Tang Ke met Qi Yue at L Base. The two of them belonged to different factions, but fate arranged their encounter, arranged for them to fall in love and stay together for so many years.
Of course, that fate also included several people Tang Ke did not like. Even so, he still felt fortunate being able to find someone he loved in such a harsh, apocalyptic world was a blessing.
It happened not long after the apocalypse began, during a joint mission between the military and an ability-user squad. Tang Ke was the official representative sent from B Base’s military. Qi Yue was a member of L Base’s ability squad, his ability being recovery, though his level was somewhat low compared to the others.
Healing abilities were divided into two types in the early stage:
One was recovery, which could heal surface injuries, including zombie bites.
The other was cure, which could treat internal injuries such as fractures.
At higher levels, the two abilities could merge and become compatible.
Qi Yue’s ability was still at the basic stage, he could only treat zombie bites. He often went out with the ability squad on supply retrieval missions.
Tang Ke’s first impression of Qi Yue wasn’t anything special; he simply thought the other man looked decent. Tang Ke himself was striking, before the apocalypse he had been a celebrity, and only afterward did he join the military.
That mission involved retrieving military supplies from an abandoned, overrun base. Tang Ke was knocked off the third floor by a zombie ability-user and suffered severe internal injuries. He was sent to L Base’s hospital. He lay in his hospital bed all day long, no family, no friends. His days were lonely and quiet.
Qi Yue would drop by from time to time. He was a bit introverted, rarely speaking. Most of the time he just sat with Tang Ke for a while or brought him things. Sometimes books. Sometimes fruit.
Gradually, Tang Ke realized that he looked forward to seeing Qi Yue every day. Seeing him made him inexplicably happy. And when Qi Yue went out with the ability squad on missions and Tang Ke didn’t see him for days, he felt disappointed.
Tang Ke felt that after the apocalypse, his happiest days were those spent in the hospital because he could often see Qi Yue. Eventually he understood: even though Qi Yue was a man, he liked him, loved him.
When his injuries finally healed and he could be discharged, Qi Yue didn’t come to see him. Tang Ke found out where Qi Yue lived, rushed over excitedly, desperate to confess—
The front door wasn’t fully closed. When he pushed it open, noises came from the bedroom. Qi Yue’s voice. It sounded strange, filled with pain.
Qi Yue’s voice drifted out:
“G-gentler…”
“Ah… no… pull out… I’m going to—”
“Baby, use your hand yourself…”
A man’s voice answered, breath unsteady. Tang Ke’s suspicion grew.
“Ah—ah—what the h*ll! Your tongue, stick your tongue out!”
“Yueyue… you’re so tight… ah…”
This voice was different from the first. When Tang Ke pushed the door open, he saw three naked men entangled together.
Qi Yue was kneeling on the bed, one man behind him, thrusting into him hard. From the doorway, Tang Ke could clearly see the man’s sh*ft slamming in and out of Qi Yue’s body. The man’s back faced the door, his face unseen, but his strong physique was visible, and he occasionally let out deep, low groans.
“Yueyue baby, you’re going to drain me dry…”
“Ah—gent… gentler… slow… mmph!” Qi Yue’s mouth was blocked by the man in front of him, his lips wrapped around the man’s length, unable to speak as he was pushed back and forth.
The man in front, Tang Ke recognized him, was Han Fei, a powerful figure in this base.
The three men were lost in their feverish pleasure; none of them noticed the person at the door.
Tang Ke left quietly, heartbroken. He never thought Qi Yue would be like that, being with two men at the same time. And yet, at the same time, he also felt his blood boiling, the seductive posture, pale skin, and round, raised hips kept flashing before his eyes.
Fueled by alcohol that night, Tang Ke went back to Qi Yue’s place. This time, Qi Yue was alone. He had just finished showering, hair wet, wearing pajamas. Rage surged through Tang Ke. Showering in broad daylight, was this after messing around with other men? And inviting him in while dressed like that, was he trying to seduce him?
When Qi Yue lifted his towel and exposed the small red points on his chest, something snapped. Fueled by alcohol, Tang Ke pushed him down. He pressed against him, kissing him hard, tearing open his pajamas, undoing his own pants in seconds, there was no foreplay, he entered directly.
Though his rational mind told him to stop, he lost all control. From afternoon to midnight, he kept taking Qi Yue again and again. Only past midnight, satisfied at last, did he get up. He gently applied medicine to Qi Yue’s swollen body, then held him to sleep.
From then on, Tang Ke came to Qi Yue’s place frequently. He slowly discovered that the two men from that day, the one in front was Han Fei, and the one behind was Yan Bin, the most powerful figure in this base. And the two were cousins.
Later, he found out Qi Yue didn’t just have those two, counting himself, there were four men in total. Rationally, he knew he should leave. But the only words that could describe his situation were: he couldn’t cut ties, and he couldn’t let go.
