That glass of wine.
Yan Ji suddenly remembered the glass of wine on the table.
He burst into a stream of bird language and floral fragrance in the bathroom.
Yan Ji recalled the person at the table. By the time he went over, Wei Zhuo was already sitting there. When he picked up the glass of wine and drank it, Wei Zhuo had even glanced at him.
Now that he thought about it, Yan Ji realized what was strange.
The look Wei Zhuo gave him at the time was like how a legitimate wife in the feudal era looked at the concubine who had seduced the master with her beauty. It was a kind of condescending, mocking gaze that said “I’ve already won”!
No wonder the glass of wine tasted sour and burned his throat, he thought it was just a local specialty brew.
‘Poisonous husband!
That vicious husband!’
Yan Ji cursed fiercely, and suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind like lightning.
If Wei Zhuo had secretly slipped some drug into his wine early on, something that made his brother go limp, then what was Wei Zhuo himself doing right now?!
He hadn’t locked the door when he left the room!
Alarms blared in Yan Ji’s mind. In his panic, he almost forgot to pull up his pants. He barely managed to get himself together before rushing back to the room in a hurry.
The door was tightly shut and voices came from inside. Obviously, there was more than one person.
Yan Ji was like a defeated beast, with blood boiling and rushing to his head. He roared in anger and kicked the door open with a bang.
The old house showed signs of termite invasion and decay. The aged wooden door, having endured years of erosion, had long since lost its sturdiness. When the sentinel’s foot landed with full force, the hinges creaked loudly, the door slammed against the wall, and wood chips and dust rained down.
Xin Hexue in the room frowned. He had already shown more than enough patience to the other party, but Yan Ji’s behavior was just too baffling and beyond comprehension.
Xin Hexue: “What’s wrong with you tonight?”
The moment Yan Ji caught the confusion and faint impatience between the young man’s brows, all his aggressive momentum was instantly doused, as if a bucket of ice-cold water had been poured down his spine. He wilted completely, lowered his gaze, and asked, “What are you two doing?”
Their clothes were still neatly worn. Wei Zhuo sat by the edge of the bed, facing Xin Hexue. A thin quilt covered the young man from the waist down, revealing no fair skin. Yan Ji barely managed to ease his mind.
However, upon hearing Yan Ji’s question, a trace of unnaturalness flickered across Xin Hexue’s face.
Yan Ji had his eyes fixed on him the whole time, so he didn’t miss even the slightest change in expression. The moment he caught the faint, indescribable discomfort on Xin Hexue’s face, he immediately acted like he had seized evidence of Wei Zhuo’s misdeeds and roared at the sentinel across from him, “What did you do to him?!”
He walked over fiercely and grabbed the sentinel by the collar.
Thinking about how limp and useless he had been, with no idea when he’d be back to normal…
Wei Zhuo was really his nemesis. Yan Ji hated him so much that his teeth itched. He was already furious and on catching a glimpse of Wei Zhuo’s mocking and sarcastic gaze, his hand instantly clenched with force. The knuckles on his fingers stood out, and veins bulged on the back of his hand. He really wanted to snap Wei Zhuo’s windpipe into two pieces.
Before Wei Zhuo could say anything, Xin Hexue couldn’t take it anymore and said, “Let go. Do you want to fight here and wake everyone up?”
The anger in his voice was clearly directed at Yan Ji alone.
When the young man got angry, his already flushed brows and eyes, not yet cooled down, looked even more vivid. He was originally as white as snow, and in his irritation and shame, even the corners of his eyes and every joint took on a faint pink hue, and his fingers curled slightly.
Yan Ji stared at him, his hand obediently loosening its grip. Wei Zhuo got up and put some distance between them, not bothering to hide his disdain as he tidied his collar. He looked back and said to Xin Hexue in a softened tone, “Since you’re fine, I’ll return to my room.”
Xin Hexue lowered his eyes and replied, “…Mm.”
After Wei Zhuo left, Yan Ji leaned over like a big dog with airplane ears, and asked in a low voice, “What did he come for?”
Xin Hexue shot him a cold glance, then curled up under the thin quilt and turned his back to Yan Ji to sleep.
“…The sound.”
“And when you slammed the door on your way out, it hit the frame.”
“He came to check if something happened.”
In such an old house, it was too unrealistic to expect that the walls half-eaten by termites could block the hearing of the Sentinel in the next room.
