LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 30 - Play a game.
With the roars of the beasts behind him, Yu Qing kept running forward. A few mutant dogs near the cage smelled another human and were about to alert the fat man when the snow leopard inside the cage suddenly roared at them. Startled, the mutant dogs immediately forgot about notifying the fat man and whimpered away from the suddenly furious snow leopard.
The snow leopard stood up and paced inside the cage. The fat man felt the snow leopard’s mockery without reason and pointed at him, spewing threats, “Just you wait, I’ll kill you sooner or later.”
Yu Qing followed the marks he had made earlier and ran towards the cave. Even when the roars behind him faded, he dared not stop.
Yu Xiaoxue lay on the ground, occasionally wagging her imagined tail. Peng Shu, seeing Yu Xiaoxue’s strange crawling posture, wanted to say something many times but held back.
Suddenly, Yu Xiaoxue seemed to sense something and abruptly sat up, impatiently running outside.
Just as Yu Qing saw the cave, Yu Xiaoxue ran out, sprinting towards him at an astonishing speed and tackled him to the ground.
She sniffed his scent, checking him for injuries while mumbling incomprehensible words.
“Alright, alright, I’m fine,” he said, petting Yu Xiaoxue’s back as if soothing her.
Peng Shu stood at the cave entrance, seeing the two tangled on the ground, stuck together as if they had never been apart.
Yu Xiaoxue clearly had been holding back grievances. Yu Qing comforted her for a long time before he got up, and they walked towards the cave. Yu Xiaoxue still clung to his arm, unwilling to let go, as if he was the only one in his eyes.
Having almost gotten used to their interaction, Peng Shu, noticing Yu Qing returning alone, asked, “Didn’t you find your snow leopard?”
“I found him, but I can’t bring him back now,” he said, finding a place to sit and recounting what he had seen.
“…That fat man has locked up the snow leopard, probably trying to tame him.”
Peng Shu’s jaw tightened, his tone betraying a hint of anger, “So all the beast waves we encountered were his doing. Why would he do that?”
“I don’t know.” Yu Qing glanced at the unconscious squad leader beside him, who hadn’t woken up since yesterday.
Maybe the fat man didn’t have a particular reason. He just saw the forest as his territory and wanted to eliminate anyone who entered. To Yu Qing, this fat man was not a good person.
“Anyway, I have to find a way to go back and rescue my companion.”
Peng Shu said, “But you said he can control mutant animals. Your companion might already be under his control.”
That’s probably why Song Xinqi didn’t want to leave. Yu Qing’s face darkened, his eyes shifting to the gun in Peng Shu’s hand, “Is that gun any good?”
Peng Shu picked up the gun, “What are you planning to do?”
Yu Qing, with a determined face, imitated Song Xinqi’s tone, “I’m going to kill him.”
Despite his fierce words, the pretty young man didn’t seem very intimidating.
“If you haven’t used it before, you might not know how. The bullets are limited. I’ll go with you,” Peng Shu said, standing up. “Maybe if we control him, those mutant animals will return to normal.”
“What about the squad leader?”
“Brother Xiaoxue can stay here. It should be fine, right?”
Peng Shu wasn’t entirely sure, having started to see Yu Xiaoxue as a mere decorative object.
“Yu Xiaoxue can keep watch over someone,” Yu Qing said, confident in her abilities. He told Yu Xiaoxue, “Xiaoxue, you need to help guard the squad leader here. Don’t let any mutant animals find their way here.”
After a few minutes of communication, Yu Xiaoxue, understanding Yu Qing’s request, had a “leave it to me” look on his face as he sent the two off.
Yu Qing sensed Song Xinqi’s location again, finding that the snow leopard had moved deeper into the forest.
After confirming, Yu Qing nodded to Peng Shu, “Let’s go.”
With military training, Peng Shu moved quickly and didn’t need to spend time marking the route.
