An hour later, under the pretext of going to the restroom, Shen Shanwu and Wolf Dog returned to the Shanhai Unit headquarters. He planned to show up as Jiang Tong casually, to avoid raising suspicions about the missing child.
In the midst of changing clothes in a hurry, he suddenly felt that he was too miserable. When he became Jiang Tong, he had to pretend to go to the restroom all the time. And now, back to his original form, he still had to pretend to go to the restroom.
Just as he finished zipping up his pants, he heard hurried footsteps outside the door, and Yao Wuque’s loud voice came from afar, “Jiang Tong! Jiang Tong, the Captain is safe! The Captain is okay!”
Shen Shanwu quickly asked Wolf Dog to find a place to hide, then he took a deep breath, patted his face, and rubbed his eyes. His face instantly displayed a highly challenging smile, combining joy, extreme surprise, and disbelief. He pushed open the door and shouted loudly, “Really?”
“Absolutely true, just received the news.” Yao Wuque, out of breath, stood in front of Shen Shanwu. “I have already taken leave from the school and arranged for someone to cover my teaching duties. Now, I am going to follow Lieutenant Lu to pick up the Captain. You stay at the base for the next few days, whether you attend classes or not doesn’t matter. Don’t worry too much, and don’t cause any trouble. Be obedient and wait for us to come back, understand?”
Shen Shanwu nodded happily, “Yes! Brother Wuque, I will be a good boy, make sure to come back safely with the Captain!”
“Definitely!” Yao Wuque smiled brightly, “I’ll go now, you take care, okay?”
“Okay!”
Yao Wuque came and went like the wind, leaving Shen Shanwu feeling relieved. However, as he turned around, he saw Wolf Dog imitating him with a strange expression, raising his little finger and saying, “I’ll be a good boy~”
“Get lost,” Shen Shanwu rolled his eyes at him, “Do you know how hard it is for me to keep up this act for our survival?”
Wolf Dog wiped his eyes in a feigned manner, “I’m moved to tears.”
Shen Shanwu found a piece of scrap paper from his desk, wrote on it: ‘Taking a nap, call me for dinner,’ and then stuck it on the door.
“Are you sure this is safe?” Wolf Dog propped his chin with one hand. “What if there are people in the team who just love to argue and, after seeing the note for dinner, they decide to call you precisely during lunch?”
“Do you think everyone is like you, the reincarnation of a nitpicker?”
“Are you going to curse again?”
“…” Shen Shanwu quickly changed back into his clothes and insincerely flattered, “Big Brother Wolf, you’re the best. Take me back now.”
“I see you’re asking for trouble…”
*
After Shen Shanwu and Wolf Dog went out to attend to their needs, Jiang Huan’s expression visibly darkened. He took a deep breath, leaned against the wall, and rested with one hand on his knee, shutting his eyes. He exuded an aura that made others hesitant to approach, even dissuading Zhong Yun, who attempted to speak to him.
Shen Shanwu mentioned they would be away for ten minutes, and exactly ten minutes later, Jiang Huan raised his head, glancing at the door of the tea room. Without any expression on his face, he put on his cloak and prepared to go out to search for someone.
Hesitatingly shifting his attention away from the handheld game, Jiang Huan was called by Executioner, who informed him, “Jiang Huan… Milk Tea wants to talk to you.”
“M-Me?” Milk Tea was taken aback, and Executioner glanced at her, saying, “Looks like it’s you.”
Between mutants, there was an unspoken understanding. Since Shen Shanwu and Wolf Dog were going out together, it must involve Wolf Dog’s abilities. Currently, Jiang Huan would not be able to see anything while outside, so Milk Tea and Executioner had to play the role of obstruction.
Executioner’s reserved personality made it difficult to interact with Jiang Huan, so Milk Tea had no choice but to step up and say, “Uh, yes, Jiang Huan, you cutie, come here; Sister has something to ask you.”
Jiang Huan… cutie??? Zhang Xiaowen, who was about to fall asleep, was suddenly startled awake. However, she didn’t dare to open her eyes and could only continue pretending to be asleep.
“Brother Shanwu hasn’t come back yet, so I’ll go out and take a look first,” Jiang Huan said as he fastened the cloak’s buckle. As he was about to walk out, Milk Tea quickly appeared in front of him, smiling, and gently pushed him back.
“Oh, come on, what could happen to those two mutants? If anything goes wrong, it would be something else, not the zombies. Um… Sister is just asking, how did you accidentally get into the depths of the zombie tide? Such a mistake is too terrifying. In the future, you must be even more cautious. If it weren’t for us mutants passing by, I’m afraid no one could have saved you.”
“…” Jiang Huan’s fingers twitched slightly, and his sharp gaze swept across the four people present, including even the adoring eyes of Zhong Yun. It was a warning look.
Seeing Jiang Huan’s demeanor, Milk Tea knew he was concerned about something, even though he didn’t say it out loud.
