Chapter 100

Chapter 100

"...Why so fierce?" Xie Linyuan's voice softened even more, like chocolate melting on a summer's day, sticky and sweet to the point of being cloying, "I just confessed to you in public..." As he spoke, he pressed his forehead against Wu Yin's neck, their warm skin touching, "Don't you have anything to say to me?"

"..." It would be too unromantic to say no at a time like this, but for Wu Yin to formally respond to Xie Linyuan's advances, he genuinely didn't know what to say. After a moment of silence, Wu Yin asked the question he was most curious about, "Why are you being so well-behaved today?"

"Hmm?"

"I thought... you would try to make contact with Jia Chen." Wu Yin was straightforward, "He's your ideal type, isn't he?"

This person really understood everything, even guessing the thoughts he had never voiced... Xie Linyuan tightened his grip in front of Wu Yin's abdomen, "No."

"How can he not be? Handsome, gentle, and proactive."

Unexpectedly, Xie Linyuan bit Wu Yin's neck, startling the green vine on his other shoulder into attacking, which Xie Linyuan casually blocked with his hand. Releasing his bite, he reluctantly confessed, "I used to think about what kind of person I would fall for. I hoped he would be beautiful and gentle, simple and kind, not necessarily smart, but he must listen to me... Which of these do you think you match?"

"..." Well, that's not even close, not even remotely related. Wu Yin and those adjectives couldn't be further apart.

Xie Linyuan sighed, "So, the fact that I've fallen for you is really like a ghost story."

"That just proves you don't understand yourself at all."

"What about you?" Xie Linyuan suddenly asked, "Have you ever thought about what type you like?"

It was only after asking that he realized how silly the question was. Wu Yin had only just begun to understand what 'liking' meant this past month, so how could he possibly have thought about these things?

As expected, Wu Yin simply shook his head, "I've never thought about it."

He pondered again, "What kind of person would you consider yourself?"

"...Me?" Jie Linyuan's heartbeat suddenly skipped, faintly aware that he might hear something unexpected next.

Wu Yin, under his eager gaze, racked his brains for words, and after exhausting his mental effort, managed to produce only four words: "Quite interesting."

Jie Linyuan: "..."

His Highness circled around him, soothingly patting with his paw. The three-eyed bear cub was asleep on his back, and the white dove, too, had been moved onto him by Wu Yin, using him as a storage shelf.

"What do you mean by 'quite interesting'?" Xie Linyuan couldn't help but press, "Can't you use more direct words? Like powerful, handsome, intelligent..."

Wu Yin gave him a 'what do you know' look, saying with annoyance, "Isn't it enough that I find you interesting? Z1068 is just boring, not interesting at all."

“……”

Xie Linyuan vaguely understood something—could it be that 'interesting' was the highest praise Wu Yin could give someone?

"So... thank you?"

Wu Yin nodded in satisfaction.

Xie Linyuan, interpreting Wu Yin's words with his own personal flair, concluded, "So what you mean is, the type you like is a man who you find interesting, and your standard of judgment is entirely based on me as a model."

"...", Wu Yin couldn't stand Xie Linyuan's current smug state, unable to resist striking him down, "Don't flatter yourself. Using you as a blueprint? Whether I like you or not is still up for debate."

"Is your understanding of our relationship still at this stage?" Xie Linyuan incredulously asked, "Stop joking. You liked me a bit when you were in the southern camp."

"Wasn't that you tricking me?" Wu Yin scoffed coldly, "I've read so many romance novels, never have I seen a protagonist confess by saying 'you like me'."

"What trick? Am I that despicable? That was a genuine expression of my feelings."

"You are a despicable person, pretending to be close with Xim to make me angry," Wu Yin started his belated accusation, "I thought you would do the same this time, deliberately getting close to Jia Chen or something..."

He sighed resentfully.

The smile deepened on Xie Linyuan's lips, hearing Wu Yin speak frankly about these matters for the first time, he tilted his head and asked, "Would you be super extra angry?"

