Dow and Carbon-Based Monkey Breeding Guidelines

Chapter 897 The Third State
Hannah had found the second pistol in the house.Somehow she managed to hold it in her hand.Maybe she managed to persuade Yu Qingshu to let her take a look, but when Rhodes put the bread knife on Jania's neck, Malcolm immediately held her hand.He didn't need to remind her that Hannah knew full well how difficult it was for a novice shooter to hit the half-heads hiding behind two hostages.

"Let them go!" Yu Qingshu screamed and ran down the stairs.

"Everyone put down their weapons," Lot said. "Be quiet, please?"

He pushed Jania's head forward a little, and the blade made an indentation in the skin of her neck.Yu Qingshu, who had already descended to the living room, stopped.Jania's eyes met hers, and she saw her mother's chest rising and falling, trying to catch her breath. "What do you want?" her mother asked. "What do you want from me?"

"I don't care about your career, madam," said Lot. "I just want to talk to your children."

The second time he asked everyone to put down their weapons, Malcolm gently removed the gun from Hannah's hand, pinching the barrel and placing it on the ground.It is not wise to accept threats from an unexpected visitor who breaks into your home.But Malcolm obviously didn't think it was time to gamble his daughter's life—everyone could see that Rhode didn't have a gun in his hand, and it was not so easy to kill everyone in the house single-handedly.

For this conclusion, Jania and her father hold diametrically opposed views.She believed that Hannah must also feel that something was wrong from her face.They exchanged glances, and Jania guessed she still wanted a chance to get a weapon.But that was too risky for Hannah, so she pressed her lips together hard to signal her strong disapproval of any risky move.

Rhodes let everyone sit on the sofa.Jania left her brother alone, noticing that his eyes were a little distracted.She patted his face, her tentacles cold as stone. "Are you all right?" Jania asked.She held up a finger and waved it in front of her brother's eyes.It took several seconds for her brother's eyes to meet the finger.He stared at her nails stiffly, as if looking at a monster that had never appeared in the world.

"I am fine."

"You're slow to react," said Jania, wagging her finger again.But her elder brother didn't blink, just staring at the air obsessively.He didn't even have the conditioned reflex for moving objects, and Jania suddenly felt the situation was serious.

"A little dizzy." Her brother said, his expression still dull.Jania looked at him worriedly for a moment.

"I need your cooperation." She said softly, "We have to get through this together."

Her brother blinked hard and twisted the back of his hand.The muscles on his face twitched slightly, maybe it was a psychological effect, but he did look a little more awake.

"You'll be fine," he said clearly.This time, his gaze finally followed the movement of her fingers.Jania had to admit she was a little pleased and a little embarrassed at the same time, but she secretly reminded herself that no one could keep anyone safe right now.If she didn't figure it out on her own, everyone in this room would end up in trouble.

She could feel Rod's gaze falling on the back of her head.In fact, pretty much everyone in the room was staring at her.This left Jania a little out of breath.Maybe this is what a novice tightrope feels like, not fright or dread, but a numb vertigo.She subconsciously looked at Hannah, who was indeed staring at her, his face was pale, but his emerald eyes had a bright light.

No one knew that look better than Jania.When Hannah bites her lip, her eyebrows come together in the middle, and the skin on either side of the bridge of her nose is slightly creased, making her look focused, especially like a character in a portrait.Hannah is indeed not like her peers at times, but like a strange goblin who pretends to blend in with human society, but secretly meditates on her own secrets.Jania could hear the subterranean rattling of that superior mind, figuring out how to deal with the situation.She seems to speak with her eyes, Jania, we can't trust this kidnapper's promise, we have to do something.

However, even Hannah, who has a strong imagination, would not understand what she was scruples about.There were five of them, even if it was only three adults, and both Malcolm and her brother seemed tough, and her mom had seen a lot of it.The reason her parents are still sitting still is because Lot is holding a knife.He's a threat, but not threatening enough to be hopeless.Jania would bet that Rod had planned it all on purpose: he kicked Malcolm's gun on the floor into the deepest part of the couch, a false sign of goodwill, leading her parents to believe that the kidnapping was some kind of negotiating purpose, Instead of wanting to create a massacre—otherwise, Rhodes would have to hold the gun in his own hands, right?Her parents no doubt believed that they would rather have Lot steal some property or information from the family than have anyone present get hurt.Only Hannah, the smart and wonderful little witch of the college, Hannah, can always deal with everything calmly and shrewdly even if she has never seen any weird clues.

