TIC Chapter 22

 Chapter 22: Live or Die in Bed

A searing pain shot through Xiao Yan’s shoulder; his face slammed against the surface of the bar counter, and his entire right arm was twisted violently behind his back. The excruciating agony surged deep into his brain; he opened his mouth wide, yet lacked the strength to utter a single scream.

His shoulder was dislocated.

Why his shoulder *again*? Did Hein Burton have some personal vendetta against his shoulders? Couldn't he—please—pick a different spot next time?!

"Next time—if I catch you presuming to discuss my subordinates again—it won't be your arms I twist off; it will be your heads."

This wasn't a threat; it was a statement of fact.

However, those words weren't directed at Xiao Yan, but rather at the two captains.

*Damn it! If you’re trying to stick up for your subordinates, then let me go! I never said a word about your subordinates!*

Xiao Yan roared inwardly, yet the pain was so intense he couldn't manage to cry out a single syllable.

"Sub... subordinates..." The guy sprawled on the floor finally caught on. "You're Hein Burton!"

Hein ignored them completely, instead leaning down and drawing close to Xiao Yan. As he did so, Xiao Yan’s arm twisted even more grotesquely, causing his teeth to chatter from the sheer agony.

"Would you prefer I snap your fingers off one by one, or slit your throat and let you bleed out?" His voice was so soft that it was barely audible, yet it struck Xiao Yan’s heart with a cold, razor-sharp edge.

"Wh... why..." Even if he were to die, he needed to know what he had done wrong; that was Xiao Yan’s final, stubborn insistence.

"Maya, Lily, and Brigadier General Michelle—you certainly have wide-ranging tastes." Hein’s gaze shifted to Sharon, who was standing nearby.

Sharon had been about to step forward to help Xiao Yan, but Hein’s piercing stare pinned her in place, rendering her utterly unable to move.

*What? What do those two captains—or Liv—have to do with any of this?*

Xiao Yan bet his expression must look absolutely bizarre right now.

Under the crushing pressure of Hein’s presence, his thoughts began spiraling off in a completely nonsensical direction.

*I get it now! Hein Burton must still be holding a grudge over that accidental kiss back at the nuclear power plant!* Now that all missions were complete—and with Maya and Liv, the two women who would have protected him, nowhere to be found—Hein was finally free to exact his revenge!

Good God! He couldn't even clearly recall the sensation of Hein’s lips against his own... Had he really survived a plane crash and faced down hordes of zombies with sheer tenacity, only to lose his life in the end over a kiss that, by all accounts, had never even truly happened?

If there were such a thing as a next life—he’d sooner come back as a zombie!

Just then, someone burst into the bar. Upon seeing the chaotic wreckage strewn across the floor, she shouted out, "Boss!"

It was Liv.

She rushed over to Hein and, recognizing the utterly contorted expression on Xiao Yan’s face, immediately grabbed hold of his arm. "Xiao Yan, are you alright?! Boss—he’s not the guy who was spreading those rumors! Please, let him go!"

Hein’s eyes remained devoid of any discernible emotion. The moment he released his grip, Xiao Yan slumped toward the floor—though, fortunately, Liv managed to catch him just in time.

"They were too noisy," Hein remarked, his gaze lowering as if he were the Grim Reaper himself, holding the power of life and death in his hands.

"I... I’ve got a mission tomorrow... I’m heading out," Sharon said. She glanced at Liv, then back at Hein, and quickly made her decision.

Even after Sharon had departed, Xiao Yan remained under the crushing pressure of Hein’s presence.

"Do you want to live, or do you want to die in bed?" Hein, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.

"...To live."

"Then remember the lesson you learned today." Hein’s gaze sliced ​​across Xiao Yan’s eyes like a razor’s edge.

So, after all that... *this* was the price he had to pay for having a drink with Sharon?

Good heavens—he hadn't harbored a single thought of doing anything with Sharon!

It was a truly unjust accusation!

Yet, deep down, Xiao Yan knew that had he spent even ten more minutes alone with Sharon, he wasn't sure he would have been able to maintain his self-control. If he had actually ended up rolling around in bed with her, the consequences he would have faced would have been far worse than a mere dislocated shoulder.

