Chapter 266: Taotao
“…Not found,” Zhuang Mobai replied.
“I want to know what happened.”
“Li Ji returned and, along with the Hunter Guild, attacked your people.”
Zhuang Mingxu straightened and turned to Zhuang Mobai, his cold, stern face expressionless, staring intently. “Am I not worthy of knowing the truth?”
Zhuang Mobai took off his gold-rimmed glasses, wiped them, put them back on, and smiled helplessly at his junior. “Our family needs donors, and they ran into each other.”
Lu Weiyi, who refused to cooperate, and donors providing abilities to the Zhuang family—choosing was easy.
“So you’re working with Li Ji?” Zhuang Mingxu had long known the Zhuang family put interests above all, but still felt cold inside.
Zhuang Mobai shook his head. “Old Luo also needs donors.”
So Li Ji was also involved. Zhuang Mingxu didn’t know whether to say “serves you right” or just be speechless.
“There are so many ability users at the base, yet you targeted my people…”
“Low-level abilities disperse before transplantation,” perhaps confident in their position, Zhuang Mobai didn’t hide anything and roughly explained the situation. The two returned to the original room, and Zhuang Mobai pointed at the painkillers by the bedside. “Take them if you’re in pain, three times a day. Also, Mingxu, this place is guarded by ability users. Don’t force me to imprison you in bed.”
Zhuang Mingxu sat on the edge of the bed, silent for a moment, then asked, “What do you want me to do? Your experimental subject?”
“How could you think that? We’re family,” Zhuang Mobai seemed unable to accept the idea, a slightly hurt expression on his refined face.
“You want to transplant abilities, right? I’ll do the matching and adjustments for those people. When you’ve recovered, I’ll arrange the surgery for you.” Zhuang Mobai patted Zhuang Mingxu’s shoulder. “Mingxu, we’re family. They’re outsiders.”
“Lu Weiyi knocked you out, fought with the Zhuang family, and called you his trophy. Your grandfather got sick from anger. If you had abilities, if the Zhuang family were strong, would he dare say that? Are your old issues still unresolved?”
“He depends on you, and you control him. No need to worry about him being with other men.”
Zhuang Mobai whispered in his ear like a devil’s temptation. Zhuang Mingxu felt dizzy.
Yes, as long as he grew strong again, there’d be nothing to worry about.
“You can break his wings, keep him from shining, lock him at home, imprison him in the room, right?”
“…Right!” The moment Zhuang Mingxu said this, his dizziness cleared. He had training and was no stranger to hypnosis-like methods.
Pretending to still feel dizzy, he then heard Zhuang Mobai ask, “Do you know where Lu Weiyi went?”
Zhuang Mingxu shook his head.
“What’s the big tree in the yard?”
“…A mutated plant, Ai Yi’s.”
Zhuang Mobai frowned, a flash of viciousness in his eyes. He patted Zhuang Mingxu’s shoulder and returned to a normal tone, “Mingxu, you need to be strong. When you’re strong, you’ll naturally have teammates of your own.”
“…Let me think about it,” Zhuang Mingxu “came to his senses.”
“Alright, take your time thinking,” Zhuang Mobai glanced at the time. “I still have things to do. You should rest more.”
“Wait, young master,” Zhuang Mingxu said as Zhuang Mobai reached the door, pinching his calf. “Give me a healer type—I can’t do without a healer for my leg.”
“…We don’t have a healer.”
“Isn’t the team’s little healer around? His ability is so weak, he can’t be a donor, right?” There were many B-level ability users at the base, but they focused on A-level ones; Dean, a C-level, was not even worth noticing.
“He can’t use his ability right now.”
Zhuang Mingxu scoffed and silently stared at Zhuang Mobai, his distrust clear as day.
Because donors preparing for surgery can’t be affected by random drugs, Zhuang Mobai couldn’t get more info about the squad from them. Though he thought the few escapees weren’t much of a threat, he was still interested in Lu Weiyi’s powerful ability.
Zhuang Mingxu was the most likely breakthrough point. For someone trained so rigorously, interrogation was the most basic method; and Zhuang Mobai’s authoritarian and possessive nature was a key to making him talk.
Needing his cooperation, Zhuang Mobai pinched his fingers and gave in, “He really has no ability now. If you don’t believe me, once he wakes up, I’ll have him brought here.”
*
Lu Weiyi slept until nearly noon the next day. He rubbed his shoulder, sore from lying on the ground.
Looking around, he was still in the same spot where he had fallen asleep.
“Father, you’re awake?” Taotao suddenly appeared from some corner, holding a spicy duck neck snack, lips reddened from the spice. “Hiss, hah,” she kept making sounds. “You suddenly fell asleep—I thought you died.”
Thanks a lot!
Lu Weiyi got up and looked around. “How long did I sleep?”
“I don’t know. There’s no time here.” Taotao shoved another piece in his mouth. He could hear the crunching of bones. It gave him an inexplicable creepy feeling.
Like before, Lu Weiyi kept trying to get out, but failed every time.
