"Did you sleep for too long, earlier?"
Xiao faintly shook his head and turned to lean on his pillow. His eyes hungrily eat up the space Heine occupies, as though he can push his nightmare away with Heine's image.
"The unknown is the root of fear."
Heine stood up from the couch and walked over to his bed. Xiao felt his heartbeat hasten with every step Heine took.
"You dwell too much on a possibility that has not yet happened. If you continue thinking like that it will only increase your fear and anxiety.'
Xiao Yan felt his heart plummet as Heine sat at the edge of his bed.
"Let's sleep."
Heine's voice is frigid and the cold quality of his tone makes Xiao feel that he is being rebuffed.
Feeling insecure, Xiao hopes that Heine will remain close to him and not leave. Heine seemed to sense Xiao's need and settled beside him in bed. His hair brushed Xiao's ear, and the transient sensation knocked against his unsettled heart. Heine's fingers brush through his hair and massaged his scalp before settling over his forehead. Xiao scoots himself closer and Heine's arm circles his neck and pulls him tightly against his body.
Xiao woke the next day to discover that it was almost noon; his alarm did not go off. As he turned around he saw Heine's face. The angles of his features were softened in contentment and Xiao parted his mouth and drew in a sharp breath.
Heine's hair falls in waves across his pillow. Xiao looks over at his beautifully sloped eyes. No matter what, this man is always at the end of his gaze.
Xiao Yan's eyes widen as he hungrily devours his image. Slowly, Heine's lids open and his world splits between those two frosty orbs.
His breath catches in his throat as he stares at Heine's icy blue irises.
"You should get up, or you won't make it to the dining hall in time for lunch."
Heine's sensible words chase away the gentle atmosphere. As Heine's feet land on the floor, he turns away from Xiao. All he sees of Heine is the strong curve of his back, his powerful muscles were tight and vigilant.
The dining hall is lively. As Xiao walks in, he feels numerous eyes following him... evaluating him. It appears news that he has developed a working X-2 has made its rounds among the researchers.
Researchers have keen observation skills and it was unexpected that such a low ranking unknown has been able to accomplish what the renowned genius Casey has been unable to do.
The researchers are not the only ones looking at Xiao Yan with new eyes. The special forces regard him with an unusual intensity. His work on the virus means that perhaps, they may enjoy the same life span as ordinary people.
The gaze of the special forces who had trained him, such as Mark and Winn were particularly excited .
Mark gestures for him to come over by waving his for in the air with such enthusiasm that Xiao Yan is worried he will overturn the table.
He sits down. A dinner plate slams against the table in the space next to him. He looks up to see Casey looking at him with a cold expression.
"Casey..."
He doesn't say a word, he just shovels a large portion of potatoes into his mouth, his cheeks and throat bulging like a frog.
Xiao couldn't help but poke at his puffed cheeks, being careful to not overdo it and make Casey snap.
Casey's childish pout prompt smiles from Mark and Winn. It is always difficult to determining exactly how Casey is going to react.
Casey clearly wants Xiao to acknowledge him or else he wouldn't have sat next to him.
Xiao claps a hand on the back of his head, he glances over at Winn who can only grin in bemusement.
"Listen, Casey...I owe you a sincere apology."
"Why are you apologizing?"
"As my close friend and superior I should not have kept my research a secret from you."
Casey's expression is still coldly affronted. Xiao Yan began to feel Casey was imagining that he was the potatoes that he was stabbing at so ferociously on his dinner plate.
" Not only did you play me for a fool...You even took my place at the South Pole!"
Ah! Xiao Yan instantly remembers. After he had returned from the mission he had discovered that they had intended to send Casey initially. The last minute change, he discovered, was due to Gordon and Heine.
The tip of Casey's nose is red and the pitiful look on his face is endearingly adorable to Xiao Yan. He just wants to cuddle Casey in his arms.
"Soon, we will be able to work side by side."
"Is something wrong with you head? Now all you research is locked down and must be conducted independently. How can you work with me? If I am a bad person, then I might steal all the stupid things in your head!" Casey continued to stab at his food, pouting profusely.
"I just can't get on the terminal. I can still talk to you!"
Xiao shifted a placating piece of veal from his plate onto Casey's plate.
Mark and Winn laughed even harder.
"I think you two should get married." Mark winked.
Winn cleared his throat and adopted a theatrically serious and sincere expression. "I would share my life with you and everything in it, be it potatoes, beef or my research results. All the incidentals of my life belong to you."
"Including every time I shit and fart," Mark chimed in with an equally sincere and loving tone.
