ATIGIBTC Chapter 114.2

After finishing the cleaning, He Fang took some fruit out of the fridge. He mixed up an extra-large fruit salad to serve as dessert. The deliveryman had eaten all the food he had made and still looked like it hadn’t quite been enough. This felt a bit unbelievable to He Fang; he even wondered if the other person was still hungry, so he simply made a bit more.

When he came out, he saw the deliveryman playing with a small toy. He Fang blinked and took a closer look. Why did that toy look… so ugly?

“This is a toy I always like to carry with me,” the deliveryman said, lifting the lion-headed, fish-tailed toy and handing it to He Fang. “I can’t give it to you as a gift, but you can play with it for a bit.”

Honestly, He Fang didn’t really want it.

But since the other person said it like that, it seemed rude not to at least play with it a little.

He Fang reached out with both hands to take it from below.

He watched as the deliveryman’s beautiful, long fingers, white as fine porcelain, placed the toy in his palms. He could vaguely feel a faint coolness coming from the other’s fingertips, a peculiar kind of chill, like the cold touch of a smooth stone.

But the toy itself quickly diluted that hint of chill. He Fang noticed that the little toy was surprisingly heavy, and maybe because the deliveryman had been playing with it, the toy’s temperature was quite high. After it sat in his hands for a while, it felt even warmer. He Fang unconsciously gave it a gentle squeeze.

It wasn’t just his imagination. The warmth was increasing. And the toy didn’t feel like ordinary cloth; it had a strange texture, like some kind of animal. The fur was soft, like stroking a finely made carpet, wonderfully smooth to the touch. Even the fishtail felt slippery in a curious way. This unusual texture made He Fang instinctively squeeze and knead it a few more times. The softness of the fur and the slickness of the fishtail gave him a completely new tactile experience. He Fang turned the toy over and over in his hands, playing with it.

Probably because it felt so nice, He Fang couldn’t help playing with it for quite a while himself. This kind of craftsmanship must have cost a lot, right? Could this weird, slightly ugly design be merchandise from some game? It was so finely made that it made him want to buy one. Clearly, the maker had put a lot of effort into it.

He Fang kept playing with the toy when he suddenly realized that the deliveryman hadn’t made any other movements the whole time. Feeling puzzled, he lifted his head, only to see that the deliveryman’s face was already completely flushed red. He Fang froze in place.

The deliveryman’s expression was strange. His cheeks were bright pink, and even the corners of his eyes glistened faintly, as if… as if… he looked like someone who had just been bullied.

“I-I choked… choked on my saliva. I-I’ll just go to the bathroom for a bit.” The deliveryman awkwardly reached out to cover his face a little, stood up, and made his way to the bathroom. He Fang, still holding the little toy, unconsciously squeezed it one more time. And right at that moment, he saw the deliveryman stumble as if his steps faltered.

He Fang was completely baffled. So strange.

Inside the bathroom, the deliveryman felt his legs go weak the moment he closed the door. He gasped for breath but didn’t dare make too much noise.

The divine beast was his other half. Their senses were connected, just like how a person can feel sensations through their own hands and feet. When the divine beast was touched, he felt it just the same.

That feeling of being toyed with in He Fang’s palms was crystal clear. There was no indecency in He Fang’s eyes. He simply liked the feel of the divine beast and kept kneading it. But for the deliveryman, it was a whole different experience, both physical and mental. He felt like his scalp was tingling all over.

This is killing him. He never thought bringing his other half along would end up like this. He’s going insane.

In the end, He Fang put the little toy back into the deliveryman’s coat pocket that was hanging by the door. The deliveryman had said he couldn’t give this thing away. The meaning was obvious: it was important and he couldn’t risk forgetting it.

Meanwhile, hidden out of sight in that pocket, the divine beast was sprawled out on its back, rolling its eyes in utter bliss.

He Fang had often pulled all-nighters in the past. He’d once gone through a period of wildly chaotic days; studying during the day, then gaming and making videos through the night, constantly sleep-deprived. Because of his physical condition, this made him even more withdrawn and socially anxious. In other people’s eyes, he must have looked miserable, and He Fang himself was well aware of that.

