LCFM Chapter 41

When the alarm blared, Jiang Xinghuai immediately knew things were going badly. After falling, his first instinct was to scramble up, but he couldn’t. Ringing louder than the alarm pulsed in his ears, a relentless tinnitus that drowned out everything else.

“Xing Xing!” Fu Yan’s heart skipped a beat in fright. He dashed over, flipping onto the bed.

Jiang Xinghuai’s eyes were half-open. Half his face down to his neck was drenched in blood. He looked at Fu Yan as if he wanted to speak, but the nosebleed was too severe. Some of the blood had flowed down his nasal passages into his throat, triggering uncontrollable coughing.

“Don’t move.” Fu Yan pressed him down with a grim expression, supporting his head and positioning him on the side of the bed. “Open your mouth.”

The tinnitus was so intense that Jiang Xinghuai couldn’t hear clearly what Fu Yan said.

Fu Yan reached in to open his mouth, checking his throat, then adjusted his position to ensure the blood wouldn’t choke him.

“Dizzy or headache?” Fu Yan frowned, patting his face, noting that his consciousness seemed unstable. “Xing Xing! Xing Xing! Look at me.”

Jiang Xinghuai still couldn’t hear clearly, but he understood Fu Yan was calling him. He tried to speak through the ringing in his ears: “I… can’t… see…”

Fu Yan’s brow tightened as he held him. If it were just a ruptured vein in the nasal cavity, there shouldn’t be hearing loss. But if it was something else…

Like a blood disorder or acquired coagulation defect. The former might require long-term careful treatment, but the latter could kill Jiang Xinghuai right here.

Fu Yan’s shirt on his back was soaked. He held out his hand, shaking it slightly, signaling him to look: “Can you see this number?”

“Two…” Jiang Xinghuai said, staring at the blood on Fu Yan’s hand. The sunlight or the blood seemed to pulse painfully in his eyes, and his heart began to race.

Throughout his life, aside from the occasional nosebleed from a bump, he had rarely had a nosebleed—never one this frequent, uncontrollable, and severe.

He didn’t understand what was happening to him. Did he have some illness?

And what was happening outside? Why was the alarm blaring? Hadn’t Kang Cheng gone to get his dad?

Amid the relentless ringing in his head, Jiang Xinghuai, terrified, grabbed Fu Yan’s arm.

At that moment, the door was banged open, and a soldier’s urgent voice came through: “People in the room, get out immediately! Emergency situation in the military district! Evacuate as quickly as possible! Move toward the main parade ground immediately!”

After shouting, the soldier quickly moved on to knock on the next closed door.

Screams, shouting, and distant gunfire… The corridor outside the room was chaotic. Everyone was panicking and fleeing in the face of the sharp wail of the alarm.

Jiang Xinghuai grew anxious. Too anxious to speak, he simply pushed Fu Yan.

“What’s wrong? Don’t worry. We’ll wait a bit before moving. There are too many people right now.” Fu Yan touched his sweat-damp forehead, tilting his head with a frown to glance toward the door.

This military district had tens of thousands of people. Whether it was a relocation or evacuation, it could become a huge risk for another virus outbreak. Whatever was happening must have been serious enough for the district to order an emergency midnight evacuation.

“I feel like vomiting,” Jiang Xinghuai said.

His voice was so low that Fu Yan couldn’t hear clearly. He placed a hand on Jiang Xinghuai’s cheek: “What—”

Jiang Xinghuai suddenly vomited onto Fu Yan’s hand.

It was digested material mixed with blood.

That meant the bleeding was also coming from his abdomen. Fu Yan’s face instantly turned dark, almost ashen. With his clean hand, he wiped Jiang Xinghuai’s mouth, then pressed lightly on his lower stomach. “Does it hurt here?”

“No…” Jiang Xinghuai grimaced weakly. “Uncle… what’s wrong with me…? Why do I feel like I’m going to die?”

“Don’t say that.” Fu Yan patted his face, focusing completely on assessing Jiang Xinghuai’s current condition.

The hallway outside grew quieter and quieter, until finally, even the last footsteps faded from the building.

Jiang Xinghuai looked at Fu Yan, who was holding him. His heart suddenly went cold. Everyone had left. What would happen to them now?

“I’ll carry you. If you feel any worse or start bleeding faster, tell me immediately,” Fu Yan said, then lifted him from the bed.

Jiang Xinghuai fought the urge to vomit, leaning quietly against Fu Yan.

