Apocalypse Survival Guide for a Beta [GB] - Chapter 28

“Your Excellency Bishop! The test subject is showing emotional fluctuations again!”

An observer, noticing faint fluctuations on the screen, quickly reported the findings.

“Apply appropriate stimulation based on the fluctuations, but be extremely careful! I want her to wake up safely,” the handsome blond young man instructed as he gazed at the giant cocoon inside the glass chamber.

The operator nodded cautiously.

***

Underwater…

Lin Bai felt terrible.

Completely submerged in the ocean, she could clearly feel water seeping into parts of her suit. She needed to get back to the surface as soon as possible.

Lou Tiannan, who had fallen into the sea with her, wasn’t far away and was already swimming toward her. His protective face mask had come loose.

Just as Lin Bai was about to swim upward, a sudden wave of dizziness washed over her and her body drifted helplessly with the deep-sea current.

As the current began to pull her away, she suddenly felt a strong hand grab hold of her.

She was pulled toward Lou Tiannan.

Lou Tiannan grabbed Lin Bai’s arm and helped her remove the protective mask on her head. Seeing that her condition in the water was poor and that no bubbles were escaping from her mouth or nose, he assumed she was drowning. Without thinking much, he pulled Lin Bai into his arms, lifted her chin, and pressed his lips to hers, performing a standard military resuscitation technique to give her air.

Lin Bai gradually regained her senses from the dizziness. Seeing the enlarged face in front of her, she thought, ‘What is he doing? Is he giving me air?’

Just as the thought crossed her mind, she felt Lou Tiannan’s arm supporting her chin and the next moment, her entire body was being carried upward.

Since someone was guiding her, Lin Bai didn’t bother struggling. Instead, she silently checked which parts of her body had taken in water. Fortunately, it was only a few minor components. Most of her parts had already been coated with a protective liquid layer before departure. M-brand liquid safety seals truly had excellent waterproofing.

Splash.

Both of their heads broke the water’s surface. Only then did Lin Bai realize that Lou Tiannan’s body temperature was shockingly hot.

It was raining when they emerged.

A hidden undercurrent continued pushing them from below. Lou Tiannan pulled a buckle from his waist and clipped it to Lin Bai’s belt, ensuring they wouldn’t be separated by the ocean waves.

One force pushed them forward while Lou Tiannan swam toward the shore, carrying her along.

Lin Bai remained still, playing the role of dead weight while Lou Tiannan did all the work.

As they neared the shore, she sensed that Lou Tiannan was nearing exhaustion as well. Before she could say anything, a massive wave crashed over them, slamming them into the rocky shore and Lou Tiannan completely lost consciousness.

Lin Bai rested for a moment, then forced herself to stand up and surveyed the surroundings. It seemed like they had been washed onto the remnants of a coastal city that had suffered a massive collapse.

There were toppled houses and buildings everywhere, with bricks and steel bars littering the beach…

Her advanced visual system allowed her to spot zombies in the distance.

With the heavy rain, her energy running low, and some of her internal components still waterlogged, she had no desire to engage with zombies. Finding a safe place to stay was her top priority.

She scanned her surroundings and soon spotted a triangular support structure formed by the collapse of a building. Standing up straight, she prepared to head there, but the weight on her waist stopped her after just one step. She looked down.

Right, there was still an unconscious person.

She glanced at the pouring rain, then at the feverish Lou Tiannan. Weighing the pros and cons, she decided to take him with her.

It was easier said than done. By her estimate, Lou Tiannan weighed at least 150 pounds. Add another 20 pounds of seawater absorbed into his clothes, and…

So heavy!

Lin Bai gritted her teeth. He was draining her energy! He’d better replenish it for her later.

She grabbed Lou Tiannan’s hand and dragged him into the ruins. The space inside was small, about nine square feet. Once the two of them squeezed in, there was barely any room left.

