Lover's Embrace

The Blood Red Setting Sun illuminated the horizon, dyeing the entire Wheat Field crimson.

Yang Wei and Guo Shuai sat back-to-back in a Dirt Pit within the wheat rows, their palms soaked with Sweat.

The surroundings were terrifyingly quiet, with only the Rustling Sound of the Wind Blowing Wheat Waves.

"Hoo... hoo..."

Guo Shuai wiped the Cold Sweat from his face.

To alleviate the Repression that felt like it would drive him mad, he forced a smile and nudged Yang Wei behind him.

"Hey, Old Yang, there's something I've always wanted to ask you."

"Speak."

Yang Wei stared ahead with Vigilance.

"You usually seem like a straightforward person, why do you hate the Student Union and Li Xin so much? Just because they're Pretentious?"

Yang Wei's body stiffened slightly, and he shook his head, "What time is it, why are you asking this?"

"Tell me."

Guo Shuai looked at the setting Sunset, smiling bitterly, "Maybe today is our last day."

"Old Yang, you have Strength Amplification and good physical fitness, so your chances of survival are higher than mine."

"If I die, just fulfill this dying wish of mine."

"Bullshit! What unlucky things are you saying!"

Yang Wei cursed, but after a few seconds of silence, he lowered his head, his eyes dark and unclear.

"Fine, I'll tell you."

He Took a deep breath, as if to expel the stale air that had been accumulating in his chest for years.

"This... it has to start from before I was born."

"My parents, and my Maternal Grandfather, were all arrested a month before I was born."

Guo Shuai was Stunned for a Moment, "Huh?"

Yang Wei chuckled self-deprecatingly, his gaze drifting, "My dad used to be an 'official,' not too big, not too small."

"But he had a crooked heart. For money and status, he colluded with the local Mafia and did a lot of Dirty Deeds."

"Later, the matter was exposed, and the police came to arrest them."

"My 'Good Father' was planning to abandon his pregnant Wife and run away by himself."

"And my Mom... to buy time for my Dad, she actually tried to poison the police officer, who was her good friend, with tea."

"My Maternal Grandfather also embezzled a lot."

"In the end, the whole family of three, all neatly, were sentenced to Heavy Sentences."

Yang Wei pulled up a stalk of Wheat and snapped it fiercely.

"My Mom gave birth to me first, and then she went back to serve her sentence."

"I was raised in an Orphanage, and it was that police officer, the one she tried to poison, who helped me."

"For a full twenty years, wherever I went, the pointing and whispering followed me."

"The offspring of a Corrupt Official, the descendant of a Poison Master..."

Yang Wei's voice trembled slightly.

"Actually, I was very good at studying when I was young, really."

"But I didn't dare to get first place. I was afraid of being noticed, afraid of people digging into my background and gossiping."

"So I chose sports, pretending to be a Brute with strong limbs and a simple mind."

"I understand clearly that what caused all this is not the profession of being an official, but them losing their way for money and status."

Yang Wei turned his head and looked at Guo Shuai, his eyes exceptionally serious.

"So I hate Li Xin, I hate Wu Hao, I hate everyone in the Student Union who treats a Feather as an Arrow."

"I'm not jealous of them, I hate that Official Obsessed drive they have to climb up by any means necessary."

"Once people like that gain power, they can't be good officials, they will only become a Scourge like my parents."

"I don't want to see people like that go up and become a Scourge to everyone."

After hearing this, Guo Shuai was silent for a long time.

He reached out and patted Yang Wei heavily on the shoulder.

"Old Yang, this is not your fault."

"You didn't enjoy the benefits they gained from their crimes, and you shouldn't bear their sins."

"You are much cleaner than them."

After hearing this, the tense Corner of Yang Wei's Mouth relaxed slightly.

"Alright, stop being so sentimental, it's disgusting."

Just then.

The last ray of sunset was swallowed by the horizon.

The sky turned dark.

Mechanical watch time 19:00, 5 hours until "Opening the Door".

Darkness enveloped the wheat field.

Time passed quickly while chatting, but the fear did not dissipate; instead, it grew stronger with the deepening night.

"Rustle... rustle..."

Accompanied by the wind sound.

In the distance, a burst of dense scraping sound suddenly came.

Yang Wei and Guo Shuai instantly sprang up, back to back, staring intently in the direction of the sound.

Under the faint starlight, they saw several swaying humanoid figures appear in the wheat field two hundred meters away.

Those humanoid figures moved stiffly, yet they were walking towards them in unison.

