绝代双骄 林志颖

All of a sudden, as if time froze in place, everything stood still.

The scarlet vertical pupils were like bloody sea and the small black cat’s figure was reflected at the bottom of his pupils — it was unexpectedly peaceful.

The smoke and dust dissipated, the cold distant stars were shining on the sky.

The giant wolf slowly closed his eyes.

Wu Zhuowen stared frightened at the shocking scene in front of him, he could hardly believe his eyes.

——Was such a thing… really possible?

·

Ge Xiu’s drug proved to be effective.

After the giant wolf was injected with it, it gradually returned to its human form.

It’s just that after the earth-shaking war, his physical exertion was too great, so he’d most likely sleep for a long time before waking up.

After clearing the battlefield, Wu Zhuowen, as the acting leader of the organization, began to operate non-stop in accordance with the plan established early in the morning.

A research report on radioactivity brought about by new energy materials was disclosed.

Its content included the possible mutating effects of energy radiation on human genes.

The business development lines of related companies and the comparison map of the first batch of beasts have caused a big wave in public opinion.

Then there came the research report on the gene variation suppression collars.

It exposed the irreversible radiation the collar poisoned potential lycanthropes with, as well as the shocking and irreversible consequences it can have.

Strictly trained lycanthrope teams attacked several army garrison overnight, and made top secrets they’ve got their hands on public —including how to specifically manipulate public opinion, incite hatred towards beastmen, to creating new weapons, then mobilising the armed forces, to wipe out all lycanthropes together in the end.

The horrific plans were exposed without reservation.

A series of inhumane experiments involving captured lycanthropes were revealed.

A political scandal that shocked the entire world broke out.

——This was simply inhuman, heartless, unethical behaviour.

The government was thrown into panic and struggled to suppress public opinion, but dire situation of the authorities intensified, their credibility long lost.

The lycanthropes declared themselves a separate species from humans, and at the same time proving to the world that they have the ability and the technology to treat potential lycanthropes who had been victims of collar radiation for decades, so that they no longer have to fear becoming mindless beasts. Altogether, they demanded from humans that the lycanthropes needed an independent living space.

They require absolute independent, and not interfered with, autonomous power.

The situation changed rapidly, changes turbulent and unpredictable.

Three days later, Shen Boyan woke up from a long-term coma.

He blinked slowly, his memory was distant and vague, and the only remaining visions in his mind were fragmented and intermittent, shrouded in a layer of scarlet blood from beginning to end.

Bullets piercing the air, falling rocks and dust, roars and screams, all seemed to be something like from the last century.

Shen Boyan stared fixedly at the ceiling above his head, raised his hand and touched the tip of his nose lightly.

The slightly moist, soft touch seemed to remain to this moment on the tip of his nose.

——Was it all a dream?

Or just a hallucination.

Shen Boyan raised his hand and touched his neck — the place where he had the collar was empty.

As if struck, he turned his head slightly.

The palm-sized little black cat was curled up into a fluffy ball, laying beside his pillow, his body undulating evenly with its breathing.

Shen Boyan’s eyes softened subconsciously.

He propped up his upper body, leaned down slightly, and gently pressed his forehead against the cat’s head.

The tips of the little black cat’s ears trembled, a pair of emerald eyes slowly opened.

It opened its mouth, yawned slowly, and then came closer, touching Shen Yan’s cheek lightly with the tip of its wet nose, as if saying hello.

Shen Boyan’s breathing stagnated slightly.

As if the heart had been hit by something, his heartbeat was thrown into disorter.

The kitten looked at him with its head tilted, and as if realizing something it pulled out a small typewriter specially designed for the cat’s paws.

A line of words appeared on the screen:

“It is indeed night, but it’s better if maintain your human form for now, so that you will recover faster.”

Its fluffy tail brushed lightly over Shen Boyan’s wrists .

Only then did Shen Boyan notice that there was a silver metal ring flashing with green light wrapped around his wrist.

