The Third Rebirth (REBIRTH)
In the evening, they found a spot to park and set up camp. As they got closer to D Zone, there wasn’t a soul in sight.
Jiang Cancan had been listening to Jian Lan tell a ghost story in the car and kept feeling a cold breeze on the back of his neck. Scared out of his wits, he insisted on sitting right next to Jiang Mu. Jiang Mu, feeling the heat, tried to move away, but Jiang Cancan shamelessly clung to his younger brother’s sleeve and refused to budge, he even almost threw a tantrum.
Though Jiang Mu looked annoyed, he let Jiang Cancan stay close.
Jian Lan couldn’t stand it anymore, “Even I, a woman, don’t have the skill to act this spoiled. Aren’t you ashamed of that extra thing you’ve got?”
Jiang Cancan widened his eyes, “Damn, Jian Lan, don’t suddenly start making dirty jokes!”
Jian Lan: “...Where was I being dirty?”
The two of them launched into their usual banter, while Ling Chen remained completely unaffected and still carefully taught Ye Xiao how to shoot nearby. He had picked out a new compact pistol from the pile of newly purchased weapons, which was perfect for Ye Xiao to handle.
“...When you need to engage in long-range attacks, the Long Blade has its limits. That’s when you’ll need to use a gun. In D Zone, the Bullet Deviation Rate is too high, so sometimes aiming comes down to feel.” Ling Chen corrected Ye Xiao’s aiming posture with his hand resting on the back of Ye Xiao’s. Suddenly, he stopped talking and frowned, “You’re running a fever.”
Ye Xiao’s head felt heavy, and he reacted slowly, “What?”
Ling Chen put the gun away and reached out to feel Ye Xiao’s forehead, “Little Fuzzball, you’re running a fever.” He left a quick “I’ll take him back” and carried Ye Xiao back to the car in his arms.
While rummaging through the medical kit, Ling Chen asked, “Are you feeling unwell?”
Ye Xiao sat in the chair and watching Ling Chen’s back as he shook his head, “A little uncomfortable and my head feels heavy.” His mind was sluggish, and after a few seconds, he added, “In the past... when I got injured, I would also get a fever, but I couldn’t let anyone know.”
“Why?”
“Because I would die.”
Ling Chen fell silent for a moment, “Everyone around you was an enemy and all wanting your life, so you couldn’t show even the slightest weakness, right?”
Ye Xiao nodded, “Yes.”
He took the pill Ling Chen handed him and swallowed it with water. Then, obediently tilting his head back to let Ling Chen take his temperature. With this movement, his neck was completely exposed.
Ling Chen, without any change in expression, reached out and touched Ye Xiao’s Adam’s apple. Ye Xiao didn’t flinch at all.
He had no defenses against him.
“Thirty-nine degrees.” Ling Chen frowned as he sat down and let Ye Xiao lean against him. He then fed him some water from a military canteen, “Do you want to sleep?”
“Yes.” Ye Xiao nodded before clutching Ling Chen’s clothes as he slowly closed his eyes. Once he was sound asleep, Ling Chen took a roll of bandages from the medical kit and carefully wrapped it around Ye Xiao’s right wrist, finishing it off with a neat bow.
A message came through the team channel. Ling Chen opened it and saw it was from Jiang Cancan, “Chen Ge, it’s not going to rain tonight, so we’re staying in the tents outside. Take good care of the Little friend, remember, you’re a human, a human!”
Ling Chen replied with a period to acknowledge the message, then promptly closed the team channel. He dimmed the lights in the car and gently patted Ye Xiao’s back before closing his eyes as well.
The high fever came suddenly, but after resting for a night, it subsided quickly.
As soon as the sky brightened, Ye Xiao, unwavering in his routine, got up to practice with his blade. His appetite wasn’t great, so he grabbed a tube of nutrient solution and held it in his mouth. He then shook the bandage and bow tied around his hand with his eyes curving into a smile.
Ling Chen stepped out of the vehicle holding a cup of sweet milk. "Still feeling unwell?"
Ye Xiao turned his head upon hearing the voice. "I’m already better."
Ling Chen reached out to feel Ye Xiao’s forehead before confirming that his temperature was normal. Only then did he shake the cup of sweet milk in his hand. "Want some? It’ll help you grow taller."
Ye Xiao nodded honestly. "Yes."
Ling Chen: "Trade me your nutrient solution for it."
Ye Xiao looked puzzled. "But I’ve already drunk from this tube. There are plenty of new ones in the car."
Ling Chen raised an eyebrow. "I want the one you’ve drunk from. No trade? Then forget it."
