Chapter 64

Chapter 64

After leaving the research institute, Huo Changmeng and Bai Tu returned to their room to rest.

Huo Changmeng kept his eyes closed all night, but Bai Tu knew he wasn't asleep. He wasn't asleep either.

In the latter half of the night, Huo Changmeng suddenly turned over and wrapped his arms around Bai Tu. Bai Tu opened his eyes and met Huo Changmeng's gaze in the darkness.

Neither of them spoke. After a long while, Bai Tu nestled into Huo Changmeng's embrace, listening to his heartbeat.

"Whatever decision you make, I'll follow you."

Huo Changmeng tightened his arms, remaining silent for a long time before finally saying, "Okay."

The next day's supply run was nerve-wracking but ultimately uneventful. After returning to the base and getting everything loaded into the vehicle, Huo Changmeng finally told everyone his decision.

"What? Boss, you're staying?!"

Fan Xinglu was adjusting new equipment in the car when he heard this. His hand slipped, typing a string of garbled code. He thought he must have misheard and leaned out the window. "Guan Jianrui, what are you yelling about now?"

Guan Jianrui didn't even hear someone call his name. He stared intently at Huo Changmeng. "Boss, you're joking, right?"

Ji Songyue and Xiang Yubo also stopped what they were doing, straightening up to look at Huo Changmeng.

Huo Changmeng swept his gaze over the four of them. "We've traveled together for several months, which is fate. But all good things must come to an end. We all have our own things to do, and there will inevitably be a day we part ways. I believe that day is here."

This was too sudden. The four of them were completely unprepared, stunned on the spot.

Fan Xinglu was the first to react, getting out of the car. "Did Ren Yan say something to you? If he asked you to stay, whatever it is, we can solve it together. We're in his debt too; you don't need to shoulder it alone, Captain."

"That's not it." Huo Changmeng briefly explained the matter with the research institute. "This is my own decision. You don't need to stay because of it."

Xiang Yubo said, "I'll stay and help you."

"What about your sister?"

Xiang Yubo was immediately speechless.

His sister was his only family, going to university in City B. Naturally, he needed to find her as soon as possible for peace of mind.

"If I stay here, it could be as short as ten days or half a month, or as long as several months. Your loved ones can't afford to wait that long."

Upon hearing this, the four fell into a collective silence. They had already been delayed on the road for a long time. Now, with less than eight hundred kilometers to their destination, they were naturally eager to return. How could they afford to wait several more months?

A few minutes passed before Huo Changmeng broke the silence. "Alright, if we delay any longer, it'll be dark."

Actually, there were still several hours until dusk. Huo Changmeng was clearly not good at joking, and no one found it funny.

Bai Tu stood behind Huo Changmeng, taking in the expressions of the four. They were all smart people, clearly aware of what they needed to do in this apocalyptic world. They couldn't linger just because of a promise Huo Changmeng had made to someone else.

This parting was inevitable, but it was just too rushed. They hadn't even thought of what to say for goodbye before having to get ready to leave.

After a long while, Xiang Yubo stepped forward and hugged Huo Changmeng. "You'll always be my captain."

Huo Changmeng lightly thumped his back. "I'm glad to have had a teammate like you."

Xiang Yubo took a step back, straightened his posture, and saluted, first to Huo Changmeng, then to Bai Tu. Huo Changmeng returned the salute. Xiang Yubo then strode around to the other side of the car, got into the driver's seat, and closed the door.

As if part of a farewell ritual, Fan Xinglu and Ji Songyue also stepped forward to hug Huo Changmeng.

Fan Xinglu said, "Captain, it was great knowing you. And... thank you for this journey. Without you, without all of you, I might not have made it this far."

Ji Songyue said, "Take care. We'll wait for you and Bai Tu in City B."

Huo Changmeng said, "Take care."

The two got into the car, leaving only Guan Jianrui outside. He asked, "Are we really splitting up?"

