"I’m starving," Wenzhi groaned, pressing a hand against his stomach.

The lack of sleep was finally starting to get to him.

Honestly, he barely even wanted to exist anymore and the urge to throw himself in front of a monster was beginning to sound more appealing than starving to death.

Which was ridiculous considering he had already finished almost all the food in the supply bag during the night.

Unfortunately, it had felt no different from eating air.

"I think we’re almost at the camp," Xinyuan said while checking the tracker in his hand.

So far, Xinyuan had been doing most of the heavy lifting.

Killing monsters. Carrying the supplies. Using the tracker that was somehow more useful for locating teammates than detecting the bloodthirsty monsters trying to kill them.

Meanwhile, Wenzhi was walking around like an actual zombie due to the lack of caffeine, food, and sleep in his system.

"Do you think camp food tastes good?" he suddenly asked.

Xinyuan looked at him before smiling softly. "You know, I could carry you so you don’t have to walk."

Wenzhi glared at him.

Xinyuan chuckled under his breath before looking back at the tracker.

Then, a sharp mechanical whir echoed from above.

Both of them looked up instantly.

The sun was beginning to rise, its light bleeding faintly through the red haze and making the sky slightly more visible.

That was when Wenzhi spotted the drones.

Three of them.

He narrowed his eyes as the drones shifted mechanically, transforming midair as compartments unfolded from their bodies, revealing mounted guns.

They opened fire.

"Shit—!"

Before the bullets could even reach them, dark mist exploded outward from Xinyuan’s body, swallowing both him and Wenzhi whole.

The world blurred violently as they vanished.

The mist transported them across the ruined city in a single instant before dispersing back into Xinyuan’s body.

Wenzhi staggered once they reappeared in another section of the city, his eyes widening.

Teleportation!

But something felt wrong.

Xinyuan’s aura had become unstable.

His wavelength crackled heavily with hostility as he let out a rough breath and his left eye flickered into that deep crimson again.

Wenzhi realized why Xinyuan had avoided teleporting this entire time.

It consumed too much of his strength and the backlash that followed was always worse afterward.

Frankly, aside from occasionally pulling Wenzhi into brief embraces or touching the side of his neck, Xinyuan had barely asked for guiding at all.

Even now, despite the obvious instability in his wavelength, he simply stood upright, shoved the tracker back into the supply bag, and started walking again.

"We’re almost there," he said quietly.

Wenzhi stared at his back for a moment before speaking. "If we go to the camp, we’re going to lure the Old Blood faction straight toward a bunch of innocent civilians."

Xinyuan stopped walking.

"I’m sure Commander Jiang and the others already have things under control," Wenzhi continued. "So let’s leave the red zone first and wait for them back at the shelter."

Slowly, Xinyuan turned to look at him.

His left eye had completely shifted into that deep crimson again and his breathing had become visibly uneven.

"I... okay." His voice cracked like he was forcing himself to stay normal even while something inside him was beginning to break apart.

Wenzhi raised a brow, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What is wrong with you?" he asked bluntly. "You’re entering backlash and yet you aren’t even clinging to me."

Xinyuan looked away. "I’m fine."

Despite the words, the instability in his wavelength was impossible to ignore.

Wenzhi rolled his eyes before walking past him. "Whatever you say."

To be fair, if Xinyuan ended up destroying the entire red zone, it probably would not be that terrible.

Then again, Wenzhi would also die if Xinyuan destroyed the red zone.

His face flattened with disbelief at his own thought process as he absentmindedly spun the gun in his grip.

Behind him, Xinyuan’s expression tightened with pain as he followed after Wenzhi.

It almost felt like his entire existence was unconsciously reaching toward Wenzhi.

Calling for him. Craving him. And somehow, that only made Wenzhi more irritated.

"Those drones definitely caught us on camera," he muttered thoughtfully. "They found us way too fast. How are they even keeping tra—"

He stopped abruptly.

"The restraint!" Wenzhi turned around so fast he nearly stumbled.

"Even if the CEA has a tracker in there, the old blood could have easily backdoored the system. They aren’t just following us, they’re piggybacking on the Authority’s own tech. That’s how they keep finding me, no matter where we hide."

Wenzhi’s words might as well have been white noise. Xinyuan stared, his eyes dark and dilated, caught in the gravitational pull of Wenzhi’s lips.

He watched the shape of every syllable, his own breath hitching in a slow, ragged rhythm that matched the movement of Wenzhi’s mouth.

"Oh." he blinked slowly.

Wenzhi walked toward him.

"Break it," he said firmly. "Break the restraint. If you do, I’ll guide you."

The moment those words left his mouth, Xinyuan seemed to snap out of the haze clouding his mind.

"No." His answer came instantly. "I’ll protect you from them."

"No, no." Wenzhi frowned. "You handle the monsters. I’ll handle the humans."

Xinyuan’s eyes stayed fixed on him. "The moment I remove that restraint, you won’t hesitate to leave."

Then he took a step backward. Away from Wenzhi like he was actively trying not to get close to him despite the fact that his entire existence practically screamed for Wenzhi’s presence.

Wenzhi frowned deeper.

He could feel it. He could feel how badly Xinyuan wanted to reach for him.

"I won’t leave," he lied easily.

Xinyuan clearly did not believe him.

"Look," Wenzhi continued impatiently. "This is the most rational thing to do right now. If you destroy the restraint, they lose the tracker and we can move freely."

He pointed toward Xinyuan sharply. "You need your strength to fight monsters, not waste it dealing with a bunch of mercenaries and obsessed fanatics."

Xinyuan still looked unconvinced.

Wenzhi sighed and stepped closer again.

Xinyuan stepped back.

That instantly irritated him.

"Why the hell are you moving away from me like I have some contagious disease?"

Xinyuan avoided his eyes.

"You’re still recovering from your cold," he said quietly. "You need to recover completely before initiating another guiding session."

Wenzhi froze.

So that was why Xinyuan kept distancing himself occasionally.

Why he limited himself to brief touches and quiet embraces instead.

Wenzhi let out a slow breath. "Break the restr—"

A gunshot rang out. The bullet slammed straight into Wenzhi’s abdomen.

He froze as pain exploded through his body so suddenly that his mind went blank for a second.

Shock followed immediately after.

Wenzhi looked at Xinyuan.

Xinyuan’s lips had parted like he was screaming but Wenzhi could not hear him anymore.

His ears were ringing.

He pressed a shaking hand against his stomach. And when he pulled it away, his palm was covered in blood.

He really had been shot.