Chapter 23

Residual blood dripped steadily from the car's hood, pooling onto the ground.

For a moment, Xie Xishu found himself completely unable to move. He could only stand by the car door, watching as Qi Wu devoured the monster that had once been his desk mate.

Most of the boy's body had already disintegrated, transformed into a tangled mass of bright red, minced-meat noodles. The viscous, blood-soaked slurry overflowing from the creature's mouthparts looked rather like pasta sauce, didn't it?

Except, of course, no real pasta would be as thick as a human arm, nor would it writhe and pulse, rapidly liquefying another person's corpse to consume it into its own body.

The sounds of slime, soft flesh, and the creature’s greedy chewing converged, creating a sickening, wet, squelching noise.

Xie Xishu felt as though his soul had been violently split in two. One half was trapped in this body, trembling incessantly from terror, lost and unsure of what to do next. The other half floated far away in mid-air, like a bystander, observing everything happening to him with cold, detached calm.

After finishing off "Cheng An," who was similar in size to himself, Qi Wu’s half-mutated body swelled to nearly twice its previous volume. Then, his tentacles began to rise and fall, writhing endlessly like a cluster of exposed intestines.

Seeing this, Xie Xishu’s knees finally gave way, and he collapsed to the ground.

Then, he vomited until he felt as though the world were spinning out of control.

*

It was quite some time before Xie Xishu regained his composure.

Qi Wu had managed to return to a human form.

Xie Xishu could vaguely sense the boy standing a short distance away for a brief moment. Had he not known Qi Wu’s personality, Xie Xishu would have almost thought the other was hesitating.

A few minutes later, Qi Wu’s footsteps slowly approached.

Before that, the boy had returned to the car with no expression to retrieve the supplies they had gathered from the supermarket, pulling out a bottle of mineral water.

Qi Wu unscrewed the cap and held it out to Xie Xishu.

When the bottle touched the side of his palm, Xie Xishu’s fingers curled slightly. But a few seconds later, he sniffed, took the water, and drank.

"Finished vomiting?"

Qi Wu stood with his arms crossed, watching Xie Xishu tilt his head back and gulp down the water, before speaking in a stiff, clipped tone.

"Yes."

Xie Xishu wiped his face and replied in a low voice.

Because he had vomited so violently, the tip of his nose and his eyelids were red, and the corners of his eyes were slightly damp with reflexive tears, making him look exceptionally haggard and pitiful.

Qi Wu felt as if he had caught a whiff of that astringent yet sweet fragrance again... Even though he had just finished eating and every cell in his body was in a state of energy surplus, he felt an inexplicable dryness in his throat, and the "tongues" hidden within his body began to stir.

Ah, it must be the tears.

Qi Wu thought with irritation.

Given the current situation, since Xie Xishu was crying, it was only natural for him to want to lick the corners of the other's eyes...

Yes, it was perfectly normal.

*

For the rest of the journey, Qi Wu and Xie Xishu abandoned the old car.

On one hand, the engine was completely ruined after the two collisions with Cheng An, and it would no longer start.

On the other hand, after the struggle between Qi Wu and Cheng An, the interior of the car was a bloody mess. The upholstery and seat cushions on the passenger side had been corroded and contaminated by Cheng An’s saliva, and the front windshield was shattered entirely.

A putrid stench permeated the cabin. Not to mention Xie Xishu, even Qi Wu, who had mutated into a monster, could no longer sit in that vehicle.

Fortunately, they were not far from Qi Wu’s home. Because the villa district was located on the outskirts of the city, there were far fewer monsters wandering the streets here. Even if they occasionally caught a glimpse of strange, rustling figures in the roadside bushes, those creatures would flee like rats the moment they smelled Qi Wu’s scent.

Clearly, the monsters here had not experienced the cutthroat survival of the city center and were not as ferocious as those in the downtown area.

This gave Xie Xishu a slight sense of relief.

"...Otherwise, why would I let you follow me home?" Qi Wu said coldly, carrying the supermarket supplies. "If you went back to your high-rise, high-density home in the city center, you would have been swarmed and eaten by those monsters before you even reached the lobby."

Xie Xishu, who had been listlessly following behind, felt a jolt in his heart, a giant question mark flashing in his mind.

How did Qi Wu know he lived in a high-rise...

Right. This was the person who had sent a mobile phone to his home to threaten him.

It had happened not long ago, but perhaps due to the excessive trauma blurring his sense of time, it felt as distant as a past life.

"Thank you," Xie Xishu said softly, pausing before adding, "You really have protected me many times. Thank you."

Hearing the soft, gentle voice beside him, Qi Wu’s lips curled into a faint smile, but the next moment, he stopped abruptly.

"What’s wrong?"

The boy looked at Xie Xishu with suspicion.

"Why are you so listless... Wait, you have a fever."

Qi Wu caught the familiar scent on Xie Xishu without any effort—because of the rise in body temperature from the fever, Xie Xishu’s fragrance was richer and more damp than usual.

"Damn it."

Qi Wu cursed.

Xie Xishu raised his hand to touch his own forehead; his complexion looked worse than before. A high fever before a major exam was already troublesome enough, but in the current situation, it could be fatal.

Qi Wu snatched the plastic bags from Xie Xishu’s hands, even though they only contained some light, puffed snacks.

The intoxicating fragrance emanating from the boy’s flesh, which acted like a magic potion to monsters, was diffusing subtly through the heat.

Qi Wu’s expression darkened instantly.

He could already perceive that, in places invisible to the eye, those annoying monsters were following the faint, ethereal scent, trailing them unconsciously.

"What a troub... Tsk, forget it. Get on, I'll carry you."

As he spoke, Qi Wu held the bulging plastic bags and turned his back to Xie Xishu, crouching slightly to expose his broad back.

Xie Xishu’s body stiffened.

"No, there’s no need."

His voice was hoarse as he reflexively refused: "I’m just in the early stages of a fever; I’m not that weak. I can walk myself—"

Before he could finish, the boy cut him off.

"Are you going to climb up yourself, or do you want me to tie you up and carry you?"

Qi Wu tilted