Xin Hexue had already noticed the tension between Yan Ji and Wei Zhuo, and with all of Yan Ji’s strange behavior tonight, it was obvious he had suffered some loss at Wei Zhuo’s hands.
Xin Hexue could even guess what it was. He just didn’t expect that Wei Zhuo could do such a thing. But thinking of how cruel Wei Zhuo was with him, using nails and pearls, it made sense that he’d be even more ruthless to a love rival.
It was probably some kind of secret drug that only lasts for a short time.
But after tossing and turning for half the night, Xin Hexue was too tired to say anything more to Yan Ji.
The bed behind him sank slightly, bearing the weight of the Sentinel.
Yan Ji wrapped his arms around Xin Hexue from behind, and reluctantly rested his chin against the young man’s shoulder and neck. “There was just a little accident tonight…”
Xin Hexue said calmly, “Mn, I know.”
To avoid the Sentinel’s endless chatter, Xin Hexue turned over and lazily lifted his eyelids to meet Yan Ji’s eyes. The creases around his eyelids were exceptionally beautiful, like a mix of teasing and drooping. “Tonight’s licking was much better than before. You’ve improved, huh?”
His voice, slightly hoarse from sleepiness, was like the tip of a cat’s tail curling playfully, brushing against the rim of Yan Ji’s ear and tickling them intentionally or unintentionally. Yan Ji’s ears tingled, the sensation shooting directly to his scalp and making it numb. It was as if the blood in his whole body had rushed downward, and heat surged wildly.
Yan Ji subconsciously stiffened…
But temporarily couldn’t get hard.
After losing all his strength, he could only wrap his arms around Xin Hexue and close his eyes in frustration.
………
It only took them two days to fully investigate Taobakou Village and the surrounding coastal areas. After that, a new-style marine Patrol ship, Osprey-21, was dispatched from the Eastern Frontier Sentinel Tower two hundred kilometers to the north to assist them in heading toward the volcanic island.
They set out from the fishing port of the small fishing village.
Of course, besides Xin Hexue and his team of Guides and Sentinels, there were other support forces involved. This mission wasn’t one carried out solely by the Sentinel and Guide team. When the time came, there would be a high-altitude drone team stationed offshore, ready to provide immediate support and extraction.
However, the stronger the energy fluctuations in a Folded zone, the more powerful the magnetic control interference. The distorted spores diffused through the high-altitude gray fog of the Folded Zone could strike down these support devices at any moment. The assistance ordinary humans could offer ground teams composed of Sentinels and Guides was extremely limited. The casualty rate in the last mission at Folded Zone 122 in the Rainforest had already revealed this point clearly.
This time, their goal was not to destroy the Strangling Tree. Since the energy fluctuation rating of this Folded Zone on satellite scans was “unknown,” and there were no existing records or archives about it, the mission’s approach was to proceed with utmost caution. Xin Hexue and the others only needed to carry out a preliminary survey of the outer perimeter. The priority was ensuring no team members were lost. Without absolute certainty, they were not to forcefully shut down the Folded zone and were to do everything possible to avoid a repeat of the rainforest tragedy.
This was also the repeated instruction from the military before they were dispatched on this mission.
The weather looked good today. Golden sunlight streamed through the billowing summer clouds, streaks of gold slipping through the gaps in Xin Hexue’s black hair, casting a misty soft glow over it.
Standing on the deck of the Osprey-21, Xin Hexue could see the sea shimmering with flowing patterns, surging like an oil painting come to life.
Despite the brilliance of the golden sunlight, a strong sense of unease flickered deep within his consciousness.
Xin Hexue gripped the railing, his head a little dizzy, vision beginning to blur. His slender figure suddenly tilted to the side. Fortunately, a Sentinel beside him reacted instantly and grabbed him, or else Xin Hexue would have fallen straight into the sea.
Wei Zhuo asked with a solemn expression, “What’s wrong with you?”
Xin Hexue came back to his senses and shook his head. “It’s nothing. Maybe… maybe I just got seasick.”
This was the only reason he could come up with. But when his gaze swept over the sea again, he suddenly paused. “Don’t you feel… there’s something in the water?”
Hearing this, Wei Zhuo also looked out toward the sea, but didn’t see anything except waves lapping against the ship’s hull and white spray rising.
