Chapter 74

Chapter 74

"The base is divided into five sections. Apart from the central section, each of the four outer sections has a single entry point. Other than Section One—where you two are now—the other three are generally exit-only. Anyone wanting to join the base or return after a mission must first be processed in Section One before officially entering."

The Capital Base is laid out in the shape of an old Chinese coin, with a square central area serving as the core. The outer area is divided into four sections, with checkpoints between them. Every section has residential areas, but the quality of living varies drastically. The higher the section number, the better the conditions, and correspondingly, the stricter the entry requirements.

"There are two ways to secure housing in the base: buying outright or renting, both requiring base points. Since you two are newcomers without any points, you'll have to stay in Section One for now."

The buildings in Section One were densely packed, some with less than three steps between them, all constructed from prefabricated steel. The view was a monotonous expanse of gray, cold and oppressive.

Rong Wazi led them through a narrow alley. It was nearly dark. The sun hadn't fully set, but the alley was already dim and chilly.

Bai Tu walked beside Huo Changfeng, able to hear many soft and labored breaths in this alley less than ten meters long.

"Please! I beg you!"

A figure rushed forward with a cold draft. Bai Tu was pulled back a step, and when he looked up, his field of view was filled by Huo Changfeng's broad shoulders.

"Please! Take my daughter!"

Bai Tu looked down toward the source of the voice.

A disheveled woman was clutching Huo Changfeng's boot. She was kneeling, her body pressed low, but her head was craned upward, staring intently at Huo Changfeng. One hand gripped his boot tightly while the other pulled on someone else.

When she saw Huo Changfeng look down, she hurriedly pulled the other person closer, forcing her daughter down by the shoulders to kneel. "Young man, my daughter is capable and obedient. She can wash clothes, cook, warm the bed... she can do anything. You can have her do whatever you want."

As she spoke, she frantically brushed aside the messy hair covering her daughter's face. "Look! Just give her some food, and she'll go with you!"

Without the hair obscuring her face, it was clear the person the woman claimed could do anything was actually a teenage girl, extremely thin with sunken cheeks and prominent cheekbones. Her eyes were wide open, staring vacantly ahead, appearing numb to her mother's attempt to sell her.

"She's so small, she won't eat much. Just ten... no, five points! You can take her for just five points!"

Huo Changfeng didn't speak. Instead, he activated his wristband's points interface, showing her the glaring '0' on its display.

The woman faltered, her hand went slack, her expression dazed, then she spoke again. "No points! Free is fine too! Just take her, I beg you. Please, have mercy and take her..."

Her pleas turned into wails. Bai Tu noticed that just before she started wailing, she glanced sideways. Following her gaze, he looked down at his own wrist and saw the two glowing 'OF' letters on his gray wristband in the dusk, as conspicuous as an 'EXIT' sign in an emergency stairwell before the apocalypse.

The alley, less than ten meters long, was lined with people sitting or slumped on the ground. Some were huddled together in twos or threes like the woman, others leaned against the walls alone. All were in rags and skin-and-bones, and now they all turned to look.

Among these gazes were some numb and indifferent, some watching for entertainment, and some stirring with restless intent.

Bai Tu tugged his sleeve down over his wrist, covering the wristband.

Rong Wazi, who had been chattering away with introductions moments before, now stood to the side watching with an amused, knowing smirk, neither leaving nor offering to intervene.

"Sorry, I'm not in the market for anyone," Huo Changfeng said in a low voice.

The woman was stunned for a moment, then reached out to grab Huo Changfeng again. "No, no... Please, have a heart, I beg you..."

Huo Changfeng took a step back, steered Bai Tu, turned, and continued walking forward. As he passed Rong Wazi, he said, "Please continue leading the way, Mr. Rong."

The woman, still unwilling to give up, tried to chase after them but was rooted to the spot by Huo Changfeng's cold glance.

After they exited the alley, a sudden, raw wail came from within.

