Chapter 8: Crystal Core, Good Husband
Even though he thought that, Li Yao still pushed him away and devoured his dinner sitting on the floor.
Extremely cold-hearted.
Liang Huan didn’t mind, continuing to watch his movie. He was engrossed in the plot when he was suddenly grabbed by the wrist. He instinctively twisted his wrist to seize the other’s vital point, but hesitated for a moment, missing the opportunity. Li Yao followed his arm, pressed down on his shoulder, and rested his elbow on the back of his neck, saying in a deep voice, “Behave yourself.”
Seeing this, Liang Huan stopped resisting, “What are you doing?”
“You were quite skilled that day, why can’t you do it now?” Li Yao asked him.
“Perhaps extreme fear stimulated my potential,” Liang Huan was pinned uncomfortably on the rocking chair. Suppressing the urge to flip him over, he patiently said, “Don’t resort to violence at every turn. My physical fitness rating is only D. What if you break me?”
Li Yao got up, but didn’t release his wrist. Instead, he grabbed his hand, opened the chip on his wrist, directly entered his fingerprint, and began to operate his chip.
Realizing what he was doing, Liang Huan was very displeased, “You’re invading my privacy.”
“I’m your husband, you have no privacy with me,” Li Yao said matter-of-factly, directly binding his chip to his own. He shook his wrist, “I can receive news of your whereabouts in real-time. Dare to run around again, and you’re dead.”
Liang Huan didn’t refute, “Can I see where you are?”
“Of course not,” Li Yao sneered, “I’m executing confidential missions.”
“Understood,” Liang Huan lowered his head and fiddled with the chip. Suddenly, Li Yao received a message.
He opened it with suspicion. A crisp text message sounded: 【Dear Mr. Li Yao, you have successfully repaid Mr. Liang Huan’s loan of 30036 Concentrated Coins at Dawn Bank on March 4, 137, at 17:21. Your current account balance is 21.1 Concentrated Coins.】
Li Yao abruptly raised his head, “You dare use my money?”
“You’re my husband, this is what you should do,” Liang Huan said unhurriedly, “I didn’t force you to bind.”
Li Yao laughed out of anger, “You—”
【Dear Mr. Li Yao, Mr. Liang Huan transferred 500 Concentrated Coins to you on March 4, 137, at 17:25. Your current account balance is 521.1 Concentrated Coins.】
“This is your living expense for two days,” Liang Huan said without changing his expression, “Consider the thirty thousand as your advance deposit, how about it?”
Li Yao’s face was dark.
“Li Yao, I’m already very good to you. If I didn’t see that you were really struggling, I wouldn’t reduce the one million deposit by even a single coin,” Liang Huan rubbed his wrist, which had been squeezed sore, and said seriously, “If I can’t recover my memory in the future, the money will be returned to you in its entirety. This is a very cost-effective deal.”
Li Yao decisively restricted the chip binding permissions between them, “You wish.”
Liang Huan looked at him with slight regret, “Don’t worry, I won’t run around.”
Li Yao sneered and was about to go to bed when Liang Huan grabbed his wrist, “Your bed is here.”
He touched the rocking chair next to him. The chair instantly extended into a single bed with a mattress and pillow, looking somewhat simple. Liang Huan said with great seriousness, “The sales robot said that this model is good for a mercenary’s back. You work hard on missions every day, you should rest well.”
Li Yao was almost fooled by him, “Then you sleep yourself.”
“If I sleep comfortably, perhaps I can remember faster,” Liang Huan sat on the edge of the bed and looked at him, “So I can help you pilot the mecha sooner.”
Half an hour later, Li Yao was lying in bed, the more he thought about it, the more wrong it felt. What did it matter to him whether Liang Huan slept comfortably or not? If he couldn’t remember, he could just get lost. But in the end, Liang Huan took his money, slept in his bed, and even the prepared food and delivered cigarettes were bought with his own money – and he actually thought Liang Huan was a good person?!
He sat up, looking at the side with a displeased expression. Liang Huan was already lying in his bed covered with his quilt, his hands crossed on his chest, breathing steadily. That face was nestled in the soft, fluffy bright yellow pillow, looking exceptionally handsome and clean.
Forget it, it’s just thirty thousand Concentrated Coins.
Besides, although this folding bed is hard, at least… it’s good for the back.
Li Yao lay down, pillowed on his arm, and quickly fell asleep.
Liang Huan slowly opened his eyes, turned to look at the sleeping man. Li Yao didn’t seem to be afraid of the cold, didn’t cover himself with anything, and could fall asleep pillowing on his bare upper body, but he didn’t sleep peacefully, his brows furrowed tightly. He didn’t know what kind of mission he had carried out, but there were many wounds on his body. However, he didn’t seem to care at all, not treating them at all. He could still smell a faint bloody scent in the air.
This person has a fierce mouth, but his heart is unexpectedly good.
