Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 7: Refuge

The sun was about to set. Ruan Xian looked up at the building in front of him and felt the sense of doom for the first time.

Earlier, while Chi Ge and Xiao Ding were unconscious, Tang Yibu moved them to a nearby cave. After waking up, the two of them didn’t look for Lao Zhang anymore, but directly dragged out three hoverbike-like machines from the bushes next to the cave and went directly back to the shelter. The exploration couldn’t continue with one of them having a deep cut on his back while the other had a broken ankle.

The floating hoverbike was extremely fast, but despite this, it still took them nearly three hours to reach their destination deep in the woods.

The appearance of the refuge was so shocking that Ruan Xian didn’t even have time to pursue Tang Yibu regarding the matter of tying him to the back seat of the car with the luggage.

“Ruan Ge, I saw you shooting at the ventral cockroaches. Do you know how to shoot?” Ding Zepeng’s ankle was swollen and looked like the size of a steam bun. He grimaced as he hopped on one foot and had a heartless smile on his face.

“It’s a hobby.” Ruan Xian allowed Tang Yibu to untie the rope on his body, still surveying the refuge in front of him. “Let’s not talk about this. Xiao Ding, this is…?”

The thing in front of him wasn’t so much a refuge, but closer to a ruined abandoned building pierced by a giant tree.

The giant tree seemed to be born in the building as its thick trunks ran through the entire building and its canopy covered the roof. The abandoned building looked rickety, and the windows without glass were dark, like the eye sockets of a skeleton. It looked unlike a habitation for humans. The sturdy tree roots were flanked by crude houses covered by strings of insulation panels, looking like a nest of mushrooms in the shadows.

“Spectacular, right?!” Ding Zepeng began to unload the cargo in the back seat of his vehicle. “Hey, Qiu Jie*, why are you out?”

*Sister (姐) When used after a name, it has the same meaning as [ge] (哥) but is used for women. Used to address older women who you are friendly with/respect.

Ruan Xian finally retracted his gaze and looked at the only exit of the cement-colored building.

The three of them stepped across the calf-high roots of the tree and drilled out of the doorway. It was headed by a woman with short hair, wearing a slate white coat, looking as if she was in her 30’s or 40’s.

“To pick you up? Your physical data isn’t normal.”

As she spoke, she narrowed her eyes and faint fine lines gathered at the ends of her eyes. “Asshole, did you fall again?”

“Heh, I was too careless.” Ding Zepeng wiped his nose. “Qiu Jie, take a look at Chi Ge. He’s still bleeding a lot…”

The woman tapped a metal ring on her wrist and several light screens appeared in front of her. “Chi Lei’s condition is okay. 231 should’ve bandaged him. As for you… Were you injected with a soothing agent?”

“I was dragging my leg to run and almost fainted from the pain. 231 gave me a shot.”

“The dose is a little high. 231’s medical instructions need to be adjusted. It’s still difficult to adapt the model. If Lao Zhang could find two more medical machines, that would be good. Speaking of which, where’s Lao Zhang? Is he coming back every two days again?”

“We haven’t contacted Zhang Yazhe. I have to tell the boss that the range of activity of the ventral cockroaches has increased. They originally wouldn’t come to the southwest district.” Chi Lei interjected. His face was still a little pale. “Lao Zhang went to pick up a survivor near the wild cemetery. There’s been no word from him for nearly a day. We had 231 go scout, but only brought back this kid.”

Seeing Qui Jie’s gaze swept over, Ruan Xian immediately stood upright and subconsciously adjusted a suitable smile. He habitually waited for a polite surprise, or a disgust hidden behind a frown.

Qiu Jie laughed. “Oh, it’s been a long time since I saw such a handsome young man. Qiu Yue. I’m in charge of medical care here. Just call me Qiu Jie.”

She generously stretched out a hand and shook hands with Ruan Xian, who was a little stunned. “Which refuge did you come from?”

“My name is Ruan Lijie.” Ruan Xian shook his head and leaned against the hoverbike, barely maintaining his balance. “Refuge… I don’t remember. Sorry, my mind hasn’t been right these past few days.”

“Memory loss caused by mental stimulation,” Tang Yibu added as he saw fit.

“It’s okay. We can arrange a quiet room for Xiao Ruan.” Qiu Yue instructed the two men behind her to help Chi Ge and Xiao Ding as she smiled reassuringly at Ruan Xian. “Now I have to go see those seriously ill. 231, put away the vehicles and cargo, then book a room for Xiao Ruan. Remember to complete registration formalities before dinner.”

After that, she tapped a few times on the light screen floating above her little arm and walked quickly back into the building.

This time Tang Yibu had no intention of using his power. He honestly pushed the three vehicles into the ruined building in turns. Several four-legged robots like high stools came out of the corners and carried sacks filled with parts.

The first floor of the refuge still looked like ruins—dusty, dim, and dirty, and the cracked floor was covered with vines and weeds. There wasn’t even a light on the entire floor, and half of it was missing. Ruan Xian scanned thoroughly and finally saw the dark elevator shaft rumbling in the depths.

Tang Yibu picked up Ruan Xian, who was looking around. “How’s your leg?”

“I’m a little used to it, but I still can’t exert too much force.”

“Nn.” Tang Yibu nodded. “There’ll be a registered medical examination later. I suggest you take a bath. The room has a bathtub, so I can help if it is inconvenient.”

“…No need.”

Tang Yibu blinked. “Do you mind my form? Then I can help you apply for a nursing robot. They have the appearance of a human woman.”

“Really no need, thank you. I will do it myself.” Ruan Xian waved his hand weakly.

Tang Yibu looked a little confused, but he still obediently helped Ruan Xian forward until they got to a clearing that was covered with particularly lush vines. Stopping, he stretched out his hand to draw a series of complex trajectories in the air. The vines on the ground flickered for a few seconds before disappearing directly into the air.

The cracks on the floor slid silently, filled with smoke and dust, revealing a downward tunnel.

“You are nervous.” Tang Yibu pointed it out, finding Ruan Xian’s body tense.

Ruan Xian, who was busy observing the environment, didn’t have time to answer him.

Underneath the ruins was a clean and tidy underground fortress. The two went all the way down, leaving the dilapidated ruins above, and the view of smooth corridor walls filled his vision. The corridors were like a maze, with square windows at the top that projected simulated sunlight and neat doors on either side.

Tang Yibu didn’t lead Ruan Xian deeper. He quickly stopped in front of one of the doors and covered the door without a door lock with his palm.

“STR-Y type 307a231, registration room 1306.”

The door slowly opened.

Inside the door was a bedroom of about 20 square meters, equipped with a simple table and chair. The ceiling was embedded with square windows similar to those in the corridor, and artificial sunlight shone down from a fake blue sky that could be seen.

“So much ample space?” Ruan Xian stepped into the door carefully.

“No, these rooms are used for isolation, surveillance, and special hospitality.” Tang Yibu opened the small door in the room and made a “please” gesture to the bathroom, which had sounds of water coming from it. “Most humans live near the deep hall.”

Fortunately, the bathroom was equipped with a partition curtain. After Ruan Xian got into the bathtub, he was relieved to find that the nearby shelf was equipped with clothes and bath towels.

This situation was a bit novel to him.

Before, due to skin lesions, taking a normal bath was a luxury for him. He had to prepare a suitable liquid for half a day before taking a bath. In order to ensure the efficacy of the medicine, the water temperature must be kept at room temperature so as not to aggravate the bad condition of his skin.

This was the first time.

Ruan Xian stretched his hand into the bathtub in front of him, and warm water passed through them. Now that the water was full, he threw off his clothes and soaked them tentatively.

“…It’s almost dinner time. We must go to the basement to complete the registration.”

An hour and a half later, Tang Yibu spoke, relatively tactfully.

Ruan Xian gathered his wet black hair together and finally managed to pull himself out of the hot water. After a series of stimuli, comfortable relaxation was particularly rare, and he almost fell asleep in the bathtub.

“This water…”

“There will be housekeeping robots to clean up.”

Ruan Xian first changed into the clothes prepared by the refuge, and then opened the shower curtain as he dried his hair. Tang Yibu stretched out a hand, politely supported him, and wrapped a bandage around his neck again.

“You’re under observation. In theory, you’ll live here for a week. The arrangement of the refuge can be viewed through the mirror. In the refuge, you don’t need to act with me at all times.”

‘There’s no repeated warning,’ Ruan Xian thought. Tang Yibu didn’t seem to be worried about him leaking information at all. This wasn’t a good sign—it meant that Tang Yibu was very confident in his control of the situation.

However, the facilities here seem to be safe and sound. He estimated that people should have been living here for a long time. If he could get enough support, he still had the opportunity to get rid of Tang Yibu and settle down here temporarily.

“I see.” Ruan Xian brought his waist bag with the food cannister and lantern, then glanced into the mirror.

He was stunned.

Over the past two decades, Ruan Xian had occasionally guessed his own appearance. His face was once covered by rashes and pigmentation caused by disease. Compared to pursuing the extravagant notion of “beauty”, he only wanted to be a normal person at best.

Even if he relied on his observation and reflexes to get acquainted with everyone in the institute smoothly, he occasionally heard expressions like “wheelchair monsters”.

“They aren’t malicious. Young people are always curious about the geniuses of their same age.” Fan Linsong once persuaded him like this. “I can’t help it, but Xiao Ruan, don’t take it personally. Do you want to try an artificial skin? The effect is average, but your current condition, the possibility of recovery… alas.”

He refused at that time.

Artificial skin could indeed make him more like a normal person, but the artificial face couldn’t connect to too many nerves, so he would lose most of his expressions. He wouldn’t even be able to make a natural smile.

Just like a robot.

Ruan Xian supported himself in the bathtub with his left hand, stretched out his right hand, and held down the cold mirror. There was no longer the terrifying-looking patient in the mirror; there was only a strange young man in a dark gray uniform.

Ruan Xian saw his real face for the first time.

It no longer had the appearance of illness. The slightly raised tail of the eyes was exposed, revealing pupils that were deep, like an ancient well, just like his mother—the mother who was a famous beauty in her hometown when she was young, who was famously known for her attractive eyes.

Although he was very similar to his mother, the parts that followed his father added a lot of heroism. From the perspective of public aesthetics, this seemed to be a face that couldn’t be faulted, but Ruan Xian couldn’t feel the slight joy. He was stared at by those familiar yet unfamiliar eyes and bitter emotions slowly filled his heart.

He stared at the face similar to his mother’s in the mirror, and the happy smile brought by the hot water completely disappeared. For a while, his expression was consistent with that of Tang Yibu, who was beside him.

“Let’s go.” Ruan Xian retracted his hand from the mirror and looked away.

The number of people who needed to be “isolated, monitored, and specially treated” was apparently small, as Ruan Xian didn’t meet anyone else along the way. A larger room opened at the end of the corridor, and the main tone was as clean as the corridor. The entire room was divided by a half-person-high isolation barrier, folded into a maze-like structure, and the width of the path could only allow two people to walk in parallel.

The staff at the entrance knocked on the table. His face was covered by a thick mechanical mask. For a while, Ruan Xian didn’t dare judge whether it was a human or a machine.

“Stretch out your arm.”

The voice behind the mask was a bit muffled and held a lot of impatience. Through thick gloves, he drew out a needless syringe, and his tone was as if he was endorsing a book. “This is the rule. Please understand.”

It seems that this was a human.

Ruan Xian slowly rolled up his sleeves and glanced at Tang Yibu. He didn’t know when, but the guy had put on the billboard-style smile again and looked straight ahead with an innocent expression in his eyes.

“Excuse me, this is?”

“Auxiliary chip,” the man responded angrily. “Haven’t you fought in a previous refuge before?”

“I…” Before Ruan Xian could respond, he was interrupted by a shout—

“Old Zhang?!” A staff member who was also wearing a mask not far away suddenly stood up.

Ruan Xian stopped rolling his sleeves and looked a few meters away.

At the entrance of another passage, a middle-aged man was clutching his hair embarrassingly. He looked a little haggard, and his whole body was dirty, covered with dirt and grass.

“Lao Chi said he hadn’t found you yet. We have to contact the boss quickly. The boss is estimated to have to prepare a search and rescue plan for tomorrow.” The staff’s voice was full of joy.

“Don’t mention it. Didn’t I rush back here in a hurry? I didn’t even dare take a bath.” Lao Zhang coughed. “How are Lao Chi and the others? Damn, I ran into a ventral cockroach two miles from the wild cemetery and broke my communicator.”

