It was an ordinary enough question, but Lin Aida's expression flickered with a hint of panic.
Homelander chuckled, easing the tension. "It's fine. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."
Lin Aida hesitated before finally replying, "Mr. John, it's not that I don't want to tell you. I'm just afraid… afraid you won't believe me. You'll think I'm some kind of freak."
Homelander laughed, motioning to the waiter and ordering a few dishes. Then, lowering his voice, he said, "You know, people call me a freak all the time. Some even mutter 'monster' or 'psycho' under their breath."
He shrugged. "But I don't care."
Lin Aida looked at him with envy. "You're really at peace with yourself."
She leaned back, pressing against the wall as if seeking some sense of security.
"I don't have many friends. No one really talks to me like this."
She took a deep breath, seeming to muster courage before continuing. "Mr. John, have you ever heard of sleepwalking?"
Homelander poured tea into both their cups and nodded. "I know about it."
Hearing the tea pour, Lin Aida murmured a thanks and went on. "Sleepwalkers wake up to find themselves in strange places. My situation… it's kind of similar."
"But I'm not a sleepwalker," she added, carefully picking her words. "It's just… like this. Let's say I live on the fourth floor of an apartment building. Sometimes, when I open my door to go outside, I'm suddenly… in the middle of a busy street."
"Sometimes it's daytime when I leave, but when I step through, it's night. I can tell from the air and the way people are talking around me."
"Like yesterday, I was planning to just go buy some groceries. But as soon as I stepped outside… I was in the middle of a street. I have no idea how I got there. I only know that there was a lot of screaming around me."
Lin Aida clutched her chest as if reliving the experience. "I was terrified, but I've learned to stay calm. I just pretended nothing was wrong and walked away."
No, no. The ones who were really terrified were the people around her.
She'd walked straight out of a collapsed building. Anyone witnessing that scene would have been dumbfounded.
Homelander took a sip of tea. "Sounds… intriguing. Do you always end up in the same place?"
Lin Aida shook her head. "I don't think so."
"How do you get back?" he asked, genuinely curious.
"After two or three hours, I just need to find any door—any door will do—and I'll end up back home," she replied.
"Does this happen regularly?" he inquired.
Lin Aida cradled her tea. "Not really. Sometimes it only happens once or twice a month. Other times, it's as frequent as four or five times a week."
Interesting.
It seemed her "dimension travel" ability required going through a door—any door worked. To return, she only needed to wait two to three hours before using another door to get back.
It didn't seem to have a strict time limit, but it was clear her ability was uncontrollable and triggered at random.
Both the timing of her "trips" and her destinations were entirely unpredictable.
Homelander frowned slightly. If he wanted to travel with her, he'd need to keep her close by. Kidnapping her back to the Seven Tower seemed like an option, but he quickly dismissed it.
After all, getting back would depend on Lin Aida. If he scared her off or if something happened to her, he might not have a way back.
She'd mentioned having few friends—possibly none at all. Maybe he could be her friend? A friend who just happened to know her little secret?
Yes, that seemed like the ideal approach, though it didn't sit well with him. True friendship required genuine trust, and he suspected Lin Aida was more sensitive than most people.
If he was going to befriend her, he'd have to show her his true self, put in genuine effort.
But he wasn't one to offer up his heart so readily. He'd long outgrown the age where he'd bare his soul to anyone he met.
Once they finished their meal, Homelander stood up and offered, "If you don't mind, may I walk you home?"
Regardless of whether they ended up as friends, it would be useful to know her address for future encounters.
Lin Aida didn't refuse.
They strolled down the street together, but Homelander didn't need to glance over his shoulder to know that the three men from earlier were following them.
After a few blocks, they arrived outside her apartment building.
"Would you like to come up for a moment?" Lin Aida asked politely.
Homelander glanced around. The area was isolated, the alley quiet, and the three men lurked at the entrance.
"Sure," he replied, accepting without hesitation.
He stayed in Lin Aida's apartment for a short time, but didn't impose, leaving before she could feel pressured.
As he stepped into the hallway, a blaring electric guitar suddenly echoed from the unit across the hall, causing Homelander to frown.
A quick scan revealed a long-haired man thrashing his guitar wildly in the neighboring room. Seeing he posed no threat, Homelander relaxed and left.
There was no elevator in the building, so he descended the stairs. Just as he reached the landing, he heard a faint conversation from the first floor.
"That white guy still hasn't left."
"We'll wait until he's gone, then go pay that blind girl a visit."
"The guy across from her always makes so much noise every night."
"Once we're inside, no one's gonna hear a thing."
"Hey, she's pretty hot, right? Maybe we should… you know… have some fun with her before we take her stuff?"
They continued on with vulgar, lecherous talk.
Homelander scoffed, resting his hand on the railing as he descended the stairs.
At the bottom of the stairwell, the three men were either slouched on the steps or leaning against the wall, smoking.
The one with a lip piercing noticed Homelander descending and nudged his friend, signaling them to clear the way.
As Homelander passed by, he stopped, turning back to them. "If you're planning to rob someone's apartment, maybe keep your voices down. Even the deaf could hear you."
He shrugged casually. "Then again, it's not really your fault. You brainless, gutter-dwelling filth are no better than half-evolved apes."
"Isn't that right… chimpanzees?"
The man with the lip piercing threw down his cigarette, drawing a handgun from his waistband and pointing it at Homelander's head. "Can't let him leave. He'll rat us out."
"Kill him and toss him in the trash!" shouted another man with an earring.
At that moment, they watched in horror as this seemingly unremarkable white man reached out and gripped the gun in the lip-pierced man's hand.
With a casual squeeze, the weapon crumpled into a ball of twisted metal.
The man's fingers snapped along with it. As he opened his mouth to scream, a hand clamped down, muffling him.
Homelander raised a finger to his lips and whispered, "Shh… you're too loud."
Then, with one swift motion, his grip tightened. The man's head exploded like a watermelon under a sledgehammer, splattering the walls with gore.
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