"What happened? Why are you laughing so hard?"
Gu Cheng and the others came over, with Li Rang pushing Fang Ci.
Yu Jingjing shrugged. "Nothing. We were talking about the universe, wondering when we'd get to take a trip into outer space."
Gu Cheng laughed. "Pretty ambitious. You've even got your sights set on outer space."
Fang Ci said gently, "That's what she likes. What's strange about it?"
"But," Lu Jiayi spoke up, "the world isn't safe anymore. When would we ever get the chance?"
Ye Ruan lowered his lashes, seemingly thinking about something.
Gu Cheng waited a moment and was just about to ask when Ye Ruan finally spoke:
"If they can create Special Persons, then completely wiping out these monsters should only be a matter of time, right?"
There was something about Ye Ruan: he was resilient, and once he believed in something, he never doubted it again.
Perhaps he was lucky, but the things Ye Ruan believed in always came true.
Gu Cheng murmured his agreement, meeting Ye Ruan's eyes.
"They will."
Even if the monsters kept merging and growing stronger day after day.
As long as humanity survived, nothing was impossible.
This world hadn't completely fallen apart.
Yu Jingjing hopped cheerfully off the motorcycle. "Exactly! I'm the most powerful black cat! One swipe of my claws, and those monsters will be sliced in two!"
Caught up in her little performance, Yu Jingjing made a finger gun and fired at Fang Ci, then blew across the muzzle.
Looking utterly resigned, Fang Ci slumped in his wheelchair and closed his eyes, playing dead.
Gu Cheng teased her. "Girl, look. Even Little Ye Ruan can't stand watching."
Ye Ruan blinked his clear red eyes, looking perfectly innocent.
"There's that innocent face again. If you didn't have those rabbit ears, I'd suspect you were a little fox."
"You're a big bad wolf," Ye Ruan muttered indignantly.
Gu Cheng gave an unreadable smile and pulled Ye Ruan into his arms.
After spending the past few days practically glued to each other, Gu Cheng rested his hand on the little rabbit's waist as naturally as could be.
The others: "..."
Yu Jingjing was stunned. "Captain, Little Ye Ruan, you... you two..."
Gu Cheng glanced at Fang Ci. He didn't really want to hurt his friend's feelings, but he still had to stake his claim.
"That's right. So don't get any ideas about the rabbit from now on."
Ye Ruan was easily embarrassed. Once he grew shy, the redness seemed to spread from the corners of his eyes, flushing his cheeks and neck.
Fang Ci took one look at him and understood everything.
Lu Jiayi silently patted Fang Ci's shoulder.
Fang Ci smiled gently and said softly, "Congratulations."
Of course it hurt, but Fang Ci had known from the beginning that his secret crush would never lead anywhere.
That evening, Gu Cheng took a bowl to the cafeteria and brought back a few roasted potatoes.
Hu Fu had set aside three rooms for them. A few floors above, the survivors were crowded together in shared sleeping quarters.
Ren Fei'er was a child, after all, and such a cute little girl that a group of aunties were vying to look after her. Ye Ruan didn't have to worry too much about her.
The First Team's rooms were next to Lou Yu and Song Ting's.
But perhaps that swing of Ye Ruan's tray had knocked some sense into Lou Yu, or perhaps Lou Yu felt genuinely guilty toward the rabbit; Lou Yu returned to the room at a different time to avoid them.
"With Lou Yu helping train these survivors, we can just enjoy the results."
Gu Cheng washed his hands and peeled a potato for Ye Ruan.
"We're all heading back together anyway. Saves us some trouble."
The table was piled with food.
Rice balls, dumplings, noodles, self-heating hot pots, and even burgers and pizza.
Yu Jingjing clicked her tongue. "Holy... crap. How much stuff do you have in there?"
Ye Ruan tugged at his hair twice. "Lots and lots. The week before we left for City H, Mom and I went out and bought loads of food."
Li Rang was cradling a tub of White Elephant Old Hen Soup Instant Noodles, slurping away happily.
Drawn by the smell, Lu Jiayi kept glancing over. In the end, he shamelessly asked Ye Ruan for a tub of the same noodles.
