The Apocalypse 7
Lu Mang frowned as he looked at the inexplicably nervous Tang Xi. “If you’re scared, just stay up there.”
Tang Xi shook his head. “I’m not scared. I want to go with you all.”
Lu Mang glanced at him and let out a faint, cold snort. “Clingy and delicate.”
With Wei Xuncheng leading the way, they headed straight downward.
Tang Xi: [1551, could there be any of my records inside?]
1551 scanned the area: [All the important ones have been destroyed, but there are still a few related documents.]
Tang Xi nervously tugged at the hem of his clothes. [What should I do?]
Because the system had misaligned the timeline at the start of this world, it seemed particularly eager to help.
1551 took the initiative. [I can use points to transfer those records into your inventory.]
Tang Xi nodded slightly. [Let’s do that, then.]
He let out a breath of relief, feeling more confident when they finally reached the underground research facility.
Huang Yuanmiao discovered an empty nutrient pod—
This was the very place where Tang Xi had first opened his eyes in this world.
The research facility looked rather shabby. Even though it housed various devices that Tang Xi couldn’t recognize, his past experience as a junior researcher in another world told him that the equipment here was far from complete.
Even the nutrient pod was the only one.
So, they were almost immediately certain that this was where the test subject had once been kept.
As Huang Yuanmiao tried to collect some hair samples from the pod, he said, “At least this proves he might still be alive.”
There were no signs of zombie attacks in the research facility.
They searched the entire base—
Only to be forced to admit that they had come back empty-handed.
Chen Yao sighed, a little disappointed. “I thought we’d at least find some research records.”
From the backseat, where he was resting with his eyes closed, Lu Mang suddenly spoke. “This trip wasn’t entirely fruitless.”
There was meaning in his words.
Chen Yao immediately perked up and turned to Tang Xi. “Right! We did get an adorable little souvenir.”
Tang Xi blinked in confusion.
His dazed expression made Chen Yao clutch her chest dramatically, declaring how cute he was.
But she didn’t dare to reach out and ruffle his hair.
Because Lu Mang had his arm resting on the back of Tang Xi’s seat, looking as if he was casually yet possessively keeping him within his space.
Thinking about the bizarre team rule, an answer was already forming in her mind.
But the thought was too terrifying for her to be sure.
Lu Mang, feeling the soft presence beside him, allowed himself to drift into light sleep once again.
That unfamiliar sense of contentment resurfaced.
As they resumed their journey to Dawn Base, there was now an unspoken addition to their group.
Every time they encountered a mutant beast, they would stop to eliminate it and collect resources.
Tang Xi was becoming more adept at coordinating with them—especially with Lu Mang. He could stay close to Lu Mang at all times, accurately throwing healing light orbs to the others. Healing abilities didn’t just mend wounds, they also accelerated the recovery of energy for ability users. Meanwhile, Lu Mang ensured that Tang Xi was completely protected, not letting even a single strand of his hair come to harm.
The survivors soon realized that if they helped with the collection efforts, they could earn a share of the mutant beast materials.
Aside from Chen Jinhao, who refused to lower himself to assist, everyone else was eager to join in. Even another ability user who usually sided with Chen Jinhao tried to curry favor with the powerful mercenary team.
Chen Jinhao’s expression darkened. He had finally realized that Tang Xi wasn’t the offensive-type ability user he initially thought—he was a support-type.
Tang Xi also noticed the occasional unfriendly gaze directed at him. His sharp instincts locked onto Chen Jinhao, but he wasn’t afraid at all.
It was like a spoiled kitten facing a villain’s hostility—sticking close to its owner, lazily swishing its fluffy tail in a show of confidence.
Chen Jinhao didn’t dare to act rashly.
Even glaring at Tang Xi only happened when Lu Mang wasn’t around.
But those opportunities were becoming rarer—Lu Mang was almost always by Tang Xi’s side.
The rest of the team soon realized something astonishing: their boss’s mood swings had completely vanished.
They all knew who was responsible for this change—
Only the two people involved remained oblivious.
Tang Xi was used to his poop scooper possessiveness.
That desire to keep him close at all times, as if wanting to tuck him into his pocket, was an old habit in every world.
But Lu Mang was simply slow to realize things. He only knew that whenever he stayed near Tang Xi, his irritability would vanish—especially when those watery, cat-like eyes looked at him. A deep sense of comfort would wash over him, as if this was how things were always meant to be.
Naturally, he attributed it all to Tang Xi’s healing abilities, assuming it was just the effect of a healer curing his mood disorder.
Even though no other healing ability user had ever made him feel this way.
Their closeness wasn’t just evident in that. To outsiders, Lu Mang’s treatment of Tang Xi was practically indulgent.
Some parts of mutant beasts were tough and barely edible, while others were tender and delicious. Every time, Lu Mang would just so happen to “accidentally” roast too much of the best cuts and then casually pass them to Tang Xi, who sat obediently by his side, waiting.
No matter how much the others stared longingly, they had to cook their own portions.
In the apocalypse, danger could erupt in an instant.
Lu Mang had actually sensed something was wrong even before 1551’s alarm sounded. But all he had time to do was grab Tang Xi and shout, “Scatter!”
A dozen thick vines, each three to four meters in diameter, suddenly burst out of the concrete ground beneath their feet.
