Black Well.
The sixth day after entering silence.
After eating breakfast, Pei Ran followed Lin Yu upstairs as usual for her medical checkup. The moment she appeared behind the glass display, all the doctors outside stared at her with fervent eyes, as if studying some critically endangered rare animal.
If looks were scalpels, she would have already been dissected by now. Against all expectations, she was neither dead nor had she turned into a monster.
This time, she lay on the medical bed even longer than yesterday.
Pei Ran could hear the doctors’ discussions clearly.
“How long has it been since the last injection?”
“About twenty-nine hours.”
“The drug should have worn off long ago. Why are these green lights still so stable?”
“No idea. It’s too strange.”
Pei Ran thought: Not strange at all. With a sheepdog herding them from time to time, it’s hard for the flock to be unstable.
Lying there, she gazed at the curved ceiling of the medical bed, lost in thought: But just herding them like this isn’t a real solution.
Green Light No. 2 had barely eaten a few bites yesterday, its appetite still suppressed by the inhibitor bracelet. As for No. 1 and No. 3, they hadn’t moved at all.
She still needed to find a way to remove the inhibitor bracelet from her wrist and let the ordered-state Green Lights become active again, devouring the remaining “takeout.”
Lin Yu had mentioned yesterday that the bracelet required a special tool to remove. But from Pei Ran’s observation, this flimsy little strap could be torn off by a mechanical hand in a second.
However, it was clear that removing the inhibitor bracelet on her own was illegal.
Pei Ran had gone through great trouble to enter Black Well and even secured a lifetime subsidy. Now, she had food every day without lifting a finger. For the time being, she wasn’t too keen on getting thrown out.
Even after the examination, back in her isolation room downstairs, Pei Ran was still mulling over the issue.
“Ren,” she asked the little robot, “this bracelet has no elasticity—it’s uncomfortable. Can I take it off?”
Ren seemed to know a lot of things. Maybe it had an answer.
Ren glanced at it and was startled. “Of course not! What are you thinking? These inhibitor bracelets have built-in sensors. If you secretly remove it, you’ll be detected immediately.”
It tugged at the bracelet with its metal fingertips. “It is tight—looks uncomfortable.”
After a moment of thought, it added, “Actually, it’s not entirely impossible. I heard from my original owner that military personnel don’t have to wear inhibitor bracelets when leaving Black Well for missions.”
Yesterday, Lin Yu also said something similar. Pei Ran thought, could it be that she even has to enlist?
Ren continued, “I heard they’re short on people. They plan to start recruiting volunteers once the civilians arrive. After you leave the quarantine room, you can go sign up and voluntarily go outside the Black Well to die—so your wrist can feel a little more relaxed.”
Pei Ran: “……”
This wasn’t an unfeasible idea.
If she could leave the quarantine center, the top priority would be to immediately find a way to remove the suppression wristband and go outside the Black Well, to let her green lights return to a healthy state.
Once they recovered, they could devour the frenzied green lights inside her body. Additionally, she could also try to see if she could produce JTN34 pills.
As of now, there was still nothing she could do.
Pei Ran stayed in the quarantine room, one day after another.
Inside the quarantine center, the wristband had no signal, no way to send messages or go online. Pei Ran ate and slept every day, then slept and ate, and spent the rest of her time learning to draw, from morning till night.
Even Ren had changed from the early “Master, are you drawing a ghost?” to “Master, this is a kitten, right? Just the tail’s a bit short.”
Aside from that, she also needed to occasionally herd her sheep.
Number Two didn’t eat much, only took a bite every now and then, but it was enough to scare the frenzied green lights inside her body.
They were herded into behaving properly. Valia and the other doctors were all puzzled, watching Pei Ran every day with confused looks:
So many frenzied green lights had entered this girl’s body, and she’s still living peacefully like this?
After the royals came once, there had been no more movement—maybe they were waiting for her to come out of quarantine, or for her to be turned into a monster by the frenzied green lights.
Pei Ran earnestly lived her life cut off from the world.
The only ones accompanying her each day were the wildly flying Ren and the silent surveillance cameras. Very simple, but calm and stable.
On the morning of the tenth day of quarantine, Valia, as usual, gave Pei Ran a full-body scan and turned around in her swivel chair.
“Pei Ran, with my many years of research experience, I believe the green lights in your body have stabilized. I don’t think you show any signs of mutation. I submitted a report yesterday and applied to end your quarantine.”
She pulled up a document on the screen and turned it to show Pei Ran.
“They approved it this morning. Congratulations, you can leave the quarantine room.”
She reminded her, “From now on, every half month, you must go to Black Well Hospital and find me for a follow-up check. If you feel physically unwell at any time, you can come to me right away.”
The good news came too suddenly.
Pei Ran was silent for a moment and asked, “Then where should I go?”
Valia smiled a little. “You don’t need to be quarantined anymore, of course you can move freely inside the Black Well. They’ve arranged a dorm for you—you’ll receive a notice.”
Sure enough, in the evening, Lin Yu brought a notification slip.
