The Apocalypse 9
The outside of the base and the inside were like two different worlds—clean streets and pedestrians whose faces weren’t entirely filled with confusion and fear.
Tang Xi was momentarily dazed. In the original host’s memories, even inside a base, people’s expressions had never been calm. Most were filled with anxiety and unease, their eyes devoid of hope for the future—only numbness remained.
Those who had struggled to reach this place were now waiting outside in long lines, exhaustion written all over their faces.
But once they entered, this base would not disappoint them.
This was why Dawn Base was known as the Eden of the Apocalypse.
Lost in the original host’s memories, Tang Xi fell into a void.
Uncontrollably, images of the original host’s torment in the laboratory flooded his mind—the relentless pain and suffering.
To those researchers, he had never been a person, just a slab of meat on the chopping block.
Because of his healing ability, no matter how close he came to death—no matter how much of his flesh was cut away—his powers would instinctively repair his body.
This only fueled the cruelty of those monsters.
The original host had once naively believed that if he cooperated with the researchers, he could be the one to close the Pandora’s box.
But that small base had cast him straight into hell.
Tang Xi’s body trembled uncontrollably, but within a minute, Lu Mang noticed.
Seeing the man in front of him urgently asking what was wrong, Tang Xi put on a slightly aggrieved expression.
1551 reminded him: [Stay in character.]
Tang Xi responded: [I won’t say anything. Those who hurt the original host have already been punished anyway.]
He shook his head at Lu Mang. “I’m fine.”
Lu Mang’s eyes darkened slightly. He didn’t press further, only reaching out to gently ruffle Tang Xi’s hair in reassurance.
His little teammate had suffered somewhere he didn’t know about.
If Tang Xi wouldn’t tell him, that was fine—he would find out himself.
After arriving at the guild to report their completed mission, the entire place erupted when they saw Lu Mang return. People hurried to spread the news.
Tang Xi also noticed that while most were excited, some had more subtle, unhappy expressions.
Chen Yao whispered in his ear, “Boss is the highest-ranked ability user in the base. While many revere him, there are always those who dislike him.”
There were always people who thrived on internal strife, no matter the place.
Lu Mang knocked on the front desk and instructed them to register Tang Xi into the team.
The receptionist nearly dropped her pen. Carefully, she double-checked the request twice before daring to believe it.
This terrifyingly strong team had just recruited a support-type ability user?
Before this, countless support users had tried to join but were all rejected. What made this boy so special?
Narrowing her eyes, the receptionist scrutinized Tang Xi, who was obediently filling out the form.
Aside from being good-looking, he didn’t seem particularly remarkable.
The receptionist had a decent relationship with Chen Yao and tentatively probed for an answer.
Chen Yao smiled smugly. “He’s our team’s little treasure now.”
The receptionist immediately understood.
She had figured out Tang Xi’s place in the team and tactfully adjusted her attitude, treating him with much more respect.
Meanwhile, Tang Xi, completely unaware of the shift in dynamics, simply finished filling out his form and politely handed it over.
The receptionist gave him a deep purple badge—an insignia exclusive to high-ranking mercenary teams.
The standard mercenary team’s medal is blue-green.
Everyone still in the guild immediately understood what had happened.
The discussion in the hall suddenly grew louder.
Tang Xi didn’t like being stared at by so many people, so Lu Mang left the remaining tasks to Yi Feng and Wei Xuncheng, then took the newly recruited team member outside first.
Each person at the base was issued a point card containing contribution points, which functioned as the base’s currency.
The wild boar tusk Tang Xi submitted had already exceeded the entry fee requirement, so as soon as he received his contribution card, it already had a balance.
Huang Yuanmiao, who had followed them out of the guild, laughed heartily. “Come on, I’ll take you to the cafeteria.”
The base had many cafeterias, including some exclusive to mercenary teams.
One was right next to the guild.
Chen Yao quickly ran after them, shamelessly leaving all the post-mission paperwork to Yi Feng and Wei Xuncheng.
It was peak dining hours, and the cafeteria was bustling with people coming and going.
As soon as those in line saw their medals, they stepped aside to make way for them.
Tang Xi, following Lu Mang, received even more attention.
Lu Mang’s face alone was the best pass anyone could ask for.
The mercenary cafeteria’s food was far better than that of the regular cafeterias.
Everything had a clearly marked price—boiled cabbage cost two contribution points, potato stew was five, and any meat dish started at a dozen or more points.
And even then, it was just the least appetizing parts of exotic beasts.
Lu Mang brought Tang Xi to the cafeteria just to take a look—literally.
Before Tang Xi could even sit down, Lu Mang grabbed him and was ready to leave.
“You’ve seen enough. Let’s go. This isn’t your food.”
His tone was natural, making it clear he never intended for Tang Xi to squeeze in with the others to eat at the cafeteria.
When it came to food, Huang Yuanmiao’s intelligence was always at its peak. He swiftly grabbed a bowl of light soup and ran over.
“Boss, you can’t just have a private meal without us.”
His eyes sparkled, and it almost seemed like he had an invisible wagging tail behind him.
Unfortunately, he was facing Lu Mang. The man remained completely unmoved. His thin lips parted slightly as he uttered a single, crisp word—
“Scram.”
Huang Yuanmiao responded smoothly, “Got it, brother.”
1551 found Lu Mang increasingly odd, yet Tang Xi remained clueless, simply following wherever the good food was. The moment he heard Lu Mang was going to cook for him, he eagerly trotted after him.
The ever-scheming 1551 whispered in secret: [Your teammates all have their own houses. Doesn’t your poop scooper plan to assign you one?]
Tang Xi frowned in hesitation: [But…I don’t want a house.]
