Apocalypse Mode: My Cheat Code Virtual Boyfriend - Chapter 5

The wind, carrying the rain, rushed into the house. The gaping snake’s mouth flicked its forked tongue in wild delight. Before Bai Xun could react, a figure moved faster than him, a flash of white was all anyone saw!

A massive snow leopard swatted the giant snake into the curtain of rain, then leaped after it, using its own weight to pin the serpent down. The snake fought back, opening its maw wide and aiming a bite at the snow leopard’s right foreleg.

“Xun’er, what on earth just flew past?” Bai Guifang, gripping two cleavers, felt her soul nearly leave her body. How had such a creature burst out of their house? That was a snow leopard, a nationally protected first-class animal!

Good heavens, how many years in prison would they get for harboring a nationally protected first-class animal?

Bai Xun didn’t answer. Taking three steps in two, he rushed toward the rain but skidded to a halt at the edge of the steps.

No, he couldn’t go down and cause trouble for Cheng Wei.

Snake versus cat, a battle of dragon and tiger.

The two beasts tumbled and wrestled in the rain puddles. The snake’s bite missed its mark as Cheng Wei swatted its head aside with a paw. The serpent’s massive body, reminiscent of an Amazonian anaconda, was its ultimate weapon, a fully grown anaconda could even crush a water buffalo to death!

The snake feigned another bite while its body coiled stealthily, its tail whipping around to entangle Cheng Wei’s limbs.

From the sidelines, Bai Xun watched anxiously and blurted out, “Its tail! Watch the tail!”

Cheng Wei saw through the trick in time. Pushing off with his hind legs, he kicked the snake’s tail away. With thick paw pads and claws extended, he slapped the snake’s head sideways, leaving fresh, bleeding gashes across its cheek.

The snake’s flexible body coiled back the moment it was kicked away. This time, Cheng Wei wasn’t as lucky, the serpent’s tail wrapped around his lower abdomen and tightened with deadly force!

Once ensnared by a giant snake, the outcome was certain: crushed bones, suffocation, and death.

Cheng Wei clamped his jaws onto the snake’s body, his hind claws raking desperately at its seven-inch vital spot. Wounded from both ends, the snake convulsed uncontrollably, its tail loosening slightly but still tightly wrapped around Cheng Wei.

There was no time to waste!

Bai Xun turned and rushed back into the house, stopping before Bai Guifang. Without a word, she handed him the cleaver in her hand, their tacit understanding needed no explanation.

By now, Bai Xun’s blood was boiling with fervor. The biting wind and cold rain seemed to evaporate into mist against his scorching body temperature.

With the “dragon-slaying treasure blade” in hand, cold light glinted as he raised the cleaver and brought it down!

The snake’s head did not fall.

Of course not, this wasn’t a real dragon-slaying blade that could slice through iron like mud. It was just a stainless-steel cleaver bought on sale for 29.90 yuan. It was already impressive that it hadn’t chipped or cracked.

Gripping the cleaver, Bai Xun hacked desperately at the spine just below the snake’s head. Flesh and blood flew, and blade marks crisscrossed chaotically. The giant snake writhed in agony, mustering every muscle in its body for a final struggle, while Cheng Wei pinned it to the ground with claws and teeth.

He didn’t know how many times he swung the cleaver. All he knew was that his ragged breaths fogged up the helmet’s visor until it was completely white. Finally, he severed the snake’s spine, leaving only a flap of skin connecting the head to the body.

Coming back to his senses, he realized the cleaver had long since slipped from his hand into the bloody mess. As the adrenaline faded, exhaustion set in. His knees gave way, and he collapsed heavily into the muddy water.

Both the snake and Cheng Wei lay motionless. Bai Xun’s trembling hands groped forward. Would Cheng Wei die? He was a virtual character, did the blood on the ground belong to him too?

His heart felt like a tangled mess of threads, swarmed by countless ants gnawing densely, bit by bit devouring his flesh and blood, hollowing his heart into desolation.

Suddenly, a hand shot out and grabbed Bai Xun’s wrist.

It was Cheng Wei.

