Chapter 94

Chapter 94

Yan Bubu searched the workshop and training room on the fourth floor but found no one. That left only the seventh floor.

He ran up to the seventh floor, flipping the scissors in his hand, "Hide, keep hiding, let's see where you can hide."

He suddenly pulled open the first room's door, exclaiming, "Heh heh."

The room was empty. Under the artificial illumination of high-pressure sodium lights, a few red and green chili peppers were growing, along with newly sprouted greens.

Closing that door, he tiptoed to the second room and burst in with a "Heh heh."

Still, no one was inside.

After searching the entire seventh floor, Yan Bubu stood in the last empty room, realizing Feng Chen had been on the sixth floor all along and never left.

Suddenly, a whistling sound echoed through the building, resembling a sharp whistle.

Someone had just opened the passage window on the fifth floor.

Yan Bubu left the room and rushed down to the fifth floor in one breath.

"Did my brother go out?" he asked Binunu.

The black lion shook its head at him again, and Binunu still turned its back to him.

This still meant no one had gone out.

Seeing the freshly formed frost at the passage entrance melting into droplets, Yan Bubu sat down on the stairs in frustration, snapping the air with his scissors, "You've all turned bad, you're all spies now."

"Xiaoqi has located the target, Xiaoqi is locking on the target, Xiaoqi reminds the target, it is now four o'clock in the afternoon, time for your studies."

The robot Xiaoqi glided to the sixth-floor staircase, incessantly reminding Yan Bubu below.

Remembering he hadn't done his homework yet, Yan Bubu resignedly went upstairs to do it.

Today's homework wasn't too much, but not little either; it took him an hour to complete. During this time, Binunu went outside to play, and the black lion followed.

Yan Bubu tossed his pen onto the table, yawned, and stretched leisurely, relaxing his body.

Yan Bubu saw Feng Chen emerging from his bedroom.

His mouth hung open in surprise, as he stared at Feng Chen, frozen mid-stretch.

"What are you doing? Have you finished your homework?"

Feng Chen, appearing just awoken, squinted at Yan Bubu and chuckled, "Why are you staring at me like that? Did writing homework make you silly?"

Yan Bubu stammered, "When... when did you come back?"

"Come back?" Feng Chen walked to the desk, pouring himself a glass of water, puzzled. "I never went out, what do you mean 'come back'?"

"Ah..." Yan Bubu stared at him bewildered for a moment, then realization dawned, "You just opened and closed the window, you never really left, did you?"

He tilted his head, thinking, "No wonder the black lion said you didn't go out, and Binunu turned its back to me. They were actually indicating you never left."

Feng Chen, holding his glass, suddenly flicked Yan Bubu's forehead, "Dummy."

Watching Feng Chen stroll downstairs leisurely, Yan Bubu couldn't hold back and called out, "Brother, you sneaky, sneaky fox mutant."

"I've actually seen a fox mutant, very handsome. Thanks for the compliment," Feng Chen's voice floated up from downstairs.

Yan Bubu called out again, "What are you doing now?"

"Training," Feng Chen had already reached the fourth floor.

Yan Bubu sprang to his feet, "I want to train too."

The training room was next to the workshop on the fourth floor. The spacious room was equipped with punching bags, a homemade treadmill using tracks and motors, dumbbells, and other equipment, along with instruments measuring physical capabilities on the wall.

When Yan Bubu entered, Feng Chen was already running on the treadmill. Yan Bubu put on foam covers and started punching a bag, constantly shifting his footing.

"Look at my agile movements, my explosive power, my unmatched speed and strength..."

The wall instrument displayed Yan Bubu's data: Instantaneous explosive force 136SJ, rapid strength 14KS.

Bang!

A powerful fist strikes the punching bag in front of Yan Bubu, producing a dull thud.

The numbers on the instrument instantly change: Instantaneous explosive force 632SJ, rapid strength 153KS.

Yan Bubu stops and looks expressionlessly at Feng Chen behind him.

Feng Chen pats his shoulder and points to the right: “That’s more suitable for you. Go there and train, continue to improve your agility and dexterity.”

Yan Bubu punches the bag twice more before removing the foam covers and walking to the right side of the training room.

There is a marked area with yellow lines, but as Yan Bubu crosses it, a beep sounds and beams of light start shooting down from the ceiling.

As soon as the beams hit the ground, Yan Bubu swiftly dodges them. The beams move quickly, chasing him relentlessly.

Yan Bubu moves back and forth, left and right among the beams, like a nimble antelope navigating sunlight filtering through forest leaves.

His waist is flexible, leaning back to the extreme, then snapping up like a bent bamboo suddenly releasing, quickly avoiding the beams brushing past him.

He continues this playful yet focused training among the beams, turning to see Feng Chen has finished boxing and started lifting dumbbells.

Feng Chen easily lifts the heavy dumbbells to his chest and back down, each flex showing off the smooth and powerful lines of his muscles.

As Feng Chen bends his arm to lift the dumbbell again, he feels an invisible force playfully wrapping around his arm.

His arm suddenly weakens, and the dumbbell almost slips from his grip.

