Chapter 36: The Battlefield of the S-Ranks
However, neither of them paid him any attention.
Their spiritual energies collided, ice crystals layered and spread.
With the faint cracking sound of ice fissures, the entire laboratory seemed on the verge of collapse.
The smothered anger was successfully provoked; Yan Chuanbai’s aura was oppressive.
“Who is protecting you? Surely not you.”
Guan Shangchun returned the words to him unchanged: “Truthfully? Try and see if you don’t believe me.”
Yan Chuanbai’s gaze darkened, a sharp smile tugging at his lips.
“Alright then.”
Boom—!!!
Yu Tianxing was like a tiny boat tossed about in a raging storm. Hugging his precious instruments tightly with one arm, he used the other to frantically send a message to Qi He:
[They’re fighting! Where are you? Get to the lab, quick!]
“?”
Downstairs at the institute, Qi He looked at the message.
He tilted his head back toward the upper floors—the pure white walls reflected the sunlight, and from here, he couldn’t see what was happening inside the lab.
He hadn’t gone up so that Guan Shangchun could have a proper one-on-one battle without distractions.
But hadn’t they agreed that if things got out of control, he’d send him a message?
Qi He thought for a moment, then replied: [How bad is it?]
Yu Tianxing: [I can’t take it anymore.]
[……]
So he was the one who couldn’t take it.
Qi He thought of that poor laboratory, drew in a slow breath, and wondered—just how big were Yan Chuanbai’s emotional swings? Then he let the thought go.
The strong never complain about their environment—but sometimes, the environment complains about the strong.
He put away the communicator and lifted his gaze upward.
Then he raised one hand through the air, closed his fingers—
In the third-floor laboratory—
Boom!
A familiar surge of gravity came crashing down.
All the trembling instruments were suddenly pinned to the tables. Guan Shangchun bent down sharply, bracing himself against the edge just in time. Yan Chuanbai’s heart skipped—his body wavered under the sudden pressure before he steadied himself against the gravity.
The force lasted only a few seconds before it lifted.
The laboratory finally fell silent.
Yu Tianxing, clutching an armful of instrument parts, slowly let out a breath.
…
In the brief calm that followed the ceasefire—
Yan Chuanbai’s heartbeat was still a little fast. He lifted his eyes toward the doorway. Qi He’s here?
Guan Shangchun’s mental power had been crushed down, leaving him drained from their earlier clash. Yet he still felt an itch of unfinished excitement, and also turned his head toward the door—
Hadn’t he just realized he hadn’t even sent Qi Qi a message yet?
The layers of frost in the lab quietly melted away as they waited.
Moments later, the door opened.
Qi He’s figure appeared in the doorway. Both of them looked over at once—Yan Chuanbai’s gaze darkened, shifting slightly, while Guan Shangchun straightened obediently, eyes bright with anticipation.
Yu Tianxing looked as if he’d just seen a savior. “You’re finally here!”
The system, catching his expression, murmured bleakly: [He is no savior.]
Qi He ignored the system and first scanned the room.
The ice coating the surroundings was sublimating at a speed visible to the naked eye, gradually disappearing. It seemed that after his evolution, Yan Chuanbai had learned to control the ice’s temperature below its melting point—and could even affect the humidity of his environment to a certain extent.
“Qi Qi.”
“Qi He.”
Two voices called out at the same time, pulling his thoughts back.
He refocused, seeing Yan Chuanbai standing at the front, his calm gaze fixed on him.
“What are you doing here?”
Nearby, Guan Shangchun turned as well. “He just got really mad at me.”
Yan Chuanbai gave a low, cold laugh.
“Why don’t you tell him why?”
Qi He’s gaze shifted between the two of them.
“Why?”
He wanted to know too—just what exactly had Guan Shangchun done to provoke him?
But as soon as he spoke, both of them fell silent.
Qi He: “?”
…Were they excluding him now?
…Forget it. The reason wasn’t that important.
Since he was the one who had asked Guan Shangchun to handle things, he turned toward him instead and asked, “You’re not hurt, are you, Guan Shang?”
