Chapter 32

Chapter 32

"Ying, don't say anymore." Wei Xiao turned his head to look at Lu Wei, who was chained to the iron chair, a dark, stubborn obsession seething in the depths of his eyes. "No matter what he turns into, I will absolutely never let go."

So what if Lu Wei had lost his mind? As long as he would just let me kiss and hold him, that was enough.

Actually, it was better that Lu Wei's appearance had become ugly and mutilated; that way, no one else could ever steal him away.

It didn't matter that Lu Wei fed on fresh flesh and blood; he could hunt animals, even ordinary humans, for Lu Wei and offer it up... If one day, Lu Wei needed to feed on *his* flesh to survive, he wouldn't hesitate for a second.

He always remembered when he first entered university and was ostracized; it was Lu Wei who reached out a hand to him, pulling him out of that pit.

He always remembered when he was scratched by a zombie and, in despair, wanted to end his life; it was Lu Wei who, without discussion, tied him up with rope, leaned on his weapon with red-rimmed eyes, and watched over his feverish self for an entire night.

That night, he was burning up, his whole body on fire, terrified of turning into a zombie at any moment. Yet, because Lu Wei stayed by his side the entire time, he felt completely secure, feeling that even if heaven and earth collapsed the next moment, he would have nothing to fear.

Since childhood, because of his family circumstances, his life had been bleak and unfulfilling—until he met Lu Wei.

Lu Wei was the only light in his life. He absolutely, absolutely would not let go.

Lu Ying wiped his tears with his sleeve. "My brother was such a proud person... To be like this now... it's too pitiful, too pitiful... Since you love him so much, Wei, you should consider what's best for him."

Wei Xiao withdrew his gaze from Lu Wei and locked onto Lu Ying. "How did you know?"

He had always thought he had hidden his profound, bone-deep love very well; even Lu Wei had never noticed. How did Lu Ying know?

"Because... that's just human nature. You can't help but care about the person you love." Lu Ying smiled sadly. "You know everything about my brother, Wei... so I know everything about you too."

After saying this, Lu Ying quickly took a few steps forward, tilting his head up as if to kiss Wei Xiao's light pink lips.

Wei Xiao turned his face away, pushing Lu Ying back with his hand to avoid the kiss. "Ying, since you know... you should understand that there's only your brother in my heart. I've only ever seen you as a younger brother."

"Is that so? I understand." After being pushed away by Wei Xiao, Lu Ying did not press further. Instead, with a look of utter dejection, he lowered his head and stood in place.

Looking at Lu Ying like this was like looking at his own self, pining for Lu Wei without hope. Coupled with Lu Ying's seventy to eighty percent resemblance to Lu Wei, Wei Xiao couldn't help but feel a wave of pity in his heart.

But he didn't know what to say at this moment. An awkward silence fell between the two of them.

Lu Ying seemed unable to bear the atmosphere any longer. In the end, he turned on his heel, pushed the door open, and left.

...

After Lu Ying left Wei Xiao's bedroom, he closed the door behind him.

The moment the door closed, the expression of dejection vanished from his face, replaced by a glint of calculation and venom in his eyes.

He straightened his back, stuck his hands in his pockets, and sauntered off, imitating Lu Wei's usual gait, heading towards the villa's main door, preparing to leave.

Lu Ying knew he looked very much like his brother. But whenever the two brothers stood together, he could only ever be relegated to the role of his brother's foil.

He still remembered his first love in high school; the object of his affection was the prettiest girl in class.

They never put a label on it, but she clearly treated him differently from the other boys. She was very enthusiastic, often bringing him snacks, and even asked to come over to his house.

It wasn't until near graduation that he found out she actually liked his brother. She went to his home hoping to run into his brother, to get another look at him.

Although nothing ultimately happened between them, from then on he knew he could never win against his brother.

No, his brother didn't even bother to compete with him... His brother was like a dazzling source of light, like a lofty monarch. Just by standing there, countless outstanding men and women would offer their hearts to him like moths to a flame, like willing servants at a king's feet.

Overshadowed by his brother's brilliance, he was like a dull, insignificant pebble that no one would ever notice.