"I’ll trade!" Ye Xiao quickly handed over the half-empty tube of nutrient solution and took the sweet milk in return. However, as he watched Ling Chen finish the nutrient solution, Ye Xiao stammered, "I… I drank from that."
"I know. It tasted good." Ling Chen replied, looking refreshed as he took the empty cup. "Little Fuzzball, keep practicing with your blade. Be good."
Because of that tube of nutrient solution, Ling Chen was in a good mood. Even when he went to supervise Jiang Cancan and Jian Lan’s shooting practice, he didn’t lose his temper. However, it didn’t take long for him to notice that something was off with Ye Xiao.
Perhaps due to the nightmare he had and the sudden fever the night before, Ye Xiao’s spirits were low. He kept staring at Ling Chen absentmindedly from time to time.
Ling Chen knew he was probably feeling uneasy, so he let him stare if it made him feel better. But—
"Captain," Ye Xiao called out while clutching his Long Blade as he ran up to Ling Chen, his voice immediately softening. "I need to… use the restroom. Can you come with me?"
Yes, he was being more clingy.
Ling Chen sighed inwardly while marveling at how the Little Clingy Thing’s skills had leveled up overnight. He put down the gun in his hand and tossed it to Jiang Cancan. "Keep training. You and Jian Lan compete for accuracy. The loser washes dishes for three days."
With his hands in his pockets, he followed Ye Xiao toward a small grove nearby, his voice softening. "You didn’t want me to accompany you to the restroom before. What’s changed?"
Ye Xiao pursed his lips because he was unsure on how to answer. He had also noticed that he hadn’t been himself these past couple of days. He kept having flashes of Ling Chen lying on the ground, pulling the pin on a grenade, or covered in blood.
Ling Chen glanced down at him before noticing how tightly Ye Xiao’s fingers were gripping the scabbard. He teased lightly, "Want me to hold it for you?"
Ye Xiao blushed. "No, I… I can hold it myself."
Ling Chen looked at his profile and suddenly asked, "Why were you crying earlier?" Seeing Ye Xiao’s expression change immediately, Ling Chen sighed. "It’s okay. If you don’t want to talk about it—"
"No, it’s not that I don’t want to talk," Ye Xiao murmured with his gaze unfocused as he answered softly, "I dreamed that you died."
Even as he spoke those words, his voice trembled.
Ling Chen stared at him for a while. "Tell me, why are you so afraid that I’ll die? Ever since you first followed me and said you wanted to protect me, you’ve been scared."
Ye Xiao remained silent.
Ling Chen gave in and just pinched his cheek gently. "Alright, I won’t ask anymore."
Ye Xiao nodded gloomily and took a step forward, but his body suddenly froze. Ling Chen stopped and turned to look at him. "What’s wrong?"
Ye Xiao took a light breath with his expression unchanged and his voice calm enough, "I stepped on something, my right foot."
Ling Chen's expression changed drastically as a terrifying speculation rose in his heart and his hand in his pocket clenched tightly, "What is it?"
Ye Xiao felt it himself, "It should be an explosive, but I don't know the specific model. I noticed something was off when I stepped on it." He spoke lightly, as if it were no different from stepping on a stone.
But in that instant, Ling Chen felt suffocated. His fingers loosened and tightened in the blink of an eye, and he didn't even know how he opened the team channel to tell Jiang Cancan and the others, "There might be an ambush."
After speaking, Ling Chen crouched down while comforting Ye Xiao, "Don't be afraid, the Captain is here, Little Fuzzball, don't be scared."
But it was unclear whether these words were meant for Ye Xiao or himself.
He wiped his face while half-kneeling on the grass with his back arched and every muscle on his back tense to the extreme.
Uncertain of the type of explosive and whether it could be touched with metal, Ling Chen didn't dare to take out his dagger. Instead, he used his hands to dig away the soil around it. The area around the explosive had been dug up, the soil loose, and soon a hint of silver-gray was revealed.
Ling Chen's hands had always been steady when holding a gun or a knife. He could take a headshot from a kilometer away with a heavy sniper rifle, or lay down a fire net with a machine gun. He even wasn't afraid of death; from the moment he decided to take on the position of Grand Commander of the Second Division, he had never expected a peaceful end. So he was fearless.
But at this moment, his hands were trembling violently.
Gripping his right wrist tightly with his left hand until his veins bulge, he waited for more than ten seconds to ensure his hands were no longer shaking before carefully scraping away the layer of soil closest to the explosive.
