A stunning young model

Site 7, Area A staff cafeteria.

Shi Yaming was wolfing down his food. As he chewed, he glanced up at Zhou Ze, who sat across from him. After swallowing, he asked in puzzlement:

"Aren't you eating?"

The tray in front of Zhou Ze was piled high with untouched food. All he did was keep pouring cola into his stomach.

He put down his paper cup and gave a strained smile. "Not hungry..." he lied. "Speaking of which, where did Instructor Lu Fei go?"

"What? Not happy that I'm the one supervising you?" Shi Yaming raised his eyebrows teasingly. "Only the Instructor will do?"

"Not at all..." Zhou Ze gently stroked Zhu Qian, the half-cat curled up on his lap, and shrugged. "It's not like I get to be picky about this sort of thing."

Whatever else, having Shi Yaming watch him was better than some stranger with a poker face...

"I heard..." Shi Yaming glanced around before lowering his voice. "Apparently, the Instructor clashed with someone in the Site's upper management. He ended up in solitary confinement for 'violating discipline.'"

"Clashed?" Zhou Ze froze. "With whom?"

"That, I don't know..." Shi Yaming shoveled more food into his mouth and continued indistinctly, "It caused quite a stir. A lot of people got dragged into it."

"That serious?"

"You bet..."

Zhou Ze unscrewed a fresh bottle of cola and tipped his head back for a long swig before asking again, partly curious and partly fishing for information:

"By the way, Shi Yaming, how did you join the Containment Facility? Recruitment? Or selection?"

"I used to be in the special forces. Ah... I was still young back then..."

Shi Yaming wiped the grease from his mouth, a nostalgic look coming over his face as he spoke with a hint of regret:

"My squad leader said there was a chance to carry out important missions. Defending the country, saving the world, all that. He really got my blood pumping... I agreed without giving it much thought."

Zhou Ze couldn't help laughing. "What? Having regrets?"

"Not at all..." Shi Yaming waved a hand with an air of fiery conviction. "There's a fire burning in my heart! All I wanted was to join the Mobile Task Force and face all those bizarre anomalies head-on!"

"And then you chickened out because you were afraid to die?"

"Bullshit!" Shi Yaming glared at him. "I didn't make the cut!"

"Well, aren't you something..." Zhou Ze chuckled and shook his head, his fingers brushing gently over Zhu Qian's ears.

Across the table, however, Shi Yaming suddenly fell quiet.

After a long while, he sighed, his voice growing subdued. "Ever since I joined the Containment Facility, I've been thinking about it... How I'm going to die... Do you know the mortality rate among Containment Facility staff?"

Zhou Ze paused, shifted in his seat, and looked at Shi Yaming, ready to listen.

Only for the guy to scratch his head. "Actually, I don't remember either. It's really high, anyway..."

"You..." Zhou Ze didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"But..." Shi Yaming changed tack. "But I'm always hearing about people dying. All those faces, familiar or unfamiliar, could appear on the obituary board a few days later, leaving behind nothing but a black-and-white photo and a few lines of cold text."

Zhou Ze fell silent.

"You know what? The best death I can imagine is fighting some anomalous entity alongside my comrades until we're completely exhausted, and then having it tear me to pieces!"

Shi Yaming grinned, showing white teeth with bits of vegetables stuck to them.

Lunatic...

Zhou Ze couldn't bring himself to say it.

He suddenly remembered what Wang Lei had said.

The Containment Facility was a cold machine, but the gears that kept it running were made of living, breathing people.

Someone like Dai Yong'an was part of the Containment Facility, and so was someone like Shi Yaming.

And he, Zhou Ze, was somehow a fucking member of the Containment Facility too.

In the end, where you sit really does determine how you think...

Just as Zhou Ze was weighing his words, unsure what to say, he suddenly heard a series of clicks from the distance, like high heels striking a smooth marble floor. The sound was drawing closer.

Both men turned to look at the same time.

A blonde woman was walking toward them. She had exquisite features and wore a tight black leather outfit that outlined her perfect curves, with a pair of gleaming gold high heels on her feet.

At the sight, even Shi Yaming's chewing slowed. His mouth hung slightly open as he stared in her direction without blinking.

This was the Anomaly Containment Facility, for crying out loud! Not the set of a fashion magazine shoot!

What was a stunning young model like her doing here?!

The sexy, captivating woman stopped a short distance from their table. She folded her arms beneath her breathtaking bust and tilted her head to look their way.

The two men instinctively exchanged glances, each seeing confusion and questions in the other's eyes.

Because of Zhou Ze's unusual status, they had deliberately chosen an out-of-the-way table in a deserted corner of the cafeteria.

Had this hot blonde mistaken them for someone else?

"So cute..." The blonde suddenly spoke while looking at Zhou Ze, her voice soft and sweet. "May I give you a little pet?"

Zhou Ze paused and looked down at Zhu Qian, the half-cat sleeping lazily in his arms.

"Of course." Zhou Ze raised his head and answered with a smile.

He wasn't so clueless that he would turn down a request like that.

Across the table, Shi Yaming immediately shot him a resentful look, even shoveling his food with a little more force.

At his answer, the blonde chuckled and extended her long, fair right hand...

Then she gently stroked Zhou Ze's face. Her slender fingertips brushed his slightly stubbled chin before lightly touching his Adam's apple, then traveled up his neck to lift his chin.

"?"

"Pfft..."

Across from him, Shi Yaming, who had been drinking soup, couldn't help spraying it out.

"Cough, cough, cough..." He frantically pounded his chest, eyes wide, his lips trembling as he repeated, "Sorry, sorry..."

Zhou Ze was no inexperienced innocent, but even after living two lives, this was the first time he had encountered a move like this.

He stared blankly at the blonde in front of him. His lips moved a few times, but he couldn't get a single word out.

What the fuck was that?!

The blonde didn't prolong the almost teasing gesture. She withdrew her right hand, leaving it at that.

She turned to Shi Yaming and asked softly, "Sir, I'd like to sit here. Would you mind moving to the next table? Sorry for the trouble."

Shi Yaming froze, then shot Zhou Ze a teeth-gritting glare.

I'm your fucking minder! How could a mere request from a beautiful woman possibly sway me?!

"Oh... Sure..."

Shi Yaming nodded politely, rose, and carried his tray toward the empty table beside them.

The instant he turned away, his expression became utterly miserable.

The blonde sat elegantly across from Zhou Ze, crossed her left leg over her right, and brushed the toe of her shoe against his calf as though by accident.

Zhou Ze's eyelid twitched. He picked up his cola bottle, trying to ease the awkwardness.

"Are you Mr. Zhou Ze?" the woman asked, parting her red lips.

"...Yes."

"Mr. Zhou Ze..."

The woman clasped her hands beneath her chin and gazed at him affectionately with her bright eyes.

"Do you usually jerk off?"