STB Chapter 24: Attack

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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Li Fei: Don’t you think we cooperate well?

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The joke pulled in the distance between the two, changing the atmosphere. 

There’s too much courtesy between them brought by the difference in their identities, and the distance Jian Hua deliberately opened—— Li Fei was a very special existence for him, so Jian Hua couldn’t face him with a normal attitude. 

Their abilities also caused them some trouble and destroyed too many things, but Li Fei had never been more grateful for this sudden ability than at this moment. Just imagine if he had no ability, then he would experience the Pearl Hotel incident just like everyone else. When he met Jian Hua at the coffee shop, perhaps the contract would be smoothly signed, but he’d be further and further away from this man. 

He wouldn’t know about the Abandoned World, and he wouldn’t understand Jian Hua’s troubles……

If he can’t walk into that person’s world, how could he talk about further development? In the end, it could only stay on the level of goodwill which would gradually fade away, leaving a touch of regret. 

It’d be a missed opportunity. 

A relationship needs time to stabilize and a deeper understanding. If there were no grounds to cultivate it, there’d be no pain or sorrow even if missed. 

How vexing to not even have the qualifications to feel the pain! 

Thinking of that kind of result, Li Fei was uncomfortable. He didn’t like seeing things out of control and he also didn’t want to miss precious things——even if he didn’t understand its value. 

Watching Jian Hua enter the blackened corridor first, Li Fei’s mouth had a hint of a smile. He was confident that victory was in his grasp. 

The hospital had become the little hairball monster’s lair. On the way out of the hospital, Jian Hua and Li Fei discovered many black flat hairballs, but these little monsters were scared by the flames. After seeing them, they all scurried and rolled away, hiding behind potted plants, crouching under the table, and even squeezing into a thick folder. It retreated its claws and closed its eyes, curling up into a ball and playing dead. 

Jian Hua hadn’t forgotten their green eyes and their ferociousness when staring at prey. 

“There are too many here, there is no need to waste abilities on them.”  Li Fei faintly glanced aside and a certain hairball shook, tearing off two leaves to cover itself. 

“……”

The bulging leaves were more prominent. Judging from its concealed behavior, they’re probably non-intelligent creatures. 

“Social creatures?” Jian Hua judged. He felt that there’s communication between these hairballs. Otherwise, after the hairballs in the vent screamed, how could the scratchings on the door stop? 

As for the “giving way treatment” they’re enjoying now, it’s courtesy brought by the screams of the unlucky hairballs swallowed by the flames that swept the corridor.

“These tactful things are better than stupid creatures.”

Li Fei had a cold expression but it soon disappeared, so fast that Jian Hua almost thought it was an illusion. 

Having been in the entertainment industry for many years, Jian Hua knew that the personalities of most celebrities are different from what they usually show, but such a Li Fei made him feel dangerous. 

“There’s no noise, no calculative people, and nothing to deal with it……if there are no troublesome things like monsters, Abandoned World would be perfect.” Li Fei chuckled softly. 

“And no matter how long it has passed here, it’s only a second in the real world.” Jian Hua took over the conversation, “Don’t worry about not sleeping enough, there’s no hurry.”

“Right.” Li Fei stood in front of the staircase window, looking at the silent city. There was a faint madness in his gentle and graceful expression as if he wanted to embrace the city. 

Jian Hua’s heart moved, feeling like he understood Li Fei a little bit——this is a person who has gained a lot but was firmly bound by “success”. 

Li Fei is the perfect idol in the eyes of others. The mask brought him success, and he never hated his mask. But occasionally, when he gets tired of the troubles that come with fame and fortune, he’d take off the mask, and have the impulse to throw it as far away as possible.

“Long for freedom? ” Jian Hua walked to Li Fei’s side, “You can make enough money, then quit the entertainment industry.”

An hour ago, Jian Hua would never talk about this kind of simple and profound topic. 

“There is no real freedom in the world. It just depends on what you are willing to be bound by.”  Li Fei turned his head and the sun shone on his side face through the glass window. He did not continue to stay at the window. 

They lightly went down the stairs, but in the absolutely quiet hospital, it still have an echo. 

Two footsteps, from irregular to almost in sync……

Li Fei was immersed in this delicate atmosphere when he suddenly heard a strange noise in the distance. As if something knocked over a medical tray, making the medicine inside crash to the ground. 

Jian Hua shook his head and solemnly looked at him. The black hairball was too small, and knocking over a medical tray would probably stun it. Obviously, there’s something else in the hospital. 

The sound came from the fourth floor. Because of the massive flow of people in the hospital, the stairs were often used in addition to the elevators, so the stairwell doors leading to all floors were open. Currently, Jian Hua and Li Fei are standing on the stairs halfway through the fourth floor and concentrating on listening to the noise below. 

“Hu~chi~(*pant*)…gu~chi~(*chew*)……”

The strange panting and chewing noise suddenly stopped. 

Jian Hua stopped Li Fei. He noticed that the owner of the sound was moving closer. Its presence was obvious, unlike those hairballs who were so small that Jian Hua didn’t receive any feedback from his ability. 