As they walked, they raised their hands and waved, as if greeting them.

"Are those..."

Yang Wei narrowed his eyes.

"Wu Hao and the others? They're actually still alive?"

If they were humans, it would at least be an extra source of strength.

Just as Yang Wei was about to call out, Guo Shuai suddenly grabbed his clothes.

"Don't shout! Run!!"

Guo Shuai's voice trembled, his face ashen.

"Old Yang! Run quickly!!"

"My [Danger Sense] hasn't alerted me yet, but I'm terrified! That waving motion..."

"It's too bizarre! That's not a movement a living person can make! It's too stiff!"

Guo Shuai pulled Yang Wei and fled in the opposite direction.

"That's a dead person's wave! Run!!"

The two ran at full speed, leaving two long tracks in the wheat field.

However, the footsteps behind them grew faster and closer.

"Roar!!"

It was no longer a silent wave, but rustling sounds and crackling electric currents from behind!

Yang Wei glanced back, his pupils contracting sharply.

He saw that the humanoid figures were no longer disguised.

They were running on all fours, or in an extremely twisted posture.

By the purple lightning emanating from one of them, Yang Wei saw their faces clearly.

It was Wu Hao, Liang Rui, Wang Jinsheng...

But their skin was loose and sagging, their eyes were stuffed with straw, and dry yellow grass stems were exposed at their joints.

"Damn! It's Wu Hao and the others! They've turned into monsters!"

Yang Wei roared.

Even more despairing, a fireball and a lightning bolt whistled and smashed down from behind!

"They can still use supernatural abilities?!"

Boom!

The fireball exploded beside the two, igniting the dry wheat stalks, and the firelight soared into the sky.

"We can't escape!"

Guo Shuai panted, his stamina far inferior to Yang Wei's. "They're tireless. If we keep running like this, we'll be exhausted to death!"

Yang Wei suddenly stopped, turned, his eyes bloodshot.

"Then we won't run anymore!"

"Let's smash them!"

"Old Guo, cooperate with me!"

Yang Wei roared and activated his C-class Strength Amplification.

Although the name is Strength Amplification!

This is actually an All Attribute Buff!

Overall Physical Fitness will surge in a short period of time.

It's just that strength is the most prominent among them!

"Here they come!"

Guo Shuai closed his eyes and instantly activated Danger Sense.

"Two on the left! That one is charging lightning! Be careful!"

Yang Wei, like a Human Tank, charged towards the group of Human Skin Scarecrows instead of retreating!

Bang!

He directly smashed the two leading ones into pieces!

Straw flew everywhere!

But these Monsters had no Pain, and the rest still pounced forward fearlessly.

The battle instantly entered Fever Pitch.

"Zzzt!"

The lightning in Wu Hao's hand struck towards Yang Wei.

"Roll right!"

Guo Shuai shouted.

Yang Wei rolled on the spot. Although he avoided a fatal blow, his Left Arm was still swept by the Electric Arc, instantly becoming Flesh and Blood, Charred all over.

"Ah!!"

Yang Wei cried out in pain, his Fierce nature ignited. He grabbed a pouncing scarecrow with one hand and used it as a weapon, Smashed Towards Wu Hao.

In the fierce struggle, the observant Guo Shuai discovered a crucial point.

"Old Yang! They have no Vision!"

Guo Shuai pointed at the Monsters whose movements were fast but always required them to "pause and listen" for sound:

"Their eyeballs are straw! They locate by sound! Attract them with sound!"

"Got it!"

Yang Wei picked up a stone and hurled it fiercely towards the open ground in the distance.

As expected, "Wu Hao" and "Liang Rui" simultaneously turned their heads towards where the stone landed.

"Opportunity!"

Yang Wei and Guo Shuai exchanged a glance.

This group of monsters retained their supernatural abilities from their previous lives, but had lost their brains!

"Old Guo!"

"Bring it on!"

Guo Shuai suddenly charged out from cover, shouting loudly, "Bastard! Grandpa is here!!"

"Roar!"

The fireball in Liang Rui's hand instantly condensed and was hurled towards Guo Shuai.

Guo Shuai dodged desperately, but the heatwave from the fireball's explosion instantly burned half his face.

"Ah!!"

The screams attracted the attention of all the monsters.

Just then, Yang Wei, who had been lurking on the other side, made his move.

He didn't attack, but instead fiercely kicked the "Wu Hao" that was crackling with lightning.

The direction was precisely towards "Liang Rui," who was about to launch a second fireball!

"Zzzt! Boom!"