Yu Jingjing laughed and scolded them. "Are you two nuts? All this food, and you're eating instant noodles?"
Li Rang said, "These smell amazing. This is exactly what I've been craving."
"It's chicken soup! I haven't had chicken soup in ages. What's wrong with having this to remind me of the real thing? It's a budget substitute."
Lu Jiayi peeled back the paper lid. "Oh man, this is just what I wanted."
"Such lofty aspirations." Yu Jingjing rolled up a slice of pizza and stuffed it into her mouth.
They had set up the table in Yu Jingjing and Fang Ci's room. It was cold in late autumn, so they kept the door shut.
When a knock came, Yu Jingjing, who was sitting closest to the door, ran over to open it.
Lu Jiayi quickly covered the burgers and pizza and stowed them in a cabinet to one side.
Xia Yue smiled faintly. "Am I interrupting?"
"No, not at all." Yu Jingjing invited her in. "Come have something to eat with us."
Xia Yue was astonished when she saw the table. "Wow, what a feast."
"Here, sit." Lu Jiayi eagerly offered her his chair.
Xia Yue waved her hands. "No, it's fine. You carry on eating. I heard Captain Gu was back, so I came to check in on behalf of the survivors."
Gu Cheng was peeling a second potato for Ye Ruan. He gave a scoff:
"That old man Zhao Quan forced you to come, didn't he? To see where I stand, or whether I'm acting normal?"
Xia Yue closed the door and nodded:
"Yes. He thinks you'll listen to me. He also wanted me to persuade you not to take the people from Hu Fu's factory."
Fang Ci set down his chopsticks. "Hasn't he teamed up with Hu Fu?"
"He has, but Hu Fu's the one sucking up to Zhao Quan."
Xia Yue sat on the edge of Yu Jingjing's bed.
"Hu Fu is only the manager of a little printing factory, after all. This is just a temporary stopover for Zhao Quan. He looks down on Hu Fu."
"He thinks the more people there are, the more of a burden they'll be."
Xia Yue frowned. "He said something once that I didn't quite understand. He said you weren't ordinary humans."
Everyone, including Ye Ruan, froze for a moment.
Zhao Quan actually knew that much?
Gu Cheng covered his mouth with his fist and coughed.
Lu Jiayi caught on and hurriedly grabbed a disposable bowl, filled it with mushroom and egg drop soup, and handed it over.
"Have some hot soup to warm up."
Xia Yue accepted it with both hands, her smile bright and lovely. "Thank you. This smells so good."
Gu Cheng picked up a dumpling and ate it. Only after a long while did he say:
"Last time, when Ruanruan killed Ren Bing, it scared Zhao Quan into behaving. That's why he didn't try anything underhanded. But we can't keep him around."
"Tonight?" The candlelight sparkled in Ye Ruan's eyes.
"Captain, I want to come too."
The moment there was talk of doing something bad, none of them could sit still.
"No, you don't. It's windy outside. Be good and go to sleep tonight."
Gu Cheng picked up a dumpling and plugged the little rabbit's mouth with it.
Fang Ci said gently, "Let's get some proper rest tonight. Zhao Quan won't make any rash moves for now, and he isn't capable of hurting us."
Gu Cheng said, "Right. All of you get a good night's rest. Tomorrow, you're coming with me to modify a few vehicles. I've got Zhao Quan's situation under control."
Yu Jingjing's eyes darted around. Suddenly remembering something, she took the dagger hidden inside her clothes and tossed it to Xia Yue.
"Thanks!" Xia Yue caught it.
"You're welcome," Yu Jingjing said.
After dinner, Gu Cheng went back to bed with his arm around Ye Ruan.
The moment they entered the room and he saw two single beds, Gu Cheng lost it.
"No! I'm not agreeing to separate beds!"
Ye Ruan glanced at the flimsy little bed frame. "With two people, wouldn't it collapse?"
Never mind two people-with Gu Cheng's sturdy build alone, one overly vigorous movement would probably wreck the bed.
Gu Cheng wrapped his arms around Ye Ruan's waist and whined, "How about I turn back into a wolf, and we sleep together?"
Ye Ruan covered his puckered lips with his fingers.
"Aren't you... even heavier as a wolf?"
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