However, they soon encountered a tricky problem. A group of mutant animals spread widely in the forest, blocking all their paths.
Perched on Peng Shu’s shoulder, Yu Qing speculated, “When I went to find the snow leopard, the fat man discovered me. Now he’s probably searching for me.”
With limited bullets, once discovered, they would quickly attract more mutant beasts. One had no combat power, and the other was an initial. After reaching a certain depth, they were forced to return. Luckily, they caught a lone mutant boar on the way back, so it wasn’t a total loss.
Yu Qing, worried, sat at the cave entrance gnawing on meat, unsure of what to do. Yu Xiaoxue, on the other hand, was feasting heartily and, after eating his fill, lay beside him, holding his waist and preparing to sleep.
Peng Shu said, “Let’s figure it out tomorrow. Today, that guy’s ability to control mutants must have drained him. If there are fewer beasts tomorrow, we’ll take another look.”
Yu Qing agreed with his reasoning. After all, the one captured was Song Xinqi. Those who oppose the protagonist usually don’t end well. Perhaps after a good night’s sleep, Song Xinqi might return.
As evening fell, they packed up and returned to the cave. Before sleeping, Yu Qing sensed Song Xinqi’s location again, finding he hadn’t moved from the forest depths.
In the early morning, he woke up unusually early, finding himself tightly embraced by Yu Xiaoxue, his head pressed against his chest, making breathing a bit difficult.
But he hadn’t fully woken up. Since it was Yu Xiaoxue and not Song Xinqi, he was too lazy to move. He dozed off again.
Song Xinqi opened his eyes, finding himself in another place. It seemed he had used the right method. The fat man controlled animals by manipulating their brains. By finding a way, he disrupted the fat man’s control and returned to his body.
Still in the cave from before, the little troublemaker proved reliable in such times. Looking down, he saw Yu Qing sleeping soundly in his arms.
With almost no gap between them, his expression froze for a moment. He immediately let go, pushing him away.
In his sleep, Yu Qing felt a push, giving him a sense of falling from a cliff, which woke him up instantly. Above him, he heard Song Xinqi’s distinct voice, suppressing anger.
“Yu Qing.”
Yu Qing’s eyes snapped open. He looked up to see Song Xinqi’s very displeased face, “Song Xinqi? You’re back to normal?”
Song Xinqi squinted, “So, what did you do with my body while I was away?”
Something about that sounded off. Ignoring the odd feeling, he quickly sat up, distancing himself from him to prove his innocence, “We didn’t do anything.”
A cold smile appeared on Song Xinqi’s face, sending chills down Yu Qing’s spine. He raised four fingers towards the sky, “Really, we did nothing. I swear.”
Song Xinqi clearly didn’t believe him. Waking up with them in each other’s arms, how could he believe nothing happened?
“Let’s not talk about this now.” Yu Qing avoided his gaze, “You’re back, so where did Yu Xiaoxue go?”
“Of course, back to his own body. Why? Are you more concerned about her than me?”
Yu Qing looked puzzled.
Realizing what he said, Song Xinqi’s face darkened further. He must be crazy to continue this conversation.
Peng Shu, having stayed up late caring for the squad leader, woke to see Yu Qing and Yu Xiaoxue already up. The couple, who had been inseparable yesterday, were now awkwardly distant.
Still groggy, he blurted, “Xiaoxue, why aren’t you clinging to your wife today?”
Song Xinqi turned expressionless, “What did you say?”
Peng Shu scratched his head, “Oh, you can talk. I saw you sticking to Yu Qing all day yesterday. It feels strange to see you distant today, so I just asked.”
Song Xinqi chuckled, making Yu Qing feel even more uneasy, “Is that so.”
“No, no, no! It’s not like that!” Yu Qing jumped up, seeing Song Xinqi’s gaze turn towards him, making him speechless.
