Chapter 73

Truth be told, Lai An had absolutely no interest in men’s bodies.

He had only come to verify his suspicions about the true identity of this boy who had been photographed.

But the person in his arms… was undeniably different.

After feeding him the drug, the boy had completely passed out, his head resting on Lai An’s shoulder with long, even breaths.

Lai An secured the tent flap, then rolled up Luo Li’s Little Rabbit Pajamas just enough to reveal two slightly parted, snow-white legs.

He positioned the night-vision camera at the perfect angle and peered through the viewfinder, getting a clear shot of the target area.

The lens captured Luo Li’s face. Beneath his jet-black hair lay a flawless countenance, with softly rounded corners at his eyes and lips that gave him a childish, innocent look devoid of any aggression.

Yet the colors were strikingly vivid—his lips a lush rose red, his eyelashes and brows as dark as if they had been painted on.

Lai An had seen many beauties in his time, and he knew just how rare a face like Luo Li’s truly was.

There wasn’t a trace of artificial enhancement, and no makeup was needed.

The elites of high society, along with the soldiers exiled beyond the walls, would all lose their minds over a face like that.

Lai An figured he ought to be grateful he wasn’t a girl; otherwise, some wealthy clan would surely have snatched him away to serve as a breeding tool for improving the next generation’s genes.

The viewfinder panned downward, focusing on the boy’s flesh-pink pajamas.

With the hem rolled up, his body was fully exposed in the frame.

Lai An’s throat bobbed as he hooked a finger into the waistband of the boy’s triangular briefs. His scarred, calloused fingers bent in the camera’s view, tracing along that eye-catching cleft and rubbing slowly.

He zoomed the lens in tight, determined not to miss this prime opportunity.

Though the boy was asleep, his body still reacted. Delicate brows furrowed slightly, and his fingers clenched Lai An’s clothing.

A soft, whimpering sound escaped him: “Mmm…”

Lai An’s hand shook on the camera.

Almost without thinking, he switched it to recording mode.

His rational mind warned him that he had gone far enough already. If he didn’t leave soon, the guards were bound to notice something amiss.

His concealment device wouldn’t stall them for much longer.

But…

Was he really going to pass up this chance?

If this boy truly was the pollution source—or even just connected to it in some way—then this footage would be invaluable research material.

The world was stratified by rank. Among the poachers, Kroya and Soi raked in fortunes, while no matter how hard Lai An tried, he remained little more than their backdrop.

The pollution source was the obsession of his lifetime.

And to verify the truth? He might have to taste the boy’s bodily fluids himself.

The boy lay obediently in the crook of his arm, his pale cheeks flushed a delicate pink.

His slender waist twisted faintly as, in his dazed state, he rubbed against Lai An’s fingers.

Lai An went rigid, his mind a whirlwind of chaotic thoughts. He even forgot to turn off the camera.

In that moment, his arm brushed against something warm and soft.

He glanced down to find Luo Li pressing his knees together, trapping Lai An’s forearm between his thighs.

Lai An’s mind exploded. He yanked his arm free with rough force.

His heart pounded wildly. Forgetting all about the guard team, he bent down, pinning the boy beneath him. He froze for a few stunned seconds, drew a deep breath, and kissed him.

~~~

The next day, Luo Li woke up very late.

As soon as awareness returned, he felt his lips swollen and sore.

A dull ache throbbed in his lower back and legs, as if someone had roughly kneaded them.

Propping himself up on his arms, he sat up from the sleeping bag. His mind was a jumble as he tried to recall the previous night, but a stabbing pain in his head interrupted him.

Luo Li forced himself upright, his temples pounding. When he lifted the hem of his pajamas, a cold sweat broke out across his back.

Several distinct finger marks stood out starkly on his pale waist. The sleeping bag was a mess, as if someone had knelt beside him, their knees rumpling his clothes.

Only then did fragments of the night before start coming back to him hazily. Someone had broken into his tent and fed him a drug.

But everything after that was a blank.

It took a long while, but Luo Li finally steeled himself against the fear and changed into a clean set of clothes.

He stepped out of the tent to find that everyone else at the campsite had already gathered. They clutched their communicators, their faces etched with anxiety.

Duona approached and delivered some grim news.

“Saibansi and the others have lost contact.”

Everyone who had gone down into the sink cave wore locators, and their vital signs had flatlined around dawn. The guard team had sent out signals, but there had been no response.

Several guards stood ready, fully geared up to descend into the cave. Duona patted Luo Li’s shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t worry too much. This is the outskirts of the sinkhole—dangerous creatures are rare here. They’re probably just lost.”

But a vague unease gnawed at Luo Li’s heart.

They had spotted poachers the day before, and those people had been prowling the area frequently. If there were no dangerous creatures, what reason would they have to gather here?

Moreover, the intruder in his tent last night had struck precisely when Saibansi was absent.

All these signs left him deeply unsettled. He walked over to the guard team about to depart.

The team leader eyed the young boy. “Something wrong?”

“I…”

Luo Li hesitated, pursing his pink lips. His face was pallid that morning, the corners of his eyes rimmed with red as if from tears. He looked like he hadn’t slept a wink, and even his voice carried a nasal twang.

Word was that Saibansi and he had only recently gotten together—probably still in the honeymoon phase. Hearing that his boyfriend had gone missing, it was no wonder he was distraught. He might not have slept at all last night out of worry.

The leader’s tone softened. “Hey, kid, relax. Everything’s going to be fine. Just wait here—we’ll bring them back safe and sound.”

Luo Li’s throat tightened. He couldn’t bring himself to ask, “Did any of you notice a stranger sneaking in last night?”

Instead, he tried another tack, blurting out stiffly, “What if bad guys sabotaged them? Maybe it wasn’t a monster or getting lost.”

The leader let out a scoff. “No way. If there were people like that, we’d have spotted them ages ago.”

As if you’d have noticed anything, Luo Li thought rebelliously.

Someone had broken into his tent last night, and not one of you caught it!

The leader finished checking his gear, oblivious to the dissatisfaction in Luo Li’s eyes. “Alright, just stay put like a good kid. We’ll definitely bring Saibansi and the rest back.”

Luo Li watched the guard team vanish into the distance, then turned silently toward the direction of the wire fence from his memory.

In this world, the only one he truly trusted was 007.

Even though 007 had changed somewhat from before, Luo Li still believed he would never harm him.

With no one else to rely on—and staying here no longer safe—he decided to head to the supply station to find 007.

But then a thought flashed through his mind: What if Saibansi came back?

Luo Li shook his head. He couldn’t afford to wait any longer. If that man from last night returned to take advantage of the situation, the consequences didn’t bear thinking about.

At the very least, he needed to get to 007’s side first, where he could be completely safe.

