Twin variants

Qin Miaomiao had never expected to return to this place. He looked up at the closely packed high-rises, feeling as though a century had passed. The city seemed just as it had before, yet something seemed different.

Qin Miaomiao couldn't put his finger on it. He was still a wanted rabbit and dared not act out, so he could only huddle in Lei Ouyan's pocket, occasionally poking his head out to look around.

But there was no hiding once they entered headquarters. Qin Miaomiao climbed out on his own, looking as though he had come to turn himself in.

The man and rabbit had barely passed the ramp when they were stopped. The people confronting them looked somewhat familiar and came on aggressively, though their momentum faltered when they faced Lei Ouyan.

One of them looked troubled and stammered, "Captain of Squad One, this... rabbit..."

They had received orders to lock this rabbit up separately. He would then face a separate trial. But who dared take something belonging to Lei Ouyan out of his hands?

"He's coming with me," Lei Ouyan said.

"But..."

"If there's a problem, come to me." Lei Ouyan walked straight ahead after speaking. The others followed behind, not daring to say anything more. Only then did Qin Miaomiao remember that they were the same people who had taken him from Lei Ouyan's room.

They were taken to an isolation chamber on the eighth basement level. Only then did Qin Miaomiao learn that post-combat isolation was mandatory for them. So on the day he had escaped from here, Lei Ouyan hadn't refused to rescue him. He had been locked up himself.

At that thought, something suddenly seemed to fill Qin Miaomiao's heart. Lei Ouyan hadn't left him to die after all. Though Qin Miaomiao had never said anything, he had always harbored some resentment. It turned out he had misunderstood him.

Noticing the rabbit's gaze, Lei Ouyan glanced back at him, as though saying, Isn't it a little late to realize that now?

Lost in his own world, Qin Miaomiao completely missed Lei Ouyan's look and embellished the thought further. Who would have thought? Lei Ouyan looks cold and heartless, but he actually loves this little rabbit to death!

What do you mean, loves you to death...?

Lei Ouyan's expression grew darker and darker.

The rabbit in question remained oblivious. Qin Miaomiao marched ahead with his head high and chest out. The chamber door slowly opened, revealing a pure white room with simple, austere furnishings: a white sofa and a capsule-shaped bed. There was a window, its sheer white curtain fluttering in the breeze. It was a gentle, peaceful place.

Lei Ouyan followed him in and said coldly, "It has everything except food."

Then he added, "But now it has that too."

What does that mean? Qin Miaomiao looked down at himself. Don't tell me he wants to eat me again? But he had heard the boy-who-cried-wolf story too many times. After three times, it stopped being scary. Hmph. I don't believe you.

Lei Ouyan said, "You really think I don't eat rabbits?"

Let's see how you plan to eat me.

Lei Ouyan waved the object in his hand. Qin Miaomiao took a closer look. Damn it! Why is it that book, One Hundred Ways to Cook Rabbit, again?

Has he been carrying it around all this time?

Qin Miaomiao jumped up to snatch it, but Lei Ouyan dodged him effortlessly every time. The man and rabbit went back and forth several times. Growing desperate, Qin Miaomiao kicked off hard and leaped onto Lei Ouyan's shoulder. Lei Ouyan staggered back two steps, then suddenly fell backward onto the sofa.

Qin Miaomiao didn't notice at first. Standing on Lei Ouyan's chest, he proudly held up the book. Only when he looked over did he see that Lei Ouyan's face was deathly pale and beads of cold sweat had formed at his temples. He seemed to be struggling to suppress his pain.

Only then did Qin Miaomiao remember Lei Ouyan's injuries. Lei Ouyan!

Earlier, Qin Miaomiao had given Lei Ouyan a pill Hao Yin had provided, which could suppress his injuries and pain. Now that it had worn off, he finally realized how badly Lei Ouyan had been hurt.

However powerful he was, he was still only an ordinary person. He couldn't escape the pain of flesh and blood.

Qin Miaomiao frantically rummaged through his bag. There were no pills left, nor anything else that could help. He couldn't do a thing.

The rabbit was on the verge of tears.

Just then, the chamber door opened. Qin Miaomiao turned around to see Shi Jinse enter, followed by a young doctor. They had originally come to collect samples, but Shi Jinse's expression froze the moment he saw Lei Ouyan.

He immediately rushed over, not even sparing the rabbit any attention.

"Lei Ouyan! Lei Ouyan?" Shi Jinse called his name twice and performed a preliminary examination before tearing open his clothes. There seemed to be a massive hole in Lei Ouyan's right shoulder. Below it, a savage wound wound down his right arm like a coiled snake.

