Though he would have hung around for a while longer, the lingering threat of unemployment made Yan Lidong begrudgingly head back to the Guild. As the woman said, the place was completely deserted, despite the fact that he hadn't locked the door beforehand. He really needed to ask for more details about his job later, but he had a sneaking suspicion that they'd laugh and say that the Guild was magically protected by their abilities.
Just as he sat behind the front desk, the door opened. Surprisingly, it was—
"Oh, my kidnapper!" Yan Lidong gasped. "Welcome."
"Will you stop calling me that?!" she cried, her ears flushing red.
"I know, I know. But nobody else is around, so no harm done, right?" he smiled. "Then, the Warden. How may I assist you?"
She frowned slightly. "...right. Nothing much. I heard a new clerk filled the position, and I wanted to come say goodbye in advance. If it's you, though, I have a bit of hope."
"Goodness. I must say, hearing praise from one of the most powerful people in the world is quite flattering."
"You heard about that?" she furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm not sure which I prefer—having lovesick employees or one who uses the work computer to go on the internet."
"My employers are quite hopeless, too," Yan Lidong teased. "No keys to the doors, no job description… I don't even know the password to the computer. Once it shuts off, I'll have no way to access it."
"Geez, they didn't even tell you that?" she groaned. "Actually… I think that makes sense. The Guild is protected by a shield I made, so there's no need to lock the doors. And the password is 1222."
"I wish I was surprised," Yan Lidong sighed.
"...you're not asking about the password?"
"Is it important?"
She gazed at him thoughtfully. "No… it's nothing. Just thought it'd be a bit familiar."
At her words, Yan Lidong suddenly seemed to recall something, when the sound of chatter interrupted them. The door was pushed open.
"...I know that mask makes you look cool and mysterious or whatever, but you can take it off now. I'm sure it's stifling." Hunter, who had just walked in, was dragging someone along behind him. Then, he looked to the side, perking up as he caught sight of Yan Lidong. "Right, the new front-desk worker! His name is—"
The person beside him shook his head with resignation. "Forget it, he'll be gone soon anyway."
"But, my Lord—!"
"I have enough headaches as is," the man said, slowly removing his mask.
Yan Lidong languidly glanced over. Then, his eyes widened with shock, and for a moment, he stopped breathing entirely. He was suddenly very, very thankful that the Lord stopped Hunter when he did.
Though the man before him looked more mature, with his features more prominent and chiselled, Yan Lidong could recognise him immediately.
Chen Xie.
Chen Xie, that little brat who always followed him around, and who he had been so worried about, was alive and well. More than well, in fact; it seemed he couldn't be doing better.
During Yan Lidong's nap (coma), Chen Xie had completely grown up, and he was just as handsome as people thought he would be. In fact, he may have even exceeded expectations.
So, he's doing well after all, Yan Lidong mused.
On one hand, Yan Lidong was truly overjoyed to see a familiar face in this hostile environment. On the other…
He fell into thought, quickly sifting through his memories. Truthfully, he had quite a few gripes with Chen Xie that he had never settled. Given that he was alive and very well off, surely, he had no use for Yan Lidong's worry. Instead, learning that Chen Xie was now dealing with two of the most coveted people in the world battling for his affection… what better time was there to stir up trouble?
"You must be the Lord I've heard so much about," Yan Lidong said, his tone uncharacteristically enthusiastic. His eyes curved into crescents with a half-excited, half-malicious grin. "Pleased to meet you."
Chen Xie felt a strange shiver down his spine. "...likewise."
"What are you doing here?" the Warden quickly cut in, furiously signalling with her eyes at Yan Lidong to keep quiet.
"No, what are you doing here? Don't tell me you and Piper are betting on how quickly the clerk gets fired—"
She glared at him. He immediately clammed up.
"We need to look over the recent zombie attacks," Chen Xie said, looking at Hunter with a hint of pity. "Today's horde was unusual."
"I thought things would finally die down after the zombie king died, but they're as aggressive as ever. Seriously, why can't they just die already?" Hunter whined.
