Looking back
Milo felt as if he had been doused with cold water, and stammered, "What did you say?"
Aoi was also taken aback, so he simply laid it out: "Matsuhara Yuma, don't you remember him? Last month, he died in Taketo Port. When I went back, they told me he committed suicide because he was suspected of murder. But I know that his death must be because of you!"
"Who are you to Yuzhen?"
“You don’t need to know who I am to him. Just know that no one in the world loves you more than him! Yuzhen told me that he has someone in Wudong Port whom he is willing to protect with his life. I said I could take him away, but he refused. He said he wanted to stay by that person’s side because that person is pitiful.”
Aoi Tai said, his voice trembling with anger, "When I found out that the person he was talking about was you, before I could even finish what I was doing and go to you, you showed up at my door. Sure, you're very capable; you can make many rich and powerful people fawn over you. But why Yuuma of all people? He has nothing, yet he still lost his life in your game. Don't tell me you have no idea what he's thinking. Four years. Even if he's insecure, you're so smart, can't you really see that he loves you? Or are you just enjoying his love without any guilt?"
"It's so unfair." As he spoke, Aoi suddenly chuckled. "You don't have to reciprocate his feelings, but you can't fall in love with this person! He broke your bones. If you love him, you're betraying Yuuma!"
Milo was overwhelmed by these words, his breath caught in his throat, and a tingling sensation began to run through his body. Scenes of Yuuma's death flashed through his mind, and he forced himself not to lose his mind at this moment: "I will definitely give Yuuma an explanation for his death."
"Explain? How are you going to explain? Are you going to pay with your own life?!" After saying that, Aoi pressed his head, forcing himself to calm down. "I owe Yuuma a favor. I promised him that I would do it for him no matter what. He told me that I had to save you at least once, so no matter what, I will do my best to get you out of here."
Milo asked slowly, "Is this why you came aboard the plane with me?"
“Yuuma told me not to pressure you. Fine, I won’t pressure you, I’ll reason with you. The situation is this: if you keep him, we’ll die. If you throw him away, our chances of survival are much higher.” Aoi Tai’s tone shifted, and he stubbornly said, “But if you don’t agree, I’ll strangle him right now! The choice is yours!”
Milo's gaze fell heavily on Blaise on the ground, his tense jawline slowly relaxing, and his lips moved slightly: "Leave him some food."
Kui Tai deftly opened his tactical backpack, rummaged around for a bit, pulled out a few military-grade compressed biscuits wrapped in tin foil, and tossed them aside. The hard rations landed near Blaise's muddy feet, splashing up tiny mud droplets.
The intense moonlight, seemingly soaked by the rising moisture from the forest, pressed down heavily, turning the rainforest into a hazy silver-blue.
Milo turned around first, followed closely by Aoi.
Just as his view was about to be completely obscured by the trees, Milo inexplicably turned his head to the side, his gaze piercing through the gaps in the branches and leaves to the person on the ground.
A few stingy rays of moonlight pierced through, landing precisely on Blaise's face. His eyes were tightly closed, but his eyelashes trembled slightly.
He can't even fake being dead properly.
A cold, mocking thought flashed through Milo's mind.
Even if you can't hear anything, you can still tell they're leaving.
What if he opens his eyes and stops him?
The thought, like a vine, suddenly and unexpectedly entangled Milo's heart. He could even imagine the emotions that might be contained when those eyes opened. Most likely, overwhelming rage? Would he go mad and want to kill him and Aoi to vent his anger? This hypothetical scene played out repeatedly in his mind, over and over again, with an almost morbid expectation that even he himself found strange and dangerous.
However, the only sounds in the rainforest were the rustling of leaves in the wind and the mournful cry of an unknown owl in the distance; Blaze remained motionless in the same spot.
Milo's Adam's apple bobbed almost imperceptibly, then he turned and strode into the deeper darkness.
Aoi turned on his high-powered flashlight, then lowered the setting. The faint, bright white beam swept across the area, and twisted vines hung down from all directions, looming in the darkness like venomous snakes waiting to strike.
"Don't blame me," Aoi said softly. "If it were Yuuma, he would also want you to live."
Not hearing a sound, Aoi reluctantly added, "I know you're a good person. If you were bad, Yuuma wouldn't like you. So, you shouldn't be with that kind of person, and making this choice was the right thing to do."
Aoi stared intently ahead, then used his flashlight to sweep aside the vine curtain hanging in front of him. As the beam of light flickered, he instinctively turned around to check if Milo was following.
