Ever since the catastrophe a hundred and seventy years ago, Earth had never been the same.
Everything humanity depended on for survival was disappearing little by little: sunlight, air, water. Natural phenomena and ecosystems had fallen into chaos.
It was as though Earth had grown tired of humanity, revoked all its privileges, and nurtured another force-the Heteromorphs. They were far better suited to Earth's current environment than humans were.
They were cruel and evil, needed no intelligence, and had no emotions. They seemed to have been born with only one purpose: to eradicate humanity.
Now humans could survive only by relying on an energy sphere that kept an ecosystem functioning, supplying sufficient air, water, and the nutrients they needed.
Like an artificial sun, it sustained an environment fit for human life. People called it a "Spring Eye."
There were only three in the world, each giving rise to a survival base.
NAT was humanity's third-largest survival base. At that moment, the combat headquarters was holding a meeting of its senior officers, linked by video to the other two bases. The atmosphere in the conference room was terrifyingly oppressive.
"That's all I have to report. The Heteromorphs are mutating far faster than we anticipated. Our current weapons technology can barely keep up." The speaker was Chris, head of the combat division. With chestnut curls and immaculate makeup, she wore a red leather jacket, a black leather skirt, and heels that accentuated her long, shapely legs. She was sexy and capable, with no shortage of authority.
The man in the projection raised his head. Dressed in a military uniform and leather boots, he had sharply chiseled features and a cold, commanding face. An indescribable force accompanied his every movement. Even his insubstantial image sent the room's atmosphere plunging to freezing point.
He was Damon, the man in charge of NAT's combat planning. Currently engaged in a secret mission for the three major bases, his whereabouts were uncertain. He only held regular meetings to keep abreast of conditions at the base.
"What else?"
"Our fighting strength can't keep up either." Chris spread her hands and reported honestly, "We lost another squad in the last battle. We only have three core combat squads left. Squad Three's strength is average. Since Squad Two's captain died, his position has remained vacant, and the deputy captain lacks experience. As for Squad One..."
She paused, seemingly nursing a terrible headache, and propped her forehead on her hand. Bitterness and helplessness crept into her voice. "Their captain is Lei Ouyan. You know his situation."
The youngest captain in NAT's hunting unit. A lone-wolf warrior, a prodigious hunter. Cold and cruel, he was a killing machine, more than a match for the Heteromorphs in those respects.
But...
Sure enough, the people from the other bases laughed without restraint. "So your core fighting force is a boy who killed his own partner?"
In the second human-Heteromorph war three years ago, Lei Ouyan had killed his teammate, the then captain of Squad Two-Shen Weilai.
"No matter how gifted someone like that might be, we'd execute him at our base. Only your base treasures 'talent' enough to keep a monster barely different from a Heteromorph."
Chris restrained herself so hard that the corners of her mouth twitched. If not for relations between the bases, she would already have flipped the table and started cursing these idiots out.
But their words left her unable to argue.
Chris took a deep breath and was about to speak when Damon interrupted her. "Enough. Step outside."
"..."
"Out."
"Understood."
Chris left the conference room, swept back her hair, and breathed a sigh of relief. Sure enough, dealing with Heteromorphs might be easier than handling those superiors.
A call came through her earpiece from the command station. Chris answered. "What is it?"
"Ma'am, the captain is back."
Chris blanked for a moment before realizing they meant Lei Ouyan.
"What's the situation?"
Although Chris was Lei Ouyan's direct superior, she had never known what to do with him. She was also used to the pile of trouble he caused every time he returned from battle. Sometimes she even thought he carried a copy of the base's laws and regulations purely so he could violate every prohibition in order.
The news of his return weighed her down further. She could practically see countless written explanations piling up over her head.
"Tell me. As long as he hasn't blown up the base, we can still salvage things."
The person on the other end hesitated. "The captain brought back a... rabbit."
"A rabbit?" Chris stopped, blood rushing straight to her head. What fresh nonsense was this? "Where is he now?"
"In the laboratory."
When Qin Miaomiao woke, the first thing he saw was the glaring ceiling light, bright enough to make him dizzy. For a moment, he couldn't remember what had happened.
It seemed he'd had a dream filled with monsters, in which he'd turned into a rabbit. Oh, right, there had also been a monster boss with an angel's face and a devil's heart. That monster had actually said he wanted to eat him...
Qin Miaomiao sat bolt upright and found that monster boss right in front of him, leaning against a white machine with his head lowered, apparently studying a screen.
And he was trapped inside a glass box. His face reflected in the glass-he was still a rabbit!
"You're awake." Lei Ouyan spared him a brief, emotionless glance. Even his voice was ice-cold. "We can start."
Qin Miaomiao's ears shot upright. Start what? Were they going to start cooking me already?
Terrified, he kept backing away until he pressed against the glass behind him. Suddenly, restraints sprang from somewhere and clamped around all four limbs, binding him spread-eagled. Then he actually started spinning!
Qin Miaomiao nearly cried. He felt like a roast duck being constantly turned and rolled inside an oven to ensure it cooked evenly.
