Chapter 74

Chapter 74

A yellow octopus?

Chen Zui got an idea: "I want the ability to change colors."

996: "Alright, alright, I'll get it for you right away. As long as you don’t kill the protagonist, anything is negotiable."

In less than a minute, 996 had arranged this ability for Chen Zui.

So Ren Feng witnessed the following scene: the pink baby octopus snapped two tentacles together like fingers, and then it turned into a yellow baby octopus—a soft, tender yellow.

Ren Feng’s pupils dilated.

The baby octopus, proudly holding its head up high, radiated an air of "I’m amazing, take a good look," with two tentacles elegantly crossed in front of him like human legs.

With another snap of its tentacles, the baby octopus turned green, then purple—colors that made it look poisonous—and finally a fiery red, so festive it could be worn as a hair accessory.

Watching the baby octopus continuously change colors, Ren Feng was reminded of flashing bar lights, and a lyric suddenly popped into his head: "Hello, Mr. DJ, don’t stop the beat, there’s a party in my head, and I can't help but move." (Note 1)

The baby octopus kept changing colors—blue, gray...

Ren Feng played along: "You’re not going to start glowing at the end, are you?"

Before Chen Zui could even respond, 996 was already on it. So, Chen Zui really began to glow—first golden, then silver, and even rainbow-colored.

In this world, Chen Zui’s monster transformation had also influenced his mindset, making him a bit uncontrollably uninhibited due to the monster’s simple nature.

After his display, Ren Feng clapped enthusiastically: "I know the perfect name for you—the Chameleon Octopus."

Chen Zui turned back into a pink baby octopus and leaped onto Ren Feng’s head. Ren Feng chuckled. Well, it seemed he didn’t like that name. Better just call him baby octopus.

Ren Feng shouldered his backpack and set off. Away from the city, without buildings to block the view, it was easier to spot any monsters. He walked along the highway, passing countless corpses, most of which showed signs of having been searched. Ren Feng didn’t bother searching them again.

Chen Zui’s hat had changed from a tissue to a leaf, which he held up with one tentacle. With eight tentacles, he could easily switch when one got tired.

996 tried to communicate with him: "Um... do you think you could find a way to make Ren Feng stop and wait for Su He?"

Afraid Chen Zui might misunderstand, it quickly added: "I’m not ordering you."

Chen Zui propped up two tentacles like a backrest, comfortably leaning his large head against them. Sheltered under the leaf’s shade, all he needed was a cold drink to make it perfect. There was one thing he was quite curious about.

"Su He’s relationship with those two brothers seems unusual. Is this a harem story?"

"No, no, it’s a pure love story, but the protagonist is a crowd-pleaser. The ending is 1v1 between the protagonist and the main love interest, but many people will like Su He along the way. Su He isn’t the traditional innocent protagonist; he’s more of a 'black lotus'—a scheming protagonist, which is popular lately."

"Since it’s a post-apocalyptic story, readers really like this non-saintly type of character."

"Later on, there will be several important male characters—love interests 2, 3, and 4. Su He navigates among them with ease, training 'dogs,' teasing 'dogs,' and there are even intense rivalry scenes. The tension is quite steamy, and readers love Su He’s non-romantic mindset. In the end, Su He chooses Ren Feng, who has the strongest abilities."

"So? Don’t you think such a protagonist is charming? You must not want to kill him at all now, right?"

Chen Zui scoffed.

996 didn’t understand what his laugh meant and grew anxious. It had described Su He’s appeal based on what readers thought—surely there was nothing wrong with that.

Ren Feng stopped. Ahead of him, a colorful caterpillar blocked the road. The caterpillar was the size of a truck. Ren Feng didn’t proceed further but turned to climb over the guardrail, planning to bypass the caterpillar through the fields.

The caterpillar, which had been motionless, locked its multiple pairs of bean-like eyes on Ren Feng the moment he appeared. Suddenly, it stood up, revealing hundreds of legs underneath its massive body, and swiftly chased after Ren Feng.

Without looking back, Ren Feng smoothly vaulted over the guardrail and ran forward.

The caterpillar suddenly halted, planted its rear end on the ground, contracted, then pushed off with its legs and launched itself into the air, flying straight toward Ren Feng.

