Let Me Belong to You Forever
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Along the way, Qiu Yu received more than ten phone calls, most of them from her parents.
They ordered her to stop immediately and wait for the hover car to pick her up.
At first, she simply hung up, but later, when she noticed drones tracking her communication signal, she directly switched to flight mode, pressed the autopilot button, grabbed the submachine gun, and aimed at the drones behind her through the car window—
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Flames burst from the muzzle, bullets flew wildly, and in the blink of an eye, the magazine was emptied.
The drone could not withstand such an intense barrage of fire and instantly crashed to the ground.
But the threat she faced was not just the drones.
As she drove into the perimeter of the Biotech Building, mutated beings, resembling living corpses, were everywhere.
Most of the company’s employees had undergone military training. They were agile and could easily handle these mutated beings. Senior employees—like herself—even had a large stockpile of weapons in their offices. If they wanted to, they could carve a bloody path out at any time.
However, besides company employees, there were also ordinary people around the building.
They could be janitors, tourists visiting the area, or interns who had not yet undergone military training… They all had one thing in common: they were completely defenseless against the mutated beings.
Unknowingly, a fine drizzle began to fall from the sky.
Qiu Yu glanced at the sports car’s display screen. The pH of the rainwater had not exceeded the threshold.
But soon, she discovered something far more terrifying than acid rain—the mutated beings let out deafening shrieks in the rain, as if they had been strengthened by it.
It was a scene straight out of hell.
If it had been an ordinary beast horde invasion, it wouldn’t have been nauseating to the point of making one want to retch. No matter how ugly a wild animal looked, it would still be within the limits of human tolerance.
These mutated beings, however, were creatures that could only exist in horror films.
—Slimy, silicified skin, elongated and venomous vertical pupils, sharp and rapid claws. Even in the rain, they left behind mucus-like trails as they moved.
The most troublesome part was that if their skin was truly “silicified,” they might possess an unbelievably tough exterior. There exists a glass sponge called Venus’ Flower Basket, which survives in the extreme conditions of the ultra-deep sea thanks to its silicified skeleton.
Moreover, silicified skin might allow them to evade infrared radar detection, which would be fatal for nighttime combat personnel.
And all of this—was merely because the company wanted to win the public opinion war.
They wanted to use public opinion to utterly destroy Chen Cebai.
If Chen Cebai did not have such a strong mind, if he did not have the ability to enter another dimension, he would have already been socially dead.
If Chen Cebai were not so paranoid that he could only see her, even if he had managed to survive by sheer luck, he would have suffocated under the weight of so many lives lost.
Even though—he was not the true culprit behind all of this.
Once again, Qiu Yu felt a strong sense of weariness.
She grabbed the submachine gun, slung the supply pack over her shoulder, stepped out of the sports car, and slammed the door shut.
The blood of the mutated beings was blue, mixing with human blood to form an eerie iridescent sheen, like polluted water, as it flowed into the sewers.
Near the company building, holographic advertisements continued rolling.
It was already evening, and many neon lights were flickering on one after another. The neon lights of synthetic meat advertisements, the neon lights of protein supplement advertisements, the neon lights of gun shops… Chinese, Japanese, English, Spanish; red, blue, yellow, purple, purplish-blue.
This was an all-encompassing city, and naturally, it also had all-encompassing neon lights.
Gunfire, blood, misty rain, neon lights, and holographic advertisements together formed a scene that was both apocalyptic and terrifying yet breathtakingly magnificent.
The city was eroding the neon lights, and the neon lights were also eroding the city.
Gunshots rang out, blood spattered, and gut-wrenching screams echoed everywhere.
Yet, as the screams rose into the air, they became nothing more than background noise for a holographic advertisement—the holographic display happened to switch to a firearm commercial, where a muscular man with bulging veins was holding a submachine gun, sweeping bullets across the screen. Blood splattered, and spent shells clattered onto the ground.
As the screams from the real world died down, the holographic advertisement also came to an end, and an enthusiastic yet hollow voiceover resonated through the surroundings:
“For personal security, choose Biotech.”
“Biotech—delivering precise strikes to your enemies.”
A wave of nausea surged up inside Qiu Yu, the urge to vomit shooting straight to her throat. She turned her head and gagged a few times.
She had never hated this city so much.
She wanted to escape.
To a quiet, warm world—one without gunfire, without conflicts of interest.
—The world that Chen Cebai had created for her.
Physiological tears welled up in Qiu Yu’s eyes. For the first time, she missed Chen Cebai this much.
At that moment, a sticky, sloshing sound of footsteps came from behind—like an amphibian dragging mud and water as it moved across land.
A chill ran down Qiu Yu’s spine, and in the corner of her vision, she caught sight of two semi-transparent bone claws—
A mutated being was closing in on her at high speed. It moved with both hands and feet, and in less than two seconds, it would be able to launch a swift and brutal attack from behind.