Huo Changmeng hummed in affirmation.

Guan Jianrui's face fell. He suddenly hugged Huo Changmeng tightly. "I can't bear to leave you, Boss! Where will I ever find another boss as good as you after we part? Wuwu..."

He wasn't light. Huo Changmeng was pushed back a step by his sudden lunge, both amused and exasperated as he patted his shoulder. "It's not like we'll never see each other again."

Guan Jianrui then let go of him to hug Bai Tu. "Bai Tu, wuwu, I can't bear to leave you either. I never thought our time as teammates would be so brief, less than even a month, wuwu..."

Bai Tu was momentarily stunned, then imitated Huo Changmeng by patting his shoulder.

"Wuwu..."

Fan Xinglu couldn't stand it anymore. He got out, grabbed Guan Jianrui by the back of his collar, peeled him off Bai Tu, and pushed him toward the car. "It's not a life-or-death parting. What are you crying for?"

Guan Jianrui hugged him and wailed, "I'm not crying! I just feel awful inside."

The four sat in the car. Xiang Yubo rolled down the window. Huo Changmeng said, "Be careful on the road. I wish you smooth sailing."

Xiang Yubo's face was tense. He nodded. "Take care, Captain... We'll meet again if fate allows."

"We'll meet again if fate allows."

Xiang Yubo started the car, stepped on the accelerator, and drove onto the northbound road.

The dense vegetation and iron fences framed the black vehicle as it stretched into the distance, growing rapidly smaller.

Guan Jianrui leaned out the window to look back, his shouts mingling with the whistling wind and rustling leaves. "Boss—Bai Tu—Goodbye—"

"Goodbye," Huo Changmeng said silently.

He took Bai Tu's hand. "The wind's picking up. Let's go back."

"Mm."

As they walked back, they encountered Ren Yan waiting nearby. Little Jiang followed behind him. It was unclear how much he had seen. Ren Yan said solemnly, "Captain Huo, Young Friend Bai, on behalf of the entire base, I thank you both."

As he spoke, he began to bow. Huo Changmeng stopped him with one hand. "You said it yourself: humanity faces a crisis, and survivors must help each other."

Ren Yan was taken aback, then laughed. "It seems that although I'm getting old, my judgment isn't failing me yet. I didn't misjudge you. Little Jiang has prepared a new room for you both, and your belongings have been moved. Please feel at ease staying here. From now on, you are no longer guests."

Held by Huo Changmeng's hand, Bai Tu walked toward their new residence. He looked back. The northbound road stretched flat and vast, like a smooth highway leading to the distant horizon.

From this moment on, their path had diverged greatly from their previous life. So, could they still make more changes?

...

...

"Bai Tu, here to deliver food to Captain Huo again?"

Bai Tu hummed in affirmation, carrying the lunchbox in his hand as he walked through the research institute's main gate.

The bricks in the central open area of the research institute had been removed, and the cement underneath was thoroughly broken up, replaced by an experimental field. The field was still bare, showing no greenery, but dozens of white stakes were stuck into the soil. Four or five researchers, wearing rain boots, were unearthing seeds planted half a month ago, placing them into sample tubes to take back for study.

The seeds had been planted for half a month without sprouting, leaving these researchers worried every day.

The researcher speaking was named Lei Ou. This name was reportedly changed by his parents when he was a child because he was obsessed with a century-old children's show and pestered them to change it. However, since his parents had fallen in love while feeding seagulls by the sea, they eventually settled on the character "Ou" (seagull) to commemorate that memory.

It was dusk. Lei Ou stood in the field, propped on a hoe, his shadow stretching long beside his feet. He wasn't responsible for collecting seeds but followed the others, re-tilling the cleared plots and collecting soil samples.

Once the tilling was done, a greenhouse would soon be set up here to test new crops.

"What did you make today?"

"Stir-fried cauliflower and scrambled eggs."

