LABMY CH98.1

The room was heated, making it warm and cozy. For a bit of ventilation, the window was even luxuriously cracked open. The curtains were drawn, and the thin gauze fluttered lightly in the breeze.

On the soft, large bed lay a person, curled up slightly in sleep. One hand rested beside the pillow, pressing against a fair cheek, making it appear a bit plumper with a youthful softness. Their delicate brows were tightly furrowed, as if trapped in a bad dream, unable to sleep peacefully.

The man who had been sitting silently to the side for a long time—like a frozen statue—finally moved.

He reached out, wanting to smooth away the unease between the sleeper’s brows.

His fingertips gently brushed against the furrowed brow, then moved closer, landing a soft kiss filled with endless tenderness.

After doing this, Jian Yuanbai finally stood up. The moment he closed the bedroom door behind him, his expression changed instantly.

Xu Tianguang was sitting in the living room with Qu Jinhang and the others, waiting for Jian Yuanbai to come out.

“You’ve already settled him in. Now, you must come with us.”

He wanted to deliver this line with authority, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he worried about waking the person sleeping in the bedroom—and how Jian Yuanbai might react. In the end, he suppressed his voice to a whisper.

Jian Yuanbai sat on the sofa, his gaze cold as ice. “I have no reason to go with you. If you have something to say, say it here.”

Xu Tianguang, as a fifth-rank ability user, was accustomed to being in a position of power. He had his own temper, too. Hearing this, he felt a flicker of anger.

“Don’t think we have no way to deal with you. Yes, you’re strong, but if we really fought, there are plenty of ability users in the fortress. You wouldn’t walk away unscathed.”

“Do you even know how many ability users you killed? Including Wang Li—nine people in total! One of them was even a rare healing-type ability user!”

Jian Yuanbai lifted his eyes, expressionless. “It’s the apocalypse. What, are you going to take me to court?”

Xu Tianguang shot to his feet. “You’re in S City’s fortress—you need to follow its rules! Killing nine people in broad daylight—how do you expect the rest of the fortress to react?”

The next second, his pupils contracted sharply.

He hadn’t even seen Jian Yuanbai make a move, yet a rippling ring of water had already formed around his neck.

Jian Yuanbai said, “Now, I believe you can control your volume when speaking.”

His voice was calm, yet it sent chills down the spine.

“Am I right?”

Xu Tianguang’s fists clenched tightly—then, powerlessly, loosened.

He took a slow breath. “What He Hu and his men did was personal. You shouldn’t have killed so many ability users, weakening the fortress’s defenses.”

Jian Yuanbai sneered. “Wasn’t my killing them also a personal act?”

“Besides, if the fortress really faces danger, do you think they would have stayed to protect the civilians?”

“Don’t use such a weak excuse to challenge me. I know exactly what you’re thinking.”

These weren’t even members of the fortress’s official ability user team. Xu Tianguang’s persistence was just a ploy to use this incident as leverage to make Jian Yuanbai stay—as if those people were some kind of noble heroes willing to sacrifice themselves for others.

From the reactions of those present that day, it was clear He Hu was no saint, and neither were his subordinates.

Xu Tianguang, caught off guard, didn’t show any panic. Instead, he abruptly said, “He Hu and his men kidnapped Shen Nian, left the fortress overnight, and then brought him back covered in blood—why?”

“Shen Nian was infected, wasn’t he?”

Jian Yuanbai’s eyes turned murderous. His gaze swept over Xu Tianguang, making cold sweat break out on the man’s back.

“I will leave with Shen Nian.”

“Beyond that, nothing else matters.”

“You can go now, or stay and watch us leave if that makes you feel better—it’s up to you.”

Originally, he had considered settling this matter by offering to step in once if the fortress faced a crisis.

But Xu Tianguang’s words about Shen Nian—his direct mention of the infection—instantly filled Jian Yuanbai with killing intent.