Was this how the monsters here roasted live rabbits? So cruel, so terrifying...
He closed his eyes and prayed to wake from this nightmare soon. He would even give up roast duck in exchange.
About a minute later, the light went out and the spinning stopped. The restraints released, and an unprepared Qin Miaomiao fell with a thud. The fall knocked a little sense back into the rabbit, but the dream still hadn't ended.
What was that? An X-ray to check for bird flu before slaughtering a rabbit?
Furious, he stood and tidied himself up, then glared viciously at Lei Ouyan as though ready to take the man down with him.
But Lei Ouyan didn't even look at him. "No problems?"
"No problems." Only then did Qin Miaomiao notice someone else was there: a pretty woman wearing white sterile clothing, her hair loosely pinned behind her head. Her eyes were gentle and her manner warm-the complete opposite of that monster.
She rose from the machine, came over, and tapped lightly on the glass with the affectionate expression of someone teasing a small animal. "He's just an ordinary little rabbit."
Qin Miaomiao stared at her dazedly, spotting the name badge on her chest: Development Division, Remiya.
Remiya pressed a switch and opened the glass box. The instant she reached in, Qin Miaomiao jumped into her arms as though he'd found his own sister. He nuzzled her palm affectionately, crying inwardly, Big sister!
She smiled, radiating warmth. "Ouyan, you've found yourself a treasure."
Boo-hoo. In all his life, not even Qin Miaomiao's own mother had called him a treasure.
Lei Ouyan approached, and the sight of him made Qin Miaomiao angry again. He gave two haughty little huffs. See? This precious darling isn't yours to eat. Got it?
Lei Ouyan ignored him and asked a completely unrelated question. "Is it a male?"
Remiya paused too. "I think so."
Two pairs of eyes turned toward him at once. What are you doing? Qin Miaomiao frantically covered himself above and below. If rabbits could blush, his head would have looked braised red by now.
"Friendly little thing." His casual tone carried a hint of mockery.
"When you were little, you also..." Lei Ouyan cut Remiya off with a look before she could finish. She smiled and changed the subject. "If I remember correctly, the Biological Research Institute declared rabbits extinct fifteen years ago. But now one has appeared again. Just this one."
Remiya gazed at the rabbit. "He's very precious."
Qin Miaomiao was beginning to understand. From the moment he'd arrived, he'd sensed that this was no longer his old world. Perhaps it was another dimension, or perhaps an apocalypse many years in the future.
Here, everything was heading toward extinction or mutation. New species had begun encroaching on the world, and they were enemies of humanity.
But why was he here? Qin Miaomiao couldn't figure it out. Surely he hadn't been sent to save Earth when he was completely useless now. Seeing the faintly maternal look in Remiya's eyes, he suddenly froze. They weren't going to breed me for some endangered-species rescue program, were they?
I'm still a minor!
Qin Miaomiao shouted inwardly.
"He isn't sick, is he?" Lei Ouyan suddenly asked. Bewildered, Remiya shook her head. "He's quite healthy."
"Good."
Of course it was good. I'd placed fifth in the boys' eight-hundred-meter race.
Lei Ouyan said, "Then let's eat him."
What? This rabbit was furious enough to bite!
"Lei Ouyan!" A commanding voice rang out as the door was practically kicked open. Chris stormed in, none of her earlier composure remaining, and swept her gaze around the room. "Where's the rabbit?"
"Ate it." Lei Ouyan picked up the glass on the table and took a sip.
Meanwhile, he had stuffed Qin Miaomiao into his pocket, pressing firmly down on his head to keep him from poking out. Although Lei Ouyan wasn't a good person, instinct told Qin Miaomiao this newcomer meant trouble. He decided not to make any rash moves.
Chris sighed and changed targets. "Miya?"
Remiya was hopeless at handling situations like this. She raised her hands in surrender. "Chris, please don't put me on the spot..."
"So there really is a rabbit?"
"Why ask something you already know?"
With Lei Ouyan, Chris always felt as though she were punching cotton. Whatever happened, he wore that same careless, indifferent expression. She sometimes thought that even if the apocalypse truly arrived, his expression wouldn't change.
Unable to bear it any longer, Chris strode up to him, having to raise her head just to meet his eyes. "Do you know how dangerous it is to bring a rabbit back from outside without permission? If anything in the base gets infected, or any intelligence leaks, you won't escape responsibility! You'll be treated as a traitor!"
Lei Ouyan looked unconcerned. "Does it matter?"
"You..."
"Chris." Lei Ouyan looked at her and cut her off. "I was the one who shot Shen Weilai."
A slap cracked through the air. Lei Ouyan's cheek slowly reddened, but his expression didn't change at all.
Chris froze too. She hadn't expected to actually hit him.
Shen Weilai had been Squad Two's former captain, renowned and widely respected. Just as his name suggested, he had seemed capable of bringing hope for the future to this era. Yet he had died in the third human-Heteromorph war, killed by Lei Ouyan.
No one knew what had happened then, but everyone had seen Lei Ouyan fire.
