Chapter 96

Chapter 96

In the deep of the night, two people slept soundly, their deep breaths filling the room. Like every other night, Yan Bubu’s psychic power automatically entered Feng Chen's psychic realm.

Feng Chen's psychic realm was open and unguarded against him, where Yan Bubu joyfully wandered, playfully chasing Feng Chen’s psychic energy.

He grew unsatisfied with the void, constantly moving forward, until he saw that expanse of white.

It appeared like a white planet suspended in the vast universe, or a crystal ball in a dark space, illuminated by a spotlight, glowing softly.

Drawn by an inexplicable emotion, Yan Bubu approached curiously and saw it was a world of snow and ice.

Snowflakes fell with a soft rustling sound, neither bitterly cold wind nor bone-chilling cold present, only imparting a sense of calm and peace.

His instinct as a guide cautioned him not to go further, to stay right there. But like a moth drawn to light, a fish to bait, he couldn’t leave, instead cautiously inching closer.

He felt the place’s allure more strongly as he approached.

There was no danger, no cold, only the gentle whisper and breath of his brother...

Feng Chen, in his deep sleep, suddenly opened his eyes, staring intently at the ceiling, then turned to look at Yan Bubu, nestled in the crook of his neck.

Yan Bubu was still sleeping soundly, snoring like a big cat, while Feng Chen's gaze was alert and clear, without a hint of sleepiness, even carrying a sharp edge.

Forward, forward...

Yan Bubu extended his psychic power, about to touch that place, but suddenly, it was blocked by Feng Chen's psychic power.

Before he could react, he felt a whirlwind sensation, his psychic power seemingly tied into a knot, and then he was thrown out of the psychic realm.

Yan Bubu opened his eyes, somewhat dazed.

Still groggy from sleep, he couldn't quite remember what had just happened. It seemed like he entered his brother's psychic realm or perhaps it was a dream where he became a giant bow, kicked by his brother and sent flying into the sky.

Yan Bubu looked up at Feng Chen, who was sleeping soundly, and concluded it must have been a dream. He smacked his lips, snuggled his head into Feng Chen's neck, and fell back to sleep.

Yan Bubu resumed his loud, cat-like snoring. Only then did Feng Chen open his eyes, gazing at Yan Bubu for a moment, tucking him in properly before closing his eyes again.

The next morning, Yan Bubu, as usual, looked for Feng Chen as soon as he woke up. After searching downstairs, he finally found him on the tenth floor.

The tenth floor was where they used to modify identity information, and the equipment was still intact. Feng Chen was sitting amidst the devices, tinkering with something.

As Yan Bubu walked in, Feng Chen said without looking up, "Watch your step."

Avoiding a pile of small iron balls at his feet, Yan Bubu crouched next to Feng Chen.

"Brother, what are you doing?"

"Never seen this before? It's called a radio. I just found it; if I fix it up, it should work."

Yan Bubu squatted there for a while, watching. Feng Chen put down the screwdriver, connected the radio to power, and asked him, "Do you want to press the switch, or should I?"

Yan Bubu replied, "Your luck is better than mine."

Feng Chen raised an eyebrow, "Why do you say that?"

Yan Bubu said, "If you also had curly hair, you couldn't tie it up like this. I'd have to cut your hair. So, do you think your luck is good?"

"Hmm, when you put it that way, you're not wrong. My luck is better than yours," Feng Chen still turned the radio towards Yan Bubu, pointing at a button, "But let's have you try."

Yan Bubu rubbed his hands together, blew on his palms, and pressed the button.

The radio showed no response.

"Ah, it's broken. You didn't fix it at all," Yan Bubu said, disappointed.

Feng Chen frowned, "Why is it like this? I'm sure I fixed it."

"I told you curly hair brings bad luck, but you insisted I press it."

Feng Chen glanced back at the socket, "...the power is also on."

Yan Bubu’s finger still rested on the button, but he turned to Feng Chen with a smile, sly as a fox.

"Press it, no pretending," Feng Chen realized and scolded.

This time, Yan Bubu genuinely pressed the switch.

Hiss...

The radio emitted a static noise, but nothing else.

"Is it fixed or not?" Yan Bubu asked.

Feng Chen slowly turned the knob, and the radio produced various static sounds.

"Is it fixed or not?"

"Shh, be quiet."

When Feng Chen turned the dial to a certain position, a clear female voice filled the room.

"...The incident involving a mutant biting people in Area A has resulted in one hundred and eighty deaths. The government once again urges people to avoid gathering in areas not under military control..."

Yan Bubu listened intently and, as the woman started reporting other news, he asked in confusion, "Where is this about? It's not an old story, is it?"

There were many old video records in the research institute, including daily news, which Yan Bubu would watch when bored. But this news didn't sound like it was from ten years ago.

"It's current, probably a replay of today's news," Feng Chen said.

Yan Bubu whispered, "Is it about the central city?"

"Yes, nowadays, only the central city still broadcasts news."