If not for the team’s quick reflexes, they would have been caught and strangled on the spot. Even so, some still got injured.
Tang Xi, relying on the battle coordination he had developed over the past few days, immediately tossed a healing light orb at Yi Feng. His arm had been pierced clean through by a thin branch sprouting from one of the vines.
Behind them were the survivors. While they had avoided the initial attack, the vines soon swept toward them in a frenzy.
Tang Xi heard screams echoing all around him. In his dizziness, he saw a severed arm fly past his face—
It belonged to one of the survivors. In the next second, a vine snatched it away.
1551: [Dodge left!]
Trusting the system, Tang Xi moved without hesitation.
A vine erupted from the ground where he had just stood. If he hadn’t dodged in time, it would have skewered him.
But this sudden movement separated him from Lu Mang. He saw Lu Mang’s expression darken as he slashed through the vine that had come between them.
With a metallic ability, he controlled a blade, spinning it at high speed to cut the vine down.
And just as Tang Xi was swept away by the vines, one thought flashed through his mind—
He has three abilities?!
. . . . .
[1551? System?]
Tang Xi poked at the glowing ball in his mind.
He wasn’t particularly scared. If anything, 1551 seemed more panicked than he was.
He didn’t sense much malice from the vines. In fact, most of that hostility was directed toward Chen Jinhao, who had been captured along with him.
In the chaos, he and Lu Mang had been separated, and before he could react, he was already ensnared.
1551 sounded incredibly guilty. It blamed itself for failing to detect the danger in time—how could the villain react faster than a high-level system like itself?
It muttered in a small voice, [Because of the world’s favoritism, these vines don’t actually see you as food. But Lu Mang nearly destroyed them just now, so they panicked and grabbed two random people before fleeing.]
And the unlucky ones turned out to be him and Chen Jinhao.
These vines belonged to a man-eating plant. In the apocalypse, many plants had become carnivorous, and among them, some species fed exclusively on human flesh.
Along the way, Tang Xi could sense that plants were generally friendly toward him. But that friendliness did not extend to man-eating plants. At best, they treated him indifferently, as if he were nothing more than air.
Chen Jinhao, on the other hand, was different—he was a real, tangible human being.
A human who smelled delicious.
The plants that had captured them were two separate entities, and they had just fought over who got to eat Chen Jinhao. Since neither won, they used their limited intelligence to come up with a compromise—bury him in the soil and let him become nutrients on his own.
Which was how he and Tang Xi ended up in their current standoff, staring at each other.
Chen Jinhao was covered in wounds from being dragged around by the vines, while Tang Xi was completely unharmed, even sitting comfortably on a flat rock.
Chen Jinhao twisted his face and stepped closer. “I know you’re a spatial ability user. Your space must be full of supplies.”
Tang Xi silently scooted back. “You’d better not try anything.”
Chen Jinhao let out a sharp laugh, as if he’d just heard the funniest joke in the world. “Ha! Don’t tell me you’re actually waiting for that guy you hooked up with to come save you?”
“That’s impossible! No one would be stupid enough to come all the way down into this underground lair just to rescue someone!”
He yelled, as if trying to drown out his own fear.
Smack—
A vine suddenly lashed him through the air—
And then dragged him right back.
Tang Xi sighed. “See? I warned you.”
The vines didn’t like noisy humans.
Chen Jinhao got up, his face bruised and swollen, his teeth clenched in fury. “If I’m going to die here anyway, why shouldn’t I have some fun first?”
This time, he lowered his voice, making him sound almost ridiculous.
Tang Xi was speechless. He hadn’t expected someone to be capable of such disgusting thoughts even in this kind of situation.
This overconfident idiot hadn’t even considered the possibility that he might not win.
A small flame flickered to life in Chen Jinhao’s palm as he advanced threateningly.
“If you just behave and let me have you, you’ll suffer less.”
The moment those words fell, Lu Mang dropped down from above.
His face was as dark as it could possibly get. Without hesitation, he punched Chen Jinhao square in the face.
“Say that again, you piece of shit?” Lu Mang’s gaze was so terrifyingly cold, it felt like a bottomless abyss, ready to swallow a person whole.
Before Chen Jinhao could recover from the deafening ringing in his ears, another punch landed—
Then another, and another.
Lu Mang didn’t use any abilities. No weapons.
Just his fists, pounding down in pure, unfiltered rage.
Every hit landed hard. His face was twisted in fury, his upper and lower teeth clenched so tightly that his jaw trembled.
Even the two man-eating plants, upon sensing the overwhelming rage radiating from him, uprooted themselves and fled.
His furious expression was no less terrifying than that of a dragon whose treasure had been stolen.
Chen Jinhao’s teeth were all knocked out, blood streaming from his nose, mouth, and ears. His face was a mess of bruises and torn flesh.
Seeing this, Tang Xi quickly grabbed Lu Mang’s arm.
“Lu Mang, stop.”
The moment his voice rang out, Lu Mang—whose eyes were bloodshot and veins bulging in rage—instantly calmed down.
More effective than any sedative.
Author’s note:
Today’s episode: A jealous, overprotective cat poop scooper throwing punches. =v=
Never fail to excite me everytime ML turns into a senseless possessive obsessive jealous husband in every arc but what makes this arc a bit special – ML is also a tsundere 🤭❤️