Chapter 84

Chapter 84

The bathroom of the suite was filled with steam, with Yan Bubu and Feng Chen lying at opposite ends of the bathtub, comfortably closing their eyes.

Feng Chen had been tense for the past few days, tormented by anxiety, stress, and pain. Now fully relaxed, he quickly fell into a deep sleep.

In his sleep, he felt a psychic force trying to enter his psychic realm, like a polite little hand gently knocking on the door, tentative and inquiring.

This psychic force didn't provoke any defensiveness in him. The doors to his psychic realm were wide open, allowing it to roam freely inside, like a joyful breeze.

He indulged this psychic force, occasionally touching it with his own psychic power. The two forces sometimes mingled playfully, sometimes raced side by side, flying towards the boundless expanse ahead.

When Feng Chen woke up, his first sensation was one of immense relief. His chest, which had felt constricted and heavy for days, was now relaxed, and even the slight headache he had been experiencing was gone.

He realized he and Yan Bubu had been lying in the bathtub for two hours, but thankfully the water was still warm due to the automatic temperature control. He got up, dressed, and then wrapped Yan Bubu in a large bath towel, lifting him out.

Yan Bubu half-opened his eyes, showing a drowsy smile to Feng Chen: "Brother."

"Hmm."

"I think I just met you. I couldn’t see you, but I knew it was you. We were playing together," Yan Bubu mumbled.

"I know," Feng Chen carried him towards the bedroom, "Keep sleeping."

"Hmm."

The night deepened, with wild winds howling outside and snowflakes hitting the sturdy windows, creating a rustling sound. Inside the institute, it was like another world, insulated from the wind and snow, peaceful and warm.

Only Black Lion was still searching for the Binunu quantum beast, darting around the spacious floors, occasionally knocking things over and causing loud noises in the darkness.

After being woken up again by the noise from the upstairs floor, Feng Chen, despite Black Lion's objections, irritably pulled it into his psychic domain.

It had been a long time since Feng Chen had slept so deeply.

Feng Chen was vaguely aware that Yan Bubu had woken up, tossing and turning in bed, humming off-tune songs at times, and then leaning close to his ear to call out 'brother'.

He decided to pull the blanket over his head, choosing to ignore and continue sleeping.

After a while, the blanket was pulled from his face, and his head was lifted onto Yan Bubu's lap, a spoon brought to his mouth, feeding him something warm.

Tasting the mixture of milk powder and rice flour, Feng Chen firmly closed his mouth.

"Why aren’t you eating? Do you want meat? If you don't like rice flour, just tell me. Why are you being so disobedient, refusing to swallow just to annoy me, huh? You’d be happy with only meat…"

Yan Bubu continued feeding Feng Chen, incessantly muttering, repeating the words Feng Chen used to say while he was unconscious and being fed.

After reluctantly swallowing a spoonful of the thick rice flour he disliked, Feng Chen finally opened his eyes.

"Brother, you're awake? Do you want to sleep more? Finish your breakfast first," Yan Bubu’s delighted face loomed in front of him.

Feng Chen stared blankly at the ceiling: "Yan Bubu, you're so noisy."

Yan Bubu chuckled, "This is the first time I've gotten up before you." He scooped another spoonful of rice flour towards Feng Chen's mouth, who raised his hand to block it: "I don’t want this."

Noticing it was nearly noon, he sat up to get dressed, instructing Yan Bubu, "Go to that cupboard and put on some socks."

Yan Bubu, wearing a tight thermal suit that made him look round, but still barefooted, put down the bowl and went to get socks.

"Did you see your Binunu?" Feng Chen asked while putting on his clothes.

"My Binunu is on the sofa."

Feng Chen said, "You know that’s not what I meant."

"Then I don’t know," Yan Bubu walked out directly.

Watching his retreating back, Feng Chen released Black Lion from his psychic domain: "Go, find his quantum beast."

The eager Black Lion immediately dashed out of the suite, speeding towards other floors.

After freshening up, Feng Chen came out of the room and immediately saw Yan Bubu lying prostrate in front of the living room window, motionless, gazing outside.

He walked over and sat on the windowsill, noting that the world outside had turned into a vast expanse of white, the entire landscape covered in snow and ice. Where there had been a flood outside the fifth floor last night, there was now a thick layer of ice.

