STB Chapter 23: Fur Ball

This is machine translated and all copyrights belong to the author. Please note that the translator might take creative liberties for better readability. Thank you for reading.

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Monsters appearing in the Abandoned World.

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Monsters? Li Fei was momentarily taken aback, wondering where this monster had come from. Was it a creature from another dimension? A human transformed? Suddenly, the ground beneath them shook violently. Instinctively, Li Fei reached out and grabbed Jian Hua, intending to run towards an open area.

Jian Hua reacted quickly as well. Almost simultaneously, they reached out towards each other, then chose the same direction to flee. Their hands almost missed on the first attempt, smacking into each other.

Ignoring the pain, they grabbed each other’s sleeves, then slid down the fabric to grasp each other’s warm palms.

Due to the urgency of the situation, they fumbled instinctively until finally, Li Fei enveloped Jian Hua’s palm. Jian Hua instinctively tried to wriggle free to adopt a more secure grip, but his thumb was trapped underneath, unable to move. He had no choice but to let Li Fei firmly clasp his wrist.

The ground continued to shake.

They staggered, the scene before their eyes swaying violently.

Li Fei quickly realized that something was wrong. There were no screams; a nurse pushing a wheelchair was still speaking to a patient, their figures swaying left and right, seemingly oblivious to the earthquake.

“Don’t move!”

“The abandoned world!”

As they spoke, they simultaneously stopped in their tracks, fighting the instinctive dizziness from the violent shaking, calmly observing their surroundings.

This was their first time witnessing the arrival of the abandoned world with their own eyes. Before, they had only discovered the world had changed upon opening a door or exiting an elevator.

The surroundings were shaking, and they had to spread their arms to maintain balance. Suddenly, the ground cracked open, forming an abyss, and the entire scene before them collapsed. Li Fei felt darkness before his eyes, only to find he was still standing in the same place.

They were in front of the hospital’s flower garden, leaves scattered all over the ground. No building had changed due to the “earthquake,” there were no cracks in the ground, and the people who had been walking around were nowhere to be seen.

A cool breeze blew, and silence reigned.

Jian Hua freed his hand, reminding with a depressed mood, “First, let’s determine how big the overlap is.”

“Overlap?” Li Fei asked, puzzled.

“The overlapping part between the abandoned world and the real world. If it happens to be in this area, those with potential abilities will enter the abandoned world. We need to go upstairs and check on Geng Tian.”

If the hospital building was also included, the comatose Geng Tian would obviously be in danger, unable to protect himself.

The two hurried through the hospital lobby and took the elevator to the ninth floor’s general surgery department. The intensive care unit was empty, with IV stands and drooping syringes lying on the beds, and the machines measuring heartbeat and blood pressure displayed unchanging readings.

“A very small overlap?” Jian Hua muttered to himself.

They had been less than fifty meters away from the hospital building; the difference was just upstairs and downstairs.

Jian Hua thought to himself that the next time he saw Major Zhang, he could throw him a conclusion—-the overlap is not an accurate description; it should be overlapping space. Because a point is flat, perhaps this time the overlap that pulled them into the abandoned world didn’t include anything above the ninth floor.

Geng Tian was not there, and Li Fei also sighed in relief.

In this unknown, dangerous environment, it was really inconvenient to have to take care of an injured person.

“Did you estimate the duration of the earthquake-like shaking just now? How long did it last?”

“About half a minute… but I don’t think it matters. The changes we ‘see’ may not belong to the timeline of any world.” Li Fei shook his head, his hand searching in his pocket before pulling out a small tube of mashed potatoes and passing it over.

Jian Hua raised an eyebrow, noting it looked like the diet nutrition food used by celebrities.

“Sorry, if you had gone to buy lunch, you might not have been involved.”

“We don’t know the extent of this incident,” Jian Hua said expressionlessly, noting that the snack shop at the hospital entrance and the hospital ward were in completely different directions.

The feeling of being hungry and trapped in the abandoned world was truly unbearable.

“Keep these for yourself. Since the incident, I’ve been carrying some food with me.” Jian Hua declined the offer. Li Fei was the creator of “General Wu,” his future source of income, and Jian Hua wouldn’t let him face danger.

That “take care of yourself” look in his eyes… Li Fei silently put the tube of mashed potatoes back in his pocket.

They walked side by side through the empty hospital corridor, the oppressive environment filled with the smell of disinfectants and medicine tightening Jian Hua’s nerves.

“The disappearance of Geng Tian was very strange. Initially, my agent was driving, and he saw a strange shadow in the mist,” Li Fei recalled, suppressing the force within his body.

In the abandoned world, the sense of crisis that Jian Hua brought him was magnified several times. The beast lurking in his heart excitedly awoke, greedily watching Jian Hua.

Jian Hua suddenly turned around, finding nothing unusual in the corridor, his gaze then fell on the actor. “Your ability?”

“It’s okay.” Li Fei looked away. The force inside Jian Hua, like a beast hiding in the darkness, completely ignored his provocation and continued to sleep soundly.

This seemingly unguarded posture was the most tempting.

Li Fei swallowed hard.

“What kind of shadow was it? Did you see it?”

“No… but the car broke down after a sudden stop,” Li Fei turned his head, his voice calm, “Geng Tian got out to check and then disappeared. I didn’t notice anything unusual.”

Jian Hua seriously speculated on the precursors of the appearance of the abandoned world.

