As the Asia Alliance's mechs slowly departed from the Mix base, atop the lighthouse in the base's center, the elegant blond man lowered his binoculars, turned to Wiz beside him, and casually asked, "Is everything arranged?"
Wiz stared intently at the military mechs that had already left the base gates in the distance, and nodded: "Don't worry."
It was winter, and Lin Dao and his team were heading northeast from the Mix base, detouring through Mechanical Sky City. Starting on a relatively familiar road, they traveled north, but the road conditions gradually became more complex, and the mechs began to bounce and jolt.
To save energy, there was almost no heating equipment inside the vehicle. Even in the poorly ventilated cabin late at night, the temperature dropped to below -10 degrees Celsius. Xiang You urgently distributed warm coats to everyone, but even wearing them, they felt stiff and cold, like frozen numbness.
Experiencing such a cold night for the first time was extremely difficult for Bryta. He curled himself up into a ball, while Little White clung tightly to him, briefly falling into a state of vegetative sleep.
The people inside the car weren't in much better shape; he could vaguely sense that everyone was in a half-asleep, half-awake, vigilant state. Lin Dao, standing beside him, was even more strained, struggling to concentrate in the extreme cold, resisting his body's instinct to hibernate with terrifying self-discipline.
He was the first to realize that this wouldn't work; everyone needed to get enough rest to replenish their energy. He proposed taking turns keeping watch at night, starting himself so that everyone else could get a good night's sleep.
After an unknown amount of time had passed in the night, Bretta, unable to sleep due to the cold, quietly looked up and noticed Lin Dao's poor condition. She moved closer to him, trying to offer him some warmth.
Lin Dao noticed his subtle movements and asked in a low voice that only the two of them could hear, "Why aren't you asleep?"
Bleta whispered back, mimicking his tone, "It's too cold."
Upon hearing this, Lin Dao moved closer to him and asked, "Do you still have the wine you drank earlier? A little bit can warm you up."
Bretta was taken aback, then hurriedly and awkwardly shook his head: "N-nothing." After saying that, he quickly turned his back to the man, biting his lip nervously—Mr. Lin Dao, could it be that he has discovered something? He still seems to suspect me.
The only thing that gave Bryta some peace of mind was that the other party didn't press him further, so he could continue to play dumb.
However, drinking alcohol does seem to make him feel warmer. Thinking this, Bretta quietly closed his eyes and sensed the foreign spirits stored in his body. He perceived that he could activate one of the bottles, which melted directly into his body within his spatial dimension. The warm liquid, accompanied by the power, made him feel much warmer.
Bleta opened her eyes in surprise—it really worked!
He tried this method, continuously drinking three bottles of the eerie green liquid, directly absorbing the power without feeling drunk. Feeling much warmer, the little white dog in his arms sensed the warmth from his body and began to awaken, then lazily drifted off to sleep again.
As if struck by a thought, Bryta quietly turned around and met Lin Dao's gaze from the darkness, which seemed to ask, "Why aren't you asleep yet?" She boldly moved closer to him, her eyes darting around, and aimed at the hands he was holding in front of him. Suddenly, she stretched out her hands and grabbed the man's hands tightly!
So cold! He had always felt that Mr. Lin Dao's body temperature was low, and he could feel a chill even when sitting next to him. He didn't expect it to be even colder at night.
Lin Dao was startled when the boy suddenly grabbed his hand. He looked at him incredulously, his eyes asking, "?"
Bretta boldly grasped the man's hand and timidly whispered, "...Mr. Lin Dao, let me warm your hands."
Lin Dao was startled, only belatedly realizing the warmth of the boy's palm covering him. Whether it was the boy's passion or his own coldness, Lin Dao couldn't tell anymore. He forgot to pull his hand away for a moment, tacitly letting Bretta do as he pleased.
Seeing that he didn't blame him, Bryta felt inexplicably happy. This was... a way of repaying Lin Dao, or perhaps it was Mr. Klindall teaching him to write his own name.
But—he smells so good. Bleta brought the man's large hand to her face, touched it curiously, and smelled it. She tried to draw warmth from her body to her palm and hold the overly cold, bony hand tightly.
Lin Dao could feel the warmth of Blaita's breath in his palm. Looking down at this simple, somewhat clumsy boy, he sensed the boy's innocent heart from the undeniable warmth emanating from the back of his hand. He stared at the boy's carefully lowered profile, lost in thought.
