CH 16.2

Chapter 16.2 – Sleeping Together and Invitation

Lu Tinghan said again: “Is there anything else you want to know?”

“There is another question,” Shi Yuan said. “I listened to the radio today and heard them discussing the ‘peak period of infection’. What is that?”

He never knew about this, after all, he had never infected any creature, but he was curious to know what humans thought of monsters.

Lu Tinghan didn’t expect him to ask this, so he paused and said, “Infection is divided into peak and low periods. During the peak period, the distortion accelerates, the infected organisms are extremely active, and there are often large-scale outbreaks or movements of infected organisms; on the contrary, during the low period, the infection value of the abyss is stable, and the desire and aggressiveness of the infected organisms are weak.”

“Is it dangerous at peak period?” Shi Yuan asked.

“Hmm.” Lu Tinghan said, “We are in the longest low period. It has lasted for nearly 20 years and has given the city a long respite, but there have been rumors that the peak period is coming. In fact, it will come one day.”

“What happens when it come?”

“I don’t know. I also have a lot of things I don’t know.”

Shi Yuan: “Is there anything else you don’t know? Besides the chicken and the egg?”

“I don’t know how you can say so many strange things,” Lu Tinghan said. “What’s going on in your head all day long, go to sleep.”

Shi Yuan curled up his tail in confusion, nestling in Lu Tinghan’s arms.

The effect of sleeping in the same bed is immediate. This time, he was finally not afraid of the nightmare full of humans, he closed his eyes and fell asleep with peace of mind.

He dreamed of the past.

Next to the abyss was a cascading cypress forest, and outside the cypress forest was an endless wasteland. He didn’t know the city at that time, he just thought that there was nothing beyond the wasteland, and it must be the end of the world.

The observation tower, where Lu Tinghan lived, stood between heaven and earth. He would patrol the abyss in the morning and evening and record the values. Shi Yuan liked his gaze and company, but he was still lonely at night, he couldn’t see Lu Tinghan, after all, human beings have to sleep.

After many years, after a long trek, Shi Yuan finally had his first night with his human.

Shi Yuan slept soundly this time.

When Lu Tinghan got up early, Shi Yuan also woke up.

The hazy daylight seeped in through the curtains, the city had not yet awakened, it was still silent and cold. Lu Tinghan was sitting by the bed when there was a rustling sound behind him, Shi Yuan wrapped his tail lightly around his waist: “Are you leaving?”

“Hmm,” Lu Tinghan replied.

“Oh,“ Shi Yuan said. “Be careful on the road.” He reluctantly let go of his tail.

Before closing the door, Lu Tinghan looked back again.

Shi Yuan was still wrapped in a quilt, his side face was hazy in the faint light, and only a section of his graceful neck could be seen.

His body temperature remained in his arms.

At this moment, Lu Tinghan’s expression moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something.

A gust of wind blew through the window and the glass rattled slightly.

He closed the door gently.

An hour later, Shi Yuan also went out to the Garcia Grand Theater.

When he took the bus, there were many windows sealed with wooden boards outside the window, and there were many gloomy faces inside the car. After the bird attack, the atmosphere in the entire city was very gloomy.

Humans were afraid of monsters.

Just as he was afraid of humans.

The troupe was no exception, and everyone was in bad spirits.

Qin Luoluo yawned, Wolfgang read the script silently, Xia Fang lowered his eyes and took the new poster.

The only one that didn’t change was Cheng Youwen.

He came from the second floor with a script in one hand and a crutch in the other, pulling his throat and shouting, “What’s the matter? Isn’t it just a Level III warning? It’s not that you haven’t seen it before. Don’t put on such a funeral face!”

Xia Fang said: “Recently, there have been more and more warnings. Everyone is saying that the next peak of infection is coming. Maybe we will be dead tomorrow. Even when I die, I’m still a pauper.”

Qin Luoluo yawned: “I don’t care about the warnings, I just didn’t sleep well. For that group of birds, I sealed the windows for two nights…”

“As long as the sky doesn’t fall, we have to work and we have to act, otherwise, we will waste more of my good script.” Cheng Youwen twisted his head and coughed a few times. “The military didn’t say that the peak period is coming, don’t guess. Chief, you take the lead and act positively. Why are you also depressed?”

Wolfgang’s expression was steady and deep: “There is no money.”

Cheng Youwen said: “Of all people, only you have the best reason.” He looked at Shi Yuan, suddenly very relieved. “You should all learn from Shi Yuan, he will not be surprised and he will not be affected at all.”

Shi Yuan was inexplicably praised, and said honestly: “That’s because I’m not afraid of monsters…”

If he had gone to the shelter the day before yesterday, it would be overcrowded and he would have had a panic attack, he would definitely not be as energetic as he is today.

“Good! Very spirited!” Cheng Youwen was more pleased. “Let’s learn from Shi Yuan and come to work! For Lady Isabella!”

On this day, Shi Yuan practiced his lines and was highly praised by Cheng Youwen, who praised him as a rising star in the theater.

At two o’clock in the afternoon, the rising star stood on the stage for the first time and rehearsed the first act.

Cheng Youwen revised the script, and Shi Yuan starred in both the tree demon and the God of Salvation.

Wolfgang would play the male protagonist Leo, the gangster. He would also wear rags and dirty pants, revealing large pieces of tendon meat on his arms. He also put on makeup, and the centipede-like scars crawled on his face, which was shocking.

Wolfgang usually spoke very little, and was so silent that no one could tell that he was the head of the troupe. Now when he took the stage, he was like a different person. Shi Yuan watched him dance with his hands and feet, shoving the villager played by Xia Fang, his face full of evil and cynicism.