Besides that, his brother was actually very good to him. Even in the apocalypse, where every day was a struggle to survive, his brother protected him everywhere. If there was only one bite of food left, his brother would save it for him, keeping him close at all times.

He wasn't a complete monster; he did have brotherly affection for him. If it were just jealousy, he wouldn't have wanted his brother dead.

But... he knew the future.

Not because he had developed some rare, future-predicting ability, but because he had actually died once, in the future ten years from now.

When he was reborn into the present, ten years in the past, he found that things were playing out exactly the same.

His brother took him and left the Frost Base, living on the road in a car.

He knew that in a few days, his brother would meet up with the Ice Queen again, and then take over a new base to settle in.

Next would be the Ice Queen and Wei Xiao's decade-long, devastating war, with casualties numbering in the tens of thousands.

By the sixth year of the war, Wei Xiao's power had reached the 3S level, making him one of the world's most powerful. The Ice Queen died in battle in the eighth year. His brother, an ordinary person, still led everyone in the new base, holding out for another two years before Wei Xiao finally breached the base.

After a decade of war with countless casualties, Wei Xiao had to answer to his men. And his brother, as the captured leader of the enemy forces, was certain to be executed with cruel punishment.

But what did Wei Xiao do then?

Wei Xiao took control of the two children his brother had with the Ice Queen, threatening his brother not to commit suicide, and took him by force.

And then, the one whose vocal cords were cut, tied up in the square, half-beaten to death by the people throwing stones, and finally dismembered alive in front of everyone... was him.

Ten years from now, his height, build, and appearance were very similar to his brother's. As long as he didn't speak or move, with a few minor adjustments, he could perfectly pass for his brother.

It hurt so much... He hated it so much!

Lu Ying pushed open the villa's main door with one hand, the other clenched tightly into a fist in his pocket. The sunlight outside was brilliant, causing him to squint slightly.

So, after being reborn, he personally pushed his brother onto the path of death.

There would be no more Lu Wei in this world, only Lu Ying.

A dead man couldn't compete with him. He would slowly, bit by bit, take everything that belonged to Lu Wei—the dazzling brilliance, and the love of Wei Xiao, that future top-tier powerhouse.

He believed he was doing a good deed, preventing that decade-long, devastating war.

No one was sacrificed except for Lu Wei.

Sorry, brother...

You never wronged me, but I don't want to repeat that past.

...

In the following days, Lu Wei's life was... a living nightmare.

He was stripped naked by Wei Xiao and pressed into a bathtub for a bath. Seeing his own terrifying, mutilated body—missing chunks of flesh here, a finger there—he felt on the verge of a breakdown. And Wei Xiao actually got aroused by this body.

Because of the zombification, he got hungry very quickly. Whenever he was hungry, Wei Xiao would kill an animal on the spot and hand it to him.

A rabbit, a chicken, something like that.

His rational mind was unwilling to eat, but his body ate with gusto. Fur, blood, bones—everything was crushed by sharp teeth and greedily swallowed down in large mouthfuls.

Wei Xiao watched him eat, a satisfied smile on his face the whole time.

On nice days, Wei Xiao would take him out for walks.

Yes, with an iron chain around his neck, just like he was walking a dog.

To prevent him from harming ordinary people, he’d be muzzled and have his hands and feet covered.

The muzzle and covers looked adorable—a fluffy cat mouth and equally fluffy, cute cat-paw mitts. In reality, however, these were made of hardened steel—extremely sturdy and nearly impossible to break or escape from.

Besides the cat-themed ones, there were over a dozen other fluffy designs, including dog, bear, fox, and tiger styles, each brightly colored and very cute.

It was never apparent before, but Wei Xiao was a damn genius in this regard.

By the way, the Frost Base had changed hands and been renamed; it was now called the "Green Emperor Base."

As the ruler of the Green Emperor Base, Wei Xiao kept a zombie as a pet, and everyone quickly accepted it. He was a powerful figure and their provider, so people could tolerate his harmless little quirks.

Once they learned that Lu Wei wouldn’t harm anyone, some would even approach with a smile to compliment how well-groomed he was or how cute he looked.

They were practically itching to pat his head.

Tsk... no matter how you look at it, it’s still pretty twisted.

Lu Wei was constantly waiting for an opportunity to escape.