Wu Yin turned his head to look at him, paused for a moment, and said earnestly, "I would be sad."

“……”

In that instant, Xie Linyuan's heart was grasped by an invisible hand, twisting out a painfully sour blood.

"Then I would retaliate," Wu Yin continued, "Castrate you or something."

"...My God, and you say you don't like me?" Xie Linyuan murmured lowly, "You like me so much you could die..."

"Is that so?" Wu Yin blinked, not understanding where he suddenly got that conclusion from.

"Don't play dumb with me, you know more than I do now, so don't try that 'I don't understand' trick on me."

"And you should stop always saying how much you like me, I won't be fooled by that trick anymore," said Wu Yin, "If you're going to confess, do it properly."

"Host a grand confession ceremony for you?"

"With candles, shouting from the rooftops, kneeling, fireworks, and offering an engagement ring?"

"And add a kowtow when the feelings are at their peak?"

"Sure."

……

Ah Cheng, holding a plate of sliced melon, wandered back and forth in the kitchen, occasionally poking her head out to watch the two chatting intimately under the eaves. Seeing them whisper sweet nothings seemingly without end, she sighed in resignation, "Ah... that's so nice, I wish I could have a whole day of warm chats with Xiao Hu too."

Grey leaned against the doorframe, "They are a couple, what are you?"

"If Xiao Hu is willing to date me, I have no objections."

"...Isn't that too twisted? He himself said that our natural fondness for him is due to his special constitution, not related to genuine emotions, we can't consider it as liking."

Ah Cheng turned her head towards Grey, her index finger pointing at his nose, "Be honest, if Xiao Hu came to you, and said—"

Grey cut in decisively, "I'd agree."

Ah Cheng disdainfully, "...Idiot, at least think for a minute."

"A minute? What if he changes his mind and runs away?"

“……”

After waiting another five minutes, Ah Cheng couldn't resist anymore. She jogged over to Wu Yin and Xie Linyuan, her head glowing under the increasingly bright light bulb, "Xiao Hu, San Er, come have some melon."

"San Er?" Wu Yin took the fruit plate, the sweet melon cut into bite-sized pieces, exuding a fresh fruity fragrance.

"Right, we can't keep using numbers, it's so awkward. Lu Ba named himself just like that."

"I have a name," Xie Linyuan said, "Xie Linyuan."

"Huh? You have a name?" Ah Cheng asked curiously, "Then why did Lu Ba say he didn't have one?"

"...My name was given during a mission where I happened to save a highly respected old professor. He was very grateful but said he had nothing to repay me with." Xie Linyuan lowered his gaze, lost in memories, "I said I wanted a name."

For Xie Linyuan, this was probably a very precious memory, as he always smiled through it: "Xie was his surname, Linyuan, hoping I could face the mires and deep pools alone, without fear, dread, or timidity, and still emerge unscathed."

"And then you were locked in solitary confinement by the commander for this, with your training doubled," Lu Ba suddenly appeared beside them, "until you admitted your mistake, softened, and swore to forget that name forever."

"Ah? Why?" Ah Cheng exclaimed in confusion.

Lu Ba said coldly, "We are humanoid weapons born for war, only allowed to have numbers, not names, not requiring distinct personalities, just obedience to commands."

"Where is that old professor now?" Wu Yin suddenly asked.

"How would I know?" Xie Linyuan stood up straight, no longer clinging to him like a mollusk.

"Damn it..." Wu Yin gritted his teeth, "Why are you so lucky? I'm so jealous."

"Haha!"

Lu Ba remained silent and turned back to the kitchen.

Ah Cheng watched his retreating figure and suddenly realized something, "Xiao Hu, does Lu Ba also envy San Er for having a proper name? Lu Ba, Lu Ba, that name is too crude, hardly different from a number..."

"How would I know? Besides, your names are quite perfunctory too, Ah Cheng, Xiao Hei, Ah Lan, Bai Jie, Ge Rui, it sounds like we're naming paint stores," Wu Yin said, holding the fruit plate and realizing there were no toothpicks. He didn't want to use his hands and was at a loss for how to proceed.