His voice was hoarse, "H67 micro-mine, non-military, gravity-activated explosive. It will detonate when the pressure reaches a certain value." He tried his best to keep his voice steady, "Be good and don't exert any force."
The last few words were spoken with extreme gentleness.
Ye Xiao sensed the tension in Ling Chen's voice, "I won't exert any force, Captain, don't be afraid."
Ling Chen bit down hard on the tip of his tongue until the pain kept him clear-headed. He knew in his heart that he was afraid as the fear like a gale with giant waves and crash down heavily on him.
He was afraid of losing him, even afraid to continue his actions, so he didn't dare to gamble.
At that moment, gunfire rang out not far away, followed by Jiang Mu's voice coming through the communicator, "There's an ambush, we're taking action."
In an instant, Ling Chen's jawline tightened and his eyes filled with killing intent as he spoke word by word, "Take care of it thoroughly."
Guessing that something must have happened, Jiang Mu responded, "Yes!"
After clearing the soil around the circular explosive, Ling Chen gently encircled Ye Xiao's ankle with one hand, "Little Fuzzball, do you trust the Captain?"
"I trust you."
"Good, then do as I say." Ling Chen placed his other hand on the surface of the explosive while speaking as he did, "Completely relax before you lift your foot with the force of my hand with no extra movements and just follow my lead."
As he spoke, one hand held Ye Xiao's ankle upward, while the other pressed against the surface of the explosive before gradually applying downward force. One releasing, one pressing, the pressure on the explosive must not change.
Half a minute felt as long as a century. When Ye Xiao's foot completely left the explosive, Ling Chen's palm was tightly pressed against it. His tense back relaxed completely, and the previously fierce corners of his eyes softened into a smile. "Little Fuzzball, wait for the Captain over there, okay?"
Ye Xiao shook his head. "No." Only now did he realize what Ling Chen intended to do.
Ling Chen didn't dare move, only looking at him. "Be good, trust the Captain."
After Ye Xiao stood at a distance, Ling Chen focused entirely.
He quickly calculated the force in his mind, then grabbed the soil dug up beside him. While reducing the pressure on his hand, he continuously sprinkled the soil onto the surface of the explosive.
Until his hand was completely free.
At that moment, he noticed beads of sweat had gathered on his eyelashes.
Standing up, he cautiously retreated to Ye Xiao's side and handed him the pistol. "You shoot."
Ye Xiao took it then pulled the trigger, and the bullet hit the center of the bomb with pinpoint accuracy.
The next second, an explosion erupted, scattering sand and sparks everywhere. The smell of gunpowder filled the air, and the ground shook.
Ling Chen's hands firmly covered Ye Xiao's ears, shielding him from the noise. When Ye Xiao looked over, Ling Chen asked casually, "Is the Captain amazing?"
At that moment, Ye Xiao couldn't speak and only nodded.
Ling Chen looked into his eyes before he sighed softly, and his dirt-stained hand slid down with his thumb brushing over Ye Xiao's slightly reddened eye corner. His voice was gentle, "Were you scared just now, Little Fuzzball?"
Ye Xiao shook his head, then nodded.
Ling Chen: "You weren't scared when you stepped on the explosive. But you were scared when it was transferred under my hand, right?"
Ye Xiao nodded heavily, uttering two syllables, "...Scared."
"I was scared too." Ling Chen smiled, the sharp lines of his eyes completely softening. He suddenly asked, "The Captain is feeling very anxious right now and really wants to do something bad. Is that okay?"
Ye Xiao didn't understand what "something bad" referred to, but he still nodded.
Ling Chen's gaze deepened.
His large hand pressed against the back of Ye Xiao's head and his eyes scanning every inch of Ye Xiao's face—his brows, the corners of his eyes, the wings of his nose and the corners of his lips. His gaze was heavy, as if carrying decades of hardship and an indescribable, deeply hidden desire.
Until he fiercely kissed Ye Xiao's lips.
Their teeth clashed painfully, but Ling Chen didn't stop. He was like a fierce wolf king, with an unyielding force while sucking hard on Ye Xiao's soft lower lip. The force was so strong that a metallic taste spread in their mouths.
Twisting, sucking, and their breaths intertwined until the kiss ended.
Ling Chen's lips and tongue withdrew from the warm, wet mouth, and he kissed the corner of Ye Xiao's lips before finally pulling away.
His rough thumb rubbed Ye Xiao's reddened lips with his gaze fixed on them as he spoke in a hoarse voice, "Sorry, the Captain scared you, but I really couldn't hold back."
Couldn't hold back from wanting to kiss you, couldn't hold back from wanting to give you my life.
Translator:
They finally kiss!!!
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