Chapter 30
“Don’t cry anymore.”
Wen Xin’s weak voice came from above the little fox’s head, along with the lingering warmth of his fingertips gently rubbing its head.
Half of the little fox’s face was buried in Wen Xin’s chest, its sharp claws still extended, while tears filled its eyes.
It was as if someone drowning in a violent sea storm had suddenly grasped a piece of driftwood.
Wen…Wen…
At that moment, both Xiao Hei (the little black cat) and the canary sensed the unstable fluctuation in the little fox’s energy, causing their expressions to change.
Xiao Hei lifted its foot, appearing before Wen Xin in an instant.
The canary as well, ignored its fear and quickly glanced at the young man in his arms.
However, the little fox didn’t fall deeper into madness as they feared.
Its pupils trembled, with clear black and blood-red shades intertwined, constantly shifting, as it gripped Wen Xin’s clothes tightly, drawing strength to fight the inner storm.
Suddenly, as if breaking free from some restraint, the little fox’s long eyelashes quivered, and a stream of large teardrops rolled down.
“Wen…Wen Xin.”
A loud wail escaped its mouth.
It clung to Wen Xin like a child who had finally found its parents after being wronged, crying out for comfort.
“I was so, so scared! Wen Xin, Wen Xin…”
The illusions were a part of the little fox’s nature as a mutant, existing in its mind and heart, unseen by others.
No one knew that from the moment it left home, it had been constantly fighting against its bloodthirsty desires.
Every time it opened its eyes, seeing the canary’s vulnerable throat, it felt as though it should be torn apart, bloodied and raw.
And in the next instant, it would regain clarity, horrified by its own murderous intent.
In this terrified and confused state, it had fought the illusions all along the way.
And it had been afraid the entire journey.
As the little fox sobbed uncontrollably, Wen Xin seemed to sense the unspoken fear and dread behind its cries.
He lowered his head, opening his mouth as if to comfort the little fox, but at that moment, his body had reached its limit. The instant his head dropped, his body followed, collapsing heavily.
“Wen Xin!”
The canary quickly caught him, panicking as it checked Wen Xin’s condition.
The little fox’s head was still buried in Wen Xin’s chest.
When Wen Xin’s body suddenly went limp, the little fox couldn’t help but panic. The mental barrier it had just built broke, allowing its repressed instincts to surge forward.
In an instant, the blood-red hue returned to it’s once black pupils.
But this time, before the little fox could react, Xiao Hei intervened.
A giant claw, covered in scales, pressed down from above, pinning the little fox to the ground.
Xiao Hei’s gaze was icy, as if considering how best to tear the little fox apart.
On the verge of breaking through to its fully matured form, Xiao Hei’s genes were boiling with nothing but agitation.
Under such a gaze, the little fox wasn’t scared. Instead, its violent animal instincts were triggered, and it prepared to bite back.
But in the blink of an eye, Xiao Hei casually said, “Wen Xin, you’re awake.”
The little fox froze, instinctively closing its wide-open mouth, biting down on nothing but air.
Ignoring the pain in its jaw, it quickly glanced back in a panic.
But the young man lying in the canary’s arms still had his eyes tightly shut, showing no signs of waking.
The little fox suddenly realized it had been tricked.
“Number One, you—mmph!”
Before it could finish its angry sentence, Xiao Hei swiftly pressed down on its neck, and the little fox’s eyes widened before it passed out, limp.
Seeing the little fox faint, the canary, who had been too scared to approach, hurriedly reached over to catch it.
At the same time, Xiao Hei used its tail to pull Wen Xin closer.
It lowered its head slightly, gazing at the unconscious young man.
Even in his coma, Wen Xin’s eyelids twitched restlessly, his lips slightly parted as if silently calling out their names.
—Even when he could no longer hold on, he was still worried about others.
Xiao Hei couldn’t help but sigh.
It stared at the young man for a moment, wanting to chastise him for worrying too much.
Instead, its scaly claw softened into a gentle cat paw, carefully wiping the dust off Wen Xin’s face.
“Number Twenty-Seven… Xiao Qi is fine. Everyone is fine.”
