Chapter 199

"Ahem, um..." Temple, who was seriously injured and pale, had been resting against the edge of the Warship but had been watching He Muzhi Temple ever since he saw He Muzhi. Seeing this, he spoke up to help the two out, "Excuse me, gentlemen."

He Muzhi and Xuan Jingcheng, one holding out his hand and the other handing it out, both turned their heads to look at Temple, who was speaking.

Temple, shameless, stared at the nutrient solution bottle engraved with his name in Xuan Jingcheng's hand, licked his dry lips, and feigned urgency as he pleaded, "Could I have a sip?"

Before this return trip, he always felt that staying by He Muzhi's side might be of some use, and as it turned out, his intuition was always very accurate.

Whether it was saving Onion's life on several occasions by instinct or acting as a tool to help He Muzhi out of a predicament, even if it was just a small thing to others like easing embarrassment, it was no small matter to him as long as it was related to He Muzhi.

Xuan Jingcheng: "..."

'What kind of filthy thing dares to lick its big face and open its mouth without even asking if it's worthy?'

'But this guy is really lucky. Not only did an entire Warship crash down on him and survive, but he also stayed in Venus for so long without being bitten by the Living Dead roaming the town. When they found him during the search, they were almost scared to death. Luckily, he hadn't seen his own face.'

Xuan Jing was inwardly disgusted, but at the opportune moment, she took back the nutrient solution bottle she had handed to He Muzhi and glanced at it as if to confirm it before handing it over. Then, with an apologetic look on her face, she looked at the man whose lips were covered in dead skin. "I'm so sorry, I only realized when I looked that it was empty sometime ago. It's my fault for not checking when I handed it over."

Xuan Jingcheng shook the nutrient solution bottle slightly, but there was no sound of liquid shaking.

Temple didn't believe anyone would be so shameless as to feed someone else something they'd just sneezed on, so she naturally assumed Xuan Jingcheng was just trying to help her out of a tight spot. She said with a regretful expression, "Really? Looks like I'll have to hold out a little longer until I get back to the Safe Zone before I can drink it."

Seeing He Muzhi, Xuan Jingcheng felt embarrassed and gave him a cold look. He forced a smile and said nothing more. He turned to look at He Muzhi and saw He Muzhi walking towards Temple.

"..."

'Hold.'

Xuan Jingcheng slammed the cap on the nutrient solution in frustration.

[Damn, where's the candy? Where's the candy I was supposed to give out?]

[The scheming person has broken down]

[I'm so confused, my indirect kiss is gone just like that?]

[That spoilsport! It's been so many days, why isn't he dead yet?]

[Hehe, I'm not dead, I'm not dead, I'll make you all jealous! We Temple are known for our toughness, wherever there's danger, there we are, otherwise we wouldn't be alive now.]

Still struggling to come up with a respectable reason to refuse Xuan Jingcheng without hurting the well-intentioned man, He Muzhi looked gratefully at Temple and walked towards him, saying, "Just a little longer, we'll be there soon."

The Warship, controlled by He Muzhi, silently accelerated.

"Hmm." Temple nodded. "Sorry to trouble you again."

He wasn't strong enough. He came to save people, but he almost got himself killed. Luckily, his injuries were either from running around and dodging the undead while Living Dead, or from being hit by things that the Living Dead knocked over. He wasn't actually scratched or bitten by the Living Dead.

Otherwise, he would become Living Dead, a perpetrator.

"How could that be?" He Muzhi in a low voice, "I've heard about it all. If it weren't for your help, many people wouldn't have made it to us. By the way, you..."

Compared to Xuan Jingcheng, He Muzhi was more familiar with Temple, and there was no strange, pricking feeling when they were together.

Realizing his own inner resistance to Xuan Jingcheng, He Muzhi felt a pang of guilt while chatting with Temple.

Xuan Jingcheng did nothing wrong; in fact, he meant well. Yet, I... didn't appreciate his kindness. The moment I saw Xuan Jingcheng hand me the nutrient solution, my instinct was to resist.

He doesn't actually have obsessive-compulsive disorder about cleanliness.

When conditions permit, he and his classmates from Class 6 would drink their own new nutritional solution during private training sessions. However, if conditions did not permit during missions, such as when they were volunteers at Funeral Home, it was common for them to share a bottle of nutritional solution with each other.

Due to limited financial resources, the Leichakan 299th Military Academy couldn't afford to have each bottle of nutrient solution individually packaged like the Fourth Military Academy. The Military Academy had their own designated bottles for daily use and on missions. Xuan Jingcheng's bottle looked quite clean. Logically, before the 'sneeze,' even to avoid Xuan Jingcheng misunderstanding that he disliked Leichakan's conditions, he shouldn't have had such an embarrassing thought. But inexplicably... it was out of control.

The more He Muzhi thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.

'Could it be that, without my realizing it, the darkness within me, beneath my seemingly cheerful exterior, has silently risen to a new level?'

[No, no, no, baby, this is called 'even if he changes his appearance, your resistance to him is already ingrained in your genes'.]

[If someone is so good at self-reflection, how bad can they be? My dear Mu, truly dark and twisted people don't constantly engage in self-reflection and internal strife. Look at that He... no, I should call him Xuan Jingcheng now, he always acts like the whole world owes him something.]

[That's great! It proves that even without Temple, the Plague God still couldn't succeed.]

[Nobody cares that the nutrient solution in the Plague God's cup is not to be drunk; it will turn you into Living Dead. Although the Plague God has already drunk the initial nutrient solution and washed it several times, what if there are any residues? Besides, the Plague God is about to die, and you're still here wanting him to kiss you and shipping him. You don't really love him that much, do you?]

