[Citizens, this is the A City emergency broadcast. The city is currently experiencing a disaster of unknown origin…]
[All citizens are advised to immediately head to the nearest shelter or hiding spot for safety. Avoid any unnecessary outdoor activities. Please minimize contact with the outside world…]
[Keep communication devices on to receive the latest official information and instructions. If you or your family show any unusual health symptoms, please report them to the health department via phone immediately and follow professional guidance for self-isolation… Stock up on essential supplies, such as food, water, and basic medical items, to ensure your basic needs during this special period…]
[Stay calm, the rescue team is fully preparing for operations. We will do everything we can to ensure the safety of every citizen…]
[Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. Stay safe, and together we will get through this… Citizens, this is the A City emergency broadcast…]
…
The voice of the emergency broadcast on the radio, delivered by a mechanically calm woman, was mixed with a faint crackling sound of static.
The old speaker made the voice sound oddly distorted, and after a few seconds of silence following the broadcast, the radio began repeating the same message. However, Xie Xishu didn’t turn off the radio. He just sat quietly in the water-filled bathtub, hugging his knees, listening to the broadcast over and over.
The battery powering the radio had been given to him by Qi Wu. Xie Xishu still remembered how, when he turned on the radio, his hands trembled slightly with anxiety. He thought he would receive some new information, some news from the outside world.
However, as the indicator light turned on, the old radio speaker emitted only that one emergency broadcast, with no new information from start to finish.
Xie Xishu didn’t know how to describe his feelings.
Disappointment? Sadness? Rage? Or maybe… numbness?
He couldn’t tell.
But when Qi Wu told him he could use the hot water stored in the solar water heater to take a bath, Xie Xishu didn’t hesitate to bring the radio into the bathroom with him.
He had to listen to some kind of sound—even if it was just a prerecorded emergency broadcast from days ago—that would at least give him some false, fleeting comfort.
[We will get through this together.]
He liked that phrase.
*
The bathroom Xie Xishu was using was in Qi Wu’s room.
Perhaps because the room retained much of Qi Wu’s presence, it was the only room in the entire villa that hadn’t been invaded or ransacked by monsters. The bathroom was spacious, with a large massage bathtub big enough to fit someone of Qi Wu’s size. The tub was set into a platform made of beautifully crafted marble slabs, and right now, a few scented candles were burning next to it, emitting a faint fragrance.
The dim candlelight flickered gently in the misty air.
Xie Xishu stared dazedly at the candles for a while, then suddenly realized that the labels on them looked familiar.
“Ah…”
He let out a soft gasp, realizing that the candles were from an expensive luxury brand that his mother was particularly fond of.
But the price of that brand’s items was so exorbitant that even though Xie’s mother had a decent income, she had never been able to bring herself to buy any. And now, those same candles were casually placed beside the bathtub as mere lighting tools.
[After all, it’s the apocalypse now.]
It was as if a voice whispered lightly in Xie Xishu’s ear, laughing softly.
[Brands and money are now the most meaningless things in the world.]
Yet, it was precisely this meaningless branded candle that made Xie Xishu uncontrollably think of his father and mother.
Even though he had tried so hard to force himself not to think about them…
But at this moment, the overwhelming fear that Xie Xishu had been suppressing deep inside surged uncontrollably to the surface—if even Qi Wu’s family had met a tragic end in this sudden catastrophe, what about his parents?
Were they… still alive?
They should be, right? After all, his parents had left the country for research purposes before the flu outbreak in A City.
Yes, there was still hope.
A bizarre, widespread mutation like this couldn’t have possibly affected the entire country or the entire world, right? It sounded too fantastical to be real.
Yeah, impossible. It couldn’t happen.
So his parents abroad must be safe, they must still be alive…
Yet, even as he desperately tried to convince himself, Xie Xishu felt his vision grow increasingly blurry and wet.
The useless, monotonous emergency broadcast still repeated endlessly in his ears, like an ominous forewarning of disaster.
*
If other areas hadn’t fallen…
Why hadn’t the emergency broadcast changed?
Why, after so long, was there still no new information?
*
The water in the bathtub was hot.
Under the dim light, Xie Xishu could see that his skin had turned pink from the heat. Earlier, when he had scrubbed off the blood, flesh, and mucus stuck to him, he had done it so forcefully that tiny red spots of blood had seeped out beneath his skin.
But Xie Xishu still felt cold.
