CH 78

I gotta say, Si Chu’s marksmanship is on point and steady, like he was carved from the same mold as Si Di.

Even without any aiming time, it’s all muscle memory from years of training, but this shot still hit the attacker’s shoulder, hindering his assault on Xiao Jiali.

But the sentinel seemed numb to pain, his pause only from the impact of the bullet, not from a flesh wound. Next second, with bloodshot eyes, he charged forward regardless.

He must have been injected with some kind of stimulant, Xiao Zhenyun held Xiao Jiali’s neck tightly, determined not to let go. Those MP bastards, to them the test subjects were just tools, without any personality or rights; they’d do anything to stay alive.

Si Chu quickly fired off shots, then shouted to Xiao Zhenyun, “My spiritual suppression lock!”

“Get to him,” Xiao Zhenyun told Xiao Jiali.

The humanoid wheelchair obediently moved closer, and Xiao Zhenyun pressed his fingerprint on Si Chu’s neck, deactivating the suppression lock. At the same time, the Czech wolfdog leapt fiercely from mid-air, glaring at Xiao Zhenyun, yet still shielding him, roaring as it faced the bloodshot-eyed sentinel’s bared fangs.

The spiritual body follows the owner’s heart.

It seemed the little dog still held a grudge, but with the big enemy present, Si Chu still stood in front of Xiao Zhenyun. He didn’t want Xiao Zhenyun to get hurt or die; personal grievances could wait, he knew what was urgent and what wasn’t.

You’re a good doggie.

Unlike your brother who’s still on his way riding a horse.

The spiritual body of the bloodshot sentinel appeared as a toxic, small, spotted leopard-print octopus, emitting warning aqua-blue fluorescent spots and blue rings in the shadows. The wolfdog growled lowly, circling around it. Having spent three weeks in the unchanging landscape of the spiritual domain, its mouth was itching, yet it feared the deadly toxin of this small octopus.

But as the male lead, Si Chu naturally had the ability to tease and provoke. Despite feeling anxious, sleepless, and having vivid dreams during these days in the basement, with Xiao Zhenyun clinging to him for his daily needs, he remained in good spirits. Not to mention, Xiao Jiali was assisting him nearby. They quickly found an opportunity to subdue the bloodshot sentinel, ending his life with a single shot.

The sentinel lay on the ground, coughing up blood and shuddering, while the blue-ringed octopus curled slowly beside its owner’s hand. Xiao Jiali swiftly stepped over the body and headed toward the continuously echoing gunfire outside. Xiao Zhenyun lay on his back and, glancing back, unexpectedly saw a hint of relief on the Sentinel’s face.

“What happened?” Si Chu finally had a moment to inquire about the situation.

Xiao Zhenyun didn’t respond, lost in thoughts about the deceased sentinel’s relieved smile. It wasn’t until Si Chu asked again that he finally snapped out of it. “It’s still the MP research institute, the same group that kidnapped us last time. Their target was Xiao Jiali… The weakness of these special operatives lies in their inability to recover spiritually, unable to fight prolonged battles, resulting in depletion and death.”

Si Chu stood with his gun on the landing of the spiral staircase, then suddenly his eyes lit up. “That scent… Ye Feiran’s scent, is Ye Feiran here?”

“Watch out for bullets!” Xiao Jiali quickly reminded, relieved that Si Chu, not having seen his lover for many days, didn’t lose his head and promptly ducked, avoiding the flying bullets.

Another round of gunfire, followed by retreating footsteps. The house suddenly fell into a dreadful silence. Si Chu stood up slowly, the wolfdog leading the way, as he followed step by step with his gun.

“Ye Feiran?” he called out loudly.

A delighted voice immediately responded from below, “Si Chu?! Is that you?”

“It’s me!… What’s going on down there?”

“Those people have all left… Could it be reinforcements?” Ye Feiran speculated. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the group of reckless special operatives, who had been attacking aggressively, suddenly vacated the villa. There had to be something fishy about it.

The first to react was Hedgehog; he swiftly stood up from behind the table, grabbing the breathless Duan Fei behind him. “Let’s go!”

