Chapter 8

Chapter 8

They continued forward, turning right into the central city area.

The once bustling central city area, with its high-rise buildings and brilliant lights at night, now lay desolate.

The empty streets were littered with ruins; shattered glass from broken facades glinted in the harsh midday sun. A half-collapsed office building stood on the street side, intact up to the twentieth floor, with the top half presumably collapsed around it.

Entering the building, they found a vast, empty reception hall, papers scattered everywhere, and toppled green plants on the tiled floor.

"Let's check upstairs."

On the second floor, they entered the nearest room, found a water dispenser, and each grabbed a paper cup for a satisfying drink.

Feng Chen searched around and was lucky to find in a locked pantry five bottles of water, three packets of instant noodles, a loaf of sliced bread, a box of chocolates, and some beef jerky.

Yan Bubu followed him silently, occasionally prodding the gap in his teeth where he had lost a tooth. His eyes sparkled upon seeing the chocolate and beef jerky.

They sat on a sofa eating, Feng Chen tidying his backpack while munching on bread, and Yan Bubu struggling with the beef jerky package, using his hands and teeth with such force that his head trembled.

Feng Chen took the jerky from him, carefully avoiding the saliva-covered torn end, and opened it from the other side, handing it back.

Yan Bubu pulled out a piece but didn’t eat it himself. Instead, he extended it towards Feng Chen's mouth, "Young master, eat."

Feng Chen looked at his fingers, noticing they were not too dirty, just a bit dusty, and took a bite of the jerky.

Chewing on the jerky, Feng Chen cleared the unnecessary items from his backpack, packing the noodles and bottled water. Lastly, he took out the password box, holding it in his hands for a careful examination.

The object in Feng Chen's hand was a silver-gray metal box, roughly the size of a cigarette pack but square-shaped. Its surface was smooth, with one side featuring a numeric keypad. He knew it contained important secrets, but not what they were or the code to open it.

Yan Bubu rambled on, "Can I wrap the beef jerky in bread and eat it?"

"You can."

"And add a piece of chocolate in the middle?"

"Hmm."

Yan Bubu wrapped beef jerky and chocolate in bread, holding it up to Feng Chen, "Young master, look at my 'Magic Fruit Sandwich', do you want some?"

"No."

Feng Chen couldn’t imagine the taste of bread stuffed with beef jerky and chocolate and promptly refused.

Suddenly, the roar of caterpillar trucks and amplified voices from outside became audible, getting louder and clearer.

"…All survivors head to Haiyun Tower for identity registration before entering the underground shelter…"

Feng Chen walked to the window and saw two armored tanks leading the way, followed by several trucks with soldiers standing on them. People began emerging from the damaged buildings on both sides of the street, getting scanned on their wrists, and then following the vehicles.

Turning back, Feng Chen saw Yan Bubu hadn’t touched his food and was anxiously watching him, "We can’t go there."

"Yeah, I know," Yan Bubu nodded, understanding.

Still wearing Feng Chen's oversized suit jacket, his muddy feet dangled off the sofa. The suit rode up due to his sitting position, revealing his small, segmented legs and a glimpse of his buttocks.

Feng Chen awkwardly averted his gaze, "Even though we can’t go now, we should think of something. But the most important thing is to find you some clothes."

"Actually, wearing this is fine," Yan Bubu said.

Feng Chen said expressionlessly, "No, it's not."

"Um, okay then."

Yan Bubu turned and noticed the password box peeking out of the backpack. Curiously poking it with his finger, he asked, "Young master, what is this?"

Feng Chen pondered, "I don’t know the specifics. My father only told me that this box is crucial to the future of the Eastern Alliance and many people’s lives. It must not fall into the hands of the Western Alliance. He also said if I encountered an emergency, I must remember to keep the box safe."

"Are the Western Alliance bad people?" Yan Bubu inquired.

Feng Chen explained, "It's hard to say, but if the Western Alliance discovers our identities, our situation won't be good."

"Will they kill us?" Yan Bubu asked, his eyes widening in alarm.

Feng Chen replied, "No, but they'll take the password box and detain us, using us as leverage in negotiations with my father. There's the presidential election coming up in the United Alliance, so they could—"

Feng Chen suddenly stopped speaking.

With Haiyun City in its current state, and no aid arriving from other cities, the situation was likely dire everywhere. The presidential election seemed an unlikely concern.

"What could they do?" Yan Bubu persisted.

Feng Chen shook his head, "Nothing specific, let's just hide as best as we can and deal with it if we can't anymore."

He placed the password box deep inside his backpack, "We'll stay here during the day and leave tonight. I'll take you to someone who might be able to help us, if he's still alive."

"Okay," Yan Bubu agreed, continuing to eat his so-called 'Magic Fruit Sandwich'.

Feng Chen glanced at him, "Sit properly."

"Oh."

"Close your legs."

As night fell, they left the office building and headed to a clothing mall on the street. Half-collapsed, the building was lit by several gasoline lamps at the entrance, with a few people inside.

Feng Chen turned on his flashlight, leading Yan Bubu deep into the mall, into an outdoor equipment store.

The store was eerily quiet, the flashlight's beam casting ghostly shadows on the faces of mannequins in the windows. Yan Bubu glanced at them and quickly looked away, sticking close to Feng Chen.