That one glance froze the blood in his body.
Without realizing it, all that remained behind him was an endless, thick darkness.
The flashlight beam pierced the void in vain, illuminating a few trembling leaves and a few jagged vines, while the figure that should have been following closely had completely vanished.
*
The wind is still.
Time also stands still.
The world was exceptionally quiet, without the slightest noise. He had never imagined that the world could be so peaceful after removing his hearing aid.
Blaise suddenly remembered that when he was a child, Sigon had taken him to a snake pit to kill snakes with his bare hands. He didn't want to; he couldn't bring himself to kill the pet he had raised. But Sigon told him that a beast is a beast. He killed the snake, skinned it, and as a reward, Sigon gave him a white python, but he never loved it as much as before, because he didn't know when he would lose it again.
Blaise's mind was hazy; he could vaguely sense that Milo had left. He felt he should reach out and hold him, yet he also felt an uncontrollable urge to be magnanimous.
Let's just pretend to let go this once.
Pretend to let him go; he might stay.
He said he liked him.
But after the man actually left, he realized that Theo Green really didn't care about him.
That pent-up hatred and pain began to sprout, growing wildly and stretching into tangled vines.
He shouldn't have tested him; he shouldn't have known the truth.
What to do, what to do...
After finding him, should we tie him up? Imprison him forever, never giving him a chance to leave? Or should we pretend nothing happened, pretend we don't know he doesn't care about us at all?
After lost in thought for a long time, Blaise suddenly felt something touch his face.
It was soft and warm, just like his little white snake.
He barely opened his sticky eyes and saw a figure holding his arm, trying to hoist him onto its shoulder.
I tried once, twice, three times, and failed every time.
Blaise's heart skipped a beat.
Theo, Theo... Theo!
His lips were cracked and dry, and his throat was filled with blood. Blaise felt like a dying fish, frantically shouting over and over again. But in reality, he could only silently open his lips, struggling to squeeze out the shape of that word.
Milo had already given up hope. He kept dragging Blaze down, and if it weren't for the fact that Blaze was still beating, he would have almost thought that the other person was dead.
Isn't this guy supposed to be strong? Why does he have absolutely no will to survive now?
Seeing Blaise's lips moving constantly as he fell into a coma, Milo suddenly erupted.
“Theo Green, all you know is Theo Green!” Milo threw Blaze to the ground and kicked him hard. “You idiot! How could you be so stupid! You’re the stupidest person in the world! You deserve to be brainwashed by Sigon! You deserve to be fooled by me! You deserve to be someone’s dog! You’d better die right here! I’d be satisfied if you died!”
After unleashing this torrent of reckless curses, Milo felt as if a rift had been torn open in his emotions, and an overwhelming, inexplicable surge of resentment burst forth: "Why didn't you threaten me to take you away? Do you really want to die? Are you trying to force me? You think this will make me care about you? You're dreaming, you're dreaming!"
Milo abruptly turned his back, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably. His emotional collapse was swift and unstoppable, accompanied by a sharp pain in his head, like a dull knife cutting into his flesh.
Why bother?
Why would he do that?
Why should he vent his anger on a deaf and mute man, an unconscious burden?
He must have lost his mind, he must be mentally ill, otherwise why would he turn back? Why would he do something that brings him no benefit?
A messed-up life meets a messed-up person.
Milo wiped away his tears, turned back, tensed all his nerves, and gathered his strength again, putting Blaze's arm on his shoulder.
Anyway, my life is pretty much ruined, so one more brainless decision won't make a difference.
This time, Milo felt Blaze's response, and he shakily straightened his legs and finally carried Blaze on his back.
The arm that had been hanging down bent, and the dirty hand brushed across Milo's face, wiping away his tears.
Don't cry.
Blaze felt waves of heat rising through his body, probably from the serum taking effect.
Milo looked down and saw Blaze's hand reach into his bag. He pulled it out and saw the two bags of compressed biscuits that Blaze had given him earlier.
"You idiot." Milo's eyes welled up with tears.
Blaze rested his head on Milo's back. He was too weak to carry him more than ten steps; he simply cherished the warmth. His heart felt like a hydrogen balloon, drifting straight into the sky.
Blaise moved his fingers slightly and tried to use sign language.
I know you like me.
You like me.
So you really do like me.
Milo looked away, cursing under his breath: "You know nothing! I just haven't finished using you yet. Who would like an idiot like you?"