He didn’t care whether there was a threat implied in Xu Tianguang’s words. It didn’t matter. Because those words had already stepped over his bottom line.

Xu Tianguang stood there in shock.

His true intention had been to use this as a way to keep Jian Yuanbai in the fortress—to make him stay and protect it.

But with just a few sentences, the conversation had completely collapsed.

He wanted to say more, but the tightening water ring around his neck made Jian Yuanbai’s attitude crystal clear.

Xu Tianguang took a deep breath, his face darkening, and left without another word.

There was no way to hold Jian Yuanbai accountable.

If he pushed too far, he had no doubt he might die here, too.

Qu Wenxuan and Yang Jinhang exchanged a glance, both seeing the same thought reflected in each other’s eyes.

Finally, Qu Wenxuan spoke up. “If Mr. Bai is leaving, then we’ll go with him.”

Jian Yuanbai: “No need.”

Qu Wenxuan grew anxious. “When you saved Jinhang, I swore that as long as he survived, my life would be yours. Naturally, wherever you go, we go.”

“Besides, having one more person means one more helping hand, doesn’t it?”

“Do as you like.” Jian Yuanbai tossed down those words and returned to the bedroom.

By the time Shen Nian woke up, the sky was beginning to brighten.

The room remained dark.

He felt no pain, and his clothes had been changed.

It wasn’t until he tried to sit up that he belatedly realized—his hand was being tightly held.

He turned his head and saw Jian Yuanbai resting against the bedside, gripping his hand, unsure of how long he had kept watch.

As if sleeping lightly, the moment Shen Nian gently tugged his hand, Jian Yuanbai’s eyes opened.

He sat up, looking at Shen Nian without speaking.

After a moment of silence, he finally asked, “Does it still hurt?”

Shen Nian shook his head. “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

Jian Yuanbai clenched his jaw. He averted his gaze, lowering his head. His fingers, still holding Shen Nian’s hand, gently stroked it.

The hand in his palm was fair-skinned, slender, with long fingers—untouched by labor, untouched by hardship.

But Jian Yuanbai knew that wasn’t true.

Because of the healing ability users, there were no visible wounds on Shen Nian’s body. His skin was smooth and beautiful, like the finest white jade—warm and delicate.

But when Jian Yuanbai had helped change his clothes, there had only been one inner layer, soaked through with blood.

And the tattered, claw-marked outer layer, covered in traces of monstrous bites, silently told of the suffering he had endured.

He couldn’t even use the wounds on Shen Nian’s body to imagine what he had been through.

Shen Nian lying there—it looked just like he had simply fallen into a peaceful sleep.

Jian Yuanbai covered his eyes with his hand, but large teardrops still slipped through his fingers. Shen Nian, who had been watching him the whole time, was startled and stammered, “You… you, you’re crying?”

Shen Nian reached out, wanting to lift Jian Yuanbai’s face, but Jian Yuanbai grabbed his fingers instead. Left with no choice, Shen Nian tried his best to comfort him, “It doesn’t hurt, really, it doesn’t hurt.”

“Look at me, I’m sitting here perfectly fine, not a single wound on my body.”

Warmth surged in his chest, mixed with an indescribable emotion. He softened his voice, coaxing like one would a child, “Don’t cry, you’re my Xiao Ba. How can Xiao Ba cry?”

“Don’t be a crybaby, it’s embarrassing. I really don’t hurt anymore.”

He was the one who had been severely injured, repeatedly torn apart by monsters, yet after waking up, he clumsily pretended to be cheerful while comforting Jian Yuanbai.

Jian Yuanbai lifted his head, but before Shen Nian could clearly see his expression, he was pulled into a tight embrace. The man buried his face against Shen Nian’s neck, refusing to let him see his face, only speaking in a muffled voice, “As long as it doesn’t hurt anymore.”

The fact that no wounds remained was exactly what made Jian Yuanbai lose control of his emotions.

