Chapter 142 - Raising a Big Cat in the Apocalypse (21)
translator: xiin
editors: apricot & juurensha
When Chi Xiaochi woke up again, his body felt a lot more relaxed, and his head didn’t feel very dizzy anymore.
He lifted up his wrist to look at his watch and discovered that he’d slept for at least two hours.
He turned over, wanting to continue sleeping for a while, but unexpectedly, he saw an upright figure wandering around outside his tent. It was like they wanted to come in, but their actions were quite sneaky.
Chi Xiaochi acted as though he didn’t know anything and closed his eyes, faking slumber.
The tent flap was lifted up and the incoming footsteps were almost inaudible as someone slowly crept close to his sleeping bag.
Chi Xiaochi seized the right timing and pulled down on the other party’s shoulder. He made a sharp flip, wanting to press the other party under his elbow.
However, the other side’s strength went far beyond what he’d imagined. They rolled on the spot and flipped Chi Xiaochi around, pressing him to the ground.
A familiar breath and wave of heat swept over him, causing Chi Xiaochi to freeze in surprise.
He’d thought that it was someone from the slave town who wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to a.s.sa.s.sinate him, or maybe it was a team member who wanted to give him a scare. Unexpectedly it was his own Boss who’d run out to play.
However, just now, it had clearly been a human’s figure outside the tent.
… Could it be that he’d gotten it wrong?
Chi Xiaochi didn’t think about it deeply and simply treated it like his own mistake. He held onto Boss’s face and rubbed against it. “Little b.a.s.t.a.r.d, you gave me a scare.”
Boss lay on his body, its forehead pressed against his. It even used the hot tip of its tongue to lick at his ears.
Chi Xiaochi was amused by its licking.
While Chi Xiaochi was still playing around with Boss, 061 let out a small cough in his brain, “Xiaochi, something happened.”
He explained briefly about how a stranger had come in while Chi Xiaochi was sleeping and ended up facing off with Gu Xinzhi.
Chi Xiaochi pillowed one hand behind the back of his head. “Gu Xinzhi came in?”
061: “Yes.”
Chi Xiaochi continued asking, “And a stranger came in before he did?”
061: “…… Yes.”
Chi Xiaochi laughed. “A stranger came in, but you didn’t wake me up?”
061 sighed. “… Fine, that person was me.”
061 really wanted to tell the truth, but he was unable to say anything under the restrictions of the confidentiality system.
What could he say?
Say that he’d kissed Xiaochi? In that case, how was he supposed to then explain his feelings for Xiaochi?
Under all sorts of helplessness, 061 could only grit his teeth and lie, “At the time, your fever was burning a little fiercely, so I was applying some rubbing alcohol on your skin. When he came in, he saw me holding your hand.”
Chi Xiaochi raised his hand and sniffed. There was indeed the scent of alcohol on his palm.
He asked, “Did you win?”
061 answered, “Yes, I won.”
“Did you clear his memory with an amnesia card?”
061: “Yes.”
Chi Xiaochi’s legs wrapped around the leopard’s waist. He scratched at the soft stomach with one hand, using his other to stroke its beautiful spine. The leopard’s face filled with satisfaction. “Then that’s fine.”
After playing with Boss until he was satisfied, Chi Xiaochi pulled on his clothing and lifted up the flap of his tent. When he walked out, he saw Gu Xinzhi sitting on a slope not far from his tent, his back to him and one leg sticking out to the side. It was unknown what he was thinking.
Chi Xiaochi had only just taken a step in his direction when he turned his head back. The afterglow from the sun fell on his face, revealing his pale face and a nose that was covered densely with beads of sweat.
There was a very obvious bruise at the corner of his mouth, and he’d broken the skin of the corner of his lips with his teeth. The blood had dried up a long time ago, forming a shocking b.l.o.o.d.y scab on his lips.
When he saw this, Chi Xiaochi said, “Liu-laoshi, how fierce, you shouldn’t hit people’s faces when beating them up.”
061’s tone was mild, “I was forced by the situation.”
061 summed it up quite objectively.
At the time, Gu Xinzhi, who’d seen everything, had almost pulled off the entire flap of the tent, his body shaking violently as he barely managed to control his mood. He used his gaze to indicate that 061 needed to immediately get the h.e.l.l out of the tent.
061 had no other way and could only gently kiss Chi Xiaochi’s hair, pull up his sleeping bag for him, then stand up, pushing up the sleeves of both arms up to the elbow as he bowed his head to walk out of the tent.
The two of them then arrived at a secluded place far away from the tent. They didn’t even ask any extratraneous questions about the other party’s ident.i.ty before directly starting to attack each other.
Gu Xinzhi was a master fighter, and it was difficult to find opportunities to attack him. He was also extremely frenzied with his attacks, and 061 could only try to find a flaw to take advantage of. Although he’d ended up fighting with this snake-like opponent for far too long, it was good that he’d managed to walk away without any injuries.
