Omega Manual chapter 40

Future Use

Unexpectedly, Irey was stunned by this response.

He was just joking, trying to push the boundaries a bit, and Shelley couldn’t possibly miss that.

But before he could further contemplate the meaning of those words, Shelley hooked his neck, pressing his lips against his ear.

And then everything was chaotic. The warm, moist, skillful paradise instantly melted Irey’s mind like butter on a grill.

Describing his boss as a seducer was too conservative; he was more like a siren in the depths of the ocean. He didn’t need to do anything but sing a gentle song, and he could lure the hearts of sailors from a vast area.

He firmly clasped Shelley’s wrist to the mattress, stifling heavy breaths. “Boss, I’m giving you ten seconds to stop.”

“Stop pretending,” Shelley lazily lifted his foot, teasingly nudging the conspicuous tent in Irey’s jeans, “Who was the one who was poking me for two hours on the train.”

Irey let out a frustrated roar, leaning down.

As expected, Shelley fell into a deep sleep the next second after they finished. Irey sat up from the bed, wetting one hand to rummage through cabinets for a while, before finding a roll of tissue in a corner, cleaning up the scene.

Sunlight streamed in from the window, a ray falling on Shelley’s face, making his hair shine. He slept so defenselessly, completely relaxed, his face more exquisite than an angel in front of a church.

Outside the door, worshippers were praying, unaware that their Archbishop had moved. The chanting voices came through the window, surrounding them continuously.

Irey stared at the sleeping Shelley for a long time before getting up from the bed, zipping his pants, and retrieving his shirt from the chair back.

Shelley slept until the next morning.

It had been a long time since he had slept through the night like this, with surreal dreams one after another, sometimes the childhood pet rabbit killed by his father, sometimes his mother’s funeral, sometimes a water pit he accidentally fell into one night.

These dreams coincidentally had gloomy backgrounds, with rain falling continuously. He stared at the ceiling with his eyes open for a long time before remembering that it was already the fifth year after the disaster, and he wasn’t in Nantes but in Duhaat.

It wasn’t raining outside, only the golden morning sun rising from the east, shining through the half-covered window, into the room.

Then his stomach made a very pathetic protest, leading him back to reality, realizing that he hadn’t eaten anything all day.

Descending the stairs, Shelley immediately spotted Irey lying on the sofa in a champagne-colored bathrobe, lazily eating fruit.

In front of him were cakes, prawns, spaghetti with meat sauce, grilled fish, and a dazzling array of snacks and candies.

Seeing him coming downstairs, Irey didn’t even change his posture, just picked up a small piece of cake with a fork and reached out to him, “Want some?”

Shelley wanted to laugh but still walked over, eating the cake from his hand. A bit of cream stuck to his lips, and Irey reached out to wipe it away with his fingertip.

“Do you know you look like a nouveau riche emperor lounging like that?” Shelley said.

Irey snapped his fingers, still lounging lazily, “You’ve just described my life dream.”

Shelley couldn’t help but laugh, pulling a chair to sit across from him, “Where did all this food come from?”

Irey nodded towards the kitchen at the end of the hall, where there was a large double-door refrigerator, “You can’t even imagine how much stuff is in the Archbishop’s fridge. Cakes, steaks, seafood, ice cream… enough for a family of three to eat for a week without repeating. It’s hard to imagine how much the sweat and blood of the believers he exploited to live such a luxurious life.”

“So you just naturally inherit this extravagance?” Shelley raised an eyebrow.

“I’m not the one exploiting the believers, so whoever is guilty should be punished,” Irey threw a shrimp into his mouth, “But if there’s one sin in this world, there might be only one.”

“What?” Shelley asked.

“The sin of poverty,” Irey said.

Shelley picked up a piece of cake and put it in his mouth, imitating the inspectors at the city gate, first pointing at Irey and then randomly drawing a symbol on his chest, “Then I declare that your guilt is hereby absolved.”

Irey couldn’t hold back his laughter and almost choked on the shrimp, coughing several times before he could catch his breath. He had to sit up straight on the sofa.

“Let’s be serious. I checked earlier. There’s a train to Northern Luna departing the day after tomorrow at 7 AM, arriving at 1 PM the next day. From Northern Luna, we can take a car to Lorion, and then to Fuba Port. Another option is to go directly to Belgas from here, then ride a horse to Marwen, and from Marwen to Fuba Port. Which do you prefer?”

“Neither,” Shelley said decisively after taking a bite of his noodles. “I’m planning to buy another car and drive straight to Marwen from here.”