He had no way of gauging how much pain Shen Nian had endured based on scars, no way of imagining how many times he had been bitten and torn apart by monsters.

He couldn’t understand it, but his heart felt like it was being crushed in a vice.

Shen Nian, held in his arms, slowly reddened his own eyes. The pain in his body had faded, and the wounds in his heart seemed to be healing as well. When he had been tossed into that freezing vehicle and jolted on the way back to the fortress, the dark carriage was filled with nothing but his own breathing.

At that moment, Shen Nian had felt like he was going to die. But then the door opened, and this man stood before him—and suddenly, he felt like he had come back to life.

…

They didn’t stay at the S City Fortress for long. As soon as Shen Nian woke up, they left without hesitation. After the events of the previous day, most people had come to know about Jian Yuanbai, and their departure was witnessed by many, sparking a heated discussion.

Those who had seen how Jian Yuanbai crushed He Hu, the gruesome sight of nine people slaughtered and their bodies torn apart, knew very well—it wasn’t that S City Fortress had driven them away. It was them who had abandoned this place.

Even if just that one man had stayed, the fortress’s defenses would have been significantly strengthened.

By the time they set off, the sky was already bright. Qu Wenxuan was the one driving. They had packed food and supplies, leaving without a trace of reluctance.

Shen Nian was still afraid of the cold, curled up in Jian Yuanbai’s arms, wrapped in his coat. At 1.75 meters tall, he looked small and fragile nestled against the 1.93-meter Jian Yuanbai.

Yang Jinhang, sitting in the front passenger seat, couldn’t help but glance back, only to meet a pair of strikingly beautiful, almost otherworldly, blue eyes.

His stare was too obvious, and Shen Nian noticed it right away. He instinctively touched the corner of his eye and smiled. “It looks strange, doesn’t it?”

When Shen Nian smiled, his blue eyes shimmered like the rippling ocean. He was already extraordinarily good-looking, and with that smile, Yang Jinhang was completely stunned. “They’re beautiful!”

The unfortunate guy, who never learned from his mistakes, only realized what he had said after the words left his mouth. He quickly turned to check Jian Yuanbai’s expression, and as expected, he was met with an ice-cold, oppressive gaze.

Yang Jinhang let out an awkward chuckle and quietly turned his head back. He wanted to exchange a glance with Qu Wenxuan, hoping for some shared frustration, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Qu Wenxuan’s face was also dark.

Scared stiff, he immediately sat up straight and dared not look around anymore.

They didn’t take the original route back but chose to move forward instead. The world was vast, and in this global crisis, the S City Fortress was not the only stronghold that had been established.

While driving, Qu Wenxuan glanced at Jian Yuanbai through the rearview mirror and asked, “Where are we headed now?”

Back when he was still with his previous team, he had heard that if one kept heading north, there was a relatively remote base.

Because the area was already frigid, and the worsening climate had wiped out most ordinary people, the base there was mostly populated by ability users.

Qu Wenxuan briefly explained what he knew and asked, “Should we go there?”

But Jian Yuanbai shook his head. “Not heading to any base for now.”

“We can move in that direction, though.”

Qu Wenxuan nodded and focused on driving. Fortunately, S City Fortress had occupied a large portion of the city, and outside its walls, the streets weren’t too cluttered with abandoned vehicles, allowing them to drive smoothly.

The car continued on for a long time, finally leaving the city and reaching the countryside, where frost-covered fields stretched as far as the eye could see. There, they discovered a two-story villa.

“We’ll rest here for now,” Jian Yuanbai said.

Qu Wenxuan had no objections. He turned the car around and drove into the courtyard. As soon as they pushed open the door of the villa, the scent of dust, undisturbed for a long time, filled the air.

“Doesn’t seem to be any pollution.”

After checking the place, Qu Wenxuan and Yang Jinhang began cleaning up, while Jian Yuanbai had other matters to attend to.