Only Remiya and Chris remained in the laboratory.
Remiya poured her a glass of water. Chris glanced at it. "Got any alcohol?"
Remiya shook her head. "Drinking isn't allowed in the laboratory."
"Never mind." Chris treated the water like liquor and drained the glass. Remiya sighed. "Ouyan..."
She was Lei Ouyan's older sister, so emotionally she favored him. Yet by rights, she was the last person who should speak in his defense. She could only lower her head. "Never mind. It's nothing."
Watching her struggle to speak, Chris couldn't help laughing.
Remiya looked over in puzzlement.
"All right." Chris smiled. "Don't think you're the only one who understands him. I watched him grow up alongside you. You think I don't know what that brat is really like?"
"I'll trust him, just as you do."
Remiya paused. She was so very gentle, as though she could always slow time itself. In her presence, even the wind became quiet and soft, and time advanced one measured step at a time, leaving a trace of every second.
She smiled. "Thank you."
"If you're grateful, buy me a drink." Chris could never stand these tender moments. Waving a hand, she lay down and began rambling complaints about several superior officers. Her tone grew particularly resentful when she mentioned Damon, and she failed to notice Remiya's brief hesitation.
Remiya poured Chris another glass of water. "I may need to go out in a while. Rest here. I'll wake you when I get back tonight."
"Drink with me tonight."
"All right."
"Off you go, then." Chris really was exhausted. She rolled over and gave a long yawn.
"Oh, by the way," Remiya said after changing her clothes, "I've examined the rabbit. For now, he doesn't pose any danger."
"I know." Chris's voice was already drowsy and indistinct. "I know Lei Ouyan won't do anything reckless with you around."
"So don't you go running off. Otherwise, I can't guarantee what he'll do."
"He won't." Remiya smiled. Seeing Chris had fallen asleep, she brought her a light blanket. Half asleep, Chris instinctively burrowed into it like a little animal.
Only at moments like this did she shed her armor and become her true self again.
Remiya checked the time. It was still early, so she decided to pick some carrots at the Botanical Garden for the rabbit and prepare the evening meal while she was at it.
She left Chris a note, then departed.
Lei Ouyan was accustomed to being alone in the Lookout Tower at base headquarters. The view was expansive, taking in the whole of NAT Base.
Qin Miaomiao huddled in Lei Ouyan's pocket. He still didn't understand what they'd been arguing about. All he knew was that Lei Ouyan had been slapped and was now in a bad mood.
So he didn't dare misbehave, afraid Lei Ouyan might take his anger out on him and toss him straight into a pot.
Qin Miaomiao poked his head out, only to be stunned by the view. So this was where humans lived in the apocalypse. The city still had tightly packed high-rises and bewildering lights. Its central district was as prosperous as ever, without a hint of impending doom. The outermost rings of buildings were cold and solid, like a towering wall, probably built to protect the city. Beyond that wall seemed to lie a secondary district, its lights sparse and scattered. The farther out it stretched, the darker it became. Qin Miaomiao had no idea how far that road went.
They were atop the tallest building at the very center of the city. It had an ordinary name: the Lookout Tower. Cold and proud, it soared into the clouds, guarding this place like an unshakable pillar.
Just like Lei Ouyan.
Qin Miaomiao tilted his head to glance at him. This man was always so cold, his eyes bottomless, as though the world had already ended and he was the only one left in it. Nothing mattered anymore.
Yet even so, he still protected this place, desperate and staking everything on it.
Qin Miaomiao didn't know why he'd suddenly begun sympathizing with a monster who wanted to eat him. He was simply good at following his feelings. Perhaps, aside from his nasty taste for rabbit, this man was actually a decent person.
"Want to come out?"
Qin Miaomiao snapped back to himself and realized Lei Ouyan was speaking to him. He tested the waters, then wriggled out when Lei Ouyan made no move to stop him. He sat beside Lei Ouyan, paused for a second, then deliberately shuffled farther away, leaving a meter between them. He had to guard against Lei Ouyan getting handsy at any moment, especially grabbing his ears.
Lei Ouyan glanced at him. "If you want to run, do it now. Once I decide to eat you, you won't get away."
You still want to eat me? I was just calling you a good person!
Qin Miaomiao immediately shuffled farther away, then farther still.
But Lei Ouyan's gaze grew increasingly odd. He seemed a little displeased. Bewildered, Qin Miaomiao thought, Weren't you the one who told me to run? Are you changing your mind now?
Then I'll be off. Qin Miaomiao turned and immediately ran, only to stop after two steps. He froze, a faint electric tingle passing through his entire body. Oh no. Danger.
Instinctively, he turned and lunged, landing squarely in Lei Ouyan's arms.
Lei Ouyan hadn't expected him to turn back, but caught him. The snow-white rabbit sat in his palm-a hand stained with countless people's blood. A fleeting discomfort came over him, something he had never experienced in his nineteen years. But it vanished quickly, so briefly it might never have existed.
Lei Ouyan returned to his usual manner. "That eager to die?"
