Chapter 17#
Exposure#
Hearing this, Ning Feng’s heart suddenly leaped.
He was silent for a long moment, his hawk-like eyes sizing up the other person unceremoniously. “If you want to stay in the base, it’s best we end this topic here.”
“I think he’s very good.” But Josie ignored the man’s warning and continued.
“Strong, handsome, conscientious and responsible, and very gentle and considerate to the one he likes. Although there are minor flaws in his personality, they are insignificant compared to his strengths.” He half-closed his eyes and ran a finger under his chin. “Don’t you think he’s a great choice for a partner?”
“What do you mean?” Ning Feng squinted.
“Nothing, just wanted to share with you how it feels to be liked by the Major General.” Josie smiled lightly, as if this were just ordinary small talk.
Looking at that almost provocative smile, Ning Feng felt a surge of nausea, as if bile had risen to his throat. He knew the other was doing it on purpose—if he made a move, he’d be falling into a trap, and such a minor character wasn’t worth his effort.
“Thanks for sharing.” He took a breath to calm himself. Whether it was from lack of sleep or something else, he suddenly felt the air in the room was stifling.
“You don’t look so good,” Josie said slowly, standing up with a concerned expression. “Did something happen? Did I say something wrong?”
Ning Feng’s face gradually darkened.
“Could it be… you also like the Major General?” Josie tilted his head and blinked innocently.
“I thought that was common knowledge throughout the base.” Ning Feng clenched his fingertips and forced a stiff smile.
Hearing this, Josie smiled—a meaningful smile.
“Then do they know you really like him?”
Ning Feng’s pupils contracted, and he pressed his lips together tightly.
For a moment, the room fell silent. The hum of machinery echoed in the space, rhythmically pounding against his eardrums, bringing a needle-like pain.
“Ah, you’re sweating. What’s wrong? Nervous?” Josie stepped closer, his demeanor entirely different from usual. Though he still wore a smile, his aura was eerily sinister. “What are you afraid of?”
Ning Feng trembled, trying to control his rapid breathing.
This person still smiled harmlessly, so why did he feel like he was about to be devoured alive?
Why… was it so frightening?
A faint hissing sound echoed in his ears, and a voice arose deep in his mind. The voice was very low, almost imperceptible. Ning Feng felt a headache coming on, and his body went a little weak.
“Such a nice fragrance.” Suddenly, Josie leaned in. His nose twitched near the man’s neck, his face flushed with an abnormal red and a manic smile. “You have a very familiar scent on you.”
A faint breath brushed against the skin, light and slightly ticklish. Every hair on his body stood on end. Ning Feng was about to push him away with an elbow when he heard the other’s voice slowly echoing in his mind, though the lips didn’t move.
【A very familiar… high-rank insect toxin odor.】
Ning Feng’s mind buzzed, his limbs numb as if he had lost his voice.
Found out!
He was infected with insect toxin—it was discovered!
The other would definitely tell Yin Beichen, and then report to Qu Yan…
He would be expelled from the base!
Ning Feng desperately tried to calm himself, but countless thoughts churned chaotically in his mind. Suddenly, he remembered those infected creatures, those disgusting, stinking infected bodies.
There had been people infected with insect toxin before—some were given money and sent home, others were arranged for antidote testing. But those were only low-rank toxins; almost no one like him, who survived carrying a fifteenth-rank insect toxin, had ever existed.
Yin Beichen had once taken him to watch such reagent tests.
He saw those test subjects trapped in a small room, their bodies connected to various tubes and wires, forced to undergo all kinds of tests, every move scrutinized by everyone under a magnifying glass.
At that moment, they were no longer people, just specimens—living specimens.
No, no!
He couldn’t become like that!
Those blue eyes stared at him coldly, as if looking at a dead thing… Ning Feng couldn’t stop trembling.
The white fluorescent lights shone from all directions, like judging gazes, exposing every secret on his body. He stood upright, breathing heavily and rapidly, alternating between hot and cold, then came a tearing pain in his skin.
“Ugh…”
Suddenly, Ning Feng’s eyes flew wide, and he bent over in pain.
The insect toxin had flared up!
“Deputy Ning?” Suddenly, Josie closed in, his slender figure casting a deep shadow under the strong light. He climbed onto the man’s shoulder, his upper body seemingly boneless, his eyes hazy like water, faintly revealing an excited madness.
“What’s wrong with you?”
The soft words brushed past his ear, like a snake licking his skin. Ning Feng felt his heart contracting violently, a strong rage mixed with uncontrollable fear.
And deeper than fear… despair!
“Get away!”
Ning Feng shoved hard. Josie let out a pained yelp and fell backward. He instinctively tried to grab something, his hands reaching out and pulling—
Crackle! Crash!!—
The fluorescent tubes overhead flickered rapidly. After a fierce burst of electrical noise, the central console let out a sharp screech.
A moment later, the screens went completely dark.
Ning Feng froze.
As the largest base in the border star region, all important facilities here relied on the control console for computation. It was a very critical terminal. Now many devices in the base must have stopped working. The central planet should have detected the anomaly here, and soon someone would come to inquire about the situation.
Sure enough, noises came from outside the door. Not long after, Ning Feng’s optical brain rang loudly. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he glanced at it and saw seven or eight communication requests trying to connect.
One of them was from Yin Beichen.
Meanwhile, Josie slowly sat up and gave a slight smile.
“Ah, that’s bad.”
**
Ning Feng narrowed his dark eyes and took a deep breath, quickly calming down.
The console was already like this; it couldn’t be fixed anytime soon. Now the most important thing was to go back and inject the antidote.
