Chapter 5#
Onset#
What the squad members discovered were the corpses of several infected animals.
These were all native species, completely infected by the insect venom. Just like the swift beast from earlier, their bodies were covered in pustules. The difference was that some had grown extra limbs or antennae. Something was writhing beneath the skin, and wisps of smoke rose from the bodies. A few of the relatively intact chunks of flesh were still twitching.
Ning Feng pressed his lips together tightly.
These were infected entities.
Just like him—an infected host of the insect venom.
“Ew, this insect venom is disgusting.” Staring at the viscous pus covering the ground, one of his teammates stepped back in disgust. “If I ever got infected, I’d rather just die.”
“But Captain Feng here is so skilled—he’s never failed a mission. He’s definitely not worried about some insect venom,” another teammate quickly chimed in, currying favor.
Ning Feng paused for a long moment, then let out a slow laugh. “That’s right.”
He felt his facial expression twist for an instant and was grateful he was sitting in his mech, where no one could see his face. Suppressing the churning in his stomach, he was about to make another lighthearted remark when a cold voice cut him off.
“Ning Feng.”
“Present!”
“Since you’re so free, go ahead and collect the samples.”
The black mech stood up. Although it was roughly the same height as the others, it always exuded an overwhelming sense of pressure. The squad members quickly stepped back and fell silent.
Collecting samples was a tough job.
Since mechs couldn’t be used during collection, human contact with infected organisms meant a full decontamination upon returning to base. The smell of disinfectant would linger in their nostrils for days afterward.
As the others breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn’t them, they couldn’t help but wonder—did the commander really hate Ning Feng that much? Why was he always stuck with the dirtiest and hardest tasks?
“…Why me again?”
“That’s an order.”
“…”
Despite his complaints, Ning Feng climbed out of his mech, held his breath, and walked over to the corpses.
Sitting in the cockpit hadn’t felt so bad, but once exposed to the real environment, his senses kicked in fully. The stench of rot mixed with a strange sour odor filled the air, testing his limits.
Staring at the grotesque corpses at his feet, Ning Feng found himself spacing out.
When his own insect venom flared up, would he end up like this?
Would he die this horribly? Would his body be taken for research?
And Beichen… what would he think?
Would he find it disgusting too?
“What’s wrong?” Yin Beichen asked.
“Nothing.” Ning Feng quickly pulled himself together and bent down to collect samples.
The closer he got to the corpses, the itchier his skin became. It felt as if something was stirring restlessly in his bloodstream. Waves of alternating heat and cold surged up from the soles of his feet, and his fingertips trembled so violently he could barely hold the test tube. Ning Feng gritted his teeth.
Damn this wretched insect venom!
Suddenly, a sound came from above. The man looked up.
He saw Yin Beichen climb down from his cockpit and walk straight toward him, crouching down beside him. A long arm reached around his body, firmly gripping his trembling hand, steadying it as he placed the sample inside the container.
Golden hair brushed against Ning Feng’s cheek, carrying a cool, clean scent that seemed to dispel the nauseating smell in the air. The stifling heat enveloped them both, and the roar of the mech engines was deafening, yet it couldn’t drown out the pounding in his chest that threatened to burst through.
Staring at the handsome face, Ning Feng’s mind went blank.
The cool touch on his skin made him lose track of when Yin Beichen had even taken the sample tube.
“What are you spacing out for?” Yin Beichen shot him a glance.
His breath caught, but Ning Feng forced a cheerful smile.
“Oh, I was just startled by my little Chenchen.” He reached out and put a hand on Yin Beichen’s shoulder. “Getting so close—what, you got a crush on me?”
Yin Beichen looked at him, his face expressionless, still carrying that icy aloofness.
Never one to miss a chance to joke, Ning Feng was about to speak again when suddenly, a familiar chill shot up from the back of his neck. Soon, the cold turned to heat, followed by a piercing, tearing pain.
His heart thumped heavily, and Ning Feng’s mind went blank.