The rain was annoying, but it had one advantage as it masked a lot of their scent. Lin Bai gathered some mud and bricks to build up a barrier at the entrance, leaving only a small opening for air circulation. She also scattered a few heavily scented perfume beads outside to further mask their human scent.

If not for Lou Tiannan, she would’ve sealed off the ventilation hole entirely.

Lou Tiannan still showed no signs of waking. Lin Bai retrieved a roll of damp gauze from her combat suit and placed it over his eyes.

Then, she started undressing. The parts in her lower legs had taken in water. She needed to drain the seawater as the salt and minerals could damage her mechanical components.

She detached her lower legs first and removed the internal parts.

Now there was another problem. In such a damp environment, how was she supposed to dry them?

Lin Bai quickly shifted her gaze to the unconscious Lou Tiannan. In just a few minutes, the damp gauze over his eyes was nearly dry.

What a truly life-saving side effect of an ability.

Thinking this, Lin Bai happily placed her mechanical parts on Lou Tiannan’s combat suit.

Sure enough, under the high temperature, the moisture on the parts gradually evaporated.

With the mindset of making full use of resources, Lin Bai pressed her left arm against Lou Tiannan’s body like a free charging station.

Drying components while recharging.

Lou Tiannan was proving to be extremely useful.

Since he remained unconscious and feverish, Lin Bai took advantage of the situation and recharged a considerable amount of energy throughout the afternoon.

By nightfall, he still hadn’t woken up. Lin Bai frowned in confusion. Wasn’t this side effect a bit too severe?

In the middle of the night, as she was reassembling the dried parts one by one, her nose twitched suddenly. She caught a scent of a very sour orange smell. It seemed familiar.

She quickly searched her memory and recalled that near that remote village, when Lou Tiannan had stepped out of a small compartment, she had smelled the exact scent.

Just as she was thinking, Lou Tiannan, still unconscious, stirred slightly and reached out, seemingly wanting to touch the gauze over his eyes.

Lin Bai stopped him. “You’re awake.”

“Why did you cover my eyes?” Lou Tiannan asked as he reached to remove the gauze.

“I was changing clothes. Do you want to watch?” Lin Bai said casually while assembling her components, completely unbothered.

She wasn’t worried at all that Lou Tiannan would actually pull off the gauze after hearing that.

Given how rigid he was and how much he had cared about her military-affiliated status before, there was no way he wouldn’t care about this now.

As expected, Lou Tiannan’s hand froze immediately. Not only did he stop, but he even turned his back on her.

Lin Bai found it amusing. “Captain Lou, how old are you this year?”

“Twenty-seven,” Lou Tiannan replied.

“Twenty-seven isn’t young anymore. Do you have a partner?” Lin Bai asked, using the conversation to mask the sound of her assembling parts.

“No.”

Lin Bai was a little surprised. “When you were twenty, didn’t the military arrange one for you?”

Because of Alpha’s susceptibility period, the military had a special welfare policy for Alphas. Once they reach a suitable age, most would be matched with an Omega partner to help them stabilize their susceptibility phase.

Lou Tiannan didn’t say much. He only replied, “No match.”

The military marriage matching system considers the compatibility of two individuals’ pheromones. According to the Omega Protection Law, if the compatibility is below 60%, the military will not forcibly assign an Omega for marriage.

“That’s pretty unfortunate for you,” Lin Bai said offhandedly, then added, “Alright, I’m done changing.”

Lou Tiannan waited a few seconds before removing the gauze from his eyes.

By now, the sky was completely dark. Their corner of the ruins was pitch black as well. Lou Tiannan took a small light from his combat suit and pressed it twice, and a dim glow illuminated their little space.

“Where are we?” Lou Tiannan asked.

“No idea. We got washed ashore by the tide. Judging by the distance, we’re either on the coast of Eastern District Two or Eastern District Four. It’s raining outside. Can you contact your team?”

Lou Tiannan had lost his radio in the ocean, so he shook his head. “No.”

As expected. Lin Bai leaned back and said, “Then we have no choice but to stay here for now.”

