Chapter 88—What we did

by Bocchan13

New Era Calender—April 7^th 22 years after the Fall

Song Yu was in a dark space.

He didn’t like the darkness, but there was no electricity that would go down so far below. Ye Zhou was the one who said this was the perfect place.

To rest.

To sleep.

To recover.

Song Yu’s bed was comfortable, with a small comforter and a bedside table. But nonetheless, it was still a dark and dingy capsule underground. No one knows what it used to be for—maybe a cellar or a bomb shelter.

Now it was inhabited by the Pure Ability User Song Yu, Leader of Paradise Base.

Song Yu sighed as he heard a drip drip drip next to his head. The spring showers never disappointed in finding its way into his shelter. Getting up, he rotated his joints, wondering how long he slept this time. The last thing he remembered, he was submerged in the bases lake, purifying the water.

He doesn’t know how long he was left there for, or when Ye Zhou had brought him back. His clothes were the ones he was submerged in, and had dried crustily on his body.

Paying it no mind, Song Yu scratched his mangy head and waited patiently for his mind to settle down. He breathed in deeply…inhale…

He felt the subtle breeze of the cache being opened.

Exhale…

He heard the familiar shuffling of feet.

Song Yu gently opened his eyes to see Ye Zhou coming in with lunch.

“Oh? You’re awake. That’s good. We need you to purify the crops on the outer left field. It seems the soil might have been contaminated. We should gather up the farmers and see which one was infected. I think it’s someone on the greenhouse team and our group is working on…”

Song Yu noddle tiredly and cautiously grabbed the food from Ye Zhou’s hands. There was rice, beans and a mixed vegetable stir fry. Slightly cold, probably due to the outside weather, but it was food nonetheless.

Song Yu continuously listened as Ye Zhou rattled off more things that needed to be done, and Song Yu just kept nodding in ascent whilst eating his meal.

When he finished the last bite, Ye Zhou gently set down purified water.

“You’ve slept for a long time. My friend, I’m always afraid that one day you’re not going to wake up.”

Song Yu croaked lowly, “How long was I out?”

“It’s April now. You were asleep for twenty days.”

Song Yu closed his eyes.

The more he overused his powers, the higher the backlash was. He had no control over how long he slept. With trembling hands, a faint blue aura manifested from his palms. His abilities were soft and gentle, the aura surrounding the cellar, lighting up the room.

“Don’t overuse your abilities. The base is fine for now. Why don’t you rest a bit more, huh? I can take care of the infected person by myself and—“

Song Yu shook his head. Scratching his somewhat long hair, he sighed deeply.

“No. As the Base Leader, it’s my duty to oversee the protection of Paradise Base. I still have enough power in me to purify the crops. The infected person will be a problem, so let’s find the healer who can detect aura’s and see if they can find them.”

Song Yu got up from his bed, his legs stiff from being stagnant for too long. Song Yu stretched his arms out like a starfish and yawned deeply.

“I gotta get out of this place too. Have someone come in and clean it up for me. I’ll go to sleep once everything is settled.”

Ye Zhou could only nod as Song Yu shakily moved towards the exit, taking the ladder slowly. Ye Zhou was right behind him, his yellow gaze darkening in displeasure.

…

Song Yu crept into his cellar, his bloodshot eyes blinking and drooping with fatigue. He tremblingly reached his bed, which was now cleaned up thanks to someone else and dropped dispiritedly. There was an aching in his body, in his head and his heart.

The purification of over twenty fields of crops, vegetables and cotton was too much. Way too much. Song Yu had spent eight days by himself, purifying everything. So much so, that they mutated and got bigger. Much to everyone’s happiness. No one noticed the sickly man as he tiredly went back into his cellar, desperate to fall asleep.

Song Yu stared up at the ceiling. This cellar was something both Song Yu and his friends devised so that Song Yu wouldn’t be taken advantage of when he was unconscious. No one knows about this place besides Ye Zhou and the five or six comrades.