“They also encountered ventral cockroaches. Xiao Ding broke his foot and Chi Lei hurt his back. Fortunately, it wasn’t serious.” The staff took out a syringe that was exactly the same as the one in front of Ruan Xian. “Come on, Lao Zhang, take the needle chip.”

“It’s not a serious injury.” The middle-aged man stretched out his arm cooperatively without a frown.

“How about you? Are you uncomfortable? Are there any abnormalities in memory?”

“None. At the time of the attack, 231 wasn’t around. I thought I was dead, so I directly detonated the energy tank and threw it over.” Lao Zhang patted his chest pocket.

The staff member huffed loudly behind the mask.

“…Then I was lifted up by a burst of wind and was knocked unconscious in the trunk of a tree.” Lao Zhang shrugged. “It was dawn when I woke up again, but I felt fine. It doesn’t seem like I’m hurt anywhere. Speaking of which, I have to apply for another can.”

“Huh, you opened the one you had?”

“Well, if you’re weak, you can’t survive a catastrophe. I just ate a day’s worth of this stuff and it won’t last long after it’s opened, so the rest has to be sent to the kitchen for reprocessing.”

“Understood. The unique number of the can is 09274. The holder is Zhang Yazhe. Please confirm.” The staff slid a light screen in front of them. “There’s still inventory. I’ll change the ration number to 09335. Remember to go to the warehouse to collect it.”

“Confirmation is correct.”

“Old rules. Full body scan. You can go to the scanning room.”

“Where are Lao Chi and Xiao Ding? I’ll go and report later.” Lao Zhang rubbed his hands and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Medical Room No. 2. The boss is also over there…”

“Have you seen enough of the excitement?” The staff in front of Ruan Xian finally couldn’t help but speak. “Don’t dawdle. I have something urgent to do.”

Ruan Xian stretched out his arm and received the shot in silence.

“Primary perception enhancement? Not bad. I can see that your previous refuge wasn’t good. This model of nanobot was eliminated almost ten years ago.” The staff member looked at the panel jumping frantically in front of him and snorted. “Now go to the scanning room.”

Ruan Xian silently withdrew his arm, allowing Tang Yibu to help him, and moved to the scanning room about five meters away. While Tang Yibu looked elsewhere, he opened his pockets and secretly glanced at the food canister with a smiley face.

Whether it was the number or the name just mentioned, he had a faint feeling of déjà vu, and now he had found the source of that feeling.

There was a slightly faded label on the side of the can— [No. 09274-Zhang Yazhe]

It had never been opened by anyone.

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The author has something to say:

Mr. Ruan is also very good-looking now! The two are about to start living together (×).

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Kinky Thoughts:

Me thinks that Zhang Yazhe is not really Zhang Yazhe. Pretty sure he got blown to bits in the prologue.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 6: Awakening and Strength

Ten minutes ago.

Chi Lei rolled a sheet of grass, wrapped it in some dried lotus leaves, and twisted it into a conical roll of paper. He lit it and took a deep puff. This thing wasn’t as good as tobacco, but at times when supplies were scarce, it could relieve the addiction.

The scanner temporarily set up in front of him didn’t respond. If Lao Zhang was within a five-kilometer radius of them, he could detect a little. However, there was only a blank on the flashing scanner screen.

He viciously puffed out a mouthful of smoke.

“Brother Chi.” Ding Zepeng followed, hanging his head. “Do you want me to help adjust the antenna?”

“No. I’ll call you when I need help. Just watch the tent for now.” Chi Lei didn’t even turn his head aside as he stared at the screen.

“231 went in,” Ding Zepeng said immediately.

“What do you think of this new guy?” Chi Lei didn’t continue the subject but switched to a different one.

“Didn’t 231 say that he’s a waiter? Ruan Ge seems a little nervous. I guess he hasn’t adapted yet, but everything else is quite normal.”

Chi Lei sneered and took another puff. “Count it as intuition. That kid isn’t so simple. The way he looks at a gun is not like ordinary people… He has bad legs?”

“Yes, but it’s not a big problem. He could move freely after a while. According to 231’s diagnosis, his head has some issues—Ruan Ge seemed to have suffered some stimulation, so he has a little memory loss, plus the infection on his neck couldn’t be seen.”

“There’s no news of Lao Zhang from 231?”

“He said he couldn’t find him, and only saw the survivor that Lao Zhang was going to meet. 231 will not lie to us. Chi Ge, he took the medicine. Ruan Ge must not be from the city. He doesn’t have any weapons…”

“I don’t like his face,” Chi Lei interrupted. “You were still young after the world ended, so it’s normal if you don’t understand. Café waiter? That’s not the kind of face one would have. The best case would be some young master who had adjusted his genes, which will be quite troublesome. It’s annoying enough to have Guan Haiming in the base.”

Ding Zepeng stopped talking. Every time he mentioned the world before it was destroyed, he couldn’t continue the conversation.

Seeing Ding Zeping silent, Chi Lei smiled wearily, put his cigarette in his mouth, and patted the young man on the back of the head. “It doesn’t hurt to be overly cautious.”

The two of them were silent for a while as they stared at the blank scanner screen.

“Chi Ge, do you think Zhang Ge will…”

“Talk less and no one will think you’re dumb.”

“Chi Ge!”

“I’m not asking you—fuck!” Seeing the shadow of black footsteps in the corner of his eyes, Chi Lei quickly reacted and pushed Ding Zepeng away. The sharp feet cut into Chi Lei’s back, and blood immediately gushed out.

“It’s a ventral cockroach. Run!” Chi Lei roared.

The two of them ignored the machine they had set up and ran down the mountain. Before they could even move two steps, another ventral cockroach lay in front of them. It stretched out its sickle-shaped hooked feet, flung open its fat and soft abdomen, and blocked their most convenient way to escape.

Chi Lei fired two shots. The belly of the cockroach was thick, so there was no point in hitting its abdomen; the eyes and joints were the focus. Unfortunately, the wound on his back slowed him down—the cockroach didn’t stop moving, so he missed his shots.

Blood began to drip on the ground.

Ding Zepeng swallowed. He hurriedly put together a laser stick and took a few steps and blocked Chi Lei’s injured back with his own. The tip of the stick was pointed at another approaching from behind.

“Two,” Chi Lei hissed. “Damn, why did they come here?”

“Chi Ge, the patrol time in the city…”

“I know. 231 should be coming. Wait for him to stabilize the situation, then we’ll escape together… Xiao Ding, don’t think about attacking. This is not something that can be dealt with!”

Ding Zepeng sighed and changed the position of his stick.

A hundred meters away, on the other side of the blocked road, Tang Yibu suddenly stopped.

“What?”

“That’s a ventral cockroach.” Tang Yibu looked at the monster and introduced it to him cordially, in a tone like a kindergarten teacher. “You’ve already killed one.”

“…Thanks for the explanation,” Ruan Xian said numbly.

“I’ll have to settle with a gun.”

“Hmm,” Ruan Xian responded as he raised his eyebrows. Just looking at Tang Yibu’s skills in the ruins, it didn’t look like he needed a gun.

“Thank you for your understanding.” Tang Yibu let go of his hands.

Ruan Xian, who was originally being princess carried, hit the ground and was left dazed for a moment. Mr. Ruan sat up slowly, rubbed his painful back, and looked at Tang Yibu in shock.

Tang Yibu moved sharply. Both hands were equipped with gun-like weapons. He smacked his lips, threw one of the guns to Ruan Xian, and then gave a thumbs up, as if he misread Ruan Xian’s eyes.

A somewhat fake bright smile emerged on his expressionless face, full of routine.

“Don’t worry. This distance is within my protection range. You’ll be fine.”

“…” Ruan Xian’s facial muscles twitched.

Tang Yibu sprinted onto the boulder on the side of the mountain, and with his feet on the abdomen of the ventral cockroach, he flipped beautifully to the side of the battlefield. The two ventral cockroaches in front of him were much larger than the one in the ruins, as their bellies were close to two meters high. It was difficult for Ruan Xian, who was sitting on the ground, to see the situation on the other side.

Ruan Xian took a deep breath and carefully looked at the gun in his hand. While quickly speculating on the usage, he tried to distinguish the various sounds of the battle.

Things were obvious now. Tang Yibu had a body that was very close to that of a human, but from the way he spoke, he obviously didn’t think he was a member of the human race. Based on the existing information, he was most likely related to the androids that Ding Zepeng warned him about.

Research on androids had been ongoing, but the progress wasn’t really fast. Humans have been trying to make androids since a hundred years ago, but even until the time before their death, the technology was still far from completion. There weren’t too many jobs that required a human form. The police would have large mechanical police dogs for assistance, the military would have intelligent combat vehicles, and even domestic robots were only the size of a garbage can.

In contrast, the cost of a realistic human appearance was too high and wasn’t as marketable as one might think.

Virtual reality had progressed closer to completion, and the development of independent AI was the fastest way to make money. Abandoning the detour of “making hardware closer to people” and simply pairing a virtual image with suitable intracranial stimulation had met most of the population’s needs.

In order to ensure the stability of investment, Ruan Xian himself had a dedicated AI project team of his own. Unfortunately, before the project was completed, he was shot in the head.

So far, from his attitude, Tang Yibu probably regarded him as a similar kind. The secrets that needed to be kept in the cooperation agreement should also be related to Tang Yibu’s true situation.

If Tang Yibu needed a similar kind, it would be better for him to “temporarily disguise” himself than “face the possibility of being killed”.

Ruan Xian activated his firearm and stared at the battlefield a hundred meters away.

A ventral cockroach could be stalled by an implosion bomb, but it couldn’t be possible when being surrounded by two cockroaches. The ventral cockroach that blocked the road occasionally moved, revealing a bit of the situation on the battlefield. Ding Zepeng waved his laser stick with ease and had already cut off a few feet of one of them. Chi Ge was injured and was shooting with his gun, and for a while, he couldn’t see which side had the upper hand.

Ruan Xian raised the muzzle of his gun and his eyes fixed on the movements of the abdominal muscles.

Indiscriminately attacking them would only irritate them. He must seize the moment—The success in the ruins was purely fate, and if it weren’t for those steel beams on the ceiling, Ruan Xian didn’t think he could handle the kind of thing in front of him.

After a burst of gunfire, a shrill wail pierced Ruan Xian’s ears. One of the bloated abdomens stopped moving. The actions of the other gradually slowed down. Tang Yibu held a gun in one hand and supported Chi Ge, whose legs were weak, with the other. He leaped over the belly of the strange insect again and ran towards Ruan Xian. Xiao Ding jumped up and quickly followed Tang Yibu closely.

The abdomen of the insect was originally soft, and after some fighting, it was wrapped in a lot of mucus. Ding Zepeng stagged and fell straight down from the two-meter-high insect abdomen.

Tang Yibu stopped immediately, turned his head and fired a few more shots. The bug seemed to be dizzy as it waved its feet without the slightest inclination to escape. Its thick abdomen suddenly deflated, and three scorpion-tail-like things burst out from the bulging abdomen and stabbed Ding Zepeng.

“It’s a tail stinger. This thing wants to die with us!” Chi Ge shouted in a hoarse voice. “231, use explosives. Bomb it!”

“It’s already blind.” Tang Yibu’s voice was steady as he continued shooting. “The explosion will attract detection birds, which isn’t the best solution.

“The patrol time for the detection bird is still approaching. We’ll still have time to hide!” Seeing Ding Zepeng struggle to stand up, his face paled, and he dragged his legs forward. Chi Ge’s voice became sharp. “Xiao Ding! You brat, come here!”

The monster was already covered in gunshot wounds. It was a few steps behind Ding Zepeng as it bit down. Its broken black sickle-like feet were waving while the mucus-stained stingers were poking frantically. Ding Zepeng pursed his lips and looked towards them. Instead of approaching, he began to lead it away.

“Where are you going? Get back!” Chi Ge roared as he watched the monster leave his range. “231. Explosives. Bomb it. This is an order!”

“I can only properly carry two people. Now that the three of you are all in a state of inconvenience, when the explosion attracts the detection bird, one person is destined to fail to escape the reconnaissance. It takes five minutes to kill a ventral cockroach, while the patrol will take five minutes and forty seconds. There is a surplus of forty seconds. In theory, all the crew can survive… If Ding Zepeng is unfortunately sacrificed, I will immediately take you two to hide.”