Irey spread his hands, showing an “I knew it” expression. “This isn’t Nantes where everyone can just drive around. Even if you have money, you might not be able to buy one.”

“I know it’s a gamble, but it’s not impossible,” Shelley replied nonchalantly, twirling the silver fork in his hand and pointing it towards the front door. “If I can buy a two-story villa in downtown Duhaat, I shouldn’t have trouble getting a car.”

Looking at Shelley, Irey felt an urge to pinch his chin. Only his boss could say such arrogant and annoying things with an innocent, clear gaze, making one feel both love and hate.

Shelley was still earnestly battling his bowl of meat sauce pasta, his small mouth taking tiny bites and chewing for a long time each time.

Irey directly took the bowl away from him and removed the fork from his hand.

“Mmm… what are you doing?” Shelley protested, his mouth still full of pasta, his words muffled.

“We’re going out to buy daily necessities,” Irey said, standing up from the sofa. “You threw so many things in the car. If we don’t go soon, there will be too many people.”

In the early morning, the streets of Duhaat were dirty and dry, with a gray sky and a malicious north wind. Shelley frowned and pulled up his collar, wrapping his clothes tighter around him as he walked half a step behind and to the right of Irey.

There weren’t many pedestrians on the street, mostly early-rising worshippers. The eyes of these worshippers unanimously turned towards them, sharp and indifferent, making Shelley feel a chill down his spine and a sense of discomfort all over.

They didn’t discuss or comment, their gazes devoid of emotion, yet uniformly focused on them, like lifeless spotlights on the roadside.

Shelley quickened his pace, taking two steps forward, and Irey, noticing this, reached out and held his hand.

In the biting cold north wind, the warmth of their palms became the only guidance.

“Do they know I’m an Omega?” Shelley asked softly, uncomfortably tightening the scarf around his neck.

“Maybe they’ve just never seen a rich person in their lives and are envious and jealous,” Irey replied. “Ignore them.”

The tall church dome blocked the clouds, with white frost solidifying on the tree trunks along the street. They crossed the deserted road under the gaze of the worshippers and entered the supermarket across the street.

Duhaat was better than Leisau in that it had wealthy residents. Where there are rich people, there are places for them to shop, so most of the supplies they left in the desert could actually be bought at the central supermarket.

Irey pushed the cart in front, with Shelley following behind. The former continuously took items from the shelves and tossed them into the cart, listing them for Shelley as he did.

“Compressed biscuits, mineral water, toothbrush, toothpaste, towels, soap, underwear, socks, cups, comb, alcohol, bandages, cold medicine… they definitely don’t have your brand of shower gel here, so I got the most expensive one. You’ll have to make do.”

Shelley looked at him in surprise. “Is your brain made of a circuit board? How can you remember all this?”

“Who do you think packs the luggage every time we set out?” Irey shrugged, pushing the cart forward. “I even remember the color and style of each of your outfits, but now they’re all ruined in the sand.”

The supermarket was well-stocked, with almost everything available except for some clothing and really scarce items.

In a corner of the shelves, there was even a new box of condoms, left alone, probably due to low stock or high demand.

It happened to be his size.

Irey couldn’t help but glance at it, but eventually walked straight to another shelf.

A soft laugh suddenly came from beside him. Irey turned to look at Shelley.

“Aren’t you more upset about your own suit than my clothes?” Shelley leaned on the cart handle, smiling. “You’ve mentioned it like a hundred times.”

“Of course,” Irey said. “That was the most expensive suit I’ve ever worn. Wouldn’t you feel bad if it were you?”

Shelley laughed, “If you like it so much, I’ll buy you another one later.”

“That would mean going back to Nantes, right?” Irey looked at him. “There’s nowhere ahead where we can buy such clothes.”

Irey was right. Marwen and Fuba Port were abandoned industrial towns, and beyond them was a long, desolate radioactive zone, with no places to buy decent clothes.

“Then we’ll wait until we’re back in Nantes,” Shelley said.

“Deal?” Irey pressed.

“Deal,” Shelley replied.

Irey visibly relaxed, his previously tense brows easing. Shelley thought Irey really resembled a wild predator; fierce and unapproachable at first glance, but actually simple and pure-hearted, with all his emotions exposed.

“Wait a minute.” Shelley patted Irey’s hand and turned back to the shelf.

Irey waited, puzzled, until Shelley returned with the lone box of condoms and tossed it into the cart.

“For future use,” he said without blinking.