This was probably the quietest night Qiu Shi had ever experienced.
Even when he was outside the city, during the “jungle” period, when everything was desolate and lifeless, it was never this silent. Corpse collectors would talk, move around, and some weathered rocks would suddenly dislodge and roll down the mountainside. Even the moon seemed to make a sound.
But here, it was very quiet. Apart from occasionally catching the faint sound of flowing water, there was only the increasingly weak crackling of the fire beside him.
The overwhelming smell of blood finally forced Qiu Shi to sit up.
Sitting opposite him, staring into the fire, was Xing Bi, who glanced at him.
“Can you smell it?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Yes,” Xing Bi replied. “Aren’t corpse collectors used to this smell?”
“It’s unlikely to get used to it,” Qiu Shi said as he stood up. Xing Bi’s words sent a chill down his back even as he stood by the fire. “We don’t encounter this much blood when collecting corpses.”
Xing Bi stood up as well. Qiu Shi initially thought he was going to help, but he just stood there.
Qiu Shi had already picked up a leg of a corpse but now put it down again. “Haven’t you seen corpse collecting before? Do you need to stand up and observe?”
“Let’s find another place,” Xing Bi said, pulling a burning stick from the fire, holding it up to look around. “The smell is in the ground now; it won’t dissipate for a long time.”
Qiu Shi looked at the large dark patches of blood on the ground. Indeed, it had already seeped into the soil.
“Is there a dry spot nearby?” he asked. “Isn’t there a flashlight in the car?”
“These people all use fire,” Xing Bi said. “They know this place well. If we use a flashlight, we’ll basically be marking our location for them.”
“Alright, go ahead and look,” Qiu Shi said, glancing around. The air was very humid, and it felt like there was water everywhere.
Xing Bi pulled out another burning stick and walked away. After a few steps, the fire went out, and his figure disappeared into the darkness.
Qiu Shi stood still, holding the gun in his hand. The unfamiliar environment and scent made him uneasy, and occasionally, the ground felt too soft and unstable beneath his feet.
He had spent his whole life outside Yun City, where the ground was hard and the air was dry. Even when searching the nearby ruins, it was a familiar mix of rocks and soil.
An inexperienced corpse collector.
“Make some noise,” Qiu Shi said.
A snapping sound came from the direction Xing Bi had disappeared.
“Damn it,” Qiu Shi muttered under his breath. This unfamiliar “noise” did nothing to make him feel safer. “You might as well not make a sound.”
“Come over here,” Xing Bi called. “There’s a relatively dry spot with a tree.”
“Okay,” Qiu Shi replied, looking at the things around him, figuring out what to bring over.
“One, two, three,” Xing Bi started counting, his voice growing closer. “Four, five, six…”
“What are you doing?” Qiu Shi asked.
“You wanted noise,” Xing Bi said.
“… It doesn’t have to be so continuous,” Qiu Shi said.
“Eight, ten, twelve, fourteen…” Xing Bi started skipping numbers.
“Damn it,” Qiu Shi paused. “Your mind…”
“It’s not too square, is it?” Xing Bi’s figure emerged from the darkness.
“Let’s call it rounded square,” Qiu Shi said.
The spot Xing Bi found was smaller than their current one, just enough to light a fire and fit two people.
As they brought over the necessary items, Qiu Shi looked at the ground. It was grass, but the roots were in water, making it wet and muddy. He used a stick to poke at the visibly waterlogged area and found that beneath it was even softer mud; the stick could go down endlessly.
“How do people live here?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Those who couldn’t survive have already died,” Xing Bi said.
Living here wasn’t easy. Due to the humidity, it felt colder at the same temperature, and it was hard to start a fire. The wood around was all wet, so they had to break up the chairs and the wooden rack used for tying people.
Among the supplies Li Feng had given them were sleeping bags, but Qiu Shi didn’t take them. In this unfamiliar and dangerous environment, getting into a sleeping bag felt like wrapping oneself up and waiting to be killed.
However, for him, the current situation was manageable. There was fire, and they were alive.
He lay down by the fire, with Xing Bi still opposite him, leaning against a small tree.
“That earlier…” Qiu Shi started, but then noticed Xing Bi had put on his headphones and was listening to music again.
He closed his mouth.
“What?” Xing Bi asked.
“Can you hear that well?” Qiu Shi looked at him.
Xing Bi didn’t respond, just gave a slight smile.
“Let me listen,” Qiu Shi, curious, sat up.
Xing Bi took off the headphones and handed them along with the small metal stick.
Qiu Shi put on the headphones and looked at the small stick for a long time, pressing all the buttons on it, but it didn’t respond. He didn’t hear any sound. “How do you turn it on?”
“It’s out of battery,” Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi was stunned.