He thought to himself: If such a timid child knew that he was an ugly black snake, he would probably be trembling with fear and wouldn't dare to get close to him like this.
On this frigid night, Lin Dao, a monster, restrained himself and greedily absorbed the little bit of warmth.
Fortunately, it was winter, and many alien species were hibernating. When they occasionally encountered some troublesome alien species on the road, Lin Dao, Cheng Cheng, and Xiang You were able to work together to quickly resolve the situation.
After a month-long trek through the wilderness, in the still chilly weather, they unfortunately encountered a herd of exotic buffalo. The mechs became easy targets for the buffalo, and everyone except the disabled Joe Song, including Blaita and Chu Hui, had to get out of the vehicle and grab their weapons to deal with these troublesome creatures.
Bryta hadn't encountered such fresh food in a long time. Under Xiaobai's tactical guidance, they deliberately lured a large water buffalo to a secluded, wildly growing area. Then, Xiaobai simultaneously released vines to trip the ferocious water buffalo and instantly bind it.
Britta nervously pulled out his gun and fired a shot at the buffalo. The buffalo lay on the ground, struggling and howling angrily, its massive four-meter-tall body twisting wildly in an attempt to break free.
It's clear that the shot didn't hit a vital spot.
Little White is about to give up; the vines binding it are about to break.
Bretta quickly gripped his gun and fired several more shots haphazardly at the buffalo's head and eyes until he ran out of bullets. The buffalo was not only unharmed, but instead glared at him fiercely with its bell-like eyes.
The battles of the others were also fierce, and no one paid attention to him.
Just as Xiaobai could no longer hold on and loosened his grip on the vines, the buffalo mutant suddenly broke free, stood up, and charged at him.
Bryta gritted his teeth, simply threw away his weapon, took a few steps forward from a few meters away, and leaped into the air—a nearly half-meter-long sword materialized in his hand, and in a flash, he swung his arm and a white light flashed.
Thick liquid splashed and stained his face and body.
Bretta stared blankly down as the enormous creature crashed to the ground, its head severed from its body, the massive bull's head rolling in hot blood.
Xiao Bai was stunned, and after a long while murmured, "Tata...when did you become so amazing?"
Bleta was a little confused, but he quickly realized that he couldn't be discovered.
Moreover, lately when he was hungry, he could only drink those exotic vegetarian liquors or gnaw on hard, tooth-crushing compressed biscuits. Indeed, he hadn't seen such fresh food in a long time.
Little White realized what was happening and was the first to stretch out its vines to wrap around it, beginning to fully enjoy the fresh liquid.
Bleta, fearing that others might come and see something, quickly urged it, "Little White, hurry up!"
When Xiaobai reluctantly withdrew, the four originally pure white roses on his body turned bright red and alluring, gently returning to cling to him. Only then did Blaita turn to the giant buffalo on the ground, suddenly opening his abyssal maw and swallowing the nearly four-meter-long buffalo whole in an instant. He didn't forget to finish it off by taking its head with him.
Only faint traces of blood and signs of a struggle remained on the ground.
Bretta had swallowed something huge, and his belly was slightly bulging. He rubbed his stomach, looking at the mess of blood on his body, then touched his face and hesitated. Going back like this…
Footsteps sounded behind him, and Xiaobai quickly darted back into his arms to hide.
Seeing the boy standing blankly in the grass and the messy marks on the ground, Lin Dao immediately asked, "How are you? Where's that water buffalo mutant?"
Upon hearing this, Bretta hurriedly lowered his head and ran forward. Lin Dao, seeing this, had a sudden thought and quickly grabbed his shoulder: "You wouldn't be..." He didn't finish his sentence before catching a strong smell of rust. His gaze shifted downwards and fell on the bloodstains on the boy's clothes. His pupils widened abruptly, and his heart leaped into his throat. "You—"
Bleta panicked and tried to break free from the other's grasp, afraid that he would see the liquid splattered all over his face.