1551 was determined to keep Tang Xi from staying in the same room as Lu Mang. It was terrified that, just like in the previous world, Lu Mang would discover it. So it kept pushing Tang Xi, urging him relentlessly.
Tang Xi was feeling dizzy from the system’s chatter and absentmindedly asked Lu Mang, “Don’t I have my own place to stay?”
Lu Mang didn’t slow his pace as he led Tang Xi home, replying casually, “You can just live with me. Don’t you want to help me treat my bipolar disorder?”
Tang Xi blinked and nodded without hesitation. “I do.”
“And right now, housing resources in the base are tight. We can’t cause trouble for the base.” Lu Mang chuckled lightly and threw out another bargaining chip. “Besides, if you live with me, you can eat my cooking every day.”
The moment Tang Xi heard that last part, any hesitation in his eyes disappeared completely. He nodded enthusiastically. “Okay!”
And just like that, he was tricked into moving in.
Tang Xi: [1551, see? My poop scooper is such a good person!]
1551: [Heh.]
It was exhausted. At this point, even if this clueless cat got completely devoured tonight, it wasn’t going to care anymore.
Back at the apartment, Lu Mang came up with an excuse, claiming the water pipes in the other guest rooms had burst, so Tang Xi had to sleep with him.
Just as Tang Xi started feeling like something wasn’t quite right, Lu Mang stuffed a piece of meat into his mouth.
Tang Xi chewed and swallowed, and with that, any lingering doubts completely vanished.
The aroma from the kitchen made him lower his guard entirely.
Happily, he sat on the couch, swinging his legs.
. . . . .
That dream again—the one where he turned into a plate of ribs. But this time, after just two bites, he transformed into a pudding.
A pudding that kept getting licked.
Again and again.
Tang Xi felt so uncomfortable that he wanted to cry out, but in reality, all that came out were soft little whimpers.
Then, his mouth was covered.
Someone pinned his hands above his head, leaving him nowhere to escape, making him feel like a sweet, helpless little pudding.
He could almost hear a whisper at his ear—
“You are my medicine.”
The next morning, when Tang Xi looked in the mirror, aside from the slight redness at the corners of his eyes, there wasn’t a single mark on him.
Brushing his teeth, he murmured: [1551, I had a nightmare again last night.]
1551: [I don’t know. I was blocked last night.]
It tried to use this as a hint for its host—because the moment it tried to reveal the truth, it would be forcibly muted.
Besides a judge, who else could have such power?
1551 was a little scared.
Unfortunately, Tang Xi completely missed the point. With childlike innocence, he asked: [Why would you get blocked at night? 1551, is your data malfunctioning?]
He’d heard of such conditions before—systems that avoided regular maintenance were prone to these kinds of issues.
1551 felt like its liver was about to explode—if it even had one.
Tang Xi, forgetting his own problems, was now more focused on worrying about the system, afraid that 1551 would break down.
Meanwhile, Lu Mang leaned against the bathroom door, smiling lazily. His eyes were dark and deep. “How do you even get distracted while brushing your teeth?”
Tang Xi had a ring of toothpaste foam around his mouth. “It’s nothing.”
He spit out the foam and asked, “What’s for breakfast?”
Lu Mang rubbed his fingers together, realizing that his little teammate was keeping quite a few secrets from him.
He lowered his head and chuckled. “I made you century egg and lean pork congee.”
Tang Xi cheered and happily skipped into the living room—only to be caught off guard by the sight of several white fluffy balls sitting on the dining table. He nearly jumped out of his skin.
Looking at Lu Mang, who strolled in behind him, he tried to maintain his composure and asked, “Why did you buy these?”
Surprisingly, Lu Mang also showed a bit of confusion, his expression not appearing fake.
But he quickly concealed it.
With an indifferent tone, he replied, “I don’t know. I saw them while buying groceries this morning and decided to get them.”
He had no idea why, but at that moment, his instincts strongly urged him to buy those fluffy balls.
The vendor clearly never expected anyone to actually purchase them. The way he looked at Lu Mang was downright strange, like he was some kind of saint.
Lu Mang had a nagging feeling that he had forgotten something important.
Yet, as far as he could remember, nothing was missing from his childhood memories.
Tang Xi let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Pretending to have no interest in the plush balls, he elegantly sipped his century egg and lean pork congee.
But his eyes kept drifting toward them.
Lu Mang smirked. “Just store them in your space for now.”
Tang Xi’s eyes immediately lit up!
Putting on an expression of reluctant agreement, he said, “Fine, but don’t buy weird things again in the future.”
Amusement flickered in Lu Mang’s gaze. So easy to read.
And so easy to please—he was happy over just a few fluffy balls.
After breakfast, Lu Mang took Tang Xi on a tour around the base.
By lunchtime, without warning, he brought him straight to a banquet.
Tang Xi, who thought they were just out for a casual stroll, suddenly found himself thrust into the base’s high-level social event, forced to show his face in front of the elites.
Even in the apocalypse, high-ranking banquets remained extravagant.
The people at the event seemed completely unaffected by the end of the world—each one looking pristine and elegant.
Tang Xi, with his fair skin and soft features, looked like a little lamb that had accidentally wandered into the wrong place.
Right before his eyes, a girl in a pure white dress and delicate leather shoes came rushing toward Lu Mang, holding a wine glass in her hand.
She moved so fast that Tang Xi could feel the wind from her approach.
Just as she was about to crash into Lu Mang, she stopped abruptly, causing the wine in her glass to spill out.
It was about to splash onto them when Lu Mang casually lifted his hand—and in an instant, the red wine froze mid-air.
Tang Xi was stunned. I-ice powers…?!