In that instant, Xiao Yan seemed to finally grasp the true meaning behind Hein’s chilling question: "Do you want to live, or do you want to die in bed?" Through this unforgettable demonstration, Hein Burton had made it abundantly clear to Xiao Yan that the heights of ecstasy would be inextricably bound to the depths of agony—that such an experience would be nothing short of hell. Hein Burton had dragged him back from the very brink of hell—and though it hurt like hell... Xiao Yan was just grateful he hadn't actually fallen in.

It just hurt so damn much!

Unable to utter a single word of defense, Hein turned on his heel and walked out of the bar.

He had appeared without a sound, yet departed with an air of utter arrogance.

Watching his figure recede into the distance, Xiao Yan’s heart finally plummeted back down from ten thousand meters in the sky and settled safely back into his chest.

"Sorry, Xiao Yan! Just hang in there!"

Liv’s hand pressed down firmly on Xiao Yan’s shoulder.

"Hang in... for *what*?"

Before he could finish the question, a sharp *crack* rang out, and Xiao Yan let out a piercing scream; the pain was so excruciating it felt as though his body were flying ahead while his soul was left chasing helplessly behind.

"It’s over now! It’s over! You call yourself a man—can’t you even handle a little bit of pain like that?"

Liv’s words of comfort carried a distinct note of amusement, accompanied by a hushed, teasing whisper: "Nobody in this world has ever managed to land a kiss on our Boss before! The fact that you’re still alive is practically a miracle!"

His jaw still aching and throbbing, Xiao Yan tentatively moved his arm, only then realizing that Liv had already popped his dislocated shoulder back into place. *That’s* the Special Missions Force for you!

Xiao Yan was absolutely certain: the next time he crossed paths with Hein Burton, he would burrow himself into the very cracks of the earth just to hide!

Liv lowered her head; the expression of concern she had worn for Xiao Yan moments earlier was instantly replaced by a look of cold ruthlessness. She slowly approached the Captain, flashing him a dazzlingly seductive smile.

"I seem to recall that when you hit on me last week, I completely ignored you. So tell me—why is it that ever since I got back from my mission, everyone keeps saying I slept with you?"

Liv slowly sank to one knee and flicked her finger against the Captain’s forehead, sending the terrified man scrambling to hide beneath the bar counter.

"G-get away... Get away from me!"

"Get away? Why?" Liv casually snatched up a glass from the bar; with a gentle squeeze, she crushed it in her hand—the sound of shattering glass ringing out with chilling clarity. "Didn't we just sleep together?"

"I-I'm sorry... Please... I beg you..."

The Captain was on the verge of tears. “What exactly do you owe me an apology for?”

“I... I shouldn't have gone around spreading rumors that you... that you slept with me...”

Liv gave a light snort. “That thing of yours is so short and puny; I was actually wondering who on earth would even be interested in it!”

The captain cowered on the floor, lacking even the courage to make eye contact.

Xiao Yan sighed. It seemed his luck had truly run out; to think such a ridiculous mix-up could happen just by stepping out for a drink. Were there really idiots like this even within the Research Division? To have the audacity to provoke a member of the Special Task Force—let alone one of Hein Burton’s subordinates—was sheer lunacy.

Liv walked Xiao Yan out of the bar and asked, half-jokingly, “Hey, want me to escort you to the Medical Center to get checked out?”

She looked as if Xiao Yan were some delicate little woman, while she herself was the stalwart knight.

“I don’t think... that’s necessary,” Xiao Yan said, rotating his shoulders; he felt absolutely no discomfort. “Though... your boss really is terrifying.”

Liv let out a soft sigh. “Don’t blame Colonel Burton... If it weren’t for him, none of us would be here today.”

“I can tell. You all have a great deal of faith in him.”

Liv didn’t need to spell it out; Xiao Yan knew that the bloody trials the Special Task Force had endured were far more brutal than anything they—the “hothouse flowers” ​​of the Research Division—had ever faced.

“Still, I could sense that Colonel Burton was in a bit of a foul mood—which is why he decided to rough you up.”

“He roughed me up just because he was in a bad mood?” Xiao Yan looked up at the sky. He preferred to console himself with the thought that the Colonel had done it to give him a clear, visceral understanding of the consequences he would face if he ever allowed himself to be seduced by Sharon.