There was no time to pack. Fu Yan only grabbed a bottle of water, gave Jiang Xinghuai a sip, then carried him out of the room.

The floor was completely deserted now. The hallway was scattered with dropped belongings, dim light spilling unevenly from half-open doors.

The rain hadn’t stopped. Cold wind carried raindrops in through the railings. Fu Yan turned his body to block the rain as he walked forward. “Does anything hurt?”

“No.” As soon as Jiang Xinghuai said that, a wave of nausea surged up. He couldn’t suppress it. He opened his mouth and vomited.

It was blood.

The blood streamed down Fu Yan’s shoulder and dripped to the floor.

That mouthful of blood startled them both.

Fu Yan stopped, leaning against the wall to set Jiang Xinghuai down, too cautious to move him further.

Outside, it grew increasingly quiet. Tens of thousands of people had already evacuated within minutes. Nearby and distant car engines sputtered intermittently.

“E…everyone’s…gone?” Jiang Xinghuai asked.

“We’re taking the car. Forgot? Our car’s downstairs.” Fu Yan said as he took off his jacket and draped it over him. “Do you still feel like vomiting?”

“No.” Jiang Xinghuai swallowed the metallic taste of blood in his mouth.

“Good. Rest a little longer.” Fu Yan rinsed away the thick blood under his nose with water.

“We—” Jiang Xinghuai started to speak, but didn’t finish.

A sizzling sound rang out.

Both of them looked up. The lights above flickered twice, then went out.

The entire building plunged into darkness. In the pitch black, the sound of their heavy breaths stood out even more.

“Let’s go.” Jiang Xinghuai gripped Fu Yan’s arm tightly.

Fu Yan patted his back and, holding him, stood up again.

They lived on the second floor. Normally, Jiang Xinghuai could dash down in over ten seconds, but today, Fu Yan, carrying him, took several long minutes to make the descent.

The heavy rain fell relentlessly, drenching them the moment they stepped out of the building. The streetlights had gone out, leaving the world in total darkness. Only the occasional flash of twisted lightning illuminated the path ahead for an instant.

“Hold your clothes tight,” Fu Yan panted, glancing down at him in the flashes of light.

Jiang Xinghuai’s nosebleed seemed to be slowing. Fu Yan exhaled in relief. “Hold on to me tightly.”

Jiang Xinghuai raised a hand to wipe the rain streaming down his face.

“Good. It’s okay. Put your hands back.” Fu Yan couldn’t spare a hand, so he bit the collar of his jacket draped over Jiang Xinghuai, shielding his face.

Before coming up, they had parked the car in the open space beside the residential building.

Fu Yan approached, opened the passenger door, and placed Jiang Xinghuai inside. Then he went around the front and got in the driver’s seat.

The rain was so heavy that even the headlights could barely penetrate it. Fu Yan drove cautiously, observing Jiang Xinghuai’s condition while assessing the road, keeping his speed low.

The gathering point was the main parade ground, the farthest location from the base’s main gate. The streets were already empty, with only the increasingly dense gunfire and explosions in the distance.

Fu Yan knew time might be running short. For the military district to issue such an emergency evacuation at this hour, the situation had to be serious.

He also knew he had to catch up with the main evacuation group, because he couldn’t risk driving Jiang Xinghuai out of the base without any information.

He slightly increased the car’s speed and turned his head to glance at Jiang Xinghuai, who had been silent the entire time.

Jiang Xinghuai tilted his head, leaning against the window, clutching Fu Yan’s jacket in his arms.

Fu Yan freed one hand and reached over. “Xing Xing—”

Jiang Xinghuai didn’t respond. The hand Fu Yan held felt lifeless. His fingers went slack, spreading apart before slipping from Fu Yan’s palm.

Fu Yan slammed on the brakes.

He leaned forward, nearly losing his composure in fright. “Jiang Xinghuai!”

Jiang Xinghuai’s eyes were closed, his face burning red with fever.

Fu Yan called his name several more times before Jiang Xinghuai finally reacted, his eyes half-opening.

Gasping for breath, Fu Yan first turned off the headlights, then carried Jiang Xinghuai to the back seat.

“Cold…” Jiang Xinghuai murmured groggily.

“Don’t fall asleep, understand? Xing Xing, look at me.” Fu Yan spoke to him while drying his hair and digging out a cooling ice patch from the medical kit. He held Jiang Xinghuai close, warming him. The boy kept his eyes half-open, gazing at Fu Yan, who kept calling his name.