“…Use the explosives first. Bomb it, then take those two boys away. I give you my authorization.” Chi Ge shook off Tang Yibu’s arm and sat on the ground panting. “You can’t take risks with Xiao Ding. They are still young. If someone has to die, I should be the one.”

“No.” Tang Yibu’s movements didn’t stop. “I must choose the plan with the highest collective survival rate. This is the rule.”

His voice was calm and unwavering.

“You—” Chi Ge was so angry he lost his breath and almost dropped the gun in his hand.

“Xiao Ding, come here!” Ruan Xian suddenly raised his voice. “231 has a way—!”

Hearing that “231” had a way, Ding Zepeng honestly changed direction and limped towards them, who were just a few hundred meters away.

“What are you doing?! I told you…” Chi Ge was about to divert his anger but suddenly fell to the ground softly, as if he had lost consciousness.

Tang Yibu glanced at Ruan Xian meaningfully.

“He has lost too much blood. His physiological reaction won’t lie. You were also waiting for him to faint, weren’t you?” Ruan Xian sighed.

It was now.

His heart beat like a drum and his ears were full of the sound of blood flowing. Ruan Xian gasped desperately, holding onto the muzzle of the gun with both hands. Time flow seemed to slow down, and the monster’s movements were clear and slow.

Combining wind speed, weapon status, and distance, he found that he could predict where the bullet would hit. It felt wonderful, abnormal but natural, as if it came from instinct and the calculation process was almost negligible.

It was like bending over to pick up a fallen leaf.

This feeling had appeared in the ruins before, but this time it was particularly strong.

In Ding Zepeng’s shocked eyes, Ruan Xian fired at the monster behind him. Outside the young man’s field of vision, every bullet hit the place where Tang Yibu had hit.

The damage suddenly doubled, and the frantic abdominal movement stagnated for a few seconds.

Tang Yibu took the opportunity to rush forward and knocked Ding Zepeng aside while firing—The latter didn’t get up again after falling. Ruan Xian was pretty sure he saw Tang Yibu put away something similar to a needleless syringe.

Tang Yibu dropped his gun.

“Hit the columnar structure below its mouth!” The patterned smile on his face disappeared as Tang Yibu stepped onto the abdomen of the cockroach.

Ruan Xian didn’t hesitate.

After being hit in its sensitive area, the crazy ventral cockroach instinctively curled up. This action caused its stingers to shrink back and its abdomen to swell again. Tang Yibu directly clung to a stinger and tore it off cleanly, bringing out a large bunch of viscous internal organs. Before the ventral cockroach had time to react, he used the stinger as a weapon and nailed the soft abdomen of the ventral cockroach to the soil fiercely.

The entire process was rough and precise, like a fierce beast hunting down prey.

Just like Ruan Xian had seen before, the ruptured abdomen quickly stopped moving.

Tang Yibu clapped his hands, put the gun on the ground back on his belt, and then picked up Ding Zepeng. He easily returned the way he came and placed the unconscious Ding Zepeng next to the unconscious Chi Ge.

“What should I do now?” Holding back the shock and tension, Ruan Xian asked in a steady tone. “There’s less than a minute left. I can’t move yet. Can’t you move three people?”

“I’ll control their coma time to two hours.” Tang Yibu spread his hands. “That should be enough.”

“According to the conversation you just had, the detection bird…”

“Yes, that’s them.” Tang Yibu’s irritating introductory tone reappeared as he pointed to the flock of birds flying their way.

Then he simply made a gesture.

The flock of birds turned a little and flew away from the area. A single bird flew out of the unusually neat flock, flapping its wings as it descended, stopping on Tang Yibu’s index finger.

“Detection birds.” Tang Yibu stretched out his hand slightly and showed it to Ruan Xian. “The city uses this to detect human traces.”

The shape of the detection bird was a bit like a sparrow, with brown and gray feathers, which made it an excellent camouflage in the woods. Its head had no eyes or beak, only a camera-like structure in the middle, and its body was not much different from a real living bird.

Ruan Xian forcibly held back his shudder and observed it as calmly as possible.

Tang Yibu was flat-faced and rubbed the deformed head of the bird with his fingers.

“Since it is used to detect human traces, what about Chi Ge and Xiao Ding?” Ruan Xian specifically excluded himself.

“They will not be discovered.”

Tang Yibu retracted his hand and let the probing bird fly back into the sky.

“…I used my administrative rights to rewrite the exploration log of the birds.”

Ruan Xian turned his face mechanically.

‘You must hide it,’ he thought. The reason for Tang Yibu to silence him so he won’t be exposed seemed to have just increased by another count.

---

The author has something to say:

Yes, this is a love story between a range + (?) melee. Before, a friend asked who fights better. Under normal circumstances, they are evenly matched… It mainly depends on the terrain√

But Mr. Ruan’s current strength hasn’t been fully unlocked XD

Thank you all for your support (*/ω＼*)

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 5: Resurrection

A magazine from the year before the world was destroyed.

Ruan Xian almost dropped the circuit board to the ground. After making sure the tablet he spat back into his palm wasn’t exposed, Ruan Xian gritted his teeth and tensed his face for a long time…

He was positive that Ding Zepeng wasn’t lying.

“…Xiao Ding. I won’t waste your time, so I’ll ask you a question.” The boy looked simple, so it wasn’t good to ask complicated questions. Ruan Xian quickly found the right breakthrough.

“Okay, Ruan Ge, ask.”

“Are there any side effects to that medicine I took just now? What do you mean by ‘fleshy brain’?”

Hearing this question, Ding Zepeng’s expression instantly relaxed by a lot. “Chi Ge is afraid that the androids in the city will sneak in. What that pill does is it could destroy their circuits… Oh, the cybernetic brain. As soon as the brain is fried, their performance will look off immediately, so it’ll be easy to tell.”

“Androids in the city?”

“Yes, but it’s recently been getting less. Ruan Ge, you really don’t have to worry. Chi Ge is a little rough, but the medicine doesn’t hurt humans.” Ding Zepeng rubbed his hands. “I’m going to Chi Ge’s side. We’re on the hill not far from the tent. Just tell 231 if you’re uncomfortable and he’ll take care of you.”

He planned to continue this topic, but seeing Ding Zepeng step out, Ruan Xian swallowed back the question that was about to slip from his lips.

Since androids exist…

However, the object of his suspicion was nearby, which wasn’t a good time to inquire.

Watching Ding Zepeng leave the tent, Ruan Xian put the circuit board on his lap, broke a small piece of cake off and stuffed it into his mouth. While silently chewing the dry and bitter cake, he touched a thin dry branch from the ground, broke it, and pierced his fingers with the sharp wooden tip.

His consciousness was almost back to normal, and he had to make sure that what happened in the ruins wasn’t an illusion.

A bead of blood came out from his wound, and just as Ruan Xian was about to breath a sigh of relief, it trembledly absorbed back into his skin again, leaving no trace of broken skin on his finger.

Nothing had changed.

Ruan Xian closed his eyes and gently tapped his thighs under the thin blanket with his fingertips that should’ve been injured. On the whole, he was quite comfortable, besides the sweat that was sticking to his body.

The stagnation of his thinking completely disappeared, and the solid sense of control returned again. His memories were like well-classified documents, neat and organized.

Twelve years ago, his research partner, Fan Linsong, undoubtedly shot him in the head after an argument.

The surveillance of the institute was so strict that it was heinous, so Fan Linsong wouldn’t be stupid enough to try and transport the body out. Now that he thought about it, there were all kinds of unnatural aspects to their argument. He had been trying to convince Fan Linsong the entire time, but the other man looked like he was simply venting his anger.

His research partner wasn’t the type to kill in the heat of passion. Fan Linsong had definitely calculated the time and place and even called for helpers in advance to disguise themselves as assistants.

If it was him, how would he handle the body of an adult male?

His fingertips tapped faster, and more details were fished out from the bottom of his memories.

There was one way to deal with corpses in Lab No. 7—a container full of nanobots α-092. At the time of the argument, he was making improvements to α-092.

α-092 was originally used for the preservation of transplanted organs, which could dissolve and preserve living tissue for a long time. As long as the appropriate command was given, it would reassemble the dissolved organs while quickly repairing the damaged cells so that the transplanted organs could reach their theoretical peak state.

It wasn’t that no one had proposed using α-092 as a treatment for the entire human body, but it was unable to execute commands that were too complex. Successfully repairing a single organ was its limit.

At that time, Ruan Xian was focused on expanding its availability. However, the thing in actual development wasn’t stable. They could only be regarded as a semi-finished product that wasn’t even close to being used for animal testing.

But if it was simply used to destroy a body, things would be quite simple. It could break down everything, including bone and hair, without leaving a trace. Then, as soon as this test product was declared obsolete, the metal bin would be transported to the deepest basement and destroyed by specialized personnel after taking samples.

With Fan Linsong’s authority, it wasn’t difficult to do this.

Although he didn’t know why the experimental solution wasn’t destroyed, this idea could indeed explain a lot of things. After being activated with α-092, it quickly repaired and enhanced his body, which should’ve died. The enhanced sensor perception when he just woke up and the high fever after less than half a day could all be explained by this.

It was a sample that he made himself, so Ruan Xian knew its limits.

Even if the perception and resilience were enhanced for a certain period of time and even if his health was restored on the surface, the performance of α-092 couldn’t be adapted to complex human bodies. In simple terms, his body wasn’t completely “put together”, but was forcibly glued by α-092, just like a sandcastle on the beach. No matter how fine it was, it wasn’t comparable to a real fortress made of rocks.

A simple wave could tear it apart.

Ruan Xian opened his eyes and looked at his hands.

The high fever and burning thirst while in the underground ruins were just his body’s reaction to the collapse. Theoretically, within two hours after the attack, his skin and flesh would liquefy, and his entire body would turn into a few clumps of rotten meat hanging on the bones.

The problem was, he was still alive and wasn’t experiencing any discomfort.

These anomalies may be related to the so-called “S-type prototype”. The fastest way was naturally to consult Tang Yibu. It was just that it wasn’t a good idea to ask for help from an unpredictable guy prematurely. As for the rescuers, with Tang Yibu watching, it was better to keep a low profile until he could thoroughly analyze the current environment…

Ruan Xian picked up the cake left by Ding Zepeng and chewed it numbly; the rough and bitter taste stuck to his mouth. The air was fresh and crisp with a hint of grass. No matter how he looked at it, this wasn’t like the so-called “doomsday”.

Twelve years had passed, and he didn’t even know if Fan Linsong was still alive. Ruan Xian wasn’t curious about the other party’s motives for killing him. If he guessed correctly, Fan Linsong had already screamed them out during the argument.

After eating the cake, Ruan Xian put the pill he coughed up into his pocket. He hesitated for a while before grabbing the circuit board left by Ding Zepeng.

Ruan Xian recognized this thing. Twelve years ago, it didn’t have the conditions for widespread commercialization. During the period when he was unconscious, people obviously made a ton of improvements. Nowadays, it was only as thick as up to two pages of paper and could be easily rolled up, and the videos and words on it were crystal clear.

Ding Zepeng was obviously not a high-tech enthusiast. Most of the materials in it were just songs and dance videos of beautiful girls, essays and sketches of popular aesthetics, and many short stories.

Ruan Xian was so absorbed that he quickly filled his brain with all the information.

Just as he was carefully looking at a girl’s electronic wristband to deduce the technology level, Tang Yibu entered the tent. Ruan Xian’s movement stopped in the air, and the figure of a half-naked girl projected on the light screen stopped instantly.

Tang Yibu: “……”

Ruan Xian turned off the light screen stiffly. He wasn’t sure that there was any other meaning in the blank face of the other party.

Seeing the projection disappear, Tang Yibu took a step forward. Seeing as he was about to grab his collar again, Ruan Xian vigilantly blocked the hand.

“I need to determine your physical condition. Oral sampling is the fastest.” Tang Yibu, who was pushed away, had a serious tone that even contained a subtle hint of sincerity.

“I’m fine,” Ruan Xian said quickly.

“Okay, although I think it’s most appropriate to record data regularly,” when he said this, Tang Yibu looked regretful. For some reason, Ruan Xian suddenly wanted to punch him.

“If something is uncomfortable, please be sure to tell me,” Tang Yibu added, and his tone became even more sincere.

