The heavy black armored vehicle rumbled across the desolate yellow wasteland, its wheels churning up a rolling cloud of dust.
Inside the cabin, the smell of blood and gunpowder mixed together, and coupled with a completely useless stone, the brief joy of victory was all but erased.
Jiang Ce was in the driver's seat, mostly unharmed except for his slightly heavy breathing.
Shen Wu, who had been unconscious, had woken up. Qinian's emergency treatment had been more effective than expected, though his face remained somewhat pale.
The first thing Shen Wu did upon regaining consciousness was to slowly shift his gaze to the quietest corner of the cabin.
His eyes rested there for two seconds, then looked away.
His expression didn't change, but the fingers that had been resting on his knee silently interlaced.
Qinian was the most seriously injured.
The back of his combat suit had been torn open in a long gash, and beneath the frayed fabric, a wound was visible down to the bone.
Qi Sui was bent over him, treating the injury. The silver medical tweezers moved like a blur in his hands as he cleaned the wound with lightning speed.
Though the armored vehicle drove steadily, there was the occasional bump, but Qi Sui didn't seem affected at all.
"Hiss... Brother, go easy! Trying to kill your own kin?" Qinian grimaced, not daring to dodge even a little.
Without lifting his head, Qi Sui pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, which had slid down slightly due to blood stains, and said in his usual gentle voice, "Move again, and I won't hesitate to sew your vocal cords shut too."
Qinian immediately shut up, only daring to express his dissatisfaction wildly with his eyes.
On the other side, Ye Que sat with his arms crossed, leaning against the backrest, his eyes closed.
The wound piercing his arm didn't seemed to affect him much. He just occasionally opened his eyes to glance at a certain corner before closing them again.
The quietest corner of the cabin belonged to Lu Shiyan.
He sat upright there, his back straight as a rod. His black combat suit was the most damaged, covered in dust and dried, dark-red bloodstains.
He was quietly staring at the person in his arms.
Jiang Nuan was lying in his arms.
In truth, just after they had gotten into the vehicle, Jiang Nuan had a moment of clarity.
The aftermath of the battle made her nerves pulse wildly. She instinctively tried to push away from that solid chest, struggling to escape the almost suffocating embrace.
But as soon as she moved, the arms around her waist suddenly tightened, pinning her firmly against him.
Her cheek pressed against his hard chest. Through the thin combat suit, their bodies were flush against each other. The force was so great it seemed like he was trying to embed her into his very flesh and blood.
"Don't move," Lu Shiyan's low voice brushed past her ear. "You need to rest now."
Jiang Nuan's fingertips trembled. She looked up and met Lu Shiyan's startlingly deep eyes.
A strange, unfamiliar fire churned within them.
Her instincts screamed danger, so she gave up on pointless struggling.
The weakness from having her psychic energy drained hit her all at once. She didn't even have the strength to lift her fingers.
Since she couldn't break free and her body was utterly exhausted...
She let out a low hum, nestled into a comfortable angle in his steady heat, tilted her head, and fell asleep.
Forget it.
At this moment, she didn't have the strength to maintain that damned composure.
But just before she sunk into darkness, she vaguely heard a voice.
"Captain Lu, why did it have to be you?"
Qinian's, with his characteristic rising inflection.
So noisy.
Before she could think further, she completely lost consciousness.
...
The change began in her sleep.
First, her body grew colder, then she began to tremble uncontrollably.
An abnormal cold sweat broke out on her forehead as she curled up in his arms, teeth chattering.
"Qi Sui."
Lu Shiyan touched her forehead, the skin beneath his fingers shockingly cold and lifeless.
Qi Sui had already finished tending to his brother's wound and walked over quickly.
He knelt on one knee in front of Lu Shiyan, placed his long fingers on Jiang Nuan's wrist, then checked her forehead, frowning deeply.
"Sharp drop in body temperature, heart rate too high, severe disarray in mental energy." He adjusted his glasses. "It's psychic backlash."
Meeting everyone's gaze, he continued, "She just unleashed psychic attack with her first awakening. She drain almost all her internal energy in an instant, unbalancing her energy core."
"The most direct result of this backlash is extreme sensitivity to cold. To protect itself, her body will enter a state similar to hibernation."
"Her core temperature will keep dropping until her energy is rebalanced."
Lu Shiyan frowned. "Will there be long-term effects on her body?"
Qi Sui shook his head. "No. This is a common issue for early-stage psychics."
"Actually, there's a way to resolve this more quickly,"
Qi Sui paused, a faint, mischievous smile curling at his lips.
"Physical warming."
Physical warming.
Those two words instantly made the atmosphere in the cabin tense.
No one was foolish. They all understood the most direct and effective method behind those words.
Jiang Nuan's trembling grew worse. Unconsciously, she burrowed deeper into Lu Shiyan's arms, her small face rubbing haphazardly against his solid chest.
"Cold... so cold..."
Fragmented, tearful, soft murmurs slipped from her blue-tinged lips.
"...hold me..."
At that moment, the air in the cabin seemed to freeze.
Lu Shiyan's arms around her tightened abruptly.
Without a second's hesitation.
One hand clamped firmly behind her head to keep her from moving, while the other went under her knees, pulling her deeper and tighter into his arms in a possessive stance.
His movements were rough, his strength stunning.
But when her slender neck truly touched his cold, tactical gloves, his fingers instinctively lifted ever so slightly, avoiding the hard metal buckles, pressing only his palm's warmth against her.
Contradictory, and feral.
"Captain!"
Qinian couldn't stand it any longer. Ignoring his fresh bandage, he stood up abruptly and pointed at himself with full grievance. "Why you? Your body temperature isn't the highest! I'm a fire type! Let me! I'll make sure she warms up properly!"
As he spoke, he tried to reach out and take her.
