Death Progress Bar

He’s a Monster!
The faint noise of the artillery fire grew more and more obvious. Shi Jin asked Xiao Si to give him a sight-enhancing buff and nervously observed the distant battlefield.

After watching it for a while, he frowned. Unexpectedly, Annihilation’s ship only defended against Nine Eagles’ attack. It fired back, but not much, and kept close to the enemy vessel as if trying to stop Nine Eagles from using its heavy caliber guns by confining the battlefield to a limited area.

At first, he found it strange—neither Lian Jun nor Gua One were the type to shy away from a fight, not to mention the current tactic would only lead to Annihilation being gradually suppressed. Realization only hit after he caught sight of someone trying to get off the side of the ship hidden from Nine Eagles.

“Did Lian Jun notice I’m not on the ship? Is he trying to keep the offensive to a minimum so I won’t get hurt? Are these people coming to look for me?” Shi Jun was shocked. He patted down his body, searching for the satellite phone. It was in one of his pockets, carefully bundled in several layers of plastic wrap. After confirming that only a negligible amount of water got through and the phone worked properly, he called Lian Jun.

The call connected quickly. Lian Jun immediately asked, {Shi Jin? Where are you? Don’t worry, I’ll send someone to pick you up right away.} He spoke much faster than usual, and his voice was anxious.

Sure enough!

Shi Jin facepalmed. “No, don’t,” he said hurriedly. “The situation is too chaotic, they will be in danger. I’m all right, I wasn’t injured, and I fished out Long Shi—he’s still alive. Right now, I’m on lifeboat 03, you can check its position to see where exactly, but don’t send people—”

He broke off halfway because, aided by the sight-enhancing buff, he noticed several ships appear in the distance and head straight for the battlefield, their intentions obviously not good. A certain thought flashed through his mind, and he snapped his head to look behind him—as expected, the ships were coming from this side too. Eyes wide, he said urgently, “Ships are coming, many of them, you’re about to get surrounded! I can find a way to avoid them, but what about you?”

Hearing that he was okay and still so energetic, Lian Jun’s voice calmed: {Don’t worry about me, just take care of yourself. There are emergency supplies on the lifeboat: a first aid kit, water, and rations. I’ll get the ships away from this area—you should move a little further away and keep your head down. I’ll pick you up after I’ve dealt with them.}

This time, it was Shi Jin’s turn to be anxious. “How are you going to deal with this number? Just withdraw for now and wait until it’s safe before you come pick me up. I can easily stay on the lifeboat for some time.”

{Don’t worry, I have help.} After this reassurance, Lian Jun fell silent for a while. Then he said, voice dropping down, {Shi Jin, you have to be okay… I beg you, wait for me.}

Shi Jin froze. Suddenly, his heart ached, and for some reason, he felt a little depressed. His lips tightened. “Lian Jun, I troubled you again, didn’t I…” He whispered.

{No, it’s me who’s holding you back.} Lian Jun’s tone returned to normal. He soothed, {Don’t be afraid, I won’t hang up. Gua Nine has already found your position; I’ll lead you somewhere safe, just follow my instructions. Radar shows ships approaching from south-west and south-south—head east, I’ll try to move the battlefield west. The watch you wear has a compass, so it’s fine even if you can’t tell the direction.}

As Shi Jin listened, he slowly calmed down. He glanced at Lian Jun’s progress bar, stuck at 950, and hesitated, but obediently started the lifeboat’s engine. “Will somebody really help you? I’m fine here, you don’t have to worry about me. You must stay safe, Lian Jun, you have to pick me up personally.”

This time, Lian Jun only answered with, {All right.}

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On the bridge, Lian Jun lowered the phone. As he looked at the little green dot labeled ‘03’ slowly edging eastward, a bit of tension drained out of him. Then, his eyes shifted to the red dots rapidly approaching the center of the radar, and his gaze turned cold. “Gua One, contact Phantom,” he commanded.

Gua One also heard Lian Jun and Shi Jin’s conversation and had regained his usual composure. At the order, he immediately dialed a number on his phone.

“Gua Five, head west. Let the authorities know where we should rendezvous,” Lian Jun continued.

Not wasting time replying, Gua Five ordered the captain to change course then attempted to contact the government vessel through the radio.

Gua Three noticed there was no mention of Shi Jin’s rescue. Frowning, he asked, “Should we send a helicopter to pick up Shi Jin, Jun-shao?”