“It only has one song in it,” Xing Bi said. “It ran out of battery after listening to it in the car for a while.”
“Then why are you still wearing the headphones?” Qiu Shi couldn’t understand.
“Yeah,” Xing Bi replied.
“Is this some kind of psychological comfort?” Qiu Shi tossed the thing back to Xing Bi.
“It’s imaginable,” Xing Bi said.
“What song is inside?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Happy Birthday,” Xing Bi replied.
“What?” Qiu Shi was stunned again. “I don’t have a birthday.”
“Happy Birthday is a song,” Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi looked at him.
Xing Bi didn’t speak and just looked back at him.
“Why aren’t you quick to answer now?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Do you want to hear it?” Xing Bi asked.
“Yes,” Qiu Shi replied.
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you,” Xing Bi started singing softly, “happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…”
Qiu Shi listened, feeling a bit bewildered.
Every time there was a city celebration, the background music Mr. Long played had lyrics that were dozens of lines long without repeating, even though it sounded somewhat ridiculous.
This Happy Birthday song was so simple it made Qiu Shi feel a bit bewildered.
But it also brought an indescribable feeling.
Xing Bi’s voice was always a bit hoarse, and when he sang softly, it had a gentle, grainy texture. It was hard to tell whether it was his voice, his somewhat unfocused eyes, or the cold, damp environment tinged with the faint smell of blood. This very simple tune combined with very simple lyrics made this song, which Qiu Shi found so simple it felt empty, actually evoke a sense of sadness.
“This isn’t happy at all,” he said.
“Don’t you have a birthday?” Xing Bi asked.
“No,” Qiu Shi said, “and neither does anyone else, right? Who would care about something so trivial? With life as it is, would anyone think the day they were born is important? They’d only want to know the day they die. Happy birthday? Who would be happy being born into this world?”
Xing Bi didn’t say anything.
“Do you have a birthday?” Qiu Shi asked.
“I have a production date,” Xing Bi replied.
This answer made Qiu Shi regret asking the question. He frowned, thought for a moment, and then said, “When you were… when you were born, the war hadn’t started yet. It should have been happy, right?”
“It was okay,” Xing Bi smiled.
“Are you… bioroids,” Qiu Shi looked at him, “each different? Apart from appearance, your personalities and tempers are different too?”
“Yes,” Xing Bi replied.
“Is that controlled by humans? Like what kind of personality or temper you’ll have?” Qiu Shi asked. “Or do you just grow up with such a snarky mouth?”
“We just grow up with such a snarky mouth,” Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi chuckled.
“Humans have the desire to control everything but lack the ability to do so,” Xing Bi added.
Qiu Shi’s smile slowly faded. Xing Bi’s words were somewhat impolite. He looked at Xing Bi.
Xing Bi looked very calm, without any abnormality.
“Do you want to sleep for a while?” Xing Bi asked.
“Yeah,” Qiu Shi lay back on the ground. “What about you? Do you not need to eat, drink, sleep, or rest?”
“I’ve eaten and drunk,” Xing Bi said.
“Chewed a few batteries?” Qiu Shi closed his eyes. Xing Bi’s backpack also had quite a few supplies, including some advanced-looking boxes. Li Feng had mentioned them, and he asked, “Is it that supplement?”
“Yes,” Xing Bi replied.
Qiu Shi originally wanted to ask what that thing tasted like but decided against it.
“It has no taste,” Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi didn’t know when he fell asleep. He woke up several times during the night. Each time he opened his eyes, he could see Xing Bi sitting under the tree, his posture almost unchanged. If it weren’t for the fire in the middle getting weaker until it finally went out, just looking at Xing Bi, it would seem as if time hadn’t moved forward.
At the first light of dawn, Qiu Shi sat up.
“Awake?” Xing Bi was checking the weapons they had taken from those people yesterday.
“Freezing,” Qiu Shi said as he stood up, glancing around.
At first glance, it seemed they were on a patch of green land interspersed with grass and water puddles. The morning fog was thick, vaguely revealing a few twisted trees scattered among the grass and water.
The morning air carried the scent of soil and grass. It was supposed to be fresh but didn’t smell good, as if the overly humid air held something else.
As Qiu Shi tidied his clothes, he realized he was wet, his hair was wet, and even his eyelashes were damp.
“What a hellish place…” he sighed, looking at Xing Bi. “Which direction are we heading now?”
Xing Bi pointed to his right rear. “That way.”
“Alright, let’s go,” Qiu Shi said. “What about their boat? Can we fit our supplies on it?”
“We’ll have to streamline; we can’t take much,” Xing Bi said.
More than just not taking much.
Qiu Shi looked at the “boat” disguised with grass and mud, parked not far behind the wooden rack where he was tied up yesterday.
