Jian took a short nap and woke up by late evening dazedly. The new surroundings kind of threw him off for a second. But soon he adjusted to his new room arrangements.
"This place is much better than that closet," grinning, he got up and went to the bathroom. The rooms all had shared bathrooms, and right now, they were all empty because the workers were all at the construction site.
He took a long shower and cleaned up all the bruises on his body. Even though Grandma was old, she still packed a mean punch. Every one of her hits left behind a welt and a bruise. His face was the one which was in the worst situation. His right eye was swollen and blue, making him look like a freshly picked blueberry.
He changed into his clothes and walked out into the construction site. From the distance, he could spot his grandfather doing some work as he chatted with some of his coworkers. The work conditions seemed very safe, and everyone was in a good mood.
"It's good that he found work here. But soon, we have to leave." In about six or so months, the world was going to come to an abrupt stop. The Graylings were going to attack them. Even though their village was not one of the first sites to be attacked, it was still destroyed in the first three days of the attack.
"The fruit orchard... we need to go there." When the wave first hit, they had hidden in the subway stations underground for a while. But the Graylings had sniffed out their hiding spot. He had carried his grandma off to the fruit orchard where they lived for a few more years. After that, they had moved close to the city so that Grandma could meet with Bian often.
"I need to prepare a stash of food... and weapons." A normal knife was completely useless against a Grayling. Those creatures had octopus-like bodies, but their skin was very hard to pierce. Their only weak spots were the insides of their mouth and under their non-existing jaws. Otherwise, killing one would be a struggle. During the first wave of attacks, the humans lost so badly because their bullets and high-tech weapons were not able to even make a scratch on their skin.
"I can't postpone my self-defense classes anymore. It's more vital than education right now." His plans to join Taekwondo had been instructed too many times. But now that he was out of that wretched house, he would have ample time to join in on the class.
"Young Bian? There is someone here to see you," one of the workers called for him. Jian knew exactly who that person was. He quickly put on a serious expression and walked up to the gate. Weirdly, they had not let Bian into the compound and was made to wait outside.
The annoying younger brother of his was prancing around, biting his lips. As soon as he noticed him walking close, he clung to the gate. "Bian... what happened? I woke up, and you were gone... why are you here? Come home," he grabbed his hand and pulled him.
Jian stood his ground. "Are you still going to pretend?" Bian's tear-filled expression cracked slightly, letting out that anger he was holding in. "What do you mean?"
"I asked, are you still going to pretend? I thought we were past that stage," he grinned. Bian pretended to look innocent. "Even though we fight, we are brothers, Jian. We have to live together. We should not let go of each other."
"Yeah, no," Jian chuckled. "I'm not your brother." Bian's expression completely fell. His red eyes were wide as saucers as he gazed at him. "W-what are you talking about? We... we are..."
Before he could finish his pitiful acting, Jian grabbed his arm and pulled him close. The gate in between them stopped him from doing anything impulsive and hitting him. "You know exactly what I am," he whispered close to his ears.
This time, Bian's expression looked completely shocked. "I…."
"Shhh, don't say any of your lines. I'm bored seeing your acting skills. Me and Grandpa have left that house, so we have nothing to do with each other. The next time you think of bothering him or me..." he simply grinned. "I'll show you what an alien bitch can do."
He subtly rubbed the space between his eyebrows where that stone was embedded in. Bian backed away, stumbling and mumbling to himself. Without a word, the boy ran away. Jian scoffed. 'Why was I scared of that?'
He once again rubbed the stone through his skin. Initially, he had planned to stay with Bian to know the truth about his stone, but he threw that plan right out the window. 'I managed to survive so many years in that world without any magic powers or position. I can do the same this life too.'
"Jian! Your grandpa is calling you," one of the foremen who was their roommate called for him from the distance. "Yes," he ran to him. "Is there meat?"
"Yes... what happened to your face?"
"Just fell down the stairs. I'm fine now. Besides, do you know something? I'm going to be staying with you guys in the room?" The foreman raised a brow. "What? Is that even allowed?"
"I asked that foreign guy. The tall one with pale white hair."
"You asked the owner?!"
"Yes, what is his name?" Jian had been too concentrated on enjoying that day to ask him his name. The foreman shook his head. "Dunno, that guy doesn't talk much to us."
"Oh... I'll ask him the next time he comes around."