“Yan Bubu, behave,” Feng Chen says, sounding resigned.

“Hahaha!” Yan Bubu dodges another beam and laughs joyfully.

After finishing their training, both take showers. By the time they come out, it's almost dark.

Feng Chen emerges from the bathroom, his semi-long hair damp and unbound, casually draped. He wears a hand-knitted sweater, unlike Yan Bubu’s turtleneck, its loose low neck revealing two sexy collarbones.

“How about hand-pulled noodles for dinner, and reheating the leftover rabbit meat from lunch?” he asks Yan Bubu lounging on the sofa.

"Their hand-pulled noodles are made with a mixture of corn flour, potato starch, and soy flour, which actually tastes pretty good."

"Yeah, I want lots of chili in mine, the kind that makes my nose run into the bowl," Yan Bubu says.

"Isn't that gross?"

"A bit gross, but not too much," Yan Bubu says, shaking his head while swinging his legs.

As Feng Chen rolls out the dough in the kitchen, Yan Bubu goes to the window, polishing the foggy glass to look outside, wondering when Binunu and Heishizi will return.

Outside, the snow has temporarily stopped, but it's still bitterly cold, everything blanketed in white. He watches the direction where Heishizi and Binunu usually play, and gradually, a black dot appears in his view.

Initially, he thinks it's Heishizi, but as the dot gets closer, he realizes it's a tracked vehicle, an ordinary van, apparently custom-modified.

Yan Bubu, who hasn't seen anyone else for years besides Feng Chen, Binunu, and Sasaqia, is startled and frozen in place at the sight of this vehicle.

After a moment, he regains his senses, remembers how they once encountered Chushi and others, and quickly hides behind the curtains, only his eyes peeking out.

"Brother, brother," he yells, fully hidden behind the curtain.

Feng Chen, sensing something unusual in his voice, rushes out of the kitchen: "What's wrong? Why are you hiding there?"

Yan Bubu points outside the window with a mix of apprehension and excitement: "I saw a car."

"A car?"

"It's a small car with people inside, actual people," Yan Bubu stutters, his face reddening with excitement.

Feng Chen walks to the window to look outside, then quickly draws the curtains tight and turns to head back to the kitchen.

Yan Bubu watches his back as he enters the kitchen, then parts the curtains slightly, peeking out with one eye.

"I recognize that car; it's a van, with four wheels, but the wheels have been replaced with tracks."

"The car has stopped."

"People are getting out, there really are people! Two of them!"

"They're walking towards our building, oh no, no, no, they're stopping outside and looking up at us."

Even though the people outside can't see into the room, Yan Bubu quickly closes the curtains and presses his back against the wall.

Soon, three rhythmic knocks sound from the downstairs window.

"Brother, they're knocking on our window, they know we're here," Yan Bubu rushes into the kitchen.

Feng Chen is kneading dough, with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his strong fingers working the dough.

"Listen, listen, they're knocking on the window again," Yan Bubu rushes over and clings to his back.

"Let them knock. Just ignore it," Feng Chen says, looking down at the bowl, his face betraying no emotion.

Yan Bubu, though visibly excited, senses Feng Chen's displeasure and stays silent, just resting his head on his back, listening to the noises from downstairs.

The sound insulation in the research institute's building is excellent, only faintly allowing the sound of someone shouting outside, but the specific words are indiscernible.

After two more knocks, the window tapping suddenly stops.

Yan Bubu quickly lifts his head: "Did they leave?"

However, after a few seconds of pause, the knocking sound resumes.

"Phew…" Yan Bubu lets out a sigh of relief.

During dinner, those two people intermittently knock on the downstairs window. Yan Bubu eats while sneakily glancing at Feng Chen and then peering outside.

"If you don't want to eat, then don't," Feng Chen says softly, looking down.

Yan Bubu gets a jolt and hurriedly slurps his noodles, making a loud slurping noise.

"Keep it down, it's deafening."

"Oh."

After dinner, Feng Chen puts down his bowl and heads back to his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Yan Bubu, not in the mood to wash dishes, walks to his bedroom door, finds it locked, and can't open it. He goes to the adjoining suite, turns the doorknob between the two rooms, and this time it opens.

Feng Chen is sitting on the single sofa, leaning back with his eyes closed, and his long legs propped up on a small table in front.

Yan Bubu slowly shuffles over and squeezes next to him, then hugs his arm.

"Brother, I was wrong." He apologizes while observing Feng Chen's expression. Seeing no reaction, he rests his face against Feng Chen's shoulder, rubbing it. "Don't be mad, I was wrong."

Feng Chen remains with his eyes closed as Yan Bubu adds, "I shouldn't have gotten so excited just because there were people."

After a moment, Feng Chen sighs softly, "Yan Bubu, you did nothing wrong. It's me. I'm in a bad mood and a bit irritable."

Yan Bubu lifts his head to look at him. Feng Chen continues, "Those people knocking on our window, they're probably seeking help. If we let them in, they'd thank us profusely, asking for some food or a place to stay for the night."

