The Peculiar Desires and a Kidnapped Acquaintance

Yuan Anqing had thought that after resolving the awkward misunderstanding in the bathroom, he and Zhuo could return to their usual way of interacting. However, he had overlooked one critical detail: Zhuo’s emotional state was anything but stable.

After experiencing a significant, embarrassing emotional low, Zhuo’s mood had seamlessly swung to an extreme, manic high. He had even started inviting Yuan Anqing to “help him out” more often.

“Although it feels like I’m going to be eaten by your psychic energy, it’s also incredibly comfortable. Can you understand?” Zhuo excitedly asked Yuan Anqing.

“I… don’t quite understand,” Yuan Anqing admitted. He entirely lacked such personal experience. He also couldn’t fathom how Zhuo could put on such a bold act, pretending to be a seasoned adult about these matters.

“Forget it,” Yuan Anqing quickly refused. He always found it strange to ask a friend for help with ‘that kind of thing,’ especially since he didn’t have such physical desires himself.

“But you already helped me once,” Zhuo insisted, not letting Yuan Anqing off the hook.

“This isn’t about reciprocating favors for taking out the trash,” Yuan Anqing said, pushing Zhuo away. “You can go play by yourself in the bathroom or your room.”

“But I can’t manage it alone. Will you help me?” Zhuo leaned toward Yuan Anqing again, resting his heavy head on the man’s lap.

Yuan Anqing stared down at Zhuo. After a moment of silence, he suddenly reached out and moved his hand toward Zhuo’s lower body.

Zhuo instantly flinched, quickly sitting up and dodging away as if he’d been electrocuted.

“Didn’t you just say you wanted my help?” Yuan Anqing asked him, his face a mask of innocence.

“You’re being suddenly so cooperative… I feel like something’s wrong,” Zhuo said, covering himself defensively with his tail. He suspected Yuan Anqing was up to no good.

Yuan Anqing sighed helplessly, finding Zhuo entirely too agitated. “You’re sure you’re not still being affected by the differentiation, right?”

Zhuo nodded vigorously.

“Then why would you suddenly feel that kind of desire for me?” Yuan Anqing didn’t mind Zhuo fantasizing about him, but he knew himself well. While he was decent-looking, it was already a daily feat for him to simply avoid dampening others’ spirits. How could Zhuo possibly be romantically interested in him? Besides, they had been brutally honest with each other for a long time. If desire were to arise, it should have done so much earlier.

Zhuo stared at Yuan Anqing, having no intention of answering the question. As a monster who toyed with human desires, Zhuo believed Yuan Anqing’s self-assessment was completely inaccurate. Yuan Anqing might not have desires himself, but it was impossible for those who desired him to have none.

This kind of aloof, ascetic personality was a true pervert magnet.

Zhuo’s eyes were their usual blood-red, but his pupils would contract into a thin, predatory slit when he was extremely serious. Being stared at by such eyes was somewhat intimidating. Of course, the prerequisite for finding it intimidating was not being familiar with Zhuo’s actual personality.

“Oh, right. Yuan Zhanhui invited us both to his place for hotpot,” Yuan Anqing said, clearing his throat twice to change the subject, acting as if the previous intimate conversation had never been asked. “He’s probably going to introduce us to some other inferior Differentiated Beings.”

Zhuo’s brow furrowed. He was finally experiencing firsthand just how annoying ‘work’ could be. Zhuo had just realized he loved Yuan Anqing, and all he wanted now was to live a quiet life with him, sticking together every moment. “Are you sure that guy’s surname is really ‘Yuan’?”

“Yes, it is,” Yuan Anqing confirmed. “The authorities did a background check; his name hasn’t been changed.”

“Are they all orphans too?” Zhuo sidled closer to Yuan Anqing again, quietly resting his head on his friend’s leg.

“They should be.” Zhuo was the biological child of two prematurely deceased Saviors. Yuan Zhanhui and the others were likely produced from ordinary, mindless inferior Differentiated Beings. Their ‘parents’ were unconscious mutants, almost like living tools for the rogue organizations.

“Then if we go, it will just be a miserable orphan gathering,” Zhuo said dismissively. He didn’t understand what a group of orphans would have to talk about. Sharing which orphanage had better cafeteria food?