Lin Dao noticed his avoidance and abruptly pulled the boy around. He saw that Bretta's once fair and handsome face was covered in blood, and his body was covered in large patches of blood… A sudden, dull pain shot through his chest, as if an invisible hand had gripped his heart. His throat felt like it was being slashed by a blade, rendering him speechless. His eyes reddened, and he pulled the boy into his arms, holding him tightly, and murmured in anguish, “…I’m sorry…I’m sorry…”
Bleta, held so tightly by the man, felt a mix of confusion and lingering fear, as if she had just gotten into trouble. She cautiously whispered in his ear, "...What am I sorry for?"
Lin Dao was taken aback by his words. The next moment, she released him, looked him up and down carefully, and asked, "Where are you injured? Are you... infected?"
Bleta blinked her round eyes, shook her head, and explained in a somewhat timid voice, "...I...I'm not injured, and...I'm not infected either."
Lin Dao stared intently at him, and after confirming that he indeed had no wounds, she breathed a sigh of relief. Then, as if remembering something, she asked, "Then this blood is from the buffalo mutant? Where is it? Where did it go?"
Bretta opened his mouth, but didn't dare say that he was currently inside his stomach. He secretly reached out and rubbed his belly. Lin Dao noticed this small movement and immediately frowned, asking, "What's wrong with your stomach?"
"Well……"
Are you hungry?
Bleta nodded guiltily: "...A little."
Just then, Cheng Cheng shouted, "Captain! Have you found Tata? Are you all alright? Come over here quickly! There's beef to eat!"
Lin Dao reached out and pulled him along: "Aren't you hungry? Let's go."
When he got back, he knew that the boy had just been through a fierce battle, so he didn't ask for details. He just tossed him a cloth that had been soaked with precious water and said, "Wipe your cat-like face."
Bryta obediently took it, vigorously rubbing her face until it was distorted, barely managing to clean it, and grinned, "Thank you, Captain!"
Lin Dao was taken aback; this was the first time he had ever called him that.
"Um."
The others weren't much better off. Cheng Cheng had rolled around in the mud while fighting the water buffalo to the death, and Xiang You and Chu Hui were also a bit disheveled.
Fortunately, there were no casualties. They were all special forces soldiers, and their cooking skills were average. In the end, they discussed it and built a fire, butchering one of the water buffaloes to roast. Luckily, Xiang You had brought salt, and the roasted meat, sprinkled with salt, tasted surprisingly good.
Lin Dao and his group killed two water buffalo mutants. Apart from Qiao Song watching them eat roast beef with a pout, the others, no matter how big their appetites were, couldn't eat much.
Bleta had only eaten until her belly was slightly bulging, but after returning home, she couldn't resist the temptation and had another meal. In the end, she was so full that she could hardly sit down and had to stand to digest her food, her mouth covered in oil.
This was the first time he had ever tasted fresh roast beef, and it was absolutely delicious. He felt a great pity that he couldn't take most of the remaining buffalo and the other cow with him.
Finally, Yu took a large piece of meat and left, leaving Blaita to sit in the mech and watch the food being abandoned and driven away.
Chu Hui, however, kept his eyes fixed on Blaita the entire time, his gaze moving from the bloodstains on his body to his face. That evening, Lin Dao went to the front driver's seat for his shift, and the others were dozing off. Chu Hui quietly sat down next to Blaita and asked in a low voice, "Did Xiao Bai help you deal with that water buffalo?"
Bryta froze, pursed her lips, and that was her answer.
Chu Hui had already deduced her answer from his expression, and asked in a low voice, "Why didn't I see the carcass of the buffalo mutant? Did you let it escape... or was it..."
“They ran away, they ran away,” Bryta said hastily.
Chu Hui, however, did not truly believe it and had a plan in mind. She quietly said, "Since I know about Xiao Bai's situation but haven't told them, isn't it because... we're friends?"
"Tata, Sister Xiang is gone, I... I only have you left." Chu Hui's voice was a little hoarse, somewhere between a boy and a man going through puberty, and his whole demeanor was very low.
Hearing his voice, Bleta felt a pang of sadness, thinking of Xiang Jie. He thought about how dangerous things had been today, with everyone struggling to survive. What if Chu Hui encountered any danger...? With that thought, he reached out and patted Chu Hui's shoulder, mimicking Cheng Cheng's gesture, offering a cautious yet clumsy reassurance: "Chu Hui, I will protect you too."
Chu Hui looked up, biting her lip, and asked, "Then... what about Xiao Bai?"