But he knew that with how severe his social anxiety was, there was no way he’d be able to hold down a normal job in the future. His parents had already done so much for him. Once he graduated successfully, he had to find a way to support himself and stay alive on his own.

Because of his personality, being a streamer had been incredibly tough for him at first. But over time, thanks to sticking with it and working hard, he slowly built up a steady fan base, just enough to support himself. His channel only truly blew up after “Ruins Without Restart” launched with online multiplayer.

Once he got popular, even the videos he’d uploaded before started getting plenty of views. He Fang watched his small stash of money steadily grow; life no longer felt so tight. But then he realized that, given how little he desired to buy things for himself, most of that money just ended up getting transferred to his parents’ account every month, right on schedule.

He Fang sometimes wondered if, one month, his parents didn’t get that usual bank transfer message from him, would they realize something had happened to him?

That night, He Fang and the deliveryman perfectly cleared the 2-player main storyline together. By the time they were done, dawn was already breaking. And just as He Fang had guessed… the deliveryman simply fell asleep right on his bed.

And not only that… he did take off his clothes.

He Fang saw the necklace hanging around the other’s neck, the one he’d given the deliveryman for his birthday. Looking at that necklace, a faint, subtle warmth spread through He Fang’s chest.

No one dislikes seeing their gift being cherished, and He Fang was no different.

“Why can’t we sleep together? We’re both guys, aren’t we?” the deliveryman asked him, genuinely puzzled.

He Fang’s expression turned a bit complicated. He… he really didn’t know if he should sleep together with him or not.

He had never slept in the same bed with anyone before.

He Fang averted his eyes, wordlessly refusing. He felt that, even as friends, they were moving a bit too fast.

“…Alright then, I won’t make things hard for you, customer. I’ll sleep on the couch, okay? You’re the host. I can’t have you sleep on the couch. Besides, I’m not sick this time.” Although the deliveryman said this so casually, his expression looked utterly pitiful.

He Fang glanced up at him several times, each time noticing the disappointment in the other’s eyes. That downcast look was so obvious as if he might burst into tears at any moment.

The deliveryman had climbed happily onto the bed, only to climb back down so pitifully. It made He Fang feel like he was bullying him.

As the other stepped around the bed, hugging the blanket he was about to take to the couch, He Fang suddenly reached out and grabbed the edge of the blanket.

He Fang let out a sigh.

Then he took a deep breath.

Forget it.

After all, he’d rented this place to suit his own tastes back then. The bed was a double, plenty big enough for two people. It really was true: two men sleeping together wasn’t a big deal.

The deliveryman suddenly let out a quiet laugh. He Fang had no idea what he was laughing about, but he couldn’t stop his own cheeks from flushing just a little.

“Not forcing you,” the deliveryman said.

He Fang’s grip on the blanket tightened slightly, but he still replied, “Not forced.”

He Fang just felt a little unaccustomed to it.

The deliveryman was far too naturally familiar with him, so familiar that it made him panic.

But the truth was, He Fang also truly, deeply wanted to have that kind of closeness that normal friends had.

It was just sleeping on the same bed. That shouldn’t be going too far… right?

The deliveryman, paying no mind to anything else, lay back down again and even stretched lazily before shrinking his hands under the blanket and wrapping himself up like a cocoon.

He Fang pulled the blackout curtains shut. He glanced at the air conditioner. Should he turn it on?

It was late autumn now. With the blanket on, it shouldn’t be cold. But since the deliveryman had wrapped himself up like a silkworm, maybe he’d felt cold?

He Fang stared blankly at the air conditioner.

“No need to turn it on, it’s not cold. I just like sleeping wrapped up like this,” the deliveryman’s voice came from beside him, carrying a hint of teasing. “I toss and turn a lot when I sleep. If I’m not wrapped up, I’ll throw the blanket off in the middle of the night, and then I’ll catch a cold. That’s no good.”