What are you thinking? I came back because I don't want to die! Qin Miaomiao stamped anxiously, unsure how to tell Lei Ouyan about the danger over there. He could only scramble around in the boy's arms. His ears alone stayed fixed in one direction like a compass.
"Keep still." Lei Ouyan understood immediately and followed the direction of the rabbit's ears. "You're saying there's danger over there?"
Genius! Qin Miaomiao nodded furiously.
Lei Ouyan suddenly looked at him. "That's the Botanical Garden. There usually aren't any problems there. How do you know there's danger?"
Qin Miaomiao couldn't say. It was like a human's sixth sense, only far more certain. Perhaps it was a rabbit's sixth sense.
He had no idea how to explain it.
Then another thought struck him. Wait, does he think I'm behind it? What are you thinking? If I were that capable, would I have ended up in your hands? Fine, don't believe me. Fuming, Qin Miaomiao jumped from Lei Ouyan's arms and was about to leave when someone grabbed his ears. Lei Ouyan lifted him, placed him behind his back, and seated him on his weapon.
"Not much ability, but plenty of temper," Lei Ouyan remarked, then started walking.
Qin Miaomiao hadn't caught up yet. So this guy believed me? Then he began feeling impressive again. I might be a rabbit, but I'm a rabbit trusted by the strongest warrior in the apocalypse!
Extraordinary.
The base wasn't safe for this rabbit. Lei Ouyan intended to take him back to the laboratory and leave him with Remiya first, but when he arrived, she wasn't there.
Only Chris remained, apparently just awake. She irritably rubbed her hair, completely unconcerned about her disheveled appearance.
She was surprised to see Lei Ouyan, but even more astonished that he was brazenly parading around with the rabbit!
The instant Qin Miaomiao sensed trouble, he slid down Lei Ouyan's arm and hid in his pocket. Lei Ouyan glanced at him, his emotions unreadable, then interrupted Chris before she could erupt. "Where's Remiya?"
A glass of water kept at a constant temperature sat on the table, prepared by Remiya beforehand. Chris picked it up and took a sip to moisten her throat, then spotted the note on the table.
Lei Ouyan saw it too, and his expression instantly sharpened. Chris seemed to understand something as well and stopped dwelling on the rabbit. "What happened?"
"Seal off Sector Three of the Botanical Garden." Then Lei Ouyan looked at the rabbit. "Are you staying here or coming with me?"
Perhaps it was Lei Ouyan's unusually gentle voice, or perhaps it was Chris's fierce appearance opposite them. Qin Miaomiao felt almost bewitched. He grabbed Lei Ouyan's pocket and burrowed inside. Of course I'm coming with you.
Lei Ouyan turned, and Chris rose too, immediately switching back into combat mode. Her heels struck the floor in a ringing, steady rhythm, as though she had donned an invisible suit of armor.
Special passages connected every ring of NAT Base, much like a city's rail transit system. The vehicles were called motorcycle pods: fast and equipped for combat, but each area had only a limited number. Today happened to be patrol day, so not a single one was free.
A staff member stood meekly beside Lei Ouyan. "Captain, I've already reported it to management. We'll have one transferred from another area within ten minutes."
Lei Ouyan raised his chin toward the vehicle parked on the third track. His meaning was obvious: wasn't there still one right there?
The staff member visibly panicked, looking deeply troubled. "Captain, that one is..."
Before he could finish, several more people entered the platform. Leading them was a man with short brown hair, wearing a black combat uniform with a long blade at his waist and a slender cigarette dangling from his mouth. He seemed to have just finished a fight; an unhealed cut still marked his face. His expression was defiant and unruly. This was Li Weisen, deputy captain of Execution Team Two, son of DNT's former director-the little crown prince himself.
He and Lei Ouyan had quite a history. The moment he entered, he saw through Lei Ouyan's intentions and walked straight up to him. "Well, well, if it isn't Team One's captain. Where are you headed?"
Lei Ouyan ignored him and walked around him, as though he didn't exist.
Li Weisen immediately took offense. Even Damon showed him some courtesy, but Lei Ouyan had never thought anything of him. Li Weisen drew his long blade, its cold edge flashing. It seemed to retain the bloody scent of Heteromorphs.
He held the blade across Lei Ouyan's path. "If you want to steal my ride, you'd better ask my permission first."
Lei Ouyan glanced sideways at him. "Would you give it if I asked?"
"Of course not."
"Then why ask?"
"..."
Li Weisen ground his teeth in anger. "None of your business! I just want to pick a fight with you. Got a problem with that?"
"Not now." Lei Ouyan pushed his blade aside. He really didn't have time to waste on him. "Don't forget, today is the anniversary of Shen Weilai's death."
He knew all too well what mattered most to Li Weisen. Shen Weilai had been Li Weisen's teacher, and the person closest to him. And Lei Ouyan was the one who had killed him.
Li Weisen's face visibly darkened, his eyes reddening with fury. Through gritted teeth, he said, "Lei Ouyan, just you wait. I'll avenge him!"
