CNS | Chapter 19

Chapter 19 Cooling Down

“Bro, bro.”

Shen Ze called out to the person in a coma twice, but there was no response at all.

His face was expressionless, and his hands kept moving. He reached for the collar of Shen Run’s shirt, undoing one by one the buttons he had personally fastened yesterday.

There were still traces left on Shen Run’s body between his collarbone and waist from the previous night. Looking at those red mottled spots, Shen Ze revealed a satisfied smile.

Around his brother’s neck was a silver chain, with a long, narrow black wooden pendant hanging from it.

This was the fifteenth birthday gift Shen Ze had given him. On the back of the black ebony strip, the initials of the two names were engraved.

R&Z.

While recalling the origin of the necklace, his hand had already undone Shen Run’s belt.

Holding his brother’s upper body, Shen Ze used one hand to remove all of the remaining clothes.

There were not many signs of modification on Shen Run’s body. He was very thin, and a thin layer of muscle covered the waist that could be encircled with one hand. The lines were elegant and smooth, as if he had been meticulously carved by the Creator.

“Sigh.”

Shen Ze sighed. Now was not the time to admire his brother’s body.

He carried the naked Shen Run horizontally in his arms and quickly walked into the bathroom, gently placing that frail body into the mixture of ice and water.

The person in a coma had no reaction at all. Shen Ze placed his own hand against the side of Shen Run’s cheek, letting his head rest against the edge of the bathtub, the back of his head submerged in the ice water.

“Bro, there are too many unmodified parts in your body. You need to wake up quickly, or you’ll really get sick.”

He knelt beside the bathtub, leaned down, and spoke softly, as if afraid of waking the sleeping person.

His brother was exactly the same as in his memory. Time had left no trace on his face. Shen Ze reached out with his other hand and gently stroked the little mole between the bridge of Shen Run’s nose and the corner of his eye.

He still clearly remembered the feeling of the day he came to Saint Grange, stepped into Emerald Bay District, and saw this face.

Surprised? Angry?

Maybe neither, Shen Ze thought.

At that time, he had been very calm.

Over the years, he had gone to many countries and cities. Every time he arrived somewhere, he would walk every corner of the city along its streets, hoping that at the next turn he would run into that man who had become part of his life, but had left without saying goodbye.

Shen Run had not died, that was something he had always believed.

Even if that bastard named Lu Yun used his authority to cancel all of Shen Run’s resident information, telling him over and over, “A Run is already dead, he died in a plane crash on the way back to Alixia.”

Shen Ze had never believed it.

Likewise, he would always answer that bastard who deserved to be cut into a thousand pieces with the same words.

“Before I see my brother’s body, I won’t believe he’s dead.”

So when he saw Shen Run, who should have been dead for years, appear in Saint Grange, he did not feel much emotional change.

It should have been like this. He should have been living well all along.

Shen Run’s forehead was still burning hot.

“How did you even get yourself like this?” His tone carried faint reproach.

“Aren’t you supposed to be very capable? How did you still get hurt?”

Shen Ze had known a long time ago what his brother really did, even though Shen Run had hidden it very well.

A sixteen- or seventeen-year-old boy had raised Shen Ze alone from such a tiny child into a healthy adult, and even the food, clothing, and other daily necessities could be called luxurious.

Just thinking about it made it impossible for that to have been an ordinary path.

At first, Shen Ze had thought his brother was only doing work related to network roaming, perhaps being a fairly skilled network hacker, until he himself entered that place.

There, Shen Run’s name was a legend.

He was one of the most top-tier hackers in the world.

Even that man, whom he had only seen on television and whose every word concerned the fate of nations, had secretly attended Shen Run’s funeral.

That man had said, “Your brother’s passing is a loss for all of Yalan.”

But even such a powerful brother had returned home carrying a fatal injury after “arguing” with him.

“I clearly already dealt with so many people who coveted you and wanted to hurt you, so how did it still end up like this?”

The hand touching Shen Run’s cheek moved downward. He pinched Shen Run’s chin, then bit fiercely into his lips.