The insect venom was flaring up.
Ning Feng immediately stood up, stepped back two paces, and put distance between them.
“What’s wrong?” Yin Beichen paused.
“I suddenly have an urgent matter.” Afraid of being discovered, Ning Feng kept his head low, his hands clenched tightly.
Yin Beichen’s brow furrowed slightly.
The pain in his body grew more intense, and sweat began to bead on Ning Feng’s forehead. He felt his limbs trembling uncontrollably and bit down hard on his lower lip. “No, I’m really urgent. I need to go… relieve myself.”
With that, he dashed back into his mech and sped off into the depths of the dense forest without looking back, shouting as he went, “Don’t follow me! I’ll stink you all out!”
The others exchanged bewildered glances.
“He was fine just a moment ago—why does he suddenly need to find a bathroom?”
“I mean, even if it’s urgent, did he really have to take the mech?”
Watching the hurriedly retreating silver-white figure, Yin Beichen’s eyes darkened.
**
Guiding his Blade mech, Ning Feng weaved swiftly through the dense forest.
The towering trees above formed layer upon layer of canopies, blocking out even a single ray of sunlight. Crisscrossing branches whipped past, leaving scratches on the silver-white hull.
But Ning Feng had no time to care about that now.
He panted heavily, beads of sweat as large as soybeans dripping onto his eyelids, sliding down his face, soaking into his form-fitting combat suit. He felt as if his blood was boiling, burning like fire, while an icy coldness poured down his spine.
He had to inject the antidote as fast as possible.
Every time he administered the drug, there would be varying degrees of reaction. The cockpit had cameras, so he couldn’t do it here—he had to find a secluded spot.
Ning Feng clenched his teeth, his palms slick with sweat, yet his fingers danced over the controls like a pianist playing a concerto.
His teammates’ chatter echoed in the voice channel, but he didn’t catch a single word. He plunged deeper into the woods until he finally ducked under a thicket of bushes. He stopped, jumped out of the cockpit, and stumbled into the shadows.
“Ugh!”
His foot caught on something, and Ning Feng crashed face-first onto the ground. A silver fruit rolled out of his pocket. He struggled for a moment, then fumbled for a needle-sized injector on his person.
Quick, gotta be quick…
His fingers trembled, slick with sweat. He punctured his skin a few times, drawing blood, before the injector finally found a vein.
The moment the cold liquid entered his bloodstream, a sharp pain stabbed through his chest. A sour-sweet taste filled his mouth, and his throat tickled—he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Ning Feng leaned back against a tree and closed his eyes.
The treetops blocked the radiation from the stars, and a cool breeze brushed his face, dispersing the almost explosive heat. Gradually, the agonizing pain wrapping around his body faded. His tightly knitted brows relaxed, and he gave a lazy, bitter smirk.
“Ah, bought myself some more time.”
The man looked around. He’d been so focused on escaping that he hadn’t paid attention to his surroundings. Now he realized he’d strayed quite far from the assembly point.
He needed to hurry back, or else someone would start nagging again.
With that thought, Ning Feng struggled to his feet and bent down to pick up the fallen silver fruit. He was shocked to find it covered in bloodstains.
Staring at the dark red mixed with blue-purple blotches on the fruit, he pressed his lips together, wiped it off casually, and tucked it into his pocket.
Qu Yanxin’s newly developed antidote worked fast, but the side effects were also severe. Compared to the previous version, this one had a stronger dependency. At this rate, his flare-ups would become more and more frequent.
He heard that the neighboring federation had developed a new antidote capable of suppressing high-level insect venom. Maybe the black market had some for sale?
As for its effectiveness…
“Nothing to lose by trying—worst case, I die.”
“Try what?”
Suddenly, a cold male voice came from behind him. A massive dark shadow fell over him, enveloping his entire body.
Ning Feng’s shoulders twitched. He quickly wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and turned around.
