TIC Chapter 21

 Chapter 21: Xiao Yan, Courting Disaster

Xiao Yan subconsciously swallowed hard; if Hein were a work of art, he wouldn't even qualify as a mere backdrop.

"Are you planning to stay in there forever?"

Xiao Yan shook his head. He wanted to walk out, but Hein was standing right in the doorway.

He had no choice but to steel himself and try to maneuver past him.

He held his breath, terrified that Hein might slam his head against the doorframe—crushing and pulverizing his skull just like those of the zombies...

In that cramped space, Xiao Yan practically had to hunch his shoulders just to squeeze past Hein.

All his senses went into overdrive; he could practically feel the heat radiating from Hein’s body, and every minute twitch of his muscles seemed startlingly distinct.

As Xiao Yan finally exited the shower room, he let out a long, deep breath of relief.

Saved at last... He was still alive!

"Ah—what do you think you're doing?!"

A woman’s startled shriek rang out—it was Lily’s friend.

Xiao Yan flinched, suddenly realizing that he had walked out completely stark naked! His "little brother" was hanging out in the open, utterly exposed.

Seeing that Lily, who was still in the pool, was just about to turn around, Xiao Yan scrambled back into the shower room in a mad dash.

Now, all he could do was pray that when he finally got dressed and left, that woman wouldn't recognize him!

Maybe I should just wait until they leave before I make my exit.

Xiao Yan pressed his hand against his forehead; he had managed to suffer every possible humiliation he could ever face in a lifetime—all within the span of a single minute!

Why had his once-leisurely, carefree life turned into such a chaotic mess?

It seemed that ever since he miraculously survived that plane crash—escaping death by a hair—his life had completely spiraled away from its original trajectory!

Someone walked past him. Xiao Yan looked up, catching a glimpse of Hein’s sharp jawline and his typically indifferent expression, before the man walked right out of his field of vision.

When Hein finally stepped out of the shower room, Lily and her friend were still chatting and giggling away. “Hey, do you know that rookie Colonel Burton just hauled out of the water?”

“Sure do. He’s in my intake class—name’s Xiao Yan! Why do you ask?”

“That guy’s got the hots for you! I’ve been watching him for a while now, and he hasn’t taken his eyes off your legs! And get this—he actually came running out of the showers completely stark naked just now! He must have wanted to show off his ‘heroic physique’ to you...”

As Hein walked past them, his gaze bore down on them with the crushing weight of a frozen mountain; the girl, who had been chattering away excitedly about Xiao Yan just moments before, suddenly choked on her words.

Even after Hein’s figure had receded into the distance, she still seemed unable to catch her breath.

“Bella! Bella, what’s wrong?!” Lily was terrified; she kept frantically patting Bella on the back.

“I... I thought he was going to kill me...” Bella finally managed to exhale.

“Who?”

“Hein Burton...”

“It’s okay now; he’s gone! Come on, let’s get out of here. You’ve been soaking in the water for so long—maybe the water pressure just made you feel a bit off!”

Lily pulled Bella to her feet, and they left the pool area. By the time they reached dry land, Bella’s legs were so shaky she could barely stand.

Only after Xiao Yan had confirmed that everyone else had left did he step out of the showers, breathing a sigh of relief.

The swimming pool was now off-limits to Xiao Yan, so he had to find other ways to pass the time during his leave.

This base possessed none of the bustling vibrancy of Char; its recreational facilities were sparse. Aside from a rather rudimentary fitness center, the only place where one could truly unwind was a small bar covering less than thirty square meters.

Having slept for an entire day, Xiao Yan headed to the bar—the liveliest spot on the entire base.

He took a seat at the counter and ordered a specialty cocktail. The music was melodious and soothing, allowing his tightly wound mind to finally relax.

Someone placed a Margarita down beside him, then gracefully took a seat on the high stool next to his—turning slightly as they sat, a subtle movement designed to catch Xiao Yan’s attention.

“Sharon... Lieutenant Commander Michelle!”

“Aha! We’re off-duty right now, so you can just call me Sharon.” Sharon shrugged her shoulders, exuding an air of irresistible allure.

Thanks to Kathy’s earlier warning, Xiao Yan instinctively put his guard up around Special Forces operatives like Sharon. “Good evening, Sharon.” Xiao Yan smiled, deliberately avoiding looking at the most ample parts of her figure.

“Don’t be so tense. Although you spend most of your time with Colonel Burton’s unit, there’s a good chance that one day you’ll be out on a mission with me, too. Isn’t the military currently planning to require technical specialists to accompany all future Special Forces missions? It’s to ensure the practical relevance of the technical specialists' research, to improve coordination between the armed forces and the R&D departments—and also to have you guys keep an eye on us.”

“...While it’s true that researchers ought to see the outside world with their own eyes, the price paid seems far too steep.” Xiao Yan still remembered the trainees who had gone out on missions with him in the beginning; now, he was the only one left.

“Don’t worry—I’ll protect you.” Sharon gave a playful wink.

The last thing Xiao Yan wanted right now was to be flirted with by a Special Forces operative; yet, the very moment he averted his gaze, Sharon caught a glimpse of his true emotions.

“You’re avoiding me. Why? Worried I might invite you to spend an unforgettable night together?”

Sharon’s voice was low and soft, devoid of any pressure—filled instead with a distinctly feminine tenderness.

Meanwhile, the voices of the two military researchers standing nearby were growing increasingly loud. Judging by their shoulder insignia, both men were young, yet they had already attained the rank of Captain.

“Hey, did you hear? Another aircraft crashed yesterday. Even though the Special Mission Force arrived on the scene, every single B-class trainee aboard that craft was wiped out!”

