ISWTDB Ch158

Chapter 158: The End of the World (15, 16)

When Situ Ran said that he felt things were good as they were, he truly meant it.

Even though the young man in his arms kept thinking about quickly gathering the materials to create his other arm as well, Situ Ran was already satisfied with having one arm restored. He had been born without a left arm, so having his right arm fully restored already made him feel whole. The young man had already given him too many surprises, and he didn’t want him to continue exhausting himself like this.

After all, over the past few days, Situ Ran had clearly seen how much effort Ying Zhao had put in. How could Ying Zhao not understand his lover’s thoughts when he saw him like this?

But no matter what Situ Ran said, Ying Zhao had no intention of stopping. If the conditions of the small world didn’t allow for it, perhaps he would agree to stop rebuilding the other arm. But since the technology of this world made it possible, and he had the ability to do it, how could he bear to see the person he loved live a difficult life because of a missing limb?

When Situ Ran firmly insisted that he should stop, Ying Zhao had no choice but to half-playfully say, “But I want you to hug me with both arms, is that okay?”

The young man’s soft voice nearly melted Situ Ran’s heart. He instinctively wanted to nod, but when he noticed the unswept sweat on Ying Zhao’s forehead, he shook his head more firmly instead. Wrapping his arm around Ying Zhao’s waist, he lifted him off the ground with ease. 

Situ Ran smiled gently at Ying Zhao and said, “Look, I can still hold you just fine with one arm!”

Ying Zhao could now be certain that Situ Ran was indeed very strong. Even without a full recovery, he could lift him effortlessly with one arm. But why did this position feel so embarrassing?

Ying Zhao blushed and blinked at Situ Ran before leaning down and kissing his lover’s high nose. Situ Ran thought this feeling of holding the full weight of his beloved in his arms was incredible. The joy that welled up inside him made him unwilling to let go.

The young man in his arms blushed again, his eyes bright and shining, which only ignited the fire in Situ Ran’s heart. Then, he felt a soft, warm touch on his lips, fleeting but unmistakable. How could such a shy little guy exist?

Though embarrassed, Ying Zhao expressed his love so openly that it was almost criminally irresistible. Situ Ran realized just how deeply he adored the young man in his arms and couldn’t stop himself from capturing that fleeting warmth again. The taste was just as sweet, leaving him reluctant to let go.

The two of them indulged in their affection for a long time. It wasn’t until Ying Zhao said countless sweet words and gave plenty of affection that Situ Ran finally agreed to let him continue making the other arm. However, the condition was that this time he had to take it slow and not wear himself out again.

Ying Zhao nodded, though in his heart he thought, “With the lack of materials, even if I wanted to rush, I couldn’t.”

With his right arm restored, Situ Ran’s life indeed became much easier. His powers, which had been depleted after the zombie attack, had long since recovered. Even more surprising, after exhausting his abilities, the bottleneck in his cultivation had begun to loosen.

These days, the young man often gave him medicinal treatments. Although Ying Zhao said the medicines were only to heal his hidden injuries, Situ Ran could feel his strength increasing. He knew very well that his abilities were on the verge of breaking through to the ninth level.

No one in any of the bases had reached level ten in their abilities yet. Even his recent breakthrough to level nine was significant, while other bases had only reached levels seven or eight. Before his breakthrough, the leader of the Southern Base, Deng Wendong, an ice ability user at level eight, had been considered the only one who could rival him.

It was Situ Ran’s breakthrough that forced the Southern Base to give up any plans of annexing the Northern Base, though this was only on the surface. Situ Ran didn’t know what Situ Shuyao had publicly announced after he was confined to the research institute. If the other bases found out about his absence, it could spell disaster for the Northern Base.

But now, none of that was his concern. He no longer had the spiritual spring, and the Situ family controlled the Northern Base. No one understood the Situ family better than Situ Ran, and it wouldn’t be long before they trapped themselves in their own schemes. Even if he had to reestablish control of the base, he would do so without causing his lover any unease.

For now, the most important thing to Situ Ran was to reassure his sensitive and fragile little partner.

And so, even with his right arm restored, Situ Ran continued to live a happy and peaceful life. Despite his recovery, Ying Zhao still insisted on feeding him. Situ Ran had said many times that he could eat by himself now, but Ying Zhao remained persistent. He found great enjoyment in taking care of him.

Ying Zhao finally understood why in many of their past lives, his lover always personally took care of him. It turned out that being able to handle every little thing for the one you loved brought an unexpected joy.

Thus, under Ying Zhao’s persistence, Situ Ran had no choice but to play the role of an oversized doll, letting Ying Zhao take charge of his daily life.

