In the following days, Xie Xishu fell into a fever that left him nearly fainting.
He didn’t quite remember when Qi Wu dragged him out of the room filled with monster blood stains, nor did he know what method the other used to find a relatively “clean” and “convenient” empty house in the large villa community.
The reason it was called “clean” was that the wealthy owner of the house had moved abroad to settle down several years ago.
In the luxurious villa, all the furniture was covered with neatly arranged white cloths, and every so often, a cleaning company hired to do so would come by regularly for dusting. During other times, the place was always empty—this also meant that after the mutation, there wouldn’t be any monsters lingering in the villa’s rooms, and of course, there wouldn’t be any human remains left behind after being devoured by monsters.
Of course, the best part was that near this house, in the garage of some unfortunate neighbor, there was a fully equipped brand new luxury RV parked—
“Oh, so I figured out a way to drive it back. Don’t worry, the car is fine; it only has a little damage to the right front light cover, but it doesn’t affect actual usage. You wouldn’t believe that the design of that junky car is quite good. As long as it’s sunny, opening the solar panels on top can charge the car. Although right now, without internet, the phone is just a brick, at least a powered brick is more fun than a dead one. Worst case, I can use it to charge my Switch…”
On the empty streets of the villa community, Qi Wu walked slowly forward, his shoes crunching on the glass shards scattered across the street and the clumps of dried black blood, making quite a loud sound with each step.
In the nearby bushes, certain things occasionally crept closer, instinctively drawn to the unabashed noise, trying to hunt… However, after that night, Qi Wu had not seen any monster daring enough to ignore the level differences and attack him.
“…There’s nothing to worry about; those monsters have become smarter than before. As soon as they catch a whiff of my scent, they immediately run far away. Now it’s even harder for me to search for supplies than before, tsk.”
……
When Qi Wu talked about what had happened over the past few days with Xie Xishu, he was nearly noisy.
The current Qi Wu no longer resembled the silent, cold-breathing boy from Xie Xishu’s memories, which made Xie Xishu feel even more unfamiliar.
To be honest, when he finally woke from the high fever, he felt a sense of despair: how he wished he could simply devolve into a mindless monster like everyone else! That would at least bring two benefits.
First, he wouldn’t have to worry about whether there would come a day when Qi Wu, in a fit of madness, would swallow him whole.
Second, he wouldn’t have to anguish over how to face Qi Wu anymore.
In fact, once the initial panic passed, Xie Xishu became much calmer. Qi Wu had already mutated into a monster, and his loss of control wasn’t the first time. Xie Xishu should have been psychologically prepared for such an unexpected situation. As for the dream he had, upon reflection, it had no basis in reality.
That said, after experiencing such a night, every time Xie Xishu saw Qi Wu, his mind would involuntarily conjure images of that night—the monster greedily extending its limbs towards him, the tongue that rubbed against his skin, and that endless, abyss-like strong desire…
“Hey… hey, Xie Xishu? Are you listening?”
“Xie Xishu?”
“Xiao Xie?”
“Xiao Xi?”
“…Xiao Shu?”
The sudden call of his childhood nickname by his parents snapped Xie Xishu out of his daze, and he quickly returned to his senses. When he looked up, he saw Qi Wu staring at him, arms crossed, with a piercing gaze.
“What? Sorry, I didn’t catch that—”
Xie Xishu felt a chill at the back of his neck under Qi Wu’s dark eyes and hurriedly composed himself, responding as calmly as he could.
But the next moment, he heard Qi Wu mumble thoughtfully.
“Oh, your nickname is ‘Xiao Shu’? It sounds so unsuitable for playing mahjong…”
Xie Xishu: “…”
He stood there, his expression slightly stiff, momentarily unsure of how to respond to Qi Wu.
That joke sounded quite deliberately foolish. And this wasn’t the first time the boy had done something silly.
It seemed that ever since that night, not only did Xie Xishu stiffen and become awkward upon seeing Qi Wu, but many of Qi Wu’s actions were also incredibly, incredibly, incredibly strange.
After Qi Wu spoke, he suddenly glanced at Xie Xishu’s face again. It was as if he thought of something, and his eyes began darting everywhere, except in Xie Xishu’s direction.
“Tsk, it was just a joke. I called you so many times and you didn’t respond; now you’re in a daze after I caught your attention… you really are at a loss being around me.”
The boy’s tone shifted abruptly, suddenly turning from the kind of gentle that sent chills down Xie Xishu’s spine to being stiff and cold.
Then he raised his hand and directly stuffed a box of something into Xie Xishu’s hands. When Xie Xishu looked down, he discovered it was actually a box of Tetra Pak orange juice.
Under normal circumstances, this kind of thing was certainly commonplace, but in the current situation where social order was almost collapsing, it could be considered a luxury.
“Ah? When did you…”
“What does it matter? With your little body, a fever can take half your life. Drink some orange juice for Vitamin C and take care of yourself.”
