The blizzard has raged on for hours.
Their boots leave bloodied prints uphill, and their hiking poles leave deep lines in the snow. Miles the group of expeditioners have trekked on foot and still, there is nothing in sight sans pure, sleet white. There are over twenty of them – seventeen black-clad soldiers and five gatherers.
At the forefront is a soldier who stands more firmly than any. Her stature is rather short, quite pitiable when her calves are sunk through the snowfield. There isn’t much else special about her, a simple beta young woman. Yet she carries the weight of all the others. Her back is not the slightest bit hunched.
“Sergeant Li!” someone calls out to her from behind. Through the gale, his voice is nearly inaudible. “The visibility is ten meters. We’re able to continue for a few miles, but further ahead is an open field. We must be prepped for high winds and even lower visibility come sundown. What are your orders, Sergeant Li?”
Li Jiayun squints her eyes. The soldier’s words were an overestimate, really, because visibility isn’t even five meters, let alone ten. Torrents of white blind their way, and the landscape is purely unidentifiable. Sunlight will wan soon, and then there will be long months of cyclic dusk.
The two squads are inevitably due to seek shelter. Several soldiers they’re lost already, and the survivors are in no healthy condition to travel further.
“We will head northwest,” Li Jiayun, the surviving commander, says after much deliberation. “It would be good to rest before we take on the brunt of the storm. Please ready the dipped beams by sunset. We have several days before we reach the Antarctic and after that, there will be no daylight to guide. At the very least, the snowstorm will subside.”
“Roger, Sergeant,” comes the hushed affirmations of the soldiers in black.
To the side, several gatherers are dragging along duffels and large bags. The group would have to take a break soon nonetheless. These gatherers are more amateur and less able to handle the frigid winds.
Among these gatherers is a tall, upright man. Black hair, amber eyes, an attractive face with gently curled lips. He’s making light chatter with the men around – a morale boost that seems to work quite well, considering conversation is still going on after half an hour.
“—Certainly not my first expedition,” the man can be heard saying. His voice is airy and pleasant to hear. “But it is not often that a white-collar worker like me ventures outside – and to the Antarctic, no less. At the very least, the current temperature is bearable at this time of the year.”
“Doctor Shi,” a person jokes, “just say the word and we’d all take off our jackets for you.”
The group of five erupts into laughter, but no one denies the statement. Shi Luo only shakes his head with an ever-present smile on his face and responds, “The thought is much appreciated, but my constitution isn’t as frail as you make it. I work out on odd days.”
It is definitely a joke, and one that the gatherers shake their heads at. Shi Luo’s thick jacket doesn’t hide his muscular frame – he’s a top alpha, and anyone who doubts otherwise would be convinced from the poise he carries himself with. The man does look paler than normal, however. While the others around him have wind-scraped, flushed cheeks, Shi Luo’s face is eerily colorless.
Li Jiayun is the first to notice any abnormality. The sergeant ushers herself closer.
“Dr. Shi,” she leans in to ask, hoping to block out the wind. “Are you sure you’re alright? We’re making a stop soon, but please let me know if you are experiencing any discomfort.”
“Please, no need to concern yourself with me.” Shi Luo’s eyes are crinkled upward inside the helmet. “I have an affinity to the cold.”
Perhaps it is sundown that adds an eerie speck in his eyes, a slightly off-colored yellow that goes as quickly as it blends with his amber irises. Nobody notices, and not himself either as his pupils take a more constricted shape.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Ol Aljsec lr raevslcu atf afggjlc jtfjv, ujeulcu j gbeaf yfsbcv tliir jcv… wbgf tliir.
“Pvfjiis, P’v ilxf obg er ab jnblv j gbecvjybea kjs,” rtf werfr ab tfgrfio, “yea atfgf jgf wbgf oecul rjwqifr kf mjc fzagjma bc atf batfg rlvf… Qtja rtbeiv kf vb jybea—”
“Sergeant Li!” Before she can finish, a soldier at the forefront waves his hands continuously to beckon. “I’ve found something of interest!”
Ktf wjc lr mgbemtfv cfjg j rcbks gjnlcf. Ktf rbivlfgr, eqbc tfjglcu tlr fzmijlwr, jii ujatfg cfjg. Ktfgf lr j riluta bqfclcu lc atf ugbecv, j mgfnlmf atja vlnlvfr atf tlii lc akb. Cybea akb wfafgr bo bqfc rqjmf – nfgs fjrs ab wlrr lc j rfj bo ktlaf.