He pulled Shen Nian into one of the rooms and led him into the en-suite bathroom. They stopped in front of the mirror above the sink.

Standing there together, Shen Nian looked at their reflection, puzzled. “What is it?”

Jian Yuanbai remained silent, unsure of how to begin. There was no doubt that Shen Nian had been infected. He had two choices: one, to remove the infection from Shen Nian, or two, to let Shen Nian fully transform into a pollutant.

To become the same as him.

After the events of yesterday, Jian Yuanbai had finally figured out how he could remove infections. It wasn’t really “removal”—it was absorption.

He might be the largest pollutant in this world, unconsciously and instinctively absorbing the pollution around him.

That was why the pollutants they encountered on the road had been so afraid of him. Naturally, it also meant he could remove the pollution from an infected person—more precisely, absorb it into himself.

If Shen Nian needed three whole years to awaken his abilities, then in this crisis-ridden apocalypse, Jian Yuanbai couldn’t guarantee that he would always be by his side.

For an ordinary person like Shen Nian, that was undoubtedly dangerous. What had happened before—Jian Yuanbai would never allow it to happen again.

Or rather, he absolutely wouldn’t allow it to happen again.

It seemed like he had two choices before him, but in reality, Jian Yuanbai would unhesitatingly choose the second option.

He didn’t know how the Shen Nian in the original storyline had managed to survive three years without abilities, how he had lived alone in this world that was nearly uninhabitable for ordinary people. Just thinking about it was enough to imagine the hardships he must have endured.

And he didn’t want Shen Nian to go through that suffering.

If he couldn’t awaken abilities, then he would become a pollutant instead—become the same as Jian Yuanbai.

With him around, Shen Nian wouldn’t turn into one of those grotesque, mutated pollutants. Instead, he would become a perfect, entirely new life form.

But he wasn’t sure if Shen Nian could accept it.

Jian Yuanbai’s mind was racing, yet he still didn’t know how to put it into words. After a moment of thought, he reached out and gently touched the corner of Shen Nian’s eye, his fingers brushing lightly against those beautiful blue irises.

Then, in a soft voice, he asked, “Are you afraid?”

Shen Nian shook his head and looked at himself in the mirror. His striking blue eyes stood out vividly. “No. You can remove pollution, can’t you? I’ll be fine soon.”

“I don’t want to remove your pollution.”

That unexpected statement stunned Shen Nian. In the mirror, the beautiful boy’s eyes widened in shock, those blue irises shimmering with moisture, as if he might cry at any moment.

But in truth, he didn’t want to cry. He was simply too surprised, too caught off guard. The deep blue of his eyes—like ocean water—stirred up an indescribable emotion within him.

“Why?” he asked.

Jian Yuanbai’s fingers inched forward until his palm completely covered Shen Nian’s eyes. Leaning in close to his ear, he whispered, “Don’t be afraid.”

Shen Nian: ?

He wasn’t afraid of his own eyes. He just felt that after what had happened, Jian Yuanbai was treating him as if he were fragile—like some delicate porcelain plate that could shatter at any moment.

When Jian Yuanbai finally let go, Shen Nian looked at the mirror again—and only then did he understand what he meant by “don’t be afraid.”

In the mirror, he still had those same blue eyes. But beside him, Jian Yuanbai’s eyes had turned into a brilliant gold.

Jian Yuanbai asked again, “Are you afraid?”

Shen Nian shook his head, but he couldn’t suppress the question rising in his mind. “What’s with your eyes?”

“Were you infected too?”

Jian Yuanbai thought for a moment, and in the next second—a golden little cat leaped onto the sink.

Jian Yuanbai was gone.

This time, Shen Nian completely lost control of his expression, staring in utter shock at the scene before him. He carefully called out to the golden little cat, “Xiao Ba?”

Even now, he still didn’t know Jian Yuanbai’s real name, so all he could do was call him Xiao Ba.

“It’s me.”