Lian Jun raised his hand in a negative gesture. “Not yet. A helicopter might attract the enemy’s attention, and we definitely don’t want them to find Shi Jin. Let’s draw them away first.”

Gua Three nodded to show he understood.

Everything was going smoothly. Gua Two looked at Lian Jun’s seemingly calm expression, at his hand, clenching the phone, then his gaze moved to the monitor in front of Gua Nine, where the green dot slowly moved east. After a long moment, he wiped his face with both hands.

Shi Jin is truly… Really, every time he ends up doing something that makes people both love and want to kill him.

Long Shi, he actually managed to grab Long Shi. We all thought it was hopeless…

He glanced at Gua One. The other man just happened to turn after ending the call with Phantom, and their eyes met. They exchanged looks of complex emotion then tacitly looked away.

Shi Jin heard the orders Lian Jun gave, and his heart gradually settled. Phantom and the government forces—it seemed Lian Jun had long planned for Nine Eagles making trouble. If so, Annihilation’s members shouldn’t be in too much danger.

His attention no longer occupied by worry, he finally noticed Long Shi hadn’t moved in a long time. He leaned closer and saw the man had lost consciousness. There was a sickly flush to his cheeks. Alarmed, he pulled the gag from his mouth and searched for the emergency supplies. After giving Long Shi a few sips of water, he dressed the knife wound.

“You can’t die, at least not before we get the poison formula from you,” he muttered. His voice was probably a bit too loud, because Lian Jun promptly asked, {What happened? Is something wrong?}

Shi Jin turned towards the phone and replied, “Long Shi’s condition is a bit bad, I’m taking care of his wounds.”

{Never mind him,} Lian Jun said, his tone calm again, almost indifferent. {Don’t waste supplies on him, leave them for yourself—your life is most important to me.}

Shi Jin felt a strange itch in his heart, and he paused for a second. He hummed affirmatively but continued to bandage Long Shi.

Lian Jun could more or less predict Shi Jin’s behavior and guessed the teenager wouldn’t listen to him. He fell quiet for a moment, then said, {Leave at least half for yourself. I’ll come get you as soon as possible.}

Hearing the man’s compromise, Shi Jin suddenly felt like laughing. His heart grew warm, and he really laughed. “I know. I believe you will come, I’m waiting.”

{Yeah,} Lian Jun replied, his voice growing warm too. He repeated, {I will definitely pick you up, wait for me.}

Shi Jin answered, “I will,” again, and couldn’t stop himself from humming happily. The sea at night was dark and chilly, yet the lifeboat seemed flooded with sunshine.

Lian Jun listened to the vague hum coming from the phone, and the corners of his mouth rose a little. He glanced at the radar, estimating the distance between all the ships and Shi Jin, then blocked the phone speaker with his palm and said, expressionless once again, “Break out the heavy guns. We’re far enough, no need to hold back anymore.”

Gua One and the others perked up instantly. They got to their feet, rubbing their hands in anticipation—they had been passively taking a beating for too long and couldn’t wait to fight back.

Cracking his knuckles, Gua Two sneered, “Damn Nine Eagles keep playing with us—do they really think we have so little firepower on board? Let’s see just how fast I can turn your ship into scrap metal, you bastards!”

Zuo Yang leaned against the bridge window, watching the “desperately fleeing” Annihilation’s ship with satisfaction. It was the most beautiful sight he had the pleasure of laying eyes on. He ordered lazily, “Continue to harass them and let the other ships circle ahead to block them. Lian Jun played me for so long, so today, I’m going to let him enjoy the cat-and-mouse game.”

His subordinates confirmed. When the captain was about to send out the firing pattern for the next round of attacks, the radar, silent until now, let out a piercing screech. Then came a loud bang, and the ship rocked violently.

Zuo Yang clung to the window casement to keep his balance, barely managing to stay upright. Frowning, he asked, “What was that?”

A cold sweat broke out on the captain’s forehead. He pointed to the Annihilation ship ahead, which suddenly sported a much larger number of muzzle barrels, and stammered out, “Bo-Boss, that’s not a civilian vessel at all—it’s the same as our ship, or perhaps even…”

“What?!” Zuo Yang’s expression changed. Just as he was about to go over and take a closer look, the first officer on the other side of the bridge shouted, voice filled with panic, “Boss, Phantom’s ship suddenly appeared behind. It’s rushing towards us at full speed! It, it looks like it wants to crash into us!”