The two sat in silence, watching the outside world when Yan Bubu suddenly asked, "Did Colonel Yu and the others abandon us because they were afraid I’d turn into a zombie?"

Feng Chen thought for a moment before responding, "It's true they were afraid of you becoming a zombie, but it wasn’t them who abandoned us. I chose not to take you on the boat."

Yan Bubu traced his finger on the glass and then asked, "Will we ever see Colonel Yu again?"

"I don't know," Feng Chen replied.

He brushed a curl from Yan Bubu’s forehead, "Are you mad at me for not taking you on the boat? If we were on the boat, we could have reached Central City in about half a month."

Yan Bubu gently shook his head, "Wherever brother goes, I go."

"But now it's just the two of us here."

"It's always been just the two of us," Yan Bubu leaned into Feng Chen’s arms, wrapping his arms around his waist, "and now we have a big lion... and that annoying mutant... It would be best if we could drive that mutant away."

Just then, a clattering noise came from upstairs, sounding like something being overturned. Soon after, Black Lion appeared, bounding down the stairs with the struggling Binunu in its mouth.

Black Lion obviously had a tough time catching Binunu, its mane pulled into disarray, and black smoke emanating from several spots on its body.

Binunu continued to struggle, its small claws firmly gripping a tuft of Black Lion’s mane. Black Lion grimaced in pain but dared not let go.

"What are you doing? Let it go, you zombie mutant!"

Yan Bubu suddenly rushed forward, trying to pry Binunu’s claws off. Binunu clung tightly to Black Lion’s mane, and, seeing it in pain, Yan Bubu, in a moment of distress, bent down to bite.

Feng Chen quickly pulled Yan Bubu back by the collar of his shirt.

Yan Bubu saw the fierce expression on Binunu’s face, its black eyes glaring hatefully at him, and disgust rose in his heart.

"It's a zombie, throw it away!" Yan Bubu shouted, pointing at Binunu and reaching out to grab it.

Feng Chen stepped between him and Binunu, "It's not a zombie, we can't throw it away."

"Then let's lock it up, lock it in the toilet."

"We can't do that either—ouch!" Feng Chen suddenly cried out in pain, turning his head to look behind him.

There was Binunu, having released Black Lion, now biting Feng Chen squarely on the buttocks, its body dangling in mid-air.

"Ahh, ahh!" Yan Bubu hurried over, pulling Binunu back and screaming, "Let go of my brother, you zombie villain, let go of him!"

After Yan Bubu pulled Binunu off, it flapped in the air. Seeing Yan Bubu dragging it towards the window, Feng Chen, despite the pain in his buttocks, immediately opened the central round cover of the sixth-floor hall, shouting, "Wait, don’t throw it! I'll go close the partition door on the fifth floor. You can drop it through this round hole."

Feng Chen limped down to the fifth floor, lowered the transparent and sturdy partition wall, sealing off the fifth-floor hall.

Yan Bubu dropped Binunu down the round hole, watching it thump onto the floor below, yelling, "Fall and die, stinky zombie."

When Feng Chen returned, the two of them and the lion lay at the hole’s edge, looking down.

Binunu seemed very angry, repeatedly jumping up trying to bite the people at the hole. Feng Chen lowered the metal net embedded in the round cover over the hole, securing it. After hitting it a few times, Binunu hung on the net, biting the metal wires, making a grating sound.

The metal net was made of special material, and after Binunu tried biting through it for a while without success, it turned to slam against the transparent wall, creating thuds that made both of them wince.

After slamming for a while, it gave up and started scratching a nearby sofa, tearing it up so that feathers and fabric flew everywhere.

"It's too fierce, too fierce. Can't we really drive it out?" Yan Bubu asked.

"No, we can’t."

Feng Chen firmly refused, and Black Lion also placed its paw on Yan Bubu's shoulder, its eyes full of disapproval.

Pointing downwards, Feng Chen said to Yan Bubu, "See that? That place was originally prepared for you. If you had turned into a zombie, you would be the one clawing at the sofa down there. Tell me, if it was you, should I have driven you away?"

"Of course, you shouldn't," Yan Bubu replied.