It was the first time Xiao Hei spoke in human language.
Wen Xin frowned in his unconscious state.
In his hazy mind, he heard a deep, unfamiliar male voice, yet it felt oddly familiar and comforting. Instinctively, he leaned toward it.
Xiao Hei leaned closer to his ear, speaking softly, “I’ll be here. Don’t worry, just sleep.”
*
The night wind was strong, and Wen Xin, lying out in the open, would catch a cold if they stayed there.
Xiao Hei quickly led the group to a relatively clean house, where they could settle Wen Xin and the unconscious little fox.
The canary rummaged through the place.
Finally, after some effort, it found half a bottle of alcohol and a roll of bandages, which could be used to treat Wen Xin’s chest wounds.
The abrasions weren’t just small cuts.
After cleaning away the dried blood, they saw that Wen Xin’s entire abdomen was severely bruised. The sight made the group wince in sympathy.
The canary carefully applied the medicine, moving with extreme caution, afraid of hurting Wen Xin.
However, Wen Xin was always stronger than they expected. When the alcohol touched his raw skin, he barely flinched, not making a sound.
Once the treatment was done, the canary finally let out a sigh of relief.
But it felt like it had forgotten something.
The blue-scaled one slowly crawled to Wen Xin’s pillow, tilting its head as it listened to the canary’s muttering.
“Humans… in the car.”
The canary slapped its forehead.
Oh, right—those people were still lying in the car.
And so, the canary made several trips back, prying open the damaged vehicle to drag Crew Cut and the others back to the house.
The canary didn’t particularly care about whether they lived or died, given the hostility they had shown toward the mutants earlier.
But considering they had fought so hard to protect Wen Xin, it was willing to save them for now.
Luckily, they had stayed close to the off-road vehicle, where Xiao Hei’s pressure still lingered, so no zombies dared to approach Crew Cut and the others while they were unconscious.
.
By the time the green-scaled viper and the purple squirrel had cleared out the surrounding zombies, about half an hour had passed.
They followed the scent back to the house.
The canary was staring absentmindedly at the unconscious little fox, but upon hearing the movement, it turned its head.
It was about to ask about the situation outside when the green-scaled viper shook its tail and flung Xu Qiang harshly to the ground.
Thud!
The canary winced, a twinge of pain in its mouth. That fall had probably given Xu Qiang a concussion.
Number Seven (the green-scaled viper) really wasn’t fond of humans.
Just as the canary was thinking this, the green-scaled viper darted to the bedside.
“How’s Wen Xin? Is he okay?”
“I’ve checked thoroughly. No other injuries. He should wake up in about two hours.”
After the canary finished speaking, it was about to ask about the situation outside, but it noticed several round pits on the viper’s scales.
Some of the pits were even bleeding.
The canary’s expression changed immediately, its gaze sharp as it turned to look at the unconscious Xu Qiang on the ground.
It wasn’t the only one to notice the bullet wounds on the viper’s body—Xiao Hei’s expression turned icy cold.
Zombies couldn’t pull a trigger with their hardened fingers, so it was obvious who had caused these injuries.
The dozen or so gunshots they had heard earlier had all hit the viper.
“These humans really are…”
The canary swallowed its curses, standing up from the bed.
Perhaps it was because Wen Xin had always preached about being a family, or maybe it was because the viper had occasionally guided it on using its power. Either way, anger surged within the canary.
But before it could make a move on Xu Qiang, the purple squirrel stopped it.
“If you kill him, Wen Xin will be upset.”
“Do you really think Wen Xin would care about someone who repays kindness with malice?”
The canary’s face was cold. “Number Seven saved him, and yet he shot at Number Seven. Just for that, Wen Xin wouldn’t stop us from seeking revenge.”
The purple squirrel’s expression was complicated. “It’s not that simple… He didn’t know we were there to save him.”
“Or rather, we didn’t have time to explain before he started shooting.”
The purple squirrel’s voice was gentle. “He didn’t even aim at the zombie in front of him—he shot only at Number Seven, screaming the whole time… I think he was just scared by Number Seven’s appearance.”
The canary fell silent.
The green-scaled viper was already feeling down.
