Ye Ruan woke up in Gu Cheng's arms.
To be precise, it was weeping and shouting that forcibly dragged him out of the dark dreamscape.
"Awake?" Gu Cheng's eyes were bloodshot, and he hurriedly hoisted Ye Ruan upward.
Ye Ruan turned his head with great effort to look-people were coming and going before him.
"What's going on?"
Gu Cheng wiped his face, his voice hoarse, "Many survivors were infected, and Yu Jingjing and the others are dealing with the infected."
"The people over there are blocking them from acting, crying their hearts out."
Ye Ruan's fingers wiped away the ash smeared on Gu Cheng's face, pressing his forehead against Gu Cheng's.
"Are we getting close to the defense line?"
"Almost. Once everyone rests for a bit, we'll set off again in the afternoon. Before dark, as long as there are no accidents, we can leave this ghost place."
Ye Ruan murmured an acknowledgment, looping his arms around Gu Cheng's neck to hold him tight.
Ruanruan...
Gu Cheng tightened his arms.
After surviving a catastrophe, the person he loved was still by his side.
He was very lucky.
"Don't take my daughter away! I'm begging you, I'm begging you!"
"Big sister, she's already been infected..."
Yu Jingjing choked out, "Do you really want to watch her wander around here forever?"
The woman fell silent for a long time, suddenly letting out a heart-wrenching cry.
For a moment, suppressed and stifled cries rose and fell one after another.
Gu Cheng cupped his palm over Ye Ruan's ears, waiting for a long time until things grew somewhat completely quiet.
"Does it still hurt?"
Ye Ruan moved his shoulder. "Not as much."
Actually, it still hurt. A chunk of flesh had been carved out; the wounds of Special Persons healed quickly, but missing a piece of flesh like this wouldn't heal properly in just a few days.
"Your face is as white as paper, and you're still lying."
Gu Cheng pinched Little Bunny's cheek, his face full of exhaustion.
Ye Ruan raised his eyes to look at him. Above, the trees were lush and green, and suddenly a wisp of sunlight broke through the dark clouds, a pillar of light illuminating the earth.
"The sun."
Gu Cheng looked up. "A good omen. The haze has scattered, and we're all alive."
"Ugh, I'm exhausted..."
Yu Jingjing collapsed onto the ground, resting her head on Ye Ruan's stomach.
"Grief is grief, why are you scratching people?"
Gu Cheng kicked this lazy cat away with one foot. "Go on over there, build a fire, and cook a pot of vegetable soup to divide among everyone."
Yu Jingjing didn't want to move a muscle. "Find someone else. Today, whoever makes me get up from this patch of grass, I'll fight them to the death."
Fang Ci collapsed under a tree a few steps away from them. "It's midday. Delay any longer and we won't get out of City H today."
Li Rang said, "Then we'll get out tomorrow. I'm exhausted..."
Having spent a day and a night killing zombies and throwing bombs, not to mention dealing with the infected, all of them were dead tired.
Right now, even if they were starving, they didn't want to twitch a muscle.
Looking around, people were sprawled everywhere.
Over on that side, Lu Jiayi was still looking quite full of life, his gaze tinged with shyness as he looked at the girl in front of him who was bandaging his wound.
Xia Yue said, "It's a good thing you weren't bitten by a zombie. Thanks for your help yesterday, but you should take care of yourself from now on. I'm of no use, I'm not worth it."
Lu Jiayi panicked. "How could you not be worth it? Everyone is human, plus I have an obligation to save you."
Xia Yue withdrew her hand and smiled. "Thank you."
Lu Jiayi blushed, belatedly realizing that going shirtless wasn't very elegant, and he slightly arched his body as he turned sideways.
"Look at Sixth Brother and that completely giving-it-away look." Gu Cheng laughed.
Fang Ci sneered, "Captain, look at yourself before talking about others."
Gu Cheng's skin was truly thick. He interlaced his fingers with Ye Ruan's and brought them to his lips, kissing a slender, fair knuckle on Little Bunny.
Pity that Ye Ruan had fallen asleep again and couldn't blush.
The brothers were all slacking off, so only the captain had to step up.
Gu Cheng took off his jacket for Ye Ruan to use as a pillow, then got up himself to pick up tree branches and build a fire.
When Ye Ruan had rested enough and woke up, he discovered they had changed locations.
The overnight spot Gu Cheng had found this time was extremely secluded, located in a remote Construction Site.
It was surrounded by blue sheet metal; the space wasn't large, but it was very safe.
Li Rang and Lu Jiayi went out to patrol the vicinity and only saw a few ordinary zombies.