Upon hearing this, Xiaobai suddenly darted out of Bletta's arms with a flower, haughtily poking Chu Hui on the head.
Bryta chuckled and whispered, "It will protect you too."
Upon hearing this, Chu Hui's lowered eyes brightened slightly, then dimmed as if she had thought of something, and she said, "Tata, if only I could... talk to Xiaobai in my mind like you do."
Bryta hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Is that alright?"
Xiao Bai is a mutant tainted by his blood, and Chu Hui is also tainted by his blood... Thinking of this, he hurriedly shook his head. Would he be infected and become a mutant as well?
During this brief moment, Chu Hui clearly saw the hesitation on Bleta's face. He suddenly grabbed Bleta's hand and whispered, "You have a way, don't you?"
“This…” Bryta looked at his expectant eyes, hesitated, and whispered, “But it’s very dangerous. You could very well get infected…”
Chu Hui vaguely guessed what was going on and hurriedly asked, "What do you mean? So, are you also...?"
"I...no, I didn't..." Bleta was afraid that he would guess something, so she hurriedly tried to break free from his hand.
"What are you doing?" Lin Dao walked over from the driver's seat.
He stared at their tightly clasped hands, his brows furrowed, and finally his cold gaze settled on Chu Hui's face: "Let him go."
Chu Hui gritted his teeth, let go, but kept his eyes fixed on Blaita.
Bryta avoided his gaze somewhat uncomfortably, lowered her head, and bit her lip.
Lin Dao stepped forward and pulled Blaita up, saying, "If you can't sleep, come and keep watch with me." With that, he led Blaita away.
Chu Hui watched their retreating figures, clenching his fists at his sides with resentment. It was just a hair's breadth away.
Xiao Bai definitely couldn't handle those nearly four-meter-tall buffalo mutants, and Blaita was certainly not as simple as he appeared. He thought of what the blond man had told him... his eyes grew increasingly dark.
He must become stronger.
Rather than be a pitiful and lowly human being at the mercy of others, it's better to become a monster. Dragging that self-proclaimed noble man who treats human life like dirt off the so-called lighthouse.
As Chu Hui thought about it, he reached out and gripped the obsidian pendant hanging from his chest, and murmured, "Sister Xiang, I will definitely avenge you."
Bryta, who was pulled to the driver's seat by Lin Dao, sat obediently. To his left was Qiao Song, who was running out of power and had shut down. In order to save space, Qiao Song retained his head, but his body below the neck was all mechanical. His body was greatly shrunken and looked very comical.
Lin Dao sat to his right without speaking for a long time, while Blaita also sat up straight obediently, his heart pounding with anxiety.
"What were you talking about just now?" Lin Dao suddenly asked.
"Huh?" Caught off guard by the question, Bryta was a little unsure how to answer. "We didn't talk about much."
"Why is he holding your hand?" Lin Dao asked, displeased. "To warm your hands?"
Bryta was a little confused. What did this have to do with warming hands? She shook her head and said, "No. He probably misses Sister Xiang. We're friends, and I'm all he has now. I want to comfort him and protect him."
"Protect? Ha." Lin Dao sneered as if he had heard a joke. "Dream on."
“…Mr. Lin Dao, I’m not actually that weak.” Bryta tried to defend himself, just like when he was misunderstood before, a youthful spirit made him not want to be looked down upon.
Lin Dao turned his head and leaned closer to him, his deep, ocean-like eyes fixed on Bryta's eyes, and asked, "Is that so?"
Who was it that repeatedly asked me to save you?
He scoffed, "Now you suddenly think about protecting others."
Bryta was forced to lean back slightly by his oppressive presence, and there seemed to be some hidden emotions on the handsome face of the man so close to her.
A sudden realization struck him, and he asked in a low voice with surprise, "Mr. Lin Dao, are you jealous?"
"Although you don't need my protection, the person I want to protect the most is definitely you. Because, more than anyone else, I like you the most."
Because you smell the best.
Lin Dao was stunned, almost instantly captivated by the seemingly innocent boy before him.
I unconsciously rolled my Adam's apple, feeling a little hot.
Author's Note: A natural fishing enthusiast! Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2022-02-06 22:22:24 and 2022-02-07 22:29:19!
Thank you to the little angels who watered with nutrient solution: Jackfruit 20 bottles; Ning 4 bottles; Taro 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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