Perhaps he would consider it when he was on the verge of death. The polite smile on Ruan Xian’s face froze for a few seconds. “Speaking of which, I want to ask you—”

The sound of cloth tearing rang out as a familiar and annoying foot pierced the tent and inserted itself directly between the two of them. Yesterday, in the ruins of the corridor, he was almost stabbed in the head by this thing.

Ruan Xian: “……”

Tang Yibu reacted faster than he did. He neatly put on a bag in the corner of his back, threw something the size of a saucer on the ground, and then picked up Ruan Xian.

As soon as the two rushed out of the tent not far away, there was a series of loud noises behind them, mixed with the screams of monsters. The originally calm air suddenly turned into an oncoming hurricane, and the surrounding rubble quickly receded behind them at a terrifying speed, like…

“Contraction implosion,” Ruan Xian whispered.

“Normal explosions are too obvious.” Tang Yibu didn’t stop moving his feet and rushed towards the hill closest to the tent. “Implosion is better. It won’t attract unnecessary attention.”

“Unnecessary attention?”

Tang Yibu stopped, turned around, and silently motioned for Ruan Xian to look into the distance.

The weather was very good, the air was fine and crisp, and the scenery in the distance was extremely clear. The two of them were standing on an uphill road, and they could see the appearance of a city.

For a few seconds, Ruan Xian almost thought this was a continuation of his nightmare. When he heard the word doomsday, he had made a lot of conjectures, and at least prepared his mind for the appearance of S City, which was the closest city to the institute. He thought about the abandoned, empty city, the ruins of war, and even scorched explosion pits.

But he never thought about this.

The gray city stood in the distance. The buildings towered into the clouds, glowing metallically in the sunlight. It was closer to the sky than the S City in Ruan Xian’s memory. It was just that the shape was no longer a regular cube but closer to a gray crystal cluster. Countless geometric objects moved regularly on the building’s spire, leaving a series of flashing light trails. Tubular curved tunnels ran through the complex, interconnecting with each other like a network of veins stripped of flesh.

Floating in the air were light screens that overlapped each other; brightly and constantly being extinguished, which still looked conspicuous from this distance.

A high black fence was erected not far from the complex. Further up, was a huge device—or creature, Ruan Xian couldn’t tell—with its dark twelve long feet that stepped over the wall, almost covering the entire city under its body. As time passed, the thing would move its body from time to time, like it was a giant daddy-long legs spider that couldn’t be distinguish between its head and abdomen.

“Let’s go. Follow me to save people. Humans are now an endangered species.”

Seeing Ruan Xian fall into silence, Tang Yibu turned back and moved towards the top of the hill again.

“I don’t know what ‘experience’ you have been pre-programmed with, and maybe you’re still being affected by the memory data, but there’s one thing I must tell you up front—don’t get close to humans.”

---

The author has something to say:

Tip: For friends who are afraid of insects, don’t go to Baidu and search for pictures of the daddy-long legs (… Ruan thinks Tang is a human, Tang thinks Ruan is an android√

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 4: Survivor

The stranger on the opposite side blinked and tucked back a strand of hair behind his ear. His face still held no expression.

“Since the S-type Prototype has been marked by you, I can only settle for the next best thing and cooperate with you. If you don’t agree, the difference is only ‘erased by me’ or ‘erased by others in the future’. The latter comes with the risk of exposing me.”

The tone of golden eyes was flat with no emotions.

“The content of the cooperation is simple. You need to act with me as much as possible, provide support, and keep my secret. In return, I can guarantee your safety.”

The situation was suspicious, and the other party had suddenly appeared. He wasn’t stupid enough to obediently reveal his own situation and then ask a hundred thousand questions. Now he could only be sure of one thing. Looking at the degree of dilapidation of the institute and the weapon technology that suddenly jumped, this was indeed twelve years later. As for the various anomalies that occurred around him, true it was odd, but it wasn’t enough to infer the state of the general environment.

This stranger undoubtedly aggravated a sense of violation of reality.

The appearance of the visitor was truly outstanding, perhaps even too outstanding. Compared to a real person, it was more like a virtual image of perfection.

The skin of the person had a fineness that didn’t match the environment at all. The slightly long hair was cleaned and fresh. The limbs were slender and strong, and the nails were trimmed and neat. The style of clothing was close to the uniforms of many of the corpses, but while a bit faded, it didn’t have much damage on it, and even the cuffs were clean.

Without a relatively stable living environment, it was difficult for a person to maintain such an appearance.

Perhaps the situation wasn’t as bad as one would expect.

Ruan Xian squinted his eyes at the huge monster corpse in the shadows. The body wasn’t far from here, but the man didn’t even look at it, nor did he show any sign of nervousness. He carefully observed the man’s equipment and found nothing similar to a weapon.

The high fever in his body had not completely subsided. Within a few seconds of adjusting his leg posture, Ruan Xian’s crazy thoughts were still a bit sluggish.

If this wasn’t some elaborate joke, the strength of the visitor should be guaranteed. Although the details of the “S-type Prototype” and “mark” weren’t clear, this didn’t prevent him from making inferences.

From the state of “settling for the next best thing”, the first goal of golden eyes should be the so-called prototype. He somehow got involved with him and now the other party had to cooperate to achieve his goal. As for confidentiality, Ruan Xian couldn’t guess what golden eyes was referring to, but looking at the other party’s tone, it seemed that it was something he “should” know.

Neither could be used as a powerful bargaining chip.

If the prototype was imperative to golden eyes, or he was extremely concerned about his own secrets, he was bound to be more cautious in his words. There were many ways to induce, and the other party didn’t bother to choose the most drip-proof one. Ruan Xian couldn’t read the tone of voice either. It seemed that “cooperation” or “erasure” didn’t make much difference to that person.

This wasn’t an equal negotiation at all. It was more like a unilateral notification. The other party was more difficult to deal with than anyone he had ever met.

Bluffing, anger, or lying, people always had all kinds of flaws in their expressions, but golden eyes’ youthful face was blank. Unable to analyze his opponent’s emotions, there weren’t many choices he could make.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he once again glanced at the nearest weapon closest to him. Ruan Xian estimated the possibility of grabbing it and arming himself. Unfortunately, the gun was still too far away from him, and the opponent was still unintentionally standing in the position where it was easiest to stop him.

As far as his current physical condition was concerned, as long as golden eyes was willing, it wasn’t difficult to strangle him bare-handed. Although his body was abnormally resilient at the moment, Ruan Xian wasn’t sure whether a broken neck could be restored to its original state.

If he wanted to live, there was only one best choice.

“I agree to cooperate,” Ruan Xian said as calmly as possible as he moved his right leg away from the large piece of debris. “What do you call yourself?”

“Tang Yibu. As a ‘rescued survivor’, you can call me STR-Y type 307a231 or 231.” The man nodded, seemingly unsurprised by his answer. “Tell me your name and information.”

For a few moments, Ruan Xian almost thought that what was in front of him was a machine.

However, he could clearly see the cyan color of the veins under the fair skin. From this distance, the sound of blood flowing and the heart beating in Tang Yibu’s body was very real. This person with the “number” undoubtedly had a living body.

Would someone give a living human a number…? What was the situation outside?

“A rescued survivor? Since you don’t want to be exposed, I need more details. Otherwise, I can’t cooperate with you.” Ruan Xian talked as naturally as possible.

Sure enough, STR-Y type 307a231—or Tang Yibu—stopped moving and stared at him steadily.

“Your information hasn’t been updated,” Tang Yibu said with certainty.

Ruan Xian’s heart sank while he maintained a polite smile on his face.

Tang Yibu stared at him for a while, then swept his eyes across his leg and said, without much thought, “This arrangement is also logical.”

Ruan Xian continued to smile, his expression motionless.

“I’ll give you more information, but not now. At present, your response is very good. I’ll tell them that you have been stimulated and can’t remember too many things for the time being,” Tang Yibu said with a stern face. “As for the areas that need attention… Please don’t mention my affairs to others and don’t show interest in my behavior. If you violate the cooperation agreement, you will only suffer from it.”

It seems that the other party wanted to take him to “other people”.

“No problem.” This time Ruan Xian’s smile came from the heart. What he lacked most now was intelligence. The more people there were, the richer the information he could get from their gestures.

“Now I need your name and information,” Tang Yibu repeated again.

“Ruan Lijie, 28 years old, a waiter in a café.” Ruan Xian stared into the other person’s eyes. “I remember until March 1, 2095. I have no impression of what happened after that.”

“Very good. Happy cooperation, Mr. Ruan,” Tang Yibu stood up and stretched out his hand.

Ruan Xian hesitated for a moment before grabbing his hand.

As a result, Tang Yibu didn’t have any intention of shaking hands. Instead, he directly pulled Ruan Xian from the ground and held him with his right arm. His free left hand went into the torn mouth of Ruan Xian’s jacket and ripped it apart with a swish.

Ruan Xian’s hard-won clothes suddenly disappeared.

“This body doesn’t work. It’s easy to arouse suspicion,” Tang Yibu graciously stated, kicking the shredded clothes aside. “I’ll go find a suitable set for you.”

He even took a serious look at Ruan Xian’s naked body with a calm expression that made no waves, without the slightest embarrassment or unnaturalness. Ruan Xian slowly got rid of his arm, fell to the ground, hugged his naked knees, and beat up the man in front of him ten times in his mind. Even if this was some ruins and the only bystander was of the same sex, Mr. Ruan, who had always paid attention to etiquette, had no interest in streaking.

Tang Yibu didn’t seem to notice the anger of his new partner. He turned and walked to the ruins closest to them and lifted the top of a concrete slab, as if the thing was made of papier-mâché.

Ruan Xian instantly stopped his decompression activities of beating up Tang Yibu in his mind, narrowed his eyes, and carefully observed his opponent’s actions.

Tang Yibu had his back turned to him and was cleaning up the ruins. The heavy stones and concrete seemed to have turned into styrofoam in his hands as he easily plucked them away and plowed out a metal cabinet from the depths of the ruins.

Its style was similar to the one Ruan Xian had seen, and the contents weren’t too different. Tang Yibu tore the iron sheet like an orange and fished out a sealed uniform and a pair of rubber boots from the inside.

“Here.” Tang Yibu patted the dust on his hands and handed over the clothes and boots magnanimously.

Ruan Xian glanced at the hands that easily tore the iron sheet and took the clothes numbly. This time, he didn’t expect Tang Yibu to consciously avert his eyes, but turned around himself with difficulty, reluctantly put on his uniform, and tied the waist bag with the food cannister to his waist.

Now he knew why Tang Yibu wasn’t equipped with weapons. As far as his opponent’s unusual skills were concerned, not to mention the condescension thought of breaking his neck, he might not be able to survive with just a kick alone.

Before Ruan Xian could tidy up his collar, Tang Yibu squatted down in front of him again, lowered his head and put his face extremely close to his.

Just when the tips of their noses almost touched and Ruan Xian began to formally consider whether to retreat, Tang Yibu retracted his body and took out a bandage and a vial from his waist bag.

The weird superhuman gestured for a while, sprayed some potion on the bandage, took it and applied it to Ruan Xian’s neck. The latter shrank his shoulders vigilantly, expressing his puzzlement and dissatisfaction with his eyes.

“You’re not injured. This isn’t natural.” Tang Yibu raised his hand.

“As soon as it’s unwrapped, it’ll be exposed.”

“It doesn’t matter. No one will remove it.”

Seeing Tang Yibu’s tone firm, Ruan Xian sighed and acquiesced to his opponent’s actions.

The bandage that smelled of pungent medicine was wrapped around his neck a few times. Ruan Xian had just planned to find another topic to talk about, but before he could open his mouth, he was picked up horizontally by his opponent.

“…” Damn it.

On the positive side, at least he could leave this shithole early.

Ruan Xian gave up his plan to further communicate with Tang Yibu. He adjusted his posture, closed his eyes, and took the opportunity to recover his strength.

The nerves that had been tight relaxed a little, and the fatigue caused by the long-term high fever swept across his body in an instant. The body temperature of the other person was too comfortable. Ruan Xian squinted his eyes, not resisting the invasion of drowsiness.

He didn’t know how long it took, but the surrounding environment suddenly became noisy.

“Hey. Wake up!” a voice yelled in his ear. “Chi Ge, this person isn’t waking up. Do you think he’s burned out?”

Ruan Xian couldn’t bear to open his eyes. He saw the top of a tent, plus a big smiling face.