“Just the two of us on this thing, and it’ll probably sink,” he said.
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a boat. Calling it a boat was just for understanding. It seemed to be a motorcycle, with tracks and two floatation devices added.
Functionally, it could drive on mud and water surfaces. If these attachments were removed, it could run on hard ground, making it very versatile. But in terms of safety… it was hard to say.
“Better than nothing,” Xing Bi said.
Indeed, it was. Qiu Shi didn’t dwell on it. They would find out about its load capacity by trying.
The vehicle, typical of a swamp raiding gang, had all sorts of small racks and hooks on both sides for conveniently placing weapons and ammunition.
But as for food and other supplies, they weren’t well-considered, so they had to hang two bags on either side of the rear seat.
“If we place it like this, the person in the back won’t have room for their legs,” Qiu Shi had just said when Xing Bi had already stepped onto the vehicle, sitting in the driver’s seat.
Qiu Shi looked at him, then after a moment gave him a thumbs-up, “You truly deserve to be a level-one hidden guard.”
Xing Bi smiled.
“Let’s go.” Qiu Shi had no choice but to get on the vehicle as well, sitting in the back, with his legs either kneeling on the bags on both sides or stretched out in front.
He chose the third option, stretching his legs forward, stepping on Xing Bi’s shoes.
Xing Bi turned his head to look at him, “You truly are exceptionally gifted.”
“Let’s go,” Qiu Shi said.
Xing Bi started the vehicle, which gave a few low roars and surged forward.
Qiu Shi looked back for one last check.
Their vehicle would have to be left behind, still containing quite a few supplies. Even though it was locked, it was very likely to be gone by the time they returned.
The vehicle might still be there though, as it wasn’t of much use in this place where vehicles couldn’t move easily.
There weren’t many items from those people yesterday; the useless stuff and the few shattered bodies had been pushed into the water by Xing Bi.
The water surface looked shallow, but it was full of soft mud underneath, swallowing everything cleanly without a trace.
It was hard to evaluate the speed of this vehicle, but at least it was faster than walking, and it was strong in terms of safety. It was only after they started driving in this amphibious manner that Qiu Shi noticed that on muddy and soft ground, it relied on tracks, while on the water surface, it relied on inertia.
In other words, if the water surface was too wide and the inertia couldn’t carry the vehicle to the next patch of soft mud, they would end up floating on the water.
“Shouldn’t this come with a paddle?” Qiu Shi sighed.
“The worry isn’t about floating on the water,” Xing Bi said, as the vehicle happened to rush off a patch of mud and onto the water. “Look at the draft.”
Qiu Shi looked down and then put his arms around Xing Bi’s waist, “Holy shit.”
With the combined weight of the two of them plus the supplies and weapons, the inflatable devices on both sides of the vehicle were submerged below the water surface as they skimmed across it.
For someone who couldn’t swim, this sight was truly a bit nerve-wracking.
“How good are you at driving this?” Qiu Shi asked, feeling uneasy. “If you’re not confident, let me drive.”
“I’m pretty good,” Xing Bi said.
Indeed, he was. Actually, after driving for a while, Qiu Shi also realized that skill wasn’t the main factor here; it was more about judging the size of the water bodies ahead and choosing the easier paths to traverse.
In this aspect, Xing Bi clearly had an advantage.
Every time they crossed the water, Qiu Shi would look down at the draft, though it wasn’t really necessary.
Especially after seeing several hands sticking out of the water and bones floating in it, he gave up on this not-so-helpful task and looked ahead.
Once the sun came out, the fog dissipated, and the thick moisture in the air around them lessened. Breathing seemed easier, and as his clothes gradually dried, Qiu Shi felt his hands warm up.
They were heading slightly northeast, towards the slowly rising sun.
“Do you need sunglasses?” Qiu Shi put on his own sunglasses.
“No need,” Xing Bi replied.
Qiu Shi tilted his head, looking forward from beside Xing Bi’s ear. Through the sunglasses, the sunlight was less glaring, and he could clearly see a warm yellow outline on Xing Bi’s face.
This vehicle was very uncomfortable to sit on. Qiu Shi felt like his waist was about to break. Several times, he had to lean against Xing Bi’s back for support to give his back a rest. But there was no suitable place to stop and rest, and with the constant threat of vagrants appearing from anywhere, he never asked Xing Bi to stop.
It wasn’t until the sunlight stretched their shadows long in front of them that Qiu Shi saw a low mountain range blocking their view ahead.
“Is that a mountain?” he asked.
“Yes,” Xing Bi replied, “Crossing it will bring us to the river.”
“Can we reach it before dark?” Qiu Shi asked again.
“We can reach the mountain,” Xing Bi said.
