Chapter 118 Mine Maze - 3 The two are in a maze-like mine...
The two continued walking through the maze-like mine. Xiao Hei still didn't know where the flying machine was, so they could only search around. Fortunately, Xiao Hei was very familiar with the mine and didn't lead Tang Bufan through the same places repeatedly.
It rained outside again, and rainwater flowed in from all the openings, making the mine tunnels damp and wet.
As Xiao Hei walked across a patch of sticky soil, he slipped and fell. Tang Bufan, who was behind him, quickly went to help him and steadily supported the thin orc who was slightly taller than him.
"Are you alright?" Tang Bufan asked with concern. Ever since learning about Xiao Hei's difficult past, he had become much gentler towards him.
Xiao Hei caught a whiff of Tang Bufan's faint scent and felt his warm, soft body through his clothes. His heart skipped a beat. As a wandering beastman, this was the first time he had ever been held so unreservedly by a sub-beastman. It was an experience he had never had before.
"...It's nothing." Xiao Hei steadied himself, lowered his head slightly, and used his messy hair, which hadn't been cut in a long time, to cover his face. He thought to himself that this was what life was like for high-ranking orcs.
Because of their noble bloodline, they can rightfully possess such beautiful subhumans.
He suddenly felt intense jealousy.
The two continued walking along the long, deep mine tunnel, the sound of their footsteps echoing in the darkness.
“Zero said the orc world is very unfair, unlike humans who can break through class barriers through their own efforts.” Xiao Hei suddenly spoke up, slowly saying to Tang Bufan behind him, “At first, I didn’t feel anything about what he said. In my eyes, both orcs and humans are equally selfish, but now… I do think that humans are more fair than us.”
Tang Bufan was a little tired from walking, but he still chatted with him gently: "That's right, I've thought about this issue too, but unfairness is not a reason for one race to exterminate another."
Tang Bufan chuckled, panting, "There were many kings and chieftains in my time too. You can't just shout 'fairness and justice' and rush up to kill them, can you?"
Strangely, Tang Bufan didn't think about the rationality of this matter at that time. Not only did he not think about it, but neither did the people around him. When they occasionally heard that the Thai king, who lived very close by, had taken a new queen, they didn't feel much sense of absurdity.
Hearing his panting, Xiao Hei stopped. The two of them had just reached a rocky area and found a relatively flat large rock to sit on.
“Zero is probably an idealist.” Tang Bufan looked at a hole in the ceiling, from which a very faint light shone. It must have been daylight outside.
“I met him once, on the day I transmigrated. He genuinely wanted to save me and my student, so for a while, I thought he was a good person,” Tang Bufan said with mixed feelings. “But later, my student died, and I was living a very stifling life, so I couldn’t help but hate him.”
After he finished speaking, he turned to Xiao Hei and asked, "You sound like you're quite familiar with Zero?"
“He came here several years ago.” Xiao □□: “We met in this mine. He told me he was a rebel, but he didn’t seem like one to me. He said I hated orcs, so I wasn’t an orc… We talked for a few days back then.”
“Is that so…” Tang Bufan’s expression became increasingly complicated: “He may have gotten stuck in a rut, just like I used to be.”
Suddenly, a commotion arose from the depths of the mine. A large group of mutated poisoners ran out of one mine tunnel in a panic and then fled into another.
Tang Bufan was taken aback at first, then his eyes sharpened, and he grabbed Xiao Hei's hand and stood up.
"Let's go, orcs might have entered this place." Tang Bufan stepped into the muddy water and pulled Xiao Hei into a dark mine tunnel.
After calculating the time, it had been two days since he disappeared. Tang Bufan guessed that Lu Yi should have come looking for him by now, but he still hadn't found Zero's location.
This is their only chance to turn the tide in their battle against the Rebooters, and Tang Bufan doesn't want to give up.
The two ran quickly through the mine tunnels. Tang Bufan was focused on finding the flying machine, while Xiao Hei looked down at Tang Bufan's hands.
The man's hands were long and slender, with pale blue veins showing through the back of his hands, and his palms and fingertips were a light pink like flower petals... very beautiful.
He became increasingly upset.
The mutated poisonous creatures in the mine helped distract them from the search for the orcs, while the rain and mud also masked their scent. They walked and ran, searching for the aircraft while avoiding the orcs.
After wandering around for a long time, Tang Bufan was exhausted and had to find a secluded place with Xiao Hei to stop and rest.
Tang Bufan didn't get much sleep last night because of the disturbance from the mutated poisoner, which caused him to close his eyes and doze off against the rock wall.
"Go to sleep. We're deep in the mine; it won't be easy for them to find us," Xiao Hei said to Tang Bufan, sitting down beside him.
Tang Bufan nodded, lay down, and before falling asleep, he was still worried, wondering how that poisonous girl was doing.
They turned off their flashlights, and the surroundings were plunged into a nightmare-like darkness.