Yu Qing had thought it wouldn’t matter if Peng Shu saw Yu Xiaoxue clinging to him, but Song Xinqi returned so quickly and was caught by him.
Song Xinqi stood up slowly, making Yu Qing back up until he hit the wall, unable to retreat further.
The dark, unreadable eyes stared at the pretty youth in front of him. Yu Qing’s long eyelashes fluttered slightly, his red lips pursed in anxiety. Staring at him for too long made one want to do something.
With the suffocating silence in the cave, Yu Qing grew increasingly uneasy, his mind racing for a way to defuse the situation. If he didn’t explain, Song Xinqi would despise him more. Now he needed to minimize the damage
Closing his eyes, he spoke quickly, “I know, I know, it’s my fault. I was foolish and tried to get close to you in the wrong ways. I promise I’ll never do it again. I’ll stay away from you and won’t look at or touch you again.”
Peng Shu, sitting nearby, saw Song Xinqi cornering him, unsure of what was happening. When Song Xinqi’s fierce gaze swept over him, he quickly left the cave, not wanting to disturb the couple.
After his rushed confession, Yu Qing peeked up to see Song Xinqi’s expression worsen, his eyes dark with anger.
Yu Qing thought he did well, why is Song Xinqi even angrier?
He indeed covered everything Song Xinqi might have wanted to say, but hearing it from Yu Qing made him inexplicably furious, as if he genuinely thought that way.
Song Xinqi raised his arm halfway, and Yu Qing flinched, covering his head with his hands. His hand paused, his face darkening further. This little nuisance actually thought he was going to hit him?
The anticipated pain never arrived.
Yu Qing opened his eyes to find Song Xinqi silently walking outside. He didn’t hit him, so it seemed he had managed to get away with it.
He followed him outside, “Song Xinqi, where are you going?”
“Settle accounts,” he said curtly.
Yu Qing raised his hand, “I’m coming too, I’m coming too.”
Soon, Song Xinqi looked down at the tiny Yu Qing hiding in his pocket, “Can’t you walk by yourself?”
Yu Qing sneakily said from inside the pocket, “If we encounter danger, I can hide immediately. Very safe.”
“You’d be safer not coming.”
Yu Qing replied, “But I want to see how Yu Xiaoxue is doing.”
“Why weren’t you this eager to find me?”
Yu Qing immediately retorted, “That’s not true! I came right away, didn’t I? I came alone!”
Yu Qing didn’t think much of it, but Song Xinqi’s thin lips pressed into a line, a trace of frustration flashing in his eyes. Why had he been saying such strange things lately?
Following his memory, Song Xinqi walked towards the place where the fat man had imprisoned him. As they delved deeper, they encountered a few mutant animals patrolling the area.
A mutant deer leapt towards them, its massive antlers looking like they could pierce through a person. Song Xinqi sidestepped the attack and spread his mental power, instantly knocking out the few animals present.
Elsewhere, the fat man saw a blue electric arc flash through the snow leopard’s pupils. He grinned smugly and lashed the snow leopard with a whip, “Weren’t you defiant before? So stubborn, but you still fell into my hands.”
The snow leopard howled, its subconscious resistance immediately suppressed by the electric arc, collapsing in the cage.
The fat man laughed in satisfaction but then felt some of his connections to the mutant animals sever. This had never happened before, and the fat man panicked. Forgetting to vent his anger on the snow leopard, he ran outside.
In just the few minutes it took to get outside, he saw his outer defenses being breached layer by layer. Something was coming this way very quickly.
A cat-sized owl perched on a branch above the fat man’s head.
The fat man, with a grim face, said, “Go see what’s happening over there.”
The owl spread its large wings and flew in that direction, but soon, its link was also severed.
The fat man finally felt fear. He sent out all the animals he could and, realizing the threat was coming for him, turned and ran inside, releasing the snow leopard as well.
Before leaving, he lashed the snow leopard again, “Whatever it is, stop it, or you won’t live to see another day!”