He absolutely couldn’t let anyone know about the insect toxin infection!
When he opened his eyes again, there was no trace of hesitation in them.
He shut down the communications, grabbed Josie, and threw him out the door. Then he cut the power, locked the door, and, dragging the man by the scruff of his neck, strode quickly through the corridor.
“L-Let me go!” Like a chick being carried, Josie was strangled until his face was bright red, stumbling along behind. He tried to struggle, but the man’s grip was too strong; their sizes were too different, and he couldn’t resist at all.
The physical pain had drained Ning Feng’s patience. Whenever he sensed the other trying to break free, he mercilessly tightened his grip until the resistance faded.
Soon, they reached the end of the corridor. Just as they were about to pass through the main door, Yin Beichen arrived.
His gaze flickered between the two. Seeing the man firmly gripping Josie’s collar while the latter’s eyes were red and on the verge of tears, his brows knitted together in grievance.
“What’s going on?”
Ning Feng didn’t want to bother, but behind Yin Beichen were also Qu Jingshan, Qu Yan, and the others, blocking the corner completely. He could only swallow the surging blood in his throat. “I have a stomachache. I’ll explain later.”
“Hey, where are you going?” Qu Jingshan stepped sideways to block the way.
“The restroom.” Throwing Josie into Yin Beichen’s arms, Ning Feng glared at the big man. “Captain Qu, please step aside.”
But Qu Jingshan completely ignored him, instead putting on an air of interrogation. “Then what’s wrong with him?”
“Him?” Ning Feng was irritated. “Ask him.”
Yin Beichen glanced at Josie.
“I’m sorry, it’s all my fault…” Josie grabbed Yin Beichen’s clothes, tears welling in his eyes but never falling. “I saw Deputy Ning looked unwell and wanted to care for him. But I fell…”
“How did you fall for no reason?” Qu Jingshan asked.
Josie’s lips moved but said nothing, only looking down at his feet.
Seeing this, Qu Jingshan immediately understood and glared fiercely at Ning Feng. “Did you hit him?”
For a moment, everyone’s gaze bore down on the man.
But no matter what the other said, Ning Feng kept his head low and didn’t answer.
He didn’t want to explain, nor was he in the mood to. Besides, all his focus was on suppressing the insect toxin. He felt the familiar sweetness rising in his throat and could only swallow hard. Countless words reached his lips but were deeply swallowed again. He could only watch as others openly favored Josie, and watch the latter’s half-smile.
And also the ambiguous glint in Yin Beichen’s cold blue eyes.
Ning Feng lowered his head, the light in his eyes gradually dimming. He wanted to defend himself but felt it was unnecessary.
What was there to explain anyway?
To the clear-eyed observer, it looked like he had used force to intimidate the other. Besides, everyone knew there was bad blood between them; the motive was too obvious. Even if he said more, would anyone believe him?
Just as the atmosphere grew heavier, Josie was suddenly grabbed by the head and pulled away.
“Falling down is nothing. You’re not made of nanoglass. What are you crying for?” Qu Yan pressed a hand on Josie’s head, staring coldly. “The documents I asked you to get—did you pick them up?”
Josie immediately stopped his tears. “Not yet…”
“Then you have time to cry?”
“I’m sorry!”
…
But Ning Feng couldn’t hear a single word clearly now.
His whole body was burning, feeling like every muscle in his back was twitching. His heart contracted violently, as if about to stop. He buried his head low, his vision blurry. In a daze, he thought he heard someone shout his name.
The next moment, the world spun, and Ning Feng toppled over.
But the expected pain didn’t come. Instead, he fell into an embrace. His nose was filled with a cool, clean scent, somewhat familiar, somewhat…
The back of his neck was steadily supported. Cool fingertips covered the scar, brushing against the burning skin in a faint, almost imperceptible caress. Ning Feng immediately felt the pain in the wound ease, and even a strange numbness arose—
“Ning Feng?”
A familiar voice brushed past the top of his head, exploding in his ears like thunder.
When he met those blue eyes, Ning Feng was stunned. He drove his elbow back hard, heard a muffled grunt, and instantly pulled away. He tugged his collar tight, stumbled backward, and hit the wall. Under everyone’s astonished gaze, he forced a faint smile.
“Sorry. Excuse me.”
With that, he rushed out the door without looking back.
“What’s up with him?”
The group exchanged glances, their expressions varied. Qu Yan, standing behind, pursed his lips.
Staring at the sturdy figure disappearing from sight, Yin Beichen lowered his eyes to look at his fingertips, slowly rubbing them together. He frowned slightly, and his gaze gradually darkened.
**
Staggering back to his room, Ning Feng had no time to care about the surprised looks from those around him. Only one thing occupied his mind now—the antidote.
Rummaging through cabinets and drawers, he found the syringe. With trembling hands, he pressed the liquid into his veins. He lay by the bed for a while, then couldn’t bear the dizziness anymore and vomited a mouthful of blood. Though his throat was burning, the pain in his body had lessened.
Looking at the dark red mixed with blue-purple liquid below, Ning Feng smiled weakly.
The color was getting deeper now. Though he wasn’t a researcher, he understood what that meant.
He covered his eyes and let out a long sigh.
But this bedsheet… he’d have to wash it himself again.
Just then—
“How long has it been?”
Ning Feng shuddered violently and turned his head abruptly. There, Qu Yan stood with folded arms, leaning against the doorframe, staring coldly at him. Only then did he realize: in his rush to administer the antidote, he had forgotten to check if the door was closed.