The Max-Level Boss Just Wants to Be a Slacker [Apocalypse] – CH61

Chapter 61: Punishment

“Mo Qi, Cheng Cheng, are you guys alright?!” Xie Wu asked anxiously.

Mo Xiu spoke first when he heard that. “We’re fine, don’t worry. Everything’s alright. It’s just that this building probably isn’t safe anymore. Let’s leave here quickly!”

After saying that, the young man turned to look at Mo Qi with a somewhat ingratiating expression and asked, “Mo Qi, how are you feeling? Is there any—”

“Shut up.” Mo Qi interrupted him, his face unusually cold toward Mo Xiu.

Lu Pingwan was stunned when she saw this. It was the first time she had seen such a guilty expression on Mo Xiu’s face.

However, the situation was indeed urgent, and they had no time to discuss what had happened in detail. They hurriedly left the building and regrouped with the people from the Shanhe Base outside.

According to what Mo Xiu said, the Level-7 zombie had already been dealt with, and the battle on their side was over. Naturally, they needed to go check on Bai Su’s situation. After all, the battle area near the University Town Base was the main place where medical equipment and medicines were stored.

Just as they rushed over, they saw Bai Su and the others coming out of another building. It looked like they had been about to come support them.

“Mo Xiu!” Bai Su called out and ran toward him.

Mo Xiu could sense that Bai Su’s ability had also been almost completely exhausted. He was basically relying on his own fighting skills to keep going. However, judging from the current situation, the zombies on their side had probably all been wiped out as well.

Bu Zhengchen, who stood nearby, glanced over Mo Xiu’s ragged, beggar-like appearance, then looked at the man slowly walking behind them—the one called Mo Qi—and frowned slightly.

Although Mo Xiu looked somewhat miserable, it was obvious that the one truly in trouble was Mo Qi. His breathing was heavy, and there was a deep wound on his arm that was still bleeding.

Even so, his expression remained calm, as if it were someone else who had been injured.

Without needing to guess, Bu Zhengchen already knew that Mo Xiu must have been protected by this man.

Seeing that Bai Su and the others were fine, Mo Xiu finally relaxed. After arranging the other injured people, he ran to fetch clean bandages and medicine and carefully began wrapping Mo Qi’s arm.

Looking at the wound—so deep that the bone was almost visible—Mo Xiu felt an intense ache in his heart. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but when Mo Qi shot him a sharp glance, he inexplicably didn’t dare speak.

Earlier, the man had also blocked an attack for him and ended up with such a horrifying wound. Yet when the explosion happened and Mo Xiu instinctively tried to shield him, Mo Qi became so angry.

Although during the explosion, Mo Xiu had sensed something unusual appear for a moment. Mo Qi seemed to have done something that ensured he only looked battered on the outside while actually remaining completely unharmed.

Halfway through the bandaging, Mo Xiu suddenly remembered Feng Wenkang, a healer-type ability user at the Shanhe Base.

A wound this serious would take a long time to heal naturally and would cause a lot of suffering. But with the help of a healing ability, Mo Qi should recover quickly.

Thinking of this, he sped up the bandaging. Although his body was still tired, he had no intention of stopping to rest.

Earlier, members of the team had already checked inside and confirmed that the instruments they needed were indeed there. Since that was the case, their mission was complete.

All Mo Xiu wanted now was to return to the base as quickly as possible and bring Mo Qi to Feng Wenkang for treatment.

From their earlier conversations, he already had a good understanding of Bai Su’s base. So when it came time to divide the spoils, Mo Xiu’s group only took the equipment, leaving all the medicines to the University Town Base.

“You’re really not taking any of the medicines back?” Bai Su asked Mo Xiu. “Your team contributed a lot this time too. Some of these medicines are great for treating wounds—you might need them.”

After speaking, he glanced toward the man who had already gotten into the car and seemed to have fallen asleep.

His injuries were severe. When Mo Xiu had been bandaging him earlier, Bai Su had casually looked over and realized just how serious the wounds were.

He couldn’t understand how the man endured it without even frowning or saying a word about the pain. When people underwent the ancient practice of scraping poison from bone, they still drank alcohol first. But this man—who knew how he had cultivated such endurance.

Mo Xiu shook his head. “Don’t worry, I won’t be polite if we really need it. Our base still has plenty of medicine reserves, and we all carry wound medicine with us. We’ll just take the equipment we need.

There’s a healer at the Shanhe Base. I’m in a hurry to get back because I want to take Mo Qi to that ability user for treatment.

Once we bring the equipment back, our base’s research institute will finally have everything it needs. If they manage to develop a drug that can defeat the zombie virus, I’ll find a way to inform you immediately!”

Bai Su nodded vigorously at this. After both sides finished checking the supplies, they prepared to part ways.

Before leaving, Mo Xiu approached Bai Su again and said firmly, “Bai Su, the apocalypse will definitely end!”

After saying that, even Mo Xiu himself was momentarily stunned.

He had thought that after living through a second life, aside from trying to live as comfortably as possible and ensuring his and Mo Qi’s safety, he would never again feel the kind of passion and hope he had once had in his previous life.

But somehow… perhaps it was because the path of this life had diverged so greatly from the previous one.

