Chapter 100

Chapter 100

The next day, when Fan Xinglu came to say goodbye, Bai Tu was taken aback.

"Where are you going?"

Fan Xinglu had made himself very presentable, dressed in traveling clothes. All his luggage was already loaded in the car; all he needed was a goodbye before he could leave. Hearing the question, he replied, "To the Central China Base."

"To find Guanguan and the others?"

Apart from going to find Guan Jianrui and the others, Bai Tu couldn't think of any other reason that would make Fan Xinglu be in such a rush to come and go. He hadn't had a chance to ask about Guan Jianrui's recent situation since seeing Fan Xinglu this time. Fan Xinglu seemed fine in spirit and mood, so his friends were probably doing well.

Thinking this, he casually asked, "Are they all okay? How is Xiang Yubo's injury?"

"They're all fine. I did as you said and found that guy named Rong Wazi, got in touch with Songyue and Xiangyu Bao. Xiangyu Bao is still recovering from his injuries, but with Songyue there, he's out of danger. They're all with Guanguan at the Central China Base now. Ren Yan, remembering old ties, has been taking good care of us. I came this time because I was worried about you. Now that I see you and the Captain are both fine, I'm heading back to tell them the good news as soon as possible, so they won't worry either."

Bai Tu nodded. "That's good." He gave a faint smile. "When you all have time, you can come be our guests again."

Fan Xinglu lowered his head and hummed in agreement.

"By the way, has there been any movement from the North China Base?"

Fan Xinglu was slightly taken aback. "Nothing special. Probably the same as before, conducting experiments on people in secret." He gave a bitter smile. "It's a shame I'm no hero, powerless to stop such inhumane things. Let's not talk about this. I should be going soon. ... No need to see me off. When the Captain returns, please let him know I was very happy to see him again, and we'll meet again if fate allows." Without waiting for Bai Tu to say a word of farewell, he turned and left.

For a moment, his retreating figure carried a hint of finality. Bai Tu shook his head, dispelling the illusion from his mind, sat down, and continued cleaning the firearms on the table.

There were still a few boxes of guns and ammunition left in the house from when they departed last time. Although stored in sealed crates, they still needed regular maintenance.

Bai Tu placed the cleaned parts to one side and began oiling them. After a while, Fan Xinglu's last words suddenly flashed through his mind.

*Something's not right.*

How could the North China Base have no movement at all? Forget about whether Commander Liu and that strange man would simply give up, just take Rong Wazi himself—after learning about the brutal, inhuman treatment his wife and daughter received, he wouldn't just stand by.

Fan Xinglu's evasive eyes and bitter smile flashed before him one after another. Bai Tu abruptly stood up and walked to the window to look down. Fan Xinglu's car was already gone.

He had sent Huo Changfeng out to find gun lubricating oil; he wasn't back yet. Bai Tu hastily wrote a note, snatched up the car keys, and ran downstairs. Without a moment's delay, he got in the car, started the engine, stepped on the gas, and sped northward.

He sped along for a while but still didn't see Fan Xinglu's car. There was only one main road running through the town, but not far outside the town was a fork in the road with three branches, all leading to the northbound national highway, though two of them were slightly longer detours.

When Bai Tu set out in pursuit, he instinctively chose the shortest route. Fan Xinglu had just left; logically, he should have seen his taillights by now. The more Bai Tu thought about it, the more wrong it felt. He turned around and went back, choosing the route from the fork that was farthest from the national highway. At the same time, more and more questions surfaced.

Xiang Yubo would never leave Xiang Yashu, yet Fan Xinglu hadn't mentioned her at all. And given Commander Liu's precedent of threatening the lives of Ji Songyue and the others, was it really so easy for them to leave the North China Base?

As he neared the national highway, Bai Tu finally spotted Fan Xinglu's car. It was moving very fast, as if in a hurry to get somewhere.

Bai Tu accelerated to catch up and laid on the horn, but Fan Xinglu not only didn't stop, he sped up even more, widening the distance between them.

Now Bai Tu was sure something was wrong. He slammed the accelerator to the floor, overtook Fan Xinglu, and executed a sharp drift, blocking the road in front of him. The latter clearly hadn't expected this move; even with an emergency brake, his car's front bumper still grazed Bai Tu's vehicle.

Bai Tu ignored it, got out, walked to Fan Xinglu's car, knocked on the window, and as the window rolled down, demanded, "Did you not tell me the truth?"

