easy."
"Then… can you tell who you really are? And why you're helping ?" Logan asked.
"For now, just know my na is lin. As for why I'm helping you… it's purely by chance. I just happen to be living here temporarily and happened to run into you. Helping soone in need — do I really need a reason?" lin asked back.
"Well…" Logan didn't know how to respond. Was a reason necessary? Was it not?
But deep down, he knew — lin was a good guy.
Suddenly, though, Logan picked up on sothing else in lin's words. "Wait, you know I escaped? What else do you know?"
"I know everything I want to know, Logan. About you. About Stryker."
"You! Then can you tell where Victor is? It's very important to ," Logan pleaded.
"Well… no."
"You—!" Logan glared at lin's teasing smile, realizing he'd been toyed with. Anger flared again.
"Calm down, Logan. Control it. Don't let it control you," lin reminded gently.
Under the calming influence of the Cosmos, Logan slowly settled down.
"Fine. Since you're not telling where Victor is, can I at least leave?" Logan said helplessly. He felt like sitting in front of lin made him a puppet — toyed with yet unable to lash out. It was maddening.
He just wanted to leave now and find Victor. As for repaying the debt, that could wait.
"No rush. There's a good show coming up. You'll even see an old friend of yours — assuming you still consider him a friend," lin said with a smile.
"Old friend!? They're coming?!" Logan was startled and anxious. "Hey, buddy, I know you've got skills, but they're not people you can ss with. Don't pick a fight. They'll do anything to win…"
"Trust , Logan, I know them better than you do. So relax. If you can't slow down and enjoy life with your long lifespan, the future's going to be pretty boring."
"You…"
"Hmm, finish your coffee. It'll be ti soon," lin said, pouring Logan a cup.
Logan was dumbfounded. Should he drink it or not?
"Go ahead. I learned this especially for Athena. Don't know if she'll like it. You can be my test subject," lin said, lifting his own cup with a smile.
Logan was helpless. He couldn't leave, and he couldn't persuade lin. What else could he do?
eting lin's sincere, slightly mischievous gaze, he sighed and gave up.
He took the coffee, sipped it — and nearly spat it out, coughing violently.
"Cough, cough…"
"Not good?" lin asked, confused. He poured himself a cup and tasted it. It seed fine to him.
"I think you're better suited to eating honey straight than drinking coffee," Logan muttered, feeling like he'd just swallowed a whole jar of sugar. It was absurdly sweet.
"Really? But Athena loves sweets and hates bitterness, so I had to make it this way," lin said, shrugging helplessly.
"…Your daughter must be really happy," Logan said, not knowing how else to respond, squeezing out a complint.
"Thanks, but she's not my daughter. She's my wife," lin corrected him.
"Uh… okay. My bad. So… when can I leave?" Logan asked, praying to escape before his taste buds gave out — even his super-healing might not save him.
"Hmm… let's see… almost ti. Co on, let's step outside," lin said, downing his coffee in one gulp and leading Logan out the door.
Logan, thinking lin just enjoyed toying with him, followed reluctantly, wondering how long it would take before he could track down Victor.
But the mont he stepped outside, his face changed.
The small cottage was surrounded layer upon layer by bullets, rockets, grenades — all suspended mid-air by an invisible force. Beyond that, ard troops encircled them completely.
Yet strangely, the soldiers just stood there without attacking. All the bullets, grenades, even the sparks from the rocket tails, were frozen in place, as if ti itself had stopped.
"This is—! Wait! The sound! I didn't hear any sound!" Logan realized the key point, shocked.
Considering the amount of ammunition, they must have launched multiple attacks, but inside the cabin he hadn't heard a single gunshot.
No voices. No rumbling of armored vehicles. No helicopter blades cutting through the air. Nothing.
Seeing Logan looking at him, lin smiled and said, "I like peace and quiet."
Logan almost stumbled. "Liking peace and quiet" didn't even begin to cover what he was seeing.
At that mont, lin pointed sothing out: "Logan, your old friend is here. Shouldn't you go say hello?"
Following lin's gaze, Logan's eyes sharpened fiercely.
"Yeah. Ti for a proper hello."
User Comments
0 comments from readers