He Muzhi escorted the residents of the Warship to the rear Safe Zone. While everyone was still queuing to Warship, he quickly asked the soldiers stationed in the Safe Zone for a few bottles of portable nutrient solution.

"Are any soldiers hungry?" asked the man who handed He Muzhi the nutrient solution. "Should we move more to the Warship?"

"No." Feeling guilty, He Muzhi didn't dare reveal his 'petty' side, and only said, "We're all fine. We were just taking precautions to prevent a few residents from becoming too exhausted and having problems on the way back. Thank you for your help. I'll head over there now. Goodbye."

As he was leaving, He Muzhi heard several voices behind him.

That's why Qin Su values He Muzhi the most.

"That's right, he's a really nice person. I definitely wouldn't pay attention to such unimportant things."

He Muzhi felt extremely uncomfortable and left as if fleeing.

'He just wanted to prevent something like this from happening again.'

Following too closely would reveal something amiss. Xuan Jingcheng maintained order below the Warship. When he saw He Muzhi return, he noticed the small bottle of nutrient solution he carried on his leg. The first few thoughts that flashed through his mind were, "Temple must have said something to He Muzhi," "When did He Muzhi develop obsessive-compulsive disorder?" "I've heard that all members of Class 6) were required by Qin Su to appear in front of him in a clean and presentable manner. That must be where He Muzhi's obsessive-compulsive disorder comes from."

[They blame everything and everyone else, but never suspect themselves. I'm truly amazed.]

[Please, don't be so confident. Why don't you take a closer look at yourself with that magnifying glass you're using to find fault?]

[The only person who can rival Raymond in terms of confidence]

Raymond's reputation has been damaged.

The Warship was crowded, and it would take some time to clear it. With his worries resolved, He Muzhi went straight over to help, set up the Temple, and left.

When no one was looking, Temple whispered to He Muzhi, "Perhaps I'm being too sensitive, but I feel that Xuan Jingcheng always pays extra attention to you compared to others."

The Visana Town had no military supplies, so they could only provide basic treatment for his wounds. His injuries were too severe, and after several days of delay, he needed time to recover before returning to the battlefield. They could only remind He Muzhi, "Besides, I feel like I've heard Xuan Jingcheng's voice somewhere before. It sounds like he was talking about something I immediately felt was very important, but... ouch."

Temple's head throbbed with pain from the blow. "I can't remember now."

[He'll smash you, bro!]

[Stay mindful of past grudges, stop focusing solely on triggering gratitude events (facepalm)]

"Don't think about it, what's important for you right now is to rest," He Muzhi comforted him. "Xuan Jingcheng is a student at the Leichakan 299th Military Academy. Since the Virus began to spread in the Visana Town, he has participated in the resistance and search and rescue operations according to Leichakan's usual practice. Perhaps you two briefly met at the beginning of the Virus."

He Muzhi said this only to avoid making Temple worry too much while she was injured, but in his heart he secretly raised another layer of defense against Xuan Jingcheng.

Temple was in pain all over her body and couldn't remember anything for the time being, so she had to give up and planned to tell He Muzhi as soon as she remembered something.

Taking advantage of helping someone, Xuan Jingcheng followed He Muzhi all the way. He was far away and didn't hear what they were saying, but he could see that the two of them had their heads very close together and their brows were so furrowed that they could trap flies.

Even if it weren't for He Muzhi's sake, but for his own safety, he still needed to kill Temple as soon as possible.

In order to keep track of his classmates' movements at any time, Qin Su did not turn off Full-Band Communication or check the Electronic Eye footage. However, he could also imagine from the brief conversation between He Muzhi and others and Xuan Jingcheng's temperament that Xuan Jingcheng was very likely to target Temple.

After He Muzhi returned to the Visana Town to continue the search and rescue, he issued an order to move Temple to another location for treatment, concealing Temple's location from the outside world.

Judging from Temple's rich experiences, he's as resilient as Xuan Jingcheng; two resilient individuals clashing in magical duels...

Qin Su: "..."

Even with the outcome of their clash of curiosity, given that Temple has an extra layer of 'Villain Aura' compared to Xuan Jingcheng, Qin Su, who believes 'I'm happy if Xuan Jingcheng is unhappy,' still decides to do his best to provide Temple with a relatively safe environment.

"What?" Temple was stunned to learn that he had been removed from the public treatment area on Qin Su's orders.

He never thought that someone like him could attract Qin Su's attention, so why was Qin Su suddenly showing him special care...?

Temple thought about how he had made up his mind to serve He Muzhi, and the names of He Muzhi and Halton flashed through his mind.

Everyone knows that although Halton is in the He Family and is He Muzhi's publicly acknowledged 'teacher', everything Halton does for He Muzhi is actually just obeying Qin Su's orders.

Qin Su must be fully aware of his thoughts; does he intend to become the second Halton?

"Please tell Chief Commander Qin that I am truly sorry," Temple said earnestly, "Neither in the future nor now, I cannot give him anything he wants."

"..."

Qin Su never expected that even when there were only two people, he could still be isolated by the other person's thought process.

From the very beginning, he never had any thoughts about Temple, a man who, once he set his mind on something, would stick to it single-mindedly, as he had with Halton. He preferred the collusion based on interests to emotions, which made him feel less burdened.

"What nonsense is this?" The person in charge of transferring Temple said he didn't understand. "Do you think the Chief Commander is someone you can just see whenever you want?"

And you even told me? You're quite thoughtful.

Temple was speechless and shut up, planning to tell He Muzhi about it when he saw him again.