Chapter 74: Something is off

Ace’s voice carried a thick, almost suffocating tenderness. "Ray is indeed a rough man who doesn’t know how to treat a delicate girl gently. Seeing how sore he made you... my heart aches for you too."

As he spoke, his warm breath fanned softly across her skin...

A sharp shiver ran through May’s body, and she reached up to push against his chest. "Ace... don’t... please..."

"What’s wrong?" Ace lifted his gaze, his attention as intense and focused as a specialist dismantling unexploded ordnance. "Does it hurt that badly? Letting me soothe your sore spots with a gentle touch will fix it. Rest easy, my methods are far gentler than Ray’s—I won’t let you hurt."

"It’s not a matter of pain!" May’s voice squeaked in frantic embarrassment, her face flushing so red it looked ready to bleed. She grabbed tight to Ace’s collar. "We haven’t cleaned up... it’s really not okay..."

Ace let out a soft, low laugh. Reaching down, he held her restless calves in place, leaning down until the tip of his nose nearly touched her cheek: "I don’t mind in the slightest. Your scent... even if it were lethal poison, I’d still crave every drop."

May’s mind went entirely blank.

Oh no... I wasn’t prepared for this at all!

A sudden rustling noise echoed from outside the sleeping bag.

In the far corner, Theo—who was leaning against a pillar, resting with his eyes closed—felt his eyelids twitch subtly. He didn’t open them, but his Adam’s apple bobbed once down his throat.

May instantly clamped her mouth shut, playing dead.

"Don’t get distracted..." Ace murmured softly, quickly covering her lips with his hand...

"Mmh~"

On the other side of the fire, Alex—who had been snoring softly—rolled over and grumbled a few incoherent words before going silent again.

However, Jack, who was resting not far from them, had woken up at some point.

The seven-foot giant was huddled in the corner, his eyes wide as copper bells, staring with one exposed eye straight at the spot where Ace was crouched over.

Though he was usually simple-minded, he wasn’t blind or deaf. He had heard every whisper, every muffled gasping sound with complete clarity.

Jack opened his mouth to ask something, but felt as though a wad of cotton was wedged in his throat. His eyes turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye, his nose twitched, and two thick streams of tears spilled down his cheeks instantly.

He hurriedly clamped both his giant paws over his mouth, not even daring to breathe loudly. His shoulders quivered rhythmically like a neglected bride, weeping in silent, impotent despair.

Holy mother of God... What is Ace doing? Something wicked? No way! Absolutely not... Ace is just helping with medical treatment... Yes! That’s definitely it!

The more Jack tried to rationalize it, the more aggrieved he felt. His tears splashed onto the sleeves of his tactical gear, creating dark, wet patches.

The dying embers of the campfire radiated the last traces of warmth into the hall.

Inside the sleeping bag, the air felt thick and feverish, blending Ace’s distinct cool fragrance with a much more aggressive, lingering heat.

Eventually, Ace paused.

He raised his head, his refined face appearing slightly hazy under the dim amber firelight. A few strands of his soft hair were damp with sweat, clinging gently to his smooth forehead, while his eyes overflowed with a deep, quiet satisfaction.

Leaning down, his thin lips grazed her earlobe. His voice sounded raspy and low, like coarse sandpaper rubbing against damp wood:

"You know... I had to learn this on my own. Did I hurt you?"

May shook her head weakly, her body so drained she couldn’t squeeze out a single word.

Ace chuckled softly, the vibration echoing against her ear. He reached out, his thumb gently wiping away a stray tear glistening at the corner of her eye.

"Hopefully next time, you can give me a proper lesson."

With that, he stood up and neatly smoothed out the subtle creases on his shirt. In an instant, he reverted to his usual graceful, composed, and gently smiling self—as if the unhinged man who had nearly dismantled her moments ago didn’t exist at all.

Walking back to the wall, he sat down beside Theo and closed his eyes.

Inside her sleeping bag, May curled herself into a tight, protective ball.

Ray’s approach was raw, dominant, and overpowering—like a wild beast charging forward without giving anyone room to catch their breath.

Ace, on the other hand, was like a tender and protective gentleman. He used the softest, most tender methods to execute the most unhinged acts, making a person fall deeper into his pleasant smile until he devoured them whole, bone and all.

Who could possibly handle a lineup like this?!

My back feels like it’s going to snap in half...

***

Back to our guys...

"Look further east, toward that intersection," Ray instructed.

Mitch adjusted the sniper scope accordingly.

The traffic lights at the eastern crossroad had gone dark ages ago, but several civilian vehicles lay crumpled together in a mass collision at the center. Their windows were completely shattered, and a few stray infected clung to the doors, tearing at unseen remains inside.

Further off toward the national highway, a faint dark line moved slowly through the falling snow.

"Damn it, the horde didn’t disperse," Mitch muttered with a deep scowl, lifting his eye from the sight. "Didn’t that massive wave earlier get shattered by the shockwave? How are they gathering again?"

"It didn’t shatter—it split," Ray corrected flatly. "That girl’s outburst pulverized the mature, fully evolved infected into ash. But the newly mutated low-level ones whose brains hadn’t developed were merely knocked unconscious. Now that the snow is slowing down, they’re waking up and crawling toward the scent of living flesh."

Mitch shuddered, unsure if it was from the biting cold or sheer disgust. "Then why the hell are we wasting time here? We should pack up and move out! Once those bastards surround this town, even if we grew wings, we wouldn’t be able to fly out of here."

"Run? There’s no need. They only react to large-scale human activity," Ray scoffed softly, spitting out the end of his cigarette. "Look up at the sky."

Mitch glanced up at the pitch-black sky. Heavy snowflakes fell like goose feathers, completely blotting out any sight of stars.

"Don’t you think something is off?" Ray leaned back against the low concrete wall, arms crossed, his gaze darkening ominously.