Daily Life of Being Turned Gay by the Male Lead After Transmigrating into an Apocalypse – CH38

Chapter 38: You Like It

“…Ugh… hurts, hurts, hurts…” Chu Yang woke up to a throbbing ache in his waist, compounded by the heavy, uncomfortable pressure in his lower abdomen.

Still groggy, he instinctively tried to roll over. The second he shifted, a sharp, tearing pain flared across his side, making him gasp and snapping him wide awake.

“Hiss—!” He froze, waiting several seconds for the burning ache to subside.

The urge to relieve himself was growing urgent, making his stomach cramp.

Squeezing his eyes shut against the discomfort, he slowly propped himself up on his elbows, shifted his weight inch by inch, and swung his legs over the edge of the mattress.

When his bare feet met the icy concrete floor, the chill sent an immediate shiver racing up his spine.

“Brother Jiang?” he whispered into the dim room, the quiet murmur sounding strangely loud in the silence.

He turned his head to look beside him. The other side of the mattress was completely bare, showing only the rumpled imprint of where Jiang Jue had been. The empty half of the down comforter lay flat and cold, devoid of any leftover warmth.

Jiang Jue wasn’t there.

Chu Yang frowned, a flicker of confusion and faint unease stirring in his chest. For the moment, however, his bursting bladder demanded immediate attention.

Clutching his sore flank, he shuffled toward the door like an old man, gingerly easing it open before slipping into the hallway.

The second-floor corridor of the workshop was completely dark, save for the pale moonlight streaming through broken windowpanes. A freezing draft whistled through the cracks in the masonry, far colder than the air inside the room. Dressed only in thin pajamas, Chu Yang broke out in goosebumps from head to toe.

He glanced out toward the open courtyard; the thick blanket of snow reflected the moonlight into a vast, shimmering sheet of white.

Making the trek down those pitch-black, freezing stairs all the way to the ground-floor bathroom… just the thought made him shudder.

“Forget it. It’s freezing out here, and if I climb up and down those stairs, I’ll definitely split the wound wide open,” he muttered under his breath, quickly making up his mind.

Besides, there wasn’t a living soul around in this desolate place anyway. Leaning against the wall for support, he edged toward a sheltered nook at the end of the hallway where broken tiles and rusted scrap were piled high, offering decent cover.

Unbuttoning his pants, Chu Yang couldn’t help grumbling under his breath, “Man, I’m sorry to put you through this. In this hellish weather, taking a leak feels like going into battle… Hurry it up, don’t go freezing on me—I’m still counting on you for the rest of my life.”

A hot stream hit the frozen corner, sending up a tiny wisp of white steam.

Relieved, Chu Yang let out a satisfied breath. Just as he reached to pull up his pants, his ears caught a faint sound drifting up from downstairs—the distinct crunch of boots stepping on packed snow.

Chu Yang’s senses flared awake, banishing all lingering grogginess and pain. He yanked up his waistband, his fingers twitching instinctively as an invisible Spatial Blade condensed at his fingertips, humming with lethal readiness.

Holding his breath, he flattened his back against the cold brick wall, his eyes fixed on the dark mouth of the stairwell.

The footsteps were light and steady, ascending the concrete steps one by one.

Chu Yang’s throat went dry. He was just about to shout a challenge or strike preemptively when the figure reached the landing. An undeniable sense of familiarity washed over him—the distinct, measured rhythm of those footsteps…

“B-Brother Jiang?” he called out tentatively in a hushed whisper, the spatial edge at his fingertips wavering slightly, though not fully dispersed.

Moonlight illuminated the top of the stairs.

Jiang Jue stepped onto the landing, his dark clothing blending almost seamlessly into the shadows. He brought with him a rush of freezing air, along with something faint that Chu Yang’s sharp nose caught instantly—the coppery scent of fresh blood.

The man’s face looked paler than usual in the pale light, his deep eyes shadowed with subtle fatigue. When he noticed Chu Yang standing tensely against the wall, a flash of surprise crossed his features, immediately giving way to concern.

“It’s freezing. Why are you out of bed?” Jiang Jue’s voice was laced with a faint rasp. Striding forward with a slight frown, his eyes first checked the white bandages at Chu Yang’s waist to ensure no blood had seeped through, before settling on the boy’s chilled, pale face.

“I… came out to pee,” Chu Yang admitted sheepishly, letting his spatial power dissolve as he rubbed his cold nose in embarrassment. He looked at Jiang Jue with curiosity. “Brother Jiang, where did you go in the middle of the night? Why is there… a smell on you?” He leaned closer, taking a cautious sniff, his brow furrowing.

Jiang Jue didn’t answer right away. Instead, he reached out and took hold of Chu Yang’s icy arm.

“Get inside first. It’s too cold out here.” His tone was gentle yet firm. Half-supporting and half-guiding him, he led Chu Yang back into the warm office.

Closing the door behind them, the biting draft was shut out.

The room still carried the faint, savory aroma of their hot pot dinner, mingling with the clean scent of the bedding and the sharp, herbal tang of antiseptic ointment.

Jiang Jue guided Chu Yang to sit on the edge of the mattress, while Chu Yang watched his every move with wide, curious eyes.

He watched as Jiang Jue untied a bulging leather pouch from his hip and held it out.

“Here,” Jiang Jue said simply.

“What’s this?” Chu Yang took the pouch in confusion. It felt surprisingly heavy in his hand, radiating a lingering, icy chill.

He loosened the drawstring and peered inside under the moonlight. In an instant, his entire body froze.

The bag was packed to the brim with crystal cores of every size!

Most were the cloudy white or pale gray stones from common zombies. But among them, several larger, distinctly vibrant cores gleamed with a deep, mesmerizing luster!

A quick glance told him there were at least thirty or forty stones in total!

“Crystal cores?! So many of them?!” Chu Yang snapped his head up, his eyes round with sheer disbelief as he stared at Jiang Jue. “Brother Jiang! You… you went out into the city to hunt zombies alone in the dead of night?! Just to get these?!”

His voice cracked in shock, filled with raw panic and lingering dread. “Are you crazy?! Do you know how dangerous it is out there in the dark?! What if you ran into a high-tier mutant or got trapped by a horde? How could you—”

His frantic scolding cut off abruptly.

Jiang Jue was looking down at him quietly. There were no ripples in those dark, fathomless eyes, yet they clearly reflected Chu Yang’s panicked, frantic expression.

Jiang Jue raised a hand and rested his palm gently on Chu Yang’s shoulder, a silent gesture to calm him down.

“You like them,” he murmured softly. He paused for a heartbeat before adding, “Didn’t you want to upgrade your storage? Once it expands, you can carry more supplies—and your body will heal faster.”

The simple words left Chu Yang completely speechless.

He remembered how excitedly he had talked about farming zombies for upgrades, and how crushed and frustrated he had been when he couldn’t pack away the mountain of food in the cold storage… Was it really for that reason alone that Brother Jiang had ignored the danger and ventured out into the pitch-black night to hunt?

An overwhelming, suffocating warmth surged straight into Chu Yang’s chest, tightening his throat until he could barely breathe.

Lowering his head, he looked down at the heavy pouch in his trembling hands, the stones still damp with night frost and carrying the faint scent of fresh battle.

Not for himself, and not for the squad’s survival reserves, but simply because… Chu Yang wanted to level up, and Chu Yang needed crystal cores.

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