He Fang blinked and didn’t answer. He just got back onto the bed and lay down.

He Fang lay with his back to the deliveryman, feeling time tick by, minute by minute. After staying up all night, he was exhausted. But for some reason, he just couldn’t fall asleep.

The deliveryman hadn’t moved for a while. He Fang turned his head slightly and saw him curled up, half his face buried in the blanket.

The deliveryman’s eyes were tightly shut, his long eyelashes even thicker and prettier than a girl’s. As He Fang watched, he felt himself calming down. The pounding of his heart that had been so tense all this time slowly settled.

He Fang turned onto his side, half-opening his eyes to look at the deliveryman. Under the dim light, his golden hair looked like it carried a dark green sheen, scattered loosely across the bed like flowing water, shining softly.

He Fang started to feel drowsy, his eyes fluttering closed in a sleepy haze.

Having a friend really felt so nice.

The deliveryman was so warm and naturally familiar. Even though He Fang was so afraid of talking to people, he could still be lit up by this warmth and do things he normally wouldn’t dare to do.

Maybe it sounded strange, but for He Fang, he relied on the deliveryman a lot.

He relied on someone who would treat him as a friend.

He Fang suddenly thought of “Ruins Without Restart”.

Maybe it was because of his social anxiety at work, in the game, Hope City and the other cities had no real communication at all. But in reality, mobile cities should share information with each other. All the info he had ever gotten came from outsiders, gathered by Guo Miaofeng. He’d never once tried to verify any of it himself.

Shouldn’t he be more proactive, like the deliveryman? Go out of his way to make his city’s NPCs interact with the surrounding mobile cities, instead of always passively waiting for others to come to him?

Not just relying on mercenary rumors, but actively letting people know what made Hope City special.

Their strong, thriving Hope City should be able to make any mobile city’s heart stir, just like Ao City, which had won favor from so many other mobile cities.

He had to take the initiative to do something.

If he just kept waiting passively, he wouldn’t always be so lucky to have a kind, beautiful deliveryman appear at his door on his own.

Even before falling asleep, He Fang’s mind kept drifting through all sorts of ways to solve the orange missions in “Ruins Without Restart”. Eventually, those thoughts slipped right into his dreams.

In the quiet space, a soft rustling sound came from the coat in the living room. Something soft fell out of a pocket and slowly made its way toward the bed.

The divine beast jumped onto the golden hair on top of the deliveryman’s head, lying flat, its beastly eyes gazing gently, lingering on the sleeping person.

The deliveryman opened his eyes, too, watching He Fang, who was wrapped up in the blanket and deeply asleep.

The divine beast lay on top of the deliveryman’s head, staring intently at He Fang. This fierce creature was as obedient as a house cat.

The deliveryman watched for a long time. He didn’t do anything at all; he just watched. He just kept watching, and that was all.

—

“Friendly city?” Right then, Lu Hu’s fingernails, painted bright red, tapped against the tabletop.

“Yes. I want to be more proactive and communicate with other cities, eventually forming friendly agreements. I think the best bait should be through commercial means.” He Fang had come to Lu Hu on his own initiative because Lu Hu was in charge of the finances.

“That’s impossible. If anything from Hope City is supplied in large quantities to mobile cities, then the ones who can buy our goods will basically only be the upper class, not the lower class. Our goods are priced very low. Not only would they get to take advantage of us for free, but it would also disrupt the market.” Lu Hu bluntly shot down He Fang’s proposal without the slightest courtesy. “Hope City’s trade can only circulate in designated cities.”

“Then how can we build friendly cities with them?” He Fang felt a bit disheartened at being rejected so directly, but he knew Lu Hu was right.

“What exactly is your reason for insisting on forming friendly city ties with them?” Without realizing it, Lu Hu had already half leaned in close beside He Fang, obviously wanting to get all the details.

He Fang told Lu Hu his thoughts honestly. Even though he had plenty of ideas, there were many details he couldn’t figure out on his own.

