The night was silent.
While Xia Chi was peacefully sleeping, he was abruptly awakened by a low murmur.
In his drowsy state, he heard a lingering voice.
It sounded similar to his brother’s voice, but with a different tone than usual.
The sound resembled a cat teasing a stick, and the cat would purr with regret when it desired more but couldn’t obtain it.
He rubbed his eyes and turned his head suspiciously.
On the other side of the bed, Bai Lixin’s voice, oscillating between sobriety and hazy sleep, intermittently reached his ears.
“Yes, that’s right, just like that.”
“Dr. Sang, you are so clever.”
“Dr. Sang, would you like to try other things? Besides my neck, you can kiss other places.”
“Dr. Sang, my body feels so cold. You can keep me warm by holding me.”
Xia Chi’s cheeks flushed, and his mind became chaotic, as if a similar image had flashed through his mind.
His entire body froze, and he quickly concealed himself under the blanket.
He didn’t know what was happening, but his instincts warned him not to listen to the voice in the next bed, as it could lead to dire consequences.
A flash of inspiration struck Xia Chi’s mind, causing him to become dazed. He yawned uncontrollably and, while still feeling drowsy, pondered:
Hmm, how peculiar. Why did he feel pitiful?
——————
In the spiritual realm, Teacher Bai Lixin diligently instructed his student, Dr. Sang.
Student Sang diligently studied and even got inspiration from a single instance.
The man’s cold and rough slender fingers brushed against the young man’s back, and the young man instantly reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, with an invisible layer of fur standing up all over his body. The fine fluff danced against his smooth skin, and his entire back trembled.
“Is that so?” The man appeared serious, yet his restless and flickering pupils betrayed his true feelings. “And then?”
The young man’s small Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, and a drop of sweat mixed with the tears on the corner of his eye, landing on his bright red lips.
The droplet vanished between the two lips in an instant.
The man’s eyes deepened instantly. He looked down at the young man and said, word by word, “I want to kiss you.”
The young man’s eyes were like silk, wrapping around the man like a water snake, radiating passion like a flame.
On the quiet rooftop, taking one step forward would lead to the abyss, and all the senses were intensely heightened during this near-death experience.
It was unknown how much time had passed before the two reluctantly separated.
The man cradled the young man in his arms like a kitten, caressing his back as he casually asked, “Did you absorb that man’s crystal nucleus?” The young man obediently nodded, saying, “Yes, he almost killed my friend.”
“Oh,” The man’s eyes darkened. “Did you disclose the fact that you absorbed his energy to anyone else?”
The young man replied,“No.”
The man responded, “That’s good. Don’t let anyone know.”
In the distance, the sun was gradually setting, revealing a figure against the backdrop of the sunset.
Bai Lixin sat up, squinting his eyes and gazing in that direction.
It was not the first time he had encountered zombies in Dr. Sang’s spiritual realm, but it was the first time he had witnessed living zombies.
A large group of zombies approached in formation. In the middle of the zombie horde, a few slow-moving zombies carried a sedan chair, upon which a figure leaned crookedly.
The figure had long white hair, strange black totems painted on pale skin, and pure white pupils.
A wicked smile curled up on the corner of his lips, and disdain for everything was evident in his arrogant eyes.
Bai Lixin pondered, “Huh?”
The man’s gaze remained steady. He pulled Bai Lixin to his feet and calmly stated, “it’s the zombie king.”
Bai Lixin observed in silence as the army of zombies slowly approached.
Based on previous experiences, the scene in Dr. Sang’s spiritual realm should be a past experience.
So, the visit from the Zombie King must have occurred before.
He felt curious about the relationship between the Zombie King and the man.
As the Zombie King drew nearer, the man placed Bai Lixin on the rooftop, uttered the words “wait for me here,” and leaped down from the 100-meter-high roof without any external assistance, landing firmly on the ground.
A loud bang echoed as the ground sank deeply.
Bai Lixin stood at the rooftop’s edge, straining to catch snippets of their conversation below.
Despite the considerable distance, Bai Lixin could still discern their dialogue clearly.
In truth, the Zombie King was not ugly at all, but the patterns on his face gave him a peculiar and terrifying appearance. The Zombie King appeared stronger than the surrounding zombies, with sleek muscles adorning his body.
Zombie King: “…you and I…killed…”
Due to the 100-meter distance and the howling wind, most of their conversation was drowned out, and only a few words reached Bai Lixin’s ears.
Zombie King: “Did you forget…the doctor… did…”
Zombie King: “This world is…our power…this is heaven…”
Man: “Is building a pile of rubbish heaven?”
Zombie King: “So, you…reject?”