Given another chance, Jania would have told Hannah, at least in part, of her seaside adventures.In this way, Hannah will definitely realize that the situation in front of her is unusual, and she may even guess Rod's weird ability.But now Jania couldn't tell her anything except to press her chin, like hinting in class that she didn't need help.She was asking Hannah not to do anything, Hannah must understand this, but she didn't know if Hannah could understand the danger of Rhodes from her expression.As Hannah herself admits, sometimes an overactive imagination can lead her astray.

Her mother's face was flushed, her shoulders were trembling slightly, and her eyes wandered between Jania and her brother.Jania could see that she was going nuts for her two children who had clearly suffered.In contrast, Malcolm is quite calm. He has always liked to tell Jania about the things that wanderers may encounter in the wild, including law enforcement and lawbreakers.As far as Jania saw, Malcolm had never been the kind of person who was particularly territorial. Since Jania could still stand upright by herself, he just looked at the intruder and thought about how to start a conversation with him.He'd actually done it before, talking pomegranate chicken and Persian noodle soup to a mugger who broke into a campsite late at night.

No one in the room seemed overwhelmed with fright anymore, unlike Jania's childhood fantasies—yes, when she was a child she always imagined kidnappers breaking into the house or school, and everyone panicking, and she Turn the tide like a hero in an action movie.Such fantasies could not be told to anyone, not even Hannah, so she wondered if other people had fantasies like this.Maybe everyone has fantasized like this, then she is an ordinary layman; maybe only she likes to think like this, then she is a freak out of place.Anyway, at this moment she suddenly felt that she wasn't that special, or that, in some ways, everyone was a freak.

"I really don't want to interrupt your family gathering like this." said the only foreign freak, "ma'am...and this..."

Malcolm reported his name aggressively, completely oblivious to Jania's stare at him.Rhodes looked at him carefully for a few seconds.

"I didn't think I'd see you tonight," he said. "People in town say there's a mother and daughter living in this house."

It seemed to Jania at once that it was a curious and thought-provoking remark.It was so obtrusive that she almost made her suspect that Malcolm was also harboring some amazingly big secret.But Malcolm didn't look like a guilty man at all.He grinned almost ignorantly, and said in a slightly naive tone, "Oh, I'm often out of town."

"You came back in the last few days." Rhodes asked slowly, "But for what?"

"For a working holiday?" Malcolm said innocently.He and Yu Qingshu looked at each other, obviously getting a warning from his spouse.He cleared his throat and said in his friendliest and most endearing voice, "Sir, if you want something from my wife, I propose that we—"

"I'm only interested in your children, sir." Rhodes interrupted him, and Malcolm's face wrinkled. "Now, please allow me to talk to your daughter in detail."

There was urgency in his tone.Jania had to turn around to face the monster's gaze. "Okay," she said, as unafraid as she could possibly be, "let's talk alone."

She puts the accent on the word "alone," hoping it would annoy Lot a little, only to get her parents freaked out. "Jenia?" Malcolm asked tentatively, sounding as if she had done something bad as a child, and Malcolm was about to help her cover it up from her mother.Needless to say, they must now feel that it has something to do with her.And worst of all, Jania couldn't tell herself.Her head was buzzing, and she really wanted to just lie on the ground and do nothing.But of course she couldn't really do this, but forced herself to stare at Rhodes, wondering what to do next.

Lot showed a look of consideration.Jania had no way of knowing what he was thinking, she could only guess that Rod didn't want too many people to hear about Klein, so he would prefer to talk to her alone.Which was a good thing, because if he didn't care to let her parents hear it, it might imply the worst, and he wasn't prepared to let anyone survive—but who knew?Maybe Rod saw one step further than her, he deliberately let her think so.Although Jania vaguely felt that Rhodes was not like a person who was good at concealing and coaxing, he lacked some necessary and stable self-control, and people with mental problems often couldn't follow the pre-arranged plans.Can Lot?She really didn't know enough about this freak.

