Help! I Do Not Want to Guide a Disaster

"It makes perfect sense," Doctor Ruixin said, her brow knitting together as she leaned forward in her chair across from Wenzhi.

"Xinyuan can close every Red Zone Rift..." She paused, choosing her words carefully. "...but he can’t stop the Great Fall."

"The world has already changed. New Rifts will continue to appear, and so will the monsters." She folded her arms. "So, in the grand scheme of things, it won’t completely solve humanity’s problems. But it will stop the Red Zone mutations... the monsters will no longer keep evolving into increasingly catastrophic threats."

She sighed, a heavy weight behind the sound. "The Old Blood and the CEA are aiming for something entirely different. They want to reverse the Great Fall itself. They aren’t trying to manage the disaster, they want to erase it."

Her eyes met Wenzhi’s dull ones. "That’s exactly why they need Xinyuan to break. They believe only a Disaster-Class Esper in a complete mental collapse possess enough raw power to force the world back to what it was before."

She shook her head, her face turning grim. "They are chasing an impossible reset... at the cost of the entire world."

Behind them, Xinyuan’s face was illuminated by the soft glow of the computer screen, quietly working his way through the marriage registration.

"Will you join the Eclipse scientists?" Wenzhi asked, looking at her. "You can oversee their movements."

"I will, boss," Doctor Ruixin’s face split into a genuine smile. "But what’s the move with the Capital? They just tried to blow us off the map."

"There is still no news from Kaiwen and the others," Wenzhi replied, his eyes narrowing slightly. "We have to wait for them to make contact before we coordinate our response."

"I’m done with the registration," Xinyuan’s deep voice suddenly interrupted.

Wenzhi felt his heart skip a beat as Xinyuan turned to face them, a dimpled grin stretching across his face. It was official. They were registered as married in every secure database.

Doctor Ruixin looked between the two of them, swooning. "I am so happy for you two. We all saw this coming a mile away, you know. Su Zheng told me days ago that Xinyuan had been planning this proposal and was losing his mind with nerves."

Wenzhi shrugged, an amused smirk playing on his lips. "I don’t know why he was so anxious. It’s not like I was ever going to say no."

Xinyuan’s ears instantly flushed a bright, burning red. He cleared his throat, looking away. "I wasn’t nervous."

"Sure you weren’t," Wenzhi teased.

Doctor Ruixin giggled, gathering her tablet and slipping her lab coat back on. "Alright, newlyweds, I should get going to the main lab to meet with the Eclipse team. I’ll keep you both updated on the setups."

"Thank you, Ruixin," Wenzhi said, rising to his feet. He let out a quiet yawn, covering his mouth with the back of his hand.

As he did, a sharp vibration rattled in his pocket. He pulled out his phone. Before he could read it, Xinyuan stepped up behind him wrapping his arms securely around Wenzhi’s waist and pulling him back against his chest.

"You’re exhausted, freckles," Xinyuan murmured, resting his chin on Wenzhi’s shoulder.

"Mmh," Wenzhi hummed in agreement, relaxing completely into the warm, solid heat of his husband’s body. He unlocked his screen, his grey eyes narrowing as he read a message notification flashing on the display.

[Duan Ze: On our way.]

Wenzhi let out a tired sigh as he typed back.

[Wenzhi: Is Shao Guying dead?]

[Duan Ze: No. It seems he caught our scent and ran deep underground.]

"Fuck," Wenzhi cursed under his breath, locking his phone. He looked back at Xinyuan. "Bai Qinian is with him."

Xinyuan’s face darkened, his jaw clenching. "I will tell Fu Muhan and the others to deploy the attacks on the Capital. You should rest, baby."

Wenzhi nodded slowly. "Yeah." He stared at his phone for a second.

"I am an SSS-rank Guide now, by the way," he added, throwing the information out as casually as if he were commenting on the weather.

Xinyuan’s eyes widened, his entire body freezing as the words sank in. "That is... fast."

"Yeah. I might explode next," Wenzhi deadpanned.

Xinyuan blinked, his expression shifting into a mix of disbelief and instant worry. "That should not be a joke, Zhi’er."

He tightened his hold around Wenzhi’s waist, burying his face in the crook of his shoulder and planting a lingering, warm kiss on the back of his neck. "It’s a shame we can’t have our proper wedding night right now."

Wenzhi chuckled. "Yeah, a big shame."

Xinyuan reluctantly let him go and left the office alongside Doctor Ruixin to coordinate the attack.

Left to his own devices, Wenzhi began walking back toward their private quarters. As he moved through the quiet hallways of the base, he pulled out his phone again, dialing Chenxi’s number. It still wouldn’t go through.

Reaching his door, Wenzhi put in the password. The heavy metal door slid open with a soft hiss. He stepped inside, and the door slid closed behind him, locking with a quiet click.

Instantly, the hair on the back of Wenzhi’s neck stood up.

He wasn’t alone.

Wenzhi spun around, his hand instinctively hovering near his waist. Standing in the dim light of the room was Gu Luhan.

"Hello, Boss," Luhan’s voice was oddly empty. His eyes were dull, his pupils dilated like he was fighting with every fiber of his being just to keep himself from vibrating out of his skin.

Wenzhi’s eyes narrowed. "What the hell are you doing in here, Luhan?"

"I came to talk... and I have been waiting," Luhan whispered. "I really hoped that you’d come back alone. And you did."

Wenzhi raised a brow. His sharp gaze immediately tracked down to Luhan’s hands. They were trembling. As if realizing Wenzhi was analyzing him, Luhan quickly snapped his hands behind his back, his jaw clenching.

"Do you know how much I hate you?" He asked, a venomous spark returning to his dull eyes. "I don’t think I hate you that much anymore... but I do still hate you. I hate how everyone looks up to you. I hate the way your brain works. I hate how obsessed Xinyuan is with you. I hate how your damn name is blasted in every sector, on every screen when you are just a mere Guide."

He growled the last words out, a bitter rage twisting his pretty face. Wenzhi didn’t move. He just stood there, staring at the Guide with an unreadable, deadpan expression, letting him speak.

As quickly as the anger had come, it seemed to drain right out of Luhan. He took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to force his trembling body to calm down.

"But... it turned out that I was the only one living like that," Luhan whispered, his shoulders slumping. "Because I was obsessing over something that could never be mine."

He sniffed, tears filling his eyes. "Why... Why can’t I be you? Why... why did it have to be you, Lin Wenzhi?"

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