Zuo Yang’s face distorted. He waited until the ship stabilized and walked to the first officer’s side. It really was Phantom—the black vessel chased them without turning on a single light like a fucking ghost ship. Realizing what was happening, he couldn’t help but snarl, “Fuck, we fell for Lian Jun’s ploy! Old Ghost, that son of a bitch, is actually working with Annihilation! Fire at Phantom’s ship, don’t let it get close! Order the other ships to come back and join the attack!”

The bridge became a chaotic symphony of alarms and warnings. There wasn’t even a trace left of the smug relaxation from before.

Long Shi’s condition improved slightly after his wounds were dressed. Shi Jin fed him some anti-inflammatory drugs from the first aid kit then leaned against the lifeboat’s built-in storage box, pulling at his damp collar to loosen it.

“How long has it been?” He asked in his mind. For some reason, he felt short of breath.

Xiao Si said, worried, <Half an hour. JinJin, the buff is about to end, you…>

“No wonder I’m feeling bad. It’s okay, I can still stand it,” Shi Jin soothed. He picked up the still connected satellite phone, listened to Lian Jun’s intermittent voice coming from it, then glanced at the other man’s progress bar. It had begun to fall, and a weight was lifted from his mind. “Looks like Phantom chased Nine Eagles away, and the government ship is almost here. Everyone’s going to be fine. They’ll be safe soon.”

His words failed to calm Xiao Si. <Drink some water, JinJin, it should help. The buff changed your respiratory system, so you will have difficulty breathing when it disappears. Your whole body will hurt, and you’ll likely lose consciousness. I’m a little scared…>

“Don’t be scared, I will be fine.” Shi Jin’s voice was getting hoarse. He spoke as if the buff’s aftereffects were nothing but found a bottle of water and drank a little. It really made him feel better. Taking advantage of his voice temporarily returning to normal, he leaned closer to the satellite phone and called Lian Jun’s name a few times.

Lian Jun responded immediately, asking him what happened.

“I’m a little tired, I want to take a nap. I should be safe here, so concentrate on your side, don’t worry about me. If you call and I don’t answer, don’t be anxious, it means I’m asleep. I’ll try not to sleep for long, but I need to rest—I spent a lot of energy fishing out Long Shi, I’m worn out.”

Lian Jun frowned. He’d rather Shi Jin didn’t fall asleep at sea, but the teenager’s words distressed him. After thinking it over, he said, {Then rest. I will, however, call for you regularly so you don’t fall into too-deep a sleep. Remember to tie Long Shi up first, don’t give him a chance to hurt you.}

“Okay,” Shi Jin replied, beginning to feel breathless again. He hurriedly drank more water, then held the phone far away and leaned against the storage box, trying to stifle his gasps.

<JinJin…> Xiao Si began, anxious. It was afraid Shi Jin was going to asphyxiate.

“I’m fine, just… just give me a minute…” Worried that Lian Jun would hear him wheeze, Shi Jin simply turned to face the sea, half-lying on the box, and tried to adjust his breathing. He kept talking with Xiao Si in his mind to keep up his spirits.

The system cooperated and chatted with him, but its voice grew more and more worried.

Half an hour later, Lian Jun called his name a few times. Shi Jin rushed to grab the phone and raised it to his mouth to answer. His voice was weak, and his speech somewhat slurred as if he just woke up.

{Are you cold?} Lian Jun asked, concerned.

Shi Jin was cold, very cold, and his body hurt as if his bones and muscles were all breaking apart and reassembling. He wasn’t going to say it, however. “A little, but it’s not too bad. How is it going on your side?”

Lian Jun glanced at the radar which displayed Nine Eagles’ ships breaking off their attack and turning tail. “It’s almost over. I’ll come to get you soon.”

“Okay, I’m waiting,” Shi Jin whispered. He couldn’t help but swallow a painkiller from the first aid kit.

Xiao Si proposed hesitantly, <JinJin, maybe I can give you some buffs to help you hold on until Darling comes…>

“No, don’t—the more buffs, the worse I will feel later. I can still stand it,” Shi Jin stopped it hastily. He talked with Lian Jun a moment longer before finding an opportunity to finish the conversation. Then, since he was a bit more awake at the moment, he checked Long Shi’s condition.

The man was still burning up, but at least his temperature had stopped rising, and his breathing steadied.

Shi Jin fed him some medicine and water then unfastened his tight collar to make him more comfortable.