The young man in front of him looked more normal than Tang Yibu in all aspects. He was at most in his early twenties, had a simple and honest appearance, with an ordinary flat head. His skin was tanned and red from long-term sun exposure, and he was wearing a camouflage T-shirt that was soaked and exuded a strong smell of sweat.

“Chi Ge. He’s awake!” Seeing Ruan Xian’s eyes open, he suddenly began to yell excitedly, grinning ear to ear.

Ruan Xian found himself lying on a plastic sheet, also covered in sweat, and was covered with a dirty thin blanket. His brain felt like ice water, but it no longer had that stuffy, cold feeling. Most likely, his fever was gone.

He turned his head sideways and didn’t find Tang Yibu in the small tent.

“Are you thirsty? You were burning up badly just now.” The young man’s Mandarin was barely standard, with a northern accent that couldn’t be concealed. He grabbed a potholed iron cup and shook the water inside. “Here, do you want me to give you a hand?”

“Thank you.” The other party’s concerned look didn’t seem fake. Ruan Xian relaxed slightly, returned a sincere smile, mixed with just the right amount of tension. He waved his hand, propped up his upper body, and drank the glass of water.

Clear water moistened his thirsty throat, causing Ruan Xian to let out a comfortable sigh.

His body temperature had returned to normal, the inexplicable amplification of his sensors seemed to have subsided by a lot, and the world was gradually changing back to its familiar appearance.

“Ding Zepeng, but you can just call me Xiao* Ding.” The young man patted his chest and took the empty cup. “There’s still some left in the pot. Want another cup?”

*Little/small (小) When used in front of a name, it’s an affectionate/friendly way to call someone who’s usually younger than you.

Ding Zepeng’s expression was mixed with concern, curiosity, and nervousness, but there weren’t any traces of disgust.

‘That’s rare,’ Ruan Xian thought. It seemed that his skin had recovered well. At the very least, he no longer looked like Frankenstein.

“No, thank you.” Ruan Xian thanked him again and pointed to himself. “Ruan Lijie.”

“Don’t worry, Ruan Ge. Chi Ge is outside and will be here soon.” Ding Zepeng squeezed his shoulder carelessly with a big grin. “Since we’re here, it won’t be a problem anymore.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the tent curtain was lifted by a hand, and a lean man entered the tent with his head down.

“Chi Ge” had the same tanned and red skin as Ding Zepeng and looked to be in his forties. His stubble had some gray, and his whole person looked a bit gloomy. He had a conspicuous gun hanging from his waist.

“Xiao Ding, stay away from that guy.” Chi Ge frowned as soon as he entered the tent. “We don’t know if that’s a person or a ghost, so don’t be busy getting close.”

The young man opened his mouth and glanced at Ruan Xian a little embarrassedly. Chi Ge threw over a metal box, and his face didn’t look very good. “Take a piece.”

“What is this?” Ruan Xian picked up the metal box and shook it. There was a jingle inside, like it contained pills.

“Antipyretic medicine.” The man raised his tone slightly and replied angrily.

Ruan Xian’s gaze quickly swept across the man’s face. The other party’s impatient expression was well disguised, but unfortunately, it wasn’t perfect.

Chi Ge was lying.

Ruan Xian glanced at Ding Zepeng, who was obviously nervous around him. He didn’t open the metal box and hung the smile on his face. “Thank you, Chi Ge. My fever has already subsided, so there’s no need to waste it.”

Chi Ge’s made a stink face. “You have to recover quickly, or we have to take more time to take care of you. Don’t do this.”

“My physique isn’t very good and I’m allergic to a lot of medicines. Chi Ge, I really don’t need it. In case something happens to you, it’ll only trouble you even more,” Ruan Xian added a little bit of weakness to his tone.

“Please take it.” Chi Ge slowed down his tone and was too lazy to hide it anymore. He put his hand clearly on the handle of the gun around his waist.

“Isn’t this thing rare? Ruan Ge was born well, but 231 didn’t say anything. Chi Ge, you won’t—” Ding Zeping finally couldn’t help but take a step forward, looking a little embarrassed.

“Is he what a survivor looks like? Fine skin, tender meat. What use is 231. It’s just a brainless thing. Who knows what has developed in this city, and if something goes wrong, are you and I going to take the blame?”

Ding Zepeng scratched his head, looked away, and said nothing more.

“Don’t worry. If your brain is fleshy, nothing will happen.” Chi Ge’s voice was a bit hoarse, and his eyes didn’t look good.

Brain is fleshy?

Ruan Xian opened the metal box. There were about five gray discs with metallic lusters lying inside. The shape was like a potion.

“You can put down the gun first. I’ll eat. I’ll eat,” he said obediently.

“I’ll do it myself. Xiao Ding, get the guy ready. You can keep an eye on him, just in case.” Chi Ge drew out his gun, took out another metal box with his spare hand, and took out one of the pieces in it with one hand.

“Where is the gentleman who saved me?” Ruan Xian thought for a moment before making a panicked face.

“Outside. He won’t come to save you this time.” Chi Ge frowned. “Be good.”

Sitting upright, Ruan Xian stared at the muzzle of the gun and pretended to be scared and no longer resisted. He opened his mouth tremblingly.

Since Tang Yibu was outside and specifically mentioned cooperating, it was impossible to be unprepared for the current situation. Tang Yibu didn’t indicate that this thing would pit him too badly; if he wanted to destroy his will, Tang Yibu could pretend to be a rescuer from the beginning to fool him directly.

However…

Chi Ge snorted and neatly stuffed the pill into Ruan Xian’s mouth. He then grabbed a cup of water that Ding Zepeng gave him and directly poured down a few mouthfuls of water.

After making sure there were no traces of the pill left in Ruan Xian’s mouth, Chi Ge put down his gun and moved the cup.

“There don’t seem to be any abnormalities. Let 231 take care of him and also give him something to eat. Xiao Ding, you follow me to contact Lao Zhang. If we don’t hear anything by tonight, we’ll go back to the shelter.”

Ruan Xian covered his mouth and coughed like crazy, choking so much that he almost vomited.

Ding Zepeng hurriedly stood up and patted Ruan Xian on the back.

Seeing Chi Ge head out of the tent, he took out a piece of cake-like stuff from a cloth bag in the corner and stuffed it into Ruan Xian’s hand. Then he lowered his voice, “Ruan Ge, don’t be afraid. Chi Ge has a temper, but he’s actually not malicious…”

“It’s okay. I just didn’t know what was going on, so I was a little flustered.” Ruan Xian smiled amicably. The young man was a person who couldn’t hide his heart. He didn’t want to make it too difficult for the other party. “The rules on your side are quite scary.”

Ding Zepeng’s eyes flickered for a moment. “Ruan Ge… Oh, let’s talk about this later. I have to help Chi Ge.”

“Is there anything to relieve boredom? The kind that can divert attention.” He saw Ding Zepeng becoming more uneasy, so Ruan Xian softened his voice, and he quickly move past the previous topic.

“Oh, oh.” Ding Zepeng took out a circuit board the size of an A4 paper from his cloth bag and handed it over with both hands. “Take a look at this. It’s a little magazine.”

The harvest was much better than expected. Before Ruan Xian had time to thank him, Ding Zepeng added another sentence.

“…It’s a few years before the destruction of the world, so I only found this much.”

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The author has something to say:

Tang: (*\’へ\’*)

Ruan: σ(°ω°;)

Ruan Xian finally merged with the true human race!

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 3: Meeting

When Ruan Xian woke up again, sunlight was pouring from the hole in the ceiling. From the perspective of light, the sun should’ve risen.

The monster’s corpse lay in the shadows, and the warm light sprinkled on the dilapidated machinery and bones gave a strange sense of peace.

Unfortunately, his state was not at all harmonious.

His physical strength had recovered a bit, but the high fever in his body showed no signs of receding. Sweat kept coming out of his pores. Ruan Xian was short of breath, his mouth was dry, and he was shivering from the cold. He had used the flimsy plastic cloth as a blanket, and he was still so exhausted that he just wanted to go back to sleep, but reason woke him up unceremoniously. His physical condition wasn’t normal, and if this continued, he would only get weaker.

Although he still hadn’t eaten, hunger was almost overwhelmed by anxiety and thirst so that it didn’t have much sense of existence left.

Ruan Xian shook his head and forced himself to sober up a bit.

The over-magnified hearing came in handy for the first time. The gurgling sound of surging water rushed into his ears. It seemed there was water nearby that was within a hundred meters. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to originate from the surface or deeper underground.

He hoped it wasn’t the sound coming from the pipes inside the wall.

The plastic cloth on his body was replaced with the coat from the corpse. He put the food cannister and lantern in the dirty waist bag and tied two intact weapons to it. After Ruan Xian was ready, he propped himself up on a hollow plastic pipe and tried to stand up.

He hadn’t stood up successfully for many years, and his body was weak. Before Ruan Xian could straighten his legs, he fell to the ground.

After grinding his teeth in pain for over ten seconds, he got up bitterly and tried to stand again. However, under the premise of insufficient skill, the plastic pipe couldn’t steadily support most of the weight of an adult man, so the end on the ground skidded. This time, Ruan Xian knelt down in place.

The third time, the fourth time, the fifth time.

Every time he tried, it ended with him lying on his stomach. The sensitive sense of touch didn’t help at all, and the pain was so painful that he didn’t even dare to vent his anger by smashing the ground.

His two legs were indeed intact, and the hardware worked fine, but Mr. Ruan, who had great powers, was in urgent need of a book of instructions for the use of human legs. His attempts didn’t get him up quickly and made him feel like a plate full of smashed cucumbers.

Ruan Xian glared at the scratched-up plastic pipe in his hand and redoubled his efforts.

An hour and a half later.

Panting on two temporarily assembled crutches, Ruan Xian barely straightened up and walked to the corner of the dilapidated hall. All this tossing and turning almost exhausted the last of his strength.

Hesitating for a few seconds, Ruan Xian leisurely freed his right hand and pulled the food canister out of his waist bag with the smiling side facing him.

“Don’t talk about climbing back to the surface, every step can kill me… Say, they won’t be free to make random changes.”

The whisper failed to echo in the empty underground ruins. No one answered him. Ruan Xian smiled reluctantly.

The long-abandoned hall was originally on the second floor of the underground, with a height of around eight meters. Based on his current physical state, if he failed to find supplies in time, it was absolutely impossible to return to the surface from this hole.

Other pathways were blocked. Ruan Xian remembered the floor plan of the entire experimental building. Even if he went out of the hall normally, it would be a long way to return to the surface. Not to mention that most of the doors were covered by ruins, and there was only bottomless darkness in the gaps.

There was also good news.

Looking at the condition of the hall, the layout hadn’t changed much in the past twelve years. The underground space was originally used for storage and observation, so a small residential area was also allocated. As one of the most prestigious guests, his room was always well equipped and shouldn’t be easily converted for other purposes.

It included a bathroom that was connected to an independent water supply system.

He couldn’t hear the exact location of the sound of water, but the general direction was indeed consistent with his former residence.

Ruan Xian quickly touched the outermost door. Indeed, it was still the door in his memory, but it was so tightly sealed that not even a crack was there. It wasn’t destroyed as he had hoped. Ruan Xian brushed the dead vines by the door, pressed around, and barely touched something that was close to a recognizer.

He wiped the thick dust on it with his hand, and a trace of blue light appeared from behind the hard glass.

Not to mention whether this thing could be used or not, it was better to say that it was absolutely improbable that the security system hadn’t been upgraded for these full twelve years.

“It seems that we have to drill into the corridor next door.” Ruan Xian sighed at the smiling face and retracted hand. “I hope that thing yesterday doesn’t have any relatives around…”

But before he could finish speaking, a somewhat distorted electronic noise sounded.

“Welcome, Mr. Ruan Xian. Today is March 17, 2107. I wish you a wonderful day.”

The sweet and friendly voice was mixed with pitch changes and a jarring tone, making it sound quite eerie. The tightly closed metal door made an unpleasant scrapping sound and withdrew to the sides. The wall lamps in the corridor behind the door suddenly lit up, and several of them kept flickering.

Ruan Xian clenched his crutches and carefully moved into the corridor.

Something was wrong.

Regardless of whether he was designated as dead or missing that year, the institute wouldn’t retain his access, let alone synchronize the information to the new device. However, there were too many inexplicable things currently that was far worse than this issue. Ruan Xian’s attention was very focused. Since the facilities here were relatively intact, the hope of finding water was also much greater.