Qin Miaomiao's breath caught. The white before his eyes suddenly seemed both dim and blinding, and everything began to spin. He blinked, close to passing out.

Shi Jinse seemed shocked too. With such a severe wound, how had he held on this long without making a sound? Even painkillers couldn't completely numb his nerves. Lei Ouyan's endurance was far greater than he had imagined. Regaining his composure, Shi Jinse collected a blood sample according to procedure and handed it to the doctor behind him. "Take this back to the Monitoring Group. I'll take the captain of Squad One to the Medical Group."

Several more people entered, all Shi Jinse's assistants. Qin Miaomiao was crowded out and could only see Lei Ouyan's face through the gaps between them. Someone bumped into him without noticing, and Qin Miaomiao stumbled and fell onto the floor.

He watched them lift Lei Ouyan onto a medical bed and hurry out. Then Shi Jinse approached. Qin Miaomiao looked up blankly. Lei Ouyan, he...

"He'll be all right," Shi Jinse said softly. Qin Miaomiao finally reached his limit and fainted.

Qin Miaomiao had fainted from days of exhaustion compounded by extreme emotional upheaval over a short period.

When he woke, he was in the hospital. He blinked, and as his mind cleared, everything came back to him. He hurriedly sat up. Lei Ouyan was lying in the hospital bed beside his.

Qin Miaomiao breathed a sigh of relief, threw back the blanket, and hopped over.

Lei Ouyan lay there with his hospital gown slightly open, revealing the bandages around his shoulder. Moonlight fell over the young man's face, cool and gentle. But his brow was furrowed, and he slept restlessly, as though trapped in a nightmare.

Qin Miaomiao didn't know what had come over him. He cautiously moved closer, leaned forward slightly, and gently blew on the wound, as though that could make it stop hurting.

And Lei Ouyan actually grew calm.

Qin Miaomiao looked up and unexpectedly fell into those deep blue eyes. He didn't know when Lei Ouyan had woken. His eyes were half open as he watched the rabbit.

Qin Miaomiao stumbled back a step and nearly fell off the bed, but Lei Ouyan reached out to catch him. His expression was as stiff as his movements as he stared at Lei Ouyan, terrified this was an illusion that would disappear if he blinked.

Lei Ouyan's lips curved faintly, his voice low and hoarse. "Why did you stop blowing?"

Luckily, rabbits couldn't blush. Qin Miaomiao finally came to his senses, his gaze flustered and worried, and hurriedly asked, Does it still hurt?

Lei Ouyan was wearing only a hospital gown, with none of his weapons on him, so he couldn't understand the rabbit. But after so much time together, he could guess most of the rabbit's thoughts without those things.

He knew the rabbit would ask how he was doing, but not that he was asking whether it hurt.

Lei Ouyan sat up and said, "I'm a little hungry."

The rabbit froze. Conflicting emotions crossed his face, torn and pitiful. A full minute passed before he hopped closer. Then, looking like a hero marching to his death, he squeezed his eyes shut and held out his arm to Lei Ouyan.

Go ahead. Eat!

The expected pain never came. Qin Miaomiao secretly cracked one eye open and found Lei Ouyan watching him at his leisure.

What are you doing...?

Lei Ouyan said, "So willing now?"

Qin Miaomiao grew a little embarrassed.

Lei Ouyan smiled. "But in my current condition, eating raw rabbit isn't really advisable."

Qin Miaomiao withdrew his arm and patted it tenderly, as though it were a treasure. Fine, don't eat it. You're the one who refused. If you want it later, you won't get it.

Despite that, Lei Ouyan really hadn't eaten in a long time. Qin Miaomiao hopped off the hospital bed, intending to find him some food.

At the door, Qin Miaomiao glanced back. Lei Ouyan lay in bed, his head turned toward the window. He could actually tell that Lei Ouyan had been startled awake by a nightmare, though he didn't know what he had dreamed. He only felt that something had hollowed him out after he woke. Though he still joked and deliberately frightened him, the loneliness in his eyes seemed deeper.

It was like a door that simply wouldn't open. Qin Miaomiao had finally managed to push it open a crack and glimpse a faint light, only for a gust of wind to slam it shut again.

Qin Miaomiao suddenly felt a little lost. He knew Lei Ouyan had a nightmare, and he knew he could never enter it. Yet all he wanted was to do everything he could to give him a good dream.

It was the middle of the night, and there were few people outside.

