Chapter 45

Zhou Rong stood on the overpass, holding Si Nan in one arm and binoculars in the other, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

The highway leading to the airport had become bustling overnight, a tide of zombies heading south covering the landscape, stretching all the way to the civilian airport in the distance. Their numbers could be counted in the hundreds of thousands.

Unless they could sprout wings, it was absolutely impossible to cross this shocking tide of zombies to steal a helicopter.

“We'll have to drive south.” Zhou Rong rubbed his face against Si Nan’s and very gentlemanly solicited his opinion: “Does Comrade Xiao Si have any objections?”

Si Nan was in a constant state of semi-consciousness, groggily wrapping his arms around Zhou Rong’s neck.

Zhou Rong said with satisfaction, “Very good, the action plan has been passed unanimously… Rong-ge is very democratic.”

The supplies in the SUV were more than Zhou Rong had imagined, so much so that he was a little surprised. If they drove south at a normal speed, the food in the car would be enough to last them until they reached the South Sea, and even the picky Comrade Xiao Si would have no complaints.

Zhou Rong put down the back seat, made a nest with blankets, and carefully laid Si Nan flat on it. He unfastened his clothes to check his wounds.

Si Nan's entire body was covered in small cuts, too many to count. There were some soft tissue injuries on his abdomen and limbs, and it was unclear whether they were from violent interrogation or combat. His wrists and elbows were in an even more ghastly state; Zhou Rong recognized the lesions caused by electric shocks, and for a moment, he was filled with incomparable anger.

Why torture him?

What kind of person would carry an electric shock device in this apocalypse?

Zhou Rong wet a towel, warmed it with his own body heat, and then wiped Si Nan's entire body, his movements as gentle as stroking a piece of velvet. Si Nan was very docile in his semi-conscious state. He was too exhausted. Even when the towel passed over fatal areas like his throat and heart, he only dodged symbolically a couple of times before letting Zhou Rong hold him in his arms and falling silent.

The sky gradually darkened. In the dim car, his whole body had a fine, snow-white quality, like ivory. Due to two consecutive days of dehydration, his originally lean and powerful body lines appeared even thinner. Zhou Rong gestured and felt that he could now wrap one arm completely around his waist. He couldn't help but feel a little hot inside.

“Little classmate Si Xiaonan…” Zhou Rong hummed, changed to a clean towel, and carefully wiped Si Nan’s face and hair clean. He then satisfiedly kissed his brow. “Mhm, our Si Xiaonan is a good student who loves to be clean, isn't that right?”

Si Nan let out a groggy "Mhm."

Zhou Rong was, after all, a young and strong Alpha bursting with male hormones. Under normal circumstances, if he trained less the day before, he’d wake up the next morning horny enough to screw the headboard. Although he had been running for his life every day since the virus outbreak, whenever he had free time, he would definitely have wet dreams at night.

What was even more fatal was that Comrade Xiao Si was very, very clingy. Even in a state of semi-consciousness, he refused to let go of Zhou Rong’s hand. In the few seconds Zhou Rong took to change the towel, he would even whimper softly in dissatisfaction, making a rush of hot blood surge to Zhou Rong’s head.

“Did you miss Rong-ge?”

Si Nan: “Mhm.”

“Is Rong-ge handsome?”

Si Nan again: “Mhm.”

Zhou Rong repeatedly kissed the corner of his lips, extremely satisfied, and praised, “Good boy, our Comrade Xiao Si is also very handsome… you’d be even more handsome if you stopped playing the disappearing act.”

In the warm car, the sweet and fragrant scent of Omega Pheromones slowly spread, stimulating Zhou Rong until he was getting hard every few moments. He practically wished he could make a mistake. He took a deep breath, bit down hard on the small patch of tender, sweet, and incredibly soft flesh on the back of Si Nan's neck, but didn't dare to actually break the skin. Then, he pulled up the blanket and ruthlessly wrapped Si Nan into a burrito, feeling that he was so noble at this moment he could put old sages to shame.

But the groggy Si Nan was not grateful to Zhou Xiahui. He even struggled a bit when being wrapped up, his eyes closed, looking a little displeased.

Zhou Rong leaned over to rummage through the back of the car, looking for something easy to digest to feed Si Nan. Suddenly, he saw a hiking backpack in a crevice in the corner.