Hearing their conversation only deepened its frustration, and it slapped its tail against the ground in irritation.
Even though Xu Qiang had acted out of fear, it was still angry.
After all, Xu Qiang had shot to kill, and that had struck a nerve.
If it weren’t worried that killing Xu Qiang would upset Wen Xin, it would have crushed him already.
Xiao Hei, sensing the viper’s frustration, cast a cold glance at the human lying on the ground.
“Why hold back? It was a dangerous situation, so a few extra falls resulting in some injuries would be completely normal.”
The green-scaled viper froze for a moment.
When it understood, its eyes lit up, and a grin spread across its face.
In the blink of an eye, the massive snake tail wrapped around Xu Qiang again, and with another quick flick, it slammed him to the ground once more.
Thud!
Xu Qiang groaned weakly, knocked even deeper into unconsciousness.
But the viper still didn’t feel satisfied. It dragged Xu Qiang outside, where there was more space, and continued its “punishment.”
The canary hesitated, glancing at Xiao Hei. “Are you sure he won’t die?”
Xiao Hei nonchalantly looked away. “Number Seven knows what it’s doing.”
Compared to the danger they had just escaped, a few hard falls were hardly significant.
A short while later, the green-scaled viper slithered back inside, its mood slightly improved.
Though tossing Xu Qiang around hadn’t been as satisfying as sinking its fangs into him, it didn’t want to cripple the human entirely.
After all, Wen Xin would still need a functional team, and Xu Qiang being bedridden would just be a burden.
The purple squirrel checked Xu Qiang briefly.
No broken arms, no broken legs, no internal injuries.
Given the viper’s tendency to hold grudges, its response had been surprisingly restrained.
One might even call it merciful.
The squirrel was a bit surprised. Turning its head, it saw the viper standing, lost in thought, beside Wen Xin’s bed.
Thinking back to how Xu Qiang had immediately panicked and fired at the viper, the creature seemed to have lost some confidence in its appearance.
It had always thought its gleaming scales were dazzling, far more beautiful than any gem. Why, then, did humans find it so frightening?
The green-scaled viper felt deeply troubled, a strange mix of dissatisfaction and disappointment welling up inside. It even felt an odd impulse.
—It wanted to remain in its serpent form and wake Wen Xin up.
Wen Xin was so brave; maybe he wouldn’t scream in terror like the others. Maybe he wouldn’t attack it.
Wen Xin was so gentle; maybe he would stroke its scales and smile, praising it.
When that happened, it would lower its head, pressing it low enough for the small young man to touch its forehead.
Just thinking about it made the green-scaled viper feel better. It lowered its head eagerly, but when it saw the bandages wrapped around Wen Xin’s chest, it froze in mid-motion.
The green-scaled viper sighed.
It gently touched the edge of Wen Xin’s bandages with the tip of its tail.
…What was it even thinking?
During that crucial moment, it hesitated to reveal its true form, afraid that Wen Xin wouldn’t accept it. And that hesitation had almost cost Wen Xin his life.
So what right did it have now to expect Wen Xin to accept it?
As this thought took root, a complex emotion filled the viper’s heart, growing more bitter with each passing second.
The viper paused, lowering its gaze.
It was so big, that even the tip of its tail was thicker than Wen Xin’s arm.
No wonder humans were afraid of it.
At that moment, the little fox woke up.
As it regained consciousness, an unusual energy pulse rippled through the air, drawing the attention of all the mutants, their eyes locking onto the little fox’s blood-red gaze.
The little fox hadn’t fully evolved into its complete form yet, its energy still hovering between A-class and S-class.
But everyone knew that it was only a matter of time.
It could happen in this moment, or the next.
The air grew tense as everyone became wary of the now unfamiliar little fox.
Xiao Hei met the fox’s gaze.
For a moment, the little fox held its breath, bracing itself for an attack.
But instead, Xiao Hei spoke coldly.
“Number Twenty-Seven, you need to leave here—immediately.”
OK, so whose the ML? Was it Xiao Hei ?
Thank you for the translation!
Thank you for the translation! Glad to still see the chapters will be updated regularly~