Chapter 71

Chapter 71

The fire escape stairwell spiraled upward, filled with the urgent, chaotic sound of footsteps. The three fugitives, led by Su He, scrambled higher, kicking up dust that choked the air.

Behind them, strange bird cries echoed, each frantic flap of wings a harbinger of doom.

Their faces were pale with fear. Su He, unable to match the Li brothers' pace, suddenly cried out, "Agh!" Even in such a critical moment, the brothers turned back, simultaneously extending their hands.

Su He grasped their hands, letting them pull him forward.

After climbing two more floors, the sounds behind them seemed to recede.

Li Yi: "This way."

He led them out of the fire escape and into the hallway, searching for a room to hide. Continuing upward would either lead to the rooftop or a locked door, trapping them in the stairwell—both scenarios meant certain death.

As Su He and Li Shou followed him into the hallway, a snake-scaled centipede appeared on the wall, its terrifying head lunging toward them. Startled, they instantly released their grip and stumbled in opposite directions.

Li Yi, still holding Su He’s other hand, immediately yanked him up. Seeing Li Shou scrambling away in another direction, the centipede’s body now blocking their path, there was no time to hesitate. Li Yi could only prioritize saving Su He and himself.

The two hurried forward, their eyes darting left and right for a hiding place. The snake-scaled centipede seemed to assess the two groups, then chose to pursue Li Yi and Su He.

The sound of its countless legs scuttling forward sent shivers down their spines. Cold sweat beaded on Su He’s forehead as the threat of death loomed. His vision blurred from sheer tension.

Li Yi abruptly pulled him into a nearby room. As they entered, Su He froze at the sight of several rotting corpses. Li Yi released him and turned to close the door.

The moment he reached for the door, the centipede’s massive, horrifying head appeared. Li Yi’s pupils dilated as he swiftly slashed the knife in his hand at the creature. But to his surprise, the centipede’s true attack came from its countless legs. While his attention was fixed on its head, the legs seized his left leg, and almost instantly, dozens of pairs of legs sank into his flesh. Blood gushed out as, accompanied by Li Yi’s agonized scream, the legs shifted backward, effortlessly tearing off half of his leg.

Su He spun around at Li Yi’s scream, his pupils shrinking to tiny dots. His gaze fell on Li Yi’s deathly pale face, the jagged wound on his left leg, and the centipede now gnawing on the severed limb.

*Push him out. With him as a decoy, the centipede will forget about me.*

Su He raised his hand, then hesitated. *No, if Li Shou saw, he’d suspect me.*

Instead, he reached out and grabbed Li Yi’s shoulder, dragging him inside. He shut the door and hissed, "Stop screaming!"

He pulled Li Yi into the bathroom. These creatures don’t remember; they only attack based on sound and what they see. Once the centipede finishes eating the half-leg, it will forget they’re in the room.

The coppery tang of blood grew thicker in the bathroom, and Su He felt relieved that monsters weren’t sensitive to scent. Fumbling in the dark, he found Li Yi’s hand and held it tightly, as if offering silent comfort. In the darkness, his expression was stone-cold.

Li Yi trembled uncontrollably from the pain, gritting his teeth to avoid making a sound. Su He’s hand became his only solace, clung to like a lifeline.

In the darkness, the man wept—not from the pain, but from the uncertainty of a future without a leg.

No one dared to move. They stayed huddled together. The only relief was that they heard no more screams—at least none from Li Shou. They lasted until dawn. Su He’s head nodded; he had nearly fallen asleep.

When he woke, he instinctively let go of Li Yi’s hand. *Shit, I squeezed it hard enough to bruise.*

The floor was now stained crimson. Li Yi had passed out from blood loss. Su He glanced at the severed leg, carefully shifted his stiff body, and opened the bathroom door. Picking his way over the corpses on the floor, he pressed his ear against the main door and listened for a moment before cautiously opening it. Just then, he saw Li Shou running toward him from the end of the hallway.

