The body heat of another person coming from behind made him unconsciously lean forward, only to be locked in place by a sinewy arm.
Acting as if he were completely unaware of the youth’s stiffness, Song Chengyu delivered a magnetic, low whisper right next to his porcelain-white earlobe.
“Focus.”
Like a tiny electric current spreading across his entire body, You An suddenly felt his calves turn weak, his earlobe blushing with layer upon layer of pale pink powder.
It was not that he was shy, but rather that his body had always been sensitive. Being touched anywhere other than his palms by someone else caused him to experience stress responses like a cat, let alone this kind of physical contact that already verged on intimacy.
Ahhh, stinky man, do not get so close to my master!
Tangyuan raged powerlessly, flying around in all directions. You An felt a headache from the noise and said feebly, “Stop talking for a moment.”
He bit his lower lip, forcing himself to concentrate his attention on the shooting practice right in front of him.
“Sink your center of gravity,” the young man pressed down on his arm, “adjust your posture properly before shooting.”
The closer they got, the more the scent of the exact same body wash on both of them seemed to blend and linger invisibly.
Wrapping around You An’s hand, he gripped the pistol tightly and steadily aimed at the bullseye, pulling the trigger.
Training to a standard of around the eighth ring, Song Chengyu withdrew his hand. Lowering his gaze to look at him, the emotions deep within the young man’s eyes were unclear.
“When you encounter a zombie, take the first shot at its head. If you miss, choose the position you are most confident in for the second shot, and immediately flee by utilizing the time it takes for them to recover.”
You An loaded the gun into his pocket and nodded. Since this concerned his own life-saving methods, he listened very carefully.
“I am going out to execute a mission.”
You An did not know how to respond, yet saying nothing at all felt far too aloof. After pondering for a long time, he finally managed to squeeze out a single sentence: “I wish you success on your mission.”
Nonsense. For Song Chengyu, let alone capturing a living zombie alive, capturing a hundred of them alive would be an absolute breeze.
Upon hearing this, the handsome face that was normally devoid of ripples displayed a trace of a smile, like melting ice.
“I will return as soon as possible.”
You An gazed at the young man’s tall and slender back, then belatedly realized something.
He had no parents and had never been married, leaving him with a very vague concept of matrimony. He merely felt dimly that this kind of dialogue resembled Mr. Mo bidding farewell to Mrs. Mo right before heading out the door.
I cannot say it that way next time. He secretly reminded himself.
Xin Zhou, dressed in a full set of protective gear, took off his goggles and mask, smiling at the researcher who had come to take over his shift. The other person stared blankly for a fraction of a second, her face flushing slightly. “Please go take a rest, Mr. Xin. Leave the rest to me.”
He undoubtedly held a great deal of favorability toward this dashing, gentle, and polite young man. Not to mention that as the younger brother of the base leader, he not only refused to wallow in debauchery and pursue idle pleasures like other high-ranking officials, but he also volunteered to join the research institute to study zombies and contribute to humanity.
Xin Zhou offered a slight nod, stripped off his protective gear, changed into a fresh outfit, and walked out of the research institute.
The A-City base was established in an area with sparse vegetation specifically to reduce the threat of mutated plants, and the consequence was that the wind and sand around this region were exceptionally fierce.
Xin Zhou stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows, gazing out at the scenery outside. The howling wind whipped up rolling billows of dust and smoke, and the glass reflected the flickering spark of a cigarette pinched between his slender fingers.
He slowly exhaled a plume of smoke, the smile around his brow and eyes long since faded, leaving behind only indifference. If Xin Zhou knew that the person in her eyes viewed him as being so selfless, he would likely fail to keep from laughing out loud.
He had taken the initiative to work at the research institute for no reason related to humanity. He cared nothing for the survival of humanity. To him, boredom eroded willpower more than anything else, and he was thoroughly weary of the emptiness that followed the fulfillment of desires.
A new recruit with a level five esper ability, meaning someone even higher in rank than his older brother?