Lightning and the fireball exploded between the two monsters!

The massive energy conflict triggered a violent explosion.

In an instant, it blasted these two elite monsters into burning scarecrows flying all over the sky!

"Beautifully done!"

With two ranged outputs lost, the remaining melee scarecrows were like rotten grass in front of Yang Wei, who had activated Berserk Mode.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Yang Wei put all his strength into every punch, until he smashed the head of the last scarecrow into its chest cavity.

Mechanical watch time: 23:55. Five minutes until "Open the Door."

The battle was over.

The once golden wheat field was now scorched black, littered with severed limbs and broken arms, and scattered straw.

Yang Wei and Guo Shuai sat back-to-back on the ground, too exhausted to even lift a finger.

Yang Wei's left hand was still trembling, a result of nerve damage from the electric shock.

Guo Shuai was in a worse state.

He clutched half his face, blood seeping through his fingers – burns from a fireball.

One eye was gone, half his face disfigured.

"Hoo... hoo..."

Yang Wei panted, glancing at the motionless corpses around them. His voice was hoarse.

"Did... did we win?"

Guo Shuai's one remaining good eye opened. He looked at the watch on his wrist and replied, trembling.

"I guess so..."

"23:55... five more minutes..."

"Five more minutes, and the timelines of the two worlds will overlap... we can get out."

Guo Shuai gave a wry smile, pulling at the wounds on his face, wincing in pain.

"It's a shame... my face is ruined."

"Forget finding a girlfriend, I'll be lucky if I don't scare children."

This time, it was Yang Wei's turn to comfort him.

He patted Guo Shuai's thigh.

"It's okay, this is the Apocalypse. Strength is what matters. There will be girls who like your inner self."

"Of course... maybe not for your face."

Yang Wei cracked a lame joke, then glanced at the "human skins" on the ground.

"If all else fails, we can peel the faces off these guys."

"Take them back and see. Maybe we'll meet a doctor later who can graft the skin and fix you up."

Guo Shuai cursed irritably, "Get lost! I don't want to stick my face to these dead people's skin! Bad luck!"

The two looked at each other, wanting to laugh, but the pain from their injuries made them gasp.

However.

As Guo Shuai was laughing, his smile suddenly solidified.

His remaining eye stared Tightly at the corpse on the ground, his lips beginning to tremble uncontrollably.

"What's wrong, Old Guo? Is the pain making you dizzy?"

Yang Wei sensed something was wrong.

"No... not right..."

Guo Shuai's voice was filled with unspeakable fear.

"The numbers are wrong!!"

"Old Yang, count... When we came from the Woods to the Wheat Field, there were twelve of us in total!"

"Yu Shishi left then, leaving eleven."

"We two left, leaving nine!"

"Wu Hao's team should still have nine people left!"

Guo Shuai pointed at the messy pile of corpses on the ground, his voice sharp:

"But the ones we just killed... there were only eight!!"

"Wu Hao, Liang Rui, and those Extras... I counted them all, only eight corpses!"

"Where did the other person go?!"

Hearing this, Yang Wei's hair stood on end. The adrenaline from the fight instantly cooled into ice.

Nine people.

There were only eight corpses here.

One was missing!

"Who? Who's missing?!"

Yang Wei suddenly stood up, nervously looking around.

"I don't know... it was too chaotic... I didn't see clearly..."

Guo Shuai also panicked, looking around, "Did they run away? Or are they hiding?"

Just then.

Yang Wei suddenly felt a cool breeze on the back of his neck.

"Old Guo... why aren't you speaking anymore?"

Yang Wei asked subconsciously.

Guo Shuai was opposite him, looking at his back with a look of horror.

A gentle, sweet, and hoarse female voice sounded right behind Yang Wei's ear.

"Of course not~"

"I... have been watching you~"

Yang Wei's pupils instantly shrank to the size of a needle tip.

This voice...

It's Bai Lianhua!!

Before he could react.

A prickly thing gently embraced his waist from behind.

Like a lover's embrace.

Yang Wei stiffly raised his eyelids, using the last of the moonlight.

He saw a face peeking out from behind him.

It was a face with rotten skin and distorted facial features.

The originally bright peach blossom eyes were now filled with two dark clumps of straw.

"Brother Yang Wei... take me... with you..."

"Take me with you... go!"

Bai Lianhua's hands transformed into scythes.

"Old Yang!!!"

Amidst Guo Shuai's shocked roar, Yang Wei was directly cut in half at the waist!

His upper body fell to the ground...