Their eyes met.

Su He’s tears immediately began to fall.

—

After brushing his teeth and eating a piece of bread, Ren Feng prepared to set out. The commotion from the opposite building last night hadn’t been too loud, so he guessed there wouldn’t be major casualties. If he encountered them again and they still caused trouble, he would directly take them out, ensuring a sure kill each time.

He turned around and saw the baby octopus using two small tentacles to place a napkin hat on its head.

Such an adorable creature truly deserves to be loved to death.

Ren Feng felt the urge to bite him again. He crouched down, looking at the little guy who had already put on his paper hat, and reached out to smooth the folded corner: "In the human world, it's a polite thing to do to give each other a little bite after waking up in the morning."

He believed Baby Octopus could understand him—after all, he even knew what a fleshlight was for—but he probably wouldn’t fully grasp human customs...

Ren Feng thought this, gazing at Chen Zui with both anticipation and a hint of guilt.

Having been human for so many years, Chen Zui had never heard of such a thing. This human just wanted a piece of him, but... seeing that expectant look, like a little puppy, he arrogantly, in a granting-a-favor way, lifted one of his tentacles.

Overjoyed at the sight, Ren Feng first pinched Baby Octopus's tentacle, kissed it respectfully, and then gently gave it a light bite.

That texture—so satisfying.

Ren Feng was extremely reluctant to let go of the tentacle, but he had to.

If he kept biting, he was afraid Baby Octopus might think he was trying to eat him. After releasing Baby Octopus's tentacle, he thoughtfully wiped it with a tissue, then waited for Baby Octopus to bite him back. But, looking at Baby Octopus's tiny, tiny mouth, he wasn’t quite sure where it could even bite him.

As it turned out, he was overthinking it. Chen Zui had no intention of biting him at all.

Instead, a tentacle smacked against his ear, suctioned on with its suckers, and then—whoosh—it flew up to the top of his head. As it retracted, the tentacles squirmed toward Ren Feng’s ears, but Chen Zui pulled them all back.

Even so, half of Ren Feng’s head felt tingly.

As they set off, meanwhile, Li Shou was using a red-hot piece of iron to sear the stump of Li Yi’s leg in an attempt to stop the bleeding. They had no proper medical supplies—this was the only way.

Li Yi nearly bit through the wooden stick in his mouth. The smell of burning flesh made Su He almost vomit.

In the end, Li Yi passed out cold from the excruciating pain. Li Shou, breathing heavily, threw aside the piece of iron, his expression dark as he paced back and forth in the room, a violent aura around him.

He suddenly stopped. "It must have been him."

He looked at Su He, who looked completely clueless.

Li Shou repeated, "It must have been his doing."

He glared toward the opposite building, his fists clenched so tightly they creaked. Furious, he was about to charge over and kill the other party to avenge his brother, but Su He grabbed him: "Brother Shou, maybe he’s already left. We can't have you getting hurt too right now."

As he spoke, tears welled up in his eyes again.

Li Shou couldn’t stand to see him cry. "Don’t cry. I won’t leave you behind."

He wanted to pull Su He into an embrace but hesitated, afraid of overstepping. This time, however, Su He leaned into his chest voluntarily, crying so pitifully it was heartbreaking to see: "Now that Brother Yi is like this, the journey ahead will only get tougher. I don’t know if we can even make it to the base before winter."

He spoke as if deeply worried, stealing glances at Li Shou’s reaction. Li Shou, too, frowned deeply.

From now on, Li Yi was now just dead weight to them.

——

A pink tentacle whipped out, snagging a distant signpost and pulling it over.

Such a large object, yet Chen Zui lifted it with ease. Then, his tentacle began swaying up and down, using the sign like a fan.

The breeze it created cooled Ren Feng, who'd been walking nonstop.

Ren Feng was deeply grateful. "If you get tired, take a break."

He really didn’t want the little guy to overexert himself.