Yuan Anqing reached out and stroked Zhuo’s hair and horns. “Even if you don’t like it, you have to pretend you do.” Zhuo was much more lively than him; logically, Zhuo should be able to integrate into younger social groups faster than he could.

Zhuo could integrate, but he didn’t want to. In the past, he probably would have loved infiltrating a den of conscious inferior Differentiated Beings to toy with their minds, but now he only felt they were disturbing his happy, domestic life.

“We’re going tomorrow. Can you help me again tonight?” Zhuo asked Yuan Anqing, changing the subject back. “If you help me tonight, I’ll go happily tomorrow.”

“Is your mind full of only these things now?” Yuan Anqing asked, exasperated.

“I want to be ‘eaten’ by you,” Zhuo nodded seriously. “When you ‘eat’ me, could you touch more than just one place? Other parts of my body are very comfortable too, you know.”

Yuan Anqing covered his face with his hand.

Zhuo thought Yuan Anqing didn’t believe him, so he took Yuan Anqing’s hand and placed it firmly on his own chiseled chest. “It really is very comfortable. You can touch it.”

“Alright, alright! I get it! I’ll help you tonight!” Yuan Anqing quickly pulled his hand away as if he’d been burned.

“You haven’t even touched it, so how do you know?” Zhuo felt Yuan Anqing was just being perfunctory. However, he didn’t argue further, simply because he was fond of him.

Yuan Anqing was unaware that he was being ‘tolerated’ by the magnanimous monster. He was preoccupied with the logistics of the mission concerning Yuan Zhanhui. The spy had invited them to his house for hotpot, suggesting they bring something to share and then play card games or sing songs together. The other invited ‘friends’ also held legitimate jobs and seemed to have fully integrated into human society.

Yuan Anqing wondered what form their resistance organization truly took. It appeared that the official government forces of this world were extremely powerful, with no overt rebel forces in sight.

“What do you think of these resistance organizations?” Yuan Anqing asked Zhuo.

Zhuo squinted. “They’re not really ‘organizations’; they’re more like several scattered dens of rabble. If they knew I was still alive and not neutralized, they’d probably…”

“They know about your existence?” Yuan Anqing was surprised.

“Of course they do. But they think I was dealt with by the authorities years ago,” Zhuo shrugged. “Yuan Zhanhui and the others are just weak, failed replicas of me.”

Yuan Anqing’s brow furrowed slightly.

“But I don’t like them. I want to escape official supervision, but I have no interest in staying with their pathetic little club,” Zhuo said, a mocking smile appearing on his face.

“Aren’t you supposed to be their ‘god’?” Yuan Anqing asked.

“They’re just deluding themselves. I’m not their god. If they really found me, I’d eat them all,” Zhuo said, his voice dripping with contempt. “I’m quite interested in watching them collapse.”

Those people believed inferior differentiation was the next stage of evolution, and children born to inferior Differentiated Beings—like himself—were a type of “new human,” though not yet perfect.

“I’m just a bit confused,” Zhuo continued. “How exactly do they make mindless inferior Differentiated Beings have children? Their reproductive capabilities should have been castrated long ago. But never mind that, these children are quite delicious anyway.”

Yuan Anqing reached out and pinched Zhuo’s cheek hard.

Zhuo, who had been full of playful, monstrous mockery, instantly changed his expression. His red eyes widened, and he looked utterly bewildered. “Huh? Why are you pinching me? There’s not much flesh on my face.”

“Your expression just now was quite handsome,” Yuan Anqing said casually. Zhuo’s demeanor had been reminiscent of the day they first met—a chilling, predatory smile, as if he might erupt and bite someone’s throat at any moment.

“You like my ‘villain’ expression from just now?” Zhuo’s tail began to wag excitedly.

Yuan Anqing: “…”

Yuan Anqing silently released Zhuo’s cheek, then let out a heavy sigh. He suddenly had the disorienting illusion that he had accidentally raised a big, bad wolf into a large, excitable white puppy.

He extended his hand. “Give me your tail.”

Thwap. Zhuo’s tail landed obediently in his palm.

See? This big white puppy even knew how to shake hands.

Early the next morning, the “friends” Yuan Zhanhui had invited arrived at his apartment ahead of schedule.