At that moment, Jiang Huan suddenly lowered his head and looked directly into Milk Tea’s eyes, asking, “Brother Shanwu didn’t go out to the restroom at all. It’s just an excuse for him and Wolf Dog to avoid people. They have something to do, right?”
His straightforward words caught Milk Tea off guard, and she blinked in slight surprise, feeling embarrassed. “Um… well…”
“I understand. I won’t interfere,” Jiang Huan said quietly, and then he silently returned to his seat, taking off the cloak and using a soft cloth from the drawer in the teahouse to wipe off the stains on it.
Milk Tea was touched by Jiang Huan’s pitiful puppy-like expression, and her maternal instincts took over. She approached him with a whimpering tone, saying, “Little Jiang Huan, don’t be upset with Brother Shanwu. He must have his reasons.”
Jiang Huan looked at her in confusion, “Why would I be upset with Brother Shanwu?”
Milk Tea was about to say something when Shen Shanwu and Wolf Dog pushed the door open and entered. Wolf Dog yawned and sat down on the floor to sharpen his claws, while Shen Shanwu frowned slightly as Milk Tea was too close to Jiang Han. “What are you talking about?” he asked.
“We were talking bad about you!” Milk Tea stuck out her tongue playfully, feeling relieved that her mission was accomplished, and she sat back beside Executioner.
Shen Shanwu smiled and took a seat before asking Jiang Huan, “What bad things were you talking about?”
“You were two minutes late,” Jiang Huan said, “You were out for twelve minutes and six seconds.”
“…” Shen Shanwu didn’t expect that his casual remark about going to the bathroom for ten minutes would be taken seriously by Jiang Huan, who even timed it down to the second. He couldn’t help but smile and say, “Jiang Huan, when will you get over your idea that I’m dead? I remember even when you were fifteen or sixteen, you weren’t this clingy.”
Jiang Huan’s face turned serious, and he reiterated, “You were two minutes late.”
Shen Shanwu could only surrender, “Okay, okay, I was wrong… Do you want to punish me, Captain Jiang?”
“Of course, there will be a punishment,” Jiang Huan lifted his chin slightly and took out a small paper bag from the inner pocket of his combat uniform. It was about the size of a business card. “You keep it and don’t look until we leave.”
“What is it?” Shen Shanwu took the bag, glanced at it, and then put it in his pocket. “It wouldn’t be a gift, would it?”
“Um, it’s a gift in return.”
“Is this supposed to be a punishment?”
“Punishment means that you must always carry the things inside the bag with you.”
“…” If there’s a chastity belt inside, do I still have to wear it? That’s going too far… Shen Shanwu felt too embarrassed to ask this question out loud.
*
The vehicles from the hospital shelter arrived almost an hour earlier than expected, thanks to the presence of the mutants, the migration speed of the zombie tide was several times faster than before, like a zombie marathon.
Although this meant that Jiang Huan and Shen Shanwu would part ways again, it was undoubtedly good news for Zhang Xiaowen and the other injured person.
The mutants had heard the sound of the vehicles approaching long before they arrived. Executioner quietly put away his handheld gaming device, while Wolf Dog expressed his desire to play more games together next time. Milk Tea stood up and dusted off the dirt from her skirt. Shen Shanwu turned his head to look at Jiang Huan, who was sleeping soundly with his head resting on his shoulder.
After more than ten hours of intense battles, Jiang Huan was exhausted inside out. After exchanging their gifts, he quickly fell into a deep sleep.
Jiang Huan was no longer of an age to be held in Shen Shanwu’s embrace while sleeping, and his tall and broad physique also made it impractical. Tiredly, he tried to lean towards Shen Shanwu, and when a large hand wrapped around his shoulder, he finally felt at ease and allowed himself to drift into dreamland.
Shen Shanwu knew well how light Jiang Huan’s sleep was. Throughout their journey from the Central Alliance to the Coastal Base, Jiang Huan would wake up almost every night, even in the team’s dormitory. A slight movement or a kick, and Jiang Huan would wake up with clear eyes, showing no sign of sleepiness.
During those few hours, Shen Shanwu dared not move a muscle, even using threatening glares to silence Wolf Dog and keep him from making any noise that might startle Jiang Huan and disrupt his hard-earned rest. However, Shen Shanwu did not expect that this time Jiang Huan would sleep so deeply that even the sound of Milk Tea’s high heels clicking back and forth several times did not wake him up.
“Jiang Huan, wake up, I have to go,” Shen Shanwu gently nudged Jiang Huan’s shoulder and called him softly.
Jiang Huan slowly opened his eyes in a daze, looking around with a confused expression. His gaze gradually focused, and upon recognizing the person in front of him, he immediately felt embarrassed, touching his lips and then covering his flushed cheeks in embarrassment.
I have witnessed the embarrassing sight of you sleeping with your shirt all piled up around your neck, and now it’s too late to feel embarrassed, Shen Shanwu silently complained.
