ARBW Chapter 16

After Cheng Xiaowan confirmed that it was indeed a Gene Serum, she couldn’t help but lean closer to Lin Mian and whisper, “Did he… did he do something to you? No, that seems too quick; you don’t look like… did he touch you, or…?”

Before Cheng Xiaowan could continue her speculation, Lin Mian interrupted her, visibly annoyed and embarrassed, “No, no, Mr. Pei just gave me an injection.”

Although getting injected in the buttocks was quite embarrassing, the procedure was very brief, and Mr. Pei hadn’t touched him, so Lin Mian felt that Mr. Pei probably had no ill intentions.

It wasn’t entirely surprising that Cheng Xiaowan thought this way; after all, the previous Nobles had a habit of taking advantage of them whenever they offered benefits, leading Cheng Xiaowan to develop a fixed mindset.

However, Cheng Xiaowan quickly dismissed her own thoughts.

Mr. Pei was different from those Nobles.

He had given her so many things, and she had never seen him take advantage of her.

Moreover, Lin Mian didn’t seem like someone who had been bullied, so Cheng Xiaowan quickly changed the subject.

“Mr. Pei is really impressive. That construction team looks extraordinary; everyone is speculating about Mr. Pei’s identity. Some say he’s the son of a wealthy tycoon, while others think he might belong to a family that researches Gene Serums. The fact that he can easily produce a Gene Serum suggests the latter might be more likely.”

Lin Mian, upon hearing this, didn’t know how to respond.

On the surface, he seemed to have the closest relationship with Mr. Pei, but in reality, he didn’t know much about him.

Yet, despite his lack of knowledge, he couldn’t shake the feeling that Mr. Pei had nothing to do with the Gene Serum.

Everyone knew that the emergence of Gene Serums was due to the dwindling resources on Earth. A group of wealthy individuals had developed them and viruses to eliminate the middle and lower classes, monopolizing the remaining resources.

Lin Mian and the others were just ordinary Lower Class People.

They were eliminated by the wealthy because they couldn’t afford to buy Gene Serums.

Lin Mian believed that someone as kind and gentle as Mr. Pei could not possibly be involved in the research of such Gene Serums.

He might be wealthy, perhaps even a tycoon, but he would never be the one to develop Gene Serums and viruses.

While Cheng Xiaowan and Lin Mian were chatting, Pei Yuhuai had already completed his time-limited task.

Today’s reward for the task was a ton of purified water.

As before, the reward was handed over by Pei Yuhuai to the two individuals who distributed it to the town’s residents.

When Lin Mian and Cheng Xiaowan went to collect the water, Pei Yuhuai had already logged off.

For the next two days, Lin Mian had a high fever.

This was a side effect of the Gene Serum; his body needed to adapt to the serum’s effects, and the fever was a way to enhance his physical condition.

During Lin Mian’s fever, Cheng Xiaowan took care of him.

Pei Yuhuai logged in twice, both times to complete time-limited tasks.

The rewards for these tasks were still food and water.

The townspeople had been quite anxious, worried that without the town’s organizer, they would starve.

However, after several days of Pei Yuhuai distributing food and water, they accumulated quite a bit of supplies and gradually became less anxious.

Some townspeople even thought that this way of life was quite nice.

They didn’t have to do anything and could receive food and water, which was much more comfortable than before.

Of course, those with such thoughts were in the minority; most people still had a sense of crisis.

Many townspeople voluntarily repaired the power grid outside the town.

The power grid was now inactive, losing its deterrent effect against the outside world.

To prevent anyone from sneaking in or raiding their supplies, they organized patrols day and night.

During these two days, after completing his time-limited tasks, Pei Yuhuai would also stroll around the town, giving small gifts to the residents, and Lin Mian’s gifts were never lacking.

Last time, Pei Yuhuai had given him a bouquet of flowers and a watch.

At this point, Lin Mian’s fondness for Pei Yuhuai had nearly reached fifty.

Once the fondness reached fifty, they could engage in kissing and hugging.

However, at this moment, Pei Yuhuai had not yet decided whom to pursue.

Even if Lin Mian’s fondness reached that level, he did not casually engage in intimate actions with him.

During these two days, while Lin Mian was feverish, Pei Yuhuai sent two more gifts.

The first was a bouquet of lilies and a box of fever-reducing patches.

Pei Yuhuai was worried that Lin Mian’s high fever might have a serious impact on his health.

He specifically sent a box of patches for Cheng Xiaowan to help Lin Mian control his temperature while taking care of him.

The second time, he sent a bouquet of sunflowers and a nutritional package.

Since Lin Mian had been feverish for days, the cooking duties fell to Cheng Xiaowan.

With limited ingredients, the best Cheng Xiaowan could make was plain rice porridge.

Pei Yuhuai sent a nutritional package, hoping Lin Mian could replenish some nutrients after eating it.

It wasn’t until the third day that Lin Mian’s high fever improved a bit.

Today, Pei Yuhuai had not logged in for a long time because his company had acquired an entertainment company, keeping him busy until the evening.

Ironically, it was on this day that Pei Yuhuai didn’t log in that it was Lin Mian and Cheng Xiaowan’s turn to patrol.

Unfortunately for them, they were assigned to the night patrol.

Patrolling at night was not only more dangerous than during the day but also more exhausting.