He had transformed back from a snow leopard into human form. The tightly coiled snake body instantly loosened, but he didn’t rush to free himself. Instead, he reached out with his other hand and lifted the visor on Bai Xun’s helmet.

Revealed was a face filled with panic and terror.

“Bai Xun, I’m not dead.”

Cheng Wei reached out to touch Bai Xun’s face, his fingertips tracing upward along the cheekbone, gradually brushing against the corner of his eye. It was damp there, whether from tears or rain slanted by the fierce wind, it was impossible to tell. Now, they were all mingled together.

Bai Xun’s captured hand was pulled by Cheng Wei and placed against his own face, palm pressed to wrist. Cheng Wei tilted his head back, gazing at Bai Xun with an utterly pure expression. Raindrops struck his long lashes, trickling down his jaw, leaving his entire face glistening wet.

Bai Xun understood that face. In that instant, his chaotic emotions suddenly calmed.

Their gaze across the rain curtain felt like an eternity.

It had to be said, this was the right moment, the right person, but an utterly wrong time and place. Mud mixed with the foul, sticky blood, a decapitated snake lay beside them, and under the eaves, a mother and daughter stood in a half-out-of-body, soul-like state.

“Didn’t they say that after the founding of the nation, creatures aren’t allowed to become spirits?” Bai Yu blurted out involuntarily.

Crack.

The lingering atmosphere shattered completely.

But at that moment, no one noticed a shimmering, crystalline shard coalescing from the snake’s body. Concealed by the rain curtain, it quietly slipped into Bai Xun’s body.

The moment it entered, that mechanical voice echoed in his ears once more: “Acquired Crystal Shard ×1. Current Crystal Shard count: 1.”

Bai Xun’s eyes widened abruptly. So the crystal shards needed to unlock things were obtained by killing mutated creatures!

Under the eaves, Bai Yu’s eyes were equally wide. Empathy made her forget just how terrifying that murderous snake had been moments ago.

This… this… Could it be that her brother and that snow leopard spirit had something going on? Brother, I always thought you just weren’t into girls, I never imagined you were actually gay?!

This rain-soaked, battle-worn beauty scene, these lingering, intimate glances, this mutual face-touching as if no one else existed, as if they were about to kiss any second.

Oh my god, I’m going to draw a hundred doujinshi! I’ll churn out content like crazy and devour it all!

Bai Xun suppressed the urge to open the game panel and check the crystal shard he’d just obtained. There was still a mess to deal with right in front of him.

He lent a hand to pull Cheng Wei out of the snake’s coils, then remembered that leaving such a large snake corpse to rot in their yard wasn’t ideal. He turned and called toward the eaves, “Sis, toss me our house keys!”

Bai Yu snapped out of her fangirl-induced delusions and hurried inside to fetch the keys for her brother.

With his sister gone, there was still their mother. Ms. Bai Guifang’s keen sense of trends was limited to new square dances and creative dishes. The world of male homosexuality was a strange, uncharted territory for her, and she didn’t find anything amiss.

“Young man, tell me, what’s your name? Are you a snow leopard spirit?” Bai Guifang was bold and straightforward, not particularly afraid of the man-eating snake, thinking it was just a monster that could speak human language.

She thought to herself that the savior who had helped stop the snake spirit from eating people was a snow leopard spirit. She wondered what dishes this great immortal might enjoy and whether he would appreciate her specialty, cumin lamb chops. Once the rain stopped, she planned to find a temple to offer incense for him, hoping to accumulate merit and help him ascend to immortality sooner.

Bai Xun was choked up by his mother’s mention of a “snow leopard spirit.” Back then, he had simply thought it was cool to have a mountain guide who could transform into a giant snow leopard. Who could tell him whether Cheng Wei was actually a snow leopard spirit or not? Weren’t great immortals supposed to know magic?

Over there, Cheng Wei spoke up: “My name is Cheng Wei. I’m not a snow leopard spirit. I’m Bai Xun’s-”

Bai Xun panicked and pinched Cheng Wei’s lower back: “He’s my friend! Mom, go inside first. We’ll clean up and explain everything to you later.”