Qin Miaomiao slipped out of the ward and followed the signs to the medical staff's kitchen, where he found some dry bread and candy. He stuffed his pocket full.

Just as he was about to leave, he heard something and quickly hid.

Two young nurses from the medical staff came in, quietly discussing something as they prepared late-night snacks for the patients. Qin Miaomiao pricked up his ears.

"Did you hear? Officer Chris's punishment has been announced."

"What is it?"

"They say she's been removed as combat commander and transferred to the Patrol Group."

"But wasn't Chris personally appointed by the former commander-in-chief? Who would dare..."

"Who else could it be...? Officer Iceberg."

Their voices faded into the distance before Qin Miaomiao crawled out from under the table. Chris was removed? Only now did he realize why something had felt missing since his return.

Chris had always stood at the base entrance to welcome the victorious soldiers home, but this time he hadn't seen her at all.

Qin Miaomiao decided to bring Lei Ouyan some food first and ask him about it once he was feeling better.

The hospital corridor was long, narrow, and shadowy. Qin Miaomiao stopped, spotting the man standing at its far end. He was tall and straight, his handsome features impeccable. Beneath his black coat was a dark green military uniform. His eyes were black and unfathomable, like an iceberg.

A single glance from him left Qin Miaomiao unable to move.

A name instinctively sprang into his mind: Damon.

It really was Damon. Qin Miaomiao didn't even have time to make a sound. All that remained in the empty corridor was the noise of food falling to the floor.

Just after Damon carried the rabbit away, a ward door on the left side of the corridor opened. Li Weisen's arm was in a cast and hung from a sling around his neck. His injury wasn't that serious, but they liked making a fuss and had insisted he stay in the hospital for two days of observation.

He said nothing, watching the direction in which Damon had disappeared, seemingly pondering something.

Damon was a child Li Weisen's father had picked up on a battlefield. He had followed Li's father from a very young age, quiet and reserved, yet remarkably resilient.

Perhaps it was that quality Li's father had valued in him. He had never held back from teaching him anything, and Damon had lived up to his expectations, achieving outstanding results and becoming his right-hand man.

Later, Li's father died in the Second Human-Variant War. Damon was appointed in the crisis and stepped up, naturally succeeding Li's father as the person in charge of the base.

As far as Li Weisen was concerned, his father had treated Damon much better than he had treated him. But he also had to admit that Damon was qualified, both in combat ability and leadership. He respected him, and he respected his father's decision.

Yet Li Weisen had always felt that this man lacked something a human ought to have. That was also why he had never accepted Damon in that position.

Perhaps he was just like Lei Ouyan: rebellious to the bone, born to oppose the world.

A nurse brought food, but the rabbit still hadn't returned.

Lei Ouyan stopped the nurse as she was about to leave. "Has anyone been here?"

The nurse shook her head, then sounded uncertain. "I think Officer Damon came by earlier, but he only stood outside for a moment before leaving. I'm not entirely sure it was him..."

Lei Ouyan's hand stopped spooning soup the moment he heard Damon's name. He had half suspected it, but hadn't expected Damon to come personally.

Lei Ouyan set down his spoon. In an instant, he seemed like a different person, even his voice growing colder. "Understood."

Thinking she had said something wrong, the nurse left awkwardly and immediately made a call. Shi Jinse had instructed her to notify Remiya at once if Lei Ouyan made any move.

Because only Remiya could keep him in check for the time being.

Just as Lei Ouyan was about to leave, Remiya came in and blocked him. "Your injuries haven't healed. Going after him now isn't wise."

Lei Ouyan seemed to take no notice of her words. "Where are my things?"

He wanted his weapons and headphones back.

"Ouyan!" Remiya sounded helpless. "You're no match for him, and there's no way you can find where the rabbit is."

"So I'm supposed to watch him kill the rabbit and do nothing?" Lei Ouyan's voice was level. His gaze shifted toward her, as though coated in frost.

He sat down. Only in front of Remiya would he reveal such helplessness. "Remiya. That's my rabbit."

"I know." Remiya's heart ached. It had been a long time since Lei Ouyan had been this attached to anything. She walked over and patted his head. "Trust me. He won't kill him."

Lei Ouyan already understood what Remiya meant. Damon's cruelty and coldness were etched into his bones. There was only one reason he would tolerate a rabbit of unknown origins: the rabbit had something he wanted.

"I understand." Lei Ouyan suppressed that surge of impulse. "But I still have to see him."

"Let your injuries heal first," Remiya said. "I'll take you."

