Chapter 131
The sudden appearance of an ability user cast a shadow over Wen Xin’s heart.
Especially upon learning that someone was exploiting the energy released by mutants to recklessly manufacture ability users. The sense of crisis swelled like a sponge absorbing water, instantly reaching its peak.
In the distance, the interior of City A’s municipal building was in ruins. The ground was riddled with craters, and the corpses of patrol guards and intruders lay scattered everywhere. The acrid scent of gunpowder lingered in every corner.
At the center of the tense hall, two groups were locked in a standoff.
One group was led by Second Lieutenant Li Yongming, a trusted aide of Wen Jinfeng. Around him, over a dozen severely injured soldiers stood in a line, their faces brimming with outrage and grief.
Their reaction was understandable.
Wen Jinfeng was meticulous, leaving no loose ends, especially when cultivating his trusted inner circle. Most of his confidants were veterans who had served under him in the military for over three years. These individuals were orphans, free from familial attachments, and rarely visible in public. Their desires for material wealth had been systematically suppressed through long-term psychological conditioning, making them immune to common temptations.
Such extreme vetting had eliminated spies time and again, leaving behind only highly valuable personnel.
Thus, for someone like Li Yongming, the idea of betrayal was almost unthinkable.
As Wen Xin had suspected, this was no ordinary incident. It was outright rebellion.
Scarlet blood dripped from Li Yongming’s arm, pooling on the floor. Yet he had no time to tend to his wounds. He raised his head to glare at the man standing in front of him, surrounded by a crowd of defectors. His voice was heavy as he forced out one word:
“Why?”
The man before Li Yongming had a thin, angular face and unremarkable features. Dark circles hung beneath his eyes, adding to his disheveled and world-weary appearance—a common look among those surviving in this apocalyptic era.
Such a man could easily blend into any crowd, and his unassuming demeanor had successfully deceived most of the management, including Li Yongming.
“Why?” The rebel leader echoed Li Yongming’s question, suddenly sweeping his hand outward. “Isn’t it obvious?”
A burst of flames erupted from the rebel leader’s palm. Li Yongming’s eyes narrowed sharply at the sight.
This man had become an ability user!
Although Li Yongming remained silent, the fleeting surprise that flashed across his face was caught by the rebel leader.
The roaring flames grew fiercer, and the rebel leader’s grin widened, his expression turning increasingly unhinged. Clearly, Li Yongming’s reaction delighted him.
“Didn’t expect this, did you?”
The leader took a step forward and seized Li Yongming by the collar. Though Li Yongming noticed the motion, his injuries left him too slow to dodge, and none of his comrades could intervene in time.
Bang!
With a dull thud, the rebel leader slammed Li Yongming onto the ground. Overwhelmed by pain, Li Yongming raised his head, locking eyes with the bloodshot gaze of his attacker.
The rebel leader sneered. “Wen Jinfeng prides himself on being infallible, but what’s the outcome? There are things in this world he didn’t foresee!”
Li Yongming opened his mouth to argue, but the hand tightening around his neck choked off his words. The strength in the rebel leader’s grip was far beyond human.
“He’s not strong—not nearly as powerful as we imagined! But no matter. Even if Wen Jinfeng has discarded that frail human body, his brain is still worth something.”
The rebel leader laughed maniacally. “And yet, what did he do next? He outright rejected cooperation with the First Base!”
“The chance to become gods was right before us. Evolution is the only path for humanity, but for his selfish reasons, he cut off everyone’s chance to evolve. What a fool!”
The leader’s taunts were met with derisive laughter from the followers standing behind him.
Hearing this, Li Yongming, despite the pain, forced his eyes open and stared at the man’s arrogant face. With deliberate clarity, he asked, “Doesn’t power like this come with a price?”
The rebel leader’s eyes flickered.
It wasn’t just avoidance—it was fear, as if recalling a memory that sent chills down his spine.
At that moment—
Boom!
A deafening crash came from the adjacent room as a solid wall collapsed. Backlit by the light streaming through the breach, all they could see was a lean figure standing amidst the rubble before disappearing in an instant.
“Gone?” someone murmured, rubbing their eyes in disbelief.
The rebel leader, however, had caught sight of the figure just before it vanished. His instincts screamed danger as he shouted to the confused crowd, “He hasn’t vanished—stay on guard!”
But his warning came too late.
In a blink, the rebel leader was kicked off his feet and sent flying to smash into another wall.
Crash!
Cracks spread like a spider’s web, and rubble rained down. Covered in dust, the rebel leader lifted his head, fuming as he scanned the area for his attacker. But the sound of a gun being cocked froze him in place.
“I see,” said the newcomer—a calm, confident voice. “Even as one of these so-called evolved humans, you can’t withstand the power of a firearm, can you?”
To the rebel leader, the words felt like an open taunt.
His face alternated between green and white with fury. He turned to look at the speaker, and when he saw the young man’s face, his expression turned to sheer horror. “You—weren’t you at odds with Wen Jinfeng? Why are you here?!”
The person standing before him was none other than Wen Xin.
By now, Wen Xin’s name had spread far and wide, and many in the upper management recognized him. The room erupted in murmurs as the unexpected guest’s arrival sent a ripple of panic through the crowd. Wen Xin’s presence had clearly not been accounted for.
