Chapter 45: Don’t be seductive!
Qi He froze for several seconds.
A cool forehead rested against the hollow of his shoulder, making him shiver. But the breath that fell against his collarbone was hot, skimming over his skin.
Yan Chuanbai said… he was moved by him?
Qi He’s brain tried to analyze the statement, but stalled halfway.
The arm that brushed close seemed to grow warmer. As he stayed silent, a few strands of hair grazed him, tickling faintly.
After a pause, Qi He tilted his head and asked, “…Are you feeling unwell?”
“……”
Yan Chuanbai straightened up, half-smiling. “He, you’re frighteningly sober.”
Qi He’s words caught in his throat — so that means, he was serious?
Why? he wondered. “Is it because I saved you?”
Yan Chuanbai gave a soft laugh. “Not for such a shallow reason.”
His feelings had begun much earlier than that.
Qi He lowered his gaze, recalling, “Then… was it because of that ‘accident’ in the training room?”
“Accident?” Yan Chuanbai raised a brow.
Bracing one hand beside him, he looked at Qi He. “I suppose you could call it an accident… After all, I hadn’t planned to reveal myself so soon. But you said you could bear all of me—”
There was still a trace of predatory sharpness in his eyes. To say something like that, in this kind of situation—
Qi He’s heart skipped a beat.
Then Yan Chuanbai’s gaze softened slightly; the familiar, lazy smile returned to his face, but his tone was unusually earnest:
“Just like how numbers only have meaning because of certain people—my feelings are the same. They exist only… because of you.”
An unguarded gaze fell upon him.
Qi He’s fingers twitched. The sensation of being kissed on the side of his neck surfaced again—hot, soft, lingering…
So Yan Chuanbai had wanted to kiss him from the start?
He steadied his breathing for a couple of seconds. “System.”
In his mind came a held breath: […Hm?]
Qi He said, “That’s the longest thing Yan Chuanbai’s ever said that wasn’t praise for Guang Shang.”
[……]
The system silently shut its eyes.
They exchanged a quiet look.
Then the communicator suddenly beep beep!—twice. Qi He glanced down and took it out. “I’m getting a message.”
Yan Chuanbai withdrew a little, giving him space. “Mm.”
The bluish-purple markings along his cheek were fading visibly to the naked eye, and color was slowly returning to his lips. Still, full recovery would take a while longer.
Qi He relaxed his shoulders slightly and opened the message.
It was from Meng Yan:
[I’ve been busy and just got a breather. By now, the serum should’ve arrived, right? [exhausted emoji]]
Qi He replied:
[Already injected it—didn’t expect it to get here so fast.]
Meng Yan sent back:
[You said you needed it urgently, so I asked Miss Yu Jiang for help. The original sample wasn’t taken in a sterile environment, but luckily her purification ability handled that. The infirmary also had Brother Yan’s latest medical data, and with Xia Jiu’s analysis, we skipped quite a few steps.]
As Qi He typed his response, a voice came from beside him. “Something wrong?”
“It’s Meng Yan,” Qi He said. “She’s talking about the serum.”
Yan Chuanbai’s eyes lingered briefly on Qi He’s lowered lashes and the clean lines of his face, his gaze softening. “The serum… when did you start preparing it?”
“There wasn’t really a plan,” Qi He replied. “I just have a habit of collecting props that might come in handy.”
“Props?” The unusual choice of wording brought a flicker of amusement to Yan Chuanbai’s eyes.
Qi He didn’t notice his look; he was still replying to Meng Yan.
Meng Yan: [But why did Brother Yan use the serum instead of the antibody? And why so urgently?]
Qi He thought for two seconds, then replied: [That’s just one of his body’s mysteries.]
Meng Yan: [???]
System: [……]
—
His random answer successfully cut off Meng Yan’s line of questioning.
Luckily, she seemed to get busy again, and the conversation stopped there.
Qi He put away the communicator.
When he looked up, his gaze met Yan Chuanbai’s.
The earlier confession rose back to the surface of his mind.
It was the first time Qi He had ever encountered such a straightforward confession. Those in the past had felt either frivolous or perfunctory. But Yan Chuanbai was different—he seemed serious.
His heartbeat quickened—just a little, barely noticeable.
Yan Chuanbai looked at him and suddenly smiled. “Does my confession make you uncomfortable?”
That smile sparked a flash of competitiveness in Qi He.
He steadied himself. “Of course not.”