Lei Ouyan walked forward, then paused. "You're welcome to try."
Only when the vehicle started did Qin Miaomiao dare poke his head out. The atmosphere had been far too tense. He had caught the gist without understanding any of it. Exhaling, he cautiously glanced at Lei Ouyan. He seemed all right.
But that other guy... Qin Miaomiao looked ahead. Wasn't that man practically smoking with rage-his class monitor?!
Class monitor!
This time, Qin Miaomiao had truly found someone he knew. The rabbit nearly jumped out, only for a hand to press him back in just in time. "Don't cause trouble."
As soon as he spoke, Lei Ouyan floored the accelerator, and the vehicle shot away. It was so fast that the rabbit felt as though the wind had flattened him into a pancake, pinning him inside Lei Ouyan's pocket, unable to move.
All he could do was wave a rabbit paw with some difficulty. Class monitor! Wait until I get back!
The Botanical Garden was on the third level of NAT Base.
By the time the vehicle stopped, the rabbit had become a white-maned lion. Every strand of his once-soft fur stood on end after its battering by the wind. Lei Ouyan took off his helmet, completely unaffected.
Qin Miaomiao fumed. He had lost every shred of dignity, so why did Lei Ouyan still get to look handsome? He stalked angrily toward the entrance, only for Lei Ouyan to scoop him back up.
Qin Miaomiao was baffled. What now? Don't tell me you don't trust me anymore!
Then a heart-rending scream came from inside, and Qin Miaomiao realized he had just been about to charge in alone. There was a monster in there! For all he knew, he could be swallowed alive the moment the door opened.
At that thought, Qin Miaomiao voluntarily burrowed deeper into Lei Ouyan's arms. The warm bundle against his chest made Lei Ouyan uncomfortable. He tried to lift him out, to no avail.
Forget it.
Remiya had just finished picking carrots when she heard the alarm. There weren't many people in Section Three of the Botanical Garden. Aside from her, there was only a young man, apparently an ordinary NAT resident.
He was clearly terrified, panicking so badly that the vegetables he had just picked scattered across the ground.
Remiya walked over and helped him up.
"How could..." The man stumbled over his words. "Is it a Heteromorph? How could a Heteromorph get onto the third level?"
Remiya's expression remained serene, gentle and calm, as though nothing could unsettle her. "Yes, how did it get here?"
"Quick, let's hide."
Every part of NAT Base had a shelter pod, a small capsule-like automated device that could provide refuge in an emergency before transporting its occupants back to the base.
Remiya supported him as they walked toward it. They were less than ten meters away when the Heteromorph appeared. It was a mutated leech, though it also resembled a puddle of sludge, flowing rapidly toward them.
The ground was difficult to navigate, and the terrified man fell again. Not wanting to drag Remiya down with him, he shoved her with all his strength. "Go! Get inside!"
Remiya was pushed into the shelter pod. She didn't understand why he had done that. She tried to reach for him, but it was already too late.
The leech had crawled onto the man's foot. Like thin ice beneath a raging fire, his leg began to melt.
He screamed once, then could no longer make a sound. All he could feel were countless tendrils seeping into his body along the texture of his skin. Something began to grow somewhere inside him, rearranging itself.
"Save me... save me..." His mouth opened, the words incoherent. "Save me... kill me..."
Remiya tried to reach out. The leech seemed to notice her, sprouting another hand from its other side and reaching straight toward her. Remiya didn't move.
Yet the man strained to reach out, trying to catch it.
He couldn't possibly be unaware of how corrosive the monster was. What he was doing was futile; it would only make him die faster.
"Go... now..."
Remiya froze for a moment. She didn't understand why he wanted to save her.
Bang! A gunshot rang out as Lei Ouyan arrived.
One second later, and the leech would have wrapped itself around Remiya's neck. Yet not once had panic or fear crossed her face. How many moments like this had she lived through to become so accustomed to life and death?
Qin Miaomiao's heart trembled, and he couldn't help feeling sorry for Remiya.
But the leech soon began moving again. It didn't seem afraid of bullets. It had merely recoiled briefly and was about to spread out once more.
The rabbit was stunned. The monsters in this world were all so terrifying.
"Ouyan, save him first."
"Rabbit, turn around."
Qin Miaomiao was still in Lei Ouyan's pocket and didn't understand what he meant. Then his vision went black, and he heard a piercing scream.
Qin Miaomiao hurriedly pulled the cloth off his head. The man's leg had been severed, and blood still dripped from the blade in Lei Ouyan's hand.
Stiffly, he raised his head to look at Lei Ouyan. Blood flecked his face, but he wore no expression, as though what he had just cut off was merely a branch rather than a human leg.
So swift, so decisive, without the slightest hesitation.
Was this how he killed people too?
Qin Miaomiao was frightened. He clumsily climbed out of Lei Ouyan's pocket, accidentally fell to the ground, then practically fled into Remiya's arms. He didn't even dare look at Lei Ouyan again.