Bai Guifang thought to herself that this great immortal was quite humble. “So, Xiao Cheng, what do you like to eat? Do you like cumin lamb chops? Auntie can also make braised pork knuckles and marinated beef shank. Which one do you prefer? Auntie will cook for you.”

Cheng Wei had a cold and sharp appearance, like a glacier on the snowy plains that never melts, full of edges. But he was young, with a gentle and obedient demeanor. When he smiled, his slightly visible canine teeth made him look innocent and harmless. “I like them all. Auntie can decide.”

Satisfied, Bai Guifang went back inside. Bai Yu had also found the keys and was about to go out with an umbrella to unlock the main gate.

Bai Xun quickly stopped her: “Don’t come out. Don’t get wet in the rain. Just toss the keys over.”

Only then did Bai Yu remember the post saying the rain was a source of pollution, and she grew a little worried. “But, brother, you and your friend are both wet. What should we do?”

Cheng Wei picked up the snake’s head and dragged its tail outside. Bai Xun caught the keys and said, “I don’t know either. Just go inside quickly. The fewer of us out here, the better.”

Bai Yu said, “Alright. After you two finish disposing of it, come inside quickly. I’ll go help Mom in the kitchen.”

Once they were alone, Bai Xun hurried to catch up with Cheng Wei and cautiously looked at his expression. “Cheng Wei, you’re not angry, are you? I didn’t mention the game. I’m sorry!”

Cheng Wei looked at him with a puzzled expression. “Why are you apologizing to me? Did you do anything wrong? You said we’re friends, and that made me very happy.”

Bai Xun had completely forgotten that he had randomly assigned Cheng Wei a “scheming” trait in the game. He sniffled, feeling even more guilty toward Cheng Wei. “Everything that happened in the game was fake. I do like you, but the affection and gifts were all bought with money. All I had to do was click a mouse to make you like me. That’s not fair to you. The me you know and the real me are not the same person. Now that you’re out of the game, you can meet more people. You don’t have to choose only me.”

Cheng Wei said softly, “I understand.”

This side of Bai Xun, he liked it very much.

Seeing that things were cleared up, Bai Xun couldn’t help but feel relieved. “I’m glad you understand.”

After disposing of the snake’s body and returning to the house, someone was already waiting for them at the door.

Grandma Bai was holding two warm towels, having waited for them for who knows how long. “Wipe your heads and faces. You’re both good kids. After you shower, Grandma will make you ginger egg custard.”

Bai Xun took the warm towel. “Grandma’s ginger egg custard is the best. You’re so good to us, Grandma. We’ll go take a bath first and come down to eat.”

Cheng Wei, the solitary leopard, was being treated kindly by Bai Xun’s family for the second time today. He solemnly accepted the towel with both hands. “Thank you, Grandma.”

Grandma Bai chuckled warmly. “Go on, good kids.”

With the warm towel on his head, Bai Xun led Cheng Wei to his room. Cheng Wei, drenched from head to toe, stood at the doorway, unwilling to step inside. Water dripped steadily from his pant legs, and only his medium-length hair was slightly dried by the warm towel.

“I’m really dirty. I’ll make a mess of your room,” he said, still stained with the snake’s blood, it was truly filthy.

“Go ahead and use the bathroom first. It’s right at the end of the hallway. I’ll get you some clothes,” Bai Xun said, not pressing the issue, and waved him off to shower.

He took off his bee-proof suit, revealing the fluffy pajamas underneath, which hadn’t gotten too wet.

Cheng Wei was nearly ten centimeters taller than him, so clothes that fit Bai Xun perfectly might be too tight on Cheng Wei. After rummaging through his closet, Bai Xun finally picked out a few loose-fitting outfits for him.

The bathroom was at the end of the hallway. Bai Xun knocked lightly on the door three times, holding the clothes.

The sound of running water inside stopped, footsteps approached, and the bathroom door clicked open.

A wave of steam enveloped Bai Xun’s face, giving it a moisturizing boost. Cheng Wei peeked out halfway, his hair still dripping.