The smell of blood spread between lips and teeth, and only then did Shen Ze’s uneasy heart calm down a little.

– It hurts…

The person soaking in the ice water groaned dazedly.

Shen Ze let out a cold laugh. “Hurts? Good, it should hurt.”

After that, he bared his sharp teeth again, repeatedly biting Shen Run’s beautifully shaped lower lip, constantly sucking at the sweet, metallic blood from the wound.

“This is punishment,” he said.

Shen Run’s gentle eyebrows furrowed slightly.

– What did I do to you…

He mumbled.

“You didn’t protect what was mine, and he got hurt.”

– W… what is yours?

Shen Ze released the hand pinching his chin and slowly stroked Shen Run’s collarbone, waist, and even farther down.

“Here, here, and other places, all of these belong to me.”

Shen Run, in his dazed state, felt confused. What was this person saying? How had it become yours?

He objected.

– These… are mine…

“Not yours?”

Shen Ze’s gaze turned deeper. He reached his hand under the ice water and tightened his grip.

“Say that again.”

Shen Run in the bathtub shuddered all over. Feeling the pain, he trembled as he said,

– Let… let go…

“I won’t.”

– It hurts… really… please…

“No use.”

Shen Ze’s attitude was firm, and the hand beneath the ice water tightened even more.

“Say you were wrong.”

The person soaking in the ice water bit hard on his own lip, still refusing to answer. Shen Ze tightened his grip again.

“Say it.”

Tears from a physiological reaction welled at the corners of Shen Run’s tightly closed eyes. He finally could not endure the pain any longer and began to beg brokenly.

– I was wrong… I was wrong…….

– It hurts… let go of me… I was wrong……

The pain did not lessen. That bad guy was not satisfied with this painless apology, and in a very nasty tone he said,

“Say, ‘I am yours.’”

Shen Run’s brows were tightly furrowed, his face full of pain. Those two tears brought on by pain slid down his cheeks and merged into the ice water surrounding him.

Right now, he only wanted this bad guy to hurry up and let go of him.

– I… I am yours……

Shen Ze ordered him, “Open your eyes.”

Shen Run slowly opened his eyes amid dizziness and alternating cold and heat. Everything before him was blurred.

“Who are you?”

His consciousness was hazy.

– I… I am… Shen Run…

“Who am I?”

– Shen Ze…

Shen Ze curved his lips and revealed a satisfied smile.

“You say, ‘Shen Run is Shen Ze’s.’”

Shen Run shuddered.

– Shen Run… is… Shen Ze’s…

Shen Ze released the hand that had been tightly gripping under the water, lifted his brother’s face, now no longer feverish, and gently kissed his forehead.

“Good boy.”

Scene 19

Shen Ze pulled his brother out of the ice water, dried the droplets from his body, and carried him back to the bedroom.

Shen Run’s temperature was still abnormal, but he was no longer in any life-threatening condition. If he kept soaking in the ice water, he would catch a cold.

Shen Ze gently placed his brother on the bed, sat beside him, and raised a hand to rub Shen Run’s hair.

“Next time you make yourself like this, I definitely won’t let you off so easily.”

Shen Run had already fallen back into a coma. He lay quietly on the pillow, with lingering tear stains still on his face.

Shen Ze tilted his head and suddenly felt that this was not bad. Brother could neither speak nor move now, and he would no longer leave his side.

He might as well sleep forever.

Just as he was thinking that, the sound of glass shattering suddenly came from the living room.

Shen Ze opened the bedroom door and looked toward the direction of the sound. The balcony’s glass door had been smashed, shards covered the living room, and drifting raindrops spilled in.

A tall figure flashed past, and Shen Ze caught a glimpse of the edge of that person’s trench coat.

He chased after him through the broken opening, pursuing that mysterious person across the layered, uneven platforms.

Even though it was daytime, the sky over Saint Grange was covered by a dim yellow-green haze. Fine raindrops struck Shen Ze’s shirt, and in his ears came that mysterious person’s near-mad laughter.