He didn't turn on the interior light, afraid the light would attract a horde of zombies. Biting down on a flashlight, he opened the backpack. Inside were two disassembled guns and ammunition, a dagger, batteries, gloves, and so on. There were also some IDs, the names and birthdays on which were fake, needless to say.

When Zhou Rong's gaze fell on the white man's face on the ID, the vague sense of familiarity grew stronger. He shone the flashlight on it and studied it carefully for a moment.

Suddenly, it dawned on him where the familiarity came from—he had indeed seen an extremely similar face before.

Country A's former vice president!

Before he was sent down to the 118th Secret Unit, this person had visited with a delegation!

There were too many people in the world with similar faces, and with the memories of several years washing over him, Zhou Rong couldn't be entirely certain of his judgment for a moment. But in a flash, he connected it to more things—the secret letter from Country A in the B Military Region Communications Office, the last name on the final signature was exactly the same as Country A's former vice president's.

Searching for a missing military VIP, a mixed-race Omega, avoid using stimulating methods to restore their consciousness, so as to prevent unnecessary casualties…

Zhou Rong looked at Si Nan in horror. The latter was curled up in the blanket, not sleeping very peacefully, his brow furrowed.

Could there be such a coincidence in the world?

But if they were looking for Si Nan…

Crossing oceans from thousands of miles away, in an apocalypse fraught with danger at every turn, what did Si Nan have on him that they would risk their lives to pursue?

Zhou Rong found a few packets of high-protein chocolate powder, a high-energy field food for military use. He mixed it with water to make a paste, rested Si Nan's head on his thigh, and carefully fed it to him, one spoonful at a time.

Si Nan was very resistant to paste-like food, eating it in great distress. He had to be coaxed with various means for a long time before he would swallow almost every mouthful. After a few spoonfuls, he refused to eat anymore. Zhou Rong had no choice but to pick him up, pat his bottom as punishment, and then eat the sickly-sweet chocolate paste himself.

There were also various compressed biscuits in the back of the car. Zhou Rong, holding a flashlight in his mouth, rummaged for a long time, deeply dissatisfied with the lack of innovation in the food design of Country A's military. In the end, he finally found half a box of cookies with meat floss, as if he had found a treasure.

“Very good, Comrade Xiao Si, from now on, this will be your exclusive snack box,” Zhou Rong muttered, tossing the can of maple syrup, chocolate, milk powder, and other things he had found along the way into the cookie box. He took out a marker and wrote the four words “Si Nan's Exclusive” on the cardboard box.

Fortunately, Si Nan was more receptive to milk paste with maple syrup, eating half a bowl intermittently. Zhou Rong also took out a dehydrated, long-life cake from the individual combat rations, a small piece the size of a piece of dried tofu, and fed it all to Si Nan. Looking at his slightly reddened lips from eating, he was very satisfied in his heart.

“Do you like it?” he asked in a low voice, holding the Si Nan-burrito in his arms through the blanket.

Si Nan seemed to have a sliver of consciousness and nodded almost imperceptibly. “Mhm.”

“Are you from Country A?”

“…Mhm.”

Zhou Rong thought for a moment, deliberated, then asked, “They… those three people, why did they capture you?”

Si Nan's brow furrowed, his subconscious seeming to experience some very painful memories, and he let out a faint struggle.

“Why did they capture you? Was it because you were carrying something?”

Si Nan turned his head away forcefully, his squirming becoming more and more frequent. Zhou Rong couldn't hold him with one arm anymore and held him tightly against his thighs with both arms. But he saw his expression grow more and more agitated, his chest heaving rapidly, and then he made a faint, sharp sound—he was gasping for air!

“It’s okay, it’s okay…” Seeing that something was wrong, Zhou Rong immediately pressed him tightly into his embrace, stroking his hair and back forcefully, and repeating in his ear, “Don’t be afraid, it’s Rong-ge’s fault, I won’t ask anymore… It’s okay, don’t be afraid…”

After a long while, Si Nan’s struggles gradually subsided, and he lay in the crook of his arm, his brow still tightly locked.

“Rong-ge was wrong, I won’t ask anymore, okay?”

Zhou Rong rubbed his stubble against his cold face, making Si Nan dodge unhappily.

He let out a breath, not daring to ask any more related questions.

However, the warm body was still pressed tightly in his arms. In the quiet car, even their heartbeats were clearly audible. After a moment, Zhou Rong's heart started to itch again, and he couldn't help but cough. “Si Xiaonan?”

