Two Zero

Shi Shanyan's suit pants were very well-fitted, clearly outlining his desire. His strong, sturdy shoulders filled out the suit jacket, the vest cinched his narrow waist nicely, and his tie wasn't out of place. He leaned down slightly, keeping his gaze level with Yan Junxun's.

Yan Junxun found Shi Shanyan's posture very dangerous, as if he would pounce in the next second and bite his throat. He propped himself up on his elbows, still clutching his damn skirt, unable to tell whose body temperature was higher under Shi Shanyan's gaze.

Shi Shanyan held Yan Junxun's ankle, guiding him, letting the sole of his foot feel him.

The stockings were useless; they couldn't block any sensation.

"...Let go," Yan Junxun abruptly raised the gun and pressed it against Shi Shanyan's forehead, his voice trembling slightly. "Let go!"

Shi Shanyan's hand on Yan Junxun's ankle tightened. Amidst the almost lewd motion, he said, "Shoot."

Shi Shanyan's voice made Yan Junxun's toes curl. His gaze had nowhere to hide. Hearing the faint gasps escaping from Shi Shanyan's throat, he actually looked away from Shi Shanyan, flustered and wretched.

Shi Shanyan didn't let go of Yan Junxun's ankle. He controlled the rhythm of the foot's movement, his eyes fixed fiercely on Yan Junxun. He liked this feeling, even wanting to rip off Yan Junxun's bow tie.

"Junxun," Shi Shanyan licked his canine teeth and smiled. "Yan Junxun."

Yan Junxun gritted his teeth and said, "Shut up, you shut up!"

"Hurry up and shoot me," Shi Shanyan moved closer, pressing against the muzzle, egging Yan Junxun on. "Go on."

Yan Junxun gripped the gun tightly. It was loaded; all he had to do was pull the trigger, and he could take care of Shi Shanyan. Anger grew within him amidst their increasingly intertwined breaths, an anger that consumed his usual composure. He suddenly pressed the muzzle harder and said, "You—"

Shi Shanyan kissed him.

Yan Junxun let go of his skirt and began to resist violently, trying to escape. But it was useless. Shi Shanyan held him fast and ripped off his bow tie.

Shi Shanyan had an impulse to tear Yan Junxun to shreds, but strangely, he only trapped him, kissing him relentlessly, using this childish method to cut off whatever Yan Junxun was about to say.

He had nothing. No gun, no fighting knife, no normal courtship, yet he was running wild in the long, breathless moments. He held Yan Junxun's ankle. This foot was so lovely, it made him unable to resist tearing off his tie.

Fuck the tie.

Shi Shanyan didn't like ties at all, just like he didn't like this room, didn't like this world. He wanted to pin Yan Junxun down here, wanted Yan Junxun to call his name, even wanted Yan Junxun to shoot him.

"Why don't you shoot?"

Shi Shanyan murmured in a low voice, then couldn't help but curse, "Fuck." He was standing on the edge, ready to explode at any moment. He jerked Yan Junxun's face up and kissed him forcefully, cathartically, with a hint of hatred.

Then he soiled Yan Junxun's stockings.

......

Shi Shanyan bent over and buried his face in the water. After a good while, he finally lifted his head. Water dripping, he stared at himself in the mirror.

His body had some scars, and some tattoos he had willfully scratched off. He was SN 7-001, but he hated this number, flipping off Fu Chenghui the moment he got it. The real number Guangtong Prison gave him was 010031. Shi Shanyan threw the tag away the moment he received it.

"You have to have a prison number," the inspector told him. "Unless you want everyone to be able to call you by your name."

Shi Shanyan pointed at the light screen and said, "Then call me AE86."

The inspector, twirling a pen, watched some anime for a bit, then asked coolly, "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," Shi Shanyan pointed to his own head. "Just fucking call me that."

During yard time in prison, his idiot neighbor mocked him through the bars of his cage.

Shi Shanyan shoved the guy's head into the toilet, sat on his back, lifted his clothes, and saw the serial number tattoo on him. He felt that was the real idiot. Wasn't 7-001 ridiculous? All the 7-XXX were fucking idiots! On the Black Panther homepage, these numbers were just a ranking of dogs. Every time Shi Shanyan heard someone answer to their number, he thought he heard a "Woof."

But he had woofed too.

That's why it was so fucking annoying.

Damp hair hung over Shi Shanyan's forehead. He listened to the footsteps outside the door; that was Yan Junxun changing clothes. He turned his head, looking at Yan Junxun's shadow through the door.

He shouldn't have been like that. That was losing control. He didn't allow himself to lose control.

Why did he lose control?

Because of Yan Junxun's lewd yet adorable bunny costume? Because Yan Junxun walked past everyone with his tail perked up? Or because Yan Junxun looked at him while clutching his skirt?

Yan Junxun.

It was all fucking Yan Junxun.

Yan Junxun was a bastard who abided by the rules, wore a serial number, and held a gun to his head.

......

Qi Shi walked out of the top-floor room and stood on the glass floor, looking at the night view of the Docking Area. He glanced at his watch and made a call with his Communicator, "It's 2 AM. You'd better find them before dawn."

"Handsome," the person on the other end said, "they've disappeared from the surveillance."

"Use your nose." Qi Shi frowned. "Aren't you Lead Dog?"

"But I'm not familiar with their scents." The person on the other end flicked a lighter and took a drag from a cigarette. "Besides, 01AE86's sense of smell is more sensitive than mine. He'll know I'm here the moment I get to his door."

"You only have two hours left."

"Oh, come on, help me out," SN 7-020 on the other end whined. "The sniper I brought was killed by your guest's bodyguards. I can't do much here."

