Chapter 27: Buddy, Is This Still Your First Kiss?
Footsteps were constantly closing in around them. The group hid behind trees in a wretched state, knowing this wasn’t the way. They’d be discovered sooner or later.
Jiang Chenyan and Shen Shiyue exchanged a look. Both threw smoke grenades at the same time. Smoke instantly spread, and the five took the opportunity to retreat quickly.
“Don’t let them get away!”
“Chase them!”
Shouts followed closely behind. The group ran with all their might, discovering that the others were in hot pursuit and that the bullets were always aimed in the same direction.
Their target was Jiang Chenyan.
Jiang Chenyan’s brows were locked tight. He had offended plenty of people in his daily life; for a moment, he couldn’t even think of who it was that wanted him dead.
He turned to look at Shen Shiyue and the others. “I’ll lead them away. You guys go first.”
Shen Shiyue’s face darkened instantly. He didn’t speak, clearly opposing the idea.
Beside them, Ji Xuan was anxious. “How can we do that? If we go, we go together!”
“Their target is me,” Jiang Chenyan said with more emphasis, his gaze sweeping over everyone. “If you follow me, you’ll only be dragged down by me. None of us will be able to run then. Don’t worry, I have my own way to get away. Trust me.”
After speaking, he gave Shen Shiyue a deep look, gesturing for him to take them away.
This was the best choice right now; they couldn’t all be finished here.
Shen Shiyue took a deep breath. “I’ll go with you.”
“No,” Jiang Chenyan refused, his gaze solemn. “I’m not certain I can protect both of us at the same time. You must go with them.”
Shen Shiyue was silent for a moment, but in the end, he still nodded. He stared at him and added: “I’ll get them settled and go find you immediately.”
Jiang Chenyan raised his hand and made an ‘OK’ sign to put him at ease. Even if he made a mistake and was eliminated from the competition, their team still had four people. It wasn’t a loss; it was better than the whole team being wiped out.
The others knew that now wasn’t the time to be stubborn. They could only follow Shen Shiyue and retreat first.
As Jiang Chenyan had expected, as soon as the two groups separated, most of the teams chased in Jiang Chenyan’s direction. Only a small number of people still followed Shen Shiyue and the others.
A group of people chased Jiang Chenyan like they were mad. Looking at this situation, he was almost certainly going to die.
When the big screen suddenly cut to this scene, the people in the stands instantly exploded, filled with shock.
“What exactly is going on?”
Kai Lan, who was fully armed with a mask, sat straight up from his seat. “Why is everyone chasing Jiang Chenyan?”
Ariel frowned. “Can you sit properly?”
“This isn’t right. Someone’s likely setting him up… mmph.”
Ariel suddenly covered Kai Lan’s mouth, using force with his fingertips as he lowered his voice to warn: “Don’t just say whatever comes to mind!”
The discussions around them didn’t stop. Someone shook their head and sighed: “That student is likely going to be eliminated in a bit.”
“What a pity…”
“Even if it’s a pity, there’s nothing that can be done. The outcome is decided.”
In the main seats of the viewing stands, Jiang Xuanshen only stared coldly at the scene on the screen, his face showing no ripple at all.
Jiang Chenyan on the screen gradually lost his previous composure, looking more and more wretched. He finally managed to roll into a dirt pit to hide, wanting to temporarily avoid the brunt of it, but was quickly discovered. He had no choice but to roll back up, covered in dirt, and continue running for his life.
Jiang Xuanshen watched all this quietly. The warmth in his eyes faded away bit by bit, his gaze becoming colder and colder.
His gaze fell on the point panel. The teams led by Xie Huaijin and Mu Sixian had already firmly taken the first and second positions. The situation was clear.
On the other side, Jiang Chenyan was already panting for breath. Every step was heavy, yet he didn’t dare stop for a second. He quickly scanned the surrounding terrain and suddenly said to the system: “Is there the kind of cliff that isn’t particularly steep?”
[System: Holy crap, you want to jump off a cliff? Falling down could kill you from the pain!]
“I said one that isn’t particularly steep.” Jiang Chenyan panted; he really couldn’t run anymore.
[System: About two hundred meters to the left and front, there’s a rock wall with a gentler slope. There are bushes at the bottom to cushion the fall. It can barely count…]
[System: However, there’s a high probability of only one ending: ‘Death’. Be careful; don’t blame me if you die, okay?]
Jiang Chenyan gave a fake smile. “I won’t blame you.”
He ran with all his might in the direction the system pointed. The cliff in the distance was already clearly visible. He was forced to stop. All the people behind him had surged forward; over a dozen people instantly surrounded him in a tight circle.