"It's different for me, I don't care much about names, as long as it's easy to call," Ah Cheng said, "My real name is Cheng Chuyun Can, would you prefer remembering that or Ah Cheng?"

Wu Yin: "..."

"Let's give him a name!" Ah Cheng excitedly proposed, "A name like Brother Xie's, imbued with good wishes from others, cultured, and meaningful."

"First, find me a toothpick, then we can talk about names."

"Oh, sorry, there are no toothpicks, I'll get you chopsticks," Ah Cheng was saying when she looked up to see Xie Linyuan twisting off two segments from his ring and little fingers, washing them in well water, and handing them back to Wu Yin as two slender metal fruit picks.

Ah Cheng: "..."

Ah Cheng, with a trembling hand and excited heart, exclaimed, "Holy crap, that's awesome, how did you do that? I want to learn too! San Er, you're amazing, Lu Ba! Didn't you say you're the same model as him? Can you do this?!"

Lu Ba, scrubbing the pot with a loofah, poked his head out of the kitchen and rolled his eyes at her, clearly annoyed: "No way."

Ah Cheng grabbed one of the picks, excitedly ran to the hall, and vividly explained the origin of the metal fruit pick to the rest of the group, earning admiration and then gathered everyone around Jie Linyuan to ask him for another demonstration.

Wu Yin listened with pride, a smug smile curling his lips as he bit into the sweet fruit, turned around, and saw Geng Wu, finally free, waving at him.

When Wu Yin walked over, Jia Chen joined them, and the three brothers, taking advantage of all the mutants' attention on Jie Linyuan, finally had their first meeting since they met.

"I'm Number 7, Geng Wu," the boy said. "He's Number 41, Jia Chen."

"Number 15, Wu Yin," Wu Yin nodded to Geng Wu and then turned to Mr. Long, Jia Chen, who was smiling at him.

"Wu Yin," Geng Wu asked, "have you met any other companions besides us?"

"No," Wu Yin flipped his right wrist over, "I think I'm still using the bionic body you left behind."

Geng Wu glanced at the familiar Z-shaped scar on the inside of his wrist, "Indeed."

"Why did you leave your body there?" Wu Yin was puzzled. "Just to leave behind the ZOO's guiding message?"

"Not really, it's mainly because carrying such a large bionic body around is really inconvenient," Geng Wu said with a wry smile.

"Can't you parasitize?" Wu Yin was even more puzzled. "I've been wanting to ask, why do you stay in such a small boy's body? Isn't it more inconvenient for you to move around?"

At this, Geng Wu and Jia Chen turned to him simultaneously, as if he had asked a very strange question.

"Have you... also lost some of your memory?" Geng Wu asked.

"Also?" Wu Yin immediately caught the key point. "Your memories are missing too?"

"Yes," Mr. Long said, shaking his head helplessly. "I have no memory of what happened. When I woke up, I was lying on the rocks by the sea, nearly devoured by zombies in the water."

"The sea?"

"Similar for me, all I remember is a ship, constantly tossing in the storm..." Geng Wu rubbed his temples. "And you?"

"Uh," Wu Yin tried to recall, "I climbed out of a nutrient vat, at a black market auction in a small inland base. The final bid for me was ten potatoes." He sounded somewhat indignant, as if he felt his worth was far beyond that.

Silence fell upon Geng Wu, and Mr. Long let out a long sigh, "It seems this one remembers even less than we do."

Geng Wu nodded reluctantly, then turned to Wu Yin: "You're probably also unaware of the differences in our abilities."

Wu Yin looked at them blankly, only to hear Geng Wu explain in a low voice: "Unlike you two, I find it difficult to independently control someone other than myself for a long period, so I have to coexist with others, letting them control the body most of the time. That's why I gave up on the bionic body and chose to coexist with this child. The younger they are, the easier it is for me to take control of the body when I need to."

Wu Yin blinked, not saying a word, but Geng Wu had already understood his unspoken message—

Geng Xiaoma, you're so weak.