Yan Bubu reached out to touch the radio, then abruptly withdrew his hand, as if he might touch the person speaking.

The two sat in the room, listening quietly, until a particular news segment suddenly changed Feng Chen's expression, and he abruptly stood up.

"...The governing officials of the Eastern Alliance Army, Chen Sizhe, and the Western Alliance Army, Ran Pinghao, were both present at the scene and gave their statements on this sudden incident..."

Yan Bubu was startled by Feng Chen's reaction, "What's wrong?"

Feng Chen paused for a moment, then asked him, "Did you hear the news?"

"...The wheat in the plantations is about to mature, and this year's grain harvest is expected to increase by thirty percent compared to last year..."

"I heard it, the wheat is maturing," Yan Bubu said.

Feng Chen clarified, "Not that, the news before that."

"The one before? It said something about the Eastern and Western Alliance Armies being at the scene of the incident."

Feng Chen immediately pressed, "Did you hear the name Chen Sizhe? Did you catch the name Chen Sizhe?"

Yan Bubu recalled, "Yes, I think there were two names, but I didn't notice if one was Chen Sizhe."

Seeing Feng Chen's face turn pale, Yan Bubu asked worriedly, "Do you know this person? What's the matter?"

After a moment of silence, Feng Chen asked hoarsely, "Yan Bubu, you remember where my parents were during the earthquake, right?"

"I remember, they were at a conference in Hongcheng."

Yan Bubu realized something as soon as he answered and involuntarily held his breath.

Feng Chen nodded, "Right, they went to attend Chen Sizhe's presidential campaign speech. They were together at that time."

Yan Bubu asked softly, "Chen Sizhe is still alive, so does that mean not everyone in Hongcheng had an accident?"

Feng Chen took a deep breath and suddenly turned to start a machine behind him.

The machine's screen lit up, entering the startup process.

Although Yan Bubu didn’t know what Feng Chen was doing, he didn’t ask, just silently watched.

Once it started successfully, Feng Chen quickly typed on the keyboard, accessing a hidden software and opened it.

A line of text suddenly appeared in Yan Bubu's eyes.

Unread

[Father, it's Feng Chen. I’m still in Haiyun City. If you see this message, please come to get me as soon as possible.]

Feng Chen’s eyes dimmed at the sight of the word 'unread,' looking somewhat lost and dispirited.

Yan Bubu glanced at the screen and then at Feng Chen, not asking anything, just stepped forward and tightly embraced him.

"If my father was safe, he would open this software. But he has never seen it..." Feng Chen murmured.

Yan Bubu looked at his face with concern, and Feng Chen added, "It's okay, I never had much hope anyway. It's fine."

He gently pushed Yan Bubu away and left the room.

When Yan Bubu came down to the sixth floor after shutting off the device, he saw Feng Chen sitting in a chair by the window, caressing the Wuyu sword, his head turned towards the window. The dim light filtering in cast his shadow on the floor.

Yan Bubu walked over, pulled up a low stool to sit on, and leaned his head against Feng Chen's knee.

"Did you write that?" he asked, picking at the pattern on Feng Chen's pants, his voice muffled by the compression of his face.

"Yeah," Feng Chen’s voice was a bit hoarse, "Remember when I brought you here to change your identity information as a kid? It was that time I left it here."

"If Mr. Feng had seen it, it wouldn’t be unread, right?"

"Right."

After a moment of silence, Feng Chen suddenly said, "Stop picking at it. You’ve already frayed my other pants."

Yan Bubu stopped and began to play with the fuzz on Feng Chen's sweater.

"Brother."

"Hmm."

Yan Bubu hesitantly said, "I was thinking, what if Mr. Feng doesn’t remember to open this? He might not even know you left a message here, right?"

Feng Chen let out a bitter laugh, "That’s unlikely."

"You say it’s unlikely, which means you're not completely sure, right?" Yan Bubu asked.

Feng Chen, holding Yan Bubu’s hand that was fiddling with his sweater, said, "I'm pretty much certain."

Yan Bubu patted his waist, "I'm fairly certain, but not absolutely certain."

Feng Chen looked at him coldly, "Don't play word games with me. You use your talent for nitpicking in studying, yet you can't even do middle-grade problems while attending higher-grade classes?"

Yan Bubu immediately became unhappy, "Why bring this up for no reason? Everything has to be related to studying, it's a buzzkill."

"So if I say you excel in your studies, would you believe that?"

"Of course," said Yan Bubu. "Every time you test me, I always come first."

Feng Chen sneered, "You're first alright, and also the very last."

"Then let Binu Nu and Sasa Ka take the test with me," Yan Bubu suggested.

Feng Chen, unable to tolerate any longer, said, "Yan Bubu, your shamelessness always shocks me."

"I'll bite you to death," Yan Bubu suddenly lowered his head and bit Feng Chen's knee.

"Ouch, are you some kind of mutant?"

Feng Chen reached out to pinch Yan Bubu's face, but Yan Bubu, like a rabbit, jumped up and ran to the bedroom door, making faces at him.