Fan Xinglu was stunned. "What truth? Why did you suddenly chase after me?"

Bai Tu frowned and got straight to the point. "Are Guanguan and the others really all at the Central China Base?"

Fan Xinglu's grip on the steering wheel tightened. "Of course they are. I'm rushing to give them the good news."

"What about Chen Ping?"

"Who?" Fan Xinglu instinctively retorted, but as soon as the word left his mouth, he knew he'd made a mistake. Because Bai Tu's frown relaxed, his expression turned understanding, then became puzzled.

He said, "Chen Ping was the lead, sent to the Central China Base with Guan Jianrui by Commander Liu on an exchange mission. If you saw Guan Jianrui, you couldn't possibly not know who he is. Four-Eyes, what are you hiding? Tell me the truth, has something happened?"

"Really, nothing has. You're overthinking it." Fan Xinglu tried to laugh it off lightly, but a glance in the rearview mirror showed him his smile was more like a grimace. His smile stiffened, and he simply turned his face away, remaining silent.

Bai Tu didn't press further, but he kept staring at him. One hand held the car door tightly, as if afraid Fan Xinglu would drive off. After a while, Fan Xinglu was the first to relent. "Go back. You and the Captain should enjoy your life. Don't worry about me anymore."

Bai Tu said, "I thought we were friends now, aren't we?"

Fan Xinglu was taken aback, then gave an ugly smile.

"You wanted to tell me yesterday, didn't you? What made you change your mind?" Seeing Fan Xinglu remain silent, Bai Tu continued, "Even if you don't tell me, I can guess what it's related to. I won't stop you, but Huo Changfeng and I will personally go to the Central China Base to get to the bottom of this—"

"Don't go!" Fan Xinglu immediately said.

Bai Tu paused, looking at him searchingly. "Why shouldn't we go?"

Fan Xinglu gave a series of bitter laughs, slumping back against the seat. "You and the Captain have finally found a peaceful life..."

"What kind of life we choose to live is our own decision," Bai Tu interrupted. "And caring for friends is part of our life too."

But Fan Xinglu shook his head.

"I've never seen the Captain like that before..." Fan Xinglu paused, as if struggling to find the right word. "To be honest, it feels a bit unfamiliar, and I don't really know how to act around him. But I can tell he really likes and looks forward to this life now. Before you came out, did you ask him? Maybe he doesn't want to be disturbed."

Bai Tu was stunned, but Fan Xinglu's intuition was usually accurate. Seeing him waver, Fan Xinglu said, "Hurry back, or the Captain will start to worry."

"...He's just," Bai Tu said softly, "He's just been through some things, it's inevitable he'd need some time to adjust. You're right, I should ask him. But before I ask him, you have to let me know what exactly is wrong."

Fan Xinglu took a deep breath. "Alright." He then recounted what happened after they parted ways.

It turned out that after Fan Xinglu entered the Central China Base, he hadn't found Guan Jianrui. After asking around, he learned that Guan Jianrui had completed his mission and left the Central China Base a week before Fan Xinglu arrived. A man named Lei Ou had gone with him, said to be going to the North China Base to exchange research results. At that time, their group hadn't yet undertaken the so-called mission to obtain the serum preservative, so Fan Xinglu knew immediately that Guan Jianrui had never returned to the North China Base.

Having traveled together for so long, their bond was stronger than family. Fan Xinglu couldn't possibly ignore it. He immediately turned back to the North China Base, went through some trouble to find Rong Wazi, and unexpectedly discovered that Rong Wazi knew a lot. Although he had no leads on Guan Jianrui's whereabouts, Fan Xinglu learned from him about the recent situation of Ji Songyue and the others.

Rong Wazi told Fan Xinglu that the bullet in Xiang Yubo was lodged in his rib, only millimeters from his heart. There were no surgeons in the base who could operate. To sustain his life, Ji Songyue stayed by his side day and night, along with Xiang Yashu, caring for the unconscious Xiang Yubo.

Fan Xinglu knew then he couldn't take them away, and he couldn't let them know the truth. Once they knew, their situation would become even more dangerous.

With several friends facing trouble one after another, Fan Xinglu was at a loss. The only thing he could and wanted to do at that moment was confirm whether Huo Changfeng and Bai Tu were alive or dead, so he traveled a great distance to the town.