Feng Chen added, "Exactly, if you became a zombie, I definitely wouldn't drive you away. Similarly, if Binunu becomes a zombie, you can't drive it away either."

"But I'm different," Yan Bubu thought for a moment, "You're my brother."

Feng Chen, looking at Binunu still tearing at the fabric below, said, "I'm also its brother."

Yan Bubu pouted but said nothing more.

Feng Chen stood up, still feeling the pain from where Binunu had bitten his buttocks, and winced, holding his backside. Yan Bubu quickly turned around, ready to pull at his pants.

"Don't, don't, I'll go check it in the bathroom," Feng Chen stopped him.

Each suite in the institute had a first-aid kit prepared for its personnel. Feng Chen took a kit to the bathroom, took off his pants, and checked the wound in the mirror.

Fortunately, his pants were thick, so there were only two rows of swollen red bite marks from Binunu, without any actual wound. There was no need for medication.

Yan Bubu had recovered, and the extreme cold weather had arrived, but regardless of the weather, his studies could not be interrupted.

Feng Chen found educational materials for younger age groups in the data library and projected them for Yan Bubu to watch.

"We have to start lessons now…" Yan Bubu sounded a bit disappointed.

Feng Chen waved his finger, "Tonight, I'll make you a daily schedule. There will be specific times for studying and watching cartoons."

Yan Bubu grumbled, "But when I couldn't move, I heard you crying by my ear, saying that as long as I didn't turn into a zombie, I could skip studying and watch cartoons whenever I wanted..."

"But you didn't turn into a zombie, did you?" Feng Chen said coldly: "As long as you're not a zombie, you have to study."

Yan Bubu dared not rebel and could only sit on the sofa, beginning to watch the teacher in the projection.

Feng Chen went upstairs to find useful books and paper and brought them down.

Every time Feng Chen came downstairs, Yan Bubu would look at the items he carried, sighing deeply after seeing them.

"Sit properly while studying. No slouching or lying down." Feng Chen arranged paper and pens on the table in front of Yan Bubu, who had seated himself properly, "Whatever the teacher in the projection says to write or draw, do it. I'll check later."

Yan Bubu, with a sullen face, picked up a pen and started writing.

Feng Chen programmed a small robot and brought it downstairs. Yan Bubu's eyes lit up upon seeing it, and the robot emitted a mechanical voice: "Xiao Qi has entered work mode, target locked. Xiao Qi will monitor the target and record any abnormal behavior."

"It will keep an eye on you. If you fidget or don’t pay attention for a long time, I will know."

Feng Chen placed the small robot beside Yan Bubu and continued with his tasks. Yan Bubu, while writing, kept stealing glances at the robot.

"In the last five minutes, the target looked at Xiao Qi twelve times, which Xiao Qi has recorded as abnormal behavior," announced the robot, its top flashing a red light, speaking in a cold tone.

Yan Bubu, frightened by the robot's announcement, dared not sneak another glance at it.

Black Lion remained guarding the central hole of the room, occasionally peering down at Binunu below.

Binunu, furiously having torn apart the sofa cushions, began gnawing on the wooden frame of the sofa, scattering wood chips around. When it looked up and saw Black Lion, it bared its teeth fiercely, but Black Lion remained indifferent and calmly watched it.

As noon approached, Feng Chen went to the kitchen at the end of the hallway to prepare lunch. He boiled a pot of water, planning to cook soybeans and fish together, but his eyes scanned over the array of seasonings found at the supply point, and he turned off the heat to go to a small room. There, he turned on a computer to search for fish cooking methods in the data library.

Returning to the kitchen, Feng Chen called out for Xiao Qi, the robot that had been monitoring Yan Bubu, which then glided over.

He placed a small spoonful of cornstarch on the robot’s smooth top, observing as its face screen displayed 17 grams.

With meticulous attention to his cooking, he repeatedly adjusted the amount until the display read exactly 20 grams.

"Cloud, cloud, fluffy cloud, flower bud. Learn, learn, learning, classmate..."

The real-time teaching course Feng Chen found for Yan Bubu involved the teacher saying a phrase and then leaving time for repetition. The sound of chopping fish mixed with the reading voices, bringing lively energy to the otherwise silent building.