The sound of water had changed from vague and dull to clear and audible.

Licking his chapped lips, his Adam’s apple bobbed, and he almost instinctively turned to the door of his original residence. This door was the closest to the entrance, and a thin layer of dust had accumulated in front of it so it should be a good choice.

Ruan Xian stuffed the food cannister back into his waist bag and clenched his weapons. His back tensed. He then knocked on the strange security lock with his fingertips, obediently allowing the light that came through to quickly sweep over his entire body.

“Cheers. Welcome back to… home.” The emotionless electronic sound was intermittent, more distorted, and hoarser than the one at the door.

This time the door didn’t immediately open, and the familiar password light screen appeared in front of him.

Ruan Xian frowned.

All kinds of pictures flashed on the password light screen. Photos of orchids, buildings, complicated physical formula and mathematical equations, complex molecular structures, and even a few music scores and excerpts from literature. Dozens of pictures were mixed together, flashing and switching so fast that if they were to be made public, they would need an epilepsy warning.

Bracing himself, Ruan Xian looked at the rapidly flashing light screen without blinking.

In less than ten seconds, the pictures finished playing. He pondered for a moment, stretched out his fingers, and drew an intricate figure on the blank light screen. Just as the scorching fingertips drew away, the heavy door clicked softly, and then slid open silently.

…Everything was the same.

At the beginning, he liked to take all kinds of information back to his room for research. For safety reasons, Ruan Xian specifically wrote a password system for himself. The order in which the pictures were played each time was completely random, and the association and inference of the pictures could only be done with his own brain.

The things in those pictures were only meaningful to him, and there was no second person in the entire world who could use this password mechanism.

Things were getting weirder.

Ruan Xian broke off one of the tubes that he was using as a crutch and wasn’t stable. After making sure it would allow the automatic door to leave a crack, he put his finger on the trigger and dragged himself into the room as quietly as possible.

The layout of the room was earth-shattering.

Ruan Xian liked warm colors and a relaxed decorating style. When he left the room “this morning”, the artificial sunlight still shone on the thick and soft carpet, making the small half of the wooden table white. Now the spacious front hall was cut off, leaving only a suffocating narrow space in front of the door, like stepping into another corridor.

The sensor light in the room turned on in response.

There wasn’t a single piece of the original furniture left. The wooden floor was replaced with ceramic tiles, which were cold and hard. On one side of the wall was a rough iron cabinet, half a person high, with a slightly ajar door. Ruan Xian leaned against the wall and opened the cabinet door with his other crutch. There were a few sets of vacuum-treated uniform-style clothes and two pairs of ordinary rubber boots.

No water.

Ruan Xian left the cabinet without hesitation and stopped in front of the extra wall—the texture of the wall was strange, and it didn’t look thick. The only door that seemed to have no mystery is the one that was just an ordinary sliding door.

The loud sound of water was behind the wall.

Ruan Xian raised the gun in his hand a little higher, leaned against the wall on the side door, trying to maintain his balance, and opened the sliding door with his other hand.

Except for the steady sound of water, there was no other sound in the room. Ruan Xian waited patiently for a few minutes, then grabbed his crutch and glanced cautiously through the door.

Then he stopped breathing.

The door was empty. The wall that was originally embedded with a huge electronic window was now filled with all kinds of machines, and there was no longer a place for virtual scenery. The wall facing the door could hardly be considered a “wall” anymore.

A huge water tank occupied the small room, taking up close to half the space. The thick transparent glass filled the space from the ceiling to the floor, extending to both ends of the walls on both sides. From a glance, it looked a bit like an aquarium display tank, but the glass of the display tank didn’t flash densely with data like this.

The sound of water was coming from behind the glass.

There were no rare creatures soaked in the liquid, and there was no tube that provided nutrition or oxygen. A mass of white things was wandering underwater, a bit like a large jellyfish that was curled up.

Making sure there was no suspicious sound, Ruan Xian moved into the room and stroked the cold glass with one hand. The liquid in the tank was very clear, and he was sure he smelled water and not the pungent smell of chemicals. The water tank was equipped with a circulating filtration device. If the independent water supply system in this room was used, it wasn’t difficult to maintain it for decades.

As long as he could find the filter device, he could draw out clean water.

The high heat from his body made the glass touched by his palm colder, and the hot air from his nostrils almost burned the skin. Ruan Xian took a few breaths, then retracted his gaze from the wall full of machines and instinctively looked ahead…

For a moment, he almost thought he was hallucinating.

The white mass of things floated in front of him at some point, sticking to his hand that was touching the glass. Like a mirror image, a human hand condensed on the other side of the glass, followed by arms, torso, head, and feet.

The opposite thing had no sexual characteristics, no hair, and even no facial features on the head. Compared to humans, it was more like a wooden mannequin used for decoration and reference hundreds of years ago.

It floated in the liquid, accurately imitating Ruan Xian’s every movement, like a ghost reflection in the mirror.

Ruan Xian suddenly retracted his hand from the glass.

The “person” on the opposite side didn’t imitate this action but leaned over and drew back its hand.

Then it slammed onto the glass.

The force was so great that the whole piece of glass shook violently a few times. Ruan Xian propped up his crutches, took two steps back, and grabbed the gun tightly in his hand. With a deadly high fever, his headache became worse and everything in front of him began to appear murky.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

The thing was beating the glass frantically, moving faster.

The glass let out an overwhelming creak, and gradually white ice crack lines emerged, and the flashing data began to disappear.

Ruan Xian briefly estimated his distance from the door, then simply raised his gun.

The moment the human-like object came out, Ruan Xian bombarded its body and head frantically, and then was knocked to the ground by a large amount of liquid gushing out. The fragile temporary crutch immediately fell apart and hit the corner of the room with the water flowing with glass blocks.

Ruan Xian’s mind became a little clearer after being submerged with cold water all over his body. He coughed out a few mouthfuls of water, grabbed another gun pinned to his waist bag, sat down on the floor, and looked around vigilantly.

The white human-like object was blown into several pieces, but there was no structure similar to human tissue. It quickly condensed together, glued back to its human form, and then crawled quickly towards him.

Ruan Xian didn’t hesitate to shoot again.

This time, the explosive shell went straight through the humanoid, as if it was passing through smoke, and finally exploded in vain on the empty wall behind it. The humanoid object stretched out its hand and grabbed Ruan Xian’s ankle with a terrifying force.

Ruan Xian supported his body and retreated. The shards of glass scratched his palms, but he didn’t even feel it. He just stared at his ankle, trying to command the disobedient leg muscle to retract and pull away.

However, it wasn’t as simple as “being caught”.

The thing clenched his ankle, and the skin of the “hand” began to stick to the skin on his ankle, like two masses of mud that were blending together. The burning pain rushed straight to the brain along the ankle. This time Ruan Xian didn’t hold back and screamed.

Although he hadn’t experienced it before, it felt as if he was being skinned alive, but his consciousness still remained.

As long as his consciousness was still there, he could think of a way.

Ruan Xian gasped with difficulty, staring closely at the thing that only God knew what it was, and persistently retreated to the door. His movements were fast and anxious, causing multiple glass shards to plunge into the palms of his hands, but in front of the spreading unknown pain, that pain was considered negligible.

The blood was spreading fast into the stagnant water on the floor.

Amazingly, he just retreated to the “corridor” near the metal cabinet when the thing weakened without warning.

Like a snowball in heat, the petals of a flower in fire, it quickly withered, collapsed, and eventually only left a large puddle of goo in place. The crisis was temporarily averted. Ruan Xian laid on the spot with all his strength, swallowing oxygen desperately in the joy of the aftermath. After his brain was emptied for a full half a minute, he raised his hands and began to clean up the glass shards embedded in his wounds.

After getting rid of the foreign object, the wound was healing quickly at an abnormal rate.

At any rate, he wasn’t short on water now. Ruan Xian couldn’t help but laugh dryly. He held onto the iron cabinet and could barely stand up. The fever seemed to have gone down a bit, and his brain that was almost cooked into a pot of porridge had finally calmed down…

He had to go back to the hall quickly and get himself another pair of crutches and a few more weapons. This place was bad. It was like a ridiculous nightmare. Before planning any more details, he must first ensure his safety.

However, when Mr. Ruan crawled back to the hall, there was an additional thing amid the otherwise empty space.

A figure stood in the center of the hall, directly below the hole.

Needless to say, Ruan Xian was nervous about humanoid objects now. He subconsciously reached out his arm and crossed over the ribs of who knows what to grab the gun next to the corpse.

The other party was faster than him.

Almost the next second, the figure flashed in front of him. Seeing that the figure was a tall man, Ruan Xian wanted to take a closer look, but his collar was seized. The coat he got was extremely rough; the tug caused it to rub harshly on his skin. It was so painful he almost cursed.

Unfortunately, there was no chance to utter any expletives.

The visitor—whoever or whatever it was—lowered his head and decisively kissed him.

He should have tried to grab the gun just now, but he was in shock. Since he had no weapons, he chose to pretend to be dead, letting the other part lick the tip of his tongue.

The superficial calmness returned to actual calmness, and the warm sense of invasion made him sweat and his scalp tingled.

Calm down. Ruan Xian pinched his thighs. He endured being hunted by that monster, endured the ruins full of corpses all night, and even endured the weird thing just now, then surely he could endure this.

Five seconds.

Ruan Xian’s breathing began to shorten.

Ten seconds.

Anger was spreading rapidly. If it weren’t for the fact that his physical condition wasn’t in good condition, he would hardly be able to restrain the urge to bite that tongue.

After a full twenty seconds, the visitor finally moved his face away and wiped his mouth casually.

As soon as the hand holding his collar loosened, Ruan Xian sat back down and managed to stabilize his sitting position with his disobedient legs. The man half-knelt down and looked at him head to toe from about a step away.

His face was extremely handsome.

The weird stranger in front of him looked younger than thirty. He had fair skin and rare champagne golden eyes, a head of black hair that was slightly too long, and the tips of his hair covered the back of his neck. He had a gentle and friendly temperament. If he had met such a person on any other occasion, Ruan Xian believed he would have had a good impression of him.

However, his favorability now was in the negatives.

“I have roughly analyzed your situation. You now have two choices.” Golden eyes spoke seriously and remained expressionless, as if the two of them had just shook hands. “Cooperate with me or die here. Choose.”

“…You also have two choices, sir.”

After a few deep breaths, showing a slightly twitching smirk, Ruan Xian quickly responded.

“Explain or explain. Come on, choose one.”

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The author has something to say:

Two formal teachers!!! (^ρ^)/

This is the end of the prologue, and the next step is the first arc—

Ruan Xian won’t have limited mobility all the time. He just needs a little time to adapt. It’s impossible to suddenly walk like he’s flying hhhhhhhhh

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Kinky Thoughts:

This wraps up the prologue. Wow, we already got a kiss right off the bat.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 2: Twelve Years

Ruan Xian wiped away the remaining blood on his abdomen in disbelief as he saw it disappear in the palm of his hand and burrow back into his skin like a living thing. Whether it was his bare waist or abdomen or the palm that should have been stained with blood, there was no trace of blood left.

On the other side, as if encouraged by the smell of blood, the monster finally turned over and growled shrilly.

Now wasn’t the time to study anomalies. Ruan Xian pulled out a piece of plastic cloth to cover his body, separating his sensitive skin from the outside world, and the pain was instantly relieved. Immediately, he stretched out his arm and reached for a gun-like object in the rubble until he managed to grab it.

…It seemed his luck had not run out.

There was no gawdy design for the firearm in his hand. Numerous details and inferences from observation were intertwined in his mind. As a top scientist with a shooting hobby, he figured out how to use this thing almost immediately. Ruan Xian maintained a posture leaning on a concrete slab as he pointed the gun at the monster.

“Come on, let’s gamble.” He grinned, revealing his first smile since awakening.

The monster didn’t care if its extra meal came in an extra layer of packaging. It crawled closer eagerly with its mouth hidden in its gaiters that were splitting in all directions. Saliva dripped uncontrollably from the mouthparts where it bared its teeth.

His opponent kept moving in the faint light, but Ruan Xian had never seen so clearly. The hard thorns on the monster’s black feet were conspicuous, and its long crab-like eyes were hidden between the gaps in its feet. He could even see the folds of flesh at the junction of its eyeballs.