He glanced at his watch—already the next morning.
Lu Weiyi forced himself to calm down and looked at the leisurely eating person in front of him. As his mental power just started to move, the snack packaging suddenly disappeared from Taotao’s hand.
“Hey!” Taotao looked around and reached for it again, but Lu Weiyi moved it farther away.
“I only ate a little. Why are you such a stingy father?” Taotao pouted, looking aggrieved.
“Tell me how to get out.”
“I don’t know. If I knew, I’d have left already,” Taotao said, walking toward the snacks like he had teleportation powers, his figure leaving behind only a shadow.
Lu Weiyi reached out; a small green branch extended from his wrist toward Taotao, but he suddenly turned and asked with a puzzled face, “Why are you tying me up? The peach branch is part of the jade pendant. How can it tie itself? You’re really weird.”
“…” He forgot that this thing on his arm was probably the peach tree itself.
Lu Weiyi was annoyed, instantly releasing mental energy and forcefully pinned Taotao to the ground with a heavy thud. “Who are you? Tell me where you came from.”
“Ouch, that hurts. I don’t remember. I only remember my name’s Taotao and that I’ve always lived here.” Taotao was suppressed by Lu Weiyi’s mental power, looking pitiful, his eyes sneaking glances at the duck neck by Lu Weiyi’s side. He seemed a bit slow.
Lu Weiyi handed him the snack, and he began telling what he remembered, bit by bit.
This world was a small world inside a yin-yang protective jade. The peach tree was the source sustaining this world. His existence was for the so-called “father,” also called the master, to shield from disasters—but not every father was suitable.
The energy came from the peach tree.
After each use, the peach tree’s energy was exhausted, and time slowly repaired it. When sufficiently restored, it could function again.
Taotao, as part of it, also went through cycles of sleeping and waking as the peach tree exerted its power.
“It seems no one has been here for many years,” Taotao’s eyes glowed as he looked at Lu Weiyi. “Oh, my last father was a big shot. He said he was part of some party, called Awen.”
“Do you know him?”
Lu Weiyi thought about the time—probably a hundred years ago—and shook his head. “How did you fall asleep?”
“Someone used… a gun,” Taotao mimed shooting. “After that, I don’t know.”
“Oh, did I get hurt in between? I feel like I was torn apart,” Taotao said with a scared expression, grabbing Lu Weiyi’s hand. “Are you someone powerful to get in here? Can you protect me? I don’t want to be torn apart; it hurts.”
“…” Lu Weiyi nodded. “Okay, then tell me how to get out.”
“I really don’t know,” Taotao said.
Lu Weiyi looked at his innocent face—not stupid, but not quite normal either.
Luckily, he looked like a child, and since he recently took care of Zhuang Ai Yi, he could tolerate this level of intelligence.
Lu Weiyi let go of her. Taotao stood up and immediately forgot about being pinned down. He looked toward the snack “mountain.” “Can I eat some? I’ve never eaten before.”
Lu Weiyi was about to say “go ahead,” but worried he might have an alien stomach, so he took out a few snacks. “You can only eat this much.”
“Thank you!” Taotao’s eyes sparkled. “You’re so amazing. I’ve never had anything to eat before.”
Lu Weiyi waved his hand and looked around. From the weapons area, he found the crystal core gun and fired a shot into the sky.
“Bang!” A thousand meters away, Taotao instantly crawled to him, burying his head in his legs, trembling in fright. “Gun… gun.”
Lu Weiyi, disturbed, had no choice but to crouch and pick him up. Taotao hugged his neck. “It’s okay.”
He truly felt no familiar pain or fading consciousness. Taotao peeked at the sky, seeing a fiery dragon burst out and slowly disappear from sight.
He tried calling for grenades and a cannon but still couldn’t get out.
From initial fear, Taotao later even clapped his hands around his neck as if watching some fun game.
Weapons and guns didn’t work. In the end, Lu Weiyi unleashed the only “combat power” he had left—his mental energy suddenly fired out in all directions.
It was as if some invisible barrier was touched and bounced slightly.
Lu Weiyi had a feeling that if he could break through it, he could get out.
Taotao was knocked down to the ground by the surging energy. He got up timidly, hugged his knees, and looked at Lu Weiyi with tears in his eyes—almost falling but not quite.
Seeing this, Lu Weiyi felt a bit guilty.
After all, having a child made it easy to soften one’s heart.
Lu Weiyi took out a pile of snacks for him. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it. Next time…” Seeing Taotao’s eyes instantly widen as if questioning “How can there be a next time?” Lu Weiyi changed his words, “…I’ll let you hide it better.”
Taotao looked at the snacks, then at Lu Weiyi. “Okay, it’s a deal. You can’t lie to me.”
“I won’t lie,” Lu Weiyi said, patting her head.
His ability was limited. The last burst had already exhausted it, and he couldn’t break through. It proved that he needed even stronger mental energy.
Now…
There was only one way left: to level up.
The energy burst during leveling up was the strongest.
Lu Weiyi clenched his palm, determined to give it a try.
