The atmosphere was strange. Shi Yuxing felt his skin crawl under that stare and quietly shifted his gaze. The Lin brothers’ mouths hung wide open. The little girl in Lin Anran’s arms, not understanding what was happening, stuffed the toy’s hand into Lin Anran’s mouth.
“Ahem—!” Lin Anran was suddenly stuffed full of fuzz. Only then did everyone snap out of their shock. They looked at each other, no one daring to speak. The corridor echoed with scattered footsteps drawing nearer.
“Come here.” Gu Lingzhou parted his lips toward Shi Yuxing, his voice suppressing anger, like thunderclouds hiding rolling booms overhead. Xiao Zhou stepped forward to shield Shi Yuxing. Gu Lingzhou frowned, his expression cold. He stared straight at Xiao Zhou, who held his ground, blocking Shi Yuxing completely like a hen protecting her chick.
The tense, confrontational low pressure made it hard to breathe. Gu Lingzhou’s black boots crushed the dust on the floor. His sharp brows and eyes pierced through the barrier. Shi Yuxing was pinned by those bottomless dark eyes, his eardrums pounding with his heartbeat.
Gu Lingzhou’s features were exceptionally defined—his forehead, brow bones, nose bridge—each could be displayed as a successful plastic surgery case. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that if Gu Lingzhou stood on a street corner, talent scouts would sniff him out from miles away. Even if he weren’t a General, his value wouldn’t be low.
For a moment, Shi Yuxing didn’t know whether he was too afraid to move under his husband’s gaze or simply so lost in Gu Lingzhou’s handsome face that he forgot to breathe.
By the time he came to his senses, Gu Lingzhou’s nose was already touching his. A brief, scorching breath hit his philtrum. His lips carried a faint metallic tang, along with the bitter taste of ash. Shi Yuxing’s tea-colored eyes showed more white. Gu Lingzhou placed one hand on his lower back and the other behind his head—and in front of everyone’s stunned stares, he crashed hard into Shi Yuxing’s lips.
Xiao Zhou was pushed back a couple of steps. “Hiss—you—” He steadied himself and looked up to see the scene. His blood rushed with such fury he nearly choked. “&^%$#” Whatever Xiao Zhou said after that, Shi Yuxing couldn’t hear anymore. Gu Lingzhou’s lips were rough, nowhere near as soft as before. His kiss erupted like a volcano—urgent and scorching.
“Haa…” Gu Lingzhou rested his forehead against Shi Yuxing’s, breathing lightly. Up close, a faint tremor could be seen in those thick lashes. Shi Yuxing’s light-colored pupils looked at him at a loss—like a cat that had done something wrong only to be gently stroked by its owner instead. There was surprise in his eyes, and bewilderment. In a flash, they filled with shyness and annoyance. Mindful of the crowd, Shi Yuxing pressed his lips tightly shut and said nothing, only widening his eyes to show his embarrassment and irritation.
Gu Lingzhou stroked his face, wiping away a smudge of ash on his cheek, and asked softly: “Are you hurt?” Shi Yuxing gave a slight shake of his head, still keeping his lips sealed.
The alpha took a deep breath. Shi Yuxing was covered in fir pheromones—it was impossible to tell if it was his or the other two alphas’. Gu Lingzhou’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “What did you tell me in your message?”
Shi Yuxing dared not speak even more. He blinked nervously. After a long moment, seeming to realize he couldn’t escape punishment, he changed the subject and murmured in a voice only the two of them could hear: “Hubby, my lips kind of hurt.” He blinked his watery eyes twice, playing pitiful.
Gu Lingzhou straightened up. The patch of skin on his forehead that had been pressed against Shi Yuxing’s was left with a faint red circle. His gaze deepened. “Let me see.” Shi Yuxing raised his chin and leaned his mouth forward. His forehead bore the same faint red circle as Gu Lingzhou’s. Gu Lingzhou looked down, pinched his cheeks, and forced Shi Yuxing’s lips into a pout. His moist, full lips looked plump and inviting—maybe from the force of the kiss, a little swollen.
Shi Yuxing made a “mmph” sound and frowned. “Yuh guh muh.” He reached up to pry at Gu Lingzhou’s fingers. The General pinched that soft flesh a couple more times before letting go.
He turned to the two who had failed to keep watch over the house cat, and said sharply: “You two brought him out?”
“It’s not their fault,” Shi Yuxing spoke up for them. “I came out on my own.” Da Ling still had wounds on his back. Xiao Zhou couldn’t beat Gu Lingzhou alone. Since a scolding—or worse—was inevitable after this, Shi Yuxing decided to take it all on himself.
Gu Lingzhou’s gaze fell back on his little liar. Shi Yuxing’s heart was racing, but his face stayed calm. He puffed out his chest with a what can you do about it expression. “I’m a doctor. I have no reason to hide. Only cowards hide.” Shi Yuxing swept his gaze over the people behind him—the elderly, the young, parents carrying the weight of their families, soldiers with guns protecting their country.
He looked back at Gu Lingzhou, righteous and determined. “You’re out front fighting monsters and protecting everyone. I’m in the rear rescuing people and protecting our small home. I don’t think I did anything wrong.”
