Death Progress Bar

overed that the “monster” showed an almost fanatical enthusiasm for it, pestering the instructor with questions every day.

“Is he a masochist? Why the heck is he looking forward to this torture?” Liu Yong forced out.

Luo Donghao glanced at Shi Jin talking with Xiang Aoting about the field training, “brazenly monopolizing” him, and said in a heavy tone, “You don’t understand—the field training isn’t important, preparing for the field training is.”

“What are you talking about?” Liu Yong looked at him, frowning, then touched his forehead with concern.
“You really got possessed by a ghost.
Don’t worry, I’ll drive it out.
I heard that spitting can…”

Luo Donghao slapped his hand away and pressed him to the ground, stopping his nonsense.

Soon, the day of the field training came.
Shi Jin was the first one to get up and rush to the training grounds.
Fully equipped in the military gear the cadets were issued, he impatiently waited for the half an hour assembly to end, then eagerly walked towards the field training site with the rest of his squad.
That’s right, walked—this time, there was no bus to ride; the cadets had to cover the whole distance on foot!

“Welcome to hell,” Liu Yong uttered, empty-eyed.

Shi Jin, on the other hand, was radiating with vigor.
“The mountain is not far from the base,” he said, excited.
“Come on, move your legs! Let’s go have some fun!”

Fun… Liu Yong choked.
He turned his head away from Shi Jin, afraid he’d burst a blood vessel if he continued looking at him.

The march to the mountain was in itself an exercise cadets had to complete as part of their training, and it was also accompanied by other exercises.
Because of this, it took them three hours to reach their destination, despite the fact that the mountain was a relatively short distance away.
Everyone dropped down on the ground at the assembly place indicated by the instructor and ate some dry rations to fill their stomachs; after a short rest, there came the highlight of the field training: the mountain race!

“There are three roads up the mountain, you can choose which one you want to take.
The departure time is 1:00 p.m.
Those who haven’t got back here with the flag before 3:00 p.m.
will have their credits deduced and will have to recover them by additional training,” Xiang Aoting explained the rules, then passed every cadet a copy of the route map.
“It’s half past noon now; you have half an hour to prepare.
If you encounter an accident, you must immediately send out a signal to contact the instructor nearby, don’t try to be brave and tough it out.
During the competition, you’re not allowed to form a team or help someone else get a flag—you must complete the task independently, understood?”

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“Yes, sir!” the cadets shouted.
After receiving the map, they quickly unfolded it and took a look.

The three routes had different difficulty levels.
Route 1, the closest to the assembly site, was the easiest, but also the most circuitous and as such the slowest.
Route 2 was an old road, used when the mountain had had residents and now abandoned; it didn’t detour, but it wasn’t in a good condition either.
Route 3 was just a barely discernible path; it led straight to the top of the mountain, but it was difficult to traverse and even a little dangerous.

Well aware of his limitations, Liu Yong decided to take Route 1.
“Which one are you taking?” he asked Luo Donghao. 

“Number 2.
I have good stamina but poor agility, Route 3 is too steep a climb for me.” Luo Donghao was sensible as well.
He looked at Shi Jin, wanting to ask him about his choice, only to find that Shi Jin had already put his gear back on and got to his feet, apparently leaving.

Taken aback, he called out, “Wait, where are you going?”

Not stopping, Shi Jin looked back over his shoulder and pointed to the left side of the hill.
“To Route 3’s starting point,” he called back.
“I’m taking that one, it seems to have the best views.” By the time he finished speaking, he was already more than ten meters away, and disappeared from sight a moment later.

Liu Yong gaped after him, dumbstruck.
“‘The best views’? What on earth does he think he’s here for?”

“For training, what else? It can’t possibly be for dating, can it?” Luo Donghao also was a little speechless.
He glanced at Xiang Aoting, who was watching Shi Jin leave, and heaved a sigh.

Shi Jin dashed out of the starting point the second the gunfire announcing the start of the race sounded.
He rushed up the mountain path, half-running and half-climbing, and soon disappeared into the woods.

His movements shocked the cadets who also chose this route.
One of them couldn’t help but try Shi Jin’s hill-climbing method and ended up tumbling down miserably.
Getting up, he growled angrily, “Don’t let me find the person who spread those rumors, or I’ll kill him! ‘Spoiled young master,’ my ass!”

The others silently echoed his words.
They carefully went up the path, not daring to rush like Shi Jin.

Death Progress Bar is translated by Betwixted Translations.
Read on the original translator’s site to get the fastest updates!

Shi Jin ran as fast as he could, rushing to the top of the mountain with all his might.
Without stopping, he grabbed a little flag attached to a tree, then sprinted in the direction of the ranger’s cabin. Faster, faster—the faster you run now, the longer you can stay with Lian Jun.

Finally! His hair had become damp with sweat, when—at long last—the cabin appeared in the view.
His eyes lit up.
Hurriedly stuffing the little flag in the backpack on his back, he rushed to the door and pushed it open, shouting happily, “Lian Jun!”

Lian Jun, who was skimming through documents on his tablet, barely heard someone running outside when the door not far in front of him was thrown open.
Before his eyes could adjust to the change in light intensity, a sweaty body plunged toward him.

Bam.

“Ah!”

Shi Jin didn’t get the angle right; as a result, he banged his head on Lian Jun’s wheelchair and cried out in pain.

Lian Jun hurriedly threw the tablet aside and reached out to touch Shi Jin’s head, frowning in concern.
“Where did you hit yourself? Does it bleed? Let me see.”