Qin Miaomiao didn't know where he was. He only knew he was trapped in an enormous variant cage, surrounded by film-like partitions, with neither doors nor windows. Through one side, he could see a lawn outside. Patrols occasionally passed, roughly once every half hour, making it clear how heavily guarded the place was.

At dusk, the person directing the shift change on the lawn turned out to be Chris, whom he hadn't seen in ages. She didn't seem to have changed at all because of her dismissal, remaining as flamboyant and confident as before.

Excited, Qin Miaomiao slapped the glass for a long time before realizing that the people outside couldn't hear anything within. Deflated, he wondered how Lei Ouyan was doing. Damon had never appeared again after that day, and the people outside couldn't notice him at all.

He felt as though he were standing in front of a television, futilely worrying about the fate of the people on the screen.

Suddenly, he heard what sounded like a lock opening. Qin Miaomiao scrambled over, staring fixedly at that section of wall. A dazzling light shone in. He opened his eyes and saw a familiar face. Li Weisen?

Though they had fought together several times, his first reaction upon seeing Li Weisen was still the fear he had felt in the variant prison. Qin Miaomiao instinctively tried to run back, but Li Weisen grabbed his ears and pointed at his nose. "Do you know how much I'm risking to rescue you? Don't be ungrateful."

Qin Miaomiao obediently shut his mouth.

Li Weisen was about to leave when he reconsidered. Walking out like this would be too conspicuous. He studied the rabbit for a while, apparently wavering, before finally deciding. "Punch me."

The rabbit was stunned and quickly shook his head. I wouldn't dare.

"Stop pretending. You've wanted revenge on me for ages, haven't you? Hurry up!"

...Qin Miaomiao still didn't dare. Li Weisen grew impatient. "Do you want to see Lei Ouyan or not? If we just walk out, they'll definitely suspect me. Punch me, and when I leave, they'll know I got hit. Even if they don't know who hit me, they'll know I'm in a bad mood because of it. Who would dare bother me..."

Before he could finish, Qin Miaomiao leaped up and delivered a spinning kick, cutting off his babbling. In fact, he had been ready to hit him as soon as he heard the first sentence.

Li Weisen froze. "You actually fucking hit me?"

Then he remembered he had asked for it himself and could only swallow his grievance. Fine, just you wait. I'll get Lei Ouyan back for this.

Li Weisen straightened himself up, then considered where to hide the rabbit. He looked around, but the arm in the cast seemed to be the only option. After some fiddling, he tucked his arm inside his clothes and stuffed the rabbit into the empty sleeve hanging in front of his chest. Nothing looked amiss.

He warned through gritted teeth, "Don't make a sound, don't fart, and don't move even if the sky falls. If anyone finds out I came here to steal a rabbit, I'll never be able to show my face again. Got it?"

Tucked inside, Qin Miaomiao nodded furiously. Don't worry. I might not be good at much else, but I'm the best at playing dead.

Li Weisen had barely taken a few steps when he ran into Uncle Zhou. This was the base's administrative center, where the offices of several principal officials were located.

It was heavily guarded. Even Lei Ouyan and Chris before her dismissal had no authorization to enter.

But Li Weisen was, after all, the little crown prince. Not only did he have his father's access privileges, no one dared stop him.

Uncle Zhou was somewhat surprised to see Li Weisen here. He smiled. "Doesn't look like you came to see me."

"I came to collect my father's belongings," Li Weisen said without batting an eye, thinking that Lei Ouyan owed him big this time. He had even dragged his father into it.

Uncle Zhou murmured an acknowledgment, his gaze falling on Li Weisen's arm. He was about to ask how he had been injured when Li Weisen interrupted. "Uncle Zhou, I'll be going."

Only then did Uncle Zhou notice the mark on his face. This boy is a terrible liar, he thought. He claimed to have come for his father's belongings, yet wore a handprint on his face. Anyone who didn't know better might think his father had come back to life and slapped him.

Uncle Zhou saw through him but said nothing. He smiled, offered a few reminders, and said goodbye.

What happened next was much as Li Weisen had predicted. He even avoided the required security check by refusing to cooperate, claiming to be in a bad mood after being hit. The guards exchanged looks. None dared offend him, much less suspect him.

Li Weisen took the rabbit away from that damned place and returned to the nineteenth floor of headquarters.

The rabbit eagerly wriggled out, wanting to find Lei Ouyan, only to be stopped again. Li Weisen asked, "Where do you think you're going?"