Snow has coalesced into thick sheets of ice, paving a sort of crossway down below. Not much light travels through the area, and it is uncertain how long the hollow place extends. Icicles form on the walls and the ceiling where they stand. If peered closely, there are dome-shaped, ice huts on the ground below.
“It seems to be an underground encampment,” Shi Luo concludes as he strains to see inside. “The dwelling seems have been formed decades prior. Unusual, however.”
“Unusual?” Li Jiayun questions as she digs out a flashlight. A bright beam shines down below. The sight is… captivating. Engraved tiles, iced furniture, sculptures that all but scream craftsmanship. Li Jiayun lets out an exclamation. “How incredible… An ice palace, it seems like?”
“Unusual, because there shouldn’t be habitants in quarantined areas like these,” the doctor says as he continues to study the place. “However…”
On cue, the flashlight catches a hidden figure. It comes in a blur of white, concealed so smoothly with the backdrop that it can be filtered as yet another snow sculpture. When it moves—when it flits away—it leaves behind a dainty white feather.
Very clearly, there is a manic glow in Shi Luo’s eyes.
“However, I suppose there are always exceptions.”
—
The branches scrunch beneath his soles. His footsteps are light, his gait unhurried.
Moonlight streams down the barren forest. Yang Rong whistles an offbeat melody as he walks with both hands in his pockets. His gaze flickers from one stripped tree to the next – fully alert, despite his lackadaisical nature. He pauses by a certain tree, and his lips curve into a low smirk.
“Made you wait?”
The voice that responds is not unfamiliar – flat and stoic.
“You’ve come,” Xie Liwei says as he leans away from the tree. Those dark eyes seem to look beyond where the colonel stands.
Yang Rong’s smirk grows bigger. It hints sardonically. He takes out a small piece of paper from his pocket and waves it a little in indication. The note is simple – a time and date, a coordinate and nothing else.
“Not the person you were looking for?”
Rather than answering, the man says, “There is a conversation to be had.”
“Interesting,” Yang Rong comments. He’s the one leaning against a tree now, randomly picking the closest surface to get comfortable on. “I never thought you to be one for conversations… If you ask, however, I just may oblige to pass on a message.”
Silence runs long.
Xie Liwei is donned in a crisp shirt, a black trench, a pair of formal slacks. Without the military uniform… without the insignia pinned to his lapel, he looks more a normal man. Perhaps ‘normal’ isn’t proper to describe him, for he always bears a certain stifling dominance. Tonight, however, Xie Liwei is subdued.
“A message,” the man repeats slowly before pausing. He’s filtering countless things in his head – it’s quite clear from his hesitance. And Xie Liwei is never hesitant. “I have forgotten now.”
Yang Rong gives a light hum. He reaches behind him belt and tosses over a black handgun.
“You’ve forgotten this as well,” the colonel says. “A sentimental thing?”
Xie Liwei catches it cleanly. He rotates the gun in his hands, feels up the coating and drags a finger across the scratched engraving. “His mother’s craft.”
“And for what reason had you given it to me?”
“If I held onto it, I would be reminded of her,” Xie Liwei answers. “And of him as well.”
Yang Rong only chuckles lowly. “Yet you couldn’t bring yourself to get rid of it, General Xie.”
The title is said with some sarcasm, a definite jab that the man ignores. Xie Liwei holds the handgun for a while longer before tossing it back towards Yang Rong. The latter catches it with a surprised look on his face. Before he can ask about the implications, however, Xie Liwei already has his back turned.
“Pass on the message for me,” the man says. His boots step on dirt, stone and twigs. His exit is as cloaked as his entry – brief and unexpected, a disguise of something else unknown. If delved deeply, it may even hint at grief.
But Xie Liwei is never one for sentimentality – so it is surely unusual, surely petrifying when he raises his voice to be heard. He projects his message across several trees over, across muddied terrain and past one sizable boulder.
“’I’m sorry, Xie Xing.’”
Bloodcurdling silence.
And the man leaves soon enough, leaving two young men alone in a dark forest. Behind the boulder comes a shuddering, drawn-out sigh.
It is unclear what sort of expression Noah has on before Yang Rong takes ahold of his hand some seconds later. He’s pulled into a warm embrace.
