The Third Rebirth (REBIRTH)
All the lingering fears and the dread of loss from before had now transformed into a surging wave of desire, only to be firmly suppressed deep within his heart.
He couldn’t scare the person.
But Ling Chen truly couldn’t hold back anymore.
He had originally planned to hand over the Regional Core to his mother before discussing this matter with Ye Xiao. Once he spoke, he would take full responsibility for these feelings.
The current situation was fraught with danger, and there was no telling when he might fall somewhere and never get up again.
But some emotions erupted too quickly, like a flood breaching a dam—unstoppable.
Yet he didn’t regret it.
The person he had set his eyes on, he had never thought of letting anyone else have. From the very first moment he met Ye Xiao, he had wanted to keep this person by his side and protect him. Now, it had simply evolved into wanting to keep him in the softest part of his heart and shield him there.
He had once thought he would die young and remain single for life, but now it seemed he had to strive for a long life—he couldn’t let Little Fuzzball cry.
Not far away, another deafening "boom" echoed, followed by Jian Lan’s furious voice over the Communicator, "Damn it, are these bombs free or what?!"
Then came Jiang Cancan’s voice, shouting, "Chen Ge, Chen Ge, where are you guys? Can Ye here is about to collapse! Holy crap, another explosion!"
Ling Chen remained completely unfazed. His fingers still rested on Ye Xiao’s moist lower lip and gently rubbing it a couple of times. When the color of Ye Xiao’s lips deepened, he leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "Captain will go first this time. Little Fuzzball, you’ll have to hold on by yourself this time. Next time, Captain will help you."
Ye Xiao felt a bit flustered. Seeing Ling Chen turn to leave, he instinctively grabbed the hem of Ling Chen’s clothes. Ling Chen turned back and asked with a smile, "Want me to help you?"
Ye Xiao immediately let go, "No, I… I’ll manage on my own."
Amidst the wilderness and dry grass, with distant mountains and layered clouds, Ling Chen stood with one hand in his pocket and the other holding Ye Xiao’s chin. He leaned down and kissed Ye Xiao’s lips, "It’s not an illusion."
After Ling Chen left, Ye Xiao stood still and kept touching his lips. The curve of his eyes softened as he smiled.
Before Ling Chen warned them about the possible ambush nearby, Jiang Cancan, taking advantage of his superior’s absence, was both timid and curious as he urged Jian Lan to tell another ghost story. Jian Lan had just gathered her emotions and was about to scare Jiang Cancan with a terrifying tale when the Communicator buzzed.
"Possible ambush nearby."
Jiang Cancan slapped his buzz-cut head, "Holy crap, now that’s a real ghost story!"
Jiang Mu turned and entered the Armored Vehicle to check the instruments, "No heat signatures. They’re pros as they probably carry equipment to block detection."
Jian Lan’s relaxed posture was a perfect imitation of Ling Chen’s.
She chewed on a blade of grass as she scanned the surroundings, "The people coming probably don’t think they can take us head-on, so they’re trying to be sneaky while quietly surrounding us to crush us in one go. Tsk tsk, just bad luck for them—Chen Ge noticed."
She removed the blade of grass from her mouth, "Let’s make the first move. I’ll fire a few random shots to test the waters."
Jiang Cancan eagerly joined in, "Let’s do it together!"
The two of them not only had great comedic chemistry but also fought in perfect sync.
Back-to-back and without needing to speak, they each chose a direction and fired off several shots.
Jian Lan: "Seven shots, at least three hits."
Jiang Cancan replied with a grin, "Eight shots, four hits. Nice try, buddy!"
From the moment they realized there was an ambush to the time they opened fire, it was an extremely short period, leaving almost no time for the opponents to react. The opponents, knowing they had been exposed, stopped hiding and began pouring bullets and grenades towards Jian Lan and the others' position as if they were free.
Jiang Cancan, with an air of righteousness, declared, "Those who hide their heads and tails are all cowards. Come at us head-on!"
Before the last syllable even faded, he followed Jian Lan to take cover behind the car door.
When Ling Chen had modified this Sabertooth Tiger, he had spared no expense as he even used the best bulletproof materials for the doors, which now served as the best shields.
Jian Lan, well-hidden, peered intently at the figures that had just appeared. With her keen eyesight and sensitivity to faces, she suddenly realized, "Those two who just ran past look so familiar—they're from the Red Lion! Those wanted criminals!"
"Huh?" Jiang Cancan, who had stayed by the car and hadn't gone to the casino, was completely baffled. "What wanted criminals?"
Jiang Mu explained, "When we went to the Red Lion to buy weapons, there were many wanted criminals in the casino. They might have recognized one of us and followed us here."
Jian Lan added, "These desperados value their lives dearly. The fact that they dared to chase us here means the Holy Judgement must have spent a fortune to capture us. But their combat skills are just too pathetic!"
Jiang Cancan twisted his neck until his eyes fixed on the opposite side. "They dared to target Can Ye? Let's teach them a lesson!"
Next, Jiang Mu operated the Vehicle-mounted Machine Gun to forcefully lay down a fire net that disrupted the enemy's offensive rhythm. Jian Lan stood behind and happily tossed two bombs over, "I love this luxurious way of fighting! It's not my money being burned anyway!"
However, the joy was short-lived. Jiang Mu suddenly shouted, "Get down!"