You wouldn't understand even if I told you.

"Damon's here right now. I just stole you out, and you're already trying to get yourself killed again. Wouldn't that mean I took that kick for nothing?"

As he spoke, Qin Miaomiao seemed to hear Lei Ouyan's voice. His ears perked up. Li Weisen seemed to notice too, but it was already too late to stop the rabbit. He had run over and clung to the window, spotting Lei Ouyan at once.

In front of the meeting room's spiral staircase, Lei Ouyan and Damon stood facing one another, both radiating tension. They seemed to have already exchanged blows, and it wasn't hard to see that Lei Ouyan had come off worse.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stared at Damon with eyes like poisoned blades. Damon's brow was tightly furrowed, a trace of impatience showing. His usual composure had vanished, leaving him slightly disheveled. "Have you had enough?"

"What do you think?" Lei Ouyan snorted coldly. "I don't care what you're trying to do. Give me back what's mine."

"Aren't you mistaken? I don't have anything belonging to you." He deliberately emphasized "you," then unfastened his cuffs, as though what had come before was merely a warm-up, a little scuffle, and now he was getting serious.

Lei Ouyan shot him a cold glance.

Damon continued, "I know you like that rabbit, but you also know he's no ordinary animal. Keeping him at the base is no different from putting humanity's future on the edge of a cliff."

"Does humanity have a future?" Lei Ouyan interrupted, staring straight at him. For an instant, Damon felt he had nowhere to hide. He fell silent for a few seconds, then said, "If you insist on making trouble, I'll deal with it in my own way."

Before he had finished speaking, Lei Ouyan charged at him again.

Why are they fighting again?! Qin Miaomiao couldn't bear to watch. He had to help Lei Ouyan!

Li Weisen stopped him. "Did Lei Ouyan raise a rabbit or a pig?"

You're the pig! Qin Miaomiao was so anxious he wanted to bite someone. Li Weisen pinched his ears. "I told you, if you go out now, all our efforts will be wasted."

Qin Miaomiao didn't notice whom he meant by "our." He simply looked at him. Then what should we do?

Li Weisen had a headache too. He glanced at the two men. "Forget it. Leave it to me."

He turned back to warn the rabbit again. "Whatever you do, don't come out. Understand?"

When Qin Miaomiao looked over again, Lei Ouyan was sitting on the floor. Li Weisen had called Damon to a halt and was walking calmly toward them.

He drew his long blade and stepped in front of Damon. His head hung low, his bangs hiding his eyes. "Sir, leave the rest to me."

As he spoke, he raised his blade and pointed it at Lei Ouyan. "He and I have a few scores to settle."

Damon rubbed his wrist, looking none too pleased. "I have other things to do."

After two steps, he stopped beside Lei Ouyan. "I hope you know what you're doing."

Only when Li Weisen saw that Damon had really left did he dare relax. He put away his blade, muttered a curse, and looked utterly exhausted.

It was all his own fault for blabbing to Lei Ouyan about where the rabbit was. But he hadn't expected Lei Ouyan to actually ask for his help-to hold Damon off while Lei Ouyan took the opportunity to get the rabbit out.

Li Weisen hadn't expected himself to actually go through with it, either.

"Thank you," Lei Ouyan said suddenly as he stood.

Li Weisen turned and caught sight of the rabbit racing toward them. His head ached. Could this rabbit understand human speech or not? He'd told him not to come out. He turned on Lei Ouyan. "Don't think this settles what happened between us."

"I know."

Qin Miaomiao was beside himself with excitement and wanted to check Lei Ouyan's injuries. But when he was only a few steps away, Li Weisen suddenly blocked him, holding his long blade across Qin Miaomiao's path and nearly slicing off his whiskers.

Qin Miaomiao: What are you doing?!

"Didn't you understand when I told you not to come out? Just look at him. Can't you see whether he's all right?" Li Weisen scooped up the rabbit, then told Lei Ouyan, "I'll keep him at my place for now. Any objections?"

What the hell! I don't want to go to your place! Qin Miaomiao struggled and looked at Lei Ouyan, who didn't seem inclined to stop him either. "I'm fine," Lei Ouyan said.

Qin Miaomiao instantly went quiet. His eyes reddened and his ears drooped, making him look like a drowned dog.

But I'm not fine. He looked like an abandoned pet. Why don't you want me again?

Qin Miaomiao sank into depression. He hadn't expected Lei Ouyan to simply hand him over to someone else.

He sat in Li Weisen's room, sulking and refusing to eat or drink. Speechless, Li Weisen asked, "How does that brain of yours work?"