Feng Chen slightly opens his eyes, turning to look at Yan Bubu, "After a meal and a night's stay, they'd say their car is broken down and ask for some fuel. Sure, we have plenty of Li stones, so we give them some. After staying the night, with enough food and fuel, they'd thank us again and leave."

Feng Chen picks up a strand of Yan Bubu's curly hair, twirling it around his finger, "Because we can provide what they need, everything seems normal. But imagine, if we had only one piece of meat left and a small packet of fuel, what do you think would happen if we let them in?"

"Just one piece of meat and a small packet of fuel..." Yan Bubu ponders, "Then we'd have to leave too."

Feng Chen's fingers pause, staring at him silently. Yan Bubu adds, "Think about it, brother. If that's all we had, we couldn't stay here. We'd have to find another place, come back after finding more fuel. We wouldn't get far on our own, so we could use that small packet of fuel to hitch a ride with them. Along the way, we could hunt mutant species for food, right?"

Feng Chen still looks at him half-lidded, his gaze sharp yet tinged with complexity.

Yan Bubu leans in, gently bumping Feng Chen's forehead, "Did I say something wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like I keep getting the answer wrong despite you teaching me so many times."

Feng Chen suddenly chuckles, pinches Yan Bubu's cheek and waggles it, half-teasingly saying, "Yan Bubu, I can't tell if you're too clever or too foolish."

"Definitely too clever," Yan Bubu mumbles, his words muffled by the grip on his cheek.

Feng Chen releases his face and stands up, heading towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Yan Bubu looks up to ask.

Feng Chen reaches for the door, "I'm going to see what those two who've been knocking on our window really want."

"Didn't you say you didn't want to deal with them?" Yan Bubu caught up and wrapped his arms around Feng Chen's arm, "Why are you suddenly interested in them now?"

"Look at you, all pitiful." Feng Chen said with a cold laugh, "Aren't you just dawdling here, hoping I'd go check on them?"

Puzzled, Yan Bubu touched his face, "I'm not pitiful." Then he changed his expression, drooping his eyes, "This is what pitiful looks like."

Feng Chen withdrew his arm, smiling wryly, "I'm concerned they might freeze to death outside our building, and then we'd have to drag them to bury. So... if I don't go, will you bury them if they freeze?"

"I definitely won't."

Knock knock knock.

"Is anyone there? Can you open the window, please?"

Feng Chen went down to the fifth floor. Outside the hall window were two dark figures, likely sensing someone's presence and knocking on the window again.

He approached the window, wiped away the fog, and saw two people outside, wrapped tightly in their clothes.

Upon making eye contact with Feng Chen, they excitedly waved their hands and pleaded, "...our car ran out of fuel..."

Feng Chen looked at them expressionlessly, gestured for them to wait at the window on the right side of the corridor, then swiftly pulled the curtains closed.

Feng Chen returned to the sixth floor and began dressing in thick fur clothes and a scarf. Yan Bubu asked, "Are you not letting them in, but going out yourself?"

"You actually want to let them in?" Feng Chen stopped dressing and looked coldly at Yan Bubu.

Yan Bubu quickly shook his head, "Of course not, what if they are bad people?"

Feng Chen continued to dress and wrap his scarf. Yan Bubu muttered, "Grumpy, almost like Binunu."

Feng Chen immediately began to untie the scarf he had just wrapped.

"I was talking about myself, my temper is like Binunu's," Yan Bubu pushed away his hands, wrapped the scarf around him properly, and then began to dress himself.

"You're not going," Feng Chen said.

Yan Bubu replied, "I am going, I don't feel comfortable with you going alone."

"Even if Chu Shi comes, he's no match for me, and you still worry?" Feng Chen said.

"What if there are two Chu Shis? If you don’t let me go, I’ll sing to you all night," Yan Bubu threatened, "Even if you hide, it won’t work. I’ll use a loudspeaker to sing."

Feng Chen closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "Then don’t speak a word, don’t just give them anything they ask for, not a single word."

"I'm not a fool to give them whatever they want," Yan Bubu sweet-talked close to Feng Chen's face, "What if they want you? No way. Scram, all of you, daring to snatch my brother. If they keep knocking on the window, I'll let Binunu Sasaka bite them to death."

"Stop talking nonsense," Feng Chen said impatiently, but his brows slightly relaxed.

The two began to dress to go outside. Feng Chen saw Yan Bubu holding up two down jackets and trying them on, raising an eyebrow to ask, "You plan to wear a down jacket outside?"

Yan Bubu grumbled, "Haven't seen people for many years, should wear something nice. Wearing fur clothes, I look like a monkey and you look like a brown bear."

"If you get frostbite on your back again, even if it rots, I won't help you apply medicine," Feng Chen warned.

Yan Bubu glanced at Feng Chen, realizing he wasn't joking, and reluctantly set aside the down jacket, pulling on the fur coat instead.

Feng Chen sighed, "Wear the down jacket over the fur coat. If it doesn't button up, just leave it open."

Yan Bubu pondered, "That'll still make me look like a brown bear. The fur coat alone is better... just this hairstyle." He touched his head.

Unable to bear it, Feng Chen slapped him on the head, "You're wearing a hat, no one will see your hairstyle."