Qiu Yu pressed her lips together. Just as she was about to roll forward, grab the submachine gun, and open fire at the creature—
At that exact moment, a figure darted toward her like lightning.
One arm wrapped around her waist, while the other swiftly pulled out an electromagnetic gun. Even as they moved, the person aimed precisely at the mutated being’s joints—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In an instant, the mutated being lost all ability to move.
Qiu Yu, caught off guard, was tackled directly. She struggled to break free, only to find that the other person’s arm was like an iron clamp, tightening around her waist.
Above her, a cold and slightly hoarse voice rang out:
“This place isn’t safe. I’m taking you out of here.”
It was a woman.
Qiu Yu froze for a moment and looked up.
The woman appeared very young, in her early twenties, with delicate and beautiful features, like a pristine, silver-white camellia. Yet there was no emotion on her face, and her gaze toward Qiu Yu was devoid of concern, as if saving her was merely a task to complete rather than a personal choice.
Qiu Yu frowned. “Are you a security officer from Gaoke?”
The woman raised her eyebrows slightly. “No. I’m a doctor from nearby. I just came here for the rescue mission.”
Before her voice had even faded, she swiftly raised the electromagnetic gun again, aiming at another mutated being not far away.
“Are you leaving or not? If not, I’ll go save someone else. I have to rescue ten people before I can clock out.”
Qiu Yu: “…”
She hadn’t been mistaken—this woman was indeed saving people just to complete her task.
Qiu Yu shook her head. “Go ahead. I have to go inside to find someone.”
The woman gave her a surprised look. “Alright.”
She thought for a moment, then grabbed Qiu Yu’s wrist and inserted a business card into her chip. “My name is Zhou Jiao, employee number TSZ20492077. If you change your mind and don’t want to look for that person anymore, you can contact me. If I’m still in this district, I’ll definitely come back for you.” (TL: Our first female lead!)
Although the chip was in flight mode, it could still receive files transmitted face-to-face.
Qiu Yu did not refuse. Zhou Jiao might be the last person she met in this world, so she might as well keep it as a memento.
She said, “Alright.”
Zhou Jiao made an “OK” gesture while simultaneously raising her other hand—aiming, pulling the trigger—and helped her take down another mutated being. Then, she turned and disappeared into the damp mist of the rain.
Qiu Yu watched her leave, gathered her resolve, and walked toward the company building.
Not every time would she encounter someone like Zhou Jiao—someone she considered a good person. Because shortly after, she ran into two other people who claimed to be rescue personnel: one tried to snatch her supply pack, while the other stealthily trailed behind, attempting to hack into her credit chip to steal money.
Qiu Yu neutralized them both with two swift hand chops and continued forward.
In truth, she had always known that this world was insane, inhumane, and corrupt. It was just that she was not that lucid, gentle, and untainted person.
She had desires, dreams, and vanity.
She longed for the recognition of those around her, longed to break free from her parents’ control and make something of herself, longed for the person she admired to love her in return.
Her compatibility rate with almost everyone exceeded 80%, and it was hard to say it wasn’t because she had always been deliberately accommodating others.
She had mistakenly believed that as long as many people liked her, she would find a sense of security and belonging in this world.
That she would be able to erase that feeling of being out of place.
However, even now, she still had not found a sense of belonging in this world.
She was too naive, too greedy. She disliked this world but had no ambition to change it, so she lived in confusion—until she met Chen Cebai’s dark, searing gaze. From that moment on, her life changed drastically.
Two people, living in a space where time stood still. To others, it might have been terrifying.
But to her, it felt like she had finally found that untainted world.
She was neither lucid nor gentle, and Chen Cebai was far from gentle as well. No matter the time or place, his gaze toward her was always as if he wanted to devour her whole, and he always left fervent purple marks on her skin.
Yet, this very person created an eternal space for her—and was willing to stay there with her forever.
Why hadn’t she realized sooner that that world was so much better than reality?
Qiu Yu kept walking forward, never looking back.
Her movements became increasingly cold, decisive, and efficient. Every time she raised her gun and fired, her shots struck fatal points.
She gradually learned which parts of the mutated beings would disable them the fastest.
She didn’t know how much time had passed when she finally arrived at the entrance of the company building.
A security line had been set up at the main entrance. Two security personnel spotted her, furrowed their brows, and stepped forward as if intending to stop her.
Without hesitation, Qiu Yu raised her submachine gun, aimed at their heads, and said coldly:
“Move, or I’ll shoot.”
The recoil from the submachine gun was too strong, making her wrist go numb. Her magazine was nearly empty—this was the last one.
But she felt no fear.
Chen Cebai was definitely watching her.