A huge gray-black mech stood behind him, holding a magnetic rifle. Its cold, hard armor glowed with a faint halo under the sunlight. Although it was a hunter-class mech, the fact that such a behemoth could appear silently behind him spoke volumes about the pilot’s skill.
Dawn—Yin Beichen’s personal mech.
“Little Chenchen, what are you doing here?” Ning Feng chuckled. “Don’t tell me you’ve got some strange fetish?”
The black mech was silent for a moment. When it spoke again, its tone was almost icy.
“What are you doing?”
“Peeing.”
“You’ve been away from the team too long.”
“Are you worried about me, Little Chenchen?”
“…”
“I knew it—you must have fallen for my charm and are deeply in love with me.” Ning Feng clutched his chest, a soft glint in his eyes. “So when are you going to confess to me?”
Yin Beichen didn’t move, still holding his rifle at the ready, but his fingers tightened slightly on the grip.
“Ning Feng.”
“Here.”
“If you don’t fall in within thirty seconds, you’re not coming back.”
The cold tone carried a hint of suppressed anger, making one’s scalp tingle.
“Yes, sir.” Ning Feng pouted.
This godforsaken place had mosquitoes bigger than flies, with nothing but rainforest and wild beasts. Yin Beichen’s temper had been getting worse and worse. He glanced down at the silver fruit in his hand, his brow twitching slightly. He was about to say something when suddenly, a piercing communication alert rang out.
Beep, beep…
The sound came from Yin Beichen’s optical brain. He glanced at it and put it on speaker.
“Commander, are you busy?” A soft, warm voice came through the squad channel.
“Josie, what’s up?” Yin Beichen’s tone was low and gentle, completely different from his earlier coldness.
The smile on Ning Feng’s face froze, the corners of his mouth instantly set like frozen adhesive.
“So it’s Josie?” The other team members immediately started teasing and joking. Yin Beichen didn’t stop them. Josie, however, sounded a bit embarrassed.
“Am I bothering you?”
“What is it?”
“The cocktail party tonight—do you remember?”
Cocktail party?
Yin Beichen glanced at Ning Feng. His silent blue eyes were eerily cold. The latter blinked, then quickly pulled up his schedule. Sure enough, the note “Cocktail Party” was flashing on the screen.
Right. The base held various morale-boosting events from time to time. Tonight was a free cocktail party according to the plan.
These events were voluntary. Yin Beichen rarely bothered to attend, but as his adjutant, Ning Feng was supposed to remind him of the schedule. However, with the recent mission and their cold war, he’d completely forgotten.
“Oh, I forgot.” Ning Feng laughed carelessly, almost cheekily.
Yin Beichen was strict about rules and very particular about details. Over the years, he’d lost his temper over small things many times. Ning Feng knew the commander was displeased, but he had no mood to explain himself now.
Because at this moment, that wasn’t what bothered Ning Feng the most.
Whenever they were on a mission, the team’s external communication channels were closed, accessible only to a select few. Yet here was Josie, calling from the base—which could only mean one thing: Yin Beichen had set up a private channel with Josie.
Were they already that close?
He pressed his lips together, feeling a burning sensation spreading in his chest—even worse than when the insect venom flared.
The other squad members, enjoying the rare gossip about their commander, were buzzing with chatter, but Ning Feng didn’t hear a single word. Finally, Josie told them to come back safely and hung up. Yin Beichen didn’t respond, instead cutting off the communication and turning his gaze to his adjutant.
Ning Feng expected a scolding, so he kept his mouth shut. But instead, Yin Beichen simply turned around and walked away without another look at the man.
“Everyone, assemble,” he ordered.
A faint sense of loss washed over Ning Feng. He only then realized he had been clenching his jaw so hard that the muscles in his chin had gone stiff.
He looked down at the silver fruit, let out a bitter laugh, and put it back in his pocket.
Guess I’ll just eat it myself.
Ning Feng wiped his face hard, then nimbly climbed back into the cockpit.