He clenched his back teeth, raised his left hand, and 7.62 mm bullets roared out from his military cybernetic limbs.

The mysterious figure flashed aside, narrowly dodging the bullet aimed at his heart.

“Fuck, you’re fucking serious?”

The man shouted in shock.

During the chase, the two of them had already reached the top floor of the apartment building. The man was forced into a dead end. In front of him was a drop of a hundred meters. He stopped and raised both hands.

“Stop, I’m not playing anymore, I admit defeat.”

The man turned around. The lower half of his face was covered by a black tactical mask, with only a pair of beautiful green eyes exposed outside.

Shen Ze seemed not to hear him. He walked straight over and grabbed the lapel of his trench coat.

The man was still struggling at the last moment. “Don’t hit the face, please.”

Shen Ze raised an eyebrow. “Sure.”

After saying that, he punched the man in the heart.

The man let out a painful muffled groan. “Tianlangxing, you really did hit me?”

“If you smash one more glass door in my house, I’ll kill you.” Shen Ze said coldly, his expression dark.

“Your house?” The man brushed the rainwater off his shoulder. “You came to Saint Grange for the first time, and in just half a month, you’ve already made a home here?”

He laughed twice. “I saw it just now, hahahaha, this is the first time I’ve ever seen such a disgusting expression on your face.”

As soon as he finished speaking, his heart took another iron fist.

“You’re courting death.”

Shen Ze clenched his fist, his eyes full of killing intent.

The man frowned. “Enough, if you keep hitting me, I’ll have to hit back.”

Shen Ze also couldn’t be bothered to really fight him. He released the man’s collar. “What are you doing here in Saint Grange?”

“Of course it’s because someone was neglecting his duties, accepted a mission and then disappeared. I care about my colleague, so I came by to see whether you’re dead.”

The man made a tsking sound. “Tianlangxing, you really know how to play. City wanderer? Messenger of justice? How interesting.”

“On the way to Emerald Bay, I even helped you knock a few useless guys on the head.”

He flexed his wrist. “No need to thank me. Just a casual thing.”

“Idiot.” Shen Ze cursed in Jiuzhou language.

“Hey, kid, your brother would be angry if he heard that, right?” The man let out a hysterical laugh.

“It’s your brother, right? Even though there’s not a shred of blood relation, and it’s not a blended family or an adoption relationship, it’s still the person you’ve always called brother.”

“You investigated me?” Shen Ze’s gaze turned displeased.

“Don’t look at me like that, as if you haven’t investigated me.”

“No.” Shen Ze said bluntly. “I don’t care about anyone except him.”

“You really have no humanity.” The man sighed. “How cold.”

“What exactly are you doing here?”

“I already said it, I’m just passing by.”

“Then get lost quickly. I don’t want to see you.” Shen Ze’s eyes flashed with cold light. “Jinx.”

“OKOK. I’m leaving. I won’t disturb the sweet time between you and your brother.”

The man raised both hands and slightly tilted his head, then remembered he still had something left to say.

“Sigh, though you probably won’t appreciate it, I still have to remind you.”

“Besides you, there was also an entire action team that came to Saint Grange this time.”

“If they find out that the person who should have died under the guns of the Yamata no Orochi Mobile Unit seven years ago is not only alive, but also serving a fugitive naval general, guess what will happen?”

Shen Ze’s face was expressionless. “You don’t need to worry about that. Just keep your own mouth shut.”

“Fine.”

He turned around, and just as he was about to leave, he suddenly let out a pointless sigh.

“But our Major Shen really is pitiful.”

The man walked up beside Shen Ze, the fabric at their shoulders brushing against each other.

“He still doesn’t know, does he.”

“The good little brother he held in his heart like a treasure, the precious treasure he regained after losing it…”

“Came to his side with the same purpose as those people, also for Prometheus.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he let out several strange bursts of laughter again, as if he were going to laugh out his lungs.

Shen Ze clenched both fists tightly, but he did not argue back.

He remained silent, letting the rain soak his shirt.