Chapter 42#

After finishing the porridge, Luo Mingshan went to fetch the medical kit kept inside the white pagoda and took out a medical spray from it.

Zhao Xing had punched the wall in the bathroom earlier, and the joints on the back of his entire right hand were flushed red.

The injury wasn’t severe; if Luo Mingshan hadn’t brought it up, Zhao Xing probably wouldn’t have bothered with it at all.

But Luo Mingshan seemed genuinely concerned. He carefully held Zhao Xing’s hand, gently blew on it, and then evenly sprayed the medicine over the injured area.

“Brother Zhao, does it still hurt?” Luo Mingshan asked softly.

Zhao Xing shook his head.

The items from the surface really were extraordinary. This little spray, applied to the wound, made the pain vanish entirely, leaving only a soothing coolness.

“That’s good.” Luo Mingshan smiled and put the spray away.

“Don’t you need any?” Zhao Xing suddenly spoke, his gaze sweeping over the bruises on Luo Mingshan’s body.

Luo Mingshan looked up at him, his expression obedient and matter-of-fact: “I did something wrong, so my wounds need to hurt a little longer so I’ll remember the lesson.”

Zhao Xing was taken aback.

—That was something he himself had once said to Luo Mingshan, word for word.

Zhao Xing lowered his eyes, reached out, and took the spray from Luo Mingshan’s hand.

Luo Mingshan: “Brother Zhao?”

Zhao Xing pulled Luo Mingshan to sit opposite him, grasped his ankle, lifted his leg, and placed it on his own knee.

Then he picked up the spray and began treating Luo Mingshan’s injuries.

His expression was serious, his movements focused, like a child repairing a beloved but battered doll.

Zhao Xing’s hand swept over bruise after bruise on Luo Mingshan’s leg. He gently pressed on the largest one, a blue-purple mark, and a feeling he’d never experienced before—regret and pity—welled up in his heart. He had been too harsh.

Realizing his own thoughts, Zhao Xing paused in his movements and let out a self-mocking laugh.

Was he really that easily swayed by beauty?

Zhao Xing had trained in martial arts. When he really lashed out, a single punch could break two of an opponent’s ribs. But whether because Luo Mingshan could take a beating or because Zhao Xing hadn’t gone all out, after beating him for so long, Luo Mingshan only had superficial injuries.

Even so, he had just felt a pang of pity.

Though, it was understandable.

Zhao Xing’s fingertips brushed, almost imperceptibly, over Luo Mingshan’s smooth, creamy skin.

After all, wasn’t he now also coveting the beauty’s body?

It was only natural to feel sorry for damaging such a beautiful exterior.

Zhao Xing accepted this shift in his mentality without resistance.

—Just as he had accepted, back in the prison, that he was a pervert who took pleasure in seeing Luo Mingshan cry and even wanted to make him cry himself, he now accepted his desire to completely possess Luo Mingshan.

Hmm… Luo Luo would probably look even more beautiful crying in bed.

“Bro-Zhao, Brother Zhao…” Luo Mingshan suddenly called out timidly, interrupting Zhao Xing’s train of thought.

His voice was hesitant, and he shrank back slightly, trying to evade Zhao Xing’s touch.

Zhao Xing looked down and realized that without noticing, he had already reached Luo Mingshan’s thigh, his hand nearly slipping into his shorts.

Luo Mingshan gripped the sides of his shorts tightly with both hands, his head lowered so his expression was unclear, but his ears and neck were bright red, as if he was frightened.

Zhao Xing calmly withdrew his hand, set Luo Mingshan’s leg down, and continued sanctimoniously treating the wounds on his upper body with the medical spray.

Though he had solidified his intentions, Zhao Xing still didn’t plan to make a move on Luo Mingshan too quickly.

After all, Luo Mingshan was too young, too naive. Zhao Xing didn’t want to scare him, nor force him. So he planned to take it slow.

The spray quickly moved from his neck to his face. Luo Mingshan obediently closed his eyes.

The medicinal spray landed in sequence on Luo Mingshan’s forehead, cheeks, and the corners of his eyes, finally stopping at his lips.

