Fang marks

Chapter 13: Lost on the Island

After staying up all night, Lila Bennett slept through the morning, recovering most of his energy. When he woke up, he played a newly downloaded game for a while, then dressed and left his room. As he passed the staircase, he glanced upwards.The third floor was silent, even the hallway lights were off.After hesitating, Lila decided not to go upstairs.He went downstairs, encountering a maid along the way. She was meticulously polishing a large floor-standing vase in the corridor with a silk handkerchief, silently.Seeing Lila, she nodded politely.The corridor was long and extended into the depths of the building.It was another quiet day on the island, like night.Lila stepped out of the house, and all he could see was white snow.He took a walk around the house, looked up, and found his room. Continuing to look upward, he saw the third floor, where Alexander Reed resided.All the windows on the third floor were covered by curtains.Lila, not having a good sense of direction, couldn't tell which room they had worked on the puzzle in last night.He couldn't know which dimly lit room Alexander Reed was sleeping in either.Alexander slept during the day and woke at night.His sleep was so light that the entire building adjusted to his schedule.Lila had nothing to do, but he didn't feel bored. The puzzle from last night seemed to have effectively eased his restlessness. He initially planned to take a walk by the lake but met a maid drying mountain mushrooms on a small clearing by the woods.This was the first time Lila had met someone from the kitchen.The mushrooms being dried were the ones he had eaten last night. They tasted delicious, and he didn't expect that kind of mushroom to be native to the island.The maid, with great patience, was hanging plump mushroom caps on thin strings, as if crafting an exquisite piece of artwork.Despite the absence of sunlight, the area was well-ventilated, and the mushrooms would dry quickly for preservation.Lila watched for quite some time.The maid only noticed him when she turned around.Lila was wearing a knitted hat and a thick scarf, his small face looking very gentle, a look that naturally evoked affection.He asked if these were the same mushrooms he had eaten last night.They exchanged a few words, and the maid told him that all the food on the island was prepared by an elderly woman surnamed Bai. However, Granny Bai loved the kitchen the most and didn't like to come out, so Lila had never seen her.There might be more people on the island that Lila hadn't met yet, and there were also many places he hadn't visited.Lila suddenly remembered Sebastian mentioning a livestock farm last time.It was said that they raised cows, sheep, deer, and other animals there.He wanted to see the farm, so he asked for directions."The road is easy to find, just one path," the maid pointed out, then reminded him, "But it's four or five kilometers away. If you don't want to walk, you can ask Sebastian to send a driver."Four or five kilometers didn't seem too far.Lila had the entire afternoon to spare.He didn't want to trouble anyone, so he said goodbye and followed the maid's directions.The island was sparsely populated and undeveloped, making the path near the main road hard to find.Lila took some time to finally get on the right path.The snow was deep, but luckily there were some traces of carts along the way, and street lamps lit the way for the people who were only active at night on the island.Following the street lamps, Lila walked for over an hour, encountering two or three squirrels and a deer with beautiful antlers.Just when he was beginning to doubt his direction, he saw the farm in the woods.It was a few buildings located beside a low hill.The area was quite large, enclosed by a wooden fence. In the center were piles of hay, where a few cows and sheep were chewing on the grass, and a newborn lamb was trembling as it nursed under its mother.Lila, slightly out of breath, broke into a sweat after the long walk.He stood outside the fence, watching for a few minutes.It was a beautiful sight.He took out his phone and snapped a few pictures. Once the lamb stopped nursing, he walked along the fence to the other side.Inside the shed were deer, with ample space. They leisurely nibbled on dry grass on the ground, indifferent to the outsider's presence.Lila also saw some poultry, eggs in the hay, and a small plot of frozen, stiff vegetables.But there were no people around.Perhaps the workers were busy elsewhere.Eventually, Lila discovered the slaughterhouse.It was a room of about 40-50 square meters, equipped with chains, tables, and various iron hooks, knives, and cleavers, all neatly arranged.Despite being well-kept, the bloodstains on the tables and floor from years of slaughter were still visible.The air carried a faint scent of blood.A cow, split open from its belly, hung on the wall. It seemed to have struggled before death, its lifeless eyes wide open.Lila felt nauseated and almost vomited.He stepped back a few paces, nearly knocking over a bucket in the corner.The bucket, half-filled with blood—whether cow's or something else's—sloshed, spilling a few drops on the floor as Lila's heel struck it.A scene suddenly flashed in Lila's mind.Alexander Reed, dressed in a robe, sat there lazily, holding a glass filled with bright red liquid.His long hair draped over his shoulders, his eyes half-closed as he took a sip from the glass.Then he looked up, his pupils reflecting a deep crimson.Lila's heart raced wildly.He didn't want to stay there any longer and turned to leave.This time, passing by the lively, warm-blooded cattle and sheep, he didn't look back.After walking for a short distance, he came face-to-face with someone.He froze.It was the boy he had met on the boat when he first came to the island.A month had passed, and the boy's expression hadn't changed; he still looked unapproachable.The boy was pushing a cart full of hay, dressed like a farmer. The handcuffs on his wrists were gone, and he seemed to have adapted to life here.So, he was brought here after all?Was this considered forced labor?Their previous encounter on the boat was unpleasant, and Lila didn't think the boy would talk to him.The path was narrow. As the boy passed with the cart, Lila instinctively stepped aside and heard him say, "You're back."Lila was astonished.His first thought was—he's not mute?The boy stopped in front of Lila.It was just the two of them here, so it was clear he was talking to Lila."Yes," Lila replied softly.The boy, still expressionless, said, "Sorry about what happened on the boat last time."This caught Lila off guard. He wasn't someone who held grudges. Since the boy apologized, he forgave him. "It's okay, it's already in the past.""On the island, wounds heal quickly. No matter what the injury, as long as they don't want you to die, you'll recover," the boy explained, as if hinting at something. "So, you shouldn't come to the island with wounds."Lila's heart skipped a beat. He anxiously asked, "Why?"But the boy fell silent.Lila's thoughts raced, recalling his palm wound and the worker who had been impaled by antlers.Such a severe injury, yet Dr. Ling said he'd be fine. According to the boy, would that man's wound heal just like the cut on Lila's palm?This had no scientific basis; how could it be possible?The two stood in silence.The boy didn't seem willing to say more.It was awkward.Lila changed the topic. "Do you work here?""For two years," the boy said. "I'll only be here for two years."Lila replied, "...Oh."The boy probably signed some sort of agreement, just like Lila did.The boy's face remained stoic. "My name is Alexander Reed Ziming."Then, he pushed the cart away.Lila stood there for a while, realizing that the boy was responding to the "Hello, my name is Lila Bennett" he'd said on the boat.But, how coincidental that this boy's surname was also Reed. Could there be some connection to Alexander Reed?*On the way back, Lila was lost in thought.Alexander Reed in relation to the island, Alexander Reed in relation to Alexander Reed himself—he seemed to have sensed something but couldn't quite grasp it.The things he found after posting on the forum last time seemed to have some connection to everything here.Yet, whenever he thought of the people on the island, thought of Alexander Reed, it felt far removed from those absurd ideas.Alexander Reed frightened him.But he also gave him a strong sense of security.This complex mix of emotions created a strange feeling, trapping Lila in a web he couldn't and didn't want to escape.Standing in the woods, he suddenly stopped.Unknowingly, he had strayed from the path back to the main road.The forest seemed boundless.Towering fir trees, dried bushes, and the distant coastline.Lila realized he was lost.He tried several directions but couldn't find the path back or the farm. He took out his phone, the compass worked, but he couldn