She was silent, and Lot had already made a decision. "Let's just talk at the door." His eyes twinkled and his voice was kind. "It helps you talk more, doesn't it, where your parents can see it?"

Of course, Jania thought, it would also be handy for you to keep an eye on the house.The distance between the hallway and the sofa in the living room is indeed just right. Every time her mother receives a call in the living room, if she doesn't want to go up the stairs to the study, she will go to the hallway and whisper.And as long as the TV is on in the living room, the person sitting on the sofa can't hear anything clearly.

At the moment, the TV is off.But Rhodes' eyes had already landed on the record player that Malcolm had brought out.He walked over, fondled the brass horn with interest, and tapped on the wooden base cabinet. "Very delicate." He opened the cabinet and checked the records inside. "Aha!" he exclaimed in satisfaction.

Behind him, Malcolm has quietly stood up from the sofa.He might have considered trying to find the pistol from under the sofa, but it was too noisy and too slow to fish it out on his stomach, so he immediately stared at the kitchen again, weighing whether if he ran out, he would be able to save it in Luoyang. Come back and fight before you have to take a hostage.

Jania's expression changed.She shook her head violently at Malcolm, gestured him to sit back, and mouthed him that it wasn't going to work - she'd already done it!They were indeed father and daughter, and if she hadn't seen Lot's strange ability with her own eyes, she would have thought exactly the same way as Mal.Malcolm had noticed her reminder, and as her most loyal field playmate of childhood, he had read her meaning at once.After hesitating for almost half a second, he sat back in his original position and put his hand on his spouse's arm, making Yu Qingshu unable to move.Jania's heart was relieved, and she couldn't express her feelings for a while.Mal!He was always so muddled, but it was hard not to love him who knew him.Because he is so good at listening and observing, never let people down at critical moments.

Almost as soon as Malcolm sat down, Rhodes turned around with a record.Jania didn't know if he caught their little trick, or if he didn't care.In any case, he was satisfied with the record he had found.

"I rarely admit that Germans have a real capacity for humor," said Rhodes, and both Jania and Malcolm couldn't help looking at him, "but you often have something interesting to say about the French."

Jania squinted, trying to read the label on the record.She didn't know when Malcolm collected these things, maybe Malcolm didn't know it himself.But the record must be old, and the label on it has been blurred, so she really can't see it clearly.It can't be a record of military songs from World War II, can it?That didn't seem like something Malcolm would like at all.He was an anti-pacifist through and through.

Rhodes turned to change the record.He lowered the tonearm, adjusted the speed, and an orchestral music flowed from the horn.The melody was bright and enthusiastic, but not impassioned, not like the parade or march that Jania imagined.It was more like some kind of dance music, and it was familiar to her. The name was on her lips, but she just couldn't say it for a while.But she didn't have time to think about such trivial matters. Lot turned around in the happy melody, covered in dirty blood, with a sick smile on his face, and made an inviting gesture to her—it was really human Hellish scene.Jania took a deep breath and walked towards the entrance.The cheerful melody released from the record gradually moved away from her, but the chill followed her footsteps and approached.

She walked to the door, leaned against the shoe cabinet, and looked back at the living room over the closet.In fact, it was only a dozen or so steps away, but when viewed from the entrance, there was a strange sense of distance.The lights were bright and warm, and the music was beautiful and moving. Her relatives and friends were all sitting on the sofa, with stiff postures and dull expressions.The scene is so deliberate, so small and lifeless, it's like a set in a doll's house.As long as she stretches out her hand, she can grab any toy figurines from the window of the dollhouse and adjust them into satisfactory positions and postures.

If only she could just grab Rod out of the house and throw him into Leo's kennel—Jennia suddenly realized what was missing in the house.Was Leo still locked up in her bedroom?But it never ignores strangers visiting.In normal times, it would have roared.Fortunately, it didn't do this, because Jania wasn't sure if Rhodes would make an example.He probably wouldn't kill her family right away, for that story about Klein, but a dog... she knew a lot of psycho killers started with cats and dogs.She could only hope that Leo had fallen asleep in her bedroom, for as long as possible.She tried not to let the horrible thought emerge too clearly: if they were unlucky tonight, Leo might be the only one alive in the house.