Jiang Chenyan’s steps paused. In front of him was a steep rock wall; behind him was the enemy team closing in step by step. He was completely trapped.
“Crap!” one of them said as he leaned on his knees, panting heavily. He couldn’t help but curse, “This kid runs so fast. He’s exhausted me!”
“Fast or not, it’s useless,” another said as he wiped away sweat. A cold smile curled his lips. “He won’t be able to run in a bit. Hurry up and kill him.”
Jiang Chenyan slowly backed up, his gaze firmly fixed on the dozen or so people in front of him. His peripheral vision was quickly gauging the cliff behind him, his mind rapidly calculating the possibility of survival.
Outside the field, everyone had exploded. Everyone’s eyes were wide, their faces full of disbelief. “No way? This is clearly a dead end! How can he still hide?”
“He can’t hide. Actually, I was quite looking forward to Jiang Chenyan’s group. I didn’t expect him to be eliminated so quickly.”
“No way? Are you crazy? What’s there to look forward to? Luckily you didn’t bet on him, otherwise you’d have lost everything.”
“That’s an exaggeration…”
Father Jiang’s face was so dark it could drip ink. “I knew he wouldn’t do. He was bound to stumble here sooner or later.”
Jiang Xuanshen didn’t speak. His gaze was locked on the figure standing on the edge of the cliff on the screen. However, a rare, faint arc curled at the corner of his mouth.
Now, he should finally go back with him obediently.
Everyone believed Jiang Chenyan was at a dead end, with zero chance of survival.
It was as if the outcome was decided.
The next second, Jiang Chenyan suddenly raised his hands. His voice was unusually calm. “Everyone, since I’m going to be eliminated sooner or later anyway, can you let me give a speech?”
There was a brief silence on the scene.
“…I’ll give you one minute,” someone said impatiently.
“Wait, buddy, are you really letting him give a speech before he dies?”
“…”
Jiang Chenyan curled his lips. At the very second everyone thought he was about to start speaking, he suddenly turned and leaped down the cliff. Simultaneously, he raised his hand and pulled the trigger. His movements were so fast that people didn’t have time to react.
Bullets flew out quickly, precisely hitting their targets. Over half of the surrounding people instantly lit up with elimination signals and fell straight to the ground.
At the moment he fell off the cliff, his whole body was so fast it was just a blurry shadow. It was neat and didn’t have a shred of hesitation.
This scene was so cool it stunned everyone.
They were dazed from watching.
In their field of vision, a black figure didn’t hesitate for a second, leaping straight down toward the cliff. In the moment before his body fell, several bullets suddenly flew out. At the moment they rubbed against the air, they splashed fine and eye-catching sparks.
Whether it was the teams on the cliff edge who hadn’t reacted yet or the people outside the simulator staring at the screen, all of them were frozen on the spot, completely stunned.
Kai Lan: “Awesome.”
Ariel: “…”
Looking at the black shadow that had disappeared from the screen, Ariel spoke calmly: “Don’t be happy too soon. That cliff isn’t low.”
Kai Lan opened his mouth, but in the end, he didn’t say anything. He only stared at the screen in silence.
The audience also fell into a brief silence. Then, fine discussions broke out, full of doubt: “No way? Falling from that height, can he still live?”
But everyone waited for several minutes, and the elimination notification for Jiang Chenyan never popped up on the screen.
At this, the crowd below was in an uproar.
Jiang Xuanshen’s brows were locked tight. The faint trace of a smile from before had vanished without a trace.
Jiang Chenyan only knew that he was constantly falling. The wind whistled in his ears, and the feeling of weightlessness made his heart tighten.
Just as he thought he was going to crash heavily onto the ground, his back suddenly hit a dense patch of vines.
A thicket of wild vines growing in the middle of the cliff was extremely tough. Layers upon layers of them wrapped around his body, forcefully absorbing most of the force of his fall.
Jiang Chenyan took the opportunity to reach out and grab the thickest vine. He slid down several meters following the momentum until his feet hit a rock protruding outward, stabilizing himself.
Touching the abrasions on his arm, Jiang Chenyan sighed in his heart.
His luck was pretty good; he hadn’t ‘died’.
The cliff truly wasn’t steep, as the system had said. Jiang Chenyan stumbled and bumped his way down the slope. Although he didn’t suffer a serious injury, his body was covered in new wounds. The hem of his clothes was torn into rags, and his face was stained with mud and blood. He looked extremely wretched.
[System: My heart hurts for you.]
“Scram.”
Jiang Chenyan looked at the ranking timer on his wrist and fell into thought.
Shen Shiyue’s side should have successfully counter-killed the pursuers. Adding the people he had just eliminated, their team’s points finally showed some life. They were respectable, yet they could only be ranked in the middle.