“Good.” Yan Chuanbai’s expression relaxed.
The bluish lines on his face had almost completely faded now, revealing sharp, handsome features. The veins on the back of his slender hand were faintly visible beneath the skin. “I confessed to you simply because, in that moment, I suddenly wanted to say it—”
“You don’t have to think about how to respond.”
Yan Chuanbai met his eyes. “But from now on, I hope you’ll interpret everything I do as… me expressing my affection for you.”
Qi He’s breath hitched slightly before he nodded. “…I’ll try to change my preconceptions about you.”
“……”
[……]
Outside, the sky was gradually darkening.
In the dim, hazy light, even the faint trace of blue along Yan Chuanbai’s cheek had nearly vanished. He stood up, lips curving slightly. “Mm. Let’s head back.”
Qi He rose and followed.
The two walked one after the other, Qi He keeping half a step behind. As he glanced at Yan Chuanbai’s profile ahead of him, a long, weary sigh echoed in his mind:
[So this day… has finally come…]
The system’s voice was manic, almost laughing and crying at once: [He, Hehe… forget it. The world’s already gone mad anyway.]
“…”
Qi He took a moment to process, then asked sharply, “You knew?”
The system gave up all pretense: [Yeah.]
It waited, expecting to be questioned or accused—but Qi He didn’t do either.
Instead, Qi He asked calmly, “Is there anything else you know that I don’t?”
[?] The system exploded: [Don’t say insulting things like that in such a natural tone!!!]
After a short thunderstorm of indignation—
They happened to reach the city gates. The guards stationed there called out, “Colonel Yan, Mr. Qi!” The faint blue marks on Yan Chuanbai’s neck went unnoticed. He nodded and walked inside.
The system’s mood brightened again, sighing with admiration: [Still, I can’t believe you actually thought to prepare a serum.]
Qi He’s lips curved slightly. “From the way I can exploit story bugs, it’s clear that the main program’s judgment criteria are mechanical—it doesn’t allow stable structures to enter Yan Chuanbai’s body. So even though that sugar cube wasn’t resistant, he still couldn’t eat it.”
His gaze gleamed faintly. “But it’s precisely that mechanical logic that gave us a sliver of hope.”
Antibodies couldn’t enter his body—but if they entered his blood outside the body, that was fine.
The system was stunned for several seconds. This bug… he actually managed to exploit that.
[……You’re insane.]
…
They had to report to headquarters early the next morning.
Qi He returned to the garrison room with Yan Chuanbai. After dinner and a quick wash, they began preparing to rest.
There was only one bed inside.
Standing beside it, Yan Chuanbai glanced at Qi He’s still somewhat pale face. “You sleep on the bed tonight.”
Qi He set his gun down by the headboard. “The bed’s big enough—two people can fit.”
There was a pause behind him. “Without proper testing, we still can’t be sure the virus is completely gone.”
“And besides—” Yan Chuanbai lifted his eyelids, a faint, teasing smile playing on his lips. “Now that you know how I feel about you, you still want to share a bed with me?”
Qi He blinked and turned his head.
Yan Chuanbai stood two steps away. It was as if the mutation he’d gone through had stripped away any remaining restraint—his presence filled the narrow space, radiating quiet pressure.
A shiver ran down Qi He’s spine, instinctive, like the stir before combat.
He met Yan Chuanbai’s eyes for a few seconds. “Your spiritual power must be at 4S now.”
“……”
The system quietly shut its eyes again.
After a brief silence, Yan Chuanbai smiled. It was hard to tell whether it was provocation or temptation as he said softly:
“When we get back… do you want to test it out?”
Qi He’s heartbeat quickened completely. “Sure.”
…
Having used his ability twice in a short span, Qi He was indeed exhausted. He didn’t argue further and took the bed.
By the time he woke the next morning, daylight was already flooding the room.
Yan Chuanbai was just getting up from the sofa.
The frost that had once covered him was gone.
He now looked entirely normal, fastening the buttons of his uniform. Placing his cap on, Yan Chuanbai said,
“Headquarters personnel will arrive any minute.”
Qi He promptly swung his legs out of bed.
The rendezvous point was still the lounge in the middle of the city.
When Qi He and the others arrived, Xi Moqing, Le Yunyu, and the rest were already there. Tang Ying, the last remaining S-rank in F City, was also waiting.
After a brief exchange of greetings, Yan Chuanbai turned to Le Yunyu. “Where’s the team from Headquarters?”