“Since the Savior is clearly gay, why am I even here?” a girl with a sharp bob cut complained as she set up the electric hotpot.

“Just to set the mood. And we’re here to complete a mission, not for a blind date,” a pink-haired man said, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

“I’m not interested in men I can’t sleep with,” the girl scoffed. “Wasting my precious holiday. If it weren’t for the organization’s strict requirements, I’d be dancing with male models in a private karaoke room right now.”

“Could you tone it down a bit?” Yuan Zhanhui said, tapping the girl’s head helplessly. This group had essentially grown up together in the organization; their relationship was more akin to cousins than friends.

“Are you sure the Savior will get along with us?” a long-haired man asked. “From your description, he seems to have a rather arrogant personality, and he appears utterly infatuated with that bodyguard.”

The pink-haired man clicked his tongue. “Why would a Savior like such a big, troublesome blockhead?” According to Yuan Zhanhui’s description, while Zhuo appeared burly, he was also an incredibly willful, childish fellow. The Savior could have any partner he wanted; why choose someone so demanding and exhausting?

“Is the Savior secretly a masochist?” the long-haired man asked.

“No, you haven’t seen them with your own eyes,” Yuan Zhanhui disagreed. “The Savior’s aesthetic is actually quite traditional.”

“Liking Zhuo’s ‘wife’ type is considered traditional?”

“Quite traditional, like our grandparents’ generation,” Yuan Zhanhui nodded. Zhuo was large and strong; he clearly looked capable of hard, physical labor. Moreover, Zhuo had a good appetite and ate heartily. Every time Zhuo ate, Yuan Anqing would watch him. As Zhuo shoveled down large mouthfuls of rice, Yuan Anqing’s expression would become especially gratified.

Yuan Zhanhui had initially thought that Yuan Anqing and Zhuo’s relationship would be passionate and melodramatic. But later, he realized he had been mistaken. The two of them were incredibly harmonious, and not just harmonious, but also quite simple and pure.

Just as he was speaking, a knock sounded at Yuan Zhanhui’s front door.

“They’re here already?” Yuan Zhanhui was a little surprised. He had talked to Yuan Anqing, and they weren’t expected until around ten in the morning.

The pink-haired man went to open the door, but the moment his hand touched the doorknob, he sensed something amiss.

Such a heavy, suffocating aura of desire.

“It’s not the Savior who’s here!” the pink-haired man exclaimed, his voice rising in alarm.

Yuan Anqing was woken by a phone call.

“What time is it?” Zhuo blinked his eyes open groggily, a hint of displeasure in his voice. “Didn’t Yuan Zhanhui say we could go later?”

“It’s not Yuan Zhanhui,” Yuan Anqing said, glancing at the name displayed on his phone. “It’s Bai Tian.”

He tapped to answer, and Bai Tian’s frantic voice came through: “We have a spontaneously forming Vortex of desire on our side of the city.”

“Huh?” Yuan Anqing was bewildered. “On our side?”

“Yes! And Yuan Zhanhui and his entire group have been kidnapped!” Bai Tian continued.

Yuan Anqing sat up. “…Ah?” He suspected he had misheard.

Bai Tian repeated the statement.

Yuan Anqing rubbed his forehead. “You guys kidnapped them?”

“Uh, no, actually, we suspect it was done by another, more radical resistance organization. They probably don’t know that Yuan Zhanhui and his friends belong to a different faction,” Bai Tian said, sounding like he had a massive headache. “That bunch of resistance organizations is a disorganized mess; they don’t communicate with each other at all.”

The radical factions looked down on the moderate factions, and there were always organizations more radical than the radicals. In the eyes of the extremely radical, all other resistance groups were moderates, mere child’s play. Their security measures among themselves were thorough, but their inter-organizational intelligence was a disaster.

The result was that Yuan Zhanhui had been kidnapped, and Yuan Anqing might have to go help bail him out.

Yuan Anqing hung up the phone. “This city really is full of lunatics.”

“They’ve never been sane,” Zhuo yawned. “Can we sleep a little longer?”

“No more sleeping,” Yuan Anqing said, getting up and stretching. “Let’s go after breakfast.” Yuan Anqing felt he should be more anxious, but he couldn’t bring himself to be. It was just another workday.