“If you’re worried, I can send my mental body into the sea to investigate.”
A deep, low hum suddenly rose from the bottom of the sea and a huge blue whale surfaced. The sea wind blew into their faces, blowing the misty spray from the whale’s blowhole into the air and bringing over the sea breeze tinged with a faint salty, fishy smell.
Under the Tyndall effect, the water mist scattered into golden rays that matched the sunlight.
Even if a mutated sea creature launched a surprise attack at this moment, Wei Zhuo’s mental body would be able to react immediately. However, this still couldn’t completely dispel the inexplicable unease in Xin Hexue’s heart.
He wasn’t in good shape.
Wei Zhuo suggested, “You should go rest in the cabin inside.”
The other sentinels in the squad also noticed the unusual behavior of their only guide and asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Did something happen? Are you feeling unwell?”
Xin Hexue shook his head and gave them a reassuring smile, indicating that he was fine. “Maybe I’m just a little seasick.”
Yan Ji ran over worriedly and took Xin Hexue to rest in the cabin. “I cleaned up the room a bit.”
…
The volcanic island clearly wasn’t too far from the fishing port at Taobakou, where they had set out to sea. Before it turned into a Folded Zone, the fishermen from Taobakou would always pass by this small island when laying or retrieving nets in the open sea. However, the Osprey-21 that carried Xin Hexue and his group had been sailing for half the day and still hadn’t seen any sign of the volcanic island on the water. The coordinates of the island had even disappeared from the navigation map.
This was definitely an unusual phenomenon, but considering the Folded Zone nearby often caused disorienting situations like “ghost walls” that made ships or cars lose direction, it wasn’t unheard of. So, no one panicked, and everyone continued doing what they needed to do.
It was not until evening that the volcanic island finally appeared ahead of the Osprey-21.
The crescent-shaped island had hundreds of thousands of pieces of black volcanic lava rock along its shores, scattered like stars across the ground. The pitch-black, even faintly deep-red color of the land matched the features Xin Hexue had seen in the mental landscape of the Strangling Tree.
When Xin Hexue saw the island, he felt a suffocating sensation. His heart beat suddenly accelerated and his chest felt tight. He had to pause while putting on his combat jacket to steady himself.
The moment they set foot on the volcanic island, the weather suddenly changed.
The golden sun seemed to be devoured by sunspots, and black mold-like blotches spread across the entire disk. The pitch-black sun sank into the sea, and rain caused a gray fog to fill the horizon where the sky met the ocean. The surrounding environment plunged into complete darkness.
Xin Hexue’s body instinctively sounded the alarm. His chest throbbed with sharp pain, but in the dim view before him, he saw a patch of unnaturally vivid green.
Thick sea fog engulfed the island in an instant, and the support team left on the Osprey-21 couldn’t even see the shoreline anymore.
And on the other side of the gray wall of fog, they were trapped in endless battle.
The number of monsters in the Folded Zone was terrifyingly dense, far surpassing the monster density of any existing Folded Zone.
They had even cut off the retreat path back to the coast patrol ship, coming at them from all directions, and surging toward them like a tidal wave.
They had no choice but to follow the path and go deeper into the heart of the volcanic island.
“Ah Xue, run!”
“Run! Don’t look back!”
The shouts were hoarse and desperate.
He didn’t know who was yelling this to him.
Xin Hexue’s consciousness was murky. Blood trailed down from the corners of his eyes. In the depths of the intense green, he caught a glimpse of a flash of silver on a tree trunk.
It was the epaulet from He Botian.
A gun was thrown toward him, and Xin Hexue instinctively caught it and held it tightly in his hand. Wei Zhuo slashed his cold sword, stabbing into the organs of the mutant in front of them, and said in a serious tone, “Don’t get distracted.”
Xin Hexue slowly pursed his lips together and nodded.
…
The team had been completely scattered.
Xin Hexue and Yan Ji, through a storm of blood and rain, had slashed through the vines on the trunk of the Strangling Tree to rescue He Botian. But a sudden earthquake and landslide had caused it all.
The dry, pitch-black earth split abruptly down the middle, and a blood-red abyss opened its gaping mouth toward the two sentinels clinging to the cliff. As if from the depths of hell, waves of scorching heat surged up from beneath the abyss.