Guan Shangchun’s eyes shimmered softly. “I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“That’s good.”
Yan Chuanbai: “……”
His knuckles tightened, a dark current surging in his eyes.
‘Why isn’t Qi He asking about me?’
At the side, Yu Tianxing caught the expression on his face and, terrified that his precious equipment would once again die in the cradle, hurriedly said, “Uh—why don’t you guys… talk outside?”
Qi He immediately turned. “Let’s talk outside.”
—
In the hallway, the lab door closed behind them.
Qi He looked at the two standing before him.
Yan Chuanbai still carried traces of anger between his brows. Qi He knew he disliked Guan Shangchun—but he hadn’t expected the reaction to be this intense.
He hadn’t been part of the confrontation and couldn’t really judge, but since he was the one who had set things in motion behind the scenes, Qi He thought for a moment, then tried to calm him down:
“Don’t be angry. On Guan Shang’s behalf, I’ll apologize to you.”
The moment he said it, though, Yan Chuanbai’s expression only darkened further.
He looked straight at Qi He and let out a short, humorless laugh.
“Heh… And why are you apologizing for him?”
Qi He paused, the words catching in his throat.
He was just considering whether to admit that it had been his own idea in the first place, when the system appeared, sounding weak and resigned:
[If Yan Chuanbai finds out you were the one who told Guan Shangchun to provoke him, just be ready for all hell to break loose.]
Its tone carried a rare sense of certainty.
In the second Qi He hesitated, Guan Shangchun was already looking at him with dewy eyes, not refusing at all. “Qi Qi…”
Qi He made a snap decision—to calm Yan Chuanbai down first.
He thought for two seconds, then said to Yan Chuanbai, “You’re angry, and I’m sure you have your reasons.”
Yan Chuanbai’s temper seemed to ease a little, so Qi He continued, “If it’s nothing unforgivable, we still have to fight zombies together later. Let’s not waste our strength turning on each other.”
When the other said nothing, Qi He added the classic line: “Don’t… get yourself so worked up that you hurt your health.”
Guan Shangchun: “……”
System: [……]Ridiculous.
Yan Chuanbai’s fingers twitched slightly, as if brushed by a feather. He slipped his hands into his pockets and, after a moment, said, “Alright.”
…
Once he said “alright,” the matter was considered settled.
Qi He turned to Guan Shangchun.
“Your spiritual power’s overdrawn. Go get some rest too.”
Guan Shangchun nodded, but his gaze flicked toward Yan Chuanbai standing nearby, still wary.
“What about you, Qi Qi?”
“I’m going to the fax room. Meng Yan sent me something.”
“Then I’ll head to the military department,” Yan Chuanbai said.
The three of them were each going their separate ways.
The fax room was two floors down, while the military division was above. At the stairwell, Yan Chuanbai turned and went upstairs; Qi He descended to the second floor and entered the fax room.
Inside, it was empty.
He sent a quick message to Meng Yan, and soon after, the fax machine in front of him buzzed to life.
One sheet after another of activation reports slid out of the machine.
In the hum of buzz… ssshhh…, a door suddenly opened behind him.
Qi He assumed it was just someone else coming to print something—until he sensed the presence stop right behind him.
Just as Qi He tensed and started to turn around, an arm suddenly swept across him.
Bang— a palm landed on the edge of the desk in front of him.
As he turned, a familiar voice dropped from above.
“You’ve been defending him all day—afraid I might hurt him?”
Qi He lifted his gaze—and met Yan Chuanbai’s eyes head-on.
Yan Chuanbai had both arms braced on either side of him, trapping him between his body and the desk. His lowered gaze was dark, heavy with emotion. The expression on his cold, handsome face was faint, yet it carried an inexplicable sense of dominance.
Qi He’s lower back pressed against the edge of the table, his body arched slightly from the angle.
All at once, he remembered that time when Yan Chuanbai had kissed him.
By reason, the two moments were completely unrelated—but perhaps because of how close they were now, the memory surfaced anyway.
Qi He held his breath lightly. “…What?”