The snow leopard roared, enduring the pain as it silently disappeared into the forest.
The animals outside couldn’t stop Song Xinqi; one after another, they fell. Yu Qing peeked his head out of the pocket, spotting a familiar white figure, “It’s Yu Xiaoxue!”
The snow leopard’s body was covered in bloody whip marks, her white fur tinged pink. Her eyes were cold and wild as she approached them step by step. Yu Qing was a bit nervous, “Can you not hurt it?”
“Nagging,” Song Xinqi glanced at the snow leopard, whose mind was controlled, and instead of violently knocking it out like the others, he carefully split his mental power into a thin thread, entering the snow leopard’s brain to find the blue electric arc controlling its nerves.
The snow leopard roared at them, the arc breaking just as it was about to pounce, and clarity returned to its eyes.
The snow leopard, about to crash into Song Xinqi, clawed the ground and skidded to a halt just short of hitting him.
Song Xinqi’s expression remained unchanged, “Well done.”
The fat man ran through the forest, losing contact with more animals every second. In just a few minutes, his entire army of animals had been wiped out.
The unknown threat filled the fat man with deep fear. His legs felt weak, but he didn’t dare slow down. Suddenly, he felt his body controlled by an invisible force, freezing him in place.
“Come here.”
The cold voice came from behind, and his body, obeying the command, turned around.
He saw the man speaking, tall and imposing. Even from this distance, he felt an overwhelming pressure. Though he had never seen this man before, there was a familiar fear. Just seeing him made his legs tremble.
Stop, stop!
The fat man tried to resist his body walking towards the man. Feeling the fat man’s mental resistance, Song Xinqi sneered, exerting more mental pressure.
His legs buckled, and he dropped to his knees with a thud, blood streaming from his nose. Then blood flowed from his eyes, ears, and mouth.
“Ah!” The excruciating mental pain tortured his nerves. He looked at Song Xinqi as if he were a terrifying demon, “Don’t come any closer! Don’t come any closer!”
He wanted to escape, but his body felt like it was filled with lead, unresponsive to his commands. He stared at Song Xinqi, now standing before him, his pupils trembling violently, “What are you going to do?”
“Don’t worry, I won’t let you die just yet,” Song Xinqi said, looking down at him like an ant, “Yu Qing.”
The tiny Yu Qing popped out of the pocket, pointing a small finger at the fat man. In an instant, the fat man saw Song Xinqi grow to giant size, pinching his fat body between his fingers.
The fat man screamed, “What are you doing? We have no grudges!”
“I have plenty of grudges with you,” Song Xinqi squeezed harder, making him scream as his bones felt like they were being crushed.
Holding him, Song Xinqi strolled to the large yard, where many mutant animals were still imprisoned.
“Let’s play a game,” he said with a tone of amusement, making the fat man shiver involuntarily.
He locked all the mutant animals in a large cage. Amid the fat man’s frantic cries, he also threw him inside.
The mutant animals weren’t as large as mutant tigers or bears, but compared to the doll-sized fat man, they were still giants.
Unable to move, he could only watch as the mutant animals approached. Soon he realized his power still worked and made the animals back off.
Song Xinqi controlled him to the center of the cage, “Here are the rules: if you escape the cage, I’ll let you go. If you don’t, face the consequences.”
He nodded vigorously. As long as he could control the mutant animals, escaping would be easy.
“Then, let the game begin.”
The fat man found he could move again and immediately ran for the cage exit, but the animals, suddenly out of control, charged at him.
Nearly pecked by a mutant chicken, he rolled on the ground, desperately trying to reinforce his control.
For some reason, his usual commands to retreat suddenly turned into commands to attack. The animals in the cage went berserk, rushing at him madly.
Yu Qing jumped out of the pocket, returning to his human form to check on Yu Xiaoxue. The snow leopard collapsed at his feet, exposing her soft belly and writhing, “Meow meow.”