“Do you recognize the way here?” Qiu Shi looked around.
“I’ll recognize it when we reach the mountain,” Xing Bi said.
“Alright,” Qiu Shi said, “Let’s rest at the mountain edge. I’ll eat something; my waist is about to break.”
Xing Bi said nothing.
“Yeah?” Qiu Shi leaned forward, looking at Xing Bi’s profile.
“Do you want to cross the mountain at night?” Xing Bi asked.
“If we’re not too tired, yes,” Qiu Shi said, “We’ll be on foot after this, so we need to hurry. Besides, I’ll feel safer on the mountain.”
Xing Bi didn’t reply.
Qiu Shi didn’t speak again either. Xing Bi hadn’t said much along the way, which wasn’t surprising since he always needed to be prompted to talk.
But for some reason, Qiu Shi felt something was different this time.
He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was different, just an unfamiliar sense of unease entirely based on intuition.
Qiu Shi touched the gun at his leg, lightly drawing it out and pushing it back in. It was smooth, ready to be drawn quickly.
He didn’t know why he was doing this.
He trusted Xing Bi and believed what Xing Bi said about not killing him, but he couldn’t forget the scene of Xing Bi killing yesterday, which was astonishingly similar to the first time he met Xing Bi.
At that time, Xing Bi and the later Xing Bi were completely different people.
When the sun was about to disappear from the horizon behind them, Xing Bi slowed down the vehicle. They were nearing the edge of the marsh, with the tracks occasionally scraping against protruding rocks in the mud.
“We can remove them now,” Xing Bi said, stopping the vehicle. “Follow the mountain edge for a bit; there’s a path up the mountain. Once we cross it, we’ll head north.”
“Okay.” Qiu Shi got off the vehicle.
When his feet hit the ground, his legs felt so sore and numb they were almost numb.
Xing Bi removed the flotation devices on both sides and the tracks under the wheels.
“Let’s rest for a while,” Qiu Shi said, “I need to stand with my legs together for a bit.”
“You can sit sideways,” Xing Bi said.
“…Thanks,” Qiu Shi said.
Xing Bi didn’t respond, squatting next to the car.
Qiu Shi took a can out of his bag and squatted next to him. “Want a bite?”
“No need,” Xing Bi replied.
Qiu Shi was quite hungry and finished the can in a few bites. When he was about to take another, he realized he instinctively wanted to wipe his hand on Xing Bi’s pants.
But this time, before he could touch him, Xing Bi suddenly stood up.
“Quick reaction,” Qiu Shi withdrew his hand and wiped it on his own pants.
Xing Bi didn’t respond and started walking toward the mountain.
“What’s wrong?” Qiu Shi asked.
Xing Bi didn’t answer, still walking forward.
Qiu Shi stood up, drawing the gun from his leg as he rose. “Xing Bi?”
Xing Bi kept walking.
“Damn you,” Qiu Shi cursed through gritted teeth, looking around and finding nothing unusual.
He quickly chased after Xing Bi.
Ahead was the mountain, but there was no clear path. Xing Bi had said they needed to drive further along the mountain to find a way up.
But now, Xing Bi seemed to have a target in mind, walking straight to the mountain and starting to climb the rocks.
“Xing Bi!” Qiu Shi grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
Xing Bi didn’t struggle; he turned his head to look at Qiu Shi.
The unfamiliar look in his eyes made Qiu Shi’s hands and feet go cold. At the same time, he noticed black marks like branches creeping up Xing Bi’s neck.
“Damn,” he let go of Xing Bi’s arm, stepped back two paces, and raised his gun.
Xing Bi looked at him.
Qiu Shi aimed at his neck. “Speak, partner.”
Xing Bi silently watched him for a moment, then turned and continued walking.
“Last chance,” Qiu Shi said.
Xing Bi didn’t stop.
Qiu Shi gritted his teeth, right hand holding the gun aimed at the back of Xing Bi’s neck, left hand raised, clenched into a fist, and pressed down.
Restrict partner’s movement ability.
Xing Bi stopped, paused briefly, then dropped to his knees and fell to the ground.
“Xing Bi,” Qiu Shi waited a few seconds, ensuring he shouldn’t be able to move, then cautiously approached with his gun raised. “Can you hear me? It’s Qiu Shi.”
Xing Bi lay motionless on the ground, silent.
The restriction only limited physical movement, not anything else, but Xing Bi didn’t speak.
Qiu Shi walked to his side, reached out, and flipped him over by his arm.
“Xing…” Qiu Shi froze.
He felt the killing intent.
Killing intent in Xing Bi’s eyes.
Powerful, oppressive killing intent instantly filled the surrounding air.
In that second, Qiu Shi was certain he saw the factory reset state inside Xing Bi.