Yan Chuanbai’s arms tightened a little, closing the distance between them until they almost touched. His warm breath enveloped him as he murmured:
“Didn’t you say you wanted to be closer to me? Then why does it seem like you care more about him?”
He cared more about Guan Shangchun? Did he?
Qi He’s thoughts drifted, retracing the scene—he’d only asked if Guan Shangchun was injured when he entered. But afterward, hadn’t he also told Yan Chuanbai not to ruin his health?
In the heat pressing around him, his fingers curled slowly against the desk.
Yan Chuanbai seemed to lean even closer; the edge of his belt brushed against him.
“I’m asking you.”
Qi He’s mind refocused. The closeness made his pulse quicken slightly.
After a pause, he said, “Guan Shangchun’s spiritual energy and combat power can’t compare to yours. If anyone would get hurt, it’d be him.”
Something in those words seemed to please the man before him.
Yan Chuanbai raised an eyebrow slightly and eased back a bit. “Mm. True enough.”
Qi He glanced at the restored distance, then lifted a hand to push him away.
“…Are you interrogating a suspect now?”
His palm pressed lightly against Yan Chuanbai’s chest—he didn’t put much force behind it.
Yan Chuanbai leaned in against Qi He’s palm, his abdomen tightening slightly as he let out a soft laugh.
“No.”
In the next instant, he was close enough that his breath brushed against Qi He’s ear.
That scorching warmth made Qi He’s spine jolt, an instinctive shiver shooting up his tailbone. He barely suppressed the urge to throw the man off, twisting his head aside instead.
“Yan Chuanbai?”
But Yan Chuanbai didn’t move away.
“I know my limits,” he said quietly. “I won’t hurt him. But next time, don’t stand up for him again. Otherwise, it’ll make me think—”
His gaze lingered on Qi He’s neck, memory tugging at him—the feel of his lips there last time, the heat of that spot. He held himself back, only letting his breath fall against the skin, tinting it slowly red.
Qi He’s neck itched where the warmth brushed across, and he turned slightly away.
Then he remembered—that was exactly where he’d been kissed before.
“…Think what?”
He asked, but Yan Chuanbai didn’t answer.
Just as Qi He was about to push him away for real this time, the man moved. One hand reached past his back, and with a rustle, Yan Chuanbai picked up the freshly printed fax behind him and straightened up.
“Meng Yan sent you this?”
Qi He only then realized the report had finished printing.
He took the papers from him and skimmed through them immediately. “Mm.”
Yan Chuanbai watched him read so intently that the corner of his lips curved slightly.
“Then I’ll head out first,” he said, turning to push the door open. But at the threshold, he paused for a second and glanced back.
“The things you said—I remember all of them.”
“…?”
Qi He looked up, but the door had already clicked shut.
What?
His mind flipped through his past remarks—thicker than a dictionary—trying to pinpoint which one.
After a moment, the only thing that surfaced was what Yan Chuanbai had said earlier—closer to me.
Unconsciously, Qi He touched the side of his neck.
Come to think of it… wasn’t Yan Chuanbai supposed to be heading to the military department?
—
Those subtle gestures and words lingered in his mind for only a day.
Soon enough, they were replaced by more important matters.
The data on Yan Chuanbai’s ability fluctuations had arrived.
And conveniently, Qi He had nothing scheduled today.
He sat on the sofa in his apartment, papers spread out in a wide circle before him—some were the reports Meng Yan had sent, others were Guan Shangchun’s comparative “emotion-to-spiritual-energy” perception graphs.
Just as he’d suspected, it was a direct correlation.
The peaks of the curve were far lower than during his breakthrough in the training room. Once fully released, he might very well reach 4S… and by the later stage of the “story,” possibly even 5S.
Qi He leaned back against the sofa, blinking lazily. “System.”
The system had been unnervingly quiet lately, as if it had been poisoned into silence.
[…What is it?]
“Things have been too calm recently.”
His daily arguments hadn’t triggered any warnings lately, no key story events had appeared, and the base hadn’t faced a new wave of attacks in quite some time.