With the rain lowering the temperature, she had no intention of wasting her energy.

Lou Tiannan didn’t say anything, but soon, Lin Bai sensed that something was off. Why was it getting hotter in their small corner? And why was that orange scent she hated growing stronger?

Aside from her, the only other person there was Lou Tiannan. She grabbed the small light from the ground and reached out to nudge him.

Lou Tiannan reacted with an unexpected level of alertness, almost aggressively. A black flame had already ignited in his palm. Fortunately, he still retained some awareness and didn’t attack Lin Bai. He seemed to be trying to suppress the fire in his hand.

Seeing the flames flare up, Lin Bai, though low on energy, had no intention of recharging in such an unstable situation.

Even in the dim light, she could see Lou Tiannan’s eyes were bloodshot, his movements carrying an uncontrollable tension and the black flames in his palm flaring even stronger. Without hesitation, Lin Bai smacked him twice. “Lou Tiannan, what’s wrong with you?”

The slaps momentarily cleared Lou Tiannan’s mind. He barely managed to retract the fire, his deep-set brows furrowing as he reached up to rub the back of his neck. Weakly, he said, “My susceptibility period came early.”

The excessive energy consumption and the boost from the third-tier zombie crystal cores had caused a surge in his body’s hormones, triggering his susceptibility period ahead of schedule.

“Susceptibility period?” Lin Bai was momentarily stunned before she understood. “No wonder I kept smelling sour oranges. So your pheromone scent is green tangerine.”

Her tone when she said green tangerine carried a trace of something… complex.

She hated green tangerines.

That unripe green skin… The moment you peeled it open, a sharp, sour juice burst out, spreading an overwhelming tartness. Its pulp was just as sour, enough to make one’s teeth ache before even taking a bite.

She had always thought that the fruit should go extinct.

Yet, researchers kept enthusiastically developing even more sour varieties.

Even though she no longer strictly counted as human, the dislike was still ingrained in her memory.

“Mm,” Lou Tiannan gave a low response.

Generally, there were three ways to deal with an Alpha’s susceptibility period. The first was by taking an inhibitor. Second was getting a temporary or permanent mark from an Omega. Or third, enduring it through sheer willpower.

The third method had long fallen out of use since the Federation provided free inhibitors, which could practically be found lying around on the streets.

“Where’s your inhibitor?” Lin Bai asked. Alphas always carried one.

Lou Tiannan reached into his combat suit, but when he pulled his hand out, there was a tear in the fabric, a mark left by thorns scratching through.

Lin Bai: “…”

Now he could only endure it.

Lin Bai was a little uneasy. She glanced around, picked up a steel bar from the ground, and handed it to Lou Tiannan. “Bend both ends into two loops, like rings.”

It wasn’t difficult for Lou Tiannan. He didn’t understand what Lin Bai was up to, but he still did as she asked.

The next second, the two rings he had bent despite his discomfort were fastened around his wrists.

As she secured them, Lin Bai said, “Listen, Captain Lou. For my safety, I have to restrain you. That won’t be a problem, right?”

Although she asked for his opinion, her actions left no room for refusal.

Lou Tiannan gave a slight nod in silent agreement.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Lin Bai added as if suddenly remembering something. “You should know that I don’t tolerate anything that threatens me. If there is a threat, I will strike first.”

“I won’t hurt you,” Lou Tiannan said hoarsely.

Who would believe that? Alphas were inherently unreliable.

But after fifteen minutes, even Lin Bai had to admit that Lou Tiannan had incredible self-control.

His eyes were blood-red, his entire body radiated intense heat, and his hands were clenched into fists. Lin Bai could see sparks flickering between his fingers. Even so, he lay completely still, like a powered-down robot.

The scent of green tangerine pheromones was so thick in the air that it felt like it was wrapping around her. Frustrated, Lin Bai simply shut off her olfactory system.

Eventually, Lou Tiannan seemed to reach his limit and passed out again.