Chen Zui didn’t intervene. Someone like Ren Feng, with his personality, wasn’t suited to live under protection.

Moreover, in a world like this, people needed to improve their combat skills through repeated battles. Unless Ren Feng was in mortal danger, Chen Zui had no intention of stepping in.

Besides, Ren Feng was the main love interest—he absolutely wouldn’t die.

The wind generated by the caterpillar’s flight rustled the leaf on Chen Zui’s head.

Chen Zui tightened the tentacle wrapped around Ren Feng’s hair.

Ren Feng glanced back quickly, then dodged to the side. Before he could steady himself, he turned and swung his knife at the caterpillar, which had just landed.

Although the strike hit, it produced a sound like metal clashing against metal, even sparking under the blade.

Ren Feng’s pupils contracted instantly. Such monsters were the hardest to kill, but they usually shared one common trait: there was always a soft spot on their bodies—their weak point.

However, this weak point wasn’t fixed and had to be found.

After evolving plants and animals, nature had left humans this slim chance of survival. Sometimes Ren Feng wondered if humanity had destroyed too much, prompting this punishment from heaven. But perhaps nature didn’t want humans to go extinct, leading to the current situation.

The caterpillar swung its tail at him.

Ren Feng blocked with his knife but was still forced back several steps. The strength of a truck-sized monster was beyond what an ordinary human could withstand. His foot slipped off the ridge, twisting awkwardly with a sharp, piercing pain. Ignoring the pain, Ren Feng used the momentum from the blow to keep running, charging forward without stopping.

Chen Zui, perched on his head, smiled. Quite clever.

The tricked caterpillar gave chase again. A gunshot rang out, and a bullet pierced the caterpillar’s head—apparently, its weak point was its head. The massive body collapsed with a thunderous crash.

Ren Feng stopped running and turned to look. On the road, a woman lowered her gun, the wind tousling her vibrant red hair.

—

Over the years, Ren Feng had occasionally used guns as weapons, but ammunition was always in short supply. Limping back to the road, he saw the woman’s two companions returning after scouting the area.

Ren Feng: "Thank you."

The woman who saved him brushed her wind-blown hair aside and glanced at his foot: "Are you injured?"

Ren Feng: "It’s nothing, just a sprain."

The woman didn’t press further: "Let me introduce myself. I’m Hu Xue, this is my sister Hu Yue, and this is Gao Qiang. We’re heading to the northern base. Would you like to join us? You seem skilled, and it’s always better to have more people watching each other’s backs."

"We have cars. Your foot probably isn’t in the best condition for traveling right now."

Their vehicles were parked off the road in the field—an off-road vehicle and a Jeep.

Ren Feng thought it over. His foot would likely take a week to fully heal, and he couldn’t afford to delay. Moreover, if he encountered any monsters during that time, his limited mobility would significantly increase the danger.

"Thank you. I am indeed heading to the northern base."

Ren Feng hitched a ride. In the back seat of the Jeep, he examined his swollen ankle. Fortunately, it wasn’t broken.

Gao Qiang, driving the car, glanced at Ren Feng through the rearview mirror: "Hey, man."

Ren Feng looked up.

Gao Qiang: "Just so we're clear, Hu Xue and I are together."

Ren Feng recalled Hu Xue's earlier introduction of him—she hadn’t mentioned he was her boyfriend. But it wasn’t any of his business anyway. To avoid unnecessary trouble, he said, "I like men."

Gao Qiang raised a silent eyebrow.

Ren Feng wrapped the bandage around his ankle.

"So, are you the top or the bottom?" Gao Qiang couldn’t resist asking out of curiosity.

"What do you think?" Ren Feng put on his shoes. The man had a rugged, wild aura about him—he really didn’t seem like the type to be the submissive partner.

Gao Qiang gave a low chuckle. "Just don’t get any ideas about me."

Ren Feng: ...

Gao Qiang was fairly good-looking with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and he had a decent build. But having seen true pearls, someone like him was, at best, a fish eyeball in Ren Feng’s eyes.

The other’s presumptuousness made Ren Feng uncomfortable, and he blurted out, "I have a boyfriend."