Xin Hexue held onto Yan Ji’s hand. His pure white wings, now stained with blood and filth after days and nights of fighting, flapped repeatedly, trying to gather strength to pull the two adult sentinels back from the cliff. The faster and wider his wings flapped, the more the dust and debris on the cliff edge were swept off by the wind.
Xin Hexue once again felt the flickering unease deep in his consciousness. His body had reached its limit, and cold sweat kept dripping down his cheeks, mixing with blood.
His chest was once again filled with that sharp pain. The harder he tried, the more powerless he felt. Frowning deeply, he said to Yan Ji, “Hold tight.”
Cold sweat poured uncontrollably from their tightly clasped hands, and the damp sensation set off alarms in Xin Hexue’s mind.
The veins on Yan Ji’s forehead bulged. His exhausted body could barely hold on, but he still couldn’t let go…because hanging below was Xin Hexue’s ex-husband.
He gritted his teeth. Not knowing where he still had unused potential, a bit of hidden strength surged up. As he gathered his power, blood welled in his throat, and he spoke hoarsely to the half-dead He Botian, “I’m telling you, if you die, I’ll never be able to defeat you. It’s best if you’re alive. I want to show you who really matters most to Xin Hexue.”
He wanted everyone to see that he was the one most qualified and courageous sentinel to stand by Xin Hexue’s side.
A sudden burst of strength allowed him to pull He Botian upward and throw him up onto the cliff.
At the same time, the cracked edge of the cliff could no longer bear the weight of three adult men, and the sharp sound of the ground fracturing rang out.
Xin Hexue raised his voice, “Yan Ji!”
A powerful gust surged up from below, blowing Xin Hexue backward uncontrollably and causing him to roll back several times.
“Ahem, ahem, ahem…”
It seemed like dust had entered his windpipe. Xin Hexue found it even harder to breathe, and he was unable to suppress the coughing fit.
In his blurred vision, the edge of the cliff ahead showed a clean, jagged break. Xin Hexue’s blood suddenly ran cold, and his hands and feet also became cold.
“Yan Ji?”
Before he could crawl toward the edge, a sentinel behind him held him tightly, like cradling a precious treasure, completely embedding him in a firm embrace.
It was He Botian.
“I’m here… I’m here… I’m here…”
“Ah Xue, I thought I’d never see you again.”
He Botian pressed his forehead against the back of Xin Hexue’s neck, and warm liquid slid down his shoulder.
But Xin Hexue felt like he had fallen into an ice cave.
[??? current love value is full]
Everything felt absurd to Xin Hexue, as if everything he touched had turned unreal and distorted.
The person holding him…
Was it really He Botian?
Or rather…had He Botian really survived the rainforest?
Xin Hexue remembered that in the Rainforest Folded Zone No. 122, He Botian had already lost control due to his mental pollution value exceeding the limit. In the absence of a medical injector gun, he used the last bullet in his magazine to shoot through the sentinel’s chest in an instant.
So, was this person who had survived…really He Botian?
“It’s me.”
A bone chilling voice whispered behind him.
[??? current love value is full]
[??? current love value is full]
[??? current love value is full]
[??? current love value is full]
[??? current love value is full]
[??? current love value is full]
[??? current love value is full]
[??? current love value is full]
The notification sound grew more urgent and sharper, as if there was no end to it. Or maybe there was a system virus, repeating over and over again.
Xin Hexue suddenly looked up. Beside him was endless darkness, and several “He Botians” in various appearances. They all walked out of the dark and surrounded him, staring at him for a long time.
[??? current love value is full]
[??? current love value is full]
[??? current love value is full]
[??? current love value is full]
The repeating notification sounds surged like a tsunami, drowning Xin Hexue. It was as if he had been thrown into the ocean, the buzzing of the tides below drilling into his ears.
…
The pain of his head slamming into the curved glass of the car window brought Xin Hexue back to consciousness in an instant.
The car seemed to have stopped at some point.
It seems he had a dream… What had he dreamed about?
The car window rolled down. Xin Hexue, dizzy and disoriented, asked aloud, “What happened?”
Have they arrived at Taobakou?
The summer sun was harsh, making his vision blurry.
He Botian stood under the sun, looked at Xin Hexue, and said gently,“You’re awake? It’s nothing, just a sudden breakdown. Kuike is taking care of it. Do you want to get out and get some air?”