Ye Ruan returned inside the Biohazard Vehicle, took the Communicator out of his pocket and looked at it for a moment, hesitating a few seconds before putting it on his ear and turning it on.
"Target has been safely rescued, requesting early return."
This Communicator, which Gu Cheng originally thought had run out of battery, now rang with crackling sounds of current.
A moment later, a voice transmitted from the Communicator.
"Early return permitted."
Once the survivors were settled, the several of them came inside the Biohazard Vehicle, and a rich aroma of food drilled straight into their noses.
Yu Jingjing let out a meow and threw herself down beside the small dining table.
"Beef noodles!!!"
"And beef noodles with extra ingredients! So much meat!"
Ye Ruan was currently laying out the chopsticks, offering a soft smile to the several of them. "We've been tired for so long, let's eat something good today."
Gu Cheng squeezed in beside Ye Ruan, his palm rubbing the back of Ye Ruan's head stroke by stroke. "My bunny is so considerate."
Ye Ruan's body stiffened, and he said nothing.
Yu Jingjing impatiently picked up her bowl and began to eat. "Oh mother, it's so delicious!"
The beef noodles were indeed fragrant. After gnawing on dry and choking biscuits for two days, eating this bowl of meat-rich noodles made their hearts feel comforted, cozy, and warm.
Ye Ruan gave the majority of the meat in his bowl to Gu Cheng, slowly chewing his greens as he savored the lingering taste.
At first, nothing seemed amiss, until after Gu Cheng had eaten half a bowl of noodles and noticed that Little Bunny hadn't touched a single strand of noodle.
"What's wrong? Is somewhere uncomfortable?"
Gu Cheng reached out to pull him in. "Should Older Brother feed you?"
Ye Ruan closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his red eyes were damp.
"I'm not hungry..."
Noticing that something was clearly wrong with Little Bunny, Gu Cheng seemed to realize something.
At the same time, Gu Cheng felt his limbs go numb, unable to muster a shred of strength.
With a smiling tone, Gu Cheng asked, "Did you drug the noodles?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the several others were all stunned.
Knowing he couldn't keep it from Gu Cheng, Ye Ruan hadn't planned on hiding it either.
The drug took effect, and Yu Jingjing and the others collapsed one after another.
Yu Jingjing was dumbfounded, staring blankly at the sunroof of the vehicle:
"Little Ye Ruan, what are you trying to do?"
Fang Ci listed sideways, leaning against his wheelchair, his eyes filled with incomprehension.
"I drugged the noodles."
Ye Ruan's gaze drifted, not daring to look at anyone. He leaned over, wrapped his arms around Gu Cheng's waist, and dragged him up so his back rested against the seat.
Gu Cheng wasn't surprised either, his deep eyes gazing fixedly at Ye Ruan. Even though he had been deceived, he remained deeply affectionate.
He had promised Little Bunny that even if the rabbit tricked him or hurt him, he would never get angry.
Gu Cheng asked, "What do you want?"
Ye Ruan pulled out a blanket and draped it over him, meticulously tucking in the corners of the blanket before saying flatly, "Li Tuantuan."
Before Gu Cheng could speak, Lu Jiayi grew anxious.
"You drugged us just to fight over this little bit of military merit? We've been through life and death together all the way here, and we're worth less than this lousy military merit?!"
"Ye Ruan! You goddamn heartless bastard!" Li Rang roared with grievance.
Ye Ruan's body stiffened. He didn't dare turn back, a mist of water welling up in his eyes as he locked gazes with Gu Cheng.
He still felt a sense of guilt toward Gu Cheng, which was why he had gone to block it when the White Phosphorus Bomb fragment fell.
"I'm sorry, I have to take Li Tuantuan away. He's very important to me."
Gu Cheng was utterly weak, unable even to twitch a finger.
He couldn't bear to be harsh with Little Bunny, especially since Ye Ruan's face was pale right now and his brows remained tightly knitted, showing that his wound was still hurting.
"Older Brother never said he would blame you. Since he's useful to you, take him with you, but... Ye Ruan, you cannot leave me. We're going back together."
Ye Ruan was silent for a moment. "No, I can't go back with you."
The rabbit looked soft and fuzzy, but its personality was actually stubborn; whenever something happened, it would secretly shoulder it all alone.
Realizing that his wife was dead set on abandoning him and running away.
Gu Cheng sighed, negotiating in a deadpan manner.
"How about I go with you to the Third Team? I'll marry into your family; I won't be the First Team captain anymore. You'll take me with you, okay?"
Fang Ci's face darkened. "You really dare say that."
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