It was as if what flowed through his veins was no longer blood, but shards of ice that hadn’t yet frozen solid.
In truth, things were already much better than they had been not long ago. No matter what, he had temporarily found a safe refuge. He could even take a hot bath in a luxurious villa. In a world like this, that was an extravagance—yet Xie Xishu still felt lost and helpless.
He had a vague sense that he had been completely trapped by something invisible and immense.
And there was nothing he could do about it.
…
Just as Xie Xishu’s thoughts drifted, distracted and frustrated, a faint rustling sound suddenly came from outside.
If everything had still been normal, if nothing had happened, Xie Xishu probably wouldn’t even have noticed such a small noise. But now, he was like a startled bird, immediately leaping out of the bathtub, soaking wet.
If it hadn’t been for the thick carpet in front of the tub, Xie Xishu might have slipped and fallen to the ground when he landed on the wet floor.
Under the boy’s frightened gaze, a shadow faintly flickered behind the semi-transparent bathroom door.
“Who’s there—”
Xie Xishu let out a low shout. Without thinking, he grabbed the glass cup placed beside the sink, raising his hand to throw it at the door.
“It’s me.”
But in the next second, Qi Wu’s voice came from outside the bathroom door.
*
“You have a fever, but you’ve been in the bathroom for so long without coming out. All I could hear was the sound of the broadcast, so I came to check on you.”
Qi Wu stood outside the bathroom door with his head lowered. He heard his own voice, calm yet hoarse, echo from his throat. His explanation sounded reasonable, but deep down, he knew better than anyone—it was just an excuse.
Yes, after the initial shock, Qi Wu had taken some time to compose himself, and on the surface, he had indeed regained his calm.
Even Xie Xishu seemed to have relaxed because of it.
But… something had changed.
After discovering that his wretched family had also become insignificant specks in this apocalypse, some primal instincts that had previously been suppressed by his fragile human will had started to emerge without restraint.
He found that he could no longer bear to be apart from Xie Xishu. Of course, given the current situation, the two of them had already reached a point where separation was impossible.
Even though Xie Xishu had only temporarily left Qi Wu’s sight to take a bath…
Qi Wu found himself growing anxious.
He couldn’t bear to have that person out of his sight.
Qi Wu longed to look at Xie Xishu, to watch him at all times, to stick close to him, to cling to him.
By the time he realized it, he had already uncontrollably pressed himself against the bathroom door.
The sense of smell that had once brought him endless pain now brought him the same level of pleasure.
Qi Wu greedily inhaled the fragrance slowly seeping through the cracks in the door, his body trembling slightly in response.
Xie Xishu was now very clean.
The scent Qi Wu had layered onto him had been completely washed away by the hot water… making him, in the perception of a monster, like a peeled, sweet, and juicy fruit.
Qi Wu’s teeth suddenly ached intensely.
He had to use all his willpower to suppress his instincts. To stop himself from crashing through the bathroom door, seizing that delicious, fragile prey, and covering him once more with his scent.
In fact, deep inside Qi Wu’s body, a powerful desire was tempting him.
[Why not completely abandon the useless and fragile human form? Only by transforming into a monster’s true form would it be more convenient, right?]
[Think about it—using soft, wet, warm tentacles to gradually cover that fragrant, flexible body. Then, using your sensitive and strong digestive cavity, completely wrap him from head to toe, making him entirely yours…]
[Turn Xie Xishu into a part of you, completely melting him into yourself.]
…
“Creak—”
Just then, the bathroom door in front of Qi Wu was suddenly opened from the inside.
The steaming air was full of an intoxicating sweetness, along with the warmth surrounding the boy, all rushing toward Qi Wu.
Xie Xishu’s hair was slightly damp, with a few drops of water still gathering at the tips, silently falling, rolling down along the curve of his neck, and finally disappearing into the loose neckline of his T-shirt.
The wet feeling was uncomfortable. Xie Xishu frowned slightly and reached out to rub his hair with a towel again.
Then he noticed the person standing rigidly at the bathroom door, and his movements froze.
“You… what’s wrong with you?”
It was late now, and the room was dark. The tall boy’s expression was dazed, but within that daze was a faint trace of something that made Xie Xishu uneasy.
Then, he realized that Qi Wu’s pupils had dilated, almost filling his entire eye socket.
Xie Xishu was startled again.
“Qi Wu?!”
Qi Wu shuddered violently and snapped back to his senses.
“I’m fine. Just a little… hungry.”