Si Nan was drowsy.

“Do you like Rong-ge?”

“Mhm.”

Before Zhou Rong could feel his heart flutter, he was stunned by this clear, affirmative, and unhesitating "Mhm." A moment later, he let out a pleased "hiss" and asked with ill intent, “Do you like Yan Hao?”

This was simply taking advantage of someone’s plight. If Yan Hao were here, he probably would have rushed over to punch him.

This time, Si Nan hesitated for a few seconds. “…Mhm.”

Zhou Rong: “?!”

“…” Zhou Rong’s mind raced, and he asked, “Do you like Chuncao?”

“Mhm.”

“…What about Guo Weixiang?”

“Mhm.”

“What about Ding Shi?!”

“Mhm.”

Zhou Rong said grief-stricken, “Don’t give me so many ‘Mhms’! Be specific!”

Si Nan made a resisting "Mmm-mmm" sound, which probably meant he didn't want to be specific.

Zhou Rong was like a wolf that had its food snatched away mid-meal. He sat there scratching his ears, then suddenly frowned as an idea came to him. He changed his approach and asked, “So, among everyone, the one you like the most is Rong-ge, right?”

Si Nan squirmed a little, looking almost a bit embarrassed, and said in a tiny voice, “Mhm.”

A hundred flowers bloomed, and cannons fired in salute.

Zhou Rong was full of himself, feeling that life was slowly unfurling a golden road before his eyes. He was about to reach the peak of celebrating the wedding, receiving gift money, drinking from interlocking wine cups, and being escorted to the bridal chamber.

He threw his head back and laughed several times, then pinched Si Nan's thin cheeks. “Very good, Rong-ge likes you too, likes you the most.”

Saying that, he kissed Si Nan’s forehead, stepped on the accelerator to start the car, and drove toward the next town in the wilderness as night fell.

·

At the end of the twelfth lunar month, the weather was freezing, and water turned to ice.

Zhou Rong drove at night and only dared to sleep a little during the day. He carefully identified the tracks of the massive zombie tide, trying to pick deserted wilderness routes with high, steep terrain, and slowly and safely drove south.

All the towns and villages along the way had turned into ruins overnight.

The sky was high and the land vast, the north wind howled. The distant villages below were silent and empty. The wild grass in the fields bent to one side with the wind, and tiny ant-like figures could be vaguely seen moving slowly on the ridges.

Those were zombies.

One overcast noon, Zhou Rong parked the car on a mountainside. After setting up roadblocks in front and behind, he locked the car doors, wrapped the unconscious Si Nan into a burrito, and used his thigh as a pillow for him. He then leaned over the steering wheel and took a short nap.

Not long after, he was awakened by a rustling sound. He opened his eyes and saw that Si Nan had actually woken up. He was still lying with his head on his thigh, struggling continuously as if he was very uncomfortable.

These past few days, Zhou Rong had gotten used to all the kissing, hugging, and nuzzling. He instinctively gave him a kiss on the eyelid. “What’s wrong?”

Si Nan immediately looked up at him, his eyelashes opening into a very obvious fan shape. His pupils were clearly filled with confusion, as if asking, why are you kissing me so casually?

“!!” Zhou Rong reacted immediately, thinking to himself, this is not good.

But he didn't show the slightest hint of guilt. Instead, he met Si Nan's gaze openly, his expression full of spring-like warmth and affection. “You’re awake? Where are you uncomfortable?”

“…” Si Nan’s mind was still very groggy. He closed his eyes, then opened them again after a moment, and said hoarsely with fatigue, “…Hot…”

Zhou Rong touched the palm of his hand; it was indeed very hot. So he loosened the blanket a little. “How about now?”

Si Nan struggled upward, resting his head and neck more comfortably on Zhou Rong’s sturdy leg, and uttered another word: “Water.”

Zhou Rong: “…”

Captain Zhou felt immense pain. Due to the slight change in position, Si Nan's face was now almost pressed against the middle of his thighs. The Alpha’s boiling male blood rushed downwards once more.

“Comrade Xiao Si,” Zhou Rong fed him two sips of water. Seeing that Si Nan turned his head away, not wanting more, he lowered his head and asked earnestly, “Can the two of us have a serious discussion about our current posture?”