It was the perfect place to rest.

But it was also the loneliest and most fragile space for Song Yu. He stretched out his hand towards the ceiling, seeing his white hands; now old and wrinkly, with calluses and dirty fingertips.

He was 44 years old now.

There was a sudden rush of tears. Song Yu didn’t know why he was so sad. All of the time, he was tired. So bitterly tired that whenever he woke up, he wanted to go back to sleep again and never see the light of day. He saw Paradise Base as a responsibility and a curse: sucking him dry to his very bones.

How long can I do this for?

How long can I last?

Song Yu gently closed his eyes, letting his sleepiness faze him into unconsciousness. Who knows how long he would sleep now.

…

“Goddammit! Fuck fuck fuck!”

Lan Zhou shot two balls of blue flames at the ability users, disintegrating them instantly. He turned forward to see Xiao Zi panting in earnest. Gritting his teeth, Lan Zhou spread out his awareness, trying to find a safe space for them. But either he was too exhausted from running too much, or he had overused his abilities, he could no longer think straight.

As the group of ability users outnumbered them, Lan Zhou had no choice but to retreat.

Fuck! Shit!

Lan Zhou was older now, and the things he used to do, he couldn’t do it no longer. But still, he had to try. His friends had all died. One by one, they merged with the underworld just to satisfy his fucking fantasy. Lan Zhou spotted something in his peripherals.

“Xiao Zi! 3 o’clock!”

Xiao Zi nodded fervently and sprinted to the shiny object on the floor. His glasses were askew as he gripped whatever it was.

Seeing it, it was…a hatch.

“Lan Zhou! We got cover!”

Lan Zhou shot another fireball, killing off the last person. But he knew there were more coming after them. He sighed in relief that they were too far off the see them. He went over to Xiao Zi, hoping it was open. The hatch was extremely heavy, and if Lan Zhou hadn’t noticed the shine, they would have missed it entirely.

“Why the fuck is Paradise Base fucking us over!? We just wanted to know where the Pure ability user was!”

“They don’t want our ‘help’. Even if we paid for a single drop of blood, it would cost us the entire Military Base! Fuck! I expected hostility, but this is insane.”

Lan Zhou gripped the hatch tightly, exerting with all of his strength.

I wish Yu Ci was here.

Thinking of his fallen friend, Lan Zhou shook his head. He yelled as the hatch door opened, revealing nothing but darkness on the inside.

“Go, go, go!”

Lan Zhou shot out one more fireball outside as a diversion before tightly holding the hatch, slamming it shut. The darkness could only be seen, they could only hear their harsh breathing.

“Careful, it’s a ladder. Go slow. We don’t know what’s down here.”

Lan Zhou used his senses to hear Xiao Zi descend first. When Xiao Zi finally reached the floor, it seemed to be about twenty feet down.

“The air pressure is fine. You can come down.”

Lan Zhou went down the ladder step by step, taking into account the surroundings. When he finally hit the floor, he looked around to see that the entrance was cylindrical opening up to a mid-sized rounded room.

He could hear the pitter patter of rainwater, probably a leak in the ceiling. He unfurled his palms, a bright blue flame illuminating the room. The room was like a dome, with no corners or straight lines. He saw a small table, a chair, a sink to one side with a mirror…and a bed.

Lan Zhou’s breath caught.

In the bed, there was a man. Pale in complexion with deep circles under his eyes. Long wavy hair curled around the white bed sheets. He appeared to be similar in age to Lan Zhou and Xiao Zi, with a slight wrinkle crinkling the corner of his eyes.

But the thing that caught Lan Zhou’s attention the most was the vulnerability this man possessed. He was curled up, clutching his comforter like a child, with his sweet breathing echoing the room.

It was love at first sight.

Bocchan13

These next few chapters will be about Song Yu's 'missing' memories!! Why did Song Yu and Lan Zhou get together so quickly huh? It was love at first sight!