"They're already dead," the Warden deadpanned. "So, um… new kid," she said, turning to look at Yan Lidong. She jumped at his strange smile, but quickly recovered. "Can you pull up the data?"
"My pleasure. Is there any particular pattern you have in mind?" he asked, removing his gaze from Chen Xie, who finally felt his goosebumps go away.
Chen Xie shook his head. "Zombies have always attacked sporadically, so it's difficult to say, but they're quite uncoordinated. If they attack in groups of more than five, that's a cause for concern."
"Right? If they're going in groups, then that usually means the zombie king has a grander plan, but, you know… the zombie king's already.." Hunter trailed off.
The Warden frowned. "Don't say anything ominous. With your cursed mouth, you'll probably make it come true."
Yan Lidong ignored their bickering, focusing on his task. He noticed that there were multiple spreadsheets on the computer, containing data from City 1 to City 10; those must be all the "inner cities" He Jiuyu and Botany mentioned.
He scrolled through the information, raising an eyebrow. "It seems the quantity really has increased in recent times. Especially…" he shifted the screen around, tapping a column. "City 5. The activity's been calming down, but now, City 1's numbers have been gradually increasing."
"...I see," Chen Xie muttered, glancing at Yan Lidong's hand. His gaze lingered for a moment before he lightly shook his head and looked away. "Hunter, let's go. We were set to go to City 5 anyways, so we might as well scope out the situation."
"Me? Really? But the Warden's right here!"
The Warden leaned against the wall, her arms crossed. "I'll catch up later, but I have a bit more business here."
Chen Xie simply nodded, ushering Hunter out. He turned to look at the Warden, "I need to debrief with you a bit individually, so let me know when you have time. We'll go clean up the mess first."
As they left, Yan Lidong slowly turned to look at the Warden, his smile blindingly bright. "I have a quick question for you, if you don't mind?"
She shivered, avoiding eye contact. "...if I say that I do mind?"
"Ah, but it's really quite small," he said. "I'd just like to know where you guys hold your meetings."
She scanned his expression warily. "That's it? You're not asking about… you know. Him?"
He smiled. "Of course I know who he is. That's why I'd like to know a bit more about his current circumstances. You know—out of the kindness of my heart."
With great hesitation, she looked him over once again. "If you're asking about our headquarters, it's actually attached to the Guild, just behind that door over there." she pointed with her thumb at a door right next to the front desk. "That's why the clerks are always susceptible to, well… that."
Yan Lidong tilted his head. "'That'? What, falling in love? Goodness, you're quite innocent."
"Shut up!" she hissed, once again flushing red.
"Well, in any case, thank you very much. I'll help you with your aforementioned 'business', if you'd like."
"It was nothing, really. I just need to… check on something in the other room. You can continue," she said, heading towards the door she just pointed out.
Yan Lidong quietly watched as she left.
"Chen Xie…" he muttered, tapping his lips as he spoke. Perhaps that name had already been long forgotten, replaced only by "the Lord." If Botany and He Jiuyu's conversation was anything to go off of, perhaps even Yan Lidong was no longer in his memories. He chuckled softly—in the end, he was destined to be forgotten, after all.
He shook his head. He had no time for longing; instead, he started scavenging through the desk drawers for a sheet of paper and a pen.
Rather than being forgotten, Yan Lidong was afraid that things would die down too quickly, so what better way to throw some excitement into the mix than a love letter? He made sure to wildly change his handwriting, since Chen Xie had been intimately familiar with it... When they were younger, at least.
Based on the internet forums he browsed, Chen Xie was incredibly popular among the citizens, but few were able to deliver their love letters to him. Most of the time, they would strangely "disappear" before reaching the Guild, and if they delivered them in person, they never received a reply.
Still, as a front-desk worker, Yan Lidong hoped that he might have some perks. If they found out, then he would get fired. As he wrote, though, he slowly came to terms with it. Worst-case scenario, he would peel off his mask and try again.