Lei Ouyan seemed not to notice-or perhaps he simply didn't care what a rabbit was doing. He turned, lifted the man on the ground with one hand, and dragged him into the shelter pod.
There wasn't much room inside. Three adults would have been a tight fit, so Qin Miaomiao instinctively drew back, actually intending to make some space. But he had forgotten that Lei Ouyan didn't need to come in.
There were only two people and a rabbit. That made his movement look as though the rabbit was afraid of the human.
He was afraid of Lei Ouyan.
Only then did Lei Ouyan's gaze change a little, but it passed so quickly that it was difficult to catch that fleeting trace of disappointment.
He thought perhaps he had been alone for too long. In this age, even people couldn't stay by his side. Why had he hoped a rabbit might?
"Ouyan..."
"You go first." His voice was quiet, no different from usual. The pod door slowly closed, and it began to move.
Only then did Qin Miaomiao emerge from Remiya's arms. He clung to the glass, watching the young man's figure. Suddenly, he remembered their first meeting. Lei Ouyan had been like this then too, standing proud as the mountains bowed before him. Yet someone like that possessed the loneliest eyes in the world.
Qin Miaomiao abruptly regretted it. He shouldn't have run away.
At the same time, the monster behind Lei Ouyan seemed to have finished gathering its strength. It suddenly sprang up, shooting toward his back like an arrow loosed from a bow.
The rabbit panicked, his heart leaping into his throat.
But Lei Ouyan remained unhurried. He turned slightly, not a millimeter too far or too short, dodging it perfectly. The creature stuck to the wall like a heap of rotten sludge.
The next instant, Lei Ouyan leaped up, and Heavenly Bane changed form into a blade. He remained utterly calm, not a ripple stirring in his eyes, as he drove the blade into the monster's body without delay.
Everything abruptly went dark. The shelter capsule entered a tunnel, and Qin Miaomiao could no longer see anything. He sat down with drooping ears, a rabbit weighed down by worries.
Remiya gave the man's wound some basic treatment and said softly, "Don't worry. Ouyan will be fine..."
Qin Miaomiao knew that. He had already witnessed Lei Ouyan's strength.
He just felt that he should have stayed with him, even if Lei Ouyan didn't need him.
The shelter capsule soon brought them to a safe area. Its door slowly opened, and medical staff hurriedly carried the wounded man out. People gathered around Remiya too. When she looked back, the capsule was empty. No one had noticed how the rabbit slipped away.
Someone beside her asked, "Professor, that rabbit the captain brought back..."
"Leave him alone for now. I'll handle it."
"Yes."
Meanwhile, Qin Miaomiao sat alone in the Lookout Tower, bored out of his mind, watching in the direction of Section Three and waiting for Lei Ouyan to return.
"So you're saying a Heteromorph infiltrated the base and went straight to Section Three?" Li Weisen stared at Chris in disbelief. "And you're still in the mood to drink!"
Chris's office was a miniature wine cellar. No one knew just how much good liquor she kept in there. She only said there should still be a little left when the end of the world truly came.
As though she knew exactly which day that would be.
She had just finished directing the operation. The research team was now cleaning up the scene and gathering information, and Lei Ouyan should be on his way back.
She took a can of cold beer from the fridge, opened it, and drank deeply before saying, "What's there to worry about? It's all been dealt with."
Li Weisen was too angry for words. He felt like the only one getting worked up when the person in charge wasn't concerned at all. "Aren't you going to think about why a Heteromorph showed up in Section Three?"
"That's what I'm doing, isn't it?" Chris patted Li Weisen on the shoulder. She used to be able to pat his head easily; now she could only reach his shoulder. "Alcohol keeps you clearheaded. Don't be fooled by appearances, brat. I haven't stopped working for a second."
"Cut the bullshit!"
Chris rolled her eyes and offered him the beer. "You really don't want to try it?"
Li Weisen waved it away. The thought of Lei Ouyan stealing his vehicle to go earn glory made his anger flare. He blocked Chris's path. "Why didn't you tell me? Why let Lei Ouyan go? Section Three is my jurisdiction!"
Chris laughed. "You think I can order him around?"
Then she added, "Besides, Lei Ouyan found out first. He went on his own."
"He found out first?" Heteromorph detectors covered the base. They hadn't reacted, yet Lei Ouyan had known before them. Li Weisen didn't believe it for a second-unless Lei Ouyan had engineered the whole thing himself.
Chris knew what he was thinking even with her eyes closed. "He had nothing to do with it."
"How can you be so sure?" Li Weisen could never understand why they kept trusting this murderer, especially Chris. Gritting his teeth, he said quietly, "You were there too, weren't you? You saw him kill the captain with your own eyes. Why do you always trust him?"
"Enough, Li Weisen." Chris slowly opened her eyes. The glaring ceiling light hurt to look at. She waved a hand as though she could wave its light away. "Remember, you're teammates, not enemies. You have to trust him. Only then will we have even a one-in-ten-thousand chance of winning."
Hah!
Li Weisen gave a cold laugh. It was already late at night, and cool moonlight shone through the window. "Chris, today is the anniversary of the captain's death. I thought you'd be sad."
