CHAPTER 260: BEFORE THE FIRST SCREAM

Night fell like a slow, heavy blanket.

The compound lights brightened outside, while dimming to avoid disturbing those getting last-minute rest. Only the glow of oil lanterns hanging on the walls guides people along the dark streets.

For those that remained awake, only the smell of oil and gunmetal in the air, alongside the faint smoke from the inner block where the last meals bubbled in the massive vats for when the fighting began.

I leaned against the railing of the tower and observed the ruined city.

It looked like those charity adverts with broken buildings, damaged cars and hungry orphans in the streets. No movement yet, but there was no comfort because the faint rumbling and quakes of the ground reminded everyone of the situation.

"This is going to be a long day..."

Behind me, a door opened with a quiet click.

Tang Wei stepped onto the rooftop, boots tapping the steel and concrete.

She didn’t speak at first, just walked to my side and leaned against the barrier as she followed my gaze. Her combat suit with a purple trim clung to her hips with a squeak, and a shotgun dangled beside her.

The silence was comfortable.

"You didn’t come back to the room," she said eventually while looking up at me.

"I didn’t want to wake them."

She hummed with a smile. "Heh~ is it just that?"

Tang Wei’s dark eyes narrowed like a cat that found something interesting. She bumped me with her hips and shifted closer. "You think too much, John. Tell me what’s wrong." Her voice started harsh, but soon softened, "You know you can talk to me right?"

"Well..." My relationship with Tang Wei became strange after we slept together. Not quite lovers, but no longer just friends or comrades. "Right now I’m thinking about you."

I don’t know why I said it. Maybe I wanted to see her reaction. Perhaps I just needed to say something that didn’t sound like a war plan.

Tang Wei blinked once, then leaned back on the railing beside me, arms crossed.

"Mm. You’ve got good taste."

She didn’t press the moment. That was her way—never clingy, never demanding. But her body language shifted slightly. A little closer and more at ease.

"Look," she said quietly, "I don’t need promises or definitions. I just want to know I wasn’t holding some value in that busy mind of yours. Or if possible..."

Her fingertip poked my chest as she showed a sly grin. "A place in here."

"Do you think I could forget you?"

Impossible.

I couldn’t forget Tang Wei from the moment I saw her.

She glanced up at me again, then nodded, like that was all she needed to hear.

We stood together in silence as the wind picked up. Far off, a low groan echoed through the ruins—distant but rising, like something waking up underground.

Tang Wei unhooked her shotgun and checked the chamber. Click. Loaded. Her eyes stayed fixed on the darkness.

"I’ll be with you here, from the start until the end." She murmured. "Don’t die, or disappear on me, John."

"Same to you."

Tang Wei stayed beside me, leaning into the breeze.

There was something in her posture that didn’t match her usual sharpness. I couldn’t tell if she was tense or if the issue was something else. A quiet weariness that had nothing to do with combat drills or shotgun recoil.

"Back when we met..." she started, not looking at me, "I didn’t think I’d be standing on a rooftop with you before facing a world ending horde. Let alone after everything else."

I paused, holding my first answer...

"Guess that’s why it feels weird."

Her voice was steady, but her tone dipped lower, more honest.

"We shared something... physical. But now there’s a line. An invisible one. And I keep wondering if I should cross it, or if I’m already on the wrong side."

The memories of what happened between us, fighting together, and almost dying. Tang Wei had doubts and slowly came to trust me. Our moment of passion and the strange attraction I felt towards her from the moment we met.

Her hand slipped over mine as she spoke, a warmth spread from her suit, this was Tang Wei’s heat, her presence.

"You’re not. I think I like you being on this side."

I wrapped her hand with mine, then pulled her closer. The cool breeze wouldn’t make her cold, but still... I wanted to keep her close.

She chuckled softly. "That’s one way to put it."

The hand wrapped in mine gripped tightly.