Looking at the young man seriously feeding him, Situ Ran couldn’t help but find it amusing, yet he also found the young man incredibly adorable.

Unable to resist, he cupped the back of Ying Zhao’s head and gave him a heavy kiss on the lips. Then, while Ying Zhao was still dazed from the kiss, he took the spoon and brought it to Ying Zhao’s mouth.

Seeing the young man instinctively open his mouth and eat the food from the spoon, Situ Ran’s eyes softened even more. He couldn’t resist lowering his head to brush his nose against Ying Zhao’s, whispering, “Baby, I want to feed you too, alright?”

Hearing this, Ying Zhao’s eyes widened, and with flushed ears, he looked at Situ Ran with delight. Seeing his reaction, Situ Ran couldn’t help but playfully nip at his fair cheek, thinking to himself, “This little fool, is he really this happy just because I said I wanted to feed him?”

His bright, shining eyes were irresistibly beautiful!

And so, poor Xiao Bai could only watch longingly from the sea of consciousness as Ying Zhao and someone else fed each other spoonful after spoonful. Xiao Bai felt like crying but had no tears left, inwardly sighing in frustration at the shameless display of affection.

With a bitter heart, Xiao Bai sighed and suddenly longed for Heavenly Dao’s help.

As for Ying Zhao, ever since discovering that Situ Ran would firmly share the food with him, he had resumed eating properly. To ensure that his lover ate normally, Ying Zhao would always dine with Situ Ran. Fortunately, Situ Shuyao had always hoped Ying Zhao could develop a new batch of the zombie virus antidote, so whatever food he requested was readily supplied, saving Ying Zhao a lot of trouble.

Ying Zhao hadn’t gone out much lately, but it wasn’t because he was simply enjoying sweet time with his lover. He had always kept Xiao Bai monitoring the outside world, knowing that the materials needed for Situ Ran’s arm were still extremely rare. The fact that he had found some from the original Ying Heng was already a miracle.

So, Ying Zhao had Xiao Bai constantly searching for places in H City that might have those materials. Unfortunately, despite Xiao Bai’s best efforts, they still hadn’t located the necessary items. Ying Zhao had no choice but to temporarily put the creation of the second mechanical arm on hold. After all, even the best cook can’t make a meal without ingredients.

Moreover, he had a strange premonition that wherever those materials were, there might be some dangerous traps awaiting him.

Thinking about his lover’s “savior” role in this world, Ying Zhao clenched his teeth in frustration. He had gained a deeper understanding of the insidious nature of those lurking in the shadows and knew he couldn’t afford to be careless.

From his last conversation with Heavenly Dao, Ying Zhao had confirmed that the one truly supporting the “child of fate” in this small world was the hidden mastermind behind countless worlds. In this world, that meant Situ Shuyao, the female lead, was likely that being’s puppet.

Knowing that Xiao Bai had a special connection with Heavenly Dao, Ying Zhao asked him, “Xiao Bai, has Heavenly Dao found anything unusual in this world? Can he still not locate that thing?”

Xiao Bai shook his head apologetically, “Sorry, Host, not yet. But he’s been trying really hard to find it!”

Ying Zhao nodded at his words and, seeing Xiao Bai’s guilty expression, teased, “Really? Could it be that he’s too busy being lovesick over you to focus on his job?”

Xiao Bai’s face turned crimson at the teasing, and he quickly wagged his tail, defending himself eagerly, “That’s not true, Host! He really is working hard to find it! Trust me, he’ll definitely help us!”

Ying Zhao naturally believed Xiao Bai. Even if he didn’t trust Heavenly Dao, he trusted Heavenly Dao’s feelings for Xiao Bai. Seeing Xiao Bai get flustered, Ying Zhao could only smile helplessly and say, “I was just joking. I know he’s genuinely trying to help us. After all, he’s still trying to redeem himself for you!”

Xiao Bai sighed in relief at Ying Zhao’s words and bashfully lowered his head.

Seeing Xiao Bai like this, Ying Zhao sighed internally, feeling like a father watching his child grow up. He couldn’t help but lament, “The child you raise truly belongs to someone else once they’re married!” Even Xiao Bai, once pure as jade, now defended that unreliable Heavenly Dao!

In the days that followed, Ying Zhao spent most of his time in the mansion with Situ Ran. However, as the head of the research institute, he occasionally had to go and oversee their work.

With no progress on the arm due to the lack of materials, Ying Zhao shifted his focus back to researching the zombie virus antidote. Though the spiritual spring was gone, he had collected enough of its water for his research.