Man: “I’m not interested.”
Zombie King: “Hehehe, good, very good. From today on, we’ll go back to the bridge and take the road less traveled.”
Although Bai Lixin could lip-read, when he focused on the Zombie King’s lips, he realized that the other party wasn’t opening his mouth.
The other party was not speaking with their mouth.
With a tinge of disappointment, he averted his gaze. Yet, in that moment, as he lifted his eyelids slightly, he met the pure white pupils of the Zombie King.
The Zombie King appeared momentarily stunned, then his smile widened.
Bai Lixin: “…”
Why are you smiling?
Since the man had his back turned, Bai Lixin couldn’t see his expression. However, Bai Lixin witnessed the man raising his arm.
The next second, Bai Lixin’s mind went blank, and he was suddenly thrown out.
When he regained consciousness, it was already the following morning.
Rubbing his temples in a daze, Bai Lixin instinctively glanced to the side, where Xia Chi was already awake. The sound of running water still echoed from the distant bathroom.
A few minutes later, the bathroom door swung open, and Xia Chi emerged, towel in hand, drying his wet hair. “Morning, brother, are you up?”
Bai Lixin looked at Xia Chi with probing eyes. “Xia Chi, you… you woke up early today.”
Xia Chi’s expression froze, and he blurted out in anguish, “I didn’t hear anything last night!”
As soon as the words slipped out, even he appeared stunned.
Bai Lixin: “…”
Ohh…
Xia Chi: QvQ.
—————
An hour later, Dr. Sang took Bai Lixin out of the ark, accompanied by a team of guards.
Dr. Sang exchanged his white coat for a camouflage uniform, with a dark green windbreaker layered over it, enhancing his already tall and straight physique.
The leader of the guards was a dark-skinned man with a beard, approximately thirty years old. He possessed a muscular build, firm eyes, and exuded the aura of a seasoned warrior.
The guard team consisted of five people, all highly capable individuals. Apart from the bearded man leading the group, the others displayed similar competence.
They stood in formation before Dr. Sang, saluting respectfully. The bearded man spoke, “Dr. Sang, the car is ready. We can depart now.”
Bai Lixin cast an inquisitive glance at Dr. Sang, seeking answers.
Dr. Sang glanced at Bai Lixin and explained, “They are here to ensure my safety.”
The bearded man concurred, “Yes, Dr. Sang is a distinguished scientist of our Ark. Though this mission isn’t particularly challenging, we have been assigned to ensure Dr. Sang’s safety.”
“Dr. Sang, don’t worry. We are experienced fighters, and our five-member team cooperates tacitly. Two of them have reached S level, one is quasi-S, and the other two are A-level.”
“Our team specializes in finding hidden high-level zombies. We have killed countless large and small zombies, including more than a dozen red crystal-core zombies. So, you two can rest assured.”
Dr. Sang nodded in silence.
Since there were only seven people, they used only one car.
To prevent zombie attacks, the car was heavily armored. It weighed several tons, with a nearly 20-centimeter-thick car wall.
As the seats were in pairs, the bearded man asked Bai Lixin and Dr. Sang to sit separately for their protection.
Dr. Sang opened the car door, hesitated for a moment upon hearing the request, and turned to look at Bai Lixin.
He watched helplessly as Bai Lixin obediently sat next to a soldier and fastened his seat belt.
After finishing this, Bai Lixin blinked at Dr. Sang innocently and pointed to the farthest vacant seat, saying, “Dr. Sang, where will you sit? There are still two empty seats there.”
The bearded man standing behind Dr. Sang thought that Dr. Sang didn’t want to sit in a dirty seat and reassured him, “Dr. Sang, don’t worry. We cleaned the inside of the car. As soon as we received the task of protecting you yesterday, we made sure everything was clean. It’s getting late, so we need to depart quickly and reach the depths of the forest before dark.”
Bai Lixin chimed in, “Yes, Dr. Sang, come up quickly. I think it’s quite comfortable inside, and you won’t feel too uncomfortable.”
Dr. Sang: “…”
This idiot.
Dr. Sang glanced at Bai Lixin, then at the man sitting next to Bai Lixin, and finally cast a cold glance at the young man who seemed clueless about his mistake. Resignedly, Dr. Sang walked to the back of the car and sat down, his gaze fixed on Bai Lixin, who was diagonally ahead.
He had never been so frustrated in his life.
Last night, he was acting like a little fox in his arms, trying to seduce him. But today, he turned his face and refused to acknowledge him when he woke up.
The young man seemed oblivious to the man’s attention and continued chatting and laughing with the people around him. When the bearded man entered the car last, the armored vehicle started slowly and drove towards the dilapidated urban buildings.