He kicked the chair away: “I’ll beat you, let’s see which one of us is better than the other?”

His eyes were wide with anger: “What’s wrong? Whether I work or not, it’s none of your business!”

He was so drunk that he couldn’t recognize north from south: “One more… I’m not drunk, one more drink…” Then he suddenly became violent, stepped on the stool, slapped the table, and made a loud drunken burp, “You, hurry up and fill it up for Lao Tzu!”

Just like a living ‘Deng Tuzi’

In order to learn the script, Shi Yuan watched several stage plays on his mobile phone, but it was the first time he watched it on the spot. Wolfgang played so well, his lines and emotions merged naturally, and the scenery on the set came to life under the stage lights. He seemed to be a person from another world. He spent all day drinking, going to the trees to fight birds, and harassing women by the way. The hippie smile made people want to beat him.

Shi Yuan didn’t understand the charm of stage plays, and didn’t know why humans liked to watch performances, but he was still a little envious, thinking that this was what humans called “talented”.

Soon, it was Shi Yuan’s part.

Cheng Youwen changed the script for Shi Yuan.

Taking into account Shi Yuan’s appearance, he designed him as a traveler who had just arrived in the village, named Lin Mo.

The curse of the monster in the traveler’s body gave birth to black scales, horns, and a long tail, but the hospitable villagers accepted him. Lin Mo worked diligently and seriously, and quickly gained the love of everyone.

But Leo was not happy.

He repeatedly mocked Lin Mo’s appearance, saying that he was a messenger of hell. After a drunken encounter, Leo bumped into Lin Mo on the road and the two got into a verbal argument. Leo killed Lin Mo, shouting, “You’re a monster! See if I don’t kill you!”

The village discovered the murder and Leo was forced to flee.

In this paragraph, Shi Yuan didn’t have many scenes.

Lin Mo was working at the bar, and all he had to do was say a few lines: “What would you like to order?” “Sir, here’s your drink.” “That’ll be 12 yuan, please.” That’s it.

In the scene of the altercation, Leo was yelling in a hoarse voice. When Wolfgang pulled his hair and yelled and pretended to be hysterical, Shi Yuan only had to make an escape posture, and then he was dragged back and stabbed through the heart with a knife.

The prop knife was retractable. Shi Yuan performed very well, fell to the ground softly with a prop knife, and began to play dead. He was very quiet and very patient, his body was motionless, like a corpse that couldn’t be more dead.

During the break, Shi Yuan drank water in the backstage. Through the curtain, he saw the stacked seats, densely packed, all of which were dark red velvet that had already dimmed. During the official performance, there will definitely be a lot of spectators there.

Shi Yuan felt scared just by imagining it, his tail would definitely be knotted at that time, and Lu Tinghan had to untie it again.

After the rehearsal, it was already time to get off work.

“Let’s continue tomorrow,” Cheng Youwen said, turning his head and coughing a few times, his pale skin flushed with excitement. “Everyone performed well.”

Shi Yuan returned home.

At dinner time, Lu Tinghan hadn’t come back yet, so Broken Copper made him a bowl of noodles. Shi Yuan waited for Lu Tinghan while eating noodles.

At 9 o’clock in the evening, Lu Tinghan sent him a text message saying that he would not be back tonight.

Shi Yuan asked: [Why?]

After a long time, Lu Tinghan replied: [At the outpost.]

Lu Tinghan said again: [Stay at home, I will be back soon.]

This was the second time Shi Yuan heard the word “outpost”.

He searched for “outpost” on the Internet, and the information told him that the outpost was the city’s line of defense.

Once the Abyss Watchers detect the fluctuation of the abyss, they will inform the command center and subsequently the troops stationed at the outposts to defend, while at the same time, the city will also dispatch troops to support them. In other words, the Watchers sound the alarm, the Outposts meet the battle, and the City is responsible for further dispatch and support, the three complement each other. This is the defense process set by General Su Enqi after the Alliance paid a bloody lesson, which is efficient enough.

Shi Yuan couldn’t understand those professional vocabulary. They were much more difficult to understand than the script. He only understood that it was very close to the monsters.

Lu Tinghan went to kill the monsters.

Shi Yuan knew that Lu Tinghan was very powerful, but he couldn’t help worrying about his human. Moreover, this meant that tonight would be another extraordinarily lonely night.

He had already begun to miss Lu Tinghan.

For a moment, he wanted to go to the outpost to find Lu Tinghan. Anyway, he was not afraid of monsters, but he finally suppressed the impulse and replied to Lu Tinghan: [Okay, you have to be careful]

Lu Tinghan did not reply.

一一一一一一一一一一一一一一一一一

**TN

Deng Tuzi – a person who lived in the Warring States Period, his name is synonymous with the word ‘lecherous or lustful’

Deng Tuzi badmouthed a person named Song Yu (a handsome guy) to Chu Wang (King of Chu), he called Song Yu a lecher and told Chu Wang not to let him meet Chu Wang’s harem. Chu Wang then questioned Song Yu about this and Song Yu defended himself saying that his beautiful neighbor often climbs his wall to seduce him but he never gave in. He then started attacking Deng Tuzi saying that Deng Tuzi’s wife was ugly yet they have 5 kids, proving that it was Deng Tuzi who was lustful.

Mao Zedong in 1958, overturned Deng Tuzi’s case, saying that he was not lustful at all and that he was actually a loyal husband. Because even though his wife was ugly, they still had many children.

I can’t. The poor wife was shot by an arrow multiple times out of nowhere. Being called ugly again and again. XD