“Are you alright?” Yang Rong asks quietly. “You did not have to come, little fox.”
Noah closes his eyes. “Aren’t I quite pathetic, Yang Rong, to hold needless attachments?”
Yang Rong does not respond. The colonel only kneads him gently on the back and holds him closer. A minute turns into five. Noah’s cheeks become reddened, chaffed and damp. In silence, they stand in an empty forest. Cloudy night, a few specks of stars, no auroras of note here.
They share warmth in a lightless place.
—
—
[end.]
Author: And with this final chapter, Moon Theory is completed at 108 chapters and 258k words. Thank you so much for reading and following our Noah and Yang Rong’s journey. What was supposed to be a crack story featuring a circus clown turned into a story I spent half a year writing. All I wanted to write was a fox boy riding big pp, but this pwp ended up having way too much plot.
Thank you so, so much for the support, encouragement, comments, and everything else that have made me want to continue putting this raw work out to the public. This story started as a spur of the moment thing in one of the darkest times of my life, and every sprinkle of encouragement has made me really happy! It means a lot to a small writer like me.
And of course, it was incredibly tough to sprint through some bad days, and many times I didn’t think I’d make it to the ending. Regardless, I am really proud to give our MC and ML proper closure. A story like this will be buried obscurely for eons to come, but I really do hope it’s given you some form of enjoyment.
—
What’s next? As a writer, all I know how to do is write into the void and die.
Check out my other novel, filled with crimes, guns and yet another circus ringleader ML: https://chrysanthemumgarden.com/novel-tl/lines/
Interact with my favorite people (writers + readers) by navigating to our original English BL community: https://thedailyeggplant.carrd.co/
Any gay content, Moon Theory future spin-offs, AUs, etc will be on my AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yiyuehua
My website and social media information here: https://yiyuehua.carrd.co/
And lastly, my final words on Moon Theory: the character that has topped the unofficial popularity poll is yang rong junior
—
If you have any comments, questions, insults, please leave them below and I’ll always find time to reply! Take care, everyone!
Poor general. Ended up alone but at least he saved Noah in the end!
And badass sergeant Li! So happy to see you in charge!
Shi Luo, I still have my doubts about you lol
Thank you for sharing this novel with us! I truly enjoyed the journey that Noah, Yang Rong, and everyone else went on. <3
I feel sad for the general
Thank you so much for the chapter
I loved the ending
Thank you so much for the story author
I will be waiting for your next novel
I loved the moon theory
❣❣❣
I have already started reading tracing lines🤗
As sad as I am that this has come to an end, I’m happy that they got their closure. I’m still worried about some of the other side characters’ wellbeing and whereabouts but it’s tolerable.
Additionally, I hope Shi Luo finds someone/something that’ll demand all this time and attention.
Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful story with us, Yue. ♡
Thank you for bringing this story to us 🙂 The plot and the value of their interactions is exactly what I would look for in even “big pp” novels, no matter how absurd that sounds. If you like gore then write gore, write whatever you want and have fun with and it will be a success 🙂 I very much enjoyed reading it. Calling it a ‘raw’ work, you are setting the bar high for your next works ~ I am looking forward to those.
AAAAAAAHHHH IT’S OVEEER 😭😭😭
THANK YOU FOR WRITING MOON THEORY YUEEE ❤❤❤🍆
waaaaah !! 😭 i can’t believe it’s the end! Why is everything seemed to have been ending one after the other lately?? 😥
Thank you very much for the this amazing work sensei!! 😘😘😘
Can’t believe I won’t have any notification of it’s update anymore !!! I’ll miss it dearly..
Kinda wanted to see Jae and Yoo Seok once more..
Thank you for the story..
Will wait for your next creation..
Yeah, I hope Jae and Yoo Seok are OK….
Thank you so much for taking your time to write this and share it with us. My heart is really full and happy and content after reading this all, you really left no questions un answered and made it such an enjoyable read. 🥰🥰🥰 I like today but Jae & Seok mutated and came to human forms or in the very least they have passed on to better l it’s together. 💗💗
Wrong place sorry
I loved that last sentence!!!! Thank you so much for this incredible story!!!!-
Thank you for this beautiful journey ✨
I’ll keep following you to the next OG ♥️
Huh it just ended, waaaaah 😭 are there no extras..