A few minutes later, Jiang Xinghuai began regaining awareness and grasped Fu Yan’s hand.

“Do you want some water?” Fu Yan gently tapped his cheek.

“Mm.”

Jiang Xinghuai nodded. Fu Yan turned to fetch a water bottle.

At that moment, a sudden, deafening BANG—

Something had struck the hood of the car!

Fu Yan immediately turned and positioned himself in front of Jiang Xinghuai.

Before Jiang Xinghuai could recover from the shock, another BANG struck. The impact was so strong that the entire car seemed to lift a centimeter off the ground.

Fu Yan tensed his back, grabbed the flashlight, and turned it on.

It wasn’t something falling from above, but a grotesque creature that seemed almost skeletal. The monster crouched by the car window, tilting its head, its murky yellow eyes fixed unblinking on the two inside. The light hit it, and the skeleton jumped again on the hood.

This was the mutant the military district had warned about.

They had encountered one before. Its speed and strength far exceeded that of a normal human. Even last time, Fu Yan hadn’t been able to kill it with a gun. And now, they had no weapons at all.

Once the skeleton saw the people inside, it stopped testing and leapt repeatedly, smashing down.

Soon, the sound of cracking came.

The car’s windshield had developed a fracture. One of the skeleton’s hands reached through the small, broken hole into the driver’s seat.

Fu Yan shoved the flashlight into Jiang Xinghuai’s hand. “Can you still run?”

Jiang Xinghuai nodded.

“Good.” Fu Yan nodded too, zipping up his jacket. “When we get out, run to the left. Do you remember the lab building? Go up to the second floor, head to my office.”

Jiang Xinghuai froze for a moment, then realized the unease in Fu Yan’s words. “What about you?”

Fu Yan looked at him and gave a faint, calm smile, saying nothing.

“I don’t want to.” Jiang Xinghuai frowned, grabbing Fu Yan’s hand.

“Listen to me,” Fu Yan said.

“I’m a teenager, the most rebellious,” Jiang Xinghuai said, sweating profusely, pale as a ghost, yet still cursing. “You’re middle-aged, the biggest idiot.”

Fu Yan: “……”

“I know if the two of us run together, neither of us will survive, so let’s not go out at all.” Jiang Xinghuai’s eyes reddened as he spoke.

Fu Yan looked at him. Jiang Xinghuai reached out and hugged him.

Fu Yan sighed and relented, reaching to pull up the partition between the driver’s seat and the back seat.

The partition was meant for soundproofing. Once closed, the thudding impact of the creature smashing against the car became muffled. How long it could hold was uncertain. Maybe two minutes… maybe just one.

“If you turned into a monster, would you bite me?” Jiang Xinghuai suddenly asked.

“Bite where?” Fu Yan looked down at him.

“Bite me instead. I don’t want other monsters to bite me,” Jiang Xinghuai said.

Fu Yan let out a low laugh. “Little dog.”

“Just like this.” Jiang Xinghuai opened his mouth and bit Fu Yan’s neck.

Fu Yan sucked in a sharp breath from the pain, his face darkening. “Jiang Xinghuai! Let go of me!”

Jiang Xinghuai gave a small hum, let go, and started to cry. “We’re both going to die…”

Fu Yan: “……”

Fu Yan reached out to wipe away his tears, then lowered his head and lightly bit the tip of Jiang Xinghuai’s nose.

Through his choking sobs, Jiang Xinghuai let out a broken laugh. “Big dog.”

“You’re looking much better now.” Fu Yan chuckled too, rubbing his head. “Still feel like throwing up? Still dizzy?”

“I met a dog today that looks just like you,” Jiang Xinghuai said.

“Are you ever going to stop?” Fu Yan sighed.

“You can’t call it a dog—right, Kang Cheng said it’s supposed to be called a canine,” Jiang Xinghuai continued, “Do you want to meet it? Its name is Mo Wang.”

“No.” Fu Yan covered his mouth.

Jiang Xinghuai struggled free from his hand. His fingers brushed against something hard pressed against his chest.

“What’s this…” Jiang Xinghuai pulled it out and, under the flashlight’s beam, saw that it was a small black rectangular device.

Jiang Xinghuai: “!”

It was the walkie-talkie Kang Cheng had given him!

“Look!” Jiang Xinghuai held it up to Fu Yan’s face. “A summoner!”

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