Qi Shi glanced back at the room door and asked, "Are you afraid of 01AE86?"

SN 7-020 took a drag from his cigarette, fell silent for a moment, then chuckled. "Who isn't? He doesn't have the habit of bringing an Observer, which means his alertness, observation skills, and reaction time are all above the passing line. You haven't seen him smash the Main God System with his bare hands. He's not even afraid of the system, let alone people." SN 7-020 shifted his position and continued, "Even Fu Chenghui is helpless against him."

Qi Shi weighed the pros and cons. "We can provide you with a new sniper."

The door behind Qi Shi opened. Li Hu looked at him, and he turned on the speakerphone.

"The Clown said 01AE86 can be killed, he only wants Yan Junxun," SN 7-020 said, as if troubled. "But you want me to capture 01AE86 alive. Handsome, this is two 001s, do you know how high the risk is? Either let me kill 01AE86 directly, or add more money."

He was beating around the bush, just trying to raise the price.

Qi Shi didn't answer immediately. Only after Li Hu nodded did he say, "Alright."

"You guys sold Yan Junxun for several hundred million, I'm guessing 01AE86's price isn't much different? I'm easy to talk to, just add another hundred million for me."

"You've got quite an appetite." Li Hu crossed his arms, frowning, but his voice to the Communicator was very friendly. "As long as you capture them, I'll add another hundred million. Bring them to the top floor then. I'll be waiting for you here, and the money will be waiting for you too."

SN 7-020 blew a kiss into the Communicator. "You're a repeat customer, I'm willing to give you a discount. But I have one last small request."

"Go ahead."

"Don't open any system permissions. Any at all."

"Oh," Li Hu said with understanding. "You're worried about that hacker?"

"No, I'm not worried about 7-006, this isn't his home turf," SN 7-020 extinguished his cigarette and said solemnly. "I'm worried about Yan Junxun."

......

Yan Junxun was smoking.

He faced the trash can, smoking quickly as if in a competition.

The clock in the room was ticking. Yan Junxun didn't need to look; he knew the time, every minute, every second. He didn't want to recall what had just happened, so he could only use all his strength to think about other things.

In the trash can were the stockings he had thrown away, crumpled into a ball.

Yan Junxun felt this trash can was like the Lixing Building, very deep. He only had one gun, with only 13 bullets, and it was a long time until dawn. He couldn't wait for Jiang Lian's backup; in fact, he never planned on waiting for backup.

Yan Junxun was used to solving problems alone.

The bathroom door behind him opened. Shi Shanyan walked to the head of the bed and took the pair of glasses.

"Lead Dog is SN 7-020. He won't act alone," Yan Junxun's voice was a bit low and sounded listless, but that was his usual tone. "For a kill mission like this, he'll bring his own squad to be safe."

The difference between 20 and 1 was too great. Only a fool would act alone.

Yan Junxun knew Black Panther. He knew Black Panther better than its own members. Unless he didn't want to, he could find out many things. He was different from Shi Shanyan; his track record was hidden away in Fu Chenghui's lock, unknown to anyone.

Being unknown was sometimes more terrifying than being known by all.

Yan Junxun had smoked half his cigarette and didn't want any more. "Have you ever killed SN 7-020?"

"Let me think." Shi Shanyan sensed Yan Junxun's willfulness and intercepted his cigarette. "...One died in the Light Rail District in 2160."

He didn't say he was the one who killed him.

Yan Junxun didn't look at him and kicked the trash can lid shut. "Distinguishing features."

"Male." Shi Shanyan wanted Yan Junxun to look at him. He was a bit pathological, as if addicted to Yan Junxun's gaze. "Buzz cut, uses a VSK-94 Silenced Sniper Rifle. That kind of gun..."

"I know," Yan Junxun said. "The gunshot is almost inaudible from 50 meters away, highly concealable."

...Fuck.

Shi Shanyan lightly bit the tip of his tongue, feeling ridiculous for showing off just now. He looked at the top of Yan Junxun's head, where his hair was still tousled from being ruffled. He suddenly felt that it didn't matter, that he could do anything.

Why not?

Yan Junxun carried his scent, Yan Junxun had been in his embrace, Yan Junxun existed in his mind. Understand? Yan Junxun should be within his line of sight.

Shi Shanyan suddenly reached out, covered Yan Junxun's head, and quickly moved closer to observe him from a short distance.

Yan Junxun's mind was instantly filled with the sound of panting. He remained indifferent as he blinked and said, "Let go."

"Why won't you look at me?" Shi Shanyan rubbed the beauty mark near Yan Junxun's eye. "You'd better look at me, otherwise I don't know what I'll do."

"You'll get an erection." Yan Junxun slapped his hand away, his tone rising. "And you'll ejaculate!"

"Animal instinct," Shi Shanyan said nonchalantly. "Do you think the current 20 inherited his predecessor's gun?"

"He also inherited his predecessor's Observer," Yan Junxun pushed back the hair on his forehead. "There are requirements for the Lead Dog's screening, and he has similarities to the dead 20." Yan Junxun tugged at his own hair, as if that could block Shi Shanyan's gaze. "I don't think his close-quarters combat ability is very strong, but he knows how to find us, and even how to deal with you."

"What similarities do you and I have?"

"I don't know."

As soon as Yan Junxun's words fell, there was a knock on the door.

The Author has something to say:

VSK-94 Silenced Sniper Rifle: Utilizes a gas-operated rotating bolt. Can be fitted with a high-efficiency suppressor and can completely eliminate muzzle flash. From a distance of 50 meters, the gunshot is almost inaudible. It weighs only 3.93KG and is highly concealable. — "Top Selection of Global Individual Soldier Weapons"