Shi Jin looked up at him and instantly forgot the pain.
He pulled Lian Jun into his arms and hugged him hard, rubbing him almost like kneading dough.
“You really came! The road uphill is in awful condition, how did you get up here? When did you come? Have you eaten lunch properly? And nap? Did you take a nap after lunch?”

Lian Jun felt as if he was caught by an overexcited bear.
Amusement, heartache, and tenderness mingling in his chest, he returned the hug, gently stroking Shi Jin’s back.
“I took another, repaired, road.
Gua One and Gua Two accompanied me.
I had lunch but I haven’t taken a nap, I’ll take one later,” he replied, looking over at Gua One, who kept guard in the corner.

Words were unnecessary—Gua One quietly got up and walked out the door.
He exchanged silent glances with Gua Two, who was watching outside, and took a position where they could guard the cabin from both sides.

Inside, Shi Jin listened to Lian Jun, replying ‘uh-huh’, ‘uh-huh’.
Feeling that the wheelchair was really getting in the way, he pulled Lian Jun out of it and made him sit on the narrow bed that the mountain ranger could use to rest, and then hugged him again.

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“Let me take a look at your head first,” Lian Jun said, hugging him with one arm and pulling away a little.
At the sight of a bump on Shi Jin’s forehead, he frowned.
“Does it hurt?” he asked, touching it lightly.

Shi Jin shook his head, watching him with shining eyes.
Suddenly, he leaned forward and kissed him.

He had just been exerting himself; he was covered in sweat, his short hair was messy, and blades of grass clung to his body here and there.
His skin was darker than before and his muscles firmer.
He wore an olive-green t-shirt, camouflage pants, and a pair of army boots.

This was Shi Jin that Lian Jun had never seen before, ruggedly handsome and oozing testosterone.

Distracted, Lian Jun let Shi Jin seize the initiative, and was pushed down on the bunk as they kissed.

He was surrounded by Shi Jin’s smell and felt his rapid heartbeat, hugged so tight it was almost painful.
He opened his eyes and watched Shi Jin kiss him eagerly, and the place in his heart that felt empty for much too long finally filled up again.
He caressed the back of Shi Jin’s head and closed his eyes, yielding.

Their breathing gradually became heavy.
Just as Lian Jun was about to retake the initiative, Shi Jin suddenly pulled away and got off the bunk.
He took out a bottle of water from his backpack, twisted off the cap, and poured it down on his head, panting.

“What are you doing?” Lian Jun sat up, tidying up his somewhat disorderly robes, and moved to approach Shi Jin.

“No, don’t get close to me for now,” Shi Jin hurriedly raised a hand to stop him.
He wiped the water off his face, feeling a little glum.
“I can’t stay here for too long.
I want to spend this precious time talking with you rather than wasting it.
Just sit there and don’t move while I calm down, okay?”

Lian Jun’s eyes swept over half-crouching, half-squatting Shi Jin, from a certain hidden part of his body to the water bottle in his hand.
His heart stirred a little; however, he didn’t show it on his face, only said considerately, “All right, I won’t come over.
But sit down properly, you won’t rest if you keep crouching.”

Shi Jin simply plopped down on the floor.
He looked up at Lian Jun sitting on the bed, clothes messy and lips red and slightly swollen, and groaned.
He raised the water bottle to give himself another cold shower, then pressed the bottleneck on his forehead, hard.

A jolt of sharp pain ran through his body, slightly suppressing the other physical impulses.

Lian Jun got up and rushed over, then pulled Shi Jin’s hand away.
“Don’t do stupid things,” he said with a frown.

Shi Jin captured his hand.
“Who made you look so good?” he complained, looking up at him.
“I’m at an age when my hormones are raging—if I don’t distract myself somehow, I’m afraid I might eat you up now.”

As the saying had it, ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder’.
Add this to the fact that the body he had now was young and excitable, and things could easily get out of hand if they weren’t careful.

Nothing could ever be as reassuring as your lover’s straightforward desire for you.
Shi Jin’s frank words dispelled all the worries and anxieties that were surging up occasionally in Lian Jun’s heart during the younger man’s absence.
Stroking Shi Jin’s thoroughly drenched hair, he teased, “How come I never knew you’re this unprincipled?”

“Isn’t it all your fault?” Shi Jin didn’t avoid his hand, only looked up at him and warned unconvincingly, “Stop teasing me, I’m very dangerous right now.”

“I’m also very dangerous right now.” Lian Jun bent down and kissed his forehead, murmuring, “Shi Jin, I think the way you miss me is exactly the same as the way I miss you.”

As the warm breath caressed his face, Shi Jin clenched his eyes shut.
He pulled Lian Jun down and bit his lip, growling, “I told you not to tease me!”

Lian Jun smiled and took him into his arms, regardless of whether the water on Shi Jin’s body would wet his clothes.
“Shi Jin, I regret a little that I let you choose a police academy.” This separation was so hard to bear.

Pursing his lips, Shi Jin hugged him, burying his face in his chest.

Translator’s Notes:

“You screamed like a stuck pig—did a ghost possess you or something?” – “ghost possession” (“ghost upper body”) is a literal translation.
Sometimes, it’s used to describe a person acting out of character, i.e. This is not like you, are you possessed by a ghost? “Shi Jin was dead set on getting together with the instructor, no matter the consequences” – 死猪不怕开水烫 – idiom, lit. a dead pig doesn’t fear scalding water.
It means to be unaffected (by sth) / undaunted / hold no scruple over things / care nothing about the consequences. ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder’ – 小別勝新婚 [xiǎobié shèng xīnhūn] – (idiom, said of married couples) lit.
reunion after an absence is sweeter than being newlyweds; reunion after a brief parting is as sweet as a honeymoon.