Chapter 54

Chapter 54

At that moment, an alarm sounded at the door, and red warning lights began flashing wildly.

Xiao Huai snapped his head up. Outside, large numbers of staff were rushing toward a corridor deeper within the laboratory.

The guide opened the ward door and shouted at him, “Sir, please finish your inspection as quickly as possible! A patient in the severe zone has lost control. It is extremely dangerous here, so please return at once.”

Xiao Huai rose and stepped into the corridor. As he peered into the distance, he caught sight of an unnaturally long, pale hand slamming a staff member aside with a sharp crack.

Screams rang out from the depths of the corridor.

He lowered his gaze. “Where is the antidote?”

The guide narrowed his eyes at Xiao Huai. Suspicion mingled with the panic on his face.

“The antidote? Isn’t the manager the only one who could possibly have it? After all, he’s the one who made a deal with an evil god…”

Realizing he had misspoken, the guide snapped his mouth shut. He drew an electric baton and ran toward the depths of the corridor.

Staff members streamed past them. Lu Yuanshi’s voice came from behind Xiao Huai.

“Don’t you want to take a look?”

Xiao Huai glanced toward the disturbance from a distance, then shook his head.

“No. There’s no reason to keep exploring this place. What we need to learn will come to us eventually.”

He turned to Lu Yuanshi. “More importantly, we need to get back. The one at the manor may already be tired of waiting.”

Xiao Huai would not tell him that he had obtained Half of Joseph’s Heart. Nor would he tell him that, from this moment on, he had already made a decision.

And he certainly would not admit that he was so tired he felt he could fall asleep in the next second.

* * *

The motorcycle tires carved deep tracks through the snow. The bike swayed beneath the battering wind as its headlight illuminated the road ahead, the snowflakes turning ethereal within the cone of light.

Xiao Huai stared through the falling snow. The world was silent, and all he could hear was the steady heartbeat of the man behind him.

Somehow, even the icy wind no longer seemed quite so frighteningly cold.

The motorcycle stopped on the manor lawn. Warm light spilled through the windows and across the snow.

Xiao Huai slumped over the motorcycle and said softly, “You go on ahead.”

Lu Yuanshi raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong?”

Xiao Huai turned and glared at him, his upper body trembling badly.

Yes. He had a cramp.

Forcing out a smile, Xiao Huai said, “Nothing. The snowscape is rather nice tonight. I want to look at it a little longer.”

Lu Yuanshi dismounted, an amused smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

The next second, a pair of hands slid beneath Xiao Huai’s arms. His pupils contracted sharply. “What are you doing…?”

He struggled instinctively, but the cramp made the corner of his mouth twitch uncontrollably. He clenched his teeth, suppressing his ragged breaths.

He swung his right fist at Lu Yuanshi, only to be lifted abruptly off the bike. His leg was forcibly straightened.

“Ngh…”

It hurt.

Xiao Huai’s eyes even reddened slightly. Lu Yuanshi’s eyes curved with his smile, and he made no attempt to dodge, allowing Xiao Huai’s fist to strike his face.

But the cramp had already robbed Xiao Huai of all his strength. The punch felt more like a tickle.

Xiao Huai had no idea what madness had gotten into Lu Yuanshi this time. He wanted nothing more than to kick the man to death. Then Lu Yuanshi withdrew his hands from beneath Xiao Huai’s arms, wrapped both arms around his legs, and hoisted him up.

This position was too…

Too strange.

Xiao Huai stared down at Lu Yuanshi in shock. With the way they were positioned, Lu Yuanshi only had to lift his head and lean a little closer for them to hear each other’s breathing.
“You…” Xiao Huai’s ears instantly turned scarlet. No grown man had ever held him like this before.

Even ghosts had never shocked him this badly. He averted his gaze, unable to keep looking at Lu Yuanshi’s face.

That face was a lethal weapon. Its destructive power was far too great.

Xiao Huai’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and his voice came out low. “Put me down.”

Lu Yuanshi merely smiled, eyes narrowed. “You gave me a ride all the way here. I’ll carry you back to your room.”

Xiao Huai frowned. “Who asked you to carry me back? Didn’t I say I wanted to admire the scenery?”

Lu Yuanshi walked straight toward the manor with Xiao Huai still held in his arms. Startled, Xiao Huai grabbed a fistful of his hair.

“Ow.” Lu Yuanshi winced. “Who grabs someone like that?”

“Who carries someone like this?” Xiao Huai retorted with a cold snort.

With the light behind Lu Yuanshi, Xiao Huai missed the bewitching glint that flashed through the corner of his eye.

Lu Yuanshi simply let Xiao Huai hold on to his hair and continued striding forward.

As he walked, his faintly amused voice drifted to Xiao Huai’s ears.

“Getting a cramp out in the snow? Careful, or you’ll cripple yourself.”

“You…” How did you know…?

Xiao Huai lowered his head and fell silent. He patted Lu Yuanshi’s shoulder, and Lu Yuanshi gave a quiet hum of acknowledgment.

“Then carry me a different way.”

If they returned to the manor in this position and the other players saw them, even someone as thick-skinned as Xiao Huai would feel embarrassed.

Beneath the warm light, his lowered lashes looked long and elegant. The cramp and the sudden stretching of his leg had left the outer corners of his eyes faintly pink. That touch of color intertwined with the shadows beneath his eyelids, giving him a mesmerizing beauty that drew every gaze.

Lu Yuanshi froze for a moment. “All right.”

A little while later, he obediently shifted Xiao Huai onto his back.

Xiao Huai had no idea how many gods had become fans of his looks after watching that little exchange on the Gods’ Livestream.

Their comments grew even more brazen.

Competition to sign up as an NPC in Xiao Huai’s next game became fiercer than ever.

The instant Lu Yuanshi pushed open the door with Xiao Huai on his back, Old Mo, who was brushing his teeth, stared at them in surprise.

With his mouth full of foam, he asked indistinctly, “Where did you two go?”

His gaze moved to Xiao Huai on Lu Yuanshi’s back.

Whether from the cold or something else, Xiao Huai’s ears were bright red, and there was an inexplicable flush around his eyes.

The sight looked rather intimate.

Old Mo sensed an unfriendly gaze and traced it back to Lu Yuanshi.

Lu Yuanshi looked at him coldly and parted his lips. “Naturally, we went to do a few secret things that only the two of us could do together.”

Old Mo’s face flushed scarlet. He raised a thumb.

“Damn, bro. Respect.” With that, he fled.

Xiao Huai frowned slightly. Why had that sounded so strange?

Still, Lu Yuanshi was not wrong. The two of them had secretly investigated the Diamond Factory.

Teammates in a horror game could never be trusted lightly. Xiao Huai choosing to act alongside Lu Yuanshi was already unprecedented.

Once they reached his room, Xiao Huai sprawled lazily across the bed and waved at Lu Yuanshi. “Thanks.”

Nothing beat lying on a large, soft bed. Even the cramp no longer hurt.

“Then do I get a reward?”

“Huh?”

Xiao Huai looked up at him, speechless, then sat upright. “What do you want?”

Lu Yuanshi sat beside him, his unfathomably deep eyes fixed on Xiao Huai.

“For example…”