He had not appeared all this time. One reason was that she could still handle the current situation. The other was that he was probably waiting to see how far she would go for him.
Sometimes, he seemed even more insecure than she was.
No—he was more insecure than she was.
He needed her to constantly express her love, to indulge him unconditionally, to choose him unwaveringly.
The two security personnel exchanged glances, as if they thought she was joking—there was no helping it. Her appearance was simply too unconvincing. No matter how maturely she dressed, she always looked like a sweet and delicate girl.
Qiu Yu said no more. She shifted the muzzle of the gun, aimed at their feet, and pulled the trigger—
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Submachine guns were never known for precision; they relied on their immense destructive power. Many adult men, under such high-intensity shooting, would likely suffer wrist dislocations and lose their aim.
Yet, from start to finish, Qiu Yu held the submachine gun steadily, completing a precise outline of the two men’s bodies—cold and graceful.
“Still not leaving?”
The two security personnel were of low rank. They were just trying to make a living and had no real intention of laying down their lives for the company. Hearing her words, they scrambled to flee.
Just as Qiu Yu was about to continue forward, a hand suddenly grabbed her arm.
The touch was ice-cold—without a doubt, it was Chen Cebai’s hand.
She turned her head and met his gaze.
Night had completely fallen. The neon lights painted the sky into a murky, rotting shade of pale purple.
The shrieks of mutated beings, the wails and screams of the crowd, the mechanical and hollow voiceovers of holographic advertisements… in this instant, they all faded away into a distant, indistinct white noise.
Chen Cebai stood in pure white, a faint splash of blood staining his collar.
He stared at her without moving, his gaze greedy, obsessed, and unsettling.
It reminded her of that morning when she had accidentally caught sight of his nearly exposed, searing gaze pressing down on the back of her neck—so heavy, so scorching, that it sent shivers down her spine.
From that moment on, the story had turned a new page.
And she had stepped into her own new world.
Before finding him, Qiu Yu had thought about what she would say. Maybe she would scold him, maybe she would comfort him, maybe she would lay all her thoughts bare.
But she hadn’t expected herself to cry.
A sourness welled up at the tip of her nose, her vision blurred with tears, and before she could stop them, they spilled down uncontrollably.
Chen Cebai stepped closer, one hand cradling the back of her head, the other wiping away her tears.
His voice was low. “You’re crying for me again.”
His gaze shifted to his fingertips. For a few seconds, the pads of his fingers seemed to transform into a boiling, black viscous substance, forming a strange and terrifying vortex that swallowed every last drop of her tears.
Qiu Yu immediately grasped his fingers tightly, tears still on her face, a hint of annoyance in her voice. “Stop doing things that drain your sanity!”
Chen Cebai turned his hand over, gripping hers in return, and brushed the cold, sharp edge of his face lightly against the back of her hand.
He asked, “Did you see the news?”
“I saw it.”
He said, “I killed someone.”
“I know. He must have said something awful.”
“I am still evolving,” he said. As his voice fell, pitch-black liquid metal swiftly covered half of his body, while the other half silently crept onto her, like a viscous cocoon, pulling out dense filaments. “The reason for my evolution may very well be to hunt you more effectively.”
The sensation of these things made Qiu Yu’s scalp tingle. She desperately wanted to tear them off, but knowing that doing so would drive him mad and cause him to replicate even more onto her, she silently endured it.
“I know.”
“Perhaps in the end, I will still take you to that eternal space,” he said. “I am a selfish person. I want to be with you forever. Even if surpassing the limits of human lifespan would bring you pain.”
“…Mm, I don’t agree with that part.”
Chen Ce Bai abruptly tightened his fingers, gripping her hand so hard that it ached.
“You don’t have to wait until the end,” Qiu Yu couldn’t help but laugh. She tilted her head back and gave him a bright, radiant smile. “I want to go there now.”
“—Take me there. Let me belong to you forever.”
From the filthy, scorching garbage heaps to the grand and luxurious company buildings.
From struggling for survival, to becoming “the hope of the lower-class people,” to a terrifying, grotesque monster.
From repression to indulgence.
There had always been one person who saw him as he was.
No matter what he became—high or low, noble or vile, whether he was hideous, whether he was greedy and insane—she could unconditionally accept him.
In this chaotic, mad, and numb city, she was the only moon he could grasp.
And the only moon he wanted to grasp.
(Second Story · Main Text Complete)
TL: I love the contrast between the first FL and this second FL. The first female lead was dominant and resists being the prey, while Qiu Yu embraces it. She isn’t just surrendering passively; she wants to be his, to enter his world, no matter how monstrous it is. There’s something almost tragic but also deeply romantic about that—like a love that defies all morality and reason, because in their own twisted way, they are perfect for each other.
What do you think? Do you prefer the first story or this one?
There’s still one chapter for extra!