In his sleep, Tang Bufan seemed to notice Xiao Hei's gaze and felt his fingers being touched... He was too tired, so he remained asleep.
Tang Bufan woke up because his eyes sensed light. He opened his eyes groggily and saw a completely transparent sphere floating in the middle of the mine.
Tang Bufan suddenly regained his senses and sat up abruptly from the dirty ground.
Xiao Hei was standing quietly next to the aircraft, wearing his tattered old clothes that were so dirty that the original color was no longer recognizable. He seemed to have been awake for a while, and probably hadn't slept much at all. From Tang Bufan's angle, the dark circles under his eyes were still very prominent.
His figure was faintly reflected in the transparent sphere, which was about two meters in diameter.
Seeing that Tang Bufan had woken up, Xiao Hei turned its head. Tang Bufan excitedly got up from the ground and was about to walk over when he saw that Xiao Hei was holding his nuclear pistol.
Xiao Hei raised his gun, and Tang Bufan froze on the spot. The orc did not point the gun at him, but at the floating transparent flying machine.
Tang Bufan seemed to understand something and immediately pleaded with him, "No! Don't destroy it!"
"..." Xiao Hei looked at Tang Bufan quietly. After a long silence, he slowly asked, "What do you think you can change?"
Tang Bufan had witnessed Xiao Hei's expressionless killing. Although they had gotten along fairly well during those two or three days, Tang Bufan knew in his heart that Xiao Hei was a ruthless person.
I also feel hopeless about this world.
“I have someone I love… I know my strength is insignificant, I’m just an ordinary person… but I still want to try my best.” Tang Bufan swallowed, gently and patiently persuading the gaunt orc before him: “Put the gun down, okay? I promise you you won’t be hurt again. After I leave, go find my lover, or Pei Zhishu, and tell them it was my request…”
“But…” Xiao Hei held up the gun, his eyes reddening. He stared straight at Tang Bufan, a hint of madness in his dark pupils: “I only want you.”
Tang Bufan was stunned, while Xiao Hei lowered his eyes after saying those words.
"I thought I had no feelings for this world anymore... Why did you touch me... I think your body smells so good, your hands are so soft, completely different from those orcs who were on top of me... It's disgusting... It's disgusting... Ah... Ah—!"
He suddenly screamed and burst into tears, as if he had gone mad. Before Tang Bufan could even realize what was happening, he turned the gun around and pointed it at himself, pressing the trigger without hesitation.
"Bang!"
The gunshot echoed through the mine. Tang Bufan's eyes widened in horror as crimson blood sprayed onto the transparent flying vehicle. The filthy orc's body fell heavily to the ground with a "bang," splashing water everywhere.
Tang Bufan stood frozen in place, unable to move, and after a long while he covered his mouth with his hand and began to cry.
Witnessing someone commit suicide in front of him was a huge shock to him. A strong sense of powerlessness filled Tang Bufan's body. He thought that Xiao Hei probably wanted to die a long time ago, and he couldn't save him.
Tang Bufan walked crying to Xiao Hei's body and dragged his corpse out of the mud.
He dragged Xiao Hei to a drier corner of the cave wall and, in the spirit of humanitarianism, buried his body with gravel.
As he did this, Tang Bufan's heart gradually went from pain to numbness. Finally, he looked up at the grave mound, sighed, and turned to look at the aircraft next to him. It hovered there quietly, with blood still dripping from it.
Seemingly knowing everything, it slowly opened the hatch towards Tang Bufan. Tang Bufan looked at the seat inside; now, he could sit down and go find Zero.
Tang Bufan's eyes sharpened. He raised his arm to wipe away the tears on his face, slowly walked to the side of the aircraft, and stepped onto it...
"Bang!" A gunshot rang out, and a bullet flew straight past Tang Bufan's ear, through the open hatch, and accurately hit the aircraft's instrument panel.
Sparks exploded on the dashboard, and the aircraft, which had been quietly hovering there, instantly retreated, causing Tang Bufan, who had only climbed halfway up, to fall off.
"No!" Tang Bufan's eyes widened as he reached out his hand toward the aircraft. However, the aircraft quickly closed its hatch and, under Tang Bufan's gaze, instantly disappeared into the dark mine shaft not far away.
Tang Bufan fell heavily to the ground. Everything happened too fast. He stared blankly in the direction where the aircraft disappeared, as if he had fallen into an ice cave. It wasn't until he heard footsteps coming from the deep mine behind him that he stiffly turned around.
A tall orc slowly emerged from the dark mine, wearing a fitted leather jacket and trousers, with long hair casually draped over his shoulders.
“Long time no see, madam.” Anderson put down his sniper rifle, narrowed his eyes as he looked at Tang Bufan, and a slightly wicked smile appeared on his lips: “Oh, you’ve really become quite beautiful… I’m almost in love with you.”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com