"Huh?"

"Then he…"

Ren Feng: "We got separated for now."

Gao Qiang breathed a sigh of relief for him, growing even more curious. "What’s your boyfriend like?"

"Very handsome, tall, great body, his voice is really nice, and he smells like roses."

Ren Feng just wanted to knock Gao Qiang down a peg, so he rattled off a whole list without noticing the subtle smile that appeared on the baby octopus sitting on his head.

996: ...Hm? Something’s off.

Gao Qiang scoffed disbelievingly, thinking this was all just Ren Feng’s imagination. Maybe he did have a boyfriend, but there was no way he could be that perfect.

"What’s that thing on your head?"

"A pet."

Chen Zui: Hm?

996 almost couldn’t hold back a laugh.

Gao Qiang glanced at Chen Zui. "Isn’t it mutated?"

"It has, but just its tentacles can grow longer. A little thing like this doesn’t have any offensive capability anyway." Ren Feng didn’t choose to lie completely—he told the truth, but only a small part of it.

His calm demeanor, combined with the baby octopus’s adorable appearance, made it easy to believe what he said—it really didn’t seem threatening.

Before dark, they stopped and everyone gathered to have a bite.

Gao Qiang couldn’t wait to share the news that Ren Feng liked men and had a boyfriend.

Hu Xue shot Gao Qiang a look, and he chuckled sheepishly.

Hu Yue, on the other hand, lowered her head to hide the smile she couldn’t suppress. She had always loved reading pure love stories and comics. Even though she didn’t know what Ren Feng’s boyfriend looked like yet, her mind uncontrollably conjured up an image of a delicate, petite young master.

Proud young master (uke) x straight, rough-and-tumble guy (seme).

Hu Yue: I’m so here for this!

Later, they chatted a bit about the baby octopus. Seeing how tiny it was, always sitting on Ren Feng’s head, they just found it cute. In this world, there were indeed weaker mutants—not all plants and animals became incredibly powerful—so they didn’t pay it much mind.

When it was time to rest for the night, Gao Qiang instinctively began to take off his shirt but stopped when he noticed Ren Feng, feeling awkward about being shirtless in front of him.

Ren Feng couldn’t be bothered to care.

Gao Qiang lay down ahead with his clothes on. After a while, he asked, "How did you and your boyfriend meet? I mean, did you know he liked guys before you got together? Or how did you figure it out?"

Straight guys’ curiosity about these things really was both bold and abrupt.

Ren Feng pretended to snore, completely unwilling to engage.

In the front car, Hu Xue was on watch, her eyes scanning the surroundings every now and then.

She took a drag of her cigarette. "Still not asleep?"

Hu Yue was in the back, sewing a very cute little outfit by flashlight.

"Almost done."

Hu Xue reached back and adjusted the curtain covering the window. "Just finish it tomorrow. It’s bad for your eyes."

"Almost, almost."

"Two more stitches."

"Done!"

"Look, sis."

Hu Yue held up a little yellow dress. "That baby octopus would look absolutely adorable in this."

"Yeah, it’s cute."

"Time to sleep."

Satisfied, Hu Yue packed up and lay down to sleep. In the latter half of the night, Hu Xue went to wake Gao Qiang so he could take over watch.

Gao Qiang hugged her, trying to steal a kiss.

Hu Xue glanced at Ren Feng in the back seat. "Don’t mess around."

Gao Qiang whined and clung to her.

Hu Xue lost her patience. "Don’t forget what our relationship is."

Gao Qiang settled down.

Hu Xue returned to the front car. She and Gao Qiang weren’t a couple—they were just fuckbuddies. In a world like this, the pressure of survival was immense. As a woman, finding a man to have some fun with and blow off steam was perfectly normal.

Gao Qiang was decent-looking and had a good body.

That’s why Hu Xue had chosen him. As for romance—she had no such plans.

Men? Just something to play with.

When she got bored, it’d be easy to move on to the next one. No need to go through a whole breakup routine.

Inviting Ren Feng to join them, Hu Xue’s intentions were indeed impure at first, but she immediately abandoned those thoughts upon learning he liked men.

