Chapter 264

Chapter 264

"Timeline: Post-Dawn Base Return"

Persistent drought has made water one of the scarcest resources for human survival in the post-apocalyptic world.

Although the increased use of soil enhancers has led to the reappearance of vegetation and crops on the once-barren land, altering the climate and bringing much-needed rainfall to many areas, even non-toxic rain in this parched world is heavily contaminated. The scant rainfall is nowhere near enough for human consumption.

Humanity’s only option is to pair artificial rain tech with spreading more soil enhancers and seeds in wet zones, playing the long game.

As the largest human sanctuary in the country, South City Base, though tapping multiple water sources, still struggles with massive demand.

Thus, in addition to actively developing and purifying contaminated water sources, the base's water plant has mobilized water-type Supers, making water supply one of their daily tasks—naturally, with extra credits on the side.

Jiang Wenwen’s a given, and Liao Yu’s mutant water ability lands him in the same boat.

Meanwhile, at Department Head Wang's request, Jiang Nian also purifies the water sources and reservoirs at the plant.

The fact that South City Base's water resources meet daily distribution demands is largely thanks to their efforts.

Water-type Supers have always been among the most sought-after groups in the apocalypse, and with the ongoing drought, their stock’s gone through the roof.

Various base organizations have dangled juicy offers to poach them, attracting people of all ages and genders.

Thanks to this, Liao Yu's love life’s been booming lately. Zhao Lei, who initially was green with envy to the point of heartburn, has gradually grown accustomed to it.

After all, his Young Master remains devoted to him, even calming him down when pesky admirers got too close and eagerly saying yes to every "request" he makes in private.

It wasn’t until Qian Lang appeared that Zhao Lei felt a pang of jealousy he hadn’t felt in ages.

After returning with them from Dawn Base, Qian Lang joined the Superpower Corps and fit right in with the crew. Due to his unique Superpower, he was assigned to the team led by Jiang Nian.

At first, this seemed like a normal recruitment of an acquaintance. However, Qian Lang and Liao Yu's "acquaintance" had a special background:

Before the apocalypse, Young Master Liao had more money than he could spend. While working at a security company, he hired a professional operations team to establish an influencer incubator studio—success or failure didn’t matter, as long as the young master was happy.

Star Universe was one of his pet projects, and Qian Lang was a rising star at Star Universe just before the apocalypse.

Qian Lang had been a gaming streamer pre-apocalypse, the kind with a mostly female following, excelling in both looks and skills. Liao Yu poached him and became his top patron.

Risqué content’s always been a surefire way to go viral.

As for how edgy or in what way, it depended on the situation.

The adorable female fans simply wanted to see handsome guys interact—what harm could there be in that? Fulfilling their wishes was a surefire way to boost traffic.

Streamer and top donor banter—teaming up, trash-talking, or hinting at suggestive topics—all yielded great results.

Zhao Lei, who was then both a close bodyguard and colleague, knew about this.

Back then, Zhao Lei only admired the young master’s dedication and professionalism—how someone so wealthy could stoop to schmoozing influencers for clout. Now, remembering it all, even the air tastes bitter.

Especially since Liao Yu and Qian Lang are close in age and share many common interests.

The two even reassembled computers and gaming consoles, scored some rare game cartridges, and played single-player games together after work, shooting the breeze about the studio’s glory days...

Whether it was games or conversations, Zhao Lei couldn’t join in. After all, they were just from different worlds.

But the thing was, Qian Lang was different from all those previous bad romantic prospects—he didn’t make any inappropriate moves, just acted like a regular bro.

No one around them saw any issue with Qian Lang and Liao Yu being close. Because of this, Zhao Lei was chafing inside but couldn't show it, having no valid reason to call him out, so he could only sulk in silence.

"......"

"Master, I’ve arrived at the new district. I’ll probably be busy until late tonight, so don’t stay up too late gaming. Otherwise, your mental energy won't be able to handle draining your superpower during the day."

At eight in the evening, Zhao Lei sat in the patrol car and called Liao Yu. Hearing the game sound effects through the phone, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.

Lately, the young master had been spending his days at the base’s water plant, draining his superpower instead of joining them on missions. This meant their schedules no longer aligned after the shift changes.

And that oblivious bastard would just go straight to gaming with Qian Lang after work. Sigh.

Soon, Liao Yu’s cheerful voice came through:

"Got it. Be careful on your night patrol and stay safe."

"......"

Zhao Lei stayed silent, his chest full of frustration but unsure how to voice it. If only he were the same age as Liao Yu—then he could afford to be a little unreasonable, act immature, and not have to pretend to be mature and magnanimous.

"Bro Zhao?"

Liao Yu called out in confusion:

"Is there anything else?"

"Nothing... that’s all for now."

Zhao Lei hesitated, but in the end, he hung up, letting out a helpless sigh before starting the car and heading to the patrol area.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Liao Yu hung up and went right back to "owning the match" with Qian Lang.

Qian Lang glanced at his phone and teased lightly:

"Yu-ge, I really didn’t expect you and Bro Zhao to end up together. Guess it’s true what they say—adversity reveals true feelings, huh?"

Liao Yu laughed:

"Hey, you could say that... I didn’t expect it either."

Back then, plenty of people—both men and women—had tried to get close to him, but at the time, his romantic side was still dormant, so he just found it all bothersome.

Young, reckless, and rolling in cash, he’d tried pretty much everything that wasn’t illegal—except messing with hearts or playing games. Otherwise, he might’ve noticed Zhao Lei had designs on him much sooner.

"Actually, I kinda wanted to pursue you back then. Because of our on-stream chemistry, I thought we’d make a good match."

Qian Lang tilted his head slightly, his tone sincere and straightforward.

The young master had always been a bit dense when it came to romance—he’d known that even before the apocalypse. That’s why, even though he’d fallen for him at first sight, he hadn’t dared to be too forward.

Signing with the Xingyu Studio back then had actually been his way of trying to reel him in. That’s why he’d worked for peanuts—just so he could frequently collaborate with Liao Yu on streams. He’d even painted a grand vision of building the studio together, playing up that whole "young guns building dreams together" schtick.

Originally, he’d planned to use their work interactions to stoke some sexual tension first, then gradually woo the boss. Who knew the apocalypse would hit instead?

"Huh?"

Liao Yu fat-fingered the controls in shock, causing his character to lose half its health to a mini-boss in the game. He quickly dodged to the side to pop a health potion, then shot him down without hesitation:

"Nah, even if Zhao Lei weren’t in the picture, you’re not my type. Don’t let my attitude fool you—I'm a one-man kind of guy."

Banter aside, getting together with Zhao Lei might’ve seemed impulsive, but he’d actually thought it through carefully. It wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision, nor was it just settling—it was love that grew over time, something he’d willingly embraced.