Watching Yan Bubu enter the room, Feng Chen picked up a cup of water from the table and took a sip, his eyes falling on the window beside him where he saw his own smiling reflection. Yan Bubu's interruption had swept away his gloom and despondence.

He stood up and walked to the kitchen to start making breakfast.

After Yan Bubu finished breakfast, he noticed Feng Chen had already put down his utensils, hands clasped together on the table, quietly watching him with an unprecedented solemnity in his gaze.

He knew Feng Chen had made up his mind and was about to reveal the answer, so he also sat up straight.

"Yan Bubu, I'm thinking of taking a trip to the Central City."

"Alright, then let's go."

This response didn't surprise Yan Bubu.

Feng Chen said, "The zombie transformation in Central City continues. I don't know what happened to Lin Fen and Yu Yuan, and I want to check on them. I'll also inquire about my parents' situation with Governor Chen Sizhe."

"Okay, I also want to see Colonel Yu, Major General Lin, Yu Ke, and Wang Suizi," Yan Bubu tilted his head, thinking, his eyes beginning to sparkle, "Going to Central City... we're really going to Central City..."

"Are you excited?"

"Excited!"

Feng Chen ignored him, stood up to tidy the wardrobe, and heard Yan Bubu running downstairs, shouting, "Binu Nu, Sasa Ka, we're going to Central City!"

When Yan Bubu came upstairs, he saw Feng Chen dressing in his outdoor fur coat and quickly asked, "Where are you going?"

"I'm thinking of checking out something interesting. Want to come?"

"Yes, I do."

"Then put on your fur trousers over your woolen pants."

Yan Bubu came out dressed in woolen clothes and trousers.

The fur trousers fit him well, making his legs look long and straight. The bottom of the trousers flared out slightly, resting on his insteps.

They seemed to match his sweater.

The two left the house, followed by the black lion and Binu Nu.

Yan Bubu trudged through the knee-deep snow, occasionally digging out a bashful grass from the snow, touching its leaves to watch them quickly retract.

When the world is covered in frost, all plants disappear, with only this type of grass occasionally seen in the snow. Its vines grow beneath the snow, and its species is unclear, possibly a new plant that appears in extreme cold. It retracts into the snow when touched, just like a touch-me-not, which is why Yan Bubu calls it 'bashful grass'.

Yan Bubu, finding many bashful grasses under the snow, began clearing the snow, moving forward slowly, and delightfully touching each grass to watch it retract.

"Let's go, stop playing around," Feng Chen said after waiting for him for a while.

Half an hour later, standing at the entrance of the supply point, Yan Bubu cast a sidelong glance at Feng Chen, who was opening the door, "You said we were coming to see something interesting, but it turns out I'm just here to do the heavy lifting."

Feng Chen, pressing the buttons on the keypad lock, replied, "You'll know soon enough if it's something interesting."

The entrance to the supply point had been buried under snow, but the black lion and Binu Nu often cleared a path to the door, so there was no ice, and Feng Chen only needed to dig a bit through the loose snow to access it.

Inside, Feng Chen took off his fur coat and walked straight to the center of the warehouse, pulling away a tarp to reveal two brand-new vehicles underneath.

He patted one of the vans and asked Yan Bubu, "What do you think?"

Yan Bubu was both surprised and incredulous, "We're going to drive? We are going to drive!"

"Of course, did you think we'd walk to Central City?" Feng Chen's face showed a faint smile, "I've modified this vehicle already. The tires have been replaced with tracks suitable for snow, and the interior has been altered. The ordinary engine has been swapped out for a Lishi engine."

Yan Bubu walked to the side of the vehicle, touched the smooth car door, and asked, "Did you plan to go to Central City all along? You even modified the car."

"Not really," Feng Chen said. "I was worried about future emergencies. Having a car will make things a lot easier."

He opened the car door, "Want to take a look inside?"

"Sure."

Yan Bubu climbed into the car, with Binu Nu and the black lion curiously following.

It was a medium-sized van, smaller than the school bus Yan Bubu had once lived in for a few days in a parking lot, but larger than a typical minivan. The seats inside had been removed by Feng Chen and refitted into a different layout.

"A camper van? I've seen these on TV. They have beds, kitchens, and bathrooms. They're called camper vans," Yan Bubu said excitedly.

Yan Bubu took a seat in the driver's position, elbow resting on the window, feigned a deep expression, and shouted to Feng Chen, "Miss, the sun is shining bright. Would you like to take a drive to the beach?"

Feng Chen, with his arms crossed, leaned casually against the other vehicle, smiling teasingly, "Sure, if you can beat my boyfriend."

"Oh... caught you!" Yan Bubu elongated his voice, "You’ve watched 'Cloud Stepper' too! Didn't you say that movie was boring and only the most boring people, like me and Binu Nu, would watch it?"

Binu Nu, curiously exploring the car, turned around sharply at these words, glaring angrily.