Chapter 93: Replication Experiment 17
Xinyin Biology had been completely sealed off by the Order Maintenance Department. Meanwhile, Shi Cheng, due to an overdose of the injected drug, was sent directly to the ICU of the Evolver Management Center upon his release. His vital signs were extremely unstable, and it was unknown whether he would live or die. According to employees, Laboratory 9 was exclusively used by Shi Cheng. He was very cautious and would personally dispose of all biological remains after use, so no one else in the research institute knew the details of his experiments.
“We can talk about these things when you come back to work,” Huo Ting said over the phone. “Just rest well for now.”
Because this mission was excessively anti-human, the Management Center arranged psychological counseling for every participant. Inside the Rules Zone, one might not feel it, but once the mission ended and tense nerves relaxed, those bloody and cruel images would inevitably flood back into the mind—especially the scene where Zhang Yunxia and her mother reunited in the incineration room.
Yi Ke opened the refrigerator door and poured himself a glass of ice water. He drank a bit too hurriedly; condensation from the outside of the glass trickled down his long fingers, leaving a dark gray wet stain on the cuff of his loungewear.
“Cough, cough.”
The water accidentally went down the wrong pipe. Yi Ke coughed twice, feeling the ice water he had just swallowed churning in his stomach. He dashed into the bathroom and bang, locked the door from the inside.
Zhuang Ningyu hung up the phone, followed him, tapped on the glass, and asked worriedly, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Yi Ke braced one hand against the sink. It took a while to suppress the discomfort in his stomach. He washed his face with cold water, intending to walk out as if nothing had happened. However, the moment he opened the door, he saw a cooking show on the living room TV demonstrating the steps to make organ porridge. He immediately rushed back into the bathroom and proceeded to vomit his guts out.
An hour later, Yi Ke, freshly showered, lay on the bed in the master bedroom, no longer able to act tough. Zhuang Ningyu leaned next to him, brushing away the slightly damp hair from his forehead. “Do you want me to tell you a bedtime story to distract you?”
Yi Ke refused the story but needed a different kind of comfort. He pulled the other man into his arms, wrapping his limbs around him and burying his head into that warm, soft neck. His scorching breath landed on the most sensitive skin of the neck. Zhuang Ningyu’s back soon broke out in a thin layer of sweat, but he didn’t push the other away. Instead, he tried to relax his body, allowing Yi Ke’s arms to tighten until there was no gap left between them.
The scent of jasmine grew increasingly intense under the duvet. With the patient company of his lover, those unsettling scenes finally began to fade. Yi Ke exhaled gently, his thoughts returning to stability, his attention shifting back to the real world. He looked down at the person in his arms—on this night after the mission ended, their small home was warm and comfortable, and they were leaning intimately against each other. The room was so quiet it seemed only the sound of breathing remained. Thus, certain hidden expectations rose again, and a different kind of heat slowly mixed into his blood.
Yi Ke felt a stir of impulse. He gripped the thin shoulder blades in his palm and turned over. His kisses moved from the neck to the corner of the lips, starting with light, barely-there touches before gradually deepening. Zhuang Ningyu held the hand that was wandering over his chest, sensing the other’s intent. He had intended to sincerely suggest, Don’t you want to rest a bit more? But his mouth was quickly sealed by the scorching body temperature hidden under the pajamas.
Taking advantage of this tacit permission, Yi Ke pushed his luck. in the intervals between their entangling tongues, he fumbled with one hand to unbutton the entire row of pajama buttons. Zhuang Ningyu was kissed until he was slightly breathless. Instinctively, he sank his hips, trying to create distance between them, but was scooped right back.
The fit became even tighter.
Yi Ke’s right hand moved down along the dip of his waist, then, as if suddenly remembering something, he asked, “Do we have condoms?”
Zhuang Ningyu shook his head with a look of innocence. “No.”
Yi Ke: “…”
Tonight, the two of them had scrounged a meal at the Investigation Team’s guesthouse. Since it was late, they had come straight back to Fuxing Garden after eating. The air fell silent, tinged with awkwardness. Yi Ke looked at him for five seconds, then decisively reached for the phone on the bedside table. “Wife, wait a second, I’ll order instant delivery.”
