By the time he was safely seated in another biohazard vehicle, the zombie horde had already closed in on the noise.
The vehicle spun around at speed, its rear tracing a perfect arc through the air and sweeping the nearest row of zombies off their feet.
Out of danger, Ye Ruan's taut shoulders suddenly relaxed, only to tense again a moment later.
The scent of danger.
The scent of a pack of... carnivores.
Beside him sat a wolf. Because he was injured, gray ears had emerged from his disheveled hair.
On the opposite seat, Yu Jingjing's pupils had turned to slits as she lay there whimpering in pain.
There was also a big bear.
Ye Ruan took a look.
This was the man who had mistaken him for a zombie.
A big, meat-eating Big Bear!
"How are we doing, guys?" A team member in camouflage walked over with a submachine gun slung across his back.
Ye Ruan's pupils trembled.
This one was a leopard!
"Everyone injured?"
"Injuries are nothing," Yu Jingjing said weakly. "I'm starving to death."
"Hang in there. We'll be at the Southern City Survivor Base soon."
"You call that a base? It's clearly a scrapyard."
"The scrapyard is the only place we can stay overnight."
South City was one of the hardest-hit areas in City H, with the highest concentration of level three zombies.
Level three zombies evolved into more powerful monsters by devouring other zombies or eating animals infected with the virus.
Gu Cheng took off his jacket, leaving only a T-shirt on his upper body.
A long gash ran across his lean, muscular arm. The blood had dried, and the flesh curled outward.
Broken glass had cut him back in the vehicle.
Gu Cheng rummaged through his backpack but failed to find what he wanted, then turned and gently poked Little Bunny's arm.
The rabbit, who had been sitting on the seat with his legs hugged to his chest, staring into space, gave a silent shudder at the unexpected touch.
Gu Cheng met the little rabbit's big, innocent eyes.
Holding back a laugh, he asked, "Little Bunny, do you have any iodine and gauze?"
Ye Ruan wore only an oversized sweatshirt and ordinary cargo pants, their pockets flat.
"Yes. They gave me a... wristband."
Ye Ruan rolled up his sleeve, showing Gu Cheng his slender, pale wrist.
Gu Cheng raised an eyebrow and smiled. "A Storage Wristband. The higher-ups only made three. I heard there's one for each of the three teams, and only the captains get them."
Remembering his own wristband, which a level three mutant zombie had corroded beyond use, Gu Cheng silently lamented its loss.
"That's right."
His voice soft, Ye Ruan took a small first-aid kit out of the wristband, set it on the seat, and gently pushed it over.
Gu Cheng bandaged his wound, speaking indistinctly around the gauze between his teeth:
"You're from Team Three, right? I heard only Team Three has a rabbit."
Ye Ruan hesitated, looking at the carnivores eyeing him all around.
Yu Jingjing, the black cat, looked as though she thought he was a fish, practically drooling over him.
If I got friendly with them now...
Would that make me a little safer?
Ye Ruan rubbed his eyes, smoothed the fur on his ears, and obediently stood up.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Ye Ruan, captain of Team Three of the Special Humans Team."
Li Rang hadn't expected the subject of their earlier gossip to be Ye Ruan himself, and could only give a couple of awkward, sheepish laughs.
"Captain Ye, you really live up to your reputation. So handsome!"
Ye Ruan pressed his lips together in a shy smile.
The corners of Gu Cheng's mouth lifted slightly as he asked:
"Captain Ye, what were you doing here alone?"
Feeling the others' puzzled gazes, Ye Ruan tugged at his rabbit ears.
"It's a little embarrassing. Our mission was to evacuate a doctor from Southern City Hospital, but during the evacuation, I accidentally fell out of the helicopter..."
Fortunately, someone had hung a sheet outside their window to dry, and it had caught the rabbit. Otherwise, he would definitely have ended up as mashed rabbit meat.
Suddenly remembering something, Ye Ruan hurriedly took out his communicator and put it on.
A few seconds later, Ye Ruan frowned as the commander on the other end unleashed a torrent of shouting.
Covering his mouth, Ye Ruan softly explained his current situation.
The commander fell silent for a while, then said:
"In that case, stay and help Team One. Their mission this time is to evacuate the survivors in South City."
"Give Gu Cheng your communicator. I'll speak to him."