After all, even in a world like this, there are plenty of men; she wouldn’t bother competing with anyone for one.

Too demeaning.

—

The night passed without incident.

It’s just that Ren Feng didn’t expect Gao Qiang to come pestering him about his boyfriend again first thing in the morning.

"Did you two live together?"

"Who pursued whom?"

"How did you pursue him?"

Ren Feng: …

If he didn’t answer, Gao Qiang wouldn’t drop it.

"I pursued him. It was love at first sight—I went right up, kissed him, and asked if he’d be my boyfriend."

"He agreed, and then we moved in together."

After saying this, Ren Feng walked toward the car in front, limping slightly, which slowed him down.

Chen Zui caught the keyword: love at first sight~

Gao Qiang seemed lost in thought over these words.

Ren Feng got into the car in front, and everyone gathered to eat breakfast—each getting a small piece of bread.

Chen Zui drank from a bottle cap, which made the Hu sisters glance at him frequently.

Hu Yue stuffed the bread into her mouth in one bite, brushed the crumbs from her hands, and said, "Ren, I made a little outfit for the baby octopus. I hope you don’t mind."

She proudly pulled out the little dress.

Ren Feng didn’t mind at all; in fact, he really hoped the baby octopus could wear it. It’s just that…

His baby octopus had a real attitude.

Ren Feng looked at the baby octopus; his intuition told him he was probably male.

Everyone’s eyes fell on Chen Zui, especially Hu Yue’s, eagerly.

Of course, Chen Zui wouldn’t wear a dress. He looked at Ren Feng.

Ren Feng got the hint: "The dress is lovely, but I’m really sorry—the baby octopus is male."

Hu Yue was speechless, her mouth hanging open; that hadn’t even crossed her mind. "Sorry, sorry."

She set the little dress aside. "Then I’ll make him a little hat instead."

Hu Yue wasn’t upset at all and was already thinking about what kind of hat to make for the baby octopus.

Ren Feng: "Thank you, I appreciate the trouble."

Suddenly, the front car door opened from the outside, and Gao Qiang hopped in looking serious, locking eyes with Hu Xue.

"Hu Xue, I like you. Will you be my girlfriend?"

He puckered up and leaned in for a kiss.

Ren Feng felt this scene looked familiar, and he realized that Gao Qiang wasn’t just being nosy—he was trying to pick up tips from Ren Feng’s experience.

Oh no…

Hu Xue slapped Gao Qiang across the face and pushed him away. "Are you insane?"

Gao Qiang gave Ren Feng an innocent look.

Ren Feng: …

—

Gao Qiang drove, the slap mark still on his face, grumbling, "That went nothing like you said it would."

Ren Feng didn’t think he’d done anything wrong, but he still felt guilty for no reason.

Gao Qiang: "You definitely don’t have a boyfriend!"

He rubbed his slapped cheek. "That move would never land you a boyfriend."

"Even though I was rejected, I’ll always love Hu Xue. Even if you don’t have a boyfriend, don’t get any ideas about me. I know I’m good-looking and have a great body…"

He rambled on and on.

The baby octopus’s big, round eyes were fixed on the back of Gao Qiang’s head.

"Figure out how to let my human form and octopus form exist at the same time."

996: "Um…"

Chen Zui: "Otherwise, what do you expect me to do as an octopus? Make takoyaki?"

Chen Zui: "If the baby octopus suddenly disappears, that’d be suspicious. Coexistence is the best option—we can even cover for each other. Believe me, I’ve got this. We’re in this together now."

996 gave in: "Alright, I’ll arrange it."

996’s points were completely depleted. Left with no choice, it could only advance some points. As long as this world wasn’t destroyed, it would get its points back.

996 bit the bullet and advanced a large sum of points.

—

Ren Feng received a gun, something he hadn’t expected. Weren’t these three a little too careless?

Gao Qiang: "Do you know how to shoot? If not, I can teach you."

Then he quickly added: "Just so you know, this doesn’t mean I’m into you."

Ren Feng could tell he had no ill intent; it’s just that…

He spotted a monster up ahead, leaned out the car window, squinted, and took aim.

A gunshot rang out, and the monster fell to the ground.