Without even raising his eyes, Lu Shiyan said, "That won't help your recovery."
"I'm already healed!" To prove he was fine, Qinian flexed his arm a few times, but the movement hit his wound and made him wince.
"Stop fooling around." Qi Sui pushed his brother back down into his seat.
"Nuan Nuan's current situation is not just about heat loss. It's more about the chaos in her mental energy. Your energy field is too volatile. Getting close would only worsen her instability."
"Captain is a space type. He's the best choice to calm her disrupted energy field now."
The reasoning was flawless, quashing any impulsive thoughts in Qinian and the others' minds.
Qinian clicked her tongue in discontent but still sat back down, watching helplessly as that small figure was completely drawn into Lu Shiyan’s embrace.
Lu Shiyan seemed oblivious to the currents stirring around him. His entire focus was fixed on the small, cold body in his arms.
He could clearly feel that the person in his embrace was clinging to him like a dying vine, desperately drawing warmth from his body.
And he, in this act of being drained, felt a secret, almost maddening satisfaction.
He lowered his head, his chin lightly brushing against the top of her hair, his breathing growing heavier.
She was his.
This realization, like a seed buried for ages, had finally broken through the soil at this moment.
Jiang Nuan’s consciousness floated in a boundless expanse of icy water.
Cold—that was the only sensation.
A bone-chilling cold, as if it would freeze her very soul.
She wanted to cry out for help, but no sound came out.
She wanted to struggle, but her limbs felt as heavy as lead.
Just as she thought she was about to be swallowed whole by this icy water, a scalding, hard heat source, smelling of blood, dragged her up.
She instinctively wrapped around it with all her strength.
Her cheek pressed against something hard that hurt a little, but the unceasing warmth it gave made her want to sigh in relief.
Thump—thump, thump, thump, thump…
A powerful heartbeat, transmitted through that hard chest plate, reached her ears clearly.
That heartbeat was wild, frantic, and utterly out of rhythm.
Like a drumbeat gone rogue, crashing against his ribs and, beat by beat, slamming into her body.
How strange… Jiang Nuan thought hazily.
How could that captain, usually as cold as ice, have a heartbeat so fast?
As if it were about to… explode.
She burrowed deeper into his embrace, found a more comfortable spot, and rubbed against him contentedly.
Finally no longer freezing, she let out a faint, even satisfied, nasal sound.
Lu Shiyan’s body tensed again the moment she rubbed against him.
His Adam’s apple bobbed, his breathing turning stifled and searing.
Lowering his gaze, he looked at her hand clutching the fabric of his chest.
Such a small hand, but gripping so tight.
He covered her icy fist with his own, wrapping it entirely in his palm.
Then, one by one, he pried open her fingers, interlacing them with his, holding tight.
The only sound left in the compartment was the rumble of the armored vehicle.
Time, on this journey back, became long and leaden.
That frantic heartbeat gradually calmed. Beat by beat, it became steady and strong.
Like an ancient, wordless lullaby.
Under this lullaby, she sank into deep sleep.
…
When she woke again, the first thing she saw was a ceiling so white it was almost blinding.
The smell of disinfectant replaced the scent of blood and gunpowder, clean to the point of unreality.
She moved her fingers and found that her body was still a bit sore, but the deadly cold and weakness had vanished.
“Awake?”
A light, slightly teasing voice sounded beside her.
Jiang Nuan turned her head and saw Shen Wu sitting in a chair by the bed. He was dressed in clean casual clothes, his eyes—which could read minds—studying her with obvious interest.
“How do you feel, our great hero who solo-killed an SS-level Restricted Zone?”
In her heart, she rolled her eyes, but her throat was too dry.
“Water…”
Shen Wu raised an eyebrow, got up to pour her a glass of warm water, and helped her lift her head to drink.
The warm water moistened her parched throat, and Jiang Nuan felt like she had finally come back to life.
Leaning against the soft pillow, she looked around and realized she was back at the base.
“Where are the others?” she asked.
“They’re all in post-battle recovery. Thanks to you, our squad came out with injuries but no casualties—pretty much a complete victory.” Shen Wu set the glass back on the nightstand, crossed his arms, and looked at her leisurely. “The captain seems to be in a good mood.”
“Captain Lu?” Jiang Nuan was taken aback.
“Mm-hmm,” Shen Wu dragged out his tone, “Of course, when I say good mood, I mean because of our major victory.”
But Jiang Nuan’s mind could not help replaying the fragmented moments before she blacked out.
The hard, burning embrace, the wild, frantic heartbeat, and those words whispered right next to her ear.
“Found you.”
Her cheeks inexplicably grew hot.
But there was an even more pressing matter.
“What about that stone? I mean [Exp-004].”
“Already handed over to the base’s researchers.” Shen Wu dropped his teasing demeanor, his expression turning serious. “If we catch the person behind this…”
He didn’t finish.
But Jiang Nuan’s heart sank.
This world had not only sudden Restricted Zones but also man-made ones.
She felt as if a bigger, more unfathomable abyss was slowly opening up before her.
Furthermore.
She avoided Shen Wu’s mind-reading eyes.
In her mind, she clearly recalled the note left by the original owner in that abandoned warehouse in Sector C, hidden in the rusty iron box’s lining, with delicate yet desperate handwriting.
[Don’t trust anyone.]
Anyone… including Zero Squad?
This world was far more dangerous than she had imagined, and she knew too little.
She couldn’t afford to be passively pushed around anymore.
Jiang Nuan tightened her grip on the bedsheet. In her beautiful, almond-shaped eyes, the last trace of confusion was swept away, leaving only a icy clarity.
She could no longer remain passive.
She had to go back.
Back to Sector C of Canglan City, to find Sister Zhou and find out what was hidden behind that note.