~~~

The Norlin Sinkhole Supply Station was one of the base’s earliest outposts.

Its facilities were rundown and dilapidated, with dry culture media visible everywhere.

Thanks to its remote decay, the soldiers here knew nothing of the wanted notices circulating inside the enclosing wall. They received 007 as usual and directed him to a sleep cabin to recharge.

007 slumbered inside for two days until an alert chimed: the power had cut out.

With no one coming to restore it, he climbed out and went searching on his own.

The soldiers in the control room were absorbed in their tasks and didn’t notice him emerge. As 007 reached the exit, he overheard voices from a nearby room.

“Poachers? What junk are they peddling this time?”

“Nothing, for once.”

The speaking soldier ground his teeth. “With the Marshal down in the sinkhole, they wouldn’t dare pull anything right under our noses.”

“Then what’s this?”

“Confiscated it from Lai An. The guy was acting all shifty, so I took it. He even refused to sell it for cash—claimed money wouldn’t change his mind. Totally unhinged.”

He set the confiscated item on the table.

It looked like a disc.

The other soldier grew wary at once. “Not some illegal vid, is it?”

Those sleazy poachers were always projecting their own filth onto others, thinking trashy eye candy could buy off the military.

But if it was contraband, why wouldn’t Lai An sell? Greedy types like him should jump at the chance to deal.

“Let’s check it out. Can’t say for sure.”

If it was illegal, they’d report it. And if it touched on military matters, it could serve as evidence later when dealing with Lai An.

007 had seen this sort of thing countless times. Judging by their focus, they wouldn’t spare a thought for powering his sleep cabin anytime soon.

Better head back for now.

But just then, the hologram projection on the screen enlarged. The men stared wide-eyed.

Everyone held their breath in unison. After a long moment, one finally burst out indignantly, “Candid footage? That dog Lai An… what a bastard!”

“Looks like the setting’s the Giantwood Forest Campground. Stalking tourists, huh.”

007’s entire body jolted with a chaotic surge of electricity. Uncontrollably, he activated his x-ray vision and peered into the room.

The hologram projection on the screen was crystal clear. In the image, the boy’s curled eyelashes were dotted with clusters of moisture, his tongue tip pressed against his teeth as he lay panting in the man’s arms.

He looked far from clear-headed. That pure, cute face so familiar to 007 had transformed completely. The man’s large palm gripped his chin, tilting his white, tender neck obediently upward as he extended a glimpse of his wet, red tongue.

The pale pink bunny pajamas had been rolled up as well, making his slender waistline stand out even more starkly against the dark background. The hem bunched at his chest was caught in a tricky spot, half-concealing the soft curves beneath and sparking all sorts of illicit thoughts.

He was still gently swaying his hips.

Like an invitation, right in front of the camera.

The other man in the frame was unmistakably Lai An.

They had known this poacher for so long, yet they had never seen him look so humble and cautious.

It was as if… he were treating the boy in his arms like his own girlfriend—greedy and craving more, yet too afraid to demand a deeper kiss.

The room had fallen utterly silent in that moment, though no one knew what they were up to.

007 could hear the low, muffled growls rumbling from their throats. His eyes were glued to the hologram projection, unwilling to miss even the smallest detail.

In the midst of this long, shared silence, one of them suddenly spoke up in a hoarse voice.

“Shouldn’t we report this to the Patrol Team…?”

“Are you insane? No way,” another shot back immediately. “We can’t let the Patrol Team see this.”

No wonder Lai An had refused to sell.

This little guy… was just too tempting.

That bastard Lai An surely couldn’t bear to let anyone else lay eyes on him either.

… It was only human nature.