Any old way it likes. Is that not allowed?

Li Weisen brought him food and snapped, "Who do you think they'll check first when they realize you're missing? You still want to cling to Lei Ouyan? Are you afraid they won't find you? Do you know how much trouble we went to getting you out? You beat me up, and now you can't even stay with me for a few days?"

Li Weisen thought he must be insane to try reasoning with a rabbit.

But the rabbit wiped his tears. He seemed to understand a little.

Everyone at the base knew how things stood between Li Weisen and Lei Ouyan. No one would imagine that Li Weisen would defy the base's orders to hide a rabbit. They would never come looking here.

But why had he done it?

Never mind Qin Miaomiao-Li Weisen couldn't figure it out himself. He hated Lei Ouyan. If he could choose one person to kill, he would pick Lei Ouyan without hesitation.

But things were a little different now. He always repaid a grudge, but he also repaid kindness. Lei Ouyan had saved him several times, and he could barely keep track of whether there was more gratitude or resentment between them.

Li Weisen was sick of thinking about it. He shook his head. Forget it. He would call it his good deed for the day.

He took away the food he'd brought the rabbit. "Fine, don't eat."

Qin Miaomiao reached out, only to grab empty air. I want to eat!

"I can't take you to Lei Ouyan right now."

Then let me have something to eat first?

"Just stay here and don't go out. Understand?"

They went back and forth, talking on completely different wavelengths. Li Weisen couldn't understand what was so great about this rabbit. He couldn't even speak, so even arguing with him wasn't satisfying. Yet he'd somehow bewitched Lei Ouyan.

The base had visitors lately: leaders from other bases. That meant tighter security and more patrol duties. Li Weisen rarely came back, and Qin Miaomiao had even less chance of going outside.

But he was going stir-crazy. Every day, he clung to the window and peeked at the people passing outside, imagining countless times how Lei Ouyan would come to fetch him. Yet several days passed without him coming.

His ears drooped. Just as he sighed, he spotted a blond head-Shi Jinse!

He hadn't had a chance to properly thank him for helping him escape last time, or to apologize for biting someone. Shi Jinse probably wouldn't mind, would he? They were all on the same side.

But Qin Miaomiao had no way to call out to him. After some thought, he pulled half a carrot from his bag and tossed it out the window. It seemed to land right beside Shi Jinse's feet.

Shi Jinse looked up. All he could see in the window was a pair of white ears.

He smiled. So this is where you are.

Someone knocked. Qin Miaomiao thought it was Shi Jinse and was about to go greet him when the door was kicked open. It was Chris. He didn't even have time to hide before coming face-to-face with her.

Chris seemed to have been drinking and was barely lucid. She stared drunkenly at Qin Miaomiao for half a minute before it registered. The rabbit!

No wonder no one could find him. He'd been hidden here.

She walked in, shut the door, and gave a chilling smile before lunging at him. "Finally, someone to drink with! A rabbit will do!"

Then she chased him up and down like a cat after a mouse. Before long, Li Weisen's room had been transformed into a rubbish heap.

Outside, Shi Jinse had arrived a moment too late. Holding the carrot, he was wondering whether to knock when he ran into Li Weisen returning from duty. A chill still clung to him. He eyed Shi Jinse warily. "What do you want?"

Shi Jinse held out the carrot and answered honestly, "This hit me as I was passing by, so... I came to take a look."

Li Weisen's mouth twitched. He wanted to stuff the rabbit down the toilet. Taking the carrot as though nothing were amiss, he said, "What's there to look at? It's mine. I was eating it. So what?"

He even took a bite. Damn, it tasted pretty good. Li Weisen kept eating until it was gone. Ever since meeting this rabbit, his acting skills had improved by the day. He was practically NAT's best actor now.

"Anything else?"

Shi Jinse smiled. He'd thought the rabbit was asking for help, but apparently not. "Then I won't disturb you, Young Captain..."

He had barely finished when a series of crashes and clatters came from Li Weisen's room. Both men looked over.

"I've got rats in my room," Li Weisen said.

"But all the rats mutated into aberrants ten years ago..."

"Rabbits went extinct fifteen years ago! Why don't you mention rabbits?"

"..."

At that moment, the sensor at the door recognized Li Weisen, and the automatic door slowly slid open like a curtain rising on a stage. There sat Chris on the floor, without a shred of dignity, feeding the rabbit alcohol. The rabbit's eyes were glazed. A male rabbit's feet twitched, a female rabbit's eyes grew hazy-anyone who didn't know better might have thought he'd just had a sex change.