Outside the city, the road was packed with cars. With fewer buildings on either side, the landscape appeared even more desolate, overgrown with weeds and littered with corpses giving off a rotten smell.

Chen Zui's tentacle flicked out and snatched a backpack lying near a corpse. Several tentacles reached inside to rummage around inside, but finding nothing useful, he tossed the bag away.

It had to be said, having eight tentacles was really convenient.

A group of four appeared ahead, who just gave Ren Feng a glance before continuing on their way. Not long after, another person appeared behind them. Everyone minded their own business, not bothering one another.

Chen Zui noticed in the distance, other groups moving north through the fields.

It seemed there were still quite a few human survivors.

The sunlight started fading. Ren Feng stopped to look up at the sky. The vast shadow covering the sun wasn’t a cloud, but a huge swarm of birds.

The reactions of the various groups were all the same: they scrambled for cover.

Ren Feng hit the deck and crouched under a vehicle.

Chen Zui slid off his head and was about to move out when a sudden static-like "zzzt" echoed in his mind.

Chen Zui froze. The static in his head continued, buzzing nonstop, making him really uncomfortable. He caught fragments of a voice: "Sys... system..."

The static cut out.

Chen Zui’s mind short-circuited. All eight of his tentacles went slack, and he toppled over, his big head hitting the ground with a thud.

Ren Feng quickly scooped him back up, tucking his hand back under the vehicle just as the shadow swept over them, moving slowly. The surroundings went dead silent, like nothing was alive, the tension was so thick you could cut it.

Ren Feng stared worriedly at the dazed little octopus.

Chen Zui sat in Ren Feng’s palm, propped against his fingers for a while before recovering, but he was totally confused.

System?

What system?

Why had something like that appeared in his head?

And why had it vanished just like that?

Could it be because of this so-called system that he had come to this world?

Seemed like things were starting to make sense.

But all he could do was wait. Chen Zui looked at Ren Feng. The two locked eyes, and the worry in Ren Feng’s eyes seemed real.

Is any of this connected to you?

The dark cloud slowly drifted away. As sunlight returned, everyone crept out of hiding like scared mice.

Ren Feng: "What was that about? Are you feeling unwell?"

Chen Zui wriggled and hopped into Ren Feng’s chest pocket, and curled up at the bottom. His head still felt a little dizzy.

Seeing how out of it the little guy was, Ren Feng decided to hold off on traveling immediately. Instead, he found a car and climbed inside.

He popped open a water bottle—a real luxury: "Do you want to go in and soak?"

Chen Zui squirmed his way out of the pocket. Ren Feng’s suggestion was just what he needed.

He first extended one tentacle into the bottle’s opening, then one after another, until all his tentacles were inside. With a sudden push, he shrank like a closing pink umbrella, his large head sliding into the bottle.

Soaking in the water, Chen Zui felt better in both body and mind.

Inside the bottle, he bobbed around like a tiny jellyfish.

Carefree and happy.

Just watching the baby octopus made Ren Feng feel content, even happy.

These emotions were truly priceless in this world. He was lucky to have met such an adorable and impressive little octopus.

"You probably don’t have a name, do you?"

"How about I give you one?"

Chen Zui wasn’t about to reveal that he was once human, so he kept it to himself that he already had a name. Still, he was curious what name Ren Feng would choose, though he had no intention of accepting any name, no matter what it was.

"Let’s call you Pinky."

Chen Zui turned around in the water bottle, giving Ren Feng his back. The name was so bad it couldn’t get worse.

Ren Feng: "You don’t like it?"

Chen Zui simply closed his eyes, just floating there in the bottle. But the bottle was ultimately too small. At that moment, he found himself missing the ocean.

"Alright then, I’ll think of another one." Ren Feng started thinking seriously again, he stared Chen Zui down.

"How about Roundy?"

Chen Zui suspected he was taking a dig at him.

It had to be said, Ren Feng was terrible at naming things, yet he looked utterly serious.