If he let Li Yao eat the “Mental Strength Relaxing Agent”, and then tried to get the “black box”, he might be able to quickly gain the trust of “Mr.”. Taking action would also be much more convenient. At the very least, he had to get the “medicine” to find out. If he kept Li Yao, the other’s strength and restriction of his freedom made him unhappy, and it was hard to guarantee that he wouldn’t become a threat in the future, and if Li Yao died –
“What are you looking at me for?” Li Yao’s cold voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
Liang Huan didn’t expect him to be so perceptive. He smiled at him in the darkness, “I can’t sleep. I feel at ease looking at you.”
Li Yao was speechless for two seconds before saying, “You’re sick in the head.”
He seemed to find Li Yao’s appearance very interesting, the smile in his eyes undiminished, “I thought about it. Why don’t we go to the training ground now, how about it?”
“Now?” Li Yao was simply baffled, “The protective facilities at the training ground are all powered off right now. Are you looking for death?”
“Didn’t you say you would protect me?” Liang Huan grabbed his wrist and pulled him up from the bed, “I want to go now.”
Li Yao frowned, “I ran in the outer district for sixteen hours today, my mental strength is almost exhausted, I can’t take another person.”
“Li Yao,” Liang Huan leaned over, grabbed the back of his neck, and encouraged him with a serious expression, “I believe you can do it. Don’t you want to pilot the mecha again?”
“Of course I want to—” Li Yao wiped his face, his voice suddenly paused, “What do you mean?”
Liang Huan looked at him with an innocent expression, “Huh?”
“What do you mean, ‘pilot the mecha again’?” Li Yao said in a deep voice, “Have you met me before?”
Liang Huan said with confusion, “Of course not. You want me to help you, isn’t that because you knew how to pilot before?”
Li Yao stared at him for a long time before realizing that they were too close now. He slapped his hand away, “Don’t touch me casually.”
Liang Huan lowered his head and looked at the back of his hand, which had been slapped red, and sighed faintly.
Li Yao was annoyed by his sigh and grabbed his clothes to put them on, gritting his teeth, “Let’s go.”
Liang Huan smiled, “Li—”
“Dare to call my name again, and I’ll feed you to the zombies,” Li Yao pushed the door open, then suddenly turned his head to look at him with a grim expression.
The smile on Liang Huan’s lips deepened, “Okay, husband.”
Li Yao staggered, almost tripping over the threshold.
—
For the next two days, Liang Huan had been clocking in and out of work on time, strictly enforcing the six-hour work system.
“Brother Liang, what happened to your wrist?” Cheng Xiaolei couldn’t help but look at the wristband he was wearing, “Are you injured?”
“It’s okay,” Liang Huan smiled, “My husband won’t let me take the chip out, so I took it out.”
Cheng Xiaolei asked with doubt, “How do you take it out? This thing is implanted in the skin. To take it out, you have to go to the hospital for surgery, right?”
“It doesn’t matter, there’s a blade at home,” Liang Huan said, “It’s very simple.”
Cheng Xiaolei’s face blanked for a moment, “B-blade?”
Liang Huan said helplessly, “He doesn’t want to spend money going to the hospital.”
Cheng Xiaolei’s face went from shock to anger, “Brother Liang, those mercenaries aren’t good people anyway. What good life can you live with him? Why don’t you want to divorce him?”
Liang Huan lowered his eyes, packing quickly, and said with a wry smile, “It’s not that easy.”
“Xiaolei, don’t say any more,” Mao Ming sighed, “Every family has its own problems. But Liang Huan, it’s too much for him to use a knife to take out the chip. You can’t just swallow your anger.”
“Thank you, Uncle Mao, I know,” Liang Huan nodded.
After he left the workshop, everyone was filled with regret and sadness.
Back at the dormitory, Liang Huan put the food in the cooler and took out his chip from the household robot’s storage room. He removed the wristband soaked with blood, and without changing his expression, he stuffed the chip back in. Then he picked up the treatment device next to him. Before long, the gruesome everted wound instantly returned to its original state.
Li Yao seemed to be very busy these days, usually not returning until midnight. After eating, he would fall asleep and leave before dawn, not noticing at all that his chip had been repeatedly removed.
Today, Li Yao came back very late as usual. Liang Huan had the household robot store the water in advance. After taking a quick shower, he sat on the floor and wolfed down his dinner, looking extremely hungry.
Liang Huan frowned slightly at the sight, “Eat slower.”
“I haven’t eaten anything all day,” Li Yao didn’t even raise his head, “I felt like I wanted to go up and gnaw on the zombies I saw on the road. Pour me a glass of water.”
Liang Huan was displeased, but seeing that his back was covered in wounds, he still took pity and got up to pour him a glass of warm water.
“Tomorrow, you’re coming to the training ground with me,” Li Yao suddenly said.
Liang Huan’s movements paused, “What for?”
“It’s no good if you keep not remembering. Perhaps another stimulation will do the trick,” Li Yao finished the last bite of food, drank the water in the glass clean, and looked up at him, “What’s with that look? Looking for a beating?”
Liang Huan fastened the treatment device on his back. The dense electric current almost made him bristle. He was about to move when Liang Huan pressed his hand on his head.
