Tang Ke instinctively glanced toward Lin Yuze. The other man sensed his gaze, dipped his head slightly, and signaled with his eyes toward one corner of the room. After working together so many times, the two had perfect tacit understanding, and immediately began shooting toward that corner.
The small, skinny zombie realized it had been exposed. It let out an angry low roar and pounced from within the group.
Qi Yue lifted the energy gun in his hand and fired at the zombie. The magnetic shot pierced a hole through the zombie’s shoulder. The impact from the gun made it stumble. Feeling no pain, it tilted its head, saw the hole in its body, let out a screech, and lunged toward Qi Yue.
Tang Ke released his ability, Ice Snow Storm. One ice spike after another shot toward the zombie. Taking the chance, Lin Yuze unleashed an Air Explosion, hitting the zombie dead-on. Bang! The zombie’s body was blown apart into pieces.
The others also finished off the zombies gathered in front of the building, and everyone successfully exited the research institute. To avoid unnecessary trouble, they chose to climb over the wall again.
Qi Yue had just jumped down the wall when he heard a car horn. Oak and the others were waiting for him outside in the vehicle. Dozens of mangled zombie corpses lay scattered on the ground outside the wall, apparently handled by them after coming out first.
Qi Yue looked at Tang Ke and Lin Yuze. “Should we get in the car first?” he asked.
Tang Ke narrowed his eyes at the two men in the vehicle. “Let’s go.” He signaled his team to get in the car.
It was a small pickup truck, and after squeezing a bit, everyone managed to fit.
Qi Yue opened the rear door and was the first to climb in. Tang Ke followed closely behind and took a seat as well. Lin Yuze hesitated for a moment, walked around from the front of the car to the other side, opened the door, and also sat in the back row.
“Didn’t I tell you guys to leave first?” Qi Yue asked the teammates in the front seat.
“D*mn, do you take us for the kind of guys who’d ditch a brother? When you didn’t come out, we were ready to go back in after you,” Da Zhuang said impatiently. They had worked together many times, but this was the first time they had felt so frustrated, actually leaving a teammate behind earlier.
Qi Yue chuckled. “Didn’t I say? I had it under control.” He reached out and patted Oak’s shoulder. He understood their concern. Meeting these people had been his luck.
Tang Ke’s gaze swept repeatedly over the few men, and his expression darkened. Qi Yue seemed very close to the two of them, especially that blue-eyed one. He clearly didn’t look like anything good.
Big and careless, Da Zhuang lived up to his name and didn’t notice anything. But delicate-hearted Oak looked suspiciously at the men in the backseat through the rear-view mirror.
The atmosphere in the car felt a bit strange. Qi Yue sat between Tang Ke and Lin Yuze, feeling a kind of unexplainable awkwardness.
“The one driving is Da Zhuang, and this is Oak,” Qi Yue said, breaking the silence and introducing everyone. “This is Tang Ke, and Lin Yuze.”
Wearing military uniform, Tang Ke suddenly took on a bit of a roguish air. He stretched his arm out and draped it over Qi Yue’s shoulder, giving a demonstrative squeeze. Then his other hand reached toward the front seats, shaking hands with the two men sitting there.
Lin Yuze’s attitude remained his usual distant one. He only nodded lightly before turning his gaze back to the window.
Qi Yue suddenly didn’t know what to do. Everyone in the car was an acquaintance, but Tang Ke’s personality seemed to have changed drastically, acting so, so…
After introductions, the driver Da Zhuang asked, “Qi Yue, are we heading back?”
Qi Yue turned to look at Tang Ke. He didn’t know where these people came from or where they planned to go.
Seeing Qi Yue look over, Tang Ke’s heart instantly swelled with pride. He leaned over, tilted his head, and kissed Qi Yue on the cheek.
“Head to the suburbs.” Before Qi Yue could react, he immediately straightened up and gave the directions seriously.
Da Zhuang’s mouth hung open for a long time, while Oak, sitting in the passenger seat, looked unsurprised as if he understood something. From the moment Tang Ke got into the truck, Oak had already sensed the threatening aura in his gaze. The guy must have misunderstood something. Oak almost laughed.
Seeing Da Zhuang’s eyes in the rear-view mirror, Qi Yue felt annoyed, but nodded, accepting the destination Tang Ke gave.