“Don’t worry, what I have improved will not have any side effects.”

The little black cat licked his paws, looking very arrogant.

Shen Boyan couldn’t help but chuckle.

He raised his hand and scratched the cat’s chin lightly: “You are amazing.”

The little black cat’s green eyes narrowed slightly and it glanced at him lazily, as if to say “of course”.

——Actually, after Shen Boyan woke up, he didn’t have time to think about the change in attitude between himself and the other.

Because, at the moment when he saw the figure of the kitten curled up beside his pillow, all his thoughts were occupied, and he could no longer make more systematic logical inferences.

His eyes and thoughts, all filled with him.

·

Finally, half a year later, under the growing threat and pressure from the lycanthropes, the government was forced to recognize the existence of this emerging species and assigned an area independent of other continents to the lycanthropes.

After only a short year, the lycanthropes had fully settled on their own mainland.

They made laws and rules more suitable for this race, starting a new life in the New World in an orderly manner.

Wu Zhuowen’s face wrinkled in suffering: “Are you really not going to be this leader?”

Shen Boyan indifferently looked back and nodded.

“…But I don’t want to be either!” Wu Zhuowen collapsed a little: “It’s clear that you and Chen Ziyan were the biggest heroes, you should enjoy the fruits of victory the most!!”

Shen Boyan was indifferent:

“I don’t have time.”

Wu Zhuowen’s expression darkened and fell into silence.

Chen Ziyan’s condition was getting worse day by day. The period of time when he stayed awake became shorter and shorter and his body began to gradually weaken.

Wu Zhuowen couldn’t help but think of the last time he saw the other—

the little black cat the size of a palm was lying in the thick silver-gray fur of the giant wolf, sleeping soundly, so thin that he was almost completely submerged in the fluff.

The giant wolf stared at the small cat lying on his body for a long time.

The blood-coloured pupils were filled with complex feelings that Wu Zhuowen could not comprehend and would never understand.

The next second, it realised Wu Zhuowen’s arrival, and looked over threateningly – Wu Zhuowen suddenly felt a guilty conscience after being caught, so he hurriedly turned around and slipped away in extremely fast and fluid way that did not match his body shape.

Wu Zhuowen sighed: “…Okay.”

Shen Boyan nodded and turned to leave.

“But…is there really no other way?” Wu Zhuowen couldn’t help asking.

Shen Boyan turned his head, his scarlet pupils were dark and unpredictable, the deep voice did not fluctuate:

“No.”

For a whole year they tried everything across the entire world, but nothing could stop Chen Ziyan’s gradually dissipating vitality — Wu Zhuowen witnessed Shen Boyan becoming more silent and curt every day, where he would never show a smile except in front of Chen Zhiyan.

However, to Wu Zhuowen’s surprise — Shen Boyan suddenly laughed:

“…but it doesn’t matter.”

Wu Zhuowen was taken aback.

At this time, he finally saw clearly that in the depths of Shen Boyan’s eyes, as unfathomable like sea of blood, there was unpredictable burning fire forcefully restrained by reason and sober madness, as well as paranoia that was almost demonic:

“Death will not separate us.”

Wu Zhuowen involuntarily felt a chill on his back, creepy feeling rushed up at once.

“He’s mine.”

Shen Boyan said calmly.

He withdrew his gaze, turned around and walked out, leaving behind a confident sentence:

“We will meet again in the next world.”

.

Ge Xiu opened his eyes.

The battered fan hung crookedly above his head, almost falling the filthy ceiling, spinning non-stop, making a monotonous and dizzying rusty buzz, but it still couldn’t dispel the lifeless air and heat in the room.

The strong stink of something rotten in the air was almost suffocating.

tick.

Some liquid dripped down and landed on Ge Xiu’s forehead.

He was stunned for a while, raised his hand to wipe the wet stains on his forehead, his eyes moved slightly and fell on his raised fingers.

The dark red viscous liquid adhered to his fingertips, giving off an unpleasant stench.

——Blood.