By the time darkness fell, Ren Feng still hadn’t come up with a name that satisfied Chen Zui even slightly. Chen Zui’s indifferent attitude made Ren Feng knew when to quit on naming him.

Ren Feng used clothes from his bag to cover the car windows. Chen Zui emerged from the water bottle and, like a little ornament, moved to the bottom of the windshield. Using a tentacle to lift a corner of the cloth, he peered outside.

Ren Feng: "Do you still want to go out?"

Chen Zui was thinking. Without any buildings to block the view, if he returned to his original form, Ren Feng would definitely see him. Then he’d realize how ridiculous names like Pinky and Roundy were.

Chen Zui let go of the cloth and turned back to look at Ren Feng.

Actually, he really wanted to test how the other would react upon learning his true form.

Would he be afraid? Would he attack? Or would he be disgusted?

He wanted to know.

He extended a tentacle toward Ren Feng. The tentacle gradually thickened and changed color, but static once again buzzed in his mind, forcing him to halt his action. The tentacle returned to its pink, delicate state.

The buzzing in his head faded, replaced by a clear mechanical voice: "System bound."

This feeling was familiar to Chen Zui, though he couldn’t explain why he felt the voice shouldn’t be mechanical. It should have been...

"Hello, host. I am System 996, from the Transmigration Bureau."

An indescribable sense of dissonance rose in Chen Zui’s heart, but he remained calm. After glancing at Ren Feng, he turned back to the windshield, lifted the corner of the cloth, and covered himself.

He did not communicate with the other party, to avoid leaking any information, simply waiting.

"Sorry for only connecting now, as we were attacked by the Dark Transmigration Bureau while entering this small world."

Chen Zui learned something new: the Dark Transmigration Bureau.

"Scans show your memory has some gaps, and you've forgotten your agreement with our Transmigration Bureau. Let me reiterate: after your death, your soul was selected by our bureau. As long as you complete the tasks assigned by the Transmigration Bureau, you can be brought back to life."

"You mean I can come back to life?"

"Exactly. This is our first mission world. Your task is to help the male lead and the love interest end up together."

The baby octopus had no brows to furrow, so he could only squint slightly. First mission world? Then why did the binding feel so familiar?

"The male lead?"

"Correct, it's Ren Feng beside you."

"The love interest is the best-looking one from the trio you met earlier. His name is Su He. In this book, the two of them are a couple."

Chen Zui felt this didn't add up. Unless this was a tragedy, if they were already a couple, they should just follow the plot. Why would they need his help?

But he did not point this out directly. Instead, he asked, "What is the ending of this story?"

"The ending naturally involves the male lead and the love interest getting their happy ending. Nobody's into tragic stories these days."

Chen Zui got the answer he wanted.

"Then what is my role?"

"Just do your best to get them to meet up and interact. Once the story ends with them together, your mission will be complete."

"It seems I'm not too important in the plot."

"In the original work, you were just an octopus creature that appeared once from the male lead’s perspective."

"Oh—"

"Since this is my first mission world, shouldn't there be a starter pack? And due to your mistake of taking so long to connect, shouldn't there be some compensation for me?"

996: ...

Chen Zui: "You're not going to say there's nothing, are you? If so, it's hard for me to believe your claim that I can be resurrected after completing the mission. I doubt you can actually do this, and I doubt the abilities of your Transmigration Bureau."

996: "Of course there is!"

996: "What compensation do you want?"

Chen Zui: "Just let me freely turn back into a human. Prove you can do it."

996: "Wait a moment, I'll put in a request."

Chen Zui: "Don't forget the starter pack, too."

996 ended the call with Chen Zui. How could there be such a host! All he talks about is benefits! It's true that no one who cooperates with the Dark Transmigration Bureau is any good!

But this time, it had bound him first. He would surely be wrapped around its finger.

Someone chosen by the Dark Transmigration Bureau to sabotage the two male leads was now being tricked into helping them get together.