He had sworn before everyone—to dedicate his life to serving humanity. His whole life was destined to be given to medicine. When disaster struck, he would step forward without hesitation.
After a long moment, Gu Lingzhou let out a breath. Emotions churned beneath his eyes. In the end, all his words turned into a hand landing on Shi Yuxing’s head. He ruffled Shi Yuxing’s soft hair, then turned to several subordinates at the tunnel entrance: “Check the area for any tunnels left by the Zerg.”
“Yes, sir!”
Several teams in uniform dispersed. Shi Yuxing raised an eyebrow at Da Ling and Xiao Zhou, as if to say: Handled.
Just then, a voice cut through the crowd of survivors: “Mommy, why are there three General Gu’s?” It was a child, holding his mother’s hand, pointing at the three tall, striking figures at the front.
The words “Handled” instantly cracked in half over Shi Yuxing’s head and crashed to the ground. Children say the darndest things. Shi Yuxing’s lips twitched as he scrambled for an excuse.
“Hey, Dr. Shi—those two robots of yours are pretty smart.” An unexpected voice came through. Shi Yuxing and Gu Lingzhou both looked over and spotted the scarred face hidden in the crowd.
Officer An tilted his neck and raised his hand casually: “Hey. We came over when we heard the shelter was hit.” His gaze flicked to the two figures he’d called robots.
“So they’re robots.”
“Rich people do things big, huh?”
“Shh—keep it down.”
“They’re robots!”
The chatter behind them let Shi Yuxing’s tense heart relax. Someone had helped him out. Shi Yuxing followed An Bao’s lead: “Officer An, are you hurt?”
An Bao smiled, very proudly: “Of course not. Those Zerg are clumsy and slow—couldn’t even scratch me.”
“But your phone’s totaled.” Gu Lingzhou blurted out.
The air went silent. Officer An’s lips flattened. He quickly stepped over to Shi Yuxing’s side and lowered his voice: “I help you out, and this is how your husband treats me?” Shi Yuxing shrugged and whispered back: “You can’t buy sincerity with sincerity, right?”
“Fuck.” An Bao cursed. The next second, he was yanked aside. Gu Lingzhou wrapped his arm around Shi Yuxing, his tone displeased: “Officer An, the Zerg aren’t eliminated yet. This place isn’t safe.”
An Bao forced out a smile: You just don’t want me near Shi Yuxing.
In just a few words, the ground beneath them shook again—Gu Lingzhou’s words becoming prophecy. Shi Yuxing’s head spun. He let out a small “ow,” then, while running in Gu Lingzhou’s arms, cursed him: “I told you not to say unlucky things!” And now it really wasn’t safe here anymore.
Gu Lingzhou kept one hand tightly around the person in his arms, using the other to direct the crowd to an open area in the center, away from unstable buildings. Shi Yuxing suddenly stepped on something protruding and froze. The person beside him noticed immediately, pulling him close and rolling to the side.
The moment they moved, the sound of cracking rock mixed with screams. Shi Yuxing’s lashes brushed against Gu Lingzhou’s breath. They exchanged a glance and looked at the bulging ground.
A scythe Zerg, slightly taller than Gu Lingzhou, emerged from underground—followed by a steady stream of smaller Zerg flooding out like water. The dense black mass was enough to make anyone’s skin crawl.
“Bang!”
“Bang bang!”
Gu Lingzhou reacted first, drawing his gun in a flash. His veined arm bulged with power as three straight lines sliced through the air, striking the Zerg’s foot, head, and back.
Other armed soldiers immediately followed up with cover fire, taking down the swarm on the ground. Sparks flew, smoke billowed.
After several rounds of emptied magazines, Zerg carcasses littered the ground. The crater wasn’t far from them. A soldier raised his gun and stepped forward to check, but was stopped by a hand. He turned: “General?”
“Don’t go yet!” Da Ling swallowed hard. Vague memories surfaced—something he’d forgotten was breaking through the haze. “There’s something else down there.”
Rocks bounced up and down. Smoke curled upward. In the chaos, someone fired a panicked shot into the dark pit. The hidden monster beneath was provoked—it burst out of the ground with a whoosh, the black crater widening with a crash. The earlier scythe Zerg was pushed out, and with a “crack,” half its body was bitten off by the creature emerging from below.
Shi Yuxing’s palms were sweating. He couldn’t tell if it was the earthquake or his own legs trembling. A double-headed mantis—what the hell was that?! A mutated species?! A monster unlike anything ever seen before had sprung from the earth!
Da Ling abruptly grabbed An Bao’s wrist. “Don’t shoot—ALL OF YOU, DON’T SHOOT!!!!!” He shouted at the other armed men behind him. “This Zerg—it can eat metal!”
The mutated mantis suddenly leaped up. The shadow on the ground shrank rapidly, then grew. In an instant, the earth shook, winds howled, buildings swayed and collapsed. Several people who couldn’t escape in time were crushed into pulp, blood spraying everywhere. Cries of despair and chaos merged into one.
Shi Yuxing braced himself on his hands, the soles of his feet numb from the tremors. He’d barely escaped, his chest heaving as he caught his breath—when he saw the double-headed mantis’s claw swinging straight down at the little girl clutching her plushie!
Leave a Reply