The gossip that had spread through the research institute yesterday suddenly popped into his mind, and Xin Zhou abruptly felt a spark of interest. He stubbed out the cigarette butt, put on his jacket, and stood up.
“How many new arrivals came yesterday?”
The staff member recognized Xin Zhou and naturally knew his identity as well. She stood up and handed the organized name list over to him.
Scanning it for a few moments, Xin Zhou spotted Song Chengyu’s name. Upon seeing the notation of a level five ice-type esper ability written on the paper, a trace of keen interest flashed across the depths of his eyes.
Interesting.
“Is Song Chengyu around?”
“He is currently out executing a mission outside the base.”
Xin Zhou frowned. This sense of disjunction caused by having his plans disrupted annoyed him slightly, before he suddenly noticed the name column on the next line.
You An.
You An was facing the yellow soil, breaking the land with his head bowed and his back to the sky. These plots of land were not originally intended for cultivation, making them exceptionally difficult to clear. Furthermore, because acid rain could not be allowed to contaminate the soil, all agricultural operations had to be conducted indoors, flushing the young boy’s entire face pink from the heat.
The interstellar world required no farming, so he had never endured this sort of hardship before. After experiencing a brief wave of novelty, You An quickly lost interest in this repetitive, mechanical labor, yet he still kept his head down and plowed away.
The other espers assigned here alongside him soon began slacking off. The middle-aged man sitting next to him noticed his sweat-soaked face and gave a smiling pat to the empty patch of ground beside himself.
“Nobody is checking anyway, little brother. Why push yourself so hard? It is exhausting.”
The youth offered a slight smile, his misty blue eyes revealing a translucent, jade-like texture under the illumination of the lights as he said meaningfully: “If everyone thought that way, no crops would ever be grown. When food shortages finally arrive…”
“Tell me, which people do you think will be eliminated first?”
The youth’s voice was not loud, yet every word carried weight. Everyone around who heard this remark experienced a change in expression.
The answer went without saying. Naturally, the ones eliminated first would be these bottom-tier individuals who contributed the least to the base.
They picked up their discarded hoes one after another, stopped talking, and resumed their labor.
Tangyuan, hovering high above in the air, watched the whorl of hair on its master’s head, the adoration in its heart practically overflowing.
Xin Zhou, who had witnessed everything from the doorway, allowed a smile to cross his eyes. He had not expected to witness such an interesting spectacle.
Main character unlocked.
The sudden broadcast tone caused You An to freeze slightly. Subconsciously raising his head, he caught sight of a handsome young man walking toward him.
New character identity: Main character Shou, Xin Zhou, who is also the younger brother of the villain boss Xin Jian.
That was right; the original plot of this world was precisely this explosive.
Having been reborn, Song Chengyu harbored a single-minded desire for revenge. After executing You An, Zheng Wu, and the others, he recruited subordinates all the way to the A-City base. Relying on his strength, killing Xin Jian ought to have been a simple task, yet the trouble lay in the fact that he fell in love with someone he never should have loved.
Song Chengyu had originally intended to proceed step by step, eliminating Xin Jian only after devouring his forces, but he never anticipated falling in love with his enemy’s younger brother.
Having fallen for Xin Zhou, Song Chengyu began to waver on his plan to kill Xin Jian. He made concession after concession for Xin Zhou’s sake, yet Xin Jian continued pressing him relentlessly step by step.
In the end, a completely exasperated Song Chengyu finally resolved himself to kill Xin Jian, who still tried to trap and murder him just as he had in their past life. This successfully kicked off the crematorium trope of chasing his wife.
Followed by the classic dynamic where one flees, the other chases, and escape is impossible.
Thinking this far gave You An a stomachache.
Suspecting the other man had sought him out because of Song Chengyu, he prepared to stand up, when suddenly his vision went dark and he pitched forward.
The anticipated pain failed to arrive. Instead, an arm firmly wrapped around his waist, drawing him into the person’s embrace. The crisp, clean scent of cologne filled his nasal passages, and a gentle male voice sounded from directly above: “Are you feeling unwell? Would you like to go to the medical station to get checked out?”