996 thought to itself that it was truly a genius.

However, to achieve the goal, it had to give him some benefits to earn his trust.

Chen Zui's mouth curved into a smile.

If the two were destined to be together in the book, why would the Bureau even need to arrange for his presence?

Unless there was interference from the so-called Dark Transmigration Bureau.

Who could be from the Dark Transmigration Bureau?

Could it possibly be himself~

Chen Zui turned around, pulled the clothes off his round head, and looked at the sleeping Ren Feng. No matter what, his arrival in this world was indeed related to him.

He and that Su He were a couple.

What now?

He didn't really like Su He.

Besides, it was the apocalypse—who has time for romance?

If Chen Zui were living in the apocalypse, his only thought would be how to survive.

Romance?

What good is that?

He used a tentacle to prop up his face. Could Ren Feng be a hopeless romantic?

996: "Back. The application has been approved."

996: "In three seconds, you will be able to freely restore your human form."

Chen Zui extended a tentacle and patted Ren Feng’s face.

Ren Feng, who had just been about to fall asleep, woke up instantly and grabbed his tentacle, holding it tightly.

While asking what was wrong, he gave it a couple of squeezes.

Chen Zui did not stop him from taking liberties. Instead, he gestured toward the car window.

Ren Feng couldn’t help but laugh: "Are you going out hunting again?"

You really can't sit still for even a day.

Ren Feng removed the clothes, rolled down the car window, and ruffled the baby octopus’s round head: "Then come back early, and don't get hurt."

Chen Zui bobbed a tentacle in agreement.

He leaped out of the car window with a swoosh, like a bouncing pink blob, leaving the road and disappearing into the overgrown woods by the highway.

Ren Feng watched until he disappeared before withdrawing his gaze, closing the car window, and covering it again with the clothing.

Chen Zui jumped far away, observed the surroundings, and after making sure no one was around, he concentrated. The pink little octopus transformed into a tall, well-built human.

The night breeze swept over his naked body, now feeling gentle and warm.

Chen Zui's slender fingers twisted slowly—indeed, human form felt far more comfortable to control.

Chen Zui said, "Let me see what I look like now."

His tone was almost commanding.

996 had never been treated so subserviently by a host before, but for now, it had no choice but to endure it.

Under his operation, a full-length mirror-like glow materialized in front of Chen Zui.

Chen Zui examined his face in the mirror and was satisfied to see that 996 hadn’t tampered with his body.

His gaze swept downward, then paused at his dick.

Something was off.

It was bigger than before.

He knew his own body well—especially this part. Even the slightest change was noticeable.

It seemed his body had undergone some experiences. This was probably the Transmigration Bureau’s first time binding with him; otherwise, they wouldn’t have needed to wipe his previous memories.

This must be the Dark Transmigration Bureau’s doing.

And this particular change should be considered an improvement…

It seemed he had a good relationship with the Dark Transmigration Bureau.

996: *Alright, I think I get why the Dark Transmigration Bureau chose him. With a body like this, he could definitely outdo the dominant male.*

But this time, he won't have the opportunity.

The glow vanished.

Chen Zui returned to his baby octopus form. Walking around naked in human form felt a bit strange, after all.

"You still haven’t given me the starter pack."

"...Here."

996 was fed up. This man was so petty—preparing these two items had nearly cleaned it out.

This mission absolutely could not fail!

"Starter pack unwrapping. Congratulations, you have obtained 100% healing ability."

Chen Zui said, "Explain."

He issued the command succinctly, with a Bossy CEO vibe.

996 felt like it had somehow turned into his subordinate: "It means if you get injured, your wounds will heal automatically. It’s very useful in this world."

Chen Zui was fairly satisfied with the package.

He immediately tried it out, picking up a stone from the ground to cut one of his tentacles. As he cut, the wound healed right after.

996: "Isn't it useful?"

It thought it would at least get a word of praise.

Chen Zui: "Average."

996 was stunned: !!!