Jiang Cancan and Jian Lan reacted swiftly as they dropped to the ground and rolled under the car for cover. In the next breath, a loud "Boom!" shook the ground. Jiang Cancan turned his head to see shrapnel and debris scattered everywhere, unsure how big a crater had been blown.
Worried about a second round of shelling, the two stayed under the car. Sure enough, not long after, another bomb exploded nearby that it nearly deafening them.
It was at this moment that Ling Chen returned. In a good mood, he kicked the chassis of the Sabertooth Tiger with his military boots, "Tsk, do I need to personally pull you out?"
Seeing Ling Chen back, the two inexplicably calmed down. Jiang Cancan crawled out first with his focus completely off, "Damn, the other side is just showing off their wealth! Is it necessary to use sniper rifles against just a few of us? No need! They must have too much money to burn!"
Ling Chen was unusually agreeable, "Fine, use whatever weapons you want and throw them however you like."
Jiang Cancan sensed something was off. While dodging bullets, he asked, "Chen Ge, what's going on with you? That smug, beaming expression of yours is suspicious!"
Ling Chen ignored him as he sat in the driver's seat, "I'll take aim."
Jiang Mu stepped aside.
Thus, the opponents discovered that unlike the previous indiscriminate barrage, this time, the areas targeted by the machine gun suffered devastating casualties.
Seeing the sudden cessation of enemy fire and the signal of surrender, Jian Lan asked Ling Chen, "Chen Ge, they've surrendered. Do we stop firing?"
Ling Chen said, "Am I short on bullets for you? Keep firing."
Jian Lan shared the same sentiment; she didn't believe that the people on the other side were genuinely ready to surrender. Moreover, they hadn't been able to apprehend these fugitives back at Red Lion, and now that they had willingly come to them, were they supposed to mercifully let them go? So Jian Lan continued to joyfully engage in the grenade-throwing game with Jiang Cancan.
When Ye Xiao returned, he was somewhat bewildered by the scene. Ling Chen called out to him from the driver's seat, "Little Fuzzball, come here."
Assured that Jiang Cancan and Jian Lan didn't need backup, Ye Xiao climbed into the vehicle and sat next to Ling Chen, "Captain?"
"Come, let me teach you how to use the Vehicle-mounted Machine Gun," Ling Chen said while patting his own thigh.
Ye Xiao didn't move.
Ling Chen looked at him, "Hmm?"
Ye Xiao's ears turned slightly red, but he still sat down on Ling Chen's lap.
Ling Chen held him in his arms while guiding his hand to the control stick, and moved the scope in front of Ye Xiao's eyes before speaking close to his ear, "...Yes, just like this, press this firing button, and the bullets will shoot out. The instrument will automatically adjust the trajectory..."
Jiang Cancan and Jian Lan, unaware that Ling Chen was conducting an impromptu teaching session, noticed that the Vehicle-Mounted Machine Gun was acting erratically that severely disrupt their grenade-throwing experience, and they protested loudly, "Chen Ge, can you be a bit more serious!"
Jiang Mu, on behalf of Ling Chen who was too preoccupied to respond, answered, "Chen Ge is seriously conducting a lesson in love."
Jiang Cancan and Jian Lan were puzzled, ‘A lesson in love?’
After the fight was over, Jiang Cancan and Jian Lan rushed to the car door and saw Ling Chen holding Ye Xiao in the driver's seat and teaching him how to manually adjust the trajectory of the machine gun when it was damaged.
Jiang Cancan pinched Jian Lan's arm, "Does it hurt?"
Jiang Lan nodded gravely, "It hurts!"
Both of them were not okay. Jiang Cancan lamented, "Chen Ge, the line between beast and human is dangerously thin for you!"
Ling Chen's expression was almost amiable, "Beast and human?"
Jian Lan added an annotation, "Because we've already kicked you out of the 'human' category!"
To prevent anyone from catching up and blocking their way, Jiang Cancan gripped the steering wheel and drove swiftly towards D Zone. Before long, the border was in sight, and Jiang Cancan stepped on the accelerator to cross the boundary directly into D Zone.
After driving for a while, he suddenly slowed down, "Do you guys feel a chill?"
Could it be the lingering effects of the horror story?
Jiang Mu reminded him, "The temperature outside has dropped below ten degrees." As he spoke, he handed a combat uniform jacket to Jiang Cancan, "Put it on."
"D Zone is still as bizarre as ever!" Jiang Cancan put on the jacket, "My little brother is indeed the cutest!"
The car stopped by the river to replenish fresh water. Ling Chen wrapped his arm around Ye Xiao's shoulders and led him aside.
The situation hadn't allowed for much conversation earlier, and they had been in the car ever since, making it inconvenient to talk. Only now did Ling Chen ask, "In the woods when I kissed you. Did you dislike it?"
Ye Xiao fidgeted slightly with his fingers but still answered, "...I didn't dislike it."
A clear smile appeared at the corner of Ling Chen's lips, "If you didn't dislike it, then you must have liked it."
He took a step forward with a somewhat aggressive demeanor before placing one hand on Ye Xiao's slender waist, and leaned down to kiss him again. However, the kiss was gentle, brief, and not deep. After releasing his lips, he remained extremely close with their noses lightly brushing and not missing any subtle change in Ye Xiao's expression.
"Does our Little Fuzzball know what it means to be in love?"
Ye Xiao shook his head honestly, "No."
No one had taught him, and he had never seen it before.
Ling Chen was not surprised by this answer and asked again, "Do you know how to be in love?"
"No."
"It's okay, I'll teach you."
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