Talk about giving himself away.

Li Weisen's head felt five times its size. On the verge of a breakdown, he stepped around the obstacles in the doorway and went inside. "Since you know the rabbit's here, watch him," he told Shi Jinse. "Tell anyone and I'll kill you."

"Ah..." Shi Jinse looked genuinely frightened.

Li Weisen helped Chris up and took her farther inside.

Qin Miaomiao was thoroughly drunk too. He couldn't make out who was at the door; all he could see were eight figures. Damn, are they here to catch me again? Why did they bring so many people? He instinctively tried to flee, but someone stopped him the moment he jumped.

Seeing Qin Miaomiao leap toward him, Shi Jinse caught him. A little bewildered, he asked cautiously, "Are you all right?"

Holy shit, this guy has five heads! Qin Miaomiao was completely out of it and mistook him for an aberrant. He froze, then opened his mouth and bit his hand.

Shi Jinse let go in pain. Qin Miaomiao escaped, stumbling when he hit the floor before dashing off in a drunken daze.

Shi Jinse didn't react at first. Only after the rabbit ran away did he come to his senses. He'd been bitten again. He looked at his hand as blood slowly seeped from the wound.

Li Weisen settled Chris on the sofa, then turned around. "Where's that thing?"

Shi Jinse paused and put his hand behind his back, looking deeply apologetic. "I'm sorry, Young Captain. He... ran away."

"..."

As if filling his room with chaos and the stink of booze wasn't enough, one of them was lying here making a drunken scene, while the other had bitten someone and run off. Was he supposed to keep living like this?

Li Weisen was so irritated that he didn't notice anything unusual about Shi Jinse at the door.

He was about to go catch the rabbit when Chris grabbed him.

She suddenly sat up. Whether she was really drunk or only pretending, he couldn't tell. "I have something to tell you."

"Tell me tomorrow."

"Now!"

"I'm busy."

"Haven't you always wanted to know how Shen Weilai died back then?" Chris said abruptly. It was like dropping a bomb into a still lake. Li Weisen froze. His lips parted, his voice hoarse. "Why bring that up now?"

"It was because of me."

Li Weisen looked at her, something in his eyes shattering piece by piece.

Chris and Shen Weilai had been lovers. When the aberrants attacked that time, they had each led a squad into battle.

She was captain of the first squad, while Shen Weilai was in charge of the second. Everything had gone smoothly at first, but in the end, they were trapped in a cave.

An aberrant bit Shen Weilai while he was saving her. At first, no one thought much of it. Just as they were about to find the way out, Lei Ouyan stopped. He was the first to notice something was wrong with Shen Weilai.

Only then did Chris notice too. Shen Weilai was still holding her hand. The exit lay ahead, pale white light spilling through it and falling evenly across his face. Walking ahead of her, he turned back and asked what was wrong.

Chris froze. She wanted to pretend everything was fine, but Shen Weilai saw through her at once. He was calm, as though he had imagined this scene countless times. Slowly releasing her hand, he smiled. "You all go on ahead."

No. Chris grabbed his hand.

"It's all right. It's all right," she said. "You might not be infected..."

She looked at Shen Weilai with hope in her eyes. They had only just promised each other that they would get married once they got out.

"Everything will be fine," Chris repeated.

The next moment, Shen Weilai coughed up a mouthful of blood. He pulled his hand free, backed away a few steps, and slid down the wall into a sitting position. Chris tried to pull him up, but Lei Ouyan stopped her.

Shen Weilai curled up on the ground, convulsing without pause. Starting at his limbs, his flesh slowly rotted and reformed. Something thrashed inside his body, as though about to burst out.

The aberrant that had bitten him was highly infectious. The consequences of approaching recklessly were obvious. Chris would be the next Shen Weilai.

But so many people were waiting for her outside. They had lost one squad leader; they couldn't lose another. The responsibility on her shoulders mattered more than her own life.

Someone came in and, not understanding the situation, tried to help Shen Weilai up. Lei Ouyan was holding Chris back and couldn't stop him. In an instant, Shen Weilai crushed the man's head off his neck.

Chris froze. She had imagined countless futures, but never that their future would end here.

The last remnants of Shen Weilai's reason drove him to speak. His voice was faint and distant, yet it pierced Chris's heart like a nail. She thought he was saying, "Save me."

Only at the end did she hear him clearly. What he'd been saying all along was, "Don't save me."

Don't save me.