These were very similar to the elevator shaking and the shattering of light bulbs in the bathroom.

“It sounds like the abandoned world is unstable, colliding with our world. At the moment of overlap, it can affect things in our original world…”

Jian Hua suddenly stopped speaking, his muscles tensing as he slowly stepped back.

Li Fei immediately followed his gaze, only to see a small, flat, round, furry black ball crouching on the nurse’s desk at the elevator entrance. If not careful, it was easy to overlook.

With this “reminder,” Li Fei quickly scanned the surroundings.

In the trash bins in the hallway, on the soil of the potted green plants, and camouflaged in the corner…

Unbeknownst to them, these things had surrounded them.

Were they here when they passed by earlier? Li Fei tried to recall but realized his attention had been on Jian Hua the whole time, even his ability was coaxing him. How could he have noticed when these things appeared?

Jian Hua looked displeased.

He could sense the movement of living things in the abandoned world. There was no sign of life in this hospital, and suspecting Geng Tian was unconscious and thus undetectable by his abilities, Jian Hua still went upstairs. After discovering that Geng Tian wasn’t in the abandoned world, he was even more convinced that this hospital, showing no signs of abnormalities, was safe!

But now!

If he hadn’t seen something flicker on the nurse’s desk, he wouldn’t have noticed the black ball sliding off a smooth clip.

These furry, flattened balls seemed to sniff out the fact that they were “exposed” from the tense atmosphere. Their oval bodies simultaneously turned, unfurling from their curled positions.

They had four paws, and green eyes peeked out from the depths of their fur.

Curled up, they were only as big as a fist; unfurled, they were about the size of an adult’s palm. The chilling aspect was their sharp claws gleaming under the hospital’s fluorescent lights.

Jian Hua remembered the wounds on Geng Tian’s body.

Exchanging glances with Li Fei, they simultaneously and tacitly retreated.

The fur balls jumped to the ground. Their way of walking resembled rolling, and their small green pupils shone with a cold light, even more noticeable in the dark.

In the wards, at the stairwell entrance… the number of black balls rushing towards them gradually increased.

One of the furry balls suddenly leaped, moving so fast it left a blur. Jian Hua kicked a trash can in its path, blocking it.

“Hiss!” The plastic bag around the trash can was torn open by several slashes from the creature’s claws. The can rolled over twice, trapping the furry creature underneath.

Taking advantage of this moment, Jian Hua and Li Fei retreated into the original intensive care unit and slammed the door shut.

Immediately, the sound of claws scratching at the door was heard.

Li Fei remained alert, surveying the entire room to ensure there were no furry creatures inside.

The room had no windows, which was a relief. Just as Jian Hua was about to speak, his ears twitched sensitively, and he quickly looked towards the ceiling.

“The ventilation duct!”

Black furry creatures were crawling inside the ventilation duct, scratching at the edges of the outlet.

A burst of flame came rushing towards them, the heat wave causing the furry creatures to let out a piercing scream. They rolled away from the vent, and the scratching sound outside the door also stopped.

Jian Hua looked up at the flames burning in the vent, suddenly envying Li Fei’s ability.

Li Fei casually clenched his fingers, and the flames dispersed immediately: “Good, they’re afraid of fire.”

“Furry creatures tend to be afraid of fire,” Jian Hua commented somewhat awkwardly.

“…”

Jian Hua felt a bit out of place for his remark. He could converse calmly with Li Fei, but he felt uncomfortable when Li Fei looked at him with those deep eyes.

Looking for traces of beloved characters in an actor was something fans often did.

Li Fei was a gentle and elegant man, whose charming demeanor in conversation could mesmerize anyone. This was vastly different from the character of General Wu, so Jian Hua could ignore him. But when Li Fei’s expression became serious and his gaze sharp, Jian Hua’s defenses weakened.

Their meeting at the coffee shop, where Li Fei understood the truth behind Jian Hua’s seemingly impulsive confession, was something they now tacitly chose not to mention.

In such circumstances, Jian Hua felt it would be rude to blatantly see General Wu through Li Fei, so he tried to restrain himself from doing so.

“How long can your flames last?”

“An hour is no problem.”

“Great, let’s get out of here!” Jian Hua decisively said. “According to what you said, Geng Tian disappeared alone. Can people who enter the abandoned world at different times meet? If not, then why are they all at my doorstep?”

Li Fei didn’t speak but answered with action.

He opened the door and summoned a wall of raging fire. The flames spread rapidly, sweeping through the entire corridor like a red torrent. Many black furry creatures screamed and tried to escape, but they were quickly engulfed by the flames.

Jian Hua watched as the ceiling, walls, and floor of the corridor were covered in soot.

The fluorescent lights held on for a few seconds before crashing to the ground in pieces.

Jian Hua’s eyelids twitched, and he said sincerely, “Geng Tian might have to work for free in the future. In the abandoned world, he has to rely on you to survive. With one positive and one negative, it’s hard to tell who’s protecting whom.”

Li Fei lowered his hand and smiled gently and elegantly, “Don’t worry, I won’t charge you.”

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The author has something to say:

CP is Li Fei x Jian Hua

This article enters V on Thursday.

No change tomorrow, three chapters around noon the day after tomorrow. I repeat, this is the last chapter before V. No need to wait for the update tomorrow night.

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Last Edit: December 15, 2023 at 11:05 PM

This is machine translated and all copyrights belong to the author. Please note that the translator might take creative liberties for better readability. Thank you for reading.