Before Xie Xishu could react, Qi Wu had already walked over, yanked the camping cart Xie Xishu had been dragging before—meant to carry the supplies he had collected. There were very few items inside: just a few packs of instant noodles, a few bottles of water that once cost an outrageous price in a high-end supermarket, and some snacks with no recognizable brands printed in foreign languages.
With so few items, the weight was naturally light.
Even in Xie Xishu’s weakened state, dragging the cart wouldn’t be strenuous.
However, Qi Wu wouldn’t even let Xie Xishu touch the cart.
Xie Xishu stood there empty-handed, watching Qi Wu’s back in a slight daze, and in a moment of distraction, he seemed to catch a glimmer of something shining between Qi Wu’s hair at the back of his head.
Ah, it was an eye.
Xie Xishu immediately recognized it.
Qi Wu had been watching him all along.
After waking from the fever, Xie Xishu had noticed this.
This was certainly not the first time he had been subjected to Qi Wu’s relentless scrutiny. Before the mutation happened, he was almost scared to madness by the other’s actions, but after surviving together with Qi Wu in the apocalypse, Xie Xishu thought he wouldn’t be overly sensitive to Qi Wu’s gaze anymore.
But the facts proved that he was wrong.
Compared to before, Qi Wu’s gaze seemed to carry some inexplicable intensity. Every time he met the other person’s eyes, Xie Xishu felt a chill run down his spine and a tightening in his chest.
Occasionally… occasionally Xie Xishu would feel a shadow standing silently beside his bed on nights when he was abruptly awakened from nightmares.
Qi Wu’s heated gaze clung to his face and body, lingering unrelentingly.
*
Xie Xishu felt that some parts of Qi Wu had changed.
And that change made him feel perplexed and increasingly tense.
……
……
In the next few hours, Qi Wu took Xie Xishu to “scavenge” three villas.
Although Qi Wu didn’t say anything, Xie Xishu could roughly sense that these three villas had likely been thoroughly cleaned out by the boys.
The air still carried a faintly unpleasant odor, the unavoidable smell of blood decaying in the heat. But in these three villas, Xie Xishu did not encounter a single monster; there were only deep red stains on the marble floors and splatters of blood and claw marks on the exquisite wallpaper, vaguely revealing the battles that had taken place here.
If he didn’t know very well that Qi Wu was essentially not the type who had leisure to spare, Xie Xishu might have thought this outing to search for supplies was merely a casual trip to help him relax.
But regardless of whether this was indeed a “day trip,” it wasn’t too easy for Xie Xishu.
On one hand, it was because he was indeed too weak; on the other hand, it was because there wasn’t much here that he could use.
Yes, the villas were indeed lavishly decorated and beautifully furnished, but what Xie Xishu truly needed now were not the quirky artworks bought at auction for a hefty price, nor the name-brand bags and shoes lining the walls of a master bedroom’s closet.
What he needed were water, food, and, if possible… weapons.
He didn’t dare mention the last item to Qi Wu, merely keeping it in mind and searching quietly. But after checking all three villas, he found nothing.
In a spacious and bright kitchen, he saw the abundant ingredients that the former owner had once stored. However, those organic vegetables, fruits, and meats had all turned into a foul-smelling dark brown sludge, dripping out from a double-door refrigerator that had long lost power.
Xie Xishu stood in front of the kitchen for only a short while.
The air was thick with suffocating stench, yet he found himself momentarily distracted, staring at the beautifully packaged bags floating in the decaying liquid on the floor.
These foods had once been carefully selected to be placed in the refrigerator.
Now they had rotted into juice.
And the people who had purchased them had a high likelihood of having long since become distorted monsters, either wandering aimlessly outside or having already been killed by Qi Wu, becoming food…
Xie Xishu suddenly recalled that on the way here, Qi Wu had nonchalantly killed a monster.
When he saw that monster, it had been clutching a still-gasping wild cat in its mouth. Its form still retained most human features, but it had begun to walk on all fours, moving in a strange manner.
Of course, Xie Xishu had seen many of these monsters since the outbreak began, many…
The difference this time was that the monster he saw was still dressed in a complete suit. Although the fabric had become damp and faded due to the slime secreted from its body, and the cuffs and pant legs were already torn into ragged edges, that suit clearly indicated that this pathetic and deformed creature had once been human.
*
Then Qi Wu moved to crush the monster’s body.
Probably because Xie Xishu was nearby, Qi Wu did not “consume” the monster on the spot. However, as a monster that had also undergone mutation, he still could not hide the bloodshed and brutality of the scene.
The “tongue” that had once secreted thick slime and gently licked Xie Xishu was now merely sweeping lightly across the monster’s body, and the monster was instantly cleaved in two. The places scraped by the barbs on the tongue had large patches of skin and flesh removed, exposing the bone beneath, while some chunks of internal organs spilled out from between the ribs. The monster let out a mournful cry.