Feng Chen, nearing 1.7 meters tall, picked up a size S windbreaker and T-shirt from the rack. As he began to undress, he noticed Yan Bubu gripping the hem of his clothes.

"Don't be scared," he said softly.

Just as Yan Bubu was about to insist he wasn't scared, he caught sight of a mannequin nearby and instinctively hugged Feng Chen's thigh.

Feng Chen casually grabbed a few pieces of clothing, covering the mannequins' heads. Only then did Yan Bubu let go.

Feng Chen set down his backpack and took off his shirt, exposing his upper body to the air.

His young physique was lean and well-proportioned, with a thin layer of muscle over his bones, displaying a strength that belied his apparent fragility. His muscles subtly flexed with each movement, hinting at a robustness beyond his years.

After putting on a grey T-shirt and a dark blue windbreaker, he picked up a few pairs of pants to try on. As he began to undo his belt, he paused and looked back at Yan Bubu.

Yan Bubu was staring at him intently, his large eyes clear and direct, without any hint of evasion.

"Yan Bubu, can you grab me a pair of shoes from the rack?" Feng Chen asked.

"Oh."

Yan Bubu agreed readily but didn't move. Feng Chen’s hand left his belt, "Go on, get those black outdoor shoes."

"Oh."

After a moment, Feng Chen handed him the flashlight, and Yan Bubu slowly shuffled towards the shoe rack on the left.

Reaching the rack, Yan Bubu picked up the outdoor shoes. As he turned, a dark shadow flickered at the edge of his peripheral vision.

He glanced sideways, seeing nothing. But outside the range of the flashlight, a pair of faint yellow eyes gleamed in the darkness.

"Ah!" Yan Bubu screamed, terrified, dropping the shoes. Feng Chen, who had just finished putting on his pants, immediately turned and asked, "What happened?"

Yan Bubu hurriedly rushed to Feng Chen's side, hiding behind him and pointing frantically towards the left side of the shoe rack: "There, there, a ghost, there, eyes watching me..."

Feng Chen looked in the direction indicated, but his view was blocked by a wooden board. He pulled out a dagger from his backpack, ready to investigate.

Yan Bubu, clutching his leg tightly, pleaded in panic, "Don't go, Young Master, don't go, there's a ghost."

"It's okay," Feng Chen reassured as he pried Yan Bubu's hands off, "Follow me and shine the flashlight."

Behind the wooden board, they found nothing but a pair of scattered shoes.

Yan Bubu peeked out from behind Feng Chen, still shaken: "Just now, just now there were eyes there."

As he spoke, a dark shadow silently leaped down from atop the shoe rack, its sharp claws gleaming in the air, swiping at Yan Bubu's face.

The claws were as sharp as spikes, and had they struck Yan Bubu's face, the damage would have been severe.

Yan Bubu, unaware of the impending danger overhead, was peering towards the corner. Feng Chen, in a flash, turned around and struck out with his right hand with lightning speed.

Accompanied by a flash of silver light, a piercing scream echoed through the store, and something fell heavily to the ground.

Feng Chen twisted his dagger and stabbed again, but the creature, despite its pain, rolled away, avoiding the strike. It then leaped onto the top of the shoe rack, limping a few steps before scurrying into a ventilation duct.

Yan Bubu, following Feng Chen's order to illuminate, kept the flashlight beam on the creature despite his fear.

It was a large monkey, which quickly disappeared into the ventilation duct, its footsteps echoing away.

Yan Bubu shivered, incredulously saying, "Young Master, did you see that? It was a monkey."

Feng Chen was staring at the dagger in his hand, lost in thought.

His reaction just now was faster than usual. The monkey had attacked silently, yet he had sensed the danger instantly and drawn his dagger in a smooth, fluid motion.

Yan Bubu, still in shock, kept asking, "Why would a monkey attack people? They're usually so tame. Why did it want to attack me?"

"Mao Li?" Feng Chen regained his composure and asked, puzzled.

"Haven't you watched 'The Adventures of Mao Li'? That was just like Mao Li, a monkey," Yan Bubu said, still shocked and mixed with sadness. "I like Mao Li so much, but it tried to attack me."

Feng Chen, unfamiliar with 'The Adventures of Mao Li', which he assumed was an animated series, silently picked up another pair of shoes to wear.

"I didn't provoke it, and I'm not a bad guy. Mao Li never attacks good people. Does that mean I'm actually a bad guy?"

Yan Bubu continued to express his distress, prompting Feng Chen to finally clarify: "That wasn't Mao Li, just an ordinary monkey."

"It wasn't Mao Li?"

"No."

"Then who was it?"

"I don't know."

"So it—"

"Anyway, it wasn't Mao Li."

"Oh."

Yan Bubu then asked, "Why was that monkey here?"

Feng Chen, also pondering the same question, speculated, "It's probably from the monkey hill in the zoo. When the earthquake hit, the zoo's fences collapsed, and they must have escaped."

"A monkey from the zoo..."

Feng Chen suddenly realized that if this monkey was from the zoo, other animals, including dangerous predators like tigers and leopards, might also have escaped and could be roaming around.

"Did you kill the monkey just now?" Yan Bubu inquired.

"No, I didn't."

"Actually, that horizontal cut I made might have already sliced open the monkey's abdomen. Whether it survives or not is hard to say."

But he wouldn't tell Yan Bubu that, to avoid hearing endless questions and comments.