As he spoke, Milo's voice gradually faded, and he couldn't continue. Turning his head to look, he saw that Blaze seemed to have really fainted. He swayed his shoulders but didn't respond. He actually dared to sleep on him.
Milo started walking. He didn't know how much time had passed, but his legs could barely bear the weight and began to tremble. Cold sweat broke out on Milo's body; hunger and dehydration were threatening to crush him. But he dared not stop; he was afraid that if he stopped, he would never have the strength to stand again.
That damn bastard, why is he so tall? Why is he so heavy? He's about to crush me.
I can't take it anymore! I'm so tired, so incredibly tired!
Milo gritted his teeth. Reason told him he had to get rid of the man, but his arms tightened around Blaise. Step by step, he struggled to move through the rainforest.
Despite knowing that Blaise couldn't possibly hear him, Milo continued to threaten him.
“Blaze, let me tell you, you owe me! You’ll owe me for the rest of your life, and you have to pay me back! I can’t possibly feel guilty towards you! If I get caught, I’ll use you as a scapegoat! I won’t go easy on you! So you have to live, you’re only useful to me if you’re alive, you have to live…”
The more he read, the more it seemed as if the words were being spoken to himself, over and over again, forcing him to muster his strength amidst the day and night hypothermia and exhaustion.
Aoi turned back and bumped into Milo, who was walking towards him.
Milo's shirt, stained with mud, was ripped open at the front, revealing his collarbone, which was mottled from leech bites. His shoes were covered in wet mud, which was even larger than the shoes themselves. He was carrying Blaze with difficulty, taking three steps forward with each step.
Aoi frowned. Six hours had passed in the round trip. Judging by the time, Milo had probably been hiking in the rainforest for more than two hours carrying Blaze.
How could someone so smart be so stupid?
Aoi stared at the two men, utterly deflated: "You're asking for it! I'm asking for it too, let's just die together!"
Milo moved his lips and replied with difficulty, "I won't die."
"How do you know you won't die! You've exhausted yourself, and now you're carrying this burden, how am I supposed to get you out of here?"
Without all the pretense and disguise, Aoi-ta now truly has the spoiled brat temper that comes with his age.
Milo reassured him, "Listen, there's the sound of flowing water ahead. We'll be out of there soon."
Looking ahead, Aoi saw that the rainforest was indeed gradually thinning out, and his anger subsided a little.
Milo remembered that when he and Blaise buried the body, Blaise had told him that if they found the Chira River, they would find their way out of Aplin. Following the sound of the water, they reached the edge of the rainforest, which was also the entrance to the rainforest and the place where they had buried the body.
Before they could take more than a few steps, gunshots suddenly approached, drug dealers' slang and barking dogs pierced the rainforest, and dense footsteps came from three directions. To make matters worse, the sound of helicopter wings spinning could be heard from above.
Milo grabbed Blaise's burning hand and pressed it against his shoulder, stumbling forward through the jagged jungle.
"Let's split up!" Milo looked at Aoi Tai. "He's too heavy, I can't carry him. Could you take him with you?"
Aoi refused: "I don't want to!"
Milo quickly replied, "You said it yourself: since we're going to die together anyway, splitting up will at least increase our chances of survival."
"So annoying!" Hearing the voice getting closer, Aoi took Blaise and turned to leave.
Milo ran in the opposite direction, making a noise.
The roar of the rotors shattered the silence of the rainforest. The moment the hatch slid open, the drooping vines were whipped by the airflow and flung uncontrollably against the cabin walls.
A tall man stepped forward with a stoop, his shoes sinking into the humus with a muffled thud, startling a swarm of midges.
After a burst of intense machine gun fire, Milo turned around stiffly and saw the tattooed drug dealers who had chased him from the rainforest lying on the ground.
As the sun rose, Milo squinted slightly and finally saw the other person's face in the dazzling light.
It was a blond, mixed-race man wearing an open-fronted uniform shirt. Unlike Steven's dyed blond hair, the man's was naturally blond. His features bore a slight resemblance to Steven's, but his blue-gray eyes and deep-set brows gave him a powerful and sinister aura.
Milo would never forget that arrogant and cynical air about him.
Milo had imagined countless possibilities of meeting this person, but none of them were like this.
According to seniority, this person could be considered his cousin.
Elion Thornton approached step by step, looking down at him. His muscular physique was visible beneath the half-rolled-up sleeves of his black shirt. He was clearly angry, yet his face was all smiles.
"Baby, I told you, if I catch you, I'll fuck you to death."
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