And tho the ending is nice, but I really hoped the thing about those radiations could be solved and leave them somehow safer…
Anyway thanks a lot for bringing this to us, it made most of My days 🥰🥰
Even if this story is to be buried in the darkest part of the internet I’m glad to be navigating this part and to have found it. Every good things has to come to an end eventually and I feel a little sad but also glad that Noah, Yang Rong and the others find some closure.
I really enjoyed the ride, the feels, the angst, the smexy scenes…
Thanks for this wonderful story, be proud of your work and yourself !
(:3 」∠) aaaah the end….. what am I gonna do with my life nooooow.
Sergeant Li, at least you are doing good. I miss the rest of the squad tho 😭
Also what the hell Dr Shi. What is up with that.
And I guess Noah got some sort of closure.
Thank you so much for the wonderful story! I will reread often 🥺
My emotions have been a rollercoaster ride that I was thrilled to be on. The other characters, of which I had so dearly grown attached to, I pray for their future to be full of unlimited possibility and that they enjoy a long, peaceful life. Every single one of the characters had a story shared, and I am so increasingly in love even as it ends. I don’t know what to do.
Once again, thank you so fabulously much for writing this gem of a story that will be certain to leave an impact on my mind for many years to come. Thank you Yue, and I cannot wait to see the many more worlds yet to be created <3
Waah can’t believe it’s ended. I like it so much. I thought i would be seeing some babies, but nevertheless the story is beautiful
The ending… Absolutely perfect 😍 you did fantastic Yue ❤️❤️❤️ it’s so bittersweet, I want to keep reading :’)
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR AWESOME WORK!!!!
thank you for sharing your talents with us, it was a lovely read!!!
❤❤
Omyghad, thank you for this wonderful story!!! The characters are very well written and I like how you wrote some of their conversations. It is really evident how much you’ve taught of their personalities. And after some twist and turn, although we’re warned ahead of abrupt ending, I’m still sad and some questions still are unanswered but I’ll just leave it to my wild imagination. But overall, good work!!!!! Hoping to see more of you in the future although there is the Tracing Line, keep up the good work yiyuehua-san!!
Thank you for writing this novel! I appreciate all of your hard work and the well crafted story. You have an amazing way with words. 😘
¡¡¡thank you so much everything author!!!
I really LOVE moon theory!
❤
Anyways!!! Thanks for all these chapters! I speed run this within two days and it was a story to read all right!! The flaws of the characters really gave them dimensions and the character developments of our mcs made this story better and interesting to read. I am not a fan of angst and I nearly teared up from being over emotional while reading this on public transport and in class, which is why I hate angst. But the wonderful journey made the risk of being embarrased from crying super worth it. (n˘v˘•)
I started this last night and this is one novel that makes me regret being a fast reader…. I’m gonna miss everyone so much.
Thank you for this story ! I love the characters you wrote.
Thanks @yiyuehua. A good story. How i wish you write a side or extra on Jae and Yoo Seok relationship. I can smell a ‘CP’ idea from the way they interact with each other. Be honest, when u wrote their scene, u have a slight idea to make them couple. Am i right @yiyuehua ? Hehe…
Thank you so much for taking your time to write this and share it with us. My heart is really full and happy and content after reading this all, you really left no questions un answered and made it such an enjoyable read. 🥰🥰🥰 I like today but Jae & Seok mutated and came to human forms or in the very least they have passed on to better lives together. 💗💗
it is 3:35 am as i finish this after a rapid read session over the last 3 days.and I have to thank you dear author for writing one of the most wonderful novels I have read.this will stay with me for a long time <3
Kept putting off reading the last chapter cause I wasn’t ready to say goodbye, thanks for writing this story and giving us Noah and Rong ge.
Thank you
Just found about this novel and binge read everything 😭😭😭
I love it soo much especially in bullying our Rong-ge
hope to read more of your works soon!!
Thankies for the beautiful story hngggg the fact that you left hope for humanity and closure made me cry in joy
I am sorry to say goodbye. It has been a wonderful journey and I look forward to reading your other works. I am saving this story to re read it is truly worth revisiting.
So what happened to Joe?
Though their dog tags were retrieved, I had a small hope. Actually this reminds me of priest’s imperfections. U really can’t attach sentiments to side characters. Never know when they would die🥲.