Si Nan closed his eyes and let out a light, steady breath from his nose.

Comrade Xiao Si clearly did not want to talk.

Zhou Rong fell back into the cycle he had been in for the past few days: getting hard—calming down—getting hard again—calming down—getting hard once more. He slumped in the driver's seat, feeling the sensitivity of that area increase a hundredfold. Through his thick camouflage pants, he could feel the Omega's warm breath puffing against it.

Let me make a mistake, he thought in despair.

Comrade Xiao Si likes me a lot. Maybe he’ll like me even more after I make a mistake?

After that brief and sudden moment of clarity that noon, the signs of Si Nan waking up gradually increased. The next day, when Zhou Rong was feeding him dehydrated vegetables mixed with luncheon meat, he even dreamily called out, “Rong-ge”; on the third morning, he was sleeping against Zhou Rong’s shoulder when he suddenly woke up from the jolting of the moving vehicle and asked softly, “…Where are we going?”

Zhou Rong had a cigarette dangling from his lips and said mournfully, “To get a room.”

The Chinese language is broad and profound, and Si Nan's level of understanding was clearly not at that level. He just gave a dazed “Oh.”

However, Zhou Rong was indeed heading to get a room. Before it got dark that evening, he found a two-story cement house belonging to a forest ranger team in the mountains. The dormitory had all the necessary living facilities, but it hadn't been lived in for a long time. It was covered in dust, and in the kitchen, there was still half a canister of gas and pots and pans.

He cleverly parked the car to block the main entrance, creating a solid barrier, with the car door facing the hallway exit to deal with any emergencies. Then he spent half a day cleaning, making the bed, boiling water, and slowly simmering a pot of warm, fragrant vegetable and meat congee on low heat.

“Si Xiaonan?” Zhou Rong crouched by the bed, pinched Si Nan’s sleeping face, and lectured him gently but seriously, “Tonight we bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Be good, we both have to take a bath, or we can't get rid of the bad luck.”

Si Nan let out a steady, rhythmic breath from his nose.

“If you don't wake up, Rong-ge will help you wash.”

Zhou Rong waited for a moment, then said to himself, “It seems you really want Rong-ge to help you wash… Alright, then.”

He carefully opened the blanket, took off Si Nan’s jacket and shirt, and then took off his shoes. Then he did some mental preparation, repeatedly reciting the Socialist Eight Honors and Eight Shames and the Twenty-Four-Word Core Socialist Values, before taking off Si Nan’s pants. Trying his best not to look at the naked body in his arms, he carried Si Nan into the bathroom and placed him in the steaming hot bathtub.

After all this time on the road, being able to take a hot bath was such a luxury.

The moment Si Nan lay down in the bathtub, he let out a comfortable sigh and dazedly hugged Zhou Rong's arm.

“Don’t move around, you’re splashing water everywhere, hiss…”

Zhou Rong sat on the edge of the tub, picked up a soap nub, and hastily rubbed it a few times on Si Nan's water-drenched body. This was indeed very difficult for him, not just because of the Core Socialist Values, but because Si Nan himself was very uncooperative. In his semi-conscious state, he seemed to have developed a great interest in Zhou Rong’s hands, always struggling to hold them, splashing water everywhere.

Zhou Rong’s upper body was soaked, and the military shirt clinging to his body was very uncomfortable, making him quite irritable.

“Comrade Xiao Si, please cooperate.” Zhou Rong tapped his nose and said seriously, “If you keep this up, I’ll spank you.”

Comrade Xiao Si let out a muffled murmur from his nasal cavity, his water-soaked hair clinging wetly to his slender neck.

Zhou Rong didn’t dare to look closely and quickly turned his head away, muttering, “I’ll spank you later. After you’re dressed.”

The Omega Pheromones, mixed with the warm steam, made Zhou Rong's heart pound for no reason. He held his breath, went out and drank several large gulps of ice water, and his boiling blood finally calmed down a little.

Just hurry up and finish the bath, and it will be over.

Zhou Rong made this resolution, casually took off his wet shirt, and, bare-chested and wearing only his long pants, pushed open the bathroom door and walked in. Then he froze in his tracks.

—In the short few minutes he was out, Si Nan had actually woken up.

Si Nan sat in the hot water, still dazed from just waking up. He looked down at himself, then up at Zhou Rong, who was revealing his well-built, formidable muscles, and was too stunned to react.