Chris laughed once but said nothing, merely taking another sip.
Li Weisen looked at her, his eyes full of contempt. Then he spoke with ringing conviction, as though swearing an oath. "Lei Ouyan and I will always be enemies. And we will win."
Chris said nothing more, letting the moonlight cast a ghostly sheen over her.
She felt she had once been a feather, able to rise with a breath of wind and fly for as long as she wanted. Until a downpour soaked her, sending her into the mud, never to fly again.
Qin Miaomiao didn't know how long he had waited in the Lookout Tower. The night wind was chilly. He shook his ears and suddenly heard something.
Lei Ouyan was back!
Even now, he hadn't noticed how much sharper his senses were than an ordinary rabbit's. His entire rabbit head filled with excitement and joy. He intended to tell Lei Ouyan the good news he had spent all evening thinking up.
Qin Miaomiao dashed into the elevator, which went straight to the arrivals level on basement one. After crossing a long passage, he arrived just in time to see Lei Ouyan get out of the vehicle.
He looked unharmed, though a little blood still marked his face, and he carried an even colder air about him. He glanced in Qin Miaomiao's direction.
Brimming with excitement, Qin Miaomiao expected to leap neatly into Lei Ouyan's arms as he had several times before. But Lei Ouyan shifted slightly-and dodged him!
Unable to stop, Qin Miaomiao fell off the platform with all four limbs splayed.
What was that for?
Qin Miaomiao landed face-first, aching all over. He climbed up with tears in his eyes, only to find that Lei Ouyan had already left without so much as a word.
Qin Miaomiao stood there in a daze for a long time. Lei Ouyan had actually ignored him?
Was he angry? But what did he have to be angry about? He was invincible. Why get angry at a rabbit?
Was it because I left instead of keeping him company? Qin Miaomiao entertained that rather self-important thought for a while, then decided to follow him.
Lei Ouyan was on the nineteenth level, in the Combat Execution Unit's area.
Chris stopped him as soon as he arrived. She had obviously been drinking, her eyes red-rimmed as she blocked the doorway with her hands on her hips. "Oh, back by yourself? Didn't you have a rabbit with you? Sacrificed him?"
Lei Ouyan didn't want to talk to a drunk. He walked around her.
Chris followed with a grin. "I heard your rabbit was the first to sense the Heteromorph this time. How about lending him to me to play with?"
Lei Ouyan stopped, his voice colder than his expression. "Who said he was my rabbit?"
"Didn't you bring him back?"
"I only picked him up along the way. He has nothing to do with me." With that, Lei Ouyan turned and entered his lounge.
Chris stopped just in time, narrowly avoiding a collision with the door.
"You little brat. What's with that temper?"
She couldn't resist kicking the door. Turning around, she spotted a furtive figure. Wasn't that the rabbit? She couldn't make sense of Lei Ouyan. Earlier, he had kept the rabbit carefully hidden, as though afraid she might eat him. Why had he abandoned him now?
Chris brushed back her hair and strode over.
Qin Miaomiao had clearly seen her too, and every alarm in his body went off. He didn't know why, but one look at this woman told him she had improper designs on him. He glanced left and right. There didn't seem to be anywhere to run.
"Relax. I won't catch you for now." Chris crouched in front of him. To be safe, Qin Miaomiao backed into a corner, keeping some distance between them and watching her warily.
Chris immediately took offense. "I'm a beauty, you know. Can I really be scarier than Lei Ouyan? I never see you scared of him."
As she spoke, she refused to admit defeat and reached for the rabbit. But Qin Miaomiao was a rabbit, after all, and he wasn't stupid. He nimbly dodged her, and Chris grabbed empty air, landing on her knees. After several rounds, she was nearly out of breath.
That brat. Even his rabbit is annoying.
Chris conceded and decided to change tactics. Putting on a friendly smile, she asked, "Want to go see Lei Ouyan?"
Qin Miaomiao perked up instantly, his red eyes shining. Yes!
He actually understands human speech? Chris was mildly surprised. She stood and straightened her hair and clothes. "Fine, but first, am I beautiful?"
Qin Miaomiao was baffled. He didn't understand girls, but he obediently nodded.
"Then come here and let me pet you."
Qin Miaomiao hesitated. Without another word, Chris seized the opportunity to scoop him up, then hugged him and rubbed her face against him. He was so soft and comfortable that she couldn't help sighing. "You understand human speech, and you're this adorable. Too bad that brat Lei Ouyan got to you first. Otherwise, I'd take you home."
At first, Qin Miaomiao felt like a rabbit being abducted, but he couldn't withstand a little praise. His tail stuck straight up. He hadn't expected to be so popular.
Once Chris had petted him to her satisfaction, she put him down. "All right. Let's take you to your owner."
He's not my owner!
Lei Ouyan's lounge was just ahead. A lamp hung outside the door, looking like something from the age of steam. Colored cords twisted together and dangled down, its light swaying back and forth. It clashed with the high-tech surroundings and didn't look at all like something Lei Ouyan would own. Perhaps someone had casually hung it there.