It was a good idea to attack the eyes, but the arms that have not yet recovered were indefatigable and unable to make fine movements. Ruan Xian hesitated for a moment and decided to choose a more secure option.

He simply pulled the trigger.

The gunfire wasn’t loud, and he could barely handle the recoil. The gap between the ammunition and his memory was obvious—the bullet successfully hit the thick joint gap on the foot, but what was left was not a bloody hole but an open fire explosion. The leg was directly blown off, and pus-yellow mucus sprayed all over the floor.

As calculated, the monster’s heavy body instantly lost balance and fell to the ground.

Lying on the spot, it hissed a few times, and it struggled to get up. The intact feet wedged fiercely into the ruins, and it stretched them out as it crawled, trying to stab Ruan Xian frantically, but its movement had faltered, causing its speed to slow.

Ruan Xian clenched the gun in his hand.

Its power far exceeded expectations, but its endurance was inversely proportional to its power. Perhaps it was rusted inside, or maybe it was damaged. After a single shot, thin smoke diffused from the gun’s seams and the sound of melting metal could be heard. The risk of another shot was too high, and it wouldn’t be good if the thing exploded.

Glancing at a row of large metal cans not far away, as well as the decayed ceiling overhanging them, he quickly had an idea.

Rolling all the way to the edge of the ruins, Ruan Xian propped up his body and spontaneously climbed the wall full of metal cans. The monster followed closely, dragging its broken foot and continuing to attack frantically. The closest it got was almost rubbing against his scalp with one of its feet.

Now.

The moment he leaned his back against the metal can, the monster’s sharp feet swung down again and got stuck between the gap of two metal cans. Ruan Xian took this opportunity to climb away from the monster and threw the gun that was scrapped in his hand vigorously—

The garbage gun smashed into the metal can, changed it trajectory, and bumped against the handle of another gun a few steps away. The seemingly well-preserved weapon slid along the slopping concrete slab and stopped just within Ruan Xian’s reach.

After picking up a few spares from the poor-quality secondaries around him, Ruan Xian grabbed the gun and slid to his side.

“…It’s better to hit a fixed target.”

Four gunshots sounded, followed by the sound of slime splattering. Ruan Xian smoothly destroyed two of the monster’s eyes, but the last two shots didn’t hit the monster’s body. He raised the gun and shot into the darkness above his head.

The sound of gunfire was followed by cracking noises. With the biting sound of metal pulling apart, several large pieces of steel beams fell from the ceiling, right in the middle of the monster’s soft abdomen. The impact this time wasn’t something that its thick, soft leather could resist. The monster’s deformed abdomen was smashed to pieces, and the internal liquid slowly flowed out of the edge of the steel beams.

It twitched fiercely a few times and finally stopped moving.

Ruan Xian lay back on the ground and gasped for a few minutes before swallowing his heart that was about to jump out of his throat.

The sun was about to set, and it was getting darker. His limbs became heavier and sore. There was the sound of needles falling in the entire underground space, and occasionally the monster would make small sounds of collapse.

After saving his strength for a while and crawling over more than a dozen scattered dead bones, he finally dragged himself to a dry and clean corner, clinging to a relatively intact corpse. Ruan Xian touched around subconsciously and cleared up the area. Suddenly, something that felt good rolled into the palm of his hand.

It was a metal can. It was food that had a shelf life of fifty years.

The unexpected appearance of food made him feel at ease. He picked up a piece of metal and drew a crooked smile on the can.

“From now on, you are… Let’s see… Forget it. You’re just canned food, and I need a person to talk to. Seriously, this environment is not conducive to one’s mental health at all,” Ruan Xian took a long breath and muttered in a low voice.

With a “companion”, he would be better mentally prepared. With the light that hadn’t completely disappeared, he began to carefully observe the corpse near him that had its mouth wide open, as if it was roaring.

Judging by the environment and the degree of decay, this corpse had been here for at least two years. Looking at the damage to the bones, 80% of the damage was due to some kind of heat weapon. There were no obvious signs of gnawing marks on the bones, so there shouldn’t be many beasts or rats here.

“Okay, at least there are no beasts. This place should be safe,” he muttered to the food cannister in his hand and continued to check the corpse.

The style of clothing of the deceased was unfamiliar. It somewhat resembled a loose military uniform, and its rotting and shapeless hand was resting on a waist bag.

He carefully pulled the corpse’s hand away and slowly unbuckled the dirty buckle on the waist bag, trying to find more cans. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much content inside; only a few weird pieces of equipment, which were several times dirtier than the food cannister in his hand. The deceased didn’t seem like the owner of this food cannister.

He felt the cylindrical can-size was a bit familiar. Ruan Xian remembered seeing it in other research groups. It seemed to be some kind of military lighting tool. He fumbled for a few seconds and unscrewed it along the gap in the middle.

The warm sunlight instantly dispelled the darkness, and with the handle at the end of the cylinder, it looked very much like a small lantern. After being activated, the side of the small cylinder against the handle lit up. A countdown accurate to seconds was displayed next to the “remaining time”, and the small print carefully marked the current time.

[March 16, 2107. 19:23]

Despite subconsciously mentally preparing himself, Ruan Xian’s mind still buzzed.

…For him, “today” should have been April 21, 2095.

Swallowing with difficulty, Ruan Xian raised the lantern and looked seriously at the dusty ruins for the first time. The floor tiles were a familiar pattern, and the metal corridor on the surface was also something that was in his laboratory. The remaining letters and Chinese characters flickered in the light, which looked terribly familiar.

This used to be his laboratory, but no matter how he looked at it, it was a far cry from the place he remembered being extremely neat and tidy, which could make someone with an obsessive-compulsive disorder or a cleanliness addiction feel at ease.

Twelve years.

He had been running for his life since he woke up, and now he finally had the chance to figure out the current situation.

Ruan Xian slowly lowered his head and checked his left wrist. Three small moles lay quietly on the inside of his wrist, next to several thin scars.

Although the state of his skin was very different, this was indeed his body. Forget the mole. If this was some kind of reconstruction of the body, no one would bother to restore the scar.

He then opened the little plastic cloth wrapped around his body and moved his gaze to his legs.

These legs also made him feel strange.

There were no lesions and pigmentation anywhere on the skin, no severe joint pain that tormented him, and no protruding veins due to weakness. His legs looked extremely healthy, long and straight, and his muscles were well proportioned.

Perhaps this was nothing for most people, but Ruan Xian had never experienced the meaning of the word “healthy” in his 28 years of life.

Everything in front of him was too absurd. If it weren’t for the certainty that his body belonged to him, Ruan Xian would have started to doubt if this was an experience project created by the project team next door. Usually, at this time, he should have returned home, given himself a cup of hot goat milk, and then written today’s summary in front of the light screen, as usual.

……Today’s summary.

Ruan Xian frowned and tried to dig up memory fragments from the depths of his mind.

The dry flowers in the laboratory, the strange assistants with their heads down, an argument, a gun with a silencer, and the sense of impact, as if a heavy object had hit him in the face. Fragments of memory floated in his mind, making him a little nauseous.

If he remembered correctly, before losing consciousness, he was indeed shot in the head by a bullet. The man was proficient in marksmanship. His skull didn’t have a metal plate implanted in it, making it impossible for him to survive that level of damage. Even if there was a one-in-a-billion chance that he was really lucky, the other party would definitely take care of his body and make sure that he was thoroughly dead.

The time jump, the abnormal physique, plus the him who should have died. Nothing made sense.

It was a pity that the memory became blurred, and his temples started to hurt terribly. A bad heat was rising from his limbs and bones, and his thinking became uncontrollably chaotic. The feeling of soreness and softness became more intense. The lantern in his hand felt heavy and dark spots started to appear before he fainted.

Ruan Xian retreated to the corner. The boundless exhaustion and uneasiness came, and the sense of collapse overwhelmed him. After thinking for a moment, he moved his legs to the clean ground so that he could stay away from the corpse.

“I have to get a good night’s sleep.” The food cannister wasn’t far away, smiling at him. Ruan Xian solemnly whispered to it, “…Then figure out what the fuck is going on.”

He forced himself not to look at the corpses around him. He ignored the human bones visible all over the floor. After holding a few barely usable guns tightly in his arms, Ruan Xian extinguished the lantern.

About six kilometers away, three figures shuttled through the woods.

“News from Zhang Ge* hasn’t come. Didn’t you say that he would report to us before sunset?” A flat-headed youth in a camouflage T-shirt spoke. “Chi Ge, do we have to go and look? If something happens…”

*Brother (哥) Term used by someone younger to refer to someone who is male, who’s older than you and whom you have a good relationship with or respect.

“It’s close to the ‘wild cemetery’. This is normal. Lao* Zhang most likely encountered trouble and avoided the limelight… Don’t worry. It’s more important to find more parts than anything.” An older man was smacking on a twig in his mouth.

*Old (老) When used in front of a name conveys feelings of a close relationship.

“Yes, do you want 231 to take a look?”

“Hey, you son of a bitch. I haven’t seen you in the base. Without 231, you’ll be attacked.”

“But the chief said we can’t get too close to the ‘Wild Cemetery’—”

“Shut up. 231, set up camp.”

The man known as “Chi Ge” spit out the twig in his mouth and wiped it. “Ugh, I get creeped out every time I look at this thing. At least in Lao Li’s team, it looks like a beautiful girl. This one on our team… Well, let’s stop talking about it.”

While Chi Ge was talking, a third figure a few steps away from the two finally moved.

At first glance, it was a young man with delicate eyebrows. His face was handsome, his complexion was fair, and he had no sense of animosity. He was smiling brightly, with a soft and gentle temperament, and he felt a bit like a white sheet drying in the warm sun. It made it easy for people to let down their guard.

However, as time went on, the sense of dissonance was revealed. The smile remained motionless, as if it was imprinted on his face, or he was wearing a stiff mask.

“Yes, STR-Y type 307a231 is at your service,” he responded, gently enunciating standardly.

“Ugh,” Chi Ge sighed again and turned around. He straightened the lantern in his hand and continued to survey the surroundings. “Next time I have to report to the above. This kind of android should be exchanged every once in a while. Can’t we use a police model or something?”

The two men continued to work on their own affairs. The android got instructions and proceeded to set up a tent and arrange cooking and animal repellent devices. Within a few seconds of the two men turning their backs, “231” stopped moving.

He raised his head and looked in the direction of the ‘Wild Cemetery’.

In just a few seconds, the bright smile on “231’s” face disappeared instantly. He straightened his face and showed a thoughtful expression.

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The author has something to say:

The（ ψ °▽°) is here!

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Kinky Thoughts:

The author seems to like to make her MC’s possess rapidly healing abilities (looking at you Nemo).

I have decided to start using pinyin for many common terms like xiao, lao, ge, jie (ect.) as there is really no English equivalent that really captures the meaning intended.

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Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 1: Wake

Dusk.

The blood-red sunlight passed through the vines and fell from the mouth of the pit, illuminating a tile floor full of cracks and sand.

The middle-aged man shuddered and exhaled, clutched his half-severed left arm, and tried to swallow back a few groans. The blood blotted the dirty fabric close to black and it gradually pooled into a black and red lake, making the tiles unviewable.

The large amounts of adrenaline surged failed to give him the strength to stand up again.

The man raised his head vigorously, crossed the edge of the pit, and looked at the sky dyed orange by the setting sun.

Here, he could barely see the spires of the high-rise buildings not far away. There was no memory of neat floors and spires, and instead the geometric metallic luster was strangely rotated weirdly under the hard yet chilly warm sunlight.

This had ceased to be human territory for a long time.

His limbs began to get cold. The man coughed twice and tried to touch the hemostatic gel in his waist bag. Unfortunately, when he touched it, he found only a few energy tanks. He mechanically rubbed the cold jars; the rapid loss of blood blurred his vision, and the thing in front of him was mixed into a bloody red mass.

There was the sound of heavy objects falling to the ground, and the scrapping sound of hard objects rubbing the ground was getting closer.

It was too late. After a long chase, that thing finally caught him.

The man shook his sweaty hair on his forehead, tightened his cheeks, took out all the energy tanks in his pockets, and spread them out on his thighs. Then, trembling, he squeezed a grenade that was concealed in his chest pocket.

Besides the explosive, there was also an emergency food cannister.