Ye Ruan murmured an acknowledgment, took off his earpiece, and handed it to Gu Cheng.
"Captain Gu, the commander wants to speak to you."
Gu Cheng raised his eyebrows and took it, offering a flippant greeting.
"Commander, long time no see."
"I'm neglecting my duties? Nothing of the sort!"
"There are so many people in South City, I might not get every survivor out even if you gave me two months."
"You're saying you could finish the mission in a week?"
"Well, look at that. Haven't seen you in ages, and you've gotten even better at bullshitting."
Gu Cheng lounged back in his seat, his legs propped on an ammunition crate tossed beside him.
His hair was neatly cropped, and his gray wolf ears had withdrawn. His muscular torso was bare except for the bandages, and he wore camouflage pants and combat boots.
Gu Cheng had long, narrow eyes and pitch-black irises that looked unfathomable.
Dangerous and indolent.
Ye Ruan had good hearing, and he pricked up one ear to listen to their conversation.
It was mostly the commander shouting.
Just before hanging up, the commander said something in a low voice.
At that exact moment, the vehicle sounded its horn.
Ye Ruan missed it and only heard Gu Cheng give a vague reply.
"Don't worry. I'll 'take good care' of him."
Take good care...
Ye Ruan lowered his head and stared blankly at the nylon rope wrapped around his body several times.
Abandoning his earlier, reasonably polite demeanor, Gu Cheng planted one foot on the seat and reached for Ye Ruan's wrist.
"What are you doing?" Ye Ruan dodged in panic, his pupils shrinking with fright.
"Hold still, Little Bunny."
Like a shameless lecher, Gu Cheng gave that soft little puff of a rabbit tail a squeeze.
Ye Ruan went rigid, his eyes widening and the corners of his mouth drooping as tears welled in his eyes.
His tail!
A rabbit's tail wasn't something people could just touch!
Furious and mortified, Ye Ruan blushed so fiercely his cheeks looked ready to bleed, and a watery haze veiled his red eyes.
Gu Cheng slipped off Ye Ruan's Storage Wristband, dangled it before his eyes, and tucked it into his own pocket.
"Old Cai told us to take good care of you."
Gu Cheng's smile was roguish, with a hint of wickedness.
A warm palm settled over Ye Ruan's ears and gently rubbed them.
They were far too close.
Gu Cheng was even brazenly teasing him as though he were a pet rabbit.
Ye Ruan gave two aggrieved little sniffles.
Seeing that he was about to make him cry, Gu Cheng didn't dare push his luck any further.
"Little Bunny, I was just kidding. Is the rope hurting you? Want me to untie it for you, brother?"
Ye Ruan was furious, but his voice sounded pitiful and his eyes brimmed with tears:
"Bad wolf! You can't touch my tail!!!"
It was the first time Gu Cheng had been called that. Intrigued, he insistently squeezed in beside Ye Ruan.
"Why can't I touch your tail?"
Ye Ruan didn't answer. He glared at Gu Cheng with wet eyes, then suddenly leaned toward him.
Gu Cheng could have dodged, but he was curious what a rabbit pushed too far would do, so he stayed still.
Fluffy ears brushed Gu Cheng's cheek, and a sharp pain suddenly shot through his shoulder.
Gu Cheng hissed but let him bite.
So it really was true that even a rabbit would bite when pushed too far...
Only when Ye Ruan tasted iron did he pull back in alarm.
Gu Cheng chuckled and rolled his shoulder.
"Are we even?"
Ye Ruan ground his teeth in a show of ferocity, baring them at him.
If he had been in rabbit form, he would have arched his back by now, trying to frighten his enemy with what he considered his "fiercest" pose.
Gu Cheng lounged against the side, watching him with a faint, teasing smile.
The rabbit froze for a moment, his big, blinking eyes darting toward the wound seeping blood on the man's shoulder.
Ye Ruan muttered:
"We're even. Untie me."
"The commander told you to stay and help."
Gu Cheng leaned over and reached out to undo the rope around Ye Ruan.
"From now on, you're an unofficial member of our Team One. You have to listen to me."
Whenever Ye Ruan thought something over or felt nervous, he would tug at his ears.
His fluffy ears were pulled slightly out of shape.
"I won't agree without payment."
"Payment?"
Gu Cheng rubbed his chin and asked, "Carrots?"
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