Shen Yuan closed the 10th book he read and sighed. He reclined in his seat and stared at the ceiling with empty thoughts.
He had no idea how he could retrieve Huo Yan's soul.
The books in the clubroom weren't of any help. Not that he expected they would, but the 'what if' or 'just maybe' in his heart forced him to take a look.
Was there really no other choice but to rip out Huo Yan's heart and eat it? Aside from his unwillingness, Huo Yan also didn't know anything. If he rejected his action, it would affect Zhou Yi and alert Yang Mei.
Soft fur touched his skin and brought him out of his head. He looked to the table to find Huo Yan staring at him, his tail curled like a bracelet around his wrist. "Mreow…"
"Hungry? Wait a second. I'll go get your breakfast." Shen Yuan scratched the back of Huo Yan's ear and stood up to get their meal.
It had been 3 days since they joined the shelter. He was given the supply portion of a regular member for now which provided them with daily necessities and some snacks. Breakfast and dinner were served in the cafeteria, but he didn't need to eat, so he hadn't been leaving their room to read the books, day and night.
He also didn't need to go to the toilet, much less bath. His hair was still as smooth as he first arrived and despite the lack of air conditioner, he hadn't been sweating.
So that Huo Yan wouldn't get bored with his meal, he made a schedule to switch them up every day and today's breakfast was the salmon canned food. Huo Yan's favorite was spam, so he saved them up only to be eaten twice a week.
He opened the can and placed it next to Huo Yan. "Here you go."
Huo Yan took one look at it and back to Shen Yuan. Instead of eating it, he pushed it towards Shen Yuan and stared at him.
"I already opened it. I'm not changing it." Shen Yuan sat back down and returned the can to Huo Yan.
"…" Huo Yan only stared at it and threw his face away.
Shen Yuan raised his eyebrows. Was he throwing a tantrum?
"You can't eat spam every day, and I'm not giving you more sausages. You've eaten 5 of them in the past 3 days. Outside of meal time. It's unhealthy."
Huo Yan flicked his tail and got up to his feet. Shen Yuan wondered where he was going when he stopped next to the stack of books and pushed them off the table. They fell to the ground with a series of dull thuds, their pages flurried open left and right.
"Why are you acting like this?" Shen Yuan couldn't tell what Huo Yan was dissatisfied about. He might be an expert in reading people, but not animals. Even if the other was his lover.
He went to tidy the mess but just as he knelt to pick up one of the books, Huo Yan jumped down from the table and landed on it, making it impossible for him to retrieve it. Not stopping there, he brandished his claws and tore the pages apart.
"You're bored, aren't you?" Shen Yuan made a guess. He picked Huo Yan up and put him back on the table. "Alright. We can play outside but after you finish your breakfast."
Huo Yan watched him tidying up the mess he made with his tail flicking around. He got up once again and went to the box where Shen Yuan stored his food next.
Shen Yuan only noticed it when he stood up to put the surviving books back on the table and hurried to stop him. "Yan-Yan, I'm going to get mad if—"
Before he could finish his words, Huo Yan returned to him on his own accord, bringing a piece of wrapped sausage in his mouth. He jumped to his arms, making him catch him in instinct, and pushed the piece of sausage to his lips.
Only then, Shen Yuan finally got it.
He took the sausage and looked at Huo Yan. "You want me to eat?"
"Mreow…" Huo Yan gave small licks on the corner of Shen Yuan's lips in reply.
"You're worried about me? Sorry, I didn't realize." Shen Yuan petted the back of Huo Yan's neck in apology.
Although he knew he didn't need to eat, him not eating for 3 days straight probably looked like he was starving himself from a third point of view. Not to mention he hadn't been sleeping.
"Okay. Let's eat together."
"Meow~"
Just as they settled themselves at the table, three knocks came to the door and a low, tenor voice traveled in. "Shen Yuan, it's me, Bai Feng. Are you in?"
"Yeah, come in." Shen Yuan raised his voice to make sure the other side heard it.
Bai Feng opened the door and stepped inside. Seeing Shen Yuan alive and well, he let out a small sigh. "Is everything alright?"
"What do you mean?"
"We haven't seen you in the cafeteria since your arrival and the cooks on duty also said you never came. Are you feeling sick or anything?"
"No, nothing like that." Shen Yuan waved his hand in dismissal. "I don't eat much, so the snacks are enough. I've also been reading and I forget time when I do."
"Even if you eat little, it's best to have proper meals. Boss told me you're planning to join as an active member which is all the more reason you should stay in top condition." Bai Feng looked at the sausage in Shen Yuan's hand. "Don't tell me that's all you eat for breakfast?"
"Yes?"
Bai Feng rubbed his temple in disbelief and opened the door wide. "Eat in the cafeteria. Now. You can bring your cat with you, so don't make any excuses."
"…"
Shen Yuan couldn't help but be reminded of his orphanage's caretakers.
He grabbed the can of salmon and beckoned Huo Yan to leave with them. They went to the cafeteria on the first floor together.
Passing by the empty third and second floors, it was no surprise to see the residents gathering on the ground floor for breakfast, some had finished while some were in the middle of it. When they saw one of the executives bringing an unfamiliar face with him, they couldn't help but steal curious glances.
"This is why I don't want to leave my room." Shen Yuan complained.
"They're all nice—"
"We both know that's not true."
"…Most of them are nice people," Bai Feng corrected himself and brought Shen Yuan to the serving booth. He gave him a tray and continued as they each received their portion. "If you had been eating with them from your arrival, they wouldn't have been curious anymore at this point."
Shen Yuan looked at the array of food on his tray and found them to be nicely balanced. There were fruits, congee, chicken, egg, rice, and even small jellies for dessert. Just like at the mall and the office, electricity still worked fine, so fresh ingredients could be kept in the fridge or freezer.
"I wonder how much longer before the power plant shut down. Water too."
"Before the military knows the relation between silver and the damned, they won't be able to do anything. After they do, they would need time to gather enough silver and produce them into bullets. We can only hope they're fast enough to secure important facilities before they shut down." Bai Feng led Shen Yuan to an empty table at the end corner of the room. "However much we want to do it ourselves, our small number can't afford it."
"Speaking of bullets, do you produce them yourselves? In here?" Shen Yuan placed his tray on the table and Huo Yan's canned salmon next to it. Huo Yan hopped onto the table and started eating his long-neglected food.
Bai Feng nodded. "At the shed outside, near the field. We have a craftsman here. Setting up the equipment was taxing, but we can now look for supplies thanks to it."
Shen Yuan couldn't have forgotten which shed Bai Feng was talking about. If only Zhou Yi knew that place used to be his damnation.
"You're going to need a gun if you're going to gather supplies with us. Do you know how to shoot?"
"I've gone to shooting ranges once or twice." Shen Yuan peeled his orange. "Where did you find all your guns anyway? There are like, what, 30-ish active members? Did you rob an armory or something?"
Bai Feng let out a light chuckle and took the first bite of his food. "They're ours to begin with."
"You're mafias?"
"We supply them."
"Huh. Still not the type of group I expect to help others though."
"Our boss is soft-hearted. Not that it's anything bad. All of us survive this far thanks to him." Bai Feng stopped eating for a moment and looked at Shen Yuan. "That's why, I hope you'll listen to him to a degree as a part of our group and give him face when in front of others."
A shadow loomed over their table and they looked up to be greeted by the man himself. Zhou Yi placed his tray on the table and eyed Bai Feng in warning.
"No need to say unnecessary things."