“Getting the Library in a rightful, aboveboard way really does require the surrounding cities to yield.” Lu Hu twirled a strand of her hair around her finger, thinking. “Using pressure to suppress mobile cities, I like that. It’s worth a try.”

“The Library is very important to us, and to this whole world, too. If we want it, of course, we’ll have to pay some price for it.” He Fang sighed. His thinking was already fixed in this pattern. “So I thought if we proactively build friendly city ties first, it’ll make it easier to plan for the Library later.”

“Even so, we don’t need to curry favor with anyone. They have no reason for us to flatter them.” Lu Hu’s tone was mature and full of allure, but the pride and dominance beneath it couldn’t be hidden at all. “The reason they dare control the Library is because the Library has no means of self-protection. So all we need to do is give the Library the ability to protect itself.”

“But if we forcefully take the Library back, it’ll be just like the city lord of the Library fears; it’ll become the fuse that sparks a war.” He Fang repeated Shi Canghai and Shi Sangtian’s worries.

“Such a cute city lord.” Lu Hu narrowed her eyes, smiling with a bewitching charm. “There’s nothing wrong with war.”

He Fang choked a bit. “What do you mean?”

“Why think about it in such a narrow way? We can suppress them while giving them benefits. We have everything they desire, and everything they fear. We can pressure them, and at the same time, make it so their only option is to choose us. Rather than us begging them to become a friendly city, it’s better to make them beg us for it.”

“But what kind of ‘pressure’ would be suitable? Something that won’t cause real harm but will still make them afraid…” That was exactly the “plan” He Fang had been hesitating over.

“City Lord, don’t overcomplicate it.” Lu Hu leaned against He Fang’s shoulder with a smile. “You just need to issue one announcement: Hope City will launch an attack on certain cities. That’s all.”

“…Huh?” He Fang was stunned.

“We can easily take any city. That alone is the greatest pressure, isn’t it? Either get attacked or make peace, those are the only two choices.” Lu Hu narrowed her eyes. “They don’t dare fight. They’ll definitely yield. If they don’t, there are plenty of ways to make them yield.”

He Fang’s expression froze. “Even a cornered rabbit will bite. If the pressure is too much, it’ll provoke resistance.”

“There’s no need to succeed all at once; just break them one by one. People are purely driven by self-interest. As long as there’s enough benefit, one will betray another. Those who refuse to yield will be pushed out everywhere, while those who do will live better lives. Most people with a brain know what choice to make.”

Lu Hu’s eyes narrowed halfway, her pupils full of shrewd calculation, completely undisguised.

“From the very start, list every city in range as a target for attack. The Library will just be one more ordinary city ‘persuaded to surrender’. Especially if all the surrounding cities yield first, it’ll draw even less attention.”

“Besides,” Lu Hu continued, her blood-red nails tapping lightly on the table, “even if you, City Lord, truly wanted to offer them more benefits and threw yourself at them with enthusiasm, would they even dare accept it? People only show enthusiasm when they have something to gain. We’re all clever people. The more eager you appear, the more wary they’ll be of us.”

“Our taking the initiative is just about making them take even more initiative.”

“Give them the pressure of war, make them afraid, then they’ll come looking for Hope City on their own. When they see with their own eyes how prosperous Hope City is, they’ll naturally understand its value. Won’t that achieve all your goals, City Lord?”

He Fang froze.

Thinking it over carefully, every word Lu Hu said was undeniably true, impossible to refute.

Taking the initiative to start a ‘war’ was something he’d never even considered. His instinct was to reject war altogether. But Lu Hu’s ‘war’ was only a cover for a larger plan. As expected of someone with a pro-war mindset, her thinking was so clear and so simple.

Yet one line of Lu Hu’s suddenly caught He Fang’s attention.

People only show enthusiasm when they have something to gain.

In that instant, the image of the deliveryman’s radiantly warm and beautiful face flashed through He Fang’s mind, tightening something in his chest.

Then… if that’s the case…

What did the deliveryman want from him?

He Fang sat there, worried, racking his brain about whether he had anything at all worth the other party scheming for. But no matter how he thought about it, he came up with nothing.

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