Zhuang Ningyu plucked the phone away. “It doesn’t matter, no need.”
Yi Ke was very principled. “No way!” Although he was confident in his technical skills, it was their first time, after all. Moreover, he added, “It’s too big without… mph mph mph… you will… mph.” His mouth was suddenly pinched shut, leaving him struggling to speak through the crack. Zhuang Ningyu looked at him and shook his head solemnly. “It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine.” Yi Ke pulled down his wrist, rubbing the back of his fingers against the lips he had kissed swollen, speaking stubbornly. “What if you get hurt?”
Zhuang Ningyu didn’t answer. He simply opened his mouth and bit Yi Ke’s finger, his tongue curling over the fingertip, bringing a strange sensation. Yi Ke’s Adam’s apple bobbed. Two fingers uncontrollably went deeper into his mouth. The sound of wetness filled the air. Zhuang Ningyu frowned slightly in discomfort. Yi Ke immediately withdrew his hand, hugged him tightly again, pecked at his ear, and murmured as if talking to himself, “I love you so much.”
Zhuang Ningyu rolled over, fumbled to open the nightstand drawer, fished out a box of condoms, and tossed it to the person behind him.
Yi Ke caught it, stunned for a few seconds. Then—Wife is so good, Wife loves me! He immediately pinned the person down with jubilation, resting his chin on Zhuang Ningyu’s shoulder, and asked with a whine, “Only one box?”
A sense of danger welled up in Zhuang Ningyu’s heart. What kind of question is that? He braced one hand against the bed, trying to flee, but Yi Ke grabbed his waist and dragged him back.
The ambiguous atmosphere between their breaths intensified. Lying on the messy bed, Zhuang Ningyu felt he should relax, but indeed couldn’t. He had zero experience in such matters and didn’t want to control the situation; the only thing left to do seemed to be passive compliance. Although Yi Ke was very considerate, no amount of care could offset the pain that felt like it was piercing his soul. As the act deepened, Zhuang Ningyu frowned tightly, his hands gripping the sheets, letting the light blur into a watery mist in his eyes.
Yi Ke wiped away his tears, lowered his head, and asked softly, “Are you okay?”
There was barely any color left on Zhuang Ningyu’s lips, and he couldn’t speak at all. He could only cup Yi Ke’s face, lifting his head to seek as much gentle comfort as possible. His trembling body was held tightly, as if undergoing torture with no end in sight. But at some point, a sour, soft shudder was injected into his stiff spine. The strange yet intense stimulation left him somewhat dazed, so he simply closed his eyes weakly, completely surrendering control of all his senses to the other.
Chaotic breathing and tender kisses were the entire theme of the night.
In the latter half of the night, Yi Ke poured a glass of warm water and held him, feeding him sip by sip. Zhuang Ningyu leaned against his chest; water he couldn’t swallow in time trickled down the corner of his mouth. He coughed softly for a while, pushed Yi Ke away, and collapsed back onto the bed in exhaustion, his body still trembling uncontrollably. Yi Ke squatted beside him, pulled out a tissue to wipe the water from his face, then wrapped him in the duvet and placed him on the living room sofa. He returned to the bedroom to quickly change the wet sheets. When he returned, Zhuang Ningyu was curled up, hugging his knees, fast asleep.
Yi Ke moved lightly, placing him back on the bed as carefully as possible. He pulled away, went to the bathroom to wring out a warm towel, and meticulously cleaned up all traces. Zhuang Ningyu could feel most of his movements but was simply too exhausted to move, letting the other handle him.
He thought he would sleep for a very long time, but his biological clock still made him open his eyes at eight o’clock. When he woke up, Yi Ke was sitting by the bed, rustling through the medicine kit on the nightstand. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and the scratch marks on his back were particularly obvious. Zhuang Ningyu averted his gaze, frowning as he tried to sit up, but his waist ached as if a section of nerves had been severed. He fell back onto the bed uncontrollably. Noticing the movement behind him, Yi Ke hurriedly turned around to hold him down, saying somewhat unnaturally, “Don’t move around, you… um, I just applied some medicine for you. Lie down a bit longer, okay?”