Suppressing the urge within his body, he responded in a low voice.
“…But what about you? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Xie Xishu stiffly nodded at Qi Wu.
“Sorry to make you worry.”
As he spoke, he casually took a few steps to the side, widening the distance between himself and Qi Wu.
But after taking just two steps, he felt something wet and slippery wrap around his ankle.
“Huh?”
Xie Xishu was startled.
“You’re still… too fragrant.”
Qi Wu’s tall figure moved close to his side again.
Just like when he explained why he was standing by the bathroom door earlier, the boy’s voice was still incredibly calm.
Only now, there was a slight huskiness to it.
“We agreed before, didn’t we? Even after a bath, it’s best to reapply some of my scent to cover your own.”
Then, Qi Wu leaned close to Xie Xishu’s ear and whispered.
Xie Xishu’s instinctive struggle stopped immediately.
*
Xie Xishu knew very well that without Qi Wu’s scent to cover his own, as the only uninfected person, his scent would easily attract other monsters.
But after days of crawling through piles of monsters, Xie Xishu had reached his limit in terms of personal hygiene.
This matter was actually quite easy to resolve. The two had discussed it before the bath—after bathing, Qi Wu would reapply a new mark on Xie Xishu.
Qi Wu’s actions now were perfectly normal.
But…
But something still didn’t feel right.
As Qi Wu led him to the bedside, Xie Xishu couldn’t help but shrink back a little.
“Qi… Qi Wu—”
Maybe there was another way to apply the scent.
It didn’t have to be this intimate, this… sticky.
But this time, Qi Wu didn’t respond. What wrapped around Xie Xishu’s ankle and wrist wasn’t the soft, wet tongue he remembered.
The sun had completely set.
In this world without electricity, the night was so deep and dark.
The shadows in the room were as thick as ink that couldn’t be dissolved. Xie Xishu couldn’t see anything clearly at all. He could only vaguely feel that the things entwining his body were stronger and stranger than before. Besides the harmless soft flesh, Xie Xishu even faintly felt something resembling teeth, grazing directly across his skin.
Xie Xishu immediately broke out in goosebumps.
“What are you doing?”
He asked in a voice full of both fear and anger.
“Scent.”
Qi Wu muttered hoarsely, as if responding to Xie Xishu, but also as if unconsciously talking to himself.
“Your body should be completely covered in my scent.”
“Otherwise, it’ll be dangerous. You’ll be… taken away…”
Some soft and flexible appendages had already climbed along the hem of his loose T-shirt and reached the side of his neck.
In the darkness, those wriggling things moved gently and restrained, but in his extreme tension, Xie Xishu still had the illusion that every inch of his skin had been licked all over by those things.
His heartbeat sped up.
His breathing became more rapid.
Strangely, at this moment, he suddenly thought of Cheng An again.
Before his death, what had that monster, who had completely mutated both in soul and appearance, said?
Oh, right.
Cheng An had once so venomously, so confidently declared—
[…You will be eaten, Xie Xishu.]
[You will definitely be eaten by Qi Wu.]
*
He had already become incredibly weak due to a high fever.
After finally escaping the pursuit of monsters and reaching Qi Wu’s home, he discovered that something terrible and bloody had happened there as well…
And then, Qi Wu suddenly started acting so… so strange.
Too much fear, too much confusion, too much despair—these dark emotions all mixed together, forming a heavy weight pressing down on Xie Xishu’s rationality. Pinned down by Qi Wu on the soft mattress, though he was already scared enough to want to cry out loud, his will, like an ice cream ball melting under intense heat, was steadily dissolving.
Everything around him seemed to distort and blur.
His rationality began to collapse.
The dark room, the mutated companion… all at once, Xie Xishu felt like the whole world had become a distant nightmare, turning into something so unreal, so illusory.
And at that moment, Xie Xishu suddenly realized that what was gently touching his cheek, moving up from his neck, wasn’t a mutated appendage or tongue from a monster.
It was a pair of cool, dry lips.
Just as Qi Wu was about to kiss the corner of his lips, Xie Xishu suddenly shuddered and snapped out of that trance-like, feverish daze.
“Are you crazy?! I’m a guy—”
Xie Xishu cried out in alarm.
And this time, it seemed his voice finally reached Qi Wu’s ears.
At this moment, the moon had finally risen into the sky, and the dim moonlight shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a faint silver glow over the two of them.