Wen Xin raised an eyebrow, noting the startled reactions and taking them all in.
They didn’t expect me to come, he thought.
Even before arriving, Wen Xin had wondered what kind of situation could have pushed Wen Jinfeng to take such a risk with the First Base.
Looking at these people now, he began to understand.
Wen Jinfeng had written to him in secret, without informing anyone present. Did that mean Wen Jinfeng already suspected there were traitors within City A’s leadership?
The rebel leader’s earlier arrogance dissipated. His brow twitched as a terrifying possibility dawned on him. Wide-eyed, he shouted, “If Wen Xin is here, that black Tyrannosaurus must be nearby! Run—run now!”
Roar!
A guttural roar echoed in response.
The massive form of a Tyrannosaurus loomed over the battlefield, its towering body casting a shadow that darkened the sky. Fierce gusts of wind rose from the ground, sending branches and debris flying in all directions.
“What in the world is that thing?!”
Hearts pounded as the enormous, fearsome creature dominated their vision. Shock paralyzed them, but those who managed to recover attempted to flee—only to find themselves completely immobilized.
On the staircase, a boy dressed in pink sat casually on the steps, his chin propped in one hand. His innocent blinking betrayed a childlike naivety as he looked at the panicked group. “You’ve destroyed so much already. Leaving without paying doesn’t seem fair, does it?”
Who is this guy?!
The rebels’ vision blurred, their heads swimming as dizziness overtook them. Amid the low rumble of the Tyrannosaurus’s growl, the last thing they saw was the young man who had first appeared, raising his eyes slightly and walking toward them step by step.
**
The rebels were swiftly detained, and City A’s leadership, gauging the situation, voiced no objections to Wen Xin taking charge of the interrogations.
Even those who harbored doubts due to rumors of discord between the Wen brothers kept silent under the ominous gaze of the Tyrannosaurus.
What’s more, Li Yongming’s attitude toward Wen Xin was oddly trusting—neither hostile nor cautious, but visibly confident in him.
The shrewd among the group exchanged glances, realizing that Wen Jinfeng’s disappearance and Wen Xin’s sudden appearance might be connected. With this understanding, they retreated without protest.
After hearing Li Yongming recount the events of the rebellion, Wen Xin fell silent, lost in thought.
Li Yongming gazed at the young man before him, his expression a mix of emotions.
It had been only two years since Wen Xin first arrived in City A, yet his face now bore the marks of countless hardships.
He felt both comforted and awed.
After a moment, Wen Xin, holding the list of traitors, bluntly identified the core issue: “City A has glaring security vulnerabilities.”
At first glance, the participants in the rebellion seemed like minor figures, uninvolved in City A’s major affairs.
But as the saying goes, “A dam of a thousand miles can come down crashing just by an ant hole.” These seemingly insignificant individuals, scattered and inconspicuous, had infiltrated the city’s defenses like water finding its way through cracks, leading to today’s situation.
Hearing this, Li Yongming admitted with some shame, “It was our negligence. If you hadn’t arrived early this time, City A might have…”
Wen Xin shook his head. “Commander Li, you misunderstand me.”
“Security is your responsibility. You should know how airtight the monitoring system is. In other words, for them to contact inside informants, bypass security, and incite others, there must have been traces of their actions. Yet, you detected nothing at all. Does that sound normal to you?”
Li Yongming frowned.
Truthfully, Wen Xin’s concerns weren’t new to him. Especially during the time when Wen Jinfeng had mysteriously vanished without a word, he had conducted a thorough investigation of the entire City A.
“…I’m not trying to make excuses,” Li Yongming said, his tone calm but heavy. “Ordinary people couldn’t have escaped our monitoring system.”
But if the perpetrators weren’t ordinary, then who were they?
The answer was obvious.
Ability users. (Espers)
Someone with abilities had tampered with their perceptions!
Both men arrived at the conclusion at the same time.
Wen Xin said, “That’s why Wen Jinfeng didn’t tell anyone why he went to the First Base.”
Li Yongming was momentarily stunned before reacting with excitement. “You know the commander went to the First Base? Is that information reliable?”
Wen Xin replied, “I can’t be certain. That’s why I need your help with something, Commander Li.”
“What is it?”
Just then, a youth stepped out of the interrogation room. The room’s walls were soundproof from one side—those inside couldn’t hear conversations outside, but everything said inside was clearly audible to those outside.
The fox, Xiao Qi, had just demonstrated a bit of his mental manipulation ability. The rebels, who had stubbornly refused to confess earlier, were now spilling every detail of their plans like beans from a tipped jar. The soldiers standing by were left wide-eyed and speechless, a mixture of awe and fear on their faces.
“Wen Xin, we’ve got it all!” Xiao Qi announced, bounding over to Wen Xin’s side. After whispering a few words, Wen Xin nodded and turned to the bewildered Li Yongming.
“I need you to contact the Lord of Rose City and other human factions. Help me distribute some critical information: the origins of the zombie virus and the formula for developing a vaccine.”
Li Yongming’s eyes widened slightly as he struggled to process these shocking revelations. Finally, he asked, his voice strained, “What are you planning to do?”
“Confront the First Base,” Wen Xin said calmly.