But this was a nice story author samaa. U already told it has a bittersweet ending.
So Dr.Shi is infected and unknowingly there had been successfully morphed hybrids.
Thank u so much for bringing this to us ❤️
Thank youuuu 💖🥺💚
AHHHH! What a satisfying ending. At least we got a bit of Hyun and Allaire, also some Li!! But I was hoping for Yoo Seok and Jae. I’m still too heartbroken over them.
Regardless, thank you very much for this novel! I’m so happy that I clicked on this story on a whim because it has been an absolute joy to read. Except for the dying children and the abuse and wow, you know how to make my heart ache, author! In any case, thank you again. I’ll be moving on to your other story soon enough!
Your character development is terrific. I enjoyed the intellectually challenged, narcissistic ML and the tough, yet fragile, protagonist immensely. The hints that Shi Luo is also a hybrid were fascinating.
Of course the biggest problem with the “evolution” solution is that not correcting the magnetic field will lead to Earth losing it’s water and becoming another Mars… I do hope they continued their artificial magnetic field research. 😁
Well that was a good leaving a tear in my eye. Thank you, this is a good read. W ill fall in my fav list.
💕💕
I really enjoyed this journey. You done an excellent job giving your characters a lot of depth. You definitely made us (readers) draw attachments to many of the characters, both good and bad ones. I have shed my share of tears during this novel. I do wish Jae and Yoo had their happy ending. I was hoping they would had become a couple, unless they secretly were one.
Thank you so much for writing it! It was one of the best stories I’ve ever read! ☺I really loved it ❤
Brilliant writing and characters author ❤️❤️ Hope to one day find out a bit more on our side characters presumed lost along the way
Thank you for creating this magical world and the in depth characters that we can invest so much in…both main and side characters. Such a rollercoaster of emotion made me unable to stop reading….well when I wasn’t in work!
What a bittersweet ending too.
Amazing for Li Jiayun to be in charge of her own unit.
I think it would be interesting for a story or an extra regarding Shi Luo….many questions to still be answered about him.
And thank you again Yue and will look forward to reading Tracing Lines 😊
Thank you for the beautiful ride author-nim
Aww this was wonderful! I binged it the past 2-3(?) days and it was such a wonderful journey! ^^ I loved Yang Rong and Noah haha! Such a great couple! And the other characters were wonderful as well!
I know this has been completed for a while but I just wanted to stop by to say I loved this novel. Creative world building, character growth, and A+ fluff/smut at the end as a cherry on top. Thank you for sharing this with us ❤️
Also some very interesting discoveries about to be made in Antarctica!
Jae and Yoo Seok are alive, healthy, and off somewhere, living together outside the scope of the Nexus and the army–that’s my headcanon and I’m sticking to it. Dog tags was just a ruse to stop people from going after them.
Again, thank you!
Great story – thanks Yiyuehua! Alas, I have not figured out why it iscalled Moon Theory!!
I feel I should mention that I rarely leave comments, and it’s even more rare that I feel a work to be worthy of traditional publication. Again, I know you’ve moved on, so I understand if you’ve already made the decision to leave it as it is, but if, perhaps, you’ve been considering doing something more with it, I hope this can encourage you to go for it. Whatever you decide, I simply hope that all your future endeavors allow you to follow your heart (even if that means I can’t have a proper physical copy of this on my bookshelf!).
And it ended so bittersweet yet best suited ending for me. Noah found his own home. I hope Yoo seok and jae are still alive and actually runaway hahaha. So proud of Li jiayun go girl! General Xie until this chapter idk what to feel about you.
Moon theory is definitely a 10/10 novel for me an apocalyptic abo setting is definitely few imo and great work author^.^ I’ll definitely read tracong lines for more clown ml to collect 🤣
Köszönöm, hogy olvashattam ezt a történetet!Izgalmas és magával ragadó, ahogy alakulnak, kibomlanak benne az emberi kapcsolatok.
Thank you for this beautiful story. I loved every part of it.
For me, I refuse to believe Jae and yoo soek just died. He was still breathing, they had plans and for Yoo Soek Jae is everything, he refuses to leave him just because he is infected. I will make it so they are living together just like Noah and Rong, away from sight, he left the tags behind so they would be considered dead. My babies are happy in my dreams.
I should really stop getting attached to side characters(I’m literally crying for them..) thank you again for this amazing story.