No matter what Ying Zhao planned to research, no one at the institute would dare question him. After arriving in this world, Ying Zhao quickly realized that the institute’s staff held Ying Heng in blind admiration, treating his words like a decree. The original Ying Heng was an egocentric person, and in this world where strength ruled, his abilities had long since made everyone at the institute obedient.

Even if Ying Zhao did nothing but maintain a cold face all day, the staff would still follow his lead. This was something Ying Zhao found quite satisfying.

However, before Ying Zhao could finish developing the new antidote, people from the Southern Base arrived. Leading them was none other than Deng Wendong, the man from the original plot who had deceived Situ Shuyao, the female lead, so thoroughly.

What surprised Ying Zhao even more was that the Southern Base’s people had come because Situ Shuyao, as the acting leader of the Northern Base, had invited them.

Ying Zhao knew exactly why Situ Shuyao had invited Deng Wendong and the others from the Southern Base. He couldn’t help but scoff at how overly eager she was.

n his past life, Deng Wendong not only deceived Situ Shuyao emotionally but also ultimately caused her death. If you were to ask who Situ Shuyao hated the most, it was naturally Deng Wendong.

It was obvious that the move Situ Shuyao made was driven by her hatred toward Deng Wendong. After all the effort to remove Situ Ran and with the Situ family now in control of the entire Northern Base, Situ Shuyao, drunk with power and having risen to a high position, lost herself. She failed to properly assess the situation and eagerly wanted to begin her revenge.

In the original storyline where he hadn’t crossed over into this world, there was indeed a scene where Situ Shuyao invited Deng Wendong. After the original character had successfully developed the apocalypse serum and made significant progress, Situ Shuyao immediately summoned the leaders of various bases. Deng Wendong, using his old tricks, tried to seduce Situ Shuyao. However, the reborn heroine already hated him to the core—there was no way she would easily fall under his control.

Seizing the opportunity, she humiliated Deng Wendong in front of everyone, making him lose face. Even the entire Southern Base became the subject of ridicule among those from the Northern Base. As a leader of the Southern Base, Deng Wendong was not the type of person who would take such a public insult lightly. Realizing that the Northern Base’s strongest fighter, Situ Ran, was no longer around, and believing that Situ Shuyao was the one who developed the serum, he planned to simply kidnap the heroine and take her back to the Southern Base.

At that point, he would have plenty of ways to make her submit and obediently create serums for them. However, Deng Wendong did not expect that the heroine had a hidden ace up her sleeve: the original character, Ying Heng. Ying Heng, being immensely powerful and a thousand-year-old corpse demon, was far superior to any ability user. Deng Wendong, though a level-eight ability user, was no match for Ying Heng.

So, when Deng Wendong attempted to ambush Situ Shuyao, he was easily suppressed by Ying Heng, who had been secretly protecting her. Under Situ Shuyao’s orders, Ying Heng tortured Deng Wendong to death. Despite doing all of this for the heroine, the original character still did not reveal himself, choosing to remain in the shadows. All the credit was given to Situ Shuyao.

In the eyes of outsiders, Situ Shuyao, the woman who could develop the serum to counter the zombie virus, also possessed formidable strength. Even a powerful level-eight ice ability user was no match for her, and she had even killed him. With such remarkable feats, Situ Shuyao was further mythologized by everyone. After the Southern Base suffered a painful defeat, the other bases became even more hesitant to provoke the Northern Base.

However, the current situation was fundamentally different from that past scenario. Originally, Situ Shuyao invited Deng Wendong to the Northern Base only after the original character had made significant breakthroughs in the development of the zombie virus antidote. The new batch of antidote, though not perfect, had already shown significant effectiveness. This greatly elevated Situ Shuyao’s standing within the Northern Base.

Realizing this storyline, Ying Zhao became even more convinced of his role in this world. Indeed, the original character was merely a stepping stone for the heroine, helping her rise to power. He not only became a pawn in Situ Shuyao’s path to glory but also solved many of her biggest problems. But now, the heroine’s biggest golden finger, Ying Heng, had been replaced by him.

The main reason other bases were subordinated to the Northern Base was the zombie virus antidote. However, the antidote had not been completed yet. Even if it were, the Northern Base no longer had anyone capable of truly protecting it. Ying Zhao couldn’t help but wonder: without him, could Situ Shuyao still navigate everything as smoothly as before?

Because Ying Zhao had to devote much of his energy to the creation of his lover’s mechanical arm, his progress in researching the zombie virus antidote had significantly slowed. 