What met her eyes was paragraph after paragraph of text.
Just seeing text made her heart race uncontrollably—this kind of aftereffect probably wouldn’t go away for a long time.
The notice said that Pei Ran’s quarantine had ended, and someone would come to take her out in the evening. It also gave the address of the dormitory arranged by Black Well—
Room 2016, Building 1012, Third Avenue, Yellow Zone.
The back of the notice was printed with a map, which marked the locations of various areas in Black Well.
Apart from the Yellow Zone, there were also the Red Zone, Blue Zone, and so on—all divided by color. Every street was also numbered, making it clear and straightforward. Even someone with no sense of direction wouldn’t get lost. It very much resembled the neat, meticulous management style of an AI.
Ren glided over and caught a glimpse of the notice in Pei Ran’s hand.
“Are we leaving?”
“I’m leaving,” Pei Ran corrected. “Are you coming with me?”
“Of course. What else?” Ren said. “I’m not one of their quarantine center’s people… machines.”
It immediately turned and glided away to start packing.
First, it hauled out Pei Ran’s large bag, stuffed all the medicine she had stored in the cupboard inside, and since there were still some chips left, Ren circled around, found the big cardboard box it had brought for pre-made meal packs, and crammed everything in.
It went to tidy the bed in the bedroom, put all the used kitchenware back in place, bagged the trash and tossed it into the waste processor, wiped down all the countertops, swept the floor once more, and looked around.
“Good as new again!”
Cleaning and organizing didn’t seem like part of its programming—more like its hobby.
While it was busy, Pei Ran changed out of the quarantine center’s jumpsuit and back into her own clothes.
Once both human and machine had packed everything, they waited in the living room with their bags.
Before long, someone arrived outside.
It was Lin Yu, dressed in a hazmat suit. He knocked first before opening the door from the outside.
His eyes, hidden behind the visor, were bright, slightly curved as if he, too, was happy for Pei Ran. “Pei Ran, you’re free to go. I’ll take you downstairs—a dedicated vehicle will take you to your assigned dorm.”
Ren swiftly picked up Pei Ran’s backpack with one hand and the large box stuffed with chips with the other, silently gliding to the door.
Lin Yu had initially meant to help carry the bag but paused, seemingly amused, and stepped aside to make way.
Pei Ran followed leisurely behind them as they took the elevator downstairs.
Pei Ran fished out the e-reader and pen from her pocket and handed them to Lin Yu. “Thank you.”
Lin Yu didn’t take them. “Do you still need them?”
Ren immediately chimed in: “Master’s Thirty-Day Idiot’s Guide is only about one-third finished.”
Pei Ran: You’re the idiot’s guide.
Lin Yu smiled at her. “Keep them. Return them once you’ve finished everything.”
The elevator reached the ground floor. After a full ten days, Pei Ran finally stepped outside the building and saw Black Well again.
The dome was still just as high, the lights still just as starkly bright. Towering skyscrapers stretched from ground to sky on all sides, though most rooms remained dark, still unoccupied.
In front of the tightly sealed gates of the quarantine center, armed soldiers stood guard as always. A vehicle emblazoned with the words “Quarantine Center” waited nearby.
Lin Yu went over to exchange a few words with the driver, then opened the rear door for Pei Ran to get in.
Pei Ran glanced outside. “Is the Yellow Zone far? I could actually walk there myself.”
Lin Yu paused, surprised. “Walk? Black Well is the size of a city. The Yellow Zone isn’t close—it’d take you ages.”
Pei Ran: “Right. I’d like to walk, get a feel for the area.”
Lin Yu seemed to understand and nodded immediately. “Of course, no problem.”
He went to ask the soldiers at the gate to open it, then waited for Pei Ran.
But instead of heading for the exit, Pei Ran walked to the car door. “Changed my mind. I’ll take the ride after all.”
Lin Yu, completely baffled, hesitated before replying, “Sure, much more convenient than walking.”
The fact that he wasn’t insistent on her taking the car made Pei Ran trust it a little more.
Ren, however, was unimpressed: “Your vehicles don’t even have ramps for my glide function? My previous owner’s car did.”
Its base was fitted with disc-shaped suction cleaners, making steps impossible.
Grumbling, Ren shoved the backpack and cardboard box into the car first, then used its arms to hoist itself up, settling steadily onto the back seat.
Pei Ran got in as well, the door automatically closing behind them before the car slowly pulled away from the quarantine center.
The moment they left the quarantine zone, her wristband buzzed—messages flooded in one after another.
From Ai Xia.
Pei Ran switched to full-display mode. The first few were sent as confused cat emojis, as if asking where she was.
Then came text.
[At first, I didn’t dare send text—was afraid you were still outside, and words would make your wristband burn. Then I saw Black Well’s rule: no messages go in or out. So if you’re getting these, you’re inside now, right?]
[We got assigned a dorm! Grandma and I are in Blue Zone, 7th Avenue, Block 0325, Unit 3102.]
[They checked the green light inside me. Said everyone with it has to register, and the inhibitor wristband can’t come off.]