The special operatives knew the situation was dire; they had limited time and couldn’t afford to delay. If they couldn’t break through, they would immediately resort to other rapid methods to complete the mission.

No one doubted Hedgehog’s judgment. Xiao Nian sprinted off, but with his short legs, he couldn’t run fast. Midway, he was grabbed by Ye Feiran’s long legs and pulled along.

Si Chu agilely braced against the railing, leaping sideways. From the center of the spiral staircase, he landed on the floor, rolling forward and charging directly in front of Ye Feiran.

The two exchanged smiles, relieved to see each other safe and sound, finally easing the tension that hung in the air.

Xiao Jiali, carrying Xiao Zhenyun on his back, needed to be more careful with his movements. Si Chu took over for a moment, noticing Xiao Jiali covered in cold sweat, blood seeping through his shirt from his abdominal wound. He quickly positioned himself in front, bending down. “Let me carry him.”

Breathing heavily, Xiao Jiali didn’t protest.

Just as everyone rushed into the underground garage, several grenades were thrown through the shattered windows, followed by several loud explosions that sent flames shooting into the sky, shattering all the glass and causing the ground to tremble violently.

—These were the weapons originally funded by Xiao Zhenyun to the MP research institute, intended to deal with Si Di’s Storm Team.

In the split second before the explosion, Xiao Jiali realized something and swiftly lunged over to shield the slower-moving Xiao Nian with his body.

Xiao Nian’s pupils dilated as he anxiously got up to check on Xiao Jiali. He felt the person holding him trembling with pain. His gaze dropped down to see Xiao Jiali’s right leg badly injured from the blast.

He took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and only managed to say, “You don’t need to protect me.”

Xiao Jiali struggled to breathe through the pain but managed to smile at Xiao Nian while being supported by Ye Feiran. “You’re still young.”

“You have plenty of time ahead of you, and I’m willing to trade what little time I have left for your long life.”

“I’ll go out alone to draw their attention away. Little brother, you cover me.” Hedgehog rolled out his customized motorcycle and tossed his sniper rifle to Si Chu. “The rest of you use this opportunity to drive and follow, heading in the opposite direction. Keep the GPS on; if I have the strength, I’ll come back to support you. Return the gun to me when the time comes.”

After fastening his helmet, he asked again, “Si Di isn’t here yet? It’s been twenty minutes; he should have crawled over by now.”

“It’s only been five minutes,” Xiao Zhenyun said, noticing Si Chu opening the rear door of the car. “Take me to the driver’s seat. MP’s target is me and Xiao Jiali. Let Xiao Jiali sit behind me in this car, and you guys take another vehicle. It’s less likely to attract their attention… Si Chu? Si Chu, please listen.”

Si Chu completely ignored him, placing Xiao Zhenyun in the passenger seat and closing the door.

“I’ll go alone with one car; the rest of you go…” Xiao Jiali, weakened by blood loss, was pushed into the back seat by Ye Feiran while Si Chu and he simultaneously exited the front and back doors of the car. As they turned, their eyes met.

Xiao Zhenyun, facing death, still remembered safe driving practices and fastened his seatbelt. Through the rearview mirror, he saw Male lead 1 and Male lead 2 embracing tightly, reunited after a long separation. Moved by their emotions, the two kissed briefly yet passionately.

Xiao Nian followed behind Xiao Jiali, lifting his leg to climb into the car. However, midway, Si Chu, interrupting their affectionate moment, hugged him around the waist and stuffed him into the passenger seat of the second car like a sack of rice. Duan Fei lay unconscious in the back seat, while Ye Feiran, with a determined gaze, occupied the driver’s seat.

With the situation critical, Ye Feiran, a guide, had to be used as an auxiliary sentinel.

That left only one person for the driver’s seat of Xiao Zhenyun’s car—Si Chu, who was providing cover fire for Hedgehog.

Xiao Zhenyun pondered for a few seconds, unbuckled his seatbelt, and with great effort, used his arm strength to shift his entire body to move himself into the driver’s seat. Xiao Jiali, unable to move his right leg in the back seat, couldn’t help but ask, “Xiao Zhenyun, you’re not as good a driver as I am.”

“Shut up and help me, then put on the sensory suppressor.”