Qin Miaomiao followed Chris and watched her unlock the door with an iris scan. The moment it opened a crack, he impatiently slipped inside.
Chris was speechless. She knew dogs were attached to their owners, but hadn't expected rabbits to be so attached too. Just as she was about to follow, her phone rang. Damon's name stood out starkly on the screen.
Chris felt her vision darken. She really was allergic to that name, yet she couldn't escape it. She roughly flicked the lamp outside Lei Ouyan's door as though it were Lei Ouyan himself, cursing under her breath. Thanks to you, I have to go clean up your mess again.
The room was dark, its lights off. Moonlight shone in, illuminating only the two meters nearest the window.
Lei Ouyan had taken off his jacket and wore only a shirt with a subtle pale-blue pattern, the harness for his gun and weapons still strapped around him. Seated on the sofa, he was treating his own wounds, his movements practiced and deft, no less skillful than a medic's.
Qin Miaomiao's heart clenched at the sight, as though the injury had something to do with him.
Lei Ouyan looked up and saw him. But he said nothing and paid him no attention, as though he were no different from the table beside him-just an insignificant object.
The little flicker of guilt that had stirred in Qin Miaomiao's heart vanished instantly. He had come to apologize of his own accord, so how could Lei Ouyan still treat him like he didn't matter?
Qin Miaomiao decided not to leave. He sat down against the table in a huff, but even after waiting ages, he never heard Lei Ouyan call him. Was he really planning to ignore him?
Qin Miaomiao's pride lasted three minutes. He sneaked a glance behind him. Lei Ouyan lay motionless on the sofa. Had he died from his injuries?
Qin Miaomiao instantly panicked. Forgetting everything else, he darted over in a few bounds and jumped straight onto Lei Ouyan's chest, sniffing here and there. There didn't seem to be a strong smell of blood.
Was he just asleep? He breathed a sigh of relief, completely forgetting that he was supposed to be angry, and began studying Lei Ouyan closely.
He had seen Lei Ouyan's identification; he was two years older than him. All the boys Qin Miaomiao knew at that age were proud and overbearing, but Lei Ouyan was different. Most of the time, he was aloof and lonely, drifting outside this world like a passing spectator indifferent to the film.
Only rarely could Qin Miaomiao sense anything in Lei Ouyan that truly belonged to a boy his age. Like now, with his eyes closed, even the air around him had grown gentle.
Qin Miaomiao leaned a little closer, lifting his chin proudly. You were actually angry today, weren't you? Angry that I left you behind and went off on my own, right?
Actually, I understand a little of how you felt then. Even if you act like you don't need anyone, nobody likes being abandoned. Just like me. Qin Miaomiao had gone through a period like that as a child, too. Because he was skinny and very short, with a timid, gentle disposition, people often teased him for being a girl, and hardly anyone wanted to play with him.
But back then, he had desperately wanted a friend to stay by his side and tell him it was all right. Being skinny, short, and timid wasn't his fault. None of it mattered.
But no one ever came. Later, he got a golden retriever named Commander, and Commander was still with him now.
Qin Miaomiao thought, So I've decided. From now on, I'll stay with you! Even if it's dangerous, even if the monsters are horrible, I'll stay with you. With me here, you won't ever be alone again!
This was the decision Qin Miaomiao had reached after sitting all night in the Lookout Tower. He felt as though he had accomplished a great mission, or finally found the meaning of his existence. He gazed at Lei Ouyan, full of hope, as though Lei Ouyan would respond.
But he wouldn't.
Something flickered at the edge of his vision, distracting Qin Miaomiao. He glanced sideways and saw a book lying on the nearby coffee table. It seemed to be the one Lei Ouyan had just been reading.
Who would have guessed he liked reading? Qin Miaomiao turned to take a closer look, only to be dazzled by the large gold-stamped words on the cover-"One Hundred Ways to Cook a Rabbit"?
Alarm bells blared in Qin Miaomiao's mind. What was this? A book Lei Ouyan wrote? Why would he read this for no reason?
A chill swept over him. Qin Miaomiao turned back. He had no idea when Lei Ouyan had woken up-or perhaps he had never been asleep at all. His eyes half-open, he watched Qin Miaomiao with leisurely composure.
Only then did Qin Miaomiao realize he was standing brazenly on someone else's chest. He wanted to run, but his legs went weak, and he sat right down instead, making himself look positively eager. He offered an awkward greeting, trying to act sweet and cute, but Lei Ouyan seemed completely unmoved.
He spoke, his voice still carrying a trace of sleepy languor. "Understand what you read?"
Qin Miaomiao swallowed.
Lei Ouyan continued, "Since you can read it, why not pick how you'd like to be served?"
Pick your ass!
Qin Miaomiao bitterly regretted his decision. He had thought the night breeze would clear a rabbit's head, but apparently it had frozen his brains instead. So all this time, he had just been deluding himself!
To think I wanted to be your friend, while all you wanted was to eat me!
Before you continue