Seeing the wounds on Yu Xiaoxue, he felt heartbroken, “You must be in so much pain.”
“Meow,” Yu Xiaoxue pitifully turned over, trying to burrow into Yu Qing’s arms. Her body was too large, so only its head fit, its cries becoming even more pitiful.
Yu Qing shrunk Yu Xiaoxue to cub size, holding it and soothing it, “It doesn’t hurt. I’ll pet you.”
From the cage, the fat man’s screams echoed. Yu Qing, holding Yu Xiaoxue, walked over.
The fat man, bloodied and barely recognizable, was kicked around by mutant dogs, pecked by mutant chickens, and bitten by a mutant cat, his arm flailing in the air.
Yu Qing covered Yu Xiaoxue’s curious eyes, “Too gory. You can’t watch, baby.”
Yu Xiaoxue didn’t resist, resting her forehead against his hand and falling asleep.
When the fat man crawled out of the cage, he was covered in blood and barely looked human. Lying on the ground, he wept, “I escaped! I escaped!”
Two fingers lifted him. Looking at Song Xinqi up close, he begged, “You promised to let me go if I escaped!”
Song Xinqi’s smile sent chills down his spine, “I didn’t say it was a one-round game.”
In despair, he was thrown back into the cage.
After the game, Yu Qing released the mutant animals. They rushed out, running into the forest, leaving behind the faint scent of blood and a few torn pieces of clothing.
A mutant chicken wandered in the cage, finally finding the exit. Just as it was about to leave, a figure blocked its path.
Yu Qing stopped the chicken, “Song Xinqi, I want chicken meat.”
The fire was smothered with dirt, leaving only feathers and bones by the fire pit.
After finishing their meal, Yu Qing wiped his mouth with a cloth, still craving more, “Chicken meat is the best.”
Song Xinqi stood up, “Time to go back.”
The scores had been settled, and they had eaten their fill. The two tidied up and headed back.
Peng Shu was surprised when he saw the two return, with Yu Qing holding a small snow leopard in his arms. “You actually managed to find it. What happened to that fat man?”
Yu Qing replied, “He’s dead.”
“Dead?” This was an unexpected development for Peng Shu. Yesterday, he had searched with Yu Qing for at least two hours and found nothing. How had they killed the man so quickly?
Peng Shu couldn’t understand, “How did you do it?”
Yu Qing pointed with his mouth toward Song Xinqi, “His ability is really powerful.”
“Little Snow, you’re quite something.”
Hearing this name, Yu Qing’s heart skipped a beat. Sure enough, he noticed Song Xinqi’s meaningful gaze. Fearing Peng Shu might say something even more shocking, he quickly changed the subject, “We’ve found our companion, so we should be leaving soon. What are your plans?”
Peng Shu glanced at the cave where their leader was, “The leader is burning up with a fever and probably won’t last much longer. I’m going to stay here with him until the end.”
In the apocalypse, emotions were always easily moved.
Yu Qing respected his choice and pulled out a doll-sized mutant deer from his pocket. When placed on the ground, it grew to a human’s size. “We encountered quite a few mutant beasts over there. This one is for you.”
Peng Shu was a bit surprised and felt a warm sensation in his heart, “Thank you.”
Yu Qing smiled, a small dimple faintly appearing on his face, “No need to thank me. And thank you for being willing to search for the snow leopard with me yesterday.”
“I didn’t really help much.” Seeing his smile, Peng Shu’s face flushed, and he suddenly found it hard to look at him directly.
Song Xinqi, already impatient, started walking away. Yu Qing hurried to catch up and waved to Peng Shu at the cave entrance, “Goodbye.”
Peng Shu smiled and waved back, “Goodbye.”
This was a farewell and the most sincere blessing. Although their encounter was brief, they hoped that one day, in this precarious world, they would see each other again, living vibrant lives.