The cold air approached her.Jania forced herself to look away from the warm and bright living room to the shadow that was close to her.Under the light, the smile on Rhodes' face reminded her of the son of the Judith family, the Nick Judith whom she had cleaned up.It's very similar. When Judith talked about "The Pious" chewing up a nest of chicks that fell to the ground, the expression on his face was like Lot's state at the moment.In the future, she will definitely pay more attention to Judith's affairs, provided that she survives tonight.

can she do itThat's really hard to say.Maybe Rhodes was really interested in the matter of Klein, so he was willing to let them go, but that was just Jania's wishful thinking.When she saw the expression on Lot's face, a voice stronger and truer said in her heart: Look, this is what a murderer looks like, he wants to surprise you, he wants to be with you when you are loose. Twist the necks of your family members in one breath, and then kill you too.You have to be smart.

She should be smarter, but what should she do?Jania stood still, countless thoughts turned in her mind, some of them had no reason, and some were obviously inspired by novels or movies.Yet she didn't have to sort them out to know that they were all worthless.She was deeply aware that this was the reality: when you suddenly bumped into something unknown and dangerous, the little cleverness accumulated in common sense experience will not help after all.Unless you're already well-prepared—that is, as prepared as planes, tanks, or even an entire army—you can't do anything.

This isn't an infallible comedy like Home Alone.This time, the quick wit that had allowed her to send Klein to prison might not be able to help her again.This frustrating thought made her heart thump, her hands and feet were numb, as if she had really become a fool who was at a loss.Now that she was really going to act, she couldn't believe that she still hadn't come up with a good story, one that would hint at her brother and get them to tell the same lie.This should be a breeze, shouldn't it?They have so many experiences in common, the tacit understanding between them should be second only to her and Hannah.But damn it, she just couldn't think of anything at such a critical moment.What happened to her?Spooked by tonight's string of weird events?
Perhaps Lot harbored a knack for sniffing out the guilt of others.The more nervous and flustered Jania was, the more proud Rhode looked.He even pretended to ask Jania if she wanted a glass of water.Jania agreed angrily, just wanting to delay a little longer, but Rhodes ordered Hannah in the living room to get her a glass of water.

Hannah obeyed the order calmly.Because she was worried about her safety, instead of seizing more opportunities, Jania became more half-hearted.Damn, Rod was clearly playing her, he was using Hannah to get her upset.

"I think we can start now," Rhodes urged. "Come on, tell your brother's funny travel story. Don't worry about your family, they're enjoying the music."

The music in the distance has reached a new stage.The living room echoed with the melody of a solo violin.The smooth and clear tune suddenly aroused Jania's memory.Of course she knew the name of the piece, and it had something to do with the group presentation she was going to do this week!Was it not the Romantic dramatists who forsook the Trinity?Hannah loved the stuff, and when her mind was full of termites and prisons, Hannah was watching the best episodes with gusto.Jania was absent-minded at the time, but the handed down works do have a way of getting into other people's heads—isn't the one picked by Rhodes exactly "Orfeo in Hell"?That happy and ironic prelude.Maybe this is the joke that Lot wants to play with her at this moment!Look, what a "Jenia in Hell."

Holding a glass of water, Hannah slowly approached them.Jania pursed her lips, remembering that her brother once told him a story about a water glass and a devil.Her favorite witchcraft story ever, and who's to say that Colein isn't a devil?She had no choice but to take the water glass, looking towards the living room, hoping that her brother would notice that her fingers were running on the side of the glass.Can he understand?Does he remember that story?Jania could remember almost every story he had told, but not necessarily the other side.She had to risk giving more hints, so she turned the cup silently, hoping that her brother would remember how the devil was summoned: a cup full of tears of good people, turned in the right order, and the devil came from manifested in the cup.She turned the cup gently and slightly, three times clockwise and three times counterclockwise——

The doorbell rang behind her.

　Happy Children's Day everyone!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)