“They’re just B-class trainees, after all. The Central Academy has never gotten along with the Special Mission Force; since those brutes can’t go picking fights with A-class researchers, they just use methods like this to vent their frustrations! Besides, there are plenty of B-class trainees to go around—the higher-ups won’t launch an investigation into Hein Burton over this, let alone hand down any punishment!”

Xiao Yan rubbed his nose; his own classification rating was a B—. It seemed he was destined to be nothing more than a convenient target for others to vent their frustrations upon...

Sharon, meanwhile, pressed a finger to her lips, smiling as she shook her head. “That’s not the point; the real issue is the cause of the aircraft crash! I heard it was due to an intrusion by a ‘Blocker’ from the ‘Tides’ organization!”

“No way! What on earth has been going on lately? It seems ‘Tides’ has been relentlessly targeting the research division’s aircraft!”

The mere mention of the name “Tides” struck Xiao Yan like a jolt of electricity.

The reason the “Comet” virus had spread globally all those years ago was precisely because the “Tides” organization had launched a bombing attack on the facility housing the virus; the resulting breach of the containment vessels had ushered in the apocalypse for humanity. Even after the uninfected survivors retreated to the sanctuary of “Shire,” “Tides” remained active—growing ever larger in scale—and had effectively become the sworn enemy of all mankind.

As for the “Blockers,” one could not discuss them without acknowledging one of humanity’s most revolutionary inventions of the past two centuries: Human-Machine Interface. This sophisticated artificial intelligence system featured terminals capable of linking directly with neural networks in the brain, thereby fusing the brain’s cognitive agency with a computer’s high-speed data processing capabilities—the ultimate synthesis of information technology and neuroscience. However, the moment a human brain interfaced with such a terminal, it also became vulnerable to intrusion and attack by hackers.

Such hackers were known as “Blockers.” Once a person’s mind was disrupted by a Blocker, the consequences ranged from mild, short-term mental confusion to—in severe cases—becoming trapped within a “mental labyrinth” deliberately constructed by the attacker, from which there was no escape; the victim would be condemned to spend the remainder of their life lost within a living nightmare.

Hearing this, Xiao Yan felt his blood run cold.

The fact that he was still alive was, truly, nothing short of a miracle. “Alright, let’s drop the buzzkill topics. I heard you’re seeing a Special Forces operative—how’s that going? She must be a real wildcat in bed, right?”

“Wildcat? I only kissed her twice, and she got so worked up she nearly strangled me!”

“Whoa—she must really go at it hard when you’re doing the deed! You must be having the time of your life!”

“The last time she really got off, she practically smashed the bed to pieces!”

“Haha, you’ve got to cut her some slack! Why else would a woman join a Special Forces unit—a total boys’ club—unless she was sexually frustrated? Looks like you’re not up to the task; you’re clearly not satisfying her! So, are you guys still seeing each other?”

“Seeing each other? I dumped her! If she dares to pester me again, I’m filing a formal complaint with Military Command!”

“By the way, what’s her name?”

“Liv.”

Xiao Yan froze. Liv? That’s impossible! This guy must be spouting total nonsense! Liv is one of the “Three Goddesses” of the Special Forces—would she really go for a loser like him?

“Come on, don’t be like that! I’d actually like to take a crack at her myself! Why don’t you set me up with her?”

“I’ll set you up with her... and then you can finally give her the satisfaction she craves...”

Before anyone realized it, a figure had silently materialized behind them. The man who had been prattling on let out a piercing shriek.

“Agh!”

With a sharp *snap*, his arm popped out of its socket and went limp. He tumbled off his barstool, sending the drinks on the counter crashing down onto him in a chaotic cascade—a truly pathetic sight.

Xiao Yan stood frozen in shock. The newcomer was none other than Hein Burton. Instinctively, Xiao Yan reached for his own shoulder; a spot that had long since fully healed suddenly flared with pain.

Those icy-blue eyes were brimming with disdain, and the corners of his lips curled upward in a sneer sharp enough to slice through the other man’s gaze—as if the person standing before him wasn’t an elite from the Research Division, but merely a piece of worthless trash beneath his notice.

“You’re too loud.”

Hein’s voice was unique—it sounded like quartz crystals striking against one another, causing even the very air around them to tremble slightly.

“You... Who the hell do you think you are?!”

The man’s companion grabbed a glass and hurled it violently at Hein. Hein merely let out a disdainful scoff. His leg moved with such blinding speed that by the time Xiao Yan could react, the guy who had smashed the glass had already been sent flying by a kick. He crashed into a table several meters away, knocking it over, and lay there groaning in agony—utterly drained of the strength even to crawl back to his feet.

Given the sheer velocity and force of that kick, the poor wretch had likely suffered broken ribs, or perhaps even internal hemorrhaging...

By now, Hein had shifted his gaze toward Xiao Yan. Whether it was merely an illusion or not, Xiao Yan felt as though the temperature in the room plummeted the moment Hein spotted Sharon—who was sitting right beside Xiao Yan, arms crossed, watching the entire spectacle with detached amusement.

"I..."

Xiao Yan’s eyes locked with Hein’s. He wanted to avert his gaze, yet it felt as though he were under the other man’s absolute control—unable to waver or look away in the slightest. The air grew thick with a suffocating, murderous pressure; beneath that crushing weight, Xiao Yan’s knees went weak, threatening to buckle beneath him.

In those eyes, he saw a chilling indifference toward life itself; this man had long since grown accustomed to the act of killing.

*I’m going to die... I’m going to die...* Xiao Yan’s legs were frozen in place, unable to move even a single step, yet his heart was filled with a profound sense of desolation. Most baffling of all, Xiao Yan had absolutely no idea how he could have possibly offended Hein. Was simply having a drink at a bar a crime?