In contrast, six or seven teams had already been completely wiped out.
What did this mean? It meant that most teams were getting points by killing other teams.
Only a few hours had passed, and it was already this kind of situation.
My blind guess is that Mu Sixian and Xie Huaijin, those two, have attacked quite a few other teams.
Jiang Chenyan was so tired he leaned against the rock wall, panting. He first sent his location to Shen Shiyue. Seeing a stream not far away, he dragged his heavy steps toward it, wanting to wash his face to refresh himself.
He had just cupped the cold stream water to his face, his fingertips not yet touching his skin, when a scorching heat suddenly surged from deep within his body. It instantly spread to every part of his being.
Jiang Chenyan froze suddenly.
This familiar feeling was clearly a sign of his heat cycle.
He had clearly injected a suppressant not long ago. Why would it suddenly start?
Jiang Chenyan frowned. Was it that he had used suppressants too frequently before, and his body was gradually becoming immune?
At the moment, he could only rely on physical cooling. Jiang Chenyan gritted his teeth and edited a message to Shen Shiyue: “A bit of a situation. Don’t come over for now.”
After sending the message, he endured the scorching heat in his body and secretly changed to a hidden section of the stream, leaping in suddenly.
The cold stream water instantly enveloped his whole body. The bone-chilling cold made him shiver uncontrollably; it nearly froze him to death.
“Wait, is it really this cold?”
The system was startled:
[System: Host, don’t mistreat yourself like this! It might be a false heat.]
Jiang Chenyan was a bit broken. He hated this world.
But this method truly was effective. After soaking in the water for about fifteen minutes, the scorching heat in his body gradually receded.
Jiang Chenyan’s teeth chattered from the cold. He still asked the system first: “The camera isn’t pointed at me, right?”
[System: Checked for you. Not for now. Safe.]
Hearing this, Jiang Chenyan let out a slight sigh of relief. He held onto the bank, wanting to stand up, but his hands and feet had long since gone numb from the cold. His foot slipped, and he was heavily tripped by a stone at the bottom of the water. His whole body nearly fell back into the water.
A strong force suddenly supported him, steadily stopping his downward slide and preventing him from falling into the water again.
Jiang Chenyan looked up. It was Shen Shiyue; he had found him.
Shen Shiyue didn’t say much. He first supported him step by step as they moved to the bank. His gaze swept over his soaked uniform and wounds. He frowned. “How are you?”
“I’m fine. Just went into the water to cool off for a bit,” Jiang Chenyan said dismissively, then asked about the others, “What about them?”
“We’ve split up. I’m responsible for finding you.” Shen Shiyue draped his own dry jacket over Jiang Chenyan. “I shouldn’t have let you act alone.”
He was injured to this extent.
“It’s actually alright. At least I wasn’t eliminated.” Jiang Chenyan’s voice was weak, and he forced a smile.
He leaned on Shen Shiyue, the strength in his whole body as if it had been drained. He sighed tiredly: “I’m afraid… I’ll really have to drag you down for a little while.”
As soon as he finished speaking, his body went soft, and he completely lost consciousness.
Shen Shiyue hurriedly caught him firmly. When his fingertips touched the other’s cold skin, his heart felt as if it were being squeezed by something, aching in throbs.
Shen Shiyue had extremely strong survival skills in the wild. He quickly found dry branches on the bank, lit a campfire, and boiled some water.
He gently placed Jiang Chenyan on the laid-out dry clothes, helping him change out of his soaked clothes with extreme care.
As night approached, he found a relatively dry cave and brought the person inside.
Jiang Chenyan’s whole body still radiated heat. His consciousness was muddled, and he only felt that the temperature all around was burning.
In his daze, a cold palm gently covered his forehead. The coolness seeped through his skin, and it was so comfortable he couldn’t help but let out a groan.
Jiang Chenyan couldn’t help but move closer, his lips touching that hand.
Shen Shiyue: “…”
Even though his consciousness was blurred and his face had the flush of illness, Jiang Chenyan’s features were still handsome and good-looking. A good-looking person is still good-looking when they are sick.
He probably completely recognized the person in front of him. He suddenly reached out and threw himself into Shen Shiyue’s embrace, commanding, “Buddy, let me give you a hug.”
It’s so cool.
Later, Jiang Chenyan pushed his luck further, his hand touching the corner of Shen Shiyue’s lips. He asked for no reason, “Buddy, is this still your first kiss?”
Even though he was burning up like this, Jiang Chenyan was always worried about Shen Shiyue being taken by those few Protagonist Attackers.
Shen Shiyue’s Adam’s apple rolled. “Take a guess.”
Recommended Reads