Luo Mingshan’s lips were usually a light pink, but now they showed an abnormal, vivid red, with a clear bite mark on the lower lip—an obvious testament to Zhao Xing’s impulsive act not long ago.

Zhao Xing paused.

He raised an eyebrow and put the spray away.

His thumb brushed carelessly over the bite mark, and he said in a malicious tone: “I’ve thought it over—I’ll leave you with a few wounds after all. Otherwise, you’ll forget too fast.”

Luo Mingshan’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, and he whispered, “…Understood.”

Late at night.

Zhao Xing, having suddenly discovered he was no longer straight and quickly embraced this new preference in life, spent half the night having erotic dreams.

Perhaps due to a lack of experience and limited knowledge of homosexuality, Zhao Xing’s dreams, while suggestive, lacked explicit content—hazy and indistinct.

Zhao Xing frowned in his deep sleep, dissatisfied.

A slender finger, cold and white as jade, gently touched his brow.

After smoothing out the crease between his brows, that finger slid down his straight nose bridge and finally, hesitantly, landed gently on his lips.

So soft.

So hot.

Luo Mingshan withdrew his hand as if burned.

After a moment, he couldn’t resist any longer. He leaned down and pressed his lips to Zhao Xing’s.

…So nice.

Why was this so comfortable? Even more comfortable than rubbing cheeks.

Luo Mingshan was almost addicted.

He couldn’t suppress the desire to get closer to Zhao Xing. What started as simple lip contact gradually turned into licking and gentle biting. His tongue pried open the other’s teeth, and his movements uncontrollably shifted into plundering and possessiveness.

“Mm…”

Zhao Xing frowned, seeming on the verge of waking from the intense actions.

Luo Mingshan froze immediately, stopping all movement as if a pause button had been pressed.

Only when Zhao Xing’s brow relaxed and he sank back into dreams did Luo Mingshan reluctantly pull away. But before parting, he didn’t forget to lick away the glistening moisture on Zhao Xing’s lips.

He really, really liked it.

If Zhao Xing hadn’t kissed him today, he’d never have known that kissing Brother A-Xing could be such a joyful thing.

At six in the morning, Zhao Xing woke up on time.

When Zhao Xing changed into his protective suit and came out of the room, Luo Mingshan was preparing breakfast for him.

Luo Mingshan was still wearing that simple home outfit, the bruises on his body having faded considerably, revealing his porcelain-white skin again.

He had on a milk-white apron, focused on arranging the breakfast on the table.

The early morning sunlight gently bathed him, wrapping him in a soft, serene aura, like a virtuous, beautiful little wife Zhao Xing had just married.

Zhao Xing’s voice was a little hoarse: “Luo Luo, come here.”

Luo Mingshan immediately came over obediently, his eyes filled with warmth: “Brother Zhao, you’re awake?”

Zhao Xing felt an itch in his heart. He wanted to pull the person into his arms and give him a kiss, but feared scaring him. So he simply hugged him, absentmindedly pressing on Luo Mingshan’s lips and asking casually: “Been sneaking a snack? Why are your lips so red?”

Luo Mingshan’s body stiffened.

Although the words were said offhand, when Zhao Xing actually looked, he did find Luo Mingshan’s lips alarmingly red.

…He must have bitten too hard yesterday. The swelling hadn’t gone down overnight; instead, it looked worse.

But this vivid, slightly swollen color only stirred his desires.

Zhao Xing couldn’t help remembering his dream from the night before.

He had been dreaming the whole night. At first, it was a bit fuzzy, only slightly suggestive, but midway through, he dreamed of passionately kissing Luo Mingshan. He was skilled and fierce in his attack, kissing the other breathless, tears streaming down his face, looking utterly pitiful…

Zhao Xing coughed lightly and released Luo Mingshan: “I’m going to the restroom.”

Because a new mission had been issued, the other contestants had left the white pagoda at four in the morning. Zhao Xing and Luo Mingshan dawdled and didn’t leave until seven.

Before leaving, Zhao Xing even spent 10 points to buy a pure white protective suit for Luo Mingshan.