"My child—!"

Bai Tu glanced back. The woman was holding her daughter, crying and wailing.

They left the sound of crying behind them, soon drowned out by the other noises of Section One. Rong Wazi led them to a low-rise building. The stairway was attached to the exterior wall, walled in by iron mesh on all sides. At the bottom of the stairs was an old-fashioned sliding security gate.

Rong Wazi took out another palm-sized key card, swiped it on a black box beside the gate, pulled the gate open, and walked up. "Actually, Mr. Huo, you were right not to respond to that woman. That alley is a common route from the Section One gate to the residential area. That mother and daughter pull that same stunt there every day, begging for pity."

The stairs were made of iron plates attached to the wall and iron rods, open-grate in the middle. There were no lights at the top. In the poor light, the stair treads blended into the darkness. Huo Changfeng walked slowly, looking down, guiding Bai Tu by the hand to keep him from tripping.

"At first, she was selling her daughter—and herself—for five or ten points, but those were one-time deals," Rong Wazi said, looking back and slowing his pace to match theirs. "Now they can't sell anymore, so she's desperate to offload her. She's too old herself, no one wants her. Her daughter, if raised a bit, could still be of some use."

Huo Changfeng's expression was stony, and he didn't respond. It wasn't that he felt no sympathy for the mother and daughter, but he also knew such situations were far from rare. If he helped one, there would be a second, and a momentary act of kindness would only invite endless trouble in the future.

Just in that alley alone, more than one or two people were waiting for him to agree to take the girl. Once he did, they would swarm him, begging him to buy a second person, a third...

Huo Changfeng considered himself someone who wouldn't stand by and watch others die, but this level of "rescue" was far beyond what he could handle.

"If Mr. Huo wants someone, I can't guarantee Section Four, but Sections Two and Three aren't short of good options. Someone like you, Mr. Huo, just has to beckon, and a whole bunch would be willing to come. Spending points on that woman isn't worth it; it's a pure loss," Rong Wazi said with a smile, turning back. "We're here."

There was also a security gate between the stairs and each floor, requiring a card to open. The interior layout was simple: two rows of rooms separated by a narrow corridor.

The corridor wasn't littered with trash, not because the residents were tidy, but because even garbage had become a treasure in these times, constantly reused.

Rong Wazi led them to one of the doors and swiped it open with his card. "This is your accommodation. Don't misunderstand; I'm not deliberately taking you to a bad place. All newcomers to the base can only stay in this area. The first three days are free. After that, if you want to continue staying, it'll cost points—fifteen points per day."

The room Rong Wazi showed them was as narrow as the corridor outside. You could see everything at a glance and walk from the door to the far wall in a few steps. It was at most two meters wide. Against the wall was a single wooden plank bed, its headboard flush with the wall. Between the foot of the bed and the wall with the door was a low table crammed in. There was nothing else in the room.

Huo Changfeng frowned. "Are there no other rooms?"

"There are," Rong Wazi said, his gaze flicking to their still-clasped hands. "The cheapest is fifty points per night. The things you brought with you can also be exchanged for points. If you want to change, I can take you there now. But allow me to say one more thing: you'd be better off saving your points for Section Two."

Access permissions from lower to higher sections also had to be purchased with points. People from higher sections could freely enter lower sections, but not vice versa. It could be said that without points, you couldn't move an inch anywhere in the base.

"What other empty rooms are available in Section One?" Bai Tu asked.

Rong Wazi grinned. "Plenty."

"What about Sections Two and Three?"

"Also plenty."

"I'm a bit tired," Bai Tu said, tugging on Huo Changfeng's sleeve. "Let's go exchange tomorrow."

Huo Changfeng looked at him intently, seeing genuine fatigue on his face, and agreed. "Alright."

But the room didn't even have a bedsheet. They needed to go back to the inspection area to get their vehicle.