The cauliflower was grown in normal soil brought back by Huo Changfeng from dozens of kilometers away and cultivated at the research institute. People in the base allocated it based on work contribution. The eggs were bird eggs Huo Changfeng brought back while collecting samples.

Bai Tu went around the wheelbarrow parked by the field and entered the research institute building.

Lei Ou watched his back and sighed, "Ah, where did Captain Huo find such a sensible younger brother? I wish someone would bring me meals every day, eat with me, and have the lights always on when I return home."

Another person said, "But Captain Huo treats this younger brother like a treasure, doting on him. That's why he's willing to bring food, make soup, and look after him every day. Could you do the same?"

Lei Ou thought about it and found it difficult. He had seen how the two brothers interacted—they were inseparable. Once, he even came across Huo Changfeng applying hand cream for Bai Tu. Imagining himself in that position, he immediately shuddered, goosebumps rising all over.

Bai Tu reached the eighth floor. Huo Changfeng was still in a meeting, the conference room door closed, so Bai Tu waited outside.

Bored while waiting, he suddenly remembered his long-unchecked debt panel and summoned it with a thought.

The panel still had the old interface, with a bright red number in the center and a constant stream of entries on the right, new records generated every day. Bai Tu looked carefully and noticed his merit points had actually increased. Previously, only debits came in, but starting from a certain day, merit points began appearing intermittently. He calculated the time—it coincided exactly with when they arrived at this base.

Why? Because he changed Guan Jianrui's originally destined death? Or because he and Huo Changfeng stayed?

Bai Tu had never really understood why his debt made him seem like an utterly wicked, super villain. He admitted he was afraid of death, cowardly, and ineffective, but survival was everyone's instinct. He didn't think fearing death was a vice.

The teacher from the underworld who taught them once said everyone's merit was tied to cause and effect. The underworld had already interfered with the effect; the cause needed them to explore themselves. As for whether they could change the effect, and whether the changed outcome would be good or bad, that depended on their own destiny.

Bai Tu couldn't figure it out, so he stopped thinking about it and clicked open the side dialog box.

Probably because his debt situation had improved somewhat, his creditor's representative hadn't been on his case as frequently recently. The latest message was from a month ago, telling him to keep it up, not slack, and so on.

Bai Tu had nothing to reply, so he opened another group chat. There weren't many messages there. Chu Heng, using some method, had burned a huge sum of money down, asking Xue Ji to collect it from the Supply Pavilion, buy new wine from Tai Ao for Ox-Head and Horse-Face—specifying to buy more for Horse-Face—and buy some incense and candles to distribute among the various ghost brothers and officials. The rest was for the few ghosts to split.

In the historical messages, Support Agent B had used Chu Heng as a positive example for Bai Tu, saying Chu Heng was actively repaying his debt and had already paid off most of it. His colleague A never had to worry about him.

Xue Ji replied quickly, but his words were cold: No time.

He was probably still busy with research.

Chu Heng then poked Tang Liu, but Tang Liu didn't reply for a long time. Finally, Xue Ji came out to explain.

[He's about to take the plunge, currently busy pretending to be blind.]

Chu Heng sent a question mark.

Xue Ji didn't reply. Shen Qichi took the initiative to elaborate.

[Tang Liu is about to enter the Soul-Returning Cliff to return to the mortal world. He was blind in his previous life and is afraid he won't adapt to being blind again, so he's currently keeping his eyes closed to get used to it early.]

Shen Qichi couldn't use pinyin, so the characters he sent were handwritten traditional characters. Bai Tu found them hard to read, taking a while to understand.

Tang Liu had very special eyes—not referring to their shape, but the color of his irises. They were a deep gray, yet very clear and bright. When his gaze shifted, it was like stars flowing, and other ghosts could easily get lost staring into them, an indescribable, bewitching quality.

Such a pair of eyes were about to go blind again. Bai Tu couldn't help but feel regret.