“They’re almost here,” Le Yunyu replied. “Yang Cheng’s leading the squad to take over Base III.”
Each base required one S-rank combat-type from headquarters to be stationed there. Aside from Zhuge Dun, who was in charge of the main defense, the only two other combat-types were Yang Cheng, a wood-type, and Le Yunyu, a fire-type.
“I thought you’d be the one staying here,” Yan Chuanbai remarked.
Le Yunyu sighed lightly. “That was the original plan. But Yang Cheng said I should go back to Headquarters—he…”
Before he could finish, sounds came from outside.
The door opened, and Yang Cheng entered, leading a group of military personnel.
The room immediately fell silent as everyone stood at attention.
Both sides saluted formally. Then Yang Cheng lowered his hand and announced, “Yang Cheng, Headquarters—3S-rank, combat division. As of today, I’ll be stationed at Base III.”
Base III was unlike the other two completed bases; it was located underground in the northern borderlands, still in the early stages of reconstruction.
Yan Chuanbai glanced at him. By rank, he was Yang Cheng’s superior.
“I heard you volunteered for this assignment,” he said.
“I did,” Yang Cheng replied. “Compared to fire-types, underground cities suit wood-types better.”
Standing before them, Yang Cheng drew in a slow breath—his face reddening slightly from emotion—then said,
“I feel ashamed of the arrogance and shallowness I once had.”
“All for the people.”
When his words fell, the room was silent for several long seconds.
Many of those present had participated in the original rank evaluations, and their eyes showed faint traces of emotion. Tang Ying, though unaware of the full story, also felt a surge of awe and excitement.
This—this was what it meant to be part of the military.
In the solemn, stirring atmosphere—
A sudden ding! sounded in Qi He’s mind:
[Ding! Key story event is about to begin. Please prepare yourself, Host.]
Qi He: “…”
System: [……]
System: [I—I forgot to clear my cached data.]
Since the mission no longer mattered anyway, Qi He said, “Then pull it up. Let’s see.”
The final script loaded.
System summarized the setup:
『After discovering you were infected, you hid the truth, claiming to be unwell. When your teammates tried to help you, you secretly cut their skin. No one noticed, and the team safely returned to F City.』
『But after just one night, everything changed.
Those teammates you infected all mutated into zombies and burst out of their quarters, attacking the city. More and more people were infected, and the military soon traced everything back to you.
At that moment, you tried to turn the tables—exposing Yan Chuanbai’s true condition!
You claimed that as a 3S-rank ability user, his contagion level was too high, and that you yourself had been infected by him▇▇▇▇』
Qi He’s gaze landed on the words “3S-rank” in the script progress bar. “Next page.”
『Your accusation threw the military into chaos!
With the city in turmoil and panic spreading, the hard-won stability of F City once again teetered on the brink of collapse.
And just then, Yan Chuanbai—who had been in self-isolation—appeared. His outward appearance had already become indistinguishable from a zombie, yet as his spiritual power surged, every zombie rampaging through the city suddenly froze and turned toward him, gathering as if under command.』
『Yan Chuanbai became the Zombie King. 』
Qi He and the system silently stared at the line of text that matched their expectations exactly.
『F City has been defended, but your crimes are now exposed to everyone. Infected by the virus, and having caused the military to lose one of its strongest ability users, you have no chance of survival.
In the end, you finally met your own dea▇▇▇▇.』
Qi He narrowed his eyes. “…As expected.”
According to the plot, this was the point where he was supposed to die.
Even though he hadn’t actually been infected, his body would still be forcibly put into a “death” state to match the script.
He didn’t move, merely watching as the military personnel before him stayed behind to handle post-battle matters, while everyone else prepared to leave.
The storyline had already exceeded its time limit, yet no punishment had fallen.
One by one, the people around him dispersed.
The system asked curiously: [If you don’t die, how would you play out this part of the story?]
Qi He replied casually, “I could improvise with ease.”
Just then, Yan Chuanbai turned around and asked, “Aren’t you leaving?”
Qi He’s thoughtful gaze landed on him.
The system’s alarm blared: [Wait—he’s harboring impure intentions toward you, don’t go acting all seductive now!]
—————————————————————————————
Author’s Note:
Qi He: Without the constraints of the plot, I have to suppress my true nature now. [shrugs]
Yan Chuanbai: Don’t hold back. I can handle all of you. [kiss]
Qi He: [glasses emoji] ?