The system, however, was anything but calm. Its tone turned oddly sarcastic:
[Heh, maybe so, He.]
“……”
Qi He sat up, sounding almost concerned. “You’re in a bad mood? Your higher-ups giving you trouble? I can optimize them out for you.”
The system’s tone softened a little.
[…Hmph. No need.]
He was in the middle of consoling the system, which for some reason had entered an emo phase, when suddenly—outside the tall building—a piercing alarm blared:
“Beep—beep—beep-wooo—”
Qi He turned sharply. That sound meant the base had entered full defense mode.
At the same time, his communicator began to beep rapidly.
When he picked it up, two messages popped up one after another—from Yu Tianxing and Yan Chuanbai.
Yu Tianxing: “Get to the control room, fast.”
Yan Chuanbai: “Prepare for combat.”
Qi He: Prepare for combat?
He didn’t ask further. Grabbing the gun he always kept within reach, he slid it into its holster—and headed straight for the research facility.
…
As soon as he entered the main control room, he saw that both Yan Chuanbai and Yu Tianxing were already there, and Guan Shangchun and Yu Jiang had just arrived as well.
The moment Qi He looked up at the large screen, he saw a mass of red dots — densely packed and rapidly approaching.
He strode forward a few steps. “What—”
He stopped mid-sentence. The displayed map layout wasn’t Base I.
Yu Tianxing took a deep breath, his tone grave. “Headquarters is under attack.”
Everyone’s hearts sank violently.
Yu Tianxing quickly explained the situation:
“It’s a mutant swarm. The outbreak came without any warning. By the time the instruments detected it, it had already reached within 20 kilometers underground outside Headquarters.”
— Again, it came from beneath the ground, and this time, the scale was even greater.
“Headquarters is the heart of the nation.”
Yu Tianxing’s expression darkened. “No matter what, it cannot fall. We’ve been ordered to immediately deploy all S-rank combat and support units from Bases I and II to assist.”
“Both Base I and Base II are now entering full defense mode.”
Qi He glanced at the screen — the swarm’s approach speed was terrifying. At most, they had less than an hour left.
“How do we get there?”
Yan Chuanbai spoke up. “Each base has one small helicopter. Its energy supply is limited and it’s only to be used in emergencies.”
Qi He’s mind raced. ‘If I use Qiqi Aircraft, and Headquarters can hold out just a bit longer, we should make it in time.’
“Let’s go now.”
Yu Tianxing nodded. “Qi He, you and Yan Chuanbai go. Yu Jiang and I will stay to guard the base. Guan Shang…”
He paused. Guan Shangchun withdrew his gaze and said, “I’m going too.”
A perception-type ability user could be invaluable on the battlefield if used well.
Qi He only glanced at Guan Shangchun once before decisively turning to head out.
“Then we go together.”
The small helicopter was already parked behind the research institute.
Hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor and down the stairs.
Qi He looked straight ahead and said, as usual, to the person beside him, “Can’t you not go?”
Yan Chuanbai replied, “Then I won’t go.”
No system warning was triggered.
Looks like this wasn’t a key plot point. Qi He exhaled and said, “You’d better go, then.”
A few more steps brought them out the research institute’s front doors, where the blazing sunlight flooded their vision.
This would be the first large-scale joint battle among the three major bases.
On this battlefield, everyone’s abilities would be displayed in the most direct, unfiltered way—
Especially when it gathered all S-rank combatants together.
Ahead, the spinning rotor blades whipped up a strong gust of wind.
Qi He grabbed the boarding handle and leapt onto the helicopter.
Rank was merely a reflection of spiritual energy—but he was already thinking about how to push every person’s ability to its absolute limit.
—————————————————————
Author’s Note:
The S-Rank Battlefield:
① Refers to the first large-scale joint battle uniting all S-rank combat and support types from the three major bases.
② Specifically refers to: the Qi Qi Battle for Supremacy within Base I.
Qi He: “I’ll make sure everyone fights at their full potential.” [thumbs up]
Yu Tianxing: “You did. [collapsed]”