And the prey that had not been digested inside it gushed out with the ruptured stomach, emitting a smell and texture identical to the juices formed from the rotting ingredients Xie Xishu had just seen…
A strange thought suddenly invaded Xie Xishu’s mind.
If there ever came a day when Qi Wu really did eat him, would he also become like this in that person’s stomach?
……
……
“Hey, why are you just standing here when it stinks so much? Let’s go.”
Just then, accompanied by an impatient mutter, Qi Wu reached out to Xie Xishu’s shoulder.
“Ugh—”
Immersed in his thoughts, Xie Xishu let out a sudden cry, instinctively darting sideways.
His shoulder collided directly with a decorative bone china plate cabinet on the side of the kitchen, creating a loud crash of shattering porcelain, followed by an eerie silence.
……
……
……
Qi Wu kept his hand raised, staring intently at Xie Xishu’s pale face. After a moment, he let out a cold laugh.
Xie Xishu followed his gaze down and discovered that he had been gripping a kitchen knife tightly in his hand, though he did not recall when he had picked it up.
There had been an exquisite knife rack on the kitchen island earlier, but Xie Xishu had spent a long time trying to figure out how to remove the knife without success.
Now he understood—strength was all that was needed.
However, his instinctive reaction in a moment of panic made the atmosphere feel especially awkward at that moment.
Qi Wu’s efforts to maintain his lively and cheerful demeanor slowly faded in that moment, revealing his inner dark and obsessive nature.
“…There’s no need for this, is there? Classmate Xie,” he said.
With a “slap,” Xie Xishu’s hand shook, and the brand-new, sharp kitchen knife fell directly to the ground.
“I’m sorry.” Xie Xishu’s mind went blank, and he could only repeatedly mumble apologies.
“I didn’t… I didn’t mean to do anything. I just—out of instinct—”
“Instinctively picked up the knife.”
Before Xie Xishu could finish explaining, Qi Wu directly interrupted him with his excuse.
“You’re afraid of me.”
Then he looked at Xie Xishu, speaking each word with absolute certainty.
Even though Xie Xishu had apologized immediately, the other person appeared even angrier than before.
No, it shouldn’t be said that he was angry; it was pure fury.
“You’re still f*cking afraid of me.”
“No, it’s not that. I just—”
Qi Wu suddenly stepped forward two paces, and a tentacle swiftly shot out, directly wrapping around the gleaming kitchen knife on the ground.
Then he turned the knife around and forcefully shoved the handle back into Xie Xishu’s hand.
“Qi Wu?”
Xie Xishu was left even more bewildered by his actions.
Qi Wu revealed more of his tentacles towards him.
“Come on, just do it. Chop it off. This thing is actually quite soft, just like squid tentacles. As long as I don’t resist, if you apply some force, you’ll definitely be able to chop it off. After that, you can roast or steam it as you please—”
The bright red tentacles remained motionless under Qi Wu’s control, only the tips trembling slightly. Qi Wu’s large hand encircled Xie Xishu’s hand, forcing the boy to position the kitchen knife above his tentacle.
“Qi Wu, what are you doing?! I don’t want to do this!”
“But you’re afraid of me, aren’t you? No matter how many times you apologize, you can’t erase that fear, can you?!”
“Stop, don’t! Hey!”
“So just muster the courage to chop this off! If I lose control again, you can do it again like this…”
……
Xie Xishu was completely dumbfounded.
Just as Qi Wu had said, with a sudden force, the blade of the knife really did sink into the boy’s tentacle.
Blood gushed out instantly; Qi Wu’s face paled slightly, but his expression remained as resolute as ever.
It wasn’t until he saw the tears streaming down Xie Xishu’s face that he paused slightly.
“Why are you so timid? Why are you crying? I already said it was me who wanted you to do this. I’m a monster; chopping off a couple of limbs won’t kill me.”
“Let go…”
“I… I really don’t want you to feel this way, to be so afraid of me.”
Xie Xishu sobbed, desperately trying to release the knife.
Seeing the terror in Xie Xishu’s tear-filled eyes growing more intense, Qi Wu’s raspy voice became increasingly irritable.
“Damn, you don’t know anything! I know you’ve been scared like a quail whenever I extend a finger toward you these past few days! If you keep being this afraid of me, how am I supposed to date you in the future—”
“I’m not afraid of you; I’m afraid of myself! I doubt I can attract monsters—”
In the throes of swirling emotions, their voices overlapped, rising together.
Then, there was silence.
Xie Xishu’s chest heaved rapidly as he unintentionally blurted out the suppressed speculation from deep within, momentarily leaving him mindless.
After a long while, he finally managed to comprehend Qi Wu’s earlier words.
“D-Dating?”
He suspected he might have misheard.
“Who do you want to date?”
He looked at Qi Wu, almost in a daze as he murmured the question.