Or perhaps it was because he had once again met the person who used to be his best friend.

Or perhaps it was because Mo Qi kept surprising him, giving him hope again and again, making him increasingly unwilling to simply struggle to survive in this apocalyptic world.

Especially Mo Qi’s ability—the one that could turn the already zombified Xiong Gangyong back into a human. It always made Mo Xiu feel that Mo Qi was hiding something from him.

When he mentioned the research doctor developing a cure to Bai Su earlier, it was really just to give him some hope. In truth, Mo Xiu felt it was more like a cover story.

If he had to rely on that doctor to develop a cure for the zombie virus, he would rather believe in Mo Qi’s mysterious mystical techniques.

Bai Su nodded, patted his friend on the shoulder, and the two exchanged smiles. Mo Xiu had a feeling they would meet again in the near future.

Back in the car, Mo Xiu sat beside Mo Qi and saw that the man still had his eyes closed, pretending to sleep.

But Mo Xiu knew very well that the person he loved wasn’t asleep at all. He was just in a bad mood and deliberately ignoring him.

This was the first time Mo Xiu had received such a cold reception from Mo Qi, and it made him feel very uncomfortable.

Normally, although Mo Qi appeared lazy, he was always gentle and slightly warm toward him.

Even if he lounged around lazily or lay down somewhere, whenever he saw Mo Xiu, his eyes would always follow him, making Mo Xiu feel sweet and reassured.

But now…

Mo Xiu felt unwilling and aggrieved. He had done it for Mo Qi’s sake. He hadn’t even exploded in anger over the wound on Mo Qi’s arm—so why was Mo Qi the one giving him the cold shoulder?

However, with other people in the car, Mo Xiu couldn’t say much.

Xie Wu quietly drove in front. Cheng Cheng sat in the passenger seat. Lu Pingwan and the still-unconscious Xiong Gangyong sat in the back.

Although there were quite a few people in the car, the atmosphere was strangely silent. The entire vehicle felt heavy and stagnant.

Cheng Cheng couldn’t help glancing back through the rearview mirror. In truth, he had a stomach full of questions—especially for Mo Qi.

He desperately wanted to know what method his boss had used to turn Da Yong, who had clearly become a zombie, back into a human again. This was an extremely important matter.

And after learning such a huge secret, he really wanted to tell Xie Wu and Xiao Wan. But the atmosphere inside the car was simply too oppressive.

He might be a bit reckless, but he wasn’t completely stupid. He knew that at a moment like this, he should keep his mouth shut.

He had a strong feeling that saying the wrong thing now would definitely lead to trouble.

This strange atmosphere continued until evening.

Although Mo Xiu was anxious to return to the base and find someone to treat Mo Qi’s wound, he knew that driving at night was far more dangerous than during the day.

Fortunately, they had driven very quickly on the way back. If they maintained the same speed tomorrow, they would likely reach Shanhe Base by evening.

Just before dark, they arrived at a rural house where they had stopped to rest on the way here. Since they had already cleared it earlier, staying there again was much more convenient than finding a new place.

Mo Xiu brought Mo Qi to the best room they had used before. Wanting to cheer him up a little, Mo Xiu even personally cooked dinner that night.

Regardless of his cooking skills, attitude was what mattered!

While cooking noodles outside over a makeshift stove and pot, Mo Xiu deliberately picked a large bowl. For Mo Qi’s portion, he piled in plenty of luncheon meat and even added two braised eggs.

With the vegetables that Cheng Cheng had grown using his ability, the dish actually looked quite good.

When Mo Xiu carried the bowl back into the room, Mo Qi happened to sit up.

Seeing that he had finally stopped pretending to sleep, Mo Xiu walked over smiling—only for the man to turn his head away again and refuse to look at him.

Now Mo Xiu truly began to panic.

He quickly set the bowl on the small table nearby and walked over to Mo Qi, whispering, “Mo Qi, I know I was wrong. Don’t be angry with me, okay?”

There was a hint of pleading in Mo Xiu’s voice, and he looked at the man with unusually pitiful eyes.

Hearing this, Mo Qi couldn’t help softening slightly, but he was genuinely angry.

He had already prepared himself. The reason he came with Mo Xiu was to ensure his safety.

And yet? This person insisted on throwing himself into danger!

Even though the final outcome turned out alright—thanks to Mo Qi reacting quickly enough and preventing anything truly bad from happening—so what?

What angered Mo Qi was that Mo Xiu didn’t take his own safety seriously.

This instinctive willingness to risk his life, even to the point of using his own life to ensure Mo Qi’s safety, was something Mo Qi absolutely hated.

Since he had already chosen Mo Xiu as his cultivation partner, it meant a lifetime commitment.

In his view, there was no such thing as one living while the other died—only living and dying together.

Watching Mo Xiu keep leaning closer to him with that slightly ingratiating smile, Mo Qi suddenly found him incredibly adorable.

His heart softened.

But then he immediately felt that this absolutely wouldn’t do. This matter couldn’t just be brushed aside. He had to properly punish him so that Mo Xiu would know how formidable he was.

Thinking this, the man clenched his teeth.

Suddenly, he grabbed the back of Mo Xiu’s head and fiercely kissed him.

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