“What are you guys here for?” After a while, Qi Yue recovered enough to ask the question that had been bothering him.
“On a mission, coming to get some things from the research institute. What about you guys? What did you go there for?” Tang Ke also found it strange, research institutes only do research, they don’t even have basic medicine. What would Qi Yue’s group want with that place?
“To get a hemodialysis machine.” At those words, Qi Yue’s group all looked a bit down.
Beside him, Lin Yuze raised an eyebrow and shifted his gaze back to Qi Yue.
Tang Ke frowned, asking urgently, “Are you sick?” He looked Qi Yue up and down.
“It’s not me. It’s a friend.” Qi Yue suddenly remembered. “You should know him too. Sun Ling’s younger brother, Sun Yang. He has leukemia.”
Tang Ke hadn’t expected that the person he had searched for for years was actually with Qi Yue. He still had so many things to say, so many questions to ask.
“Is this the place?” Da Zhuang asked awkwardly when he noticed everyone staring at him.
“Yes, here. Stop the car.” Tang Ke signaled. “I’ll get out.” His eyes looked toward Qi Yue, waiting for his response.
Qi Yue answered softly, “Mm.” He turned to look at Lin Yuze, but the other man simply opened the door and got out, ignoring his gaze. Qi Yue suddenly felt a little down.
Beside the helicopter, Lin Yuze and Tang Ke were talking below the aircraft. The others had already boarded, and the helicopter was preparing to take off.
Tang Ke was giving instructions to Lin Yuze, saying, “Take Professor Wu back. I have some personal matters here. I’ll stay for a few days.”
Lin Yuze looked up disapprovingly. “No. This mission is under your command. We’re only assisting. If you don’t return, how are we supposed to report back?”
Tang Ke hesitated. Indeed, time was tight, and the people in District B had been restless lately. He really wasn’t comfortable leaving. But thinking of bringing Qi Yue onto the aircraft, he worried the other man wouldn’t agree.
Seeing his hesitation, Lin Yuze said thoughtfully, “How about Little Fan and I stay? Someone is sick, right? Little Fan can take a look.”
Tang Ke’s eyes brightened. Little Fan was the medic of Lin Yuze’s ability team, a recovery-type ability user. If they stayed, they could also protect Qi Yue.
“All right. I’ll go back, settle things, and come pick you up.” Finishing, Tang Ke turned to head back toward the pickup truck where Qi Yue sat. After two steps, he turned back again. “Take care of Qi Yue for me.”
Lin Yuze smiled faintly. “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of him.”
“Mm. Thanks.” Though Tang Ke felt something off in the man’s attitude, he couldn’t pinpoint what. He didn’t think too much about it. He reached the truck, opened the door, and signaled Qi Yue to get out.
Qi Yue got out, confused, thinking Tang Ke had something to tell him. But as soon as he stepped down, he was shoved against the truck body—bang! His head hit the metal hard, pain shooting through him.
Before he could react, Tang Ke’s mouth was already crushing down on his. After a storm-like round of biting and kissing, Tang Ke finally let him go.
“Wait for me. I’ll be back soon. You must wait for me.” After saying that, Tang Ke kissed Qi Yue hard again. Before Qi Yue could react, he turned and headed straight toward the helicopter, boarding it.
Lin Yuze watched the helicopter fly farther away, then turned toward Qi Yue, his eyes shining. A round-faced young man stood beside him.
Qi Yue looked at Lin Yuze approaching, still dazed and unable to snap out of what had just happened.
Lin Yuze stopped right next to him, getting closer and closer, his head leaning toward Qi Yue’s ear. The two were extremely close, close enough that Qi Yue could feel the other man’s breath against his ear, ticklish. His mouth was practically about to brush his cheek.
Qi Yue, embarrassed, suddenly jerked his head back—bang! He hit the truck again. Two hits in a row, counting the shove from Tang Ke earlier, he hurt so much tears immediately welled up.
Lin Yuze muffled a laugh. He leaned in again, his body brushing Qi Yue’s, and spoke low beside his ear: “What did you think I was going to do? I want to get on—”
Qi Yue stared at him in disbelief, eyes wide.
Lin Yuze curled his lips into a smile. “Get in the car. Don’t overthink.”
He stepped away casually and signaled the round-faced young man to get in.
Qi Yue felt resentful. This kid had changed, he’d learned to tease.
