Although they were not identical twins, the sisters looked charming in their winter-themed towels, their porcelain-white skin making them resemble delicate porcelain dolls.
Queena was in a great mood. “Alright, tonight we are having dumplings.”
“I want radish and pork.”
“I want scallion and beef.”
“I want egg and mushroom.”
Everyone started discussing the dumpling fillings enthusiastically. Finally, Queena said, “Alright, we’ll prepare a bit of everything so everyone can try. And everyone must help make the dumplings; that’s how we create a family atmosphere.”
Making dumplings was indeed more fun with more people. Mrs. Wright and Brayden had left Aettosa for H Rovirsa in the morning, leaving only the Hipps Family.
Everyone began to knead the dough and prepare the fillings in an orderly manner. With many hands at work, by the time everything was ready, it was already six in the evening. But making the dumplings was enjoyable.
Three maids rolled out the dumpling wrappers while everyone else wrapped the dumplings. Queena praised Sylvia’s dumplings, “Sylvia, your dumplings look beautiful.”
Sylvia smiled. “Jenna, yours are not bad either.”
Jenna blushed slightly. “Yours are still better.”
Mollie made a few dumplings before getting up to rest. Being pregnant, she couldn’t sit for long but still joined in the fun. However, she was experiencing severe morning sickness and couldn’t stand certain smells.
By seven o’clock, the dumplings were finally done. Looking at the neatly arranged rows of dumplings, everyone felt quite pleased.
“Later, let’s see if everyone prefers sour soup dumplings or dipping sauce…” Queena instructed the maids, “Never mind, prepare both and make a few cold dishes to go with them.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The dumplings were soon cooked and brought to the table along with several cold dishes. Different fillings were placed on different plates for distinction. “The ones with patterns are beef-filled, the white ones are pork-filled, the vegetarian ones are on rectangular plates, and the crab roe ones…”
After introducing the dishes, the maids left.
After trying a few dumplings, Queena put down her utensils and spoke earnestly to Clare, “It was so hard for us to find our children. From when your sister went missing until now, we are finally reunited. We’ve found your sister’s two children. There are probably many families still suffering out there.”
“Mom, you mean…” Clare also put down her utensils. “Do you have any plans?”
“I wish for a world without abductions and lost children,” Queena sighed. “Our family is fortunate to have found our children. But what about other families? I want to establish The Little Lights Foundation and create a website for reuniting families.”
“That’s a great idea,” Sylvia supported. “Grandma’s idea is excellent. With short video platforms booming now, we can collaborate with them to increase exposure and awareness for these suffering families.”
“Then I’ll leave this task to you and Jenna,” Queena looked at the sisters with a loving and hopeful gaze. “I believe you can do it well.”
“I… I’m not sure I can,” Jenna swallowed nervously, lacking confidence.
“Jenna, be brave. You play the piano so well; why can’t you do this?” Queena encouraged her. “You were lost for so many years before returning to your family. Your story is the most convincing and worth spreading.”
“Alright, Grandma,” Jenna suppressed her anxiety and agreed.
Queena’s eyes showed determination and restraint. “I’ve always believed that good deeds will be seen by heaven. Karma is inevitable; those who harmed our Hipps Family and your mother will face retribution someday.”
“Grandma, let’s not talk about unpleasant things while we’re happily eating dumplings,” Sylvia gave her a dumpling. “This one looks like Jenna made it; have some more.”
She lowered her head. “One day, I will find Mother, no matter what the outcome is.”
The cold moonlight spread across the land as time quickly reached midnight.
Jaden led his brothers stealthily towards the secret research facility.
“This… looks like an old European building.”
“Look over there; there’s a tattered flag. What is it?” One of his men moved to pick it up, but Jaden quickly whispered, “Don’t touch it.”
“Let’s go inside and take a look,” he said to everyone, and they all filed in.
The entire building was mostly wooden and largely intact. They initially thought someone might be living there but soon realized it was an abandoned research facility.
The first-floor hall contained some old machines and various apparatuses whose purposes were unclear.
Jaden examined them for a long time without understanding their use. “Could these be research machines?”
“Probably,” one of his men joined him, pointing at a pile of yellowed blueprints on a table. “These look very old; some have even crumbled into dust.”
They had already checked that the building was perched on a cliff’s edge with a sheer drop behind it. The second floor had partially collapsed, with broken stairs hanging precariously.
A gust of night wind made the stairs creak eerily, adding to the spooky atmosphere.
Fortunately, everyone was brave and alert.
Jaden took out his phone but found no signal. “It seems there’s no signal here.”
Everyone else checked their phones as well but found no reception.
“We don’t have any signal either.”
Jaden speculated, “Could it be that experiments conducted here block signals?”
“Good thing we marked our way here.” He glanced at a machine’s control lever. “This seems like it operates something? Anyone know about machinery?”
A young man in his early twenties stepped forward. “I studied mechanical engineering in college; let me take a look.”
He began examining the machine.
The large control lever connected to the wall wouldn’t budge due to years of disuse and weathering.
Several brothers joined him to press down the lever together.
A series of creaking sounds ensued.
The rusted machine struggled to operate smoothly. When the lever was fully pressed down, they heard an inexplicable rushing sound.
Suddenly! A whirlwind blew in through the window.
Then came the sound of rushing water.
“Could this machine divert water from below the cliff?” Jaden was shocked and looked at the wind blowing in through the window. “Run! We might get buried here.”
As he spoke, a beam crashed down towards them.
Jaden quickly dodged while his brothers scattered.
The sound of falling wood continued.
Jaden then noticed an exit resembling a tunnel not far ahead and shouted, “To the tunnel! See if there’s anything there!”
“This tunnel wasn’t here before; it must have been opened by that machine!” The young man exclaimed.
“It should be an exit from this building.” Jaden waved urgently. “Go! The building is about to collapse!”
They rushed into the tunnel and found an elevator-like structure at its end.
“Everyone get on.” They all jumped onto the elevator, which required manual operation like an old tractor crank.
They began cranking vigorously, and soon the elevator started descending slowly for about twenty meters before reaching the bottom.
After disembarking, they walked forward into darkness.
Just as they landed, there was a loud crash!
The ancient elevator had finally given out after delivering them safely; its mechanism failed entirely.
“We’re lucky it broke after we got off,” Jaden said with lingering fear. “Let’s see if we can find an exit ahead.”
They had brought flashlights and headlamps, illuminating their path as they moved forward cautiously.
It seemed like a secret research base with many jars and containers around.
“So many jars!”
“Yeah, I wonder if they’re toxic.”
“I heard they used to conduct bacterial research here…”
“Sounds scary.”
Jaden wasn’t as excited as everyone else; he had an uneasy feeling. “Be careful; we don’t understand scientific research. If our boss were here, he might figure it out. So be cautious.”
The place had been abandoned for years; no one could still be alive here.
But these jars did look dangerous.
The further they went, the more shocked they became.
They found numerous bones on the ground without knowing whose they were.
They searched around but found nothing significant except more bones.
“Keep moving forward,” Jaden ignored the bones and led them on until they saw a stone door ahead.