Gao Qiang gave him a thumbs up: "Nice one, nice one."

The group pressed on, and Hu Yue quickly made a small hat.

This time, Chen Zui accepted her gift. With the hat on, the little octopus looked even cuter.

Hu Yue mused: "This is pretty much a mascot."

Chen Zui took it as a compliment.

When they passed a few abandoned cars, they stopped and used their assembled equipment to siphon diesel from the vehicles, saving it as backup.

At night, they parked the car by the roadside under a tree and pulled down the lush branches, almost completely covering the vehicle.

Ren Feng was on watch during the first half of the night.

Chen Zui signaled at the car window with a tentacle. Ren Feng glanced at Gao Qiang, who was snoring away in the front seat, and whispered to Chen Zui, "Don't be long."

He opened the car window and watched as the little octopus disappeared into the night.

Chen Zui turned back into his human form in a deserted place, but the little octopus still existed. He controlled both bodies with his thoughts, effortlessly and without any trouble.

996: "I loaned a million points to buy this."

It thought that, no matter what, it had to let Chen Zui know how much it had invested so that he would work with it properly.

996: "If the two protagonists in this world don’t end up together, I won’t earn any points, and then I’ll be finished."

It was desperate, practically going all in on this gamble.

Chen Zui enjoyed the fun of controlling two bodies: "Will the Transmigration Bureau fire you?"

996: "No, but I’ll lose my qualification as a system and be sent to a small world to play abusive roles that no host is willing to take on until I pay off my debt."

Chen Zui: "Your Transmigration Bureau is really ruthless, showing no mercy even to an outstanding old-timer like you."

996 sighed: "You said it..."

Chen Zui: "Jobs like this are the worst—no humanity at all. I wouldn’t be able to stand it."

996 fell into deep thought because of Chen Zui’s words, recalling its many years at the Transmigration Bureau. In the beginning, it was constantly punished because its hosts failed missions. Although things gradually improved later on, still...

Take this time, for example. It originally thought that borrowing a million points was no big deal and didn’t warrant such severe punishment, especially since it had been hardworking and dedicated all these years at the Transmigration Bureau.

But the higher-ups wouldn’t budge, even accusing it of not understanding the rules.

——

Ren Feng rolled down the window. The little octopus was such a good boy, returning so quickly.

He pinched the little octopus’s chubby cheek.

Maybe the little octopus just went out for some fresh air. Staying in the car all the time must have been boring.

After daybreak, they continued their journey. Surviving in this world was no picnic—constantly on the move, living stealthily, frequently facing life-or-death attacks from monsters, never getting enough to eat or sleep, and with absolutely no entertainment to speak of. It was downright boring.

Ren Feng played a game of "you press me, I press you" with the little octopus’s tentacles.

The octopus had eight tentacles; he had ten fingers.

Gao Qiang stopped the car: "There’s a monster."

Ren Feng looked up. Outside was a monster of indescribable shape, covered in lumpy flesh balls. Its legs were like two chopsticks, but its claws were long and sharp, glinting coldly in the sunlight. It was swiftly lunging at a nearby human.

Ren Feng’s gaze fell on that human.

Surprised and astonished.

It was him.

Gao Qiang picked up his gun, ready to shoot the monster, when Chen Zui outside suddenly jammed an iron rod through the monster’s head, pinning it firmly to the ground. The monster twitched twice.

Gao Qiang: "Wow, impressive."

Chen Zui turned to look at the car, narrowed his eyes, and quickly strode toward it.

Gao Qiang’s gun followed Chen Zui’s movement. Tsk, tsk, tsk—so tall. Damn, he’s been running into handsome guys a lot lately, and this one’s physique is top-tier too.

He hoped he was gay too.

Ren Feng didn’t understand why he rolled down the car window either—it was as if he’d been possessed.

Chen Zui bent down, leaning against the car door, his face beaming as he reached in and pulled Ren Feng's head close.

"Finally found you."

"Boyfriend."

As he spoke, he pulled the stunned Ren Feng forward and planted a kiss on his lips.

Gao Qiang: !

Ren Feng: !

The Hu Yue sisters in the car behind: !

996: !

Author’s Note:

Note 1: Social shake.