You An was equally puzzled. He had been perfectly fine and then suddenly felt close to fainting. Tangyuan enlightened him: “Master does not need to worry. This is simply cerebral ischemia caused by bending over to labor for extended periods.”
He set his mind at ease and pondered the other man’s intentions. While he had no desire to misappropriate medical resources, could Xin Zhou possibly be seizing this opportunity to speak with him?
You An had positioned himself as Song Chengyu’s subordinate. Given that role, he had an obligation to play matchmaker between Song Chengyu and Xin Zhou. Thinking along these lines, he feigned a weak nod and prepared to push himself up from the other’s embrace. Unexpectedly, the young man possessed immense strength, his arm remaining locked immovably around his waist.
“You look terribly weak. I will escort you to the medical station.” Despite sounding as thoughtful and flawless as ever, You An detected a subtle undertone of teasing within those words.
This main character shou, he was definitely not as harmless as he appeared!
Song Chengyu bound a zombie, frozen solid everywhere except its head, with several layers of hemp rope and tossed it into the trunk. Paying no heed to its constant roaring, he slammed his foot down on the accelerator and sped all the way back to the base.
The gates of the research institute swung open. The tall, long-legged young man dressed entirely in black radiated an oppressive aura. He yanked the back of the screaming zombie’s head and hurled it directly into a pre-prepared iron cage.
His pitch-black, narrow eyes swept across the surroundings, and a voice devoid of a single shred of warmth rang out.
“The live zombie you asked for.”
Everyone stared at the scene before them, stunned for a few seconds before rushing forward en masse to lock the iron cage securely.
“Is this the power of a level five?”
“So handsome!”
“I heard the leader is only level four. Is the world about to change?”
“Shut your mouth. Do you still want to survive around here?”
Song Chengyu removed his gloves, ignoring the looks of envy or infatuation cast by those people, and walked away without looking back.
Instead of returning to the residential quarters, he headed straight for the reclaimed agricultural land. Sweeping his gaze across the area, however, he failed to spot that familiar figure.
Frowning, he grabbed a passing individual and demanded, “Have you seen a youth with very pretty blue eyes?”
“What are you doing?” The person had been seized off guard and initially started cursing angrily, but the moment he locked eyes with Song Chengyu’s deep, pool-like eyes, his voice immediately died down.
“Cough, the boy you are talking about is probably the one who fainted and was carried away by the leader’s younger brother.”
Fainted.
Carried away by the leader’s younger brother.
A trace of fierce turbulence painted Song Chengyu’s brows and eyes. He released his grip entirely and bolted out the door.
Leaving the individual muttering behind him in confusion: “What kind of person is this? How completely inexplicable.”
As the leader’s younger brother, Xin Zhou enjoyed access to the absolute highest-tier resources available, meaning the medical station he brought You An to was naturally reserved strictly for VIPs.
After completing a routine examination, the medical staff quickly produced a report. Just as Tangyuan had claimed, the report indeed showed zero problems, offering merely a suggestion for him to rest and recuperate.
You An sat on the hospital bed, watching Xin Zhou peel an apple. The other man focused intently, as though carving some piece of fine artwork.
Soon enough, a peeled apple was handed out right in front of him.
“Would you like some?”
The yellowish apple looked plump and bursting with juicy goodness. You An hesitated for a moment before nodding.
An item like an apple was something he would never have deigned to eat voluntarily before the apocalypse. Yet afterward, as a fruit with a relatively long storage lifespan, it became one of the scarce few luxuries left in a harsh and bitter world.
He had not tasted fruit even once since entering the apocalypse!
Xin Zhou smiled, watching the youth before him bite into the flesh of the fruit. The other’s petal-pink lips, reminiscent of early March cherry blossoms, became glossy and moistened by the juice.
He instinctively reached out his right hand.
A voice suppressing intense fury rang out as the door was shoved open.
“What do you think you are doing?”