“The people who are here to pick you up have arrived, we have to leave,” Shen Shanwu said. Upon hearing this, Jiang Huan faintly nodded, seemingly without much reluctance to part. His gaze met Shen Shanwu’s black-red eyes, “Goodbye, don’t forget.”
Don’t forget your promise.
Shen Shanwu followed in the footsteps of the other three, waving two fingers, “Next time, I’ll remember to be two minutes and six seconds early. Goodbye.”
“…” Jiang Huan watched them quietly as they walked away, and before long, he found himself smiling faintly once again.
Xu Ye had originally taken a step towards the captain, but when he saw Jiang Huan smile again, he hesitated for a moment. Jiang Huan noticed his hesitation, stopped smiling, and looked at him coldly, “What’s the matter?”
Yes, he’s right. He’s indeed Captain. Xu Ye let out a sigh of relief, leaning against the wall, “Captain, are they mutants?”
“Yes.”
“How come they are so different from the rumors? If it weren’t for those black eyes, they would look just like humans. They even play games.”
“They were originally humans.”
“That’s true… Since mutants are similar to humans, we can cooperate with them. They are not afraid of zombies or radiation and can do many things that we humans can’t.”
Jiang Huan remained silent, and Xu Ye was no naive fool either. After he proposed the idea, he immediately thought of the many barriers and issues between the two groups. Xu Ye sighed, “Ah, cooperation between mutants and humans is not that simple, right?”
The two fell silent for a while, and finally, Xu Ye asked the question he most wanted to ask, “Captain, was what you said earlier true? About… being ready to resign as the captain and leave the Shanhai Unit?”
Jiang Huan nodded without any hesitation, “Yes.”
Xu Ye felt a dilemma and touched his neck, “Why do you have such thoughts? You single-handedly established the Shanhai Unit, and it was not easy to get it to this scale. How can you bear to…”
“Xu Ye, people are like that. Sometimes, you only truly understand the value of something after you lose it.”
“Yes, Captain. If you leave the Shanhai Unit, we will definitely miss—”
Jiang Huan lowered his gaze and calmly interrupted, “I have already lost something.”
“…” Xu Ye choked up, watching Jiang Huan put on his face mask and stand up to go outside to receive reinforcements from the hospital.
Shen Shanwu had been waiting on top of the high-rise building until the hospital vehicle arrived. They placed Zhang Xiaowen on a stretcher and loaded her into the vehicle. Shen Shanwu then saw Jiang Huan talking to the person in charge of the hospital as they walked together. Jiang Huan’s tall and slender figure was wrapped in a cloak, resembling bamboo and pine covered in snow.
Before getting into the vehicle, Jiang Huan looked around, as if searching for something, but unfortunately, with his eyesight, he couldn’t see anything.
Wolf Dog, on the other hand, noticed Jiang Huan’s actions and couldn’t help but sneer, “He won’t confess openly, but he’s skilled at showing affection, one trick after another. Such a scumbag.”
“Yeah, totally! So cheesy!” Milk Tea rubbed the goosebumps on her arms. “A real scumbag indeed.”
Shen Shanwu was truly speechless, “What on earth? How am I a scumbag, and how am cheesy?”
“You’re definitely one! Oblivious to the ambiguity, classic scumbag behavior,” Milk Tea tutted and shook her head. Wolf Dog suddenly remembered something, “Didn’t you say earlier that Jiang Huan was insecure because he thought you were dead for several years? I have a trick for that.”
“Come on, your tricks are all terrible.”
But Wolf Dog didn’t care whether Shen Shanwu wanted to hear it or not, he just blurted out, “Why not just cuddle with Jiang Huan all night long? Cuddle him until he’s sore and can’t stand straight the next day. Trust me, he’ll feel safer with you than anything else.”
“Uh-oh.” Milk Tea playfully waved her hand, pretending to be bashful. “The experienced driver knows how to talk. Talk more, I love to hear these things.”
“We, the mutants, don’t need any tricks. You and Jiang Huan can directly engage in a passionate collision of bodies and souls’ profound connection…”
Shen Shanwu kicked the Wolf Dog to the ground, letting him have a profound connection with the cement.
Executioner was the only one present who seemed somewhat serious, and he interjected amidst the pile of yellow scraps, “Top Student, what did Jiang Huan give you?”
“Exactly, exactly!” Milk Tea and Wolf Dog curiously leaned in, but this time, Shan Shanwu didn’t want to share with them. “Step aside, I’ll look at it myself. If I think it’s worth sharing, I’ll let you know.”
“Che.” “Stingy!” “…”
Shen Shanwu walked to a corner, took out the paper bag, and carefully opened it. Inside were a card and a ring with two interlocking circles studded with diamonds.
The card had writing only on the front, written by Jiang Han, which said:
“An unbreakable bond, endless love, gifted to my unparalleled you.”
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