Every room in the white pagoda was equipped with an e-shopping catalog. As long as you spent points, even contraceptives could be delivered by robots, let alone protective suits.

Every protective suit purchased on the island was forcibly printed with a personal ID number. For example, the suit L had bought for Zhao Xing had F101 printed on it directly. But since Luo Mingshan wasn’t a contestant on the island but a prize, his suit was clean, without any number.

Zhao Xing helped him put it on, but when it came to the hood, they ran into a problem.

Luo Mingshan’s suit was one-piece. If he fully pulled on the hood, his hair would be trapped inside, making the back bulge uncomfortably. But if he didn’t wear the hood, the poison gas outside…

Wait!

Zhao Xing suddenly realized that Luo Mingshan hadn’t worn a face mask yesterday.

At first, Zhao Xing thought the production team had given Luo Mingshan a temporary blessing for the sake of the show. But after asking, he found out that after coming up from underground, Luo Mingshan had discovered he was immune to the poison fog.

But when he asked when he had received the blessing, Luo Mingshan couldn’t answer.

Thinking back, when the anti-riot mechanism was triggered underground, Luo Mingshan had only felt dizzy and hadn’t been knocked out by the fog. It was unclear if that was due to the “blessing.”

Could it be that in Sector K13, there was some big shot from Blue Star charitably distributing blessings to the children inside?

Zhao Xing found it baffling.

After thinking for a while with no answer, he decided to stop worrying about it and gave up on putting the hood on Luo Mingshan.

After all, wearing the hood wasn’t very comfortable, and Zhao Xing didn’t like wearing his outside either.

After finishing dressing, Zhao Xing handed the Z35 laser gun to Luo Mingshan, but Luo Mingshan refused: “Better let big brother keep the powerful weapons. I’d just waste them.”

Zhao Xing thought about it and figured he was right, so he took out the other weapons and let Luo Mingshan pick whatever he wanted.

Luo Mingshan chose a very ordinary pistol, its only special feature being complete silence.

Leaving the white pagoda, Zhao Xing headed straight for the nearest electronic board to check the next mission.

Although he had earned 100 points yesterday, he had also killed someone and bought the room card and protective suit, so combined with his previous savings, he only had 81.4 left.

If he was going to share a double room with Luo Mingshan every day, that wouldn’t even last him four days.

Just thinking about it made Zhao Xing feel the pressure.

At the electronic board, the screen was once again covered in bullet comments.

“Oho, leaving at 7 am? How impressive!”

“How did Luo Luo’s lips get broken?”

“Wuwuwu, the beauty’s been ruined by the abusive husband…”

Top

“No way, no way—after beating him so badly yesterday, he still slept with him?!”

“Hmph, men!”

“…”

“God, how intense were those two last night that the lips are chewed up like that…”

“Both of their lips are pretty red.”

Luo Mingshan stared at one of the comments, the tips of his ears turning red.

Seeing Luo Mingshan slowly starting to catch on, Zhao Xing felt a quiet satisfaction, but he pretended to be serious, covering his eyes with a hand: “Be good, don’t listen to their nonsense.”

Luo Mingshan’s cheeks burned even hotter, and he obediently hummed in acknowledgment.

Zhao Xing turned his head, and the barrage of comments filled his view.

“Ahhh, help, I actually find this sweet.”

“Not gonna happen, not gonna happen—who actually ships an abusive husband?”

“He said ‘be good,’ I’m dead.”

“Luo Luo, beauty, learn your lesson—a man being gentle the morning after doesn’t mean he’s not a jerk!”

“Am I the only one who thinks this is love?”

“Same here. Even if it’s trashy, you can clearly see the love.”

…………

Love?

Zhao Xing suddenly recalled the discussion he’d had not long ago with Hua Ling about flower seas, butterflies, and lovers.

Zhao Xing snorted.

What love or not love… How cliché?

He wasn’t interested in that.

Right now, he was only interested in getting on top of Luo Mingshan.

Ignoring the screen full of comments, Zhao Xing opened the mission notification at the bottom right.

The content of the second main storyline mission appeared before him—

【Please find the reason why the android is harming people, or kill it.】

Mission reward: 300 points.