Xiao Yan looked over at Mark, and Casey was laughing next to him.
"Haha...you guys share more farts with him than me! I am not his supervisor!"
Xiao Yan's neck stiffened as Heine sat his plate across from him. He ate with a refinement that looked alien amid the raucous. His eyes were lowered, he clearly sensed Xiao's gaze but did not meet his eyes.
"Ervel has ordered that researchers are not to discuss their research projects. This includes progress, data and any other details." Heine's cold voice split the air and the lively atmosphere immediately froze into silence.
After ten minutes Heine finished eating and when his long fingers carefully placed his knife and fork on the plate, Xiao felt the air tighten.
Xiao kept his head down and continued to eat his dinner. Casey was still in quite the mood.
Clearly he miffed about the order.
But there is no way around rank. Heine holds a higher position than Casey.
Heine did not leave after finishing his meal, he sat and waited for Xiao Yan.
Casey stomped on Xiao's foot under the table. Xiao muffled his yelp and stuffed his mouth full of food to stifle his pained groan. He understands Casey's irritation. He is angry that Xiao Yan did not protest when Heine said they could not talk to each other.
Xiao Yan pushed his hand against Casey, but he wouldn't ease up on his foot.
Suddenly, Xiao felt the table jostle as a harsh kick landed on Casey's calf. His foot was knocked off and Xiao's leg was free. Casey's childish antics sometimes make him feel helpless to refute his demands.
Xiao Yan figured it was Winn, since Mark wasn't the type to notice such things. However, when he glanced over at Winn, but his attention was focused on Mark. They were deep in conversation.
Hmmm. If it wasn't Winn or Mark. Xiao head turned to Heine in surprise. He was the one sitting opposite from him and Casey. As he looked over, Heine's frigid gaze leveled onto Casey and the guy couldn't even lift his head under such a pressured stare.
"Well I am finished eating. I am gonna head to the lab. Ah, slept really late last night. Ah...ah...I have a lot to catch up on." Desperate to cut the tension, Xiao stammered nonsense and squeezed Casey finger beneath the table before standing up.
Heine follows behind him, and Xiao can't help but helplessly look over at Casey. He too wanted to work with Casey. With them researching together, their work would improve by leaps and bounds.
After Xiao left, Casey grabbed his plate and vacated the table. Mark and Winn sit alone exchanging confused looks.
"I guess Colonel Casey knows that Xiao Yan went to the South Pole. Sine his rank is lower that must have been hard to swallow." Winn leaned his chin on his hand.
"So the genius was upstaged by a rookie?" Mark asked bluntly.
"It is curious, with such a renowned mind, why his study of the x-2 virus hasn't produced any results. Even after he was promoted to Lt. Colonel, his project was stagnant. Maybe he needed more opportunities to research in Antarctica to prove his ability... Looks like he needed it more than Xiao Yan." Winn chuckled.
"I guess even geniuses can get mental blocks." Mark looked blankly at Winn as he scratched his head.
Xiao Yan, who returned to the lab, had no interest in the virus at all.
He knows that if he connects to the terminal, he will be vulnerable to blockers.
When he thinks of his thoughts and idea being pulled away and ingested by an invader, having his mind destroyed layer by layer...he can't fight the panic that washes over him. He is paralyzed by this fear.
For several days, Xiao just sits in his lab and looks at the display or conducts meaningless tests. Heine's sits opposite of him, Xiao knows that Heine is perfectly aware he is avoiding the terminal.
But Heine did not say a word.
A week later Heine left for a special task force meeting at the institute. This was the first day Heine has been absent from his lab since the invader incident.
As he sits in his lab, this silence wraps around him in deafening levels. He feels panic claw at his mind, spreading outward to every nerve in his body. Even though there are guards outside his door, he cannot quell his unease.
As he sat there, every second stretched on to torturous lengths.
The quiet of the lab continued to expand and move around him until Xiao felt as though he would snap. He opened all the displays and allowed the system to run aimlessly as his sat in front of it all unable to concentrate.
Finally the door to the research room slid open and Xiao Yan sprang up as though a tightly coiled spring were wrapped around his spine. As Heine stepped inside, he felt the tension in him disintegrate.
Xiao Yan silently exhaled as his body instantly relaxed.
Mark stood behind Heine pulling at his collar uncomfortably, the uniform stretched across his big frame, the material straining at the seams. Mark's body was clearly more suited to his combat wear. He stood stiffly in the military uniform, the small garment squeezed into him like tight clothes on a cabbage patch doll.
"Hey! Xiao Yan! Did you miss me this morning!"