The vehicle was indeed, as Rong Wazi had said, still parked safely in its original spot. Bai Tu rummaged in a box and pulled out a pack of Chunghwa cigarettes, handing it to Rong Wazi. "Can we still find you as a guide tomorrow?"

Cigarettes were now a rarity among rarities. Rong Wazi raised an eyebrow, glanced at Huo Changfeng, accepted the pack, and his smile became noticeably more sincere. "Of course. Not just tomorrow, the day after and the day after that are fine too."

When exchanging contact information, Huo Changfeng remembered the still-missing Guan Jianrui and Xiang Yubo and asked Rong Wazi about them.

"The two guys before you? I have some impression, but I don't know their contact numbers."

By the time they finished all the back-and-forth, it was already quite late. They hadn't brought any bedsheets or quilts with them, so they had to make do with sleeping bags for the night.

Two men squeezed into the tiny room where even turning around was difficult. Bai Tu curled up at the foot of the bed, watching Huo Changfeng move sideways in the cramped space.

"The bathroom is here," Huo Changfeng said, opening the window a crack for ventilation.

The bathroom was at the far end of the room, an extremely small cubicle containing only a toilet, a sink, and an old copper faucet with a single valve that only produced cold water. Huo Changfeng rolled up his sleeves, turned on the faucet, and began cleaning the sink.

He stood inside; the bathroom was so cramped there was no room for another person. Bai Tu went and stood in the doorway, watching him.

"Don't stand in a draft, or close the window a bit," Huo Changfeng said to him.

The room had a window, a half-sliding window like the ones in the Central China Base hospital rooms. However, since a bathroom had been partitioned off, half the window was inside the bathroom and half outside. Only one half could be opened at a time, so you had to go in and out of the bathroom to adjust it.

Bai Tu closed the window a bit more, then heard three knocks at the door.

He walked over and opened it, coming face-to-face with Rong Wazi's kindly smiling face.

"Forgot to tell you, there's no hot water here. Also, water and electricity aren't free. It's due every three days. Cold water and electricity cost the same, billed by cumulative usage time—two credits per hour. Hot water is a bit more expensive, four credits per hour." Rong Wazi was holding a basin with towels, an electric kettle, and even a few candles inside. "I just happened to have some extra. Since our paths have crossed, it must be fate. Consider these a housewarming gift. Don't stand on ceremony."

They did need these things, and Bai Tu wasn't about to refuse.

"Thank you." He was just raising his hand to take it when another hand reached from behind him and took the basin first.

"Thanks. If we don't have enough credits to pay for water and electricity, does the base allow arrears?"

"Don't worry about that." Rong Wazi's gaze swept over their hands. Bai Tu's hands were fair, delicate, and smooth, with slender fingers, neatly trimmed and rounded nails, and even the nail beds showed a healthy rosy hue. In contrast, Huo Changfeng's fingertips and the base of his thumb were calloused, his knuckles large, his skin a wheatish color, and now dotted with water droplets.

Ah, a lucky little canary. No wonder he'd say that naive stuff about believing or not.

Thinking this, Rong Wazi's expression remained unchanged as he smiled slightly. "It's getting late, I won't disturb you any further."

After Rong Wazi left, the two used the electric kettle he'd brought to boil some water to wash up. Huo Changfeng boiled another kettle of water, poured it into the basin, added some cold water, and said to Bai Tu as he was about to crawl into his sleeping bag, "Soak your feet before bed."

Bai Tu had already taken off his shoes and socks. At this, he got up again, pulled up his pant legs, and put his feet into the basin.

The water was a bit too hot. The moment his soles touched the water, he lifted his feet onto the basin's rim.

"Too hot?" Huo Changfeng used his superpower to add a bit more water. "Try again."

This time the temperature was just right. Bai Tu shifted over, making room on half of the basin's bottom. "I want to soak with you."

This was experience gained from two lifetimes combined. Saying 'soak together' might not get Huo Changfeng to agree, but as long as he prefaced it with 'I want,' Huo Changfeng would never refuse.

Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, Huo Changfeng sat down and put his feet in.

Two adult men's feet crammed into one basin was clearly a bit of a squeeze. Looking at Huo Changfeng's large feet, which seemed desperate to hug the edges, Bai Tu was struck by a mischievous impulse. He placed his bare foot on top of Huo Changfeng's instep, turned his head, and gave him a sly, lopsided smile. "This way works."

Huo Changfeng looked at the two pairs of feet overlapping in the basin, his Adam's apple bobbing.

The water in the basin was about to overflow. The silver bracelet on Bai Tu's ankle was also submerged.

"Your bracelet... is it broken?"

Bai Tu subconsciously turned the bracelet on his wrist. No scratches, and both pendants were fine.

"Not that one," Huo Changfeng's voice was a bit low and hoarse. "I remember the bracelet on your foot used to make a sound."

It did make a sound. But ever since Huo Changfeng said the bell sound could easily attract attention, Bai Tu had jammed the clapper, and hadn't bothered with it since. Hearing Huo Changfeng mention it now, he stood on tiptoe, bent down to free the clapper, straightened up, and shook his ankle. "It's not broken. It still rings."

He smiled. "A long time ago, my parents and I would go back to our hometown for a day or two every year. We didn't live in the old house often, and there were only two basins at home. They would squeeze into one basin to soak their feet, leaving the other basin for me. It reminds me of us now."

After saying this, he tilted his head to look at Huo Changfeng, only then realizing Huo Changfeng's gaze was deep and intense, locked intently on him. Bai Tu's heart skipped a beat, suddenly remembering that scorching kiss.

He wasn't a fool; he knew what a kiss meant.

Huo Changfeng wanted him. This was something that had never happened in his previous life.

He had never known how to define his relationship with Huo Changfeng and never thought about it, just muddling along, clinging to Huo Changfeng for an easy life in the apocalypse. Huo Changfeng granted his every wish, never asking him to do anything.

At first, Bai Tu was uneasy and anxious because of Huo Changfeng's kindness towards him. He even genuinely washed up, took off his clothes, and slipped into Huo Changfeng's bed. But when Huo Changfeng came in and found him undressed, he actually got angry, his tone cold for the first time, telling him to put his clothes on and get out.

After that, Bai Tu never thought about that aspect again. Anyway, he would listen to Huo Changfeng and be obediently taken care of.

Thinking back later, he really had been raised too well, unable to handle anything. If he had been stronger or braver, Huo Changfeng wouldn't have died so painfully in the end.

His thoughts were pulled back by the soft sensation on his lips. Huo Changfeng's face was right in front of him.

Bai Tu's eyes were open. He could clearly see Huo Changfeng's thick eyebrows, high nose bridge, and just-right eyelashes.

Unlike the previous fleeting or rough kisses, Huo Changfeng's kiss this time was very gentle. Bai Tu tilted his head back to receive it, feeling as if clouds in the sky were gently caressing his lips.

Perhaps his gaze was too intense. Huo Changfeng slightly opened his eyes, paused for a moment, met Bai Tu's gaze for a few seconds, then his eyes drifted to the side, a faint blush clearly spreading across his cheek.

He covered Bai Tu's eyes with one hand, the other hand involuntarily wrapping around Bai Tu's waist. Bai Tu felt his lips being parted. The world was dark, the only remaining sensation the entwining of their tongues. He wanted to push Huo Changfeng away, but for some reason, his raised hands ended up pressing against Huo Changfeng's chest, clutching his clothes.

The faint, wet sounds were clearly audible. Bai Tu felt flustered. The water in the basin had long gone cold, but Huo Changfeng's scorching body temperature transmitted through the soles of their feet. A tingling, electric-like sensation flowed through his entire body. Bai Tu reflexively curled his foot.