Among the now thoroughly damp bedding, several dark red shadows twitched slightly, then, like startled snakes, suddenly recoiled back into Qi Wu’s body from the folds of the fabric.
Under Xie Xishu’s frightened gaze, Qi Wu, who had already lost most of his human form, finally reverted back to his human shape… but in the shadows where his eyes couldn’t reach, there still seemed to be countless thin appendages uncontrollably swaying in the darkness.
The scene before him looked so bizarre and absurd, and yet, Qi Wu, the one responsible for it all, now looked utterly horrified.
His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down several times.
“I, well, you, this is actually… I didn’t mean it; it’s just a misunderstanding—”
The boy started babbling, but for a while, he couldn’t piece together a complete sentence.
He propped himself up on the bed, trying to back away, but in his haste, he accidentally tumbled off the bed with a thud.
Xie Xishu: “…”
*
There was no denying that the sight of Qi Wu falling off the bed was indeed funny.
The previously tense atmosphere in the room suddenly dissipated with that loud thump.
Covering his cheek with his hand, Xie Xishu mustered up the courage to slowly sit up from the bed.
He opened his eyes wide, looking down at Qi Wu on the floor with a mix of shock and uncertainty.
Qi Wu remained in the same position he had landed in after falling off the bed, his face blank with shock. Judging by his expression, the fright he had received didn’t seem to be any less than Xie Xishu’s.
When their eyes met, Qi Wu’s chest rose and fell heavily.
“That just now… what were you doing? Were you trying to kiss me?”
Xie Xishu asked quickly, pretending to be calm as he stared at Qi Wu.
“I’m a guy, you know that, right?” Xie Xishu emphasized again.
At that moment, Qi Wu’s expression inexplicably reminded Xie Xishu of a cat with all its fur standing on end.
The boy looked utterly defeated and bewildered, thoroughly flustered.
“Of course, I know you’re a guy!”
Qi Wu immediately denied it, speaking quickly but in a low voice.
He paused for a moment, then swallowed.
“And besides, that wasn’t a kiss, kissing you—no, that was just an accident. You know, after it gets dark, I get, uh, a bit… abnormal. Yeah, that’s it. I admit I wasn’t acting right just now, but didn’t we already learn this? Once it gets dark, monsters naturally become overly excited, so it’s normal for my behavior to get a bit weird, and I can’t help it… Of course, if you can’t stand it, I’ll apologize. But I wasn’t trying to do anything… It was purely accidental…”
As Xie Xishu listened to Qi Wu’s increasingly fluent defence, he finally started to relax his tensed muscles.
Some wet liquid slowly trickled down his back, and even Xie Xishu himself couldn’t tell if it was cold sweat from his fear or the sticky fluid secreted by those appendages that had wrapped around him earlier.
He could also feel that things weren’t as simple as Qi Wu was making them out to be—something about monsters becoming overly excited at night and behaving abnormally.
However, at this point, he simply didn’t have the courage to investigate further.
Xie Xishu couldn’t help but raise his hand and lightly touch the corner of his mouth again. The spot where Qi Wu’s lips had brushed against was still unbelievably hot.
Xie Xishu even suspected that he might be blushing.
But…
Damn, why was he blushing??!!!
*
The two of them remained in place with different thoughts, awkwardly frozen for a while. The exhaustion from the high fever once again clouded Xie Xishu’s mind.
He yawned.
The room was extremely quiet.
After all this time, Qi Wu still hadn’t moved from under the bed.
Xie Xishu, however, was starting to feel like he couldn’t hold out much longer.
The rest of the bed was soft and comfortable. Even though parts of the bedding were completely soaked with Qi Wu’s slime, after everything that had already happened, Xie Xishu no longer had any expectations for his sleeping environment. In fact, after catching a whiff of Qi Wu’s scent, he only felt a strange sense of reassurance.
“I’m sleepy.”
Then he called out to the “statue,” lying dumbfounded on the floor.
For safety reasons, it wasn’t possible for him and Qi Wu to stay in separate rooms.
“…I’m going to sleep.”
Xie Xishu glanced at Qi Wu a few more times. Now, the latter looked just like a normal human boy.
“Mm,” Qi Wu responded sullenly. “I’ll keep watch tonight. You… you can sleep.”
Their conversation was so normal that it gave Xie Xishu an almost surreal feeling.
In the end, however, he didn’t say anything else. He just kept a wary eye on the shadow beneath the bed and then, weakened by the fever, slowly closed his eyes.