Cheng Xiaowan was somewhat dissatisfied, feeling that it was a deliberate arrangement against them.

She thought they were assigned to the night shift because they had weapons.

In fact, that was indeed the case.

Some young and strong individuals with weapons were assigned to patrol at night.

Women and children, who had poorer physical conditions and less strength, were assigned to patrol during the day.

Lin Mian had no major complaints about this; he felt that as a man, especially a young man, he should give way to women and children, so he had no dissatisfaction with the arrangement.

As he patrolled with Cheng Xiaowan at night, noticing her slightly gloomy demeanor, he comforted her as they walked, “It’s okay; although it’s a bit harder at night, it’s also quieter. Don’t worry, I have a gun; I’ll protect you.”

Cheng Xiaowan sighed, “It’s not about protection; they are deliberately bullying us. You, you have too good a temper, which is why you often get bullied. If it weren’t for meeting Mr. Pei, with your personality, you would have probably been harmed long ago.”

Lin Mian wasn’t angry upon hearing this; he felt Cheng Xiaowan was right.

If it weren’t for meeting Mr. Pei, he probably… would have already died.

So, Mr. Pei was different for him, and it wasn’t surprising that he felt drawn to him.

Tonight, besides Lin Mian and Cheng Xiaowan, there were two other young men on patrol.

After all, their small town was quite large, and two people couldn’t cover the entire area.

That night, they didn’t encounter any danger.

Lin Mian and Cheng Xiaowan walked and stopped, tiring themselves out without rest throughout the night.

As dawn broke, the two returned home, looking exhausted.

Just after they returned to rest, Pei Yuhuai, who had not logged in yesterday, finally came online.

This time, he logged in to build another house.

The previous elite construction team was still working, and it would take another two days for the villa to be completed, so this time, a high-level construction team was brought in.

He was building a small building this time, and with the time needed to demolish the original structure, it would only take ten days to complete.

Once the second construction team entered the town, Pei Yuhuai began today’s time-limited task.

As before, there were ten requests from the townspeople, and knowing they could receive supplies, many townspeople had been waiting in the square early.

Moreover, since Pei Yuhuai could selectively accept requests, it made completing the tasks quite simple and quick.

After Pei Yuhuai finished the time-limited tasks and prepared the rewards, he thought of Lin Mian, whom he hadn’t seen all day.

He wondered how Lin Mian was doing. Had his health improved at all?

With that thought, Pei Yuhuai decided to check on Lin Mian.

At that moment, Lin Mian was resting, and the front door of their house was locked.

When both he and Cheng Xiaowan were resting, they would lock the door from inside the room.

When Pei Yuhuai arrived, he saw the tightly shut door and politely knocked.

His knock was soft, and Lin Mian, separated by two doors, didn’t hear it at all.

Similarly, Cheng Xiaowan, who was sound asleep, also didn’t hear it.

Pei Yuhuai waited for a moment, and seeing that no one answered, he thought there was nothing else to do today and logged off.

Lin Mian and Cheng Xiaowan didn’t find out until the evening when they woke up that Mr. Pei had come to the town that day.

They went to the square to collect their supplies and felt quite regretful on the way back.

If they had known Mr. Pei would come today, they would have left one person to wait, and perhaps they could have seen him.

Lin Mian thought that since Mr. Pei had come during the day, he wouldn’t return at night.

Back home, he planned to use the water they had collected to indulge in a bath.

He hadn’t bathed in several days, and the recent temperatures had been quite high.

He worried that if this continued, he would develop an unpleasant odor.

What if… what if he could see Mr. Pei tomorrow? He didn’t want to leave a bad impression on him.

Just as he was bathing, a knock sounded from outside.

The person knocking was very polite, making a sound that was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for the people inside the room to hear without sounding overly aggressive.

Lin Mian wondered who would come to find him at night.

Then he heard Cheng Xiaowan’s voice as she opened the door.

Cheng Xiaowan, seeing the tall figure standing at the door, paused for a moment before smiling and saying, “Mr. Pei, are you here to see Lin Mian?”

Pei Yuhuai nodded in response.

Seeing this, Cheng Xiaowan quickly stepped aside, indicating that Mr. Pei could come in.

Once Pei Yuhuai was allowed to enter, he stepped inside.

“Lin Mian, how have you been these past two days?” he asked casually as he walked forward.

Cheng Xiaowan, following behind him, immediately replied with a happy expression, “He’s doing well. After the Gene Serum injection, his condition has improved a lot. Last night when we were patrolling, he even said he wanted to thank you in person.”

“Patrolling?”

“Yes! The town has no Guardians now, and the power grid is down. If we don’t patrol ourselves, it’s easy for outsiders to sneak in.”

Cheng Xiaowan had intended to say more, but upon seeing that Pei Yuhuai had reached Lin Mian’s door, she realized she shouldn’t follow him inside.

Previously, Mr. Pei rarely came at night.

His sudden visit today made Cheng Xiaowan feel that there was more to it than met the eye.

He probably… wanted to do something with Lin Mian, right?

Otherwise, there would be no need to wait until night to come.

Cheng Xiaowan, being quite perceptive, left the room, glancing back at Lin Mian’s door with a hint of worry.

Lin Mian seemed inexperienced in this regard; she wondered if he could handle it.