He went to the open door and climbed in. “Drive. Back to the settlement.” His eyes drifted toward Lin Yuze beside him. This kid had always been quiet and reserved. Was that earlier moment just his imagination?
Qi Yue, not knowing what was going on, asked, “Why didn’t you leave with the others? Did you stay for something?”
Lin Yuze shot back, “What do you think I stayed for?” His eyes locked onto Qi Yue, his tone carrying a hint of tempting allure.
Everyone in the car instantly looked enlightened. So that’s it. A love triangle!! Even the thick-skinned Da Zhuang noticed, sneaking glances through the rear-view mirror as he drove.
Qi Yue also felt something was somewhat wrong, but couldn’t pinpoint what. “How should I know what you stayed for?”
Lin Yuze ignored him. Since the moment Qi Yue ran away five years ago, he’d known Qi Yue was a one-track-mind idiot.
He sat up straight and looked toward Little Fan. The young man understood immediately and began introducing himself. “Hello, big brothers. I’m the medic of the Xunyue Squad, a recovery ability user. Please take care of me.”
Hearing that, Oak immediately perked up and forgot all earlier drama, eagerly asking about the scope of recovery abilities.
The team name was odd, but the thought flashed by quickly. He was too excited by the presence of a recovery ability user.
Oak and the others asked detailed questions about leukemia. Little Fan seemed to have great medical skill and answered thoroughly. But in the end, to completely fix the illness, they would either need a bone marrow transplant which was extremely difficult in the apocalypse or a healing-type ability user, which was also rare and seldom left major bases.
Unfortunately, Little Fan was only a level-4 recovery ability user, and recovery abilities could only treat external injuries. Only healing-type users could treat internal injuries. It was a pity there wasn’t a healing ability user with them this time. The only comforting part was that Little Fan was a doctor, working regularly at the base hospital.
The two-hour drive passed quickly, and the group soon reached the prairie settlement.
They drove straight to Qi Yue’s home, an unremarkable but spacious house furnished with items they had exchanged for crystal cores and mutant animal materials.
Hearing the car, Sun Yang came out. Oak quickly rushed over and supported him. “Didn’t we tell you not to get up? You never listen. Guess what we managed to trade for this time? You’ll never guess!” As he spoke, he subtly guided Sun Yang back inside.
Seeing Sun Yang’s pale face, Qi Yue felt a stab of pain in his chest.
As if sensing it, Lin Yuze wrapped an arm around Qi Yue’s shoulder silently, comforting him.
Behind them, Da Zhuang and Little Fan were deep in enthusiastic conversation, having already found common ground in such a short time.
Inside the living room, Qi Yue introduced Lin Yuze and Little Fan, saying they were old acquaintances he ran into unexpectedly at the Hailar Base and had invited as guests.
Sun Yang was physically weak but mentally fine. Gentle by nature, and close in age to everyone present, he got along well with them. Lin Yuze also spoke much more than Qi Yue remembered from before, almost like a different person, making the atmosphere warm.
Qi Yue glanced at his wristwatch. It was already past four. He quietly got up and slipped into the kitchen to prepare dinner.
The kitchen had some vegetables stored. Qi Yue also took out several pieces of cooked mutant animal meat from his space and began preparing the meal. It had been a long time since he used the gas stove, resources were scarce, and he saved it for emergencies. Normally he cooked on a built-up stove using traded coal and wood.
Lin Yuze followed him into the kitchen and leaned against the doorway, smoking, narrowed eyes watching Qi Yue.
Qi Yue noticed the silhouette by the door, but his hands didn’t stop. While washing rice, he talked about the events of the past few years.
But he never mentioned that night five years ago. That was his shame. Whenever he thought back to it, he hated himself even more. How stupid had he been to think that was a good method of revenge?
Qi Yue didn’t mention it, and Lin Yuze didn’t ask. Mostly, Qi Yue talked while Lin Yuze listened, occasionally saying a sentence.
Finishing his cigarette, Lin Yuze flicked the butt to the floor, crushed it with his shoe, and stepped forward.
Qi Yue had his back to the door, picking vegetables for dinner, muttering nonstop…
Can’t wait until next week to see more? Want to show your support? Come to my Patreon where you can get 5 or more chapters of Rebirth in the Apocalypse: The Peach Blossom Debt right away ! Or go donate at Paypal or Ko-fi to show your appreciation! :)