Truthfully, he had almost given up hope that Huo Changfeng was alive; he only hoped to find Bai Tu alive. His original plan was to discuss these matters with Bai Tu after finding him—partly because he was truly at his wits' end, and partly to give Bai Tu something to hold onto, to let him know there were still friends in the world who needed him, so he wouldn't follow Huo Changfeng in death. As time passed and the pain faded, he could slowly move on.

But he truly hadn't expected Huo Changfeng to be alive and living an idyllic life with Bai Tu.

"So you plan to go find Guan Jianrui alone, and rescue Ji Songyue and the others alone, is that it?" Bai Tu said after listening. "They have an army, weapons, and drugs that can control people. What do you plan to do?"

Fan Xinglu remained silent, but a look of resolve flashed across his face for a moment.

"We can't possibly ignore this. Besides, you were implicated because of us in the first place."

"That's exactly the reaction I was afraid of, which is why I didn't want to tell you." Fan Xinglu said. "Before, the Captain always liked to take everything on himself, and now you're the same."

"No, it's different." Bai Tu shook his head. "This matter is aimed at us. I have a feeling that Guanguan and Lei Ou's disappearance is connected to Commander Liu. But as long as Huo Changfeng doesn't appear for a day, their lives won't be in danger. We need to plan this carefully. For now, you come back with me."

On the way back, Bai Tu had Fan Xinglu lead the way. Only after they returned to the town, he watched Fan Xinglu enter the house and confiscated his car keys before feeling it was safe to go upstairs.

When he got home, Huo Changfeng had taken his place, sitting at the table oiling a row of firearms. Seeing him return, Huo Changfeng smiled slightly. "You're back. Did everything go smoothly?"

Bai Tu nodded, changed his shoes, and walked over to sit beside him. "I persuaded him to come back. You have no idea how dangerous his plan was." He watched Huo Changfeng's hands. "Let's go back and see. Guanguan and Lei Ou are both missing, and I'm a bit worried."

Huo Changfeng paused in his movements. "Four-Eyes told you that?"

Bai Tu hummed in agreement, lowering his voice. "I just feel like it has something to do with us."

Huo Changfeng smiled, took off his gloves, turned around, and gently touched Bai Tu's face. "How could it be? You're just worrying too much. Maybe they just had something urgent come up and went somewhere else, and they happened to miss Four-Eyes. Don't overthink it. Didn't you say you wanted to go catch some fish? I checked it out. There's a spot a little further down the stream. Once you're fully recovered, we'll pick a nice day to go."

Bai Tu bit the soft flesh inside his cheek.

It was nearing the height of summer, and the weather was getting hotter by the day. Even walking outside at dusk would leave you drenched in sweat. By the time the weather was good, it'd be late summer at best, if not early autumn.

"What's wrong?" Huo Changfeng's gaze was gentle, his thumb gently rubbing the spot through the warm skin of his cheek where Bai Tu had unconsciously been biting. "Or do you not want to go catch fish anymore? That's fine. We have plenty of time; we can do anything you like."

Bai Tu pursed his lips. "I think it's Liu—"

Huo Changfeng pressed a finger to his lips. He looked up, confused, meeting Huo Changfeng's dark, intense gaze.

Huo Changfeng looked down at him, then after a moment, pinched his chin and leaned in to kiss him.

Bai Tu's eyes widened slightly. His hands grabbed the fabric of Huo Changfeng's clothes at his waist, his first instinct being to push him away, but he was only held tighter. His teeth were easily parted, and a foreign tongue tangled wildly with his own. He couldn't catch his breath, his mouth hanging open in a daze as he tilted his head back to endure it. By the time the base of his tongue began to ache, the domineering tongue finally released him, instead licking heavily at the soft flesh he had bitten earlier, making him shiver and bringing tears to the corners of his eyes.

Huo Changfeng withdrew, giving his lips a light kiss. "Don't run off alone next time. It's dangerous, understand?"

Bai Tu sank into his arms, breathing heavily and dazed.

That night, Bai Tu tossed and turned, unable to sleep. He knew Huo Changfeng wasn't asleep either. After struggling with it for a moment, he couldn't help but speak up. "I'm still worried..."

Huo Changfeng opened his eyes in the darkness. "Worried about what?"

Bai Tu didn't answer.

Huo Changfeng pulled him closer, patting his back as if soothing a child. "Sleep for now. When you wake up tomorrow, everything will be fine."