A crisp *ding-ding* rang in the room. Bai Tu felt a heavier pressure on his lips, then felt himself being pulled forward, soon falling onto a warm, solid body.

Huo Changfeng released the hand covering his eyes, pressing on the back of his neck to kiss him. Bai Tu's eyelashes fluttered; he instinctively wanted to open his eyes.

Huo Changfeng seemed to anticipate his intention. In the brief gap between their lips parting, he said in a low voice, "Don't open your eyes."

Bai Tu immediately shut his eyes tightly. This made the entanglement between their lips even more impossible to ignore. Huo Changfeng's kissing had little technique; every move was very direct. Just as the corners of Bai Tu's mouth and the root of his tongue were starting to ache, he was suddenly flipped over.

Huo Changfeng pressed down on him, the kisses gradually moving from his lips to his neck. Bai Tu trembled from the kisses, only knowing to clutch Huo Changfeng's clothes. He arched his neck. In his dazed state, he didn't even know when his own shirt hem was pulled out, just trembling even more violently.

Something was pressing against him. Bai Tu realized that if they didn't stop now, perhaps there would be no turning back for him and Huo Changfeng.

He tried hard to stay clear-headed. His hands finally made a pushing, resisting motion.

"Huo... Huo Changfeng..."

But he misjudged the tone of his own voice at this moment and underestimated his effect on Huo Changfeng. The moment the words left his mouth, the sensation pressing against him became even more pronounced.

Huo Changfeng's movements also lost their gentleness, each one heavier than the last. Bai Tu began to panic, pushing hard against his shoulders.

He didn't want to.

In his previous life, he could have used his body to exchange for Huo Changfeng's protection. But in this life, he didn't want to. He didn't want to earn Huo Changfeng's protection because of his body, to become Huo Changfeng's appendage.

Their current relationship was just fine. He didn't want it to change at all.

He knew this thought was selfish. Perhaps in Huo Changfeng's eyes, he was someone who wanted to receive without giving anything. But that's how it was in their previous life, so repeating that relationship in this life shouldn't be a problem, right?

"...Huo Changfeng... I don't want it anymore..."

Bai Tu was both panicked and ashamed, but his hands pushed even harder.

Because of the change in his state of mind, his voice returned to normal, even carrying a slight tremble. Huo Changfeng stopped his movements and looked up at him, asking nervously, "Did I hurt you?"

Bai Tu shook his head, wiped his lips with the back of his hand, then wiped Huo Changfeng's lips, saying softly, "I don't want to do that kind of thing. Is that okay?"

Huo Changfeng wasn't feeling good at the moment either. But pressed tightly against Bai Tu, he could feel every slight reaction of Bai Tu's body. He knew Bai Tu wasn't lying. A vague, indescribable sense of loss passed through his heart, but he still nodded. "Okay. I was too impatient."

Bai Tu pursed his lips and added, "...And I don't want to in the future either."

Huo Changfeng froze, as if he'd been doused with a bucket of ice water in the dead of winter. He slowly pushed himself up on his elbows to look at him. "Am I making you uncomfortable?"

Bai Tu felt awkward, biting his lip without speaking.

Huo Changfeng watched him for a moment, then climbed off him without a word.

Bai Tu panicked and grabbed the hem of his clothes. When Huo Changfeng turned back, he said, "Please don't be mad..."

Huo Changfeng sighed. "I'm not angry. You sleep first. I'll clean up."

Bai Tu didn't let go.

"Really, I'm not angry."

Only then did Bai Tu release his grip, turned over and slid into his sleeping bag, yet feeling not the slightest bit sleepy. He lay facing the wall, listening to the sounds of Huo Changfeng pouring water in the bathroom. After a few minutes, Huo Changfeng emerged, turned off the light, and got into his sleeping bag, reaching out to hold Bai Tu.

His hand was very cold, and Bai Tu flinched back instinctively. Huo Changfeng paused for a moment, withdrew his hand, and did not try to hold him again.