Bai Lixin looked at the ark that was gradually getting farther away and curiously asked the young soldier beside him, “Brother, when will the Ark depart?”
The soldier, who had never seen such a beautiful person up close, blushed upon seeing Bai Lixin’s face and stumbled as he explained, “We can leave for the next location when we have collected almost all the supplies around here.”
Bai Lixin asked, “Supplies? What supplies?”
The soldier replied, “ Zombie Crystal cores, energy, and so on.”
Bai Lixin questioned, “After fifty years, is there still energy?”
The bald soldier sitting beside him smiled and turned his head to look at Bai Lixin, saying, “You don’t know, little brother. Blue Star is so vast that it takes a long time for the ark to travel around it. Don’t be deceived by the current state of the surface. There are hidden energy treasures inside Blue Star, such as petroleum fuels and energy-gathering fuels.
“Moving such a massive ark requires a lot of energy. We also need crystal nuclei. When we stop, zombies attack us from time to time. If it weren’t for these weak zombies, where would we get our crystal nuclei from?”
Bai Lixin turned to the bald soldier and asked, “So, crystal nuclei are mainly used to make nutrient solutions?”
Another soldier with long hair, who had been silent for a while, joined the conversation, saying, “It seems so. I haven’t seen crystal nuclei used for anything else.”
Outside, the mottled trees and the messy black-red ground swiftly passed by as Bai Lixin glanced out the window. They had just finished a battle in this area two days ago, and the corpses of those zombies still lay on the ground.
The armored vehicle didn’t avoid them and ran over the zombies directly, the sound of meat and bones being crushed faintly audible amidst the roar of the engine.
After driving for half an hour, the car turned onto a winding dirt road. The remains of an asphalt road could still be vaguely seen beneath the dirt.
Ahead, there was a somewhat dilapidated bridge, and on the other side, countless rundown high-rise buildings stretched layer upon layer. Just by passing through these buildings, one could catch a glimpse of the city’s past splendor and prosperity.
A sea gradually came Into view, its clear blue water reflecting the sunlight, sparkling and serene. If it weren’t for the constant threat of zombies, they could stop the armored vehicle and enjoy the sea breeze.
“Do you know why we enjoy going out?” the bearded captain looked out the window and sighed, “Only when you venture out can you truly understand how magnificent this planet used to be.
“Towering buildings, huge playgrounds, boundless seas, and overwhelming novelties. If we hadn’t ventured out, we would never have known how vibrant human life was before.”
“I was born fifteen years after the virus outbreak, and for as long as I can remember, the world has been this way—garbage. I can only watch the buildings become more and more dilapidated.”
“Yeah, it will be great when all these monsters die, and the world can return to its former prosperity,” the young soldier pointed at Bai Lixin and shyly smiled, “Is this your first time outside? You’re quite lucky because many people have never left the ark. In their eyes, the world is just like the ark. I heard that you successfully matched with the transparent crystal nucleus. It’s amazing. I hope you can absorb the power in that crystal nucleus soon. If you have the opportunity, I really hope you can join our team.”
The young soldier blushed slightly, “I don’t know why, but I feel that you’re a kind person. I genuinely hope to fight alongside you in the future.”
Bai Lixin smiled and replied, “If the opportunity arises.”
Dr. Sang looked at the bright smile of the young man sitting diagonally in front of him, and his face turned green.
The bearded man noticed Dr. Sang’s discomfort and asked with concern, “Dr. Sang, are you feeling unwell? Do you have motion sickness? I have motion sickness medicine if you’d like.”
Dr. Sang was about to refuse when his gaze shifted, and he saw the young man, who had been happily mingling with others, now looking at him with concern.
As the words reached his lips, they seemed to dissipate into thin air, and a lie slipped out: “I have a little bit of motion sickness. I spend most of my time in the laboratory and rarely venture outside.”
Sure enough, the young man apologized, “Dr. Sang, it’s entirely my fault. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have to endure this discomfort.”
Dr. Sang kept a straight face. ‘That’s right.”
The young soldier appeared quite anxious, “Then what should we do? We still have a two-hour drive ahead. Shouldn’t we take Dr. Sang back first? After all, it’s only been half an hour since we left, so it won’t take much time to go back and forth, Captain.”
All eyes in the car turned towards Dr. Sang in an instant, even Bai Lixin nodded earnestly.
“…”
Dr. Sang: “I’m actually fine, and I am Bai Lixin’s doctor. Only I know which type of crystal nucleus is suitable for him.”
Want to drive me away?
So that you and Bai Lixin can get aquatinted and be in the same room together?
Oh, absolutely out of the question.