However, he didn’t feel much guilt about the results of the fight.
061 had felt unhappy about Gu Xinzhi for a long time.
He didn’t like it when others watched Chi Xiaochi so obsessively. It wasn’t acceptable, even if he was very clear on who Gu Xinzhi was really looking at.
Boss wound itself around Chi Xiaochi’s leg, lifting its head to look at him. Its gaze was very alert, as though warning him not to get too close to Gu Xinzhi.
Chi Xiaochi caressed the top of its head and raised his voice, “Vice-captain Gu.”
Gu Xinzhi pressed against the injured corner of his mouth with his thumb. Not only did he remain silent and not answer, he even turned his head back the other way.
Chi Xiaochi noticed his reaction and kept feeling that something wasn’t quite right.
The two people were too quiet. Occasionally, there would be the tinkling sound of liquid landing, like a bout of rain had just pa.s.sed, and the air was filled with an ominous feel. Any of their teammates who pa.s.sed by also felt that the atmosphere between the two men was strange, and they all detoured around them in order to avoid causing trouble.
Chi Xiaochi didn’t intend to continue this standoff with Gu Xinzhi; going back to play a card game for a while was a better option.
He shrugged his shoulders and had just turned to go back into the tent when he heard Gu Xinzhi’s stifled voice ring out from behind him, “…… Wait a minute.”
Chi Xiaochi stood still.
The two of them stood with their backs to each other.
Gu Xinzhi fell silent for a moment, then asked, “… Who is he?”
Chi Xiaochi was a little confused. “Who?”
Gu Xinzhi pushed himself off the ground with one hand, standing up to face Chi Xiaochi. “Just now, there was a man in your tent.”
Chi Xiaochi: “……”
061 was also startled.
He said disbelievingly, “I clearly used an amnesia card on him…”
However, after Chi Xiaochi and the system turned back and took in Gu Xinzhi’s full appearance, they understood what had happened.
Chi Xiaochi: “……” Oh, ho.
The amnesia card and the hypnosis cards were similar in that they both hypnotized the target in an instant. The card would then work to erase the memory data while the target’s spirit was unsuspecting.
However, the amnesia card hadn’t worked on Gu Xinzhi.
The left sleeve of his shirt was stained with blood, and blood was still dripping down his cuffs.
The sound of water dripping just now hadn’t been an illusion. It had come from his body.
––This man’s will and dignity were almost perversely strong. After fighting with 061, he’d thought that that moment of dizziness had been caused due to the other side hitting him, and he hadn’t hesitated to stab a knife into his own left arm even before the hypnotic effect could kick in completely.
The blade had directly pierced through his arm.
Then, he’d sat in front of Ding Qiuyun’s tent, waiting for him to wake up and wanting an explanation.
Gu Xinzhi saw that Ding Qiuyun stood across from him silently and took a few steps forward. A faint red flush appeared on his cheeks that were pale from losing too much blood. “Ding Qiuyun!”
This was the first time in days that he’d displayed any mood swings that were noticeably out of control.
Chi Xiaochi came back to his senses, smiled shallowly, and pulled out a box of cigarettes from his pocket.
Ding Qiuyun didn’t smoke, and he himself had quit a long time ago, but he’d developed the habit of keeping cigarettes with him. One reason was for his teammates, and the other was to quickly get close with people he wanted to make friends with.
He pulled out a cigarette with his teeth, caught it in his fingers, and lit it up, then held it up to the side of Gu Xinzhi’s mouth.
Gu Xinzhi turned his head away, a hint of madness flashing across his eyes. “Ding Qiuyun, make things clear.”
061 felt a little anxious as he noticed the subtle change in Gu Xinzhi’s expression.
“What should I say?” Chi Xiaochi’s mental state was very calm. He toyed with the cigarette, smiling as he asked, “What is there to talk about with you?”
“––Ding Qiuyun!”
The tip of the cigarette glowed with a dark red light and sent out the sizzling sound of something burning.
Chi Xiaochi smiled a calm, bold smile, flipped the cigarette in his fingers, then raised his hand and pinched his hand around the front of Gu Xinzhi’s neck. The pads of his fingers sc.r.a.ped slowly across his throat as he asked softly, “Gu Xinzhi, you’re the one who said you wanted to be my gun. That’s why I kept you. Have I ever said that you’re allowed to damage yourself?”
Gu Xinzhi’s expression changed slightly. He awkwardly tried to hide his injured right arm behind him.
Chi Xiaochi didn’t give him any opportunity to hide. He pulled his blood soaked arm out and forced him to take a good look at it. “Poor form. I’m deducting five points.”
Gu Xinzhi: “……”
061: “… Since when was there a points system?”
Chi Xiaochi replied to 061, “It started now.”