Xiao Jiali obediently kept quiet, sitting up to assist him, but seemed to completely ignore Xiao Zhenyun’s third command.

At the moment the garage door opened, Hedgehog darted away like a ghost on his roaring black motorcycle, drawing the attention of most of the experimental operatives. Ye Feiran immediately seized the opportunity, stepping on the accelerator and shouting to Si Chu, “I’ve severed the spiritual link! Be careful with your spiritual domain!”

Immediately, without looking back, Ye Feiran directly knocked down a guide who was blocking the path in front of the car, then charged in the opposite direction of Hedgehog amid the hail of bullets.

Ye Feiran and Xiao Nian were covered in Xiao Jiali’s blood, making it impossible for the sentinels to accurately discern whether their target was in this car or still hiding in the burning mansion. They quickly split into three groups: two pursued Hedgehog, half of them drove after Ye Feiran’s car, and the rest continued to confront Si Chu.

With the loss of Ye Feiran’s spiritual protection, Si Chu’s spiritual domain immediately came under attack from the S-class guide. He grunted, clutching his head, and the wolfdog uncomfortably disappeared back into his spiritual domain. Si Chu put away his gun and left the firing position, staggering toward the already started car.

He noticed that Xiao Zhenyun had somehow taken the driver’s seat. The passenger door was open, clearly prepared for him. With time running out, Si Chu could only brace himself and jump into the passenger seat. “Little Uncle, cough… cough…”

Xiao Zhenyun flicked away the cigarette he had barely started and tossed it out the window. “Put on your seatbelt.”

Before the words had fully left his mouth, Xiao Zhenyun pressed the throttle button on the steering wheel, and the entire car roared with a piercing engine sound, shooting out like an arrow.

Si Chu leaned back in the seat, breathing heavily as he reloaded the arsenal. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he asked, “Little Uncle, tell me the truth. Why did you imprison me?”

“Because I like you,” Xiao Zhenyun replied expressionlessly.

Xiao Jiali covered his face with clothes, firing out of the window to cover the vehicle. Just then, he turned back into the car and nearly had a meltdown when he heard Xiao Zhenyun’s words. “Teacher Xiao?! You?!…”

“Nonsense,” Si Chu retorted, aiming through the rearview mirror and precisely shooting the front tire of the car behind them. “You’ve never made a move on me. When I saw you watching me kiss Feiran just now, I became more and more sure. If you really liked me, why wouldn’t you kiss me or want to be intimate with me?”

“I told you, I yearn for a platonic spiritual connection,” Xiao Zhenyun said, sharply steering to drift around a sharp bend.

His heart pounded faster than he could bear, images of the elevated bridge leading to his death flashing before his eyes. The massive steel beams seemed ready to crush the car into scrap metal at any moment. His pulse throbbed in his wrist, and the carotid artery in his neck made its presence known. Xiao Zhenyun’s breathing became strained, blood vessels reddening the whites of his eyes.

“I don’t believe you,” Si Chu replied, changing the arsenal again. “Then why are you so physical with my brother?”

“Split personality.”

“Don’t deny it. You’re just into my brother.”

A bullet pierced through the thick glass of the car, embedding itself in the center of the windshield. However, Xiao Zhenyun’s car was of excellent quality; there was only a crack around the bullet impact, with the rest of the windshield remaining intact.

“Teacher Xiao, remember to replace all the car windows with bulletproof glass,” Xiao Jiali couldn’t help but comment.

“I’ll just buy a tank and park it in the garage,” Xiao Zhenyun said. “You and Xiao Nian can take care of that.”

“Xiao Nian is the best at shopping,” Xiao Jiali chuckled, his eyes crinkling with a smile.

Si Chu’s side mirror was also gone, not shattered by the enemy, but broken off when Xiao Zhenyun crashed into the mountainside.

“Where does this road lead? Up the mountain?” The little dog asked, puzzled.

The winding mountain road showed no signs of making Xiao Zhenyun slow down. He gritted his teeth and growled, “Ask your brother when his backup is getting here! Even if he was riding a donkey, he should’ve arrived by now!”

The author has something to say:

4D: It’s not my fault! The author is holding me back, not letting my donkey move!

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