Mark rushed over to him and was about to wrap Xiao in a full force hug. He remembered at the last moment that, without the x-2, Xiao's body would shatter under his strength. He stopped mid gesture and then awkwardly settled his arm on Xiao's shoulder. The whole sequence of actions looked rather comical and Xiao Yan couldn't help but smile at the big guy.
"Colonel Burton."
His tense muscles release as he looks at Heine expectantly.
"Hm." Heine nods faintly. His stands straight, his uniform hugged the lines of his form, his long legs accentuated by the prominent seams. His squared shoulders are decorated with military epaulets, and a decorative strap ran from his right shoulder and crossed his body to connect at his trim waist above his belt. Overall he looked elegant and dignified.
Xiao eyes hungrily take in the sight, if it were not for his meeting he would not have had the chance to see him in such formal attire.
He couldn't help but stare, his widened gaze greedily wrapping around him as though he were afraid he would disappear.
Heine stretched his hands out to enter the security code to the holographic displays, they instantly went dark. He turned to look at Xiao Yan.
"You have not connected to the terminal at all this week."
"..."
Xiao was speechless.
Finally Heine had confronted him. He had known this moment was coming. Heine would not let something like this go.
"You avoidance and fear is an innate effort to protect yourself. It is a natural coping response. Your brain knows the terminal is the source of the danger and responds by avoiding it."
Heine seated himself in front of Xia Yan, as his legs crossed, the power of his body's resting momentum disturbed the air around Xiao Yan.
"To ensure that your research continues I have been tasked with protecting your brain. Anytime you are connected, I will be there monitoring the edges of your thoughts. Any blocker that enters the system will not be able to make it past me. I warn you, this requires your absolute trust in me."
These were his orders from Gordon and Ervel.
Xiao Yan looked up at Heine Burton. His posture emanated an energy that was whelming, the lines of his uniform barely containing his immense presence. Xiao stares at the Colonel with naked admiration, looking for a gap in the atmosphere that closed around him. Xiao struggles to peer through and glimpse at this legendary man's heart. His gaze is hooked by Heine's beautiful eyes, the only wavering point in Heine's glacial wall. These icy blues have stolen Xiao's heart and mind...of course he has his trust.
"I understand, Colonel."
"Also, you must learn how to resist a blocker."
"... really? I can learn this? Who will teach me?"
Xiao's eyes widen in excitement. In his view, learning to resist the blocker is much more valuable than any soul searching or mental conditioning. Instead of worrying constantly, he can tackle it head on.
Mark couldn't help but smile at Xiao's eagerness. "Your response is quite straightforward. You realize that it is not easy to train the brain to resist a blocker. It involves a mental connection between you and your mentor...Not to mention your brain...whew...with an intervention rate faster than Shen Bing!"
Xiao slips into silence at Mark's words. He doesn't want anyone in his brain. The situation will always seem dangerous to him. The better someone is at dealing the blockers, the better at invading his mind.
So apart from protecting the outer edge of his brain, it seems only Heine can instruct him.
"Mark, you teach him."
"..." Xiao Yan froze.
Why Mark?
Xiao Yan's disappointment was nakedly apparent on his face.
Mark was quite boorish at first glance. Although he had seen him connect to a terminal, to pilot the aircraft, he didn't quite feel safe enough to rely on Mark in this type of situation.
"To learn to defend, you must first learn to be the blocker. You will enter Mark's brain and he will stop you."
Xiao Yan suddenly realized that this is indeed more useful than spouting a bunch of abstract concepts and theories.
Mark's face was completely horrified.
"No! Nope! Absolutely not! No one is going into my brain! He's a rookie, he has no experience. Who knows what he will mess up in there?!"
"This is an order."
"Ah...Boss...You're killing me.." Mark's deep voice sank into a helpless whine.
Mark was slowly retreating toward the door, he backed up step by step as he protested. The large man's fear looked quite comical.
"Mark do you have secrets you are afraid of me seeing?
At Xiao's words, Marks face reddened suspiciously.
"Oh...what is the matter with you....any the point is no one is allowed into my brain!"
"Then enter me."
Heine's cold voice split the air, both Mark and Xiao Yan looked at him in shock.
"Boss...what did you just say? " Mark spoke with a dark tone and pointed at Xiao Yan. "You would let this rookie mess around in your head?"
"Once you enter my mind. Look for a message. Xiao Yan. Give me a question. I will think about the answer, the purpose of your invasion is to find this answer."
Xiao Yan is still stunned...he is about to enter Heine Burton's brain!
