Chapter 259 Extra Chapter 2
He gave Josie a deep look, giving her no chance to refuse, and said resolutely, "You wait for me here."
Before he finished speaking, he flashed and transformed into a blur, swiftly disappearing into the area where the energy pool was located.
Josie didn't even have time to stop them, but they had already left, and she could only stand there and wait.
She had only come to check on things and assumed he would be back soon.
Time ticked by, and the wait became unbearably agonizing.
Josie's unease grew stronger and stronger. Finally, she couldn't hold back any longer and decided to transform herself and go inside to check on the situation.
But as soon as she came out of her hiding place, she saw that staggering figure after only a few steps.
Xie Jue was practically dragging his body as he moved. His combat uniform was torn, and his body was covered with crisscrossing wounds, dripping with blood that stained half of his body red, making him look horrific.
Josie's breath caught in her throat, and her heart felt like it was being gripped tightly by an invisible hand!
She rushed forward, her voice trembling without her even realizing it: "Xiao Jue, how did you get like this?"
They were already top-tier superhumans, just checking the situation without revealing their identities, how did it turn out like this?
Xie Jue raised his eyes, a faint, elusive glint of light flashing in the depths of his gaze, but his face wore a reassuring, weak expression: "It's nothing... I just carelessly fell into the trap set by those special ability users."
He said he was fine, but his legs suddenly gave way and his entire weight pressed down on Josie.
Josie instinctively opened her arms and hugged him tightly to prevent him from falling to the ground.
With a warm, soft body in his arms, Xie Jue had to use all his self-control to avoid immediately tightening his arms around her.
He greedily inhaled the scent of Josie, the scent that had haunted his dreams for years, buried his face in the crook of her neck, and whispered, his voice weak and heartbreakingly fragile: "Sister... don't move, let me lean on you for a while... I'm a little dizzy..."
At that moment, Josie was completely focused on his injuries and couldn't care less about anything else.
Her hands touched sticky, warm blood. Overwhelmed by intense self-reproach and fear, her voice choked with sobs: "It's my fault... I shouldn't have been so stubborn as to bring you out... We're going back now! Right now! Hang in there, we'll be back at base, you'll be alright!"
She tried to lift him up and take him back to the base, but Xie Jue looked weak and his body felt as heavy as a stone.
How could he let her go back so easily?
This was the only opportunity he had planned for a long time and finally waited for—an opportunity to be alone with her away from those men's sight.
"It's too late... Sister..." His voice was weak, but his eyes were fixed on her, filled with a dying longing, "I'm afraid... I won't be able to make it back..."
"No! Absolutely not!" Josie almost growled, her eyes reddening, as she gritted her teeth and tried to drag him again.
Xie Jue managed to take a few steps following her lead, then completely exhausted himself in front of an abandoned house where they had briefly rested during their previous patrol, and slid down against the wall.
"Sister...I...I really can't walk anymore..." His face was as pale as paper, and he was barely breathing. "Please...leave me here...don't worry about me..."
Seeing him like this, Josie finally couldn't hold back her tears.
She carefully helped him sit up, then knelt beside him, futilely wiping the blood and cold sweat from his face with a handkerchief, her voice broken: "Don't talk nonsense... I won't abandon you... I absolutely won't..."
Seeing her shed tears for him, and her anxious and heartbroken appearance, Xie Jue felt a surge of immense joy mixed with guilt and heartache.
He struggled to raise his hand and grasped Josie's slightly cool fingers, his gaze greedily tracing her features, as if trying to etch her image into the depths of his soul.
"Sister... if... if time could turn back..." he gasped, his eyes hazy yet earnest, "I wish... I could have met you a few years later... that way... in your heart... wouldn't I just be... a child who needs your protection forever?"
"What time is it! You're still saying such nonsense!" Josie's voice was trembling with tears, her heart felt like it was being roasted on a fire.
"But...I love you! Sister..."
Xie Jue seemed to have used his last bit of strength to tightly grasp her hand, his eyes filled with undisguised, burning adoration. "If I don't say it now... I'm afraid... I'll never have another chance..."
He had to speak up, or those astute men would have already sensed his "wolf's ambition," and upon returning, he would likely be gradually transferred away from the core and kept at a distance from her.
Josie pursed her lips, looking into his pleading and unwilling eyes, feeling the stubborn strength in his palm even though he was weak. In the end, she couldn't bring herself to say the words "I am your sister".
She let him hold her hand, remaining silent, but did not pull away.
"No... After you rest and recover, I'll carry you back... We'll both be alright..." She could only weakly repeat her pale words of comfort.
Xie Jue seemed to have exhausted all his energy. He tilted his head listlessly, his eyelids drooping heavily, and his voice was barely audible: "Sister... if... if I'm lucky enough to live to see tomorrow... can you promise me one thing?"
"Okay! I promise you! As long as you get better!" At this moment, all Josie wanted was to give him the will to live, not just one thing, but a hundred or a thousand.
Xie Jue's lips twitched slightly, as if he had received some kind of sacred promise. He smiled weakly, yet with unwavering determination: "Okay... Sister's words... I'll remember them... With your promise... I will definitely... get through this..."
After saying that, he seemed to finally give up and slowly closed his eyes.
Josie was heartbroken, but she suppressed her panic. She thought that having lived two lives in the apocalypse, she was used to life and death.
But she realized that she still couldn't bear to watch the person she cared about leave her...
With trembling hands, she cleaned his wounds and applied simple bandages.
After doing all this, she tried to carry him on her back and return to the base as quickly as possible.
But the moment she moved, Xie Jue, who had been "unconscious," seemed to instinctively tighten his arms, pulling her firmly into his embrace. He rested his head weakly on her shoulder, uttering a murmur like a cub: "Cold... Sister... I'm so cold..."
Josie's heart melted instantly. Forgetting everything else, she immediately hugged him back, using her warm body heat to warm his chilly body.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here. I'll hold you, and you won't be cold..."
The person holding him finally quieted down again. Throughout the night, whenever Josie felt he was sleeping soundly and tried to quietly get up to carry him, Xie Jue would "timely" let out an uncomfortable groan, or hold her even tighter, making it impossible for her to break free.
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