When a bowl of braised fish was served, Yan Bubu's eyes widened in amazement.

"Is this meat? It looks so good, such beautiful meat?"

Handing him a spoon, Feng Chen casually said, “Eat,” and then sat down across the small table, scooping up a soybean into his mouth.

He didn’t glance at Yan Bubu, but Black Lion, which had been staring at Binunu from the hole, suddenly turned its head, its eyes firmly fixed on Yan Bubu, ears tensely erect.

Yan Bubu scooped up a piece of fish and stuffed it into his mouth, his cheeks bulging as he continuously murmured in admiration, "So delicious... incredibly good..."

Feng Chen subtly exhaled in relief, also picking up a piece of fish with his chopsticks to taste.

He chewed slowly, whispering to the robot beside him, "Make a note, reduce the salt by 1 gram next time."

Yan Bubu devoured his food ravenously. Fortunately, the sea fish naturally had no bones, and Feng Chen had carefully selected them, allowing Yan Bubu to spoonful after spoonful into his mouth without worry.

"Brother, you're so amazing..." Yan Bubu looked at Feng Chen with eyes full of admiration, his words muffled as he said, "When I grow up... I want to take care of you and cook delicious meals for you."

"Stop with the cheesy talk and eat," Feng Chen tapped the table.

"Okay, okay, I won't say it," Yan Bubu continued eating, joyfully swinging his legs as he did.

After the meal, Feng Chen allowed Yan Bubu to watch an hour of cartoons, then went to get his down jacket, gloves, scarf, and hat.

As he dressed in full gear, Yan Bubu asked, "Brother, where are you going?"

"I'm just going out for a walk, I'll be back soon," Feng Chen replied.

He had been considering the food situation while cooking. Although they had stocked up on plenty of soybeans and a freezer full of fish, it would eventually run out. Many mutant species on Haiyun Mountain had been killed, but there should still be plenty of rabbits left. He planned to hunt a rabbit to replenish their freezer.

"I want to go too," Yan Bubu stood up.

Feng Chen, slipping into his snow boots, said, "When I get back, I want to check your homework. You need to write two essays and do twenty math problems."

Yan Bubu, silently calculating in his head, exclaimed, “I have to do so much homework. Were you going out for a long time? Then I want to go too.”

“Not long, I’ll be back soon,” Feng Chen called Black Lion and turned towards the fifth floor. “Xiao Qi, remember to monitor him.”

“Xiao Qi has entered work mode, target locked. Xiao Qi will monitor the target and record any abnormal behavior.”

Yan Bubu ran up, hugging Feng Chen’s waist tightly. As Feng Chen walked downstairs, Yan Bubu clung to him, step by step.

Feng Chen sighed, “I’m actually going to look for food. If I can’t find any, I’ll be back quickly.”

“I want to go too…” Yan Bubu whined clingily.

Bang, bang, bang! Bang, bang, bang!

Binunu, initially quiet behind the transparent wall on the fifth floor, started scratching and hitting the wall upon seeing the two.

Black Lion quickly trotted over and comfortingly patted it through the transparent wall with its paw.

Binunu, however, bit towards the spot where Black Lion's paw was, its teeth scraping against the transparent wall with a squeak.

"See, you need to stay behind to watch over Binunu," Feng Chen pointed at Binunu.

Yan Bubu said, "I don't want to watch over it."

"Someone from our family must stay behind, in case bad people come in. You have to protect our home," Feng Chen looked down at him.

"Protect our home, huh..." Yan Bubu hesitated.

"Yes, Black Lion and I will go out to find food, and you and Binunu will stay to guard the house."

Yan Bubu finally slowly let go: "Then come back quickly, don't make me guard for too long."

"Hmm."

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Author's Note:

Binunu doesn't have a real-life counterpart. Based on everyone's comments, I looked up images and found that the Huaying from Xianjian Qi Xia Zhuan 3 (a Chinese RPG) is the closest to Binunu. If you can't find it, you can check the pictures on my Weibo. Also, don't misunderstand Binunu's role. Forget the fixed impression of brain quantum beasts being cute and cuddly pets or just summoning beasts that help their master fight. Binunu has a unique and lively personality, as you'll see later.