Everything that has never danced across Heine's gaze....It all lies just behind those eyes, and Xiao Yan will have a glimpse of it.
What will he see?
No. This is Heine Burton. Anything he doesn't want him to see he won't, he won't even have the opportunity to brush against it.
But Xiao Yan knows that only by following this man can he really be strong.
"What kind of question?"
Xiao Yan had heard that prior to joining the Special Forces at seventeen, Heine was an elite student of the Central Academy of Sciences. Everyone assumed he would enter into research, when suddenly he abandoned it all and accepted the x-virus.
"Any topic."
Xiao Yan thought for a moment and designed a very complicated argument involving physics, chemistry and extremely difficult functions. A terminal could easily reach a solution, but how long will it take Heine to determine the answer?
Heine closed his eyes and linked to the device.
Xiao sat across from him, his heart tightened. Allowing Xiao inside his mind, means he has absolute confidence in his ability to defend his thoughts.
Terminal connection, neural calibration.
The system's robotic voice sounds in his ear.
Xiao Yan's thinks rapidly races and he moves quickly through the shifting channels. He doesn't have time to make any thoughtful judgements. He is caught in a large maze that is constricting around him. The walls move in, threatening to crush him at any time.
Fear begins to rise up and lodge in his throat. He knows that Heine will not do anything dangerous to him. However, he will challenge him enough to be able to defend himself against the surge. Right now he needs to make it out of the labyrinth. If he continues to walk this path of Heine's construction, he will step right into his trap.
It can't surely be so easy as to follow this road straight into Heine's mind!
Xiao Yan slams through the walls of the maze and breaks through the layers of Heine's barrier. In the darkness, Xiao knows that he still hasn't reached Heine's thoughts. He is trapped at the edge of his mind's defenses.
He needs to stay calm. Blindly rushing and stumbling through will only put him at a disadvantage.
More importantly Heine has muddled his sense of direction in such a way that he cannot anchor himself anywhere. He has no point of reference or sense of up and down. This is the world of the mind, he has no idea how to go about entering.
Xiao Yan momentary distraction makes him realize the abstractness of thought. It isn't solid. Like water it can spread to any place, constantly expanding and flowing like a whole universe.
Now that Xiao Yan feels he has some orientation, he quickly rushes forward.
Countless mirrors bounce light through prisms and overwhelm his senses. He looks around and sees nothing but blurred dancing colors moving into each other like a kaleidoscope. Once again, He is rapidly lost in this bizarre world.
The glass breaks apart in front of him, countless jagged reflections assault him, he attempts to dodge but he is cut apart by the shards. The small pieces dig into his flesh and invade his veins.
Their destruction digs ever deeper.
Xiao is rapidly losing strength, as he reaches his limit he sees a figure standing in front of him.
He stumbles forward and falls heavily into Heine's arms.
"Xiao Yan, if I were your enemy, this would be your end."
"End..." He struggles to get the word out, certain that this was the end of the training.
Xiao Yan is tired and the prospect of this whole exercise ending is too tempting. He wants to be done. This is just a training session he cannot hope to reach Heine's level in one day.
"You need a little lesson."
Heine's words are cold, but the tone is tinged with softness.
His hands move up his neck, gripping the back of his head and lower his face to capture his lips. But it is a darkly intentioned gesture; A kiss reaping death. Xiao Yan abruptly realizes and struggles in horror. Suddenly his whole being is assaulted, twisted and torn apart. Everything is out of his control.
He had never imagined so gruesome a scene would meet him. Heine's hands dig into his skin and pull under his muscles to touch bone.
He attempts to leave his body behind and pull his thoughts away, but everything is bound and he is forced to bear the murderous movements.
"Did you really think I would not hurt you?"
Xiao Yan finally realizes that Heine's trap was not the maze, but himself. He fell right toward Heine's figure. Now his mind is completely overtaken. He cannot escape.
Everything quickly rushed out of control. He is crushed by Heine. His neck is roughly twisted and he is forced to accept Heine's macabre kiss. His body was opened and pushed into until he collapsed. The insane impact of Heine, into the depths of his body, enflames a pain that he cannot endure. His breathing tightens and stops, the agony is too much and the Heine's crashing collision in his body is close to crushing him completely.
"If you don't want it. Leave."
Heine spoke with a particular indifference, he couldn't see Heine's eyes, just his mouth emotionlessly speaking as if this whole exercise had been designed to torment him.
Xiao desperately wantsto flee, he pulls slightly away, but any distance gained is quickly closed byHeine. Each time he attempts, Heine movements become even more violent.
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