“Maybe the reason he was in a bad mood was *because* of you? Besides, what he said to you before he left was, at the very least, meant as a form of protection. Never expect the Colonel to treat you like a piece of fragile porcelain; he’d rather inflict a little pain on his own people himself than let them end up dead at someone else’s hands. It took me several years of serving by his side to truly understand his way of doing things. He never does anything merely for show, or simply to make you feel comfortable; he only does what is meaningful.”

Liv’s words left Xiao Yan in silence. It was true... Hein Burton was exactly that kind of man. At the very least, Xiao Yan knew that—in the bedroom—the pain any Special Forces soldier inflicted upon him would surely far exceed that single moment when Hein had dislocated his arm. “I hear that tomorrow, you and your fellow recruits are being transferred to Base 14.”

“Such up-to-the-minute intel—does that mean you’ll be personally escorting me?”

“You’re an amusing fellow, but we have a mission to attend to; we won’t be reaching that base for another two days. I heard that just this morning, yet another research craft lost contact with Base 14—even its tracking beacon went offline. There were two Class A researchers on board. Although we haven’t known each other long, I hope you stay safe. Otherwise... there won’t be anyone left to remember my name.”

Liv’s expression was entirely serious; she had come to regard him as a friend.

Xiao Yan rubbed his chin, pondering for a moment. “It sounds like the ‘Tide’ organization’s targets are personnel possessing significant research capabilities. I’ll suggest to the higher-ups that we label our transport craft with the designation ‘Class B Personnel,’ just to save the ‘Tide’ organization the trouble of wasting their efforts.”

Liv laughed aloud. “I’ve truly never met anyone like you—someone who jokes about their own incompetence.”

“It’s true, then: Class B trainees really are the very embodiment of incompetence,” Xiao Yan declared, feigning a dramatic, skyward sigh.

“Alright, I have a hunch. Xiao Yan, you are going to become a top-tier researcher—someone capable of interfacing with those terminals so complex they defy comprehension. I hope that, while I’m still alive, I’ll get to hear the news that you’ve discovered a way to extend the lifespans of those infected with the X-virus. Don’t let me feel as though every single day is my last.”

Liv’s words caused a faint tremor in Xiao Yan’s heart.

To be someone’s hope—that was a truly wonderful feeling.

“If the day ever comes when I become a top-tier researcher, will Colonel Burton be assigned to protect *me*? And if so, will I be free to order him around and make him do whatever I please?” Xiao Yan asked, his face beaming with fanciful daydreams. “Keep dreaming. Even if that day actually came—with so many elites in the Special Task Force—there’s no guarantee they’d send Colonel Burton specifically to protect *you*.”

“Is there anyone out there more arrogant than him?”

“Of course there is.” Liv paused. “Take Jane Wallace, for instance. Once, simply because he didn’t like the look of a certain colonel in the Military Administration Department, he sliced ​​the man’s nose right off. Although reconstructive surgery eventually fitted a prosthetic nose perfectly back onto the colonel’s face, Jane Wallace’s insanity is a matter of public record.”

Sharon, in fact, was one of Jane Wallace’s subordinates. The Special Task Force certainly had no shortage of lunatics.

Xiao Yan let out a breath. “It seems the Special Task Force really is a ‘special’ place. Suddenly, Mark seems absolutely adorable by comparison!”

“Mark isn’t the most adorable one here. I have a gift for you. Come with me!”

Liv led Xiao Yan to her private quarters. Xiao Yan deliberately put on an expression of eager anticipation. “What is it? Could *you* be the gift?”

“*This* is your gift.” Ignoring Xiao Yan’s teasing, Liv placed a glass tumbler into his hands.

A thin layer of fine sand lined the bottom of the glass, where a small white conch shell lay quietly. Xiao Yan turned the glass over in his hands and caught a glimpse of something moving just inside the shell’s opening.

“Is this... a hermit crab? That’s absolutely fascinating! I’ve only ever seen them in the library’s database!”

Xiao Yan was completely captivated.

“We found it on the beach. You mentioned that you love the ocean, and a hermit crab... well, I suppose it counts as marine life, doesn’t it?”

“Thank you, Liv. I really love you! I’m going to go look up some information right away to figure out how to take care of it!”

“Don’t love *me*—go love Colonel Burton instead.”