Tang Wei turned and leaned her back against the railing this time, facing me fully. Our hands remained connected, while her focus remained on me. She didn’t put up any walls, just shifting ever so slightly into my space, one step at a time.

"I really enjoyed it." She said. "I hope we can do something like that again, this time... in a proper manner. Not just some spur of the moment thing."

I looked her in the eye. "So, It wasn’t just sex?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Of course, because I am hopeless at pretending when I have feelings for someone."

"Me too," I said. "But everything’s happening so fast. You, Yifei, Qinglan, Roulan, Siwan... Liang Mei. The battles and now this horde. I’ve been trying to keep everyone safe, alive and hold them together... while falling apart myself."

"I know," she said. "You don’t need to explain. I didn’t come up here to ask you to choose me."

"Then why did you come up?"

She smiled faintly. "Because I didn’t want to go into tomorrow without clearing the air."

There was a pause between us.

"But I also don’t expect a normal romance..." She gave me a lovely smile. "If it was before the world ended I might have cut your cock off with scissors." Then Tang Wei glanced back toward the ruined city. "However, this world is different and... I cannot hope to have you to myself."

"Tang Wei..."

"Don’t try to comfort me, I am not like Yifei or Roulan. As long as you give me respect, affection and a good fuck when I need it. Well... Maybe I’ll let you off with that for now."

She scrunched her face up and peeked back at the base. "It’s strange... I used to think I’d die alone. Probably behind some barricade. Bleeding out with a jammed rifle. Or maybe unable to find insulin and taking my own life..."

"And now?"

She tilted her head slightly toward me. "Now I think I’ll probably die beside you. Which is less lonely."

"I’m not planning to let any of you die."

"Then what about you? Who will protect you from harm, John?" She gave a dry laugh. "But you’re always the one charging forward first."

I finally reached out, brushing her fingers with mine. She didn’t flinch. Instead, her hand slid into mine without a word.

Our fingers slipped together, squeezing tight.

She didn’t speak, or ask... our lips just met... a simple touch, but it spoke countless words as our tongues slipped around each other.

Neither of us moved the moment we kissed.

Tang Wei’s breath lingered against my skin and in my mouth, warm and sweet. Her eyes no longer avoided mine, flustered. She seemed to be grounded, as if our conversation and kiss managed to help her come to some sort of decision.

"We should get some rest," she whispered, but made no move to leave.

I smiled faintly. "That your way of saying you want to sleep beside me?"

"No," she said, tugging my hand gently with a wink. "It’s my way of saying I don’t want to sleep alone tonight."

"..."

We didn’t head back to the barracks or private room. Just down to the lower tower room. Quiet, tucked away and empty.

Tang Wei removed her jacket, bodysuit and boots with practised efficiency. I helped her with the straps around her arms, and she didn’t say anything when I pulled her into the makeshift cot by the wall.

At first, we didn’t move, just lay quietly holding each other.

The moonlight leaked through the window, shining on her beautiful brown skin.

She curled against me, one arm slung across my chest, heartbeat racing. I stared into her face, my eyes adjusting to the glow of the lantern.

Every minute felt like an eternity, the sound of the distant horde constantly drumming on the ground as she watched me quietly.

"John..."

Then came the sound.

A deep, bone-rattling groan. Faint, distant and nothing natural...

Tang Wei stiffened, her hand gripping mine again.

"They’re moving," she said with eyes sharpening

I sat up slowly.

"They’ve started."

Outside, an alarm hadn’t sounded. No gunfire. But I could hear it now too—shifting weight, echoing footsteps, a low rhythm building beneath the earth like a tide of flesh grinding toward the wall.

The horde had begun its approach.

A sense of dread grew with each moment...

Tang Wei’s trembling hands slipped onto my chest as she mounted me with an odd expression. "John, at least now..." Her teeth sank into her lips... a pretty sight, then when she spoke, my mind became blank.

"...Make me forget."