The base soon sent an order: kill Shen Weilai.

It was Chris's duty, but she couldn't bring herself to do it, nor could she save him. The other teammates had arrived too, and danger was only an instant away. That was when Lei Ouyan raised his gun and fired a single shot into Shen Weilai's vital point.

Everyone saw it. They saw him act without hesitation, but they didn't see his pause, or the slight trembling of his hand as he lowered the gun.

But no one cared. They blamed Shen Weilai's death entirely on Lei Ouyan, as though that could soothe the grief in their hearts.

They failed to understand that not every hero could be like Li Weisen's father, whose death itself had been heroic, leaving endless legends to be praised and revered. Life was so fragile. There were many others like Shen Weilai, brimming with hope, only to die in one tiny instant.

People living in this world were as insignificant as ants. They simply refused to accept it, refused to believe that the future they longed for could shatter as easily as glass.

After that, Chris disappeared for an entire year, seeing no one and speaking to no one. It took her a whole year to work through it, but she never returned to the battlefield.

She hadn't known that her avoidance had left Lei Ouyan bearing the blame for so long. By the time she wanted to tell the truth, it was already too late.

But to Lei Ouyan, what others thought didn't matter. Chris's nightmare was losing Shen Weilai. Lei Ouyan's nightmare was shooting Shen Weilai dead with his own hands.

Li Weisen covered Chris with a blanket, then went out onto the balcony alone and lit a cigarette. For a long time, he said nothing. Shi Jinse had left the doorway at some point too.

All Li Weisen knew was that the moon felt especially cold that night, and the night seemed to have no end.

Qin Miaomiao was still drunk and focused only on running, completely oblivious to the changes in himself. He jumped down the stairs and caught sight of his reflection in the glass.

He froze for a moment. He could actually see himself!

Wasn't that him-Qin Miaomiao himself?

Qin Miaomiao ran over and pressed himself against the glass, then began raving at his reflection.

"Did you drink too much? Why are you so red?!"

Then he wondered how he could be talking to himself. His mind tied itself in knots before he figured it out. "Is my body locked in here, so I can only live inside a rabbit now? Or did another me from another world come to take me home?"

Qin Miaomiao kept mumbling, growing more aggrieved as he spoke. "You know, there are so many monsters here. And there's this really fierce one. I thought he was my friend, but he keeps wanting to eat me."

"Why does he want to eat me? Aren't rabbits cute? I think I'm pretty cute. Doesn't he think I'm cute?"

The depths of drunken behavior were beyond human imagination. The same went for rabbits. He seemed about eighty percent insane already.

Suddenly, a voice cracked like thunder. "Who's there!"

It was a patrol officer.

Qin Miaomiao jolted in fright, sobering a little, and took off running. He soon put some distance between himself and his pursuers. But at the next turn, he crashed headfirst into someone's arms.

Qin Miaomiao froze for a moment. He knew that scent so well: crisp and clean, with a hint of chill, like a frost-covered tree on a snowy plain.

He looked up and saw those familiar eyes. A foolish smile spread across his face. "Lei Ouyan, I found you."

Qin Miaomiao hadn't even realized that, as he fled on instinct, he'd kept running toward where he sensed Lei Ouyan would be. Apparently, when he was drunk, he thought of nothing except finding him.

Lei Ouyan steadied him and frowned. Did he know this person? Yet a closer look made him seem familiar. He couldn't remember.

The person in his arms was small and slender, his arms looking as though they might snap with a squeeze. Drunk and seemingly boneless, he clung to Lei Ouyan, whose heart softened too.

"Wake up." Lei Ouyan tried to push him away. Footsteps approached from behind. He turned his face, and his chin happened to brush the young man's hair. The fleeting touch was unbelievably soft. He paused.

Qin Miaomiao was still immersed in his own world. Looking at the person before him, he rose onto his toes, his eyes hazy, and leaned close to his ear as though murmuring in a dream. Before he could finish speaking, his pursuers caught up.

Qin Miaomiao hurriedly let go of Lei Ouyan and ran.

Before Lei Ouyan could react, the person in his arms was gone. His hands felt empty, almost weightless.

The patrol officers caught up. "Captain of the First Squad, are you all right?"

Lei Ouyan pressed his lips together. His voice was a little hoarse. "I'm fine."

"Who was that, anyway? How did he get in?"

"Just a kid," Lei Ouyan said. "Leave him to me."

But when he went looking, there was no person to be found. Only a snow-white rabbit lay outside the door to his break room, sleeping soundly.