However, it wasn’t entirely intentional. The original character had sped up the research process partly out of interest in the serum itself and partly for Situ Shuyao’s sake. Ying Heng wanted to develop the antidote to win the affection of the one he loved.

But Ying Zhao didn’t care about the heroine’s thoughts. After objectively assessing this world, Ying Zhao knew that he, as part of the demon race, needed to remain conscious of his role. 

Since he already knew that this apocalypse was a test of survival, he could not get too involved. Slowing down the research was the best way to respond because this “survival test” would inevitably lead to developments. 

Rushing to complete the antidote might even backfire before those developments became evident.

This small world was already filled with dangers, and every step Ying Zhao took had to be cautious. Furthermore, the Southern Base, as the second-largest stronghold in the apocalypse, should not be underestimated. Situ Shuyao clearly did not realize that even though the Northern Base still had two level-eight ability users, without Situ Ran, they posed no real threat to the Southern Base.

One of the two level-eight ability users had earth powers, which were weaker in terms of offensive capability. 

The other, Pei Yuebin, was a formidable lightning power user, but he had only just reached level eight. Compared to Deng Wendong, who had been at level eight for a long time, Pei Yuebin was still lacking.

If Situ Shuyao were to provoke the people from the Southern Base under such circumstances, it would be incredibly foolish. 

Therefore, Ying Zhao was curious to see how Situ Shuyao, without his help, would deal with the Southern Base. 

However, it was evident that this matter wouldn’t be something Ying Zhao could completely avoid.

One morning, just after he and his lover had finished breakfast, there was a knock on the door. 

These days, except for the people delivering supplies, no one had approached his residence. 

The heroine, eager for Ying Zhao to quickly develop the zombie virus antidote, had practically been catering to his every request.

So, it was completely impossible for this to be a time for delivering supplies, yet someone came knocking at the door.

Ying Zhao didn’t even need to look to guess who the visitor was.

Hearing the persistent knocking outside, a trace of impatience flashed through Ying Zhao’s eyes.

He pouted pitifully at Situ Ran and only after receiving a sweet, comforting kiss did he reluctantly get up to answer the door.

Sure enough, after opening the door, the person standing outside was Situ Shuyao.

The heroine’s purpose in coming today was to ask him to accompany her in receiving the people from the Southern Base.

Though it sounded official, saying that, as the head of the research institute, his presence was necessary at such an important occasion, Ying Zhao knew the real reason: Situ Shuyao knew nothing about the medicines he created, and had no choice but to rely on him.

In the original plot, the previous Ying Zhao had been in love with the heroine and never refused her visits to his lab.

The heroine had observed the entire process of developing the medicine and had received patient explanations from Ying Heng. Naturally, even as an outsider, hearing and seeing it daily, she could speak about it quite well.

However, since Ying Zhao came into the picture, not only was the lab off-limits, but Situ Shuyao couldn’t even get near the process of making the medicine, let alone understand the principles behind it.

The most she could access were the finished products delivered by Ying Zhao’s people.

As for the process itself, she knew absolutely nothing.

Anyone with half a mind could ask a few pointed questions and figure out that she hadn’t made the medicine at all.

Thus, Situ Shuyao had no choice but to come to Ying Zhao, so that if someone asked, he could provide answers on her behalf.

Still, the heroine was somewhat clever, deliberately telling Ying Zhao that the people from the Southern Base harbored ill intentions.

She said they couldn’t publicly reveal that the antidote was made by him, or else those people might harm him.

As for herself, as the leader of the base, she would bear the risks for him.

It was the first time Ying Zhao had seen someone make stealing credit sound so noble.

That self-righteous look almost made him laugh out loud.

Even though he didn’t go out much, with Xiao Bai, the system, how could Ying Zhao not know what the heroine was up to?

His latest batch of medicine wasn’t even finished, yet word of it had already spread far and wide.

It was unclear how Situ Shuyao had managed it, but even the ordinary people from the Southern Base had heard about it.

Moreover, everyone believed this new medicine was a finished product that could completely eliminate the zombie virus.

That’s why the people from the Southern Base had come.

On one hand, they wanted to see what conditions Situ Shuyao had for sharing the medicine.

On the other hand, they were also probing the true strength of the Northern Base now that Situ Ran was gone.

Only someone as foolish as Situ Shuyao hadn’t realized their wolfish ambitions.

Ying Zhao listened to the heroine’s endless instructions beside him without responding.

Only when she became hoarse and anxiously looked at him did he nod slightly, signaling his agreement.

Ying Zhao wasn’t going this time to support the heroine.

He was simply curious to see what kind of person this Deng Wendong really was.