The night was getting deep. The sea was silent except for the ever-present sound of waves. Shi Jin felt the pain in his body ease; presumably, the painkillers had started to work. The gentle rocking of the boat made him drowsy, and his consciousness slowly faded. Just as he was about to faint, Long Shi, quiet until now, stirred and began to scream.

“I’m not crazy! I’m not crazy! Jun-shao, Jun-shao, why don’t you like me, why do you… I’m going to ruin you! I’ll kill you!”

Naturally, this woke Shi Jin up, but he was hardly pleased. He yelled, angry and exasperated, “Shut up, you sick bastard!”

Long Shi continued to scream and weakly thrashed around, but his eyes never opened.

Shi Jin realized something was wrong and crawled closer. He saw Long Shi hadn’t woken up but was raving due to fever. He caught the man’s head in both hands to make it stop twisting and urgently called him a few times but didn’t get a response. Uneasy, he turned to get the first aid kit.

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{Shi Jin? What’s wrong?} Lian Jun asked, having heard the commotion through the phone.

“Long Shi has a fever and is talking nonsense. I’m going to give him some antipyretics,” Shi Jin answered, rummaging through the box. He found the tablets, crushed them into powder, mixed it with water, and poured it into the traitor’s mouth.

Some of the water went down the wrong hole, and Long Shi instinctively began to cough. This new torment sobered him up a little. When he opened his eyes and saw Shi Jin, he screamed, “It’s you! Bastard, I will kill you! How dare you touch Jun-shao, I will kill you!”

Fed up, Shi Jin slapped him, growling, “Shut up! Don’t think I won’t clean you up just because you have a fever. Provoke me again and see if I don’t turn you into a eunuch! And scar your face!”

For Long Shi, who regarded his face and “male dignity” as more important than life, this threat was extremely effective. Though he still cursed Shi Jin under his breath, he was successfully cowed—now, his eyes were not only full of hate but also fear.

Shi Jin grinned mockingly and poured the rest of the medicine into his mouth, not bothering to be gentle. He picked up the phone and told Lian Jun, “I’m going to teach Long Shi a lesson. What will happen next isn’t suitable for your ears, so I will hang up for now.”

Lian Jun kept silent for a moment then said, {Fifteen minutes—I’ll call you back in fifteen minutes. Try not to touch him, it’s dirty.}

“I know what to do, don’t worry.” Shi Jin ended the call and looked at Long Shi menacingly. In his mind, he asked Xiao Si to give him a ‘bewitching voice’ buff and speech-inducing buff.

Xiao Si was reluctant: <These buffs don’t have any aftereffects, but right now, they will be a heavy burden on your body. You will feel even worse.>

“It doesn’t matter. Long Shi’s current state makes it easier to pry open his mouth, it would be a pity to miss this opportunity,” Shi Jin insisted.

Xiao Si failed to dissuade him, so it had no choice but to comply.

Though Long Shi couldn’t hear Shi Jin’s and his system’s conversation, he heard the one between Shi Jin and Lian Jun. He was jealous, angry, and a little scared. Squirming away from the teenager, he said, pretending to be calm, “You can’t kill me, or Lian Jun’s legs will never get better.”

Shi Jin sneered, waiting for the buffs to work before approaching him. He grabbed his collar, looked deep into his eyes, and drawled, “Kill you? Oh, I won’t kill you, but you piss me off so much, I just have to have some fun. I heard you were only nineteen when you first met Jun-shao. You didn’t look like this then, right?”

Their faces were very close. Long Shi looked into Shi Jin’s eyes, listened to his voice, and his mind seemed to fall out of control. Instantly, he was caught up in the memories of the past.

Long Shi was the worst type of scum, there was no doubt about that, and getting a thorough understanding of a scum’s perspective was something that would revolt any normal human being.

Over a dozen minutes later, Shi Jin threw Long Shi, whose mind was blurry again, back to the lifeboat’s bottom and kicked him hard a few times, unable to restrain his anger. When he thought about the warm, gentle Lian Jun’s of Long Shi’s past, his heart was both sore and filled with fury. He cried out, “You wanted it but couldn’t have it, so you decided to destroy it? Die by yourself, you psychopath, instead of dragging others to hell with you! You call this a pure and noble love? Ptooey! Just how unlucky Lian Jun was to have met you, you piece of shit!”