The monster soon revealed its appearance. It looks like a monkey with long arms. Its red eyes stared up the stairs at the two people. The monkey made a creepy smile that made one’s hair stand on end. 

“Kacha~(*breaking*).”

The monkey’s arm jerked out and struck Jian Hua through the gap in the railing. He responded to it with a powerful and accurate kick. 

“Ao~ (*wailing*)! ” The monster cried out, its long arm dislocated. 

It painfully retracted its arm, quickly going back to the fourth floor, not forgetting to close the open door with its intact arm. 

“Peng (*bang*)!”

The two men locked outside:……

Li Fei looked down at the hole in Jian Hua’s shoes, then the flames on his hands dissipated as he sighed. “Your speed is faster than my ability to summon.” He thought that Jian Hua would retreat but no such luck. 

“Oh, instinct.”  Jian Hua had a natural look on his face. 

The actor seemed to choke by those words, then he remembered that Jian Hua was not only a stand-in actor but also a martial artist substitute who practiced his skill with effort. If he was ever robbed with a knife in the middle of the night, he could kick the knife in moments and beat the person holding it. 

As his newly contracted exclusive stuntman, a talent like Jian Hua was very cost-effective. 

But as a crush, Li Fei wants the level to be even, but the difficulty rose instead! 

There’s a hairball monster on the stairs, covered with dark red blood, lying flat, and the back half of its body gone. Looks like this was the food that the monkey was chewing on just now. 

Jian Hua recalled the feeling from his foot. “The fur is not hard, but slippery. I originally wanted to step on its arm and trap it for a closer study, but my foot slipped……” He only stepped on the monkey’s arm with half his foot which let the monkey run away. 

——It wasn’t his original intention. 

Li Fei held his forehead. 

“Its slippery fur was probably used to deal with these little things.” Jian Hua walked to the hairball corpse. 

“A food chain through natural selection?”

“Although the hairball’s claws are sharp, they’re too small and have limited strength. Even if they swarm up, they couldn’t penetrate the monkey’s slippery fur. They’re obviously prey and predator. This proves that they’re not creatures that appear out of thin air, they just live in a world we don’t know.” Jian Hua admits that chatting with Li Fei was a pleasant thing, Anyone would look differently at a companion who could understand what he’s saying.

Li Fei didn’t know that his assessment in Jian Hua’s mind had risen again. He mused on the conclusions he just received, frowned, and said, “This is not really good news.”

Humans appearing in the Abandoned World were ignorant of the strengths and weaknesses of these monsters. 

Although this is a familiar human city, how many people could use its geographical advantage? The humans appearing in front of these monsters would just be new prey. 

“Back up.”  Jian Hua suddenly said, “You can use your abilities now.”

“……”

The door to the corridor banged loudly. The monkey who fled in embarrassment just now held its dislocated arm and smirked with a hideous face. Behind it was more than a dozen of the same long-armed monkeys acting aggressively.

The monkey’s arm pointed at Jian Hua, still very high-spirited——

“Ao Ao! ” A large flame instantly engulfed the group of monkeys. They slapped their bodies in a panic and fled in all directions. The long-armed monkey who came back to “get revenge” was unwilling to accept it, and abruptly rushed through the flames, its eyes glaring and still charging fiercely even when covered in flames. 

Then it was caught in mid-air by an invisible force. With its limbs wildly kicking, it wailed for a few seconds. But a high-temperature fireball rushed to it and burned it to a crisp. Its remains slowly fell to the ground. 

The flames dispersed, and the leftover smell was not very good. 

“Do you consume a lot of power when using your abilities?”

“Their fur produces a lot of oil, so it’s easy to burn.” Li Fei looked relaxed, ignoring the strange scene of scorched and carbonized bodies mixed with the smell of blood. 

The process of leaving the hospital was full of surprises, but they’re still calm. 

Back in the sun, the raw smell of the disinfectant dispersed. Jian Hua deliberately looked around the flower garden in front of the inpatient building, finding that it wasn’t easy to find hairballs outside. The ability of these little monsters to hide their presence was very high. Imagine, if they quietly hid in the dark, and then suddenly attack! It’s no wonder that Red Dragon’s Major Zhang was covered with scars. 

Li Fei found his car in the parking lot. When he reached for the key, Jian Hua kindly reminded, “Isn’t the car keys in the hands of Assistant Lin?”

“He has a set, but I also have one.” Li Fei answered. 

When Assistant Lin was running errands, he had to wait for Assistant Lin to finish his work since he’s not allowed to drive. 

Jian Hua consciously prepared to drive for the actor, but Li Fei reached out and stopped him. “I got this. I learned how to drive early on. Fortunately, if we can’t use our abilities, we can use the car to escape in time.”

“You don’t know the way to my house.”  When he said this, Jian Hua looked strange. 

Like he’s inviting the actor to be a guest at his own home. 

Thinking of General Wu’s posters on his bedroom wall, Jian Hua felt a little uncomfortable. 

Right, he shouldn’t go to his bedroom! Also, Li Fei’s not someone who’d casually enter someone else’s bedroom.

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Last Edit   November 24, 2021, 8:38 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.