[Today I asked at the quarantine center. They said you’d arrived and were isolating, didn’t know for how long yet.]
[…]
Ai Xia had been messaging daily, sometimes several at a time—like keeping a diary.
[Got assigned today—Grandma and I are handling resettlement for new refugees. We’ll earn supply vouchers. The initial batch they gave us is almost used up.]
[Another full day, worked nonstop for over ten hours. I’m dead tired, but Grandma’s still energetic. Gotta keep going.]
[Pei Ran, today I went to the mining zone outside Black Well to distribute food and medicine. So many people there can’t enter Black Well—their conditions are terrible. It was hard to watch.]
[Heading to the mining zone again today. Probably another late return.]
The last message, sent last night: [It’s been nine days. Are you still in quarantine?]
Pei Ran replied: [Finally out of quarantine.]
No response. Messages couldn’t reach outside Black Well—Ai Xia was probably still busy.
The driver, a middle-aged man in a quarantine center uniform (though without the protective outer layer), sped through the streets, weaving past skyscrapers until abruptly slowing down.
A crowd was crossing the road.
They wore thick, disheveled clothing stained with mud and unidentifiable grime, some splotched with dried dark-brown blood—whether their own or others’, it was impossible to tell.
Their haggard appearance mirrored Pei Ran’s own ten days ago.
The driver stopped, waiting for them to pass. “New refugees,” he said.
Everyone here had clawed their way out of piles of corpses. Their eyes were wary, nerves frayed—a herd of startled animals.
And no one spoke.
As if words had become foreign, the group moved in silence, the only sound the scuffing of their footsteps.
A child, no older than ten, walked hand-in-hand with their mother, equally mute.
The driver watched them for a moment. “Families with kids get assigned the best dorms in the Yellow Zone. Extra supply vouchers too.”
Pei Ran: “Special treatment for children?”
“Yep. Kids are rare now,” he said. “Almost none make it to Black Well alive. Out there, a single sound means death—how could a child survive? And no newborns either.”
A baby’s first cry becomes its last.
Beyond the barrier, natural reproduction is impossible. Without Black Well, the Federation would see no new lives at all.
The refugees passed. The driver accelerated, moving on.
He said, “That’s why Black Well recently issued new regulations—pregnant women and families with children under eighteen are all assigned to the premium zones. Even couples who submit fertility intention forms get their benefits upgraded several tiers.”
If they didn’t incentivize reproduction soon, the children in Black Well would be the Federation’s last. The Federation would go extinct.
Pei Ran understood: “No children means no workers in a few years.”
The driver nodded. “Exactly. The vertical farms, livestock facilities, and production lines are all understaffed.”
As he spoke, he glanced at the rearview mirror and suddenly said, “Why is that car following us?”
Pei Ran turned to look.
A beat-up blue antique car trailed behind them, maintaining a fixed distance. With so few vehicles on the road, it stood out glaringly.
The driver grumbled, “I hate it when people can’t navigate on their own and just tailgate me.”
He abruptly floored the accelerator, yanked the steering wheel, and executed a sharp turn, swerving onto a side road.
Construction zones sprawled everywhere. The car zigzagged through the chaotic streets like a construction site, quickly losing the blue car behind them.
But not long after, at an intersection ahead, the same blue car appeared again, cutting horizontally across their path.
Somehow, it had looped around and intercepted them.
This time, Pei Ran got a clear look at its occupants.
The driver was a burly man, but her focus locked onto the passenger—a leaner man in his thirties.
In his eyes, a vivid green light flickered briefly.
A fused entity.
Even inside Black Well, wearing a suppressor wristband, he could still use his abilities. His green light was tenacious.
No telling what his power was.
This car—and this person—were deeply suspicious.
Ren suddenly spoke up: “Master, I’ve received a high-priority directive instructing us to proceed to the Public Safety Bureau ahead.”
So Black Well had a Public Safety Bureau too.
The directive must have come from W. Even it sensed something wrong.
Pei Ran immediately told the driver, “Change of plans. Take us to the Public Safety Bureau instead of the dorm.”
The driver, though confused, agreed. “Got it.”
He took one hand off the wheel and pointed ahead. “After this tunnel, turn right—that’s the Yellow Zone’s Public Safety Bureau. Not too far.”
Skilled behind the wheel, he kept up the speed even while gesturing and talking, the car gliding into the tunnel like flowing water.
The tunnel had only a single one-way lane, empty enough to see straight through to the other end.
Rynn, seated in the back, had long since securely fastened its seatbelt. On its facial display, its cartoon mouth pressed into a tense, thin line.
It muttered under its breath, “Black Well does have traffic laws, right? Should drivers really chat while speeding like this?”
The driver heard but didn’t take offense, replying offhandedly, “You’re a little robot. Even if we crashed, what’s a hunk of metal like you got to worry about—”
No sooner were the words out of his mouth than—
The driver’s voice cut off abruptly, as if bitten by a mosquito. He slapped his palm against his neck.
Then, in the next second, he went limp and slumped forward over the steering wheel.