Zhuang Ningyu weakly held his hand. His waist hurt, his throat hurt, everything hurt. But he felt his pain was justified because last night had truly been a bit too intense. He could only wave a hand feebly, turn his head, and drift back into a groggy sleep.
When he woke up again, it was already twelve noon. There was no one beside him; Yi Ke was busy in the kitchen. The aroma of fish fillet porridge drifted into the bedroom. Zhuang Ningyu grabbed the nightstand to sit up. He didn’t want to recall Yi Ke’s massive physique anymore; he just wanted to take advantage of the national subsidy to apply for some smart elderly care facilities for this house so he could walk with less effort.
The phone on the nightstand buzzed. Zhuang Ningyu was standing by the sink brushing his teeth. He hesitated for a long time whether to go get it. He didn’t want to walk, but he was afraid it might be work calling… Forget it, have to answer. By the time he managed to support his breaking waist and shuffle back to the bed, he picked up the phone, but before he could speak, a young man’s enthusiastic voice came through the receiver: “Hello, Teacher Zhuang! Lakeside Noble Residence, enjoying the extraordinary! The reason I’m calling you today is to invite you to experience our Emperor-level vacation villa, dancing with white cranes—”
Zhuang Ningyu took a deep breath, tossed the phone back onto the bed, and returned to the bathroom to finish brushing his teeth. unexpectedly, not even half a minute later, the phone started vibrating violently again, and this time it persisted relentlessly, still ringing even after he finished washing his face. Zhuang Ningyu reached the limit of his patience. He picked up the phone, ready to angrily ask the unscrupulous salesperson where they bought his number, when Huo Ting’s voice came through: “Sleeping?”
“…No.” Zhuang Ningyu drank two mouthfuls of cold water to suppress the painful rasp in his throat and asked clearly, “Need something?”
“Oh, nothing much,” Huo Ting said. “He Mo and I plan to go eat at that devilishly spicy boiled fish place you love tonight. Want to come along?”
Go eat something good, you two! Zhuang Ningyu rejected it instantly. He never wanted to eat perverted devilishly spicy food again in this life.
After hanging up, Huo Ting said: “He’s not eating.”
He Mo: “No taste.”
The fish fillet porridge was cooked perfectly—fresh, soft, and delicious. After eating, Zhuang Ningyu crawled back into bed, wanting to sleep, but Yi Ke held his hand. “Let me check again?”
Zhuang Ningyu: “No need!”
Yi Ke wouldn’t let go. “But you have a fever.”
Zhuang Ningyu didn’t understand how, with his level of evolution, he could still get a fever from something like this. It was truly bizarre. After summarizing for a long time, he finally said perfunctorily, “Maybe I’m allergic to something of yours.”
Yi Ke: “But I wore a condom.”
Zhuang Ningyu: “It broke later on.”
Yi Ke looked at him for a moment, then suddenly scooped him up horizontally. “Then let’s go to the hospital to check for allergens.”
Zhuang Ningyu’s eyes went wide. He couldn’t imagine the shocking scene of meeting Pei Yuan for this kind of thing. He wouldn’t be able to live the rest of his life. He backhanded Yi Ke with a slap: “Get lost!”
Yi Ke didn’t dodge. He shifted his grip, holding him with one arm while opening the wardrobe to pick out clothes, looking determined to go to the hospital to prove his innocence. Zhuang Ningyu had to compromise. “Okay, okay, okay, no allergy, no allergy. Put me down first… my waist hurts!”
Yi Ke put him back on the bed but leaned over him without getting up, reaching out to massage his waist, coaxing him by his ear: “I’ll be gentler next time.”
Zhuang Ningyu covered his mouth. That’s enough. End of this topic. Let’s switch to a sophisticated topic.
Yi Ke leaned back on the other side of the bed. “How sophisticated? Should I continue reading that novel from last time?”
Zhuang Ningyu shook his head vigorously. After experiencing a tiny sliver of twisted forcefulness last night, he had temporarily lost interest in that genre of literature. Currently, he just wanted to bathe in the brilliant sunshine of having no desires and wanting nothing—just want to eat a little Plato.
Yi Ke laughed out loud, turned his head to kiss the corner of his mouth, rubbed his face with the back of his fingers, and said, “Why are you so well-behaved?”