He then spoke to Gu Xinzhi, “If a full 100 points are deducted, then you’ll have ‘graduated’ with me. When the time comes, you can go wherever you want, and I won’t need a gun like you.”
Gu Xinzhi gritted his teeth tightly.
Before he saw the strange man kissing Ding Qiuyun, he’d never thought that Ding Qiuyun would really not want him and desire to be with another person.
In his dreams that spanned over a hundred years, Ding Qiuyun had always been his. He’d watched Qiuyun die countless times in front of him, and the only consolation he’d felt was that Qiuyun wouldn’t be obtained by anyone else.
Now, even if he would no longer cook okra for him to eat, even if he would no longer draw a thick stack of cartoons for him on his cigarette boxes, and even if he would never leave the back seat of the car empty for him, Gu Xinzhi felt that he could still bear it.
For no other reason other than because he was still a unique existence to Ding Qiuyun.
Now, his dream had been shattered by that kiss that had been as light as feathered wings.
Ever since he’d stabbed his knife into his arm, Gu Xinzhi had been thinking about how good it would be if he could kill that man.
But, he’d lost for the first time in his life, and it was a tragic defeat where the other side had retreated easily.
That strange man hadn’t used any fancy skills or weapons. He’d simply flashed away, stepped back, then attacked again, his movements silent and precise like a high-precision combat machine.
When he’d fallen to the ground, Gu Xinzhi had been trembling. It wasn’t because of the shame of being defeated by a stranger that he’d never met before, but because he’d realized in horror that even if he wasn’t there, Ding Qiuyun might have a gun that was better than he was.
This had been a blow that struck him like a bolt of thunder.
There had never once been a time where Gu Xinzhi sensed so clearly that Ding Qiuyun might completely and thoroughly belong to another person.
Countless malicious thoughts in his heart swirled together like a whirlpool forming into a myriad of sharp blades that left him feeling both pain and loss.
… He was clearly trying very hard, but why was he still pushing Qiuyun further and further away?
How exactly had things turned out this way?
On the display screen in front of Chi Xiaochi’s eyes, Gu Xinzhi’s regret value broke through 20, 30, and only came to a stop when it hovered at the edge of 40.
Gu Xinzhi stood in front of him with his head bowed, covering his right arm, the rims of his eyes red from holding back.
He spoke in a whisper, “Qiuyun.”
The person in front of him raised his eyebrows and waited for his next words.
His voice was low like he was sleepwalking, “Don’t push me like this. Okay? There’s nothing I won’t do.”
Chi Xiaochi laughed shortly. “What will you do? Kill him? Kill me? Or suicide?”
Gu Xinzhi felt so terrible as if he was hovering between life and death. It didn’t show on his face, but he was already unable to hear the other party’s voice clearly. Even so, he caught onto one particular phrase and immediately gave a positive answer, “… I won’t kill you.”
He’d never wanted to have Ding Qiuyun die.
During those dreams that spanned a hundred years, he’d never once thought of killing him.
Chi Xiaochi seized this opportunity to speak first, and he naturally wouldn’t let him continue. He continued to press the topic, “If you could kill that person from just now, you would’ve killed him long ago. So, are you going to commit suicide?”
Gu Xinzhi remained silent.
“That’s really a genius idea. Wouldn’t it be pleasant using your death to make a statement?” Chi Xiaochi turned around and lifted up the tent flap, saying coldly, “It would be best if you hung yourself to death at the entrance of my tent early tomorrow and clear your score with me. If you die at 9AM, then I’ll go find someone new by 9:30.”
After getting into the tent, Chi Xiaochi exhaled quietly.
It hadn’t shown on his face, but in fact, he’d felt a burst of cold sweat on his back.
Dealing with people who were as dark and uncertain as Gu Xinzhi really took too much effort.
No one knew what a madman would do next, so Chi Xiaochi could only make a bet and gamble on his feelings for Ding Qiuyun, hoping that it was enough to suppress his crazy, pernicious nature.
Even now, he still didn’t know if he’d won.
“…… Qingyun.”
After half a minute, Gu Xinzhi made a sound from outside his tent.
“I… I want to be here with you. I won’t go in. Will you deduct points?”
Chi Xiaochi quietly let out another exhale.
Fortunately, it had been a success this time.
Gu Xinzhi waited nervously outside the tent for a few seconds. Suddenly, something flew out from inside the tent. He caught it with his left hand, then steadied himself and looked at it. His expression relaxed significantly.
It was a simple medical box.
Ding Qiuyun’s voice came from inside the tent, “Self-maintenance.”
Gu Xinzhi froze for a moment, a flash of joy appearing in his eyes. He sat down near the entrance to the tent, but didn’t wrap his wound. He held the medicine box tightly against him with one hand, pillowing his head on it, and closed his eyes as he silently reminisced over the sweetness from the bottom of his heart until he was filled with joy.
xiin: yep, it’s confirmed. i feel a little bad for Gu Xinzhi.