Chu Heng seemed a bit speechless, sending a string of ellipses, conveying a sense of helplessness like "money" couldn't be spent. He felt bad bothering Shen Qichi, who seemed the only one available, as the latter was the most physically impaired among their ghost group, even floating shakily, as if a gust of ghostly wind could blow him from the Ghost Gate to the Naihe Bridge.

But in the end, Shen Qichi went.

By the time Bai Tu saw these messages, the money had been collected, the wine delivered, and the incense and candles distributed. Shen Qichi reported back to Chu Heng that the ghost officials were very satisfied, saying they'd treat him well again when he died next time, and he could bring family if he wished.

Chu Heng replied with two strings of ellipses, then asked how Bai Tu was doing recently.

Bai Tu saw this and quickly replied, saying he was fine.

Though over half a month had passed, Chu Heng replied almost instantly.

[With your unique handsome guy?]

[Yes.]

Chu Heng was curious, wanting to see how uniquely handsome his guy was.

Bai Tu typed: [Super handsome.]

Chu Heng: [Got a photo?]

Bai Tu: [Can't send photos here.]

Chu Heng: [Can. Xue Ji recently developed a new feature. See that camera icon in the bottom right? Click it, then blink at what you want to capture, it'll capture what you see. He's still researching a mind-screenshot function; for now, it can only send panoramic shots, like this.]

Then he sent several pictures in quick succession.

Bai Tu followed the instructions, looking at the conference room door and capturing an image. Because the field of view was wide, the door only occupied about one-fifth of the captured image.

Then he asked: [Isn't Xue Ji taking the plunge yet?]

While waiting for a reply, he opened the pictures Chu Heng sent. Chu Heng sent three: one of a seaside sunset, one of a brightly lit office, and one inside a car. The subject in all pictures was the same man—sometimes from the back, sometimes in profile—looking very charismatic. In the last one, the man occupied most of the frame, likely taken by Chu Heng from very close.

Bai Tu thought for a moment, then typed: [I want to see your photo.]

Chu Heng had just replied to his previous message: [Addicted to research, loves learning. Recently signed up for new courses studying human anatomy and physiology. Heard he's going further into medicine, actively extending his study period.]

Bai Tu was puzzled: [Wasn't he building a spaceship?]

Chu Heng sent a picture, then replied: [The underworld doesn't allow it. Even if built, it can't fly.]

The picture Chu Heng sent was a photo—literally, a printed photograph. It showed two people: one was the man from before, the other Bai Tu recognized by the hairstyle as likely Chu Heng.

It was a shame Chu Heng's head got crushed; he was clearly so good-looking.

In the photo, Chu Heng and the man stood side by side, smiling at the camera. Both looked gentle, appearing very harmonious together.

Bai Tu complimented both for being good-looking. Chu Heng didn't reply further, probably busy.

Right then, the conference room door opened. Bai Tu heard the sound and looked up.

Huo Changfeng, coming out, also spotted him immediately and walked over.

Before today, Bai Tu hadn't seen Huo Changfeng for three days. Huo Changfeng had gone to a somewhat distant location for sampling, the round trip taking three days. After returning, he hurried home to see Bai Tu and report he was safe, then dropped off his things and rushed straight to the research institute for the meeting.

Despite three days of travel, Huo Changfeng wasn't disheveled at all. He had no stubble on his face and looked refreshed and energetic. As he approached Bai Tu, the seriousness in his eyes melted into a softness he himself wasn't aware of.

Bai Tu's finger moved slightly, clicking the camera icon, then blinking at him.

Huo Changfeng's steps paused. He stared directly at Bai Tu for a second, then averted his eyes. His gaze wandered momentarily before returning to Bai Tu as he walked close and slightly bowed his head.

He was too close, but Bai Tu didn't feel uncomfortable. He tilted his head back as the distance closed, closed the panel, but still thought about the photo Chu Heng sent, so he said, "Huo Changfeng, I want a camera."