“Do we have to go?” Liang Huan asked.
Tomorrow was the day he was supposed to go to the Black Market to get the equipment and reagents. He didn’t expect it to be so coincidental.
“Small injuries don’t need this thing,” Li Yao slapped away the hand on his head and wanted to pull off the treatment device, “This thing has a lifespan limit. It’ll break down after using it a few times.”
“Is it expensive?” Liang Huan asked.
“Six million Concentrated Coins,” Li Yao said with a displeased expression, “Let go.”
“Is the scar on your nose because you were reluctant to use it?” Liang Huan asked.
Li Yao suddenly stood up, staring at him fiercely. Liang Huan even felt a hint of killing intent, but in the end, Li Yao didn’t do anything, just violently pulled the treatment device off and threw it to the side.
“You’re annoying,” Li Yao suppressed his anger, “Go to sleep.”
Liang Huan sat opposite him, “Li Yao, I don’t want to go to the training ground.”
“Why don’t you want to go?” Li Yao looked at him with some headache, “We can only cooperate if we establish a mental link. What happened last time was an accident, I will protect you.”
“Why do you have to pilot the mecha? Are you going to participate in the Mecha Competition?” Liang Huan asked.
Li Yao sighed, “Why do you have so many whys?”
“Because I want to understand you better,” Liang Huan said seriously, “You are very important to me.”
“…Tsk,” Li Yao leaned back slightly, moved away from him a little, and scratched his hair irritably, “Shut up, you. If you don’t want to go, then don’t go. Wait a few more days when I have time— I warn you, don’t think about playing any tricks.”
Liang Huan stared into his eyes, “I keep my word.”
Li Yao lay down on the bed, grabbed the blanket and covered himself, “Sleep!”
Liang Huan turned off the lights with some disappointment.
Li Yao’s vigilance was too high, and his mouth was too tight, so he couldn’t pry out any useful information. It was a pity that he couldn’t use torture on him.
He could only wait until tomorrow to go to the Black Market to get the medicine and then make other plans.
Just as he was thinking this, something was suddenly thrown into his arms. He quickly grabbed it. It felt cold and hard, emitting a faint yellowish glow in the darkness.
“What is this?” He looked at Li Yao.
Li Yao didn’t even open his eyes, “A level-one zombie crystal core, it can be used to improve your physical fitness.”
Level-one zombies were very rare, and ordinary mercenaries basically couldn’t kill them alone. Crystal cores were also very useful. Usually, resources obtained from the outer districts had to be turned over to the mercenary base, and private hoarding was strictly prohibited. Mercenaries would usually exchange them for high commissions. Liang Huan knew a little about the work of mercenaries. This thing was likely brought back by Li Yao secretly.
Liang Huan carefully observed the crystal core for a long time, smiled, and then placed it under his pillow.
“Li Yao,” he called out.
Li Yao didn’t respond, turning his back to him to refuse communication.
There was no movement for a long time, and Li Yao didn’t hear any breathing. He opened his eyes with doubt, and unexpectedly met Liang Huan’s dark gaze, almost making his scalp explode.
Liang Huan sat cross-legged on the carpet, supporting his head and looking at him with a smile, “So you weren’t asleep.”
“Are you sick in the head,” Li Yao said after a while.
He seemed to find Li Yao’s appearance very interesting, the smile in his eyes not diminishing, “I thought about it. Why don’t we go to the training ground now, how about it?”
“Now?” Li Yao was simply inexplicable, “The protective facilities at the training ground are all powered off right now. Are you looking for death?”
“Didn’t you say you would protect me?” Liang Huan grabbed his wrist and pulled him up from the bed, “I want to go now.”
Li Yao frowned, “I ran in the outer district for sixteen hours today, my mental strength is close to exhaustion, I can’t take another person.”
“Li Yao,” Liang Huan leaned over, grabbed the back of his neck, and encouraged him with a serious expression, “I believe you can do it. Don’t you want to pilot the mecha again?”
“Of course I want to—” Li Yao wiped his face, his voice suddenly paused, “What do you mean?”
Liang Huan looked at him with an innocent expression, “Huh?”
“What do you mean, ‘I pilot the mecha again’?” Li Yao said in a deep voice, “Have you met me before?”
Liang Huan asked with confusion, “Of course not. You want me to help you, isn’t that because you knew how to pilot before?”
Li Yao stared at him for a long time before realizing that they were too close now. He slapped his hand away, “Don’t touch me casually.”
Liang Huan lowered his head and looked at the back of his hand, which had been slapped red, and sighed faintly.
Li Yao was annoyed by his sigh and grabbed his clothes to put them on, gritting his teeth, “Let’s go.”
Liang Huan smiled, “Li—”
“Dare to call my name again, and I’ll feed you to the zombies,” Li Yao pushed the door open, then suddenly turned his head to look at him with a grim expression.
The smile on Liang Huan’s lips deepened, “Okay, husband.”
Li Yao staggered, almost tripping over the threshold.