Long Shi only groaned, not resisting. He probably wouldn’t remember saying anything because of the fever and the buffs’ effects.

Done venting, Shi Jin plopped down against the storage box and raised a hand to his forehead. He was feverish too. Knowing that he wouldn’t stay awake for long, he picked up the satellite phone he’d dropped at some moment and which had been ringing for a long time and answered Lian Jun’s call.

{What happened, Shi Jin? Why weren’t you picking up? Hold on a little longer, I’m already in the helicopter, I’ll be there soon,} Lian Jun said immediately. He spoke faster and with more urgency than ever before.

Shi Jin listened dumbly. Guessing the other man must’ve been distraught, he hurried to explain, “I’m sorry, I fell asleep… Lian Jun, I seem to have a fever. It’s probably because I went swimming in cold water and stayed in wet clothes for too long,” he added, to prepare Lian Jun for his half-dead appearance. He didn’t want to scare him.

Lian Jun covered the speaker, urged the pilot to fly faster, then explained the situation to the doctor accompanying him. The sound became clear again, and he soothed: {It’s fine. If you don’t feel well, go back to sleep, I’ll be with you in a minute.}

His voice made Shi Jin feel at ease. He replied with a low hum then noticed a few bright dots in the distant sky and had to smile. “I see you already, flying here.”

Lian Jun couldn’t help but call out, {Shi Jin.}

“I managed to get a part of the poison formula from Long Shi, he also had a syringe with some strange drug on him… Lian Jun, you will get better,” Shi Jin said, half to himself. Long Shi’s twisted words kept echoing in his mind. Tormented by the high fever and pain in his body, he could no longer suppress the grief filling his heart. He whispered, “I want to hug you, Lian Jun, you look really nice when you smile… I wish I had met you sooner.” If I met you earlier, you might not have suffered so much.

Lian Jun’s grip on the phone tightened. He turned away, calmed his breathing, and put the phone to his mouth again. His throat rolled, then he said, voice tense as if suppressing something, “Don’t fool around, Shi Jin, stop sounding as if you’re going to die. Don’t you dare even think about dying.”

Several helicopters hovered in the sky. Shi Jin laid on the lifeboat and looked up at the one directly above. Its door opened, a rope ladder fell down, and Lian Jun, wearing a full set of protective gear, slowly and awkwardly climbed down. He couldn’t help but smile—really, he knew this man couldn’t endure and would have to pick him up himself.

It should take no more than fifteen seconds to go down the ladder, but Lian Jun took more than a minute. Shi Jin didn’t dare look away. He even sat up and reached out as if to support him, scared he might fall.

Finally, Lian Jun’s feet touched the lifeboat’s bottom, his forehead covered in sweat.

Shi Jin scrambled over to him. He was delighted to see him but couldn’t help but worry at the same time. He asked anxiously, “How are you, does it hurt, you—”

The second Lian Jun found his balance, he bent down and pulled the teenager into his arms, hugging him tightly. He stroked the back of his head and said hoarsely, “No next time, Shi Jin.”

“That was what you said after I got shot during that matter with Black Rose…” Shi Jin being Shi Jin, he didn’t fail to destroy the mood, but still instinctively hugged back. Forgetting whether Lian Jun could support him, his body went almost limp, and he just leaned on the other man, burying his face in his chest. He had been forcing himself to keep awake and clear-headed, but now, in these arms, he could finally relax. He whispered, his voice getting quieter and quieter, “Lian Jun, I’m sorry, I always seem to be giving you trouble.”

Lian Jun just shook his head. He hugged him tighter and kissed the top of his head. There were many things he wanted to say, but he couldn’t utter a word—he just wanted to hold this person in his arms and never let go.

No one cared about Long Shi at the far end of the lifeboat, but the noise and bright lights woke him up. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Lian Jun embracing and kissing Shi Jin. He stared at the scene with an open mouth, then struggled against his ropes, and screamed, “Jun-shao, don’t hug him, don’t kiss him, he’s a monster! He’s a monster!”

Shi Jin had already passed out. Lian Jun made him lean on himself and carefully held him in his arms. At the sound, he turned his head to look at Long Shi, and his thin lips curled into a cold smile. “Really? That’s great. I happen to like monsters.”

Li, like—

Long Shi looked at Lian Jun’s indifferent, faintly murderous eyes, and saw his hand was gently caressing Shi Jin’s cheek. This, on top of everything else, seemed too much of a shock—his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.