The four men had confronted Qi Yue face to face before, but Qi Yue just lowered his head and couldn’t explain anything clearly, only stammering that he “didn’t want to lose any of them.”
It made people want to grab him and shake some sense into him.
Qi Yue’s life skills were terrible. His mind was simple. His temperament was gentle and introverted. Sometimes he was stubborn like a donkey.
As time went on, Tang Ke realized that having the other three around wasn’t all bad, when he wasn’t there, the others could protect Qi Yue.
Yan Bin was powerful and capable.
Han Fei was socially adept, knowing many people.
Lin Yuze, although younger and also introverted like Qi Yue, was extremely strong and Qi Yue especially favored him, which made the others grind their teeth in jealousy.
Years passed. Tang Ke inherited military authority from his family. Yan Bin and Han Fei came into power, each taking control of several large bases. Later, Yan Bin showed exceptional leadership and gained people’s trust. Tang Ke decided to let the military submit to him. With unified command, he had more time to accompany Qi Yue.
Twenty years went by. The four lived a peaceful, uneventful life. In truth, they were all waiting for the others to step back, but after so many years, none ever had other partners, only Qi Yue.
Tang Ke never imagined things would end so suddenly so unbearably.
During a trip, when he returned, he saw a horrifying scene.
Qi Yue was locked to the hospital bed, his entire body bruised black, the symptoms of mutation. Impossible!!! What the h*ll were they doing?! How could they let this happen?!
He investigated for two days without sleep. When he finally learned the cause, he wanted to tear Yan Bin apart. That d*mned woman he was involved with…!
By the time they found Qi Yue, he could barely hang on. He had held out for two days, already the maximum delay possible. On the hospital bed, Qi Yue alternated between madness and lucidity. His limbs, bound to the bed, were torn and bloodied from struggling. His wrists oozed black blood, drop by drop onto the sheets.
The others stood around the bed. Qi Yue could no longer speak, only stare at them with blood-red eyes that occasionally flickered with clarity. Tears slid down silently, and his gaze finally stopped on Lin Yuze.
Tang Ke’s eyes were burning. He blinked hard. His hands shook violently. After a long moment, he pulled out a pistol from his coat and slowly handed it to Lin Yuze. When Lin Yuze took the gun and walked out the door—
As he reached the end of the hallway—
A gunshot rang out.
BANG!!!!!!
In an instant, tears burst out. Tang Ke covered his face and wiped them away harshly before walking off.
In the warehouse, watching his men carve the woman piece by piece, he didn’t feel any relief. He only wanted Qi Yue. After all these years, he had still never told him—
I love you.
That woman had directly injected Qi Yue with zombie virus. Physical wounds could be healed by ability users, but once the bloodstream was infected, nothing could be done.
Afterward, the four officially broke apart. Tang Ke could never forgive Yan Bin, and he didn’t want to see the others either, they reminded him of the past.
Every day, he returned to the villa where they once lived. Their old bedroom had been transformed into a freezer room, Qi Yue was placed there. Tang Ke visited him daily, but never stayed overnight. He didn’t want Qi Yue to see what he had become.
Drunk and numb to life, Tang Ke eventually realized that living was harder than dying. He was tired.
Half a year later, Han Fei and Lin Yuze, who had vanished for months, suddenly returned. They sent word for Tang Ke to come, saying they had something to discuss.
All four gathered in the room, silent and smoking. This was their first time meeting since the hospital. Judging by their appearance, they hadn’t lived well either.
“My space ability is level eight, time reversal. I can send Qi Yue back to the past.”
The others all looked up. Han Fei took a deep breath and continued: “We need all four of us to channel our spiritual abilities to activate the Gate of Reversal. We can send Qi Yue back to before the apocalypse.”
He paused, then said: “…My space will collapse afterward. Then explode.”
He looked up at the others.
Meaning, none of them would survive.
The four exchanged looks, then nodded.
They agreed.
In the villa, Qi Yue’s body lay in the freezing pod, skin darkened, wearing his usual clothes from home.
They stood around him. Level-eight spatial ability, no one in Huaxia besides Han Fei had ever possessed it.
Han Fei raised his hand over Qi Yue’s forehead and used all his spiritual abilities. A dim, transparent black hole appeared above it.
Lin Yuze placed his hand on Han Fei’s and released his spiritual abilities.
The black hole expanded, absorbing their energy. Soon Lin Yuze’s face turned pale, sign of ability exhaustion. Next, Yan Bin put his hand on.
Seeing the swirling black void growing larger, Tang Ke also reached out.
Qi Yue… I’ll wait for you. Find me. Come back to this moment.
The black hole expanded, gradually enveloping Qi Yue’s entire body.
With a massive explosion, the villa was instantly blown apart—
A new life would begin for him.
