Chapter 212: Mutation (Part X)
Bai Yinnian had intended to apologize to Xiao Ji one last time for the intrusion and then make a quick exit.
Unexpectedly, the moment he stepped out of the bathroom, he saw Xiao Ji curled up on the bed, trembling slightly. He looked as though he were enduring some unbearable agony.
Bai Yinnian’s heart tightened. He rushed to Xiao Ji’s side, knelt on one knee, and asked:
“What’s wrong?”
Xiao Ji hadn’t expected the pain, which hadn’t flared up for several days, to arrive at this moment.
His blood vessels felt as if they were bursting, surging rapidly through his body.
All his cells were being broken down and reorganized.
His internal organs felt as if they were being twisted together.
The red patterns on his arm grew increasingly vivid, beginning to spread from his arm toward his right shoulder and chest.
His throat felt as if it were stuck with thorns; he couldn’t speak.
Xiao Ji curled up on the bed and didn’t respond.
But seeing those spreading red veins, Bai Yinnian immediately understood what Xiao Ji was going through.
This was the same path Bai Yinnian had once walked.
“Deep breaths, Xiao Ji. Don’t be afraid,” he said, trying to comfort him.
Xiao Ji moved his fingers slightly, indicating he was fine.
But Bai Yinnian misunderstood the gesture.
He reached out and grasped Xiao Ji’s hand. As another wave of tremors racked Xiao Ji’s body, Bai Yinnian scooped him up and pulled him into his arms.
He stroked Xiao Ji’s back, trying to help ease the pain, and said to him:
“If you can’t take it, you can bite me.”
Xiao Ji rested his chin on Bai Yinnian’s shoulder, quietly monitoring the condition of his body.
After a short while, the pain gradually subsided.
Xiao Ji’s body relaxed, and he leaned into Bai Yinnian’s embrace, whispering:
“Thank you.”
This agonizing pain was a necessary hurdle for everyone whose body underwent mutation.
The so-called full-body tremors were actually spasms triggered by the intense pain.
Even Bai Yinnian had been pushed to the brink of death by the pain several times back then.
Fortunately, this pain never lasted very long.
And once the mutation was complete, it would never return.
Bai Yinnian had never seen someone react as calmly as Xiao Ji.
He could feel Xiao Ji still trembling slightly from the aftershocks of the pain. He didn’t let go, simply holding him and teasing:
“You have a lot of endurance. Anyone else would have been rolling on the floor screaming by now.”
Xiao Ji took a deep breath, leaning his full weight against Bai Yinnian. His voice was a bit raspy.
“That would be too unsightly.”
Bai Yinnian smelled the scent on Xiao Ji, and his mind was filled with the image of Xiao Ji’s face—which he currently couldn’t see.
It was indeed hard to imagine someone with Xiao Ji’s looks rolling around on the ground.
It had been an emergency, so the hug was justified.
But now that Xiao Ji had recovered, it would be presumptuous for Bai Yinnian to keep holding him.
He cleared his throat and released his grip, saying tactically:
“I’ll go get you some water.”
He walked out of the room and rubbed his fingers together; he could still clearly recall the rhythm of Xiao Ji’s tremors against his chest.
Bai Yinnian didn’t know what was wrong with him.
The tips of his ears were burning with discomfort.
He went to the kitchen and downed a large glass of cold water before finally feeling that restless, scratching sensation in his heart dissipate slightly.
He looked down at the towel around his waist. After a moment’s thought, he went back upstairs, changed into a clean pair of combat trousers, and then came back down with a glass of warm water for Xiao Ji.
But while Bai Yinnian was now fully dressed, Xiao Ji was even less so.
His pajama buttons had all come undone. One side hung loosely off his shoulder, while the other had slipped down completely.
Across his originally pale chest, a pattern of bewitching red veins had appeared, looking incredibly ethereal.
Xiao Ji leaned against the headboard, looking somewhat listless as if his strength had been drained.
Both men knew exactly what had just happened.
But this sight of him with spent energy, disheveled clothes, and messy hair made it hard not to associate the scene with something else.
Bai Yinnian cursed “Succubus” in his heart. He forced himself not to stare at Xiao Ji as he sat beside him and handed him the water.
Xiao Ji wasn’t easy to serve; he just leaned there without moving and said to Bai Yinnian, “I don’t want to move.”
If it were anyone else, Bai Yinnian would have surely snapped:
“Then just go die.”
But the person speaking was Xiao Ji, and Bai Yinnian found himself once again being ordered around against his will.
He patiently brought the glass to Xiao Ji’s lips and helped him drink half the water.
By the time they were done, it was late into the night.
Bai Yinnian touched Xiao Ji’s forehead.
“Contamination causes mutation in human tissue. Until the mutation is complete, the pain will flare up sporadically. I’m not sure what stage you’re at right now. Do you feel anything yourself?”
He was telling Xiao Ji this partly out of concern for the situation—Xiao Ji was the only other one of his “kind” he had found.
On the other hand, even he was starting to feel a bit confused.
Xiao Ji’s dark eyes looked at Bai Yinnian. “What should I be feeling?”
Bai Yinnian said, “The most common is a change in physical appearance. Low-level mutants can’t control these changes, but you should be able to.”
Xiao Ji held up his right hand and examined it under the lamp.
“I can’t feel it. There’s no change.”
Bai Yinnian stared at his pale, slender hand with its well-defined knuckles for a moment before continuing:
“The more subtle ones involve significant improvements in physical fitness, strength, and the five senses.”
“Like Liu Xi.”
“Liu Xi has no physical changes, but her senses are incredibly sharp. In a quiet environment, if she chooses, she can hear every tiny sound within a three-hundred-meter radius.”
Xiao Ji stared into Bai Yinnian’s eyes. “I don’t have any special feelings currently.”
Bai Yinnian wanted to say more, but Xiao Ji clearly didn’t want to continue the topic.
He reached out and hooked his pinky finger around Bai Yinnian’s. Then he said softly:
“Can you stay and sleep with me?”
Bai Yinnian had been used to sleeping alone for the past three years.
His instinct was to refuse.
But just like before, facing Xiao Ji’s request, the words of refusal simply wouldn’t come out.
He struggled for a long time before saying awkwardly, “Fine.”
Xiao Ji continued to stare at him. “Take off your clothes.”
Bai Yinnian removed his shirt and trousers, leaving only his underwear, and climbed onto the other side of the bed.
They shared the same quilt, but there was a two-foot gap between them.
Bai Yinnian felt his actions were bizarre.
He seemed to have a subconscious, infinite tolerance for Xiao Ji.
Xiao Ji turned off the light. He stared at the ceiling in the dark for a while before saying to Bai Yinnian:
“It’s hard to refuse me, isn’t it?”
Bai Yinnian turned his head toward Xiao Ji’s profile in the darkness.
After a long silence, he seemed to realize something. His eyes narrowed.
“Your ability… is it affinity with mutants?”
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