It was about the size of his palm and had a thin layer, similar to old-fashioned candy in a flat box of the olden days. Every explorer at the refuge was given one. Unlike homemade weapons and energy tanks, these were precious relics before the destruction of human civilization—delicious in taste, extremely high energy value; mixed with a sufficient amount of water, it was enough to last an adult an entire week.

But compared to food, everyone was more willing to use it as a kind of amulet. This was a forest. They could always get something to eat. Usually, no one was extravagant enough to use such precious resources.

The food cannister he got was still carrying a bit of blood leftover from its previous owner, and now it would become a “relic” again.

The pain and weakness made his consciousness gradually hazy, and for some reason, he suddenly wanted to cry. He twitched his nose fiercely, but the man didn’t even look at it. He threw the small canister directly behind him, letting it rattle and roll into the depths of the ruins.

The ugly thing finally approached. The stench and damp breath came to his face. The man grinned weakly, tearing open the pin of the grenade with his teeth. He tossed the grenade next to the energy tank right after activation.

“Bah, neither one of us will get any food today.” He used his last strength to spit in front of him.

A scorching white light exploded, and the impact of the energy tank bursting almost collapsed the underground corridor not far away.

The vines at the entrance of the cave were instantly burned into ashes by the high heat, and the middle-aged man disappeared without a trace, leaving only a large black crater where he was— The human body at the center of the explosion was reduced to flesh and foam. The shapeless corpse of the monster was also scattered around the pit. Charred flesh showed many gray blood vessels on its fractures that were still slightly twitching.

The blast of wind frightened the nearby birds. After the smoke and dust dissipated, the last piece of debris lay firmly on the land. A few blackbirds fluttered their wings to come closer and began to peck at the flesh near the collapsed pit.

However, everything didn’t return to calm.

The faint sound of stone rumbling sounded again. The corridor that had collapsed shook, and a metal container full of scratches and rust slid out from the rubble.

The mud-stained operating panel struggled and flickered a few times before finally going out. The explosion had activated something, and even with the dust covering it, the blue light path of the metal surface remained conspicuous.

The blackbirds stopped pecking and looked at the flashing metal object vigilantly.

The explosion and collision made multiple dents, and the tightly stitched lid was frighteningly twisted. Viscous liquid continued to gush out along the gap, like blood from a wound.

The liquid emitted a faint blue halo that didn’t penetrate the soil. It rolled over the debris and stone, meandering down, and gradually gathering into a depression.

It looked like drops of water falling on the lotus leaf, or mercury that was scattered on the ground. After the final liquid flowed out of the metal container, it gathered into a flat circle with a diameter of less than two meters and a height of about half a meter on the dirty ceramic tile fragments.

The nearby blackbirds began to jump vigilantly, putting aside the minced meat in their mouths, and were a few steps away from the ruins engulfed by the shadows.

Abnormal changes suddenly occurred.

It seemed that the color was condensing or hatching. The outer side of the huge “drops of water” gradually became transparent, and the color converged to the center of the liquid mass, becoming more turbid. Soon, with a crash, the entire liquid mass collapsed to the ground. The unnatural sound finally startled the blackbirds, who left only corpse residue that had been pecked.

When the last feather landed, the liquid was no longer viscous, and it didn’t penetrate the cracks of the ceramic tile, leaving behind only a condensed object lying in the center that was wet and surrounded by charred bones, shattered tissue fragments, and stone debris.

It was the body of a young man.

At first, the body was motionless, like a corpse. A gust of wind swept over, and a few broken leaves stained the white skin, causing it to shake.

Ruan Xian felt chilly.

His brain felt like it was mixed with cement that had solidified into a mass as he felt his head was frighteningly heavy. The chill enveloped him in an instant, like having your blanket pulled off while experiencing a high fever. He could only cradle his arms tightly while groggy.

His naked skin rubbed against the rough stone debris, and he vaguely realized that something was wrong.

There wasn’t any soft fabric under him. He wasn’t in a bed. There wasn’t the smooth and hard floor of a laboratory. He had passed out several times in the lab before, so he would never mistake it.

The first thing to recover was his sense of smell. The dust rushed into his nose, bringing in the scorching smell of the explosion that was so thick it almost suffocated him. The next moment, the wind blew across his damp skin, causing the stone debris on his arm to rub against him. Countless senses smashed into his brain at the same time, causing Ruan Xian to almost faint again.

Something was wrong.

Although his mind wasn’t very clear. He could be sure that this was definitely not a normal way of perception. His sense of smell and touch were countless times more sensitive, and his chaotic brain couldn’t process such a huge amount of information currently.

Ruan Xian didn’t dare to move. He tried his best to squeeze out a little bit of sanity from the overly amplified perception and carefully opened his eyes.

The light that should’ve been soft almost blinded him.

The stimulated eyes gushed out tears, forcing Ruan Xian to open his eyes wide until he adjusted to the bright light that hadn’t been seen for a long time. The scene in front of him changed from blurriness to clarity.

‘Perhaps too clear,’ he thought in a daze.

When he saw the scene in front of him clearly, Ruan Xian would rather pass out again. In this way, when he wakes up, he might be able to return to his familiar bed. Even if it was a hospital bed and IV bottles in front of him, it was 10,000 times better than the scorched earth and corpse.

However, it was useless to close his eyes. The smoke and dust persistently penetrated his nostrils, and the sound of birds and the friction of leaves gradually became deafening, pinning his consciousness firmly in place. It seemed to be a warm dusk, but the wind blowing against his skin felt as if it were embedded with blades. Ruan Xian’s brain was sore from the pain, and he only felt that he had been put on a red-hot iron plate.

The touch was too real, not like a dream, let alone an illusion.

Ruan Xian gritted his teeth and took in a breath. Whether it was still some scorching traces of explosions or corpses belonging to unknown creatures, it seemed like this wasn’t a peaceful area.

It wasn’t safe here.

Although the confusion of waking up at the beginning was still there, this definitely wasn’t a good time to lie down and recall life. He had to find a place to hide himself first. Resisting the perception and pain that pressed down from all sides, Ruan Xian concentrated his energy and quickly judged the situation in front of him…

He was lying on the edge of a pit enlarged by an explosion. Not far from it was a semi-collapsed underground corridor. There were a number of fresh corpses, and weird carapace fragments were scattered everywhere. Judging from the damage, this creature was likely the target of the explosion.

The explosion itself should have occurred not long ago, as the charred land still emanated heat. The scale wasn’t small, but it was concentrated, so the scope of the spread wasn’t large.

Ruan Xian took a breath and tried to contract his muscles. He jerked around, trying to find a way to control his limbs. Perhaps it was because he hadn’t moved in so long, not to mention his legs that he hadn’t used for so many years, Ruan Xian spent a lot of effort just to regain control of his arms.

The feeling of his arms moving was like pulling a box of iron blocks with a string. The pain caused by the friction made him sweat almost immediately.

Ruan Xian knew his physical condition. His skin itself was fragile. If the wounds on his arm touched anything in this hellhole, the risk of infection was enough for him to roll over.

Unfortunately, he had no choice.

Ruan Xian subconsciously looked at the arm that had moved into his field of vision, but what caught his eye wasn’t the familiar dark red lesion, but a normal smooth skin.

This time, he became completely awake.

Living to this age, Ruan Xian had never seen such healthy skin grow on his body.

Unfortunately, in the face of the pie falling from the sky, Mr. Ruan didn’t have the opportunity to savor it. Not far away, something was whistling, sliding on the ground, and moving quickly in his direction.

The sound of friction pierced his skull through his overly keen hearing, causing him to tremble.

Those who were coming were swaying through the grass. No matter what hellish kind of strange situation he was in right now, it was better to survive first. There was a sense of desolation everywhere. It didn’t look like a place where people would pass by, so it wasn’t a good idea to shout for help blindly when an unknown party was approaching.

Regardless of the pain, Ruan Xian propped up his arms, gritted his teeth, and crawled towards the half-collapsed underground corridor.

On his way while moving awkwardly, Ruan Xian tried to raise his head and his gaze swept roughly to the destination. A few falling concrete slabs propped up a half-person-high entrance, which looked stable. Unless a tap-dancing elephant suddenly fell from the sky, the structure should be enough to survive another small explosion.

As long as he didn’t venture too deep and just hid at the entrance of the cave for a while, it shouldn’t be a problem.

There was a small cracking sound from deep in the ground, which wasn’t normal, but considering his weight, range of motion, and the size of the cracking sound, it should still be okay.

The body that hadn’t exercised for a long time felt abnormally heavy. His muscles seemed to be stuffed with charcoal and sweat oozed out. After staying in a wheelchair for so long, he had long forgotten how to manipulate his legs, and only his arms could barely exert a little strength, which made his pace not much faster than a snail.

What was approaching was obviously much faster.

A hoarse and unpleasant howl exploded not far away. Ruan Xian, who was still panting for breath, made a quick decision. He held his breath and stopped moving. The entrance of the cave used for refuge was still more than 20 meters away from him, so it was too late. For now, he could only lower his sense of existence first, then pray that the thing not far away didn’t have the ability to locate by temperature.

The monster that he had never seen before was wandering more than a hundred meters away, looking closely to a giant queen ant that was dragging its monstrous abdomen. However, in front of the translucent abdomen that was more than one meter high, was embedded with hermit crab like feet that resembled nothing like an “ant”. He couldn’t even find where the mouth of this alien was.

From this angle, he surmised that it was looking for corpses on the other side of the pit. The creepy chewing sound was regular and came from tangled steps. It ate slowly, as if it had no interest in Ruan Xian, who was pretending to be dead not far away.

Ruan Xian lay obediently on the spot. The edge of the broken tiles under him hurt his chest, but he didn’t dare move.

His heart was beating frantically under his ribs and sweat kept sliding down his skin. Fear was like a barbed tongue, licking down his spine, leaving a string of ominous tingles. Not to mention his body was still unable to move normally, there wasn’t even a branch around him that could be used as a weapon.

Now he could only hope that uncle monster nearby could eat and drink enough as soon as possible, so it would be turned off from having itself a meal of fresh human flesh.

Unfortunately, things in the world never went according to plan. Uncle monster finished gnawing on the corpses around it and turned around a few times in the same place. Ruan Xian was just about to change his breath secretly when, without warning, the monster turned its head, drew back its strange feet, and jumped directly to him.

However, the expected pain came later.

As soon as the monster landed, a dull crash sounded immediately. Ruan Xian realized that he was falling, so he threw himself on his back into a deeper part of the ruins.

Another wave of severe pain hit, like a hammer had bashed into his brain or his nerves were directly soaked in sulfuric acid. A small steel bar had pierced his side abdomen, causing blood to gush out of the wound. Ruan Xian finally couldn’t hold back anymore and groaned lowly, making a few soft moans.

The opening of the collapsed hole wasn’t small. Sunlight poured down and the dust slowly floated from the beams of light.

Human bones were mixed with charred metal parts. Scattered on the ground were many weapons similar to guns. Pieces of rotting clothing were glued to mechanical stumps, piled up in piles, mostly covered with dust. There were metal poles that were tangled with wires that were rusted and slanted in rubbish heaps.

It was like a broken tombstone in a cemetery.

Ruan Xian tightened his body subconsciously, and this action caused the steel bar to add more pressure to his abdomen. He was panting wildly, sweating in pain. Fortunately, the monster landed on its back. It was obviously overprotective of its soft belly and was waving its feet trying to get back up.

This was his chance.

He hurriedly stood up, taking a full two minutes to dislodge the steel bar. After getting rid of it, the tormenting pain was immediately replaced by a tingling, like a nest of ants that was having a carnival in his wound.

The monster was still writhing in place.

With a sigh of relief, Ruan Xian leaned on the nearest slate and tried to check the condition of the wound. The location where the steel bar pierced was thankfully biased, and his important internal organs didn’t seem to be damaged, but blood loss and infection would be a problem, so it was best to deal with it as soon as possible.

However, the wound that had just formed had disappeared at this moment.

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The author has something to say:

Start of a new novel–·*·:≡(ε:)

Thank you all for your support! Super touched!!!

…I think my characters seem to have the tendency to be unlucky at the beginning…

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Kinky Thoughts:

I really like this author ever since I started translating Stray, so I decided to pick up another work by her. This is a sci-fi/fantasy that’s set in a post-apocalyptic world. Hopefully you will like this novel as much as Stray, and for those who haven’t read Stray, I would strongly recommend you do.

You can read the summary and see if it piques your interest.

Updates will be every Friday for this series until I finish Stray.

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