Chapter 277: SS Takes Action
Seeing they were surrounded, the leader said they were acting under Lu Xiao’s orders. The Zhuang family members all knew things were about to be exposed, though they weren’t sure what went wrong.
Old Master Zhuang and Zhuang Chengye exchanged a glance and struck first, “General Lu, even if you don’t want to carry out the mission, you don’t need to bring troops to besiege the Zhuang family. What is this? Are you rebelling?”
Lu Xiao laughed coldly, “Rebel? You really think you’re some kind of local emperor?”
His words made the few people with him furrow their brows.
One middle-aged man with a weathered face and thick eyebrows, resembling Crayon Shin-chan, said, “Old Lu, let’s talk this through. We’ve been comrades for many years. There’s no need to make things come to this.”
Lu Xiao looked at him with pity, “Old Sun, wait until you see the people from your unit who’ve been taken for human experiments before you talk about talking.”
Then Lu Xiao threw a tablet over. “And you, Major Liu,” he said to another man behind him.
These three men were now the pillars of the Zhuang family’s power. Without these two involved, Lu Xiao could easily take down the family.
As he said, they were comrades, and he didn’t want to turn his guns on his own unless absolutely necessary.
Zhuang Chengye’s expression changed. He stepped forward to snatch the tablet but, although a military man of high rank, his physical condition had deteriorated over the years, especially after the apocalypse, and he wasn’t as strong as frontline soldiers.
Captain Sun glanced at him suspiciously, quickly took the tablet, and opened it. A video appeared, and he clicked play immediately.
A scream followed.
Captain Sun and Major Liu’s faces changed simultaneously.
“This is… Mobai?”
“And that next to him… that’s Wang Xing?”
“It’s Liu Yaowen!”
The video was edited, showing members from both their units who had mysteriously “died,” including footage of them being injected with drugs and screaming in pain. Some couldn’t withstand the drugs and were covered with white cloths and disposed of casually.
Where was this?
What happened to them?
These people had gone missing during a mission, the entire squad lost. Multiple searches found no trace, and they assumed they were dead. They never expected to see them here.
Captain Sun’s face darkened, his rough voice shouting, “Lu Xiao!”
“Don’t look at me. The real culprit is behind,” Lu Xiao said.
Zhuang Chengye hadn’t expected Lu Xiao to act so directly with video evidence.
This effectively killed any excuses they could make.
Lu Xiao was clearly out of control now. If the two men in front also betrayed them…
Zhuang Chengye was momentarily at a loss. He looked back at Old Master Zhuang and Third Master Zhuang.
At this moment, Major Liu and Captain Sun had finished watching the video.
The man’s eyes burned as he turned to the Zhuang group. “Old Master, don’t you have anything to say?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Can you show me what this is?” Old Master Zhuang’s expression was calm, revealing no abnormality.
This composure earned Lu Xiao’s respect. As a descendant of a founding general, he remained unshaken even if the whole house was collapsing. Lu Xiao had to admit he was outmatched.
Captain Sun handed over the video. The Old Master fast-forwarded through it, then looked sternly at Lu Xiao. “General Lu, where did you get this video?”
“My son was taken for human experiments. I found out when I went to rescue him,” Lu Xiao said without mentioning Lu Weiyi’s name. His face grew cold. “Old Master, you don’t know about this?”
Old Master Zhuang shook his head. “I’m also looking for the fourth son. The villa he lives under mysteriously collapsed, and a huge space appeared beneath it, as if it was hollowed out.”
Lu Xiao snorted, “A tunnel so close, built right under your own villa, and you tell me you don’t know?” His tone suddenly turned harsh, carrying the fierce aura of someone who had fought on the front lines for years. “Old Master, who are you trying to fool?”
Old Master Zhuang’s expression remained unchanged as he looked at Lu Xiao. “General Lu, I know you’re unhappy with the frequent missions and that a group of ordinary people is commanding you, a supernatural ability user. If you want to take control of the Zhuang family, I won’t say much. In this world, the capable rise high. If you have the ability and want to advance, that’s understandable. But using such an excuse to slander the Zhuang family—aren’t you being unfair?”
Old Master Zhuang spoke firmly, “Our Zhuang family has served in the military for generations. Our ancestors were founding generals. We absolutely will not allow anyone to throw this kind of dirt on us.”
This rebuttal was well-aimed, and Lu Xiao was even amused by it.
Old Master Zhuang was clearly trying to pin all the blame on Zhuang Mobai, distancing the rest of the family. Especially since everyone in the videos was Zhuang Mobai; none of the other Zhuang family members appeared in the underground lab.
At this moment, saying they had no connection was somewhat reasonable.
Captain Sun and Major Liu were unsure who to believe, seeing Lu Xiao had nothing further to say.
Lu Weiyi, who had been silent the whole time, was standing but seemed weak. He swayed slightly and leaned on Lu Xiao.
Lu Xiao immediately pulled him close, worriedly asking, “Xiao Yi?”
“I’m fine,” Lu Weiyi said weakly, sounding feeble.
He looked expressionless at Old Master Zhuang and said calmly, “Let’s talk inside.”
After saying that, he ignored everyone else and walked into the villa by himself.
Passing by Old Master Zhuang, the old man seemed to want someone to stop him, but Lu Weiyi just slightly turned his head and said, “Who told you Zhuang Mobai is dead? If you really want to confront him in front of everyone, I can help make it happen.”
This time, Old Master Zhuang was the one left speechless.
Everyone around silently watched Old Master Zhuang. No one stopped Lu Weiyi as he floated through the group toward the door.
Xia Mingzhi stood at the door, unyielding, slightly raising his head to look at him with a rebellious attitude.
Whether he had skill or not was unknown, but he had learned the family’s arrogance perfectly.
Lu Weiyi was somewhat curious. As an illegitimate son raised away for over ten years, where did he get such confidence?
Xia Mingzhi stood opposite him, refusing to yield.
Lu Weiyi walked slowly up to him. Just as they were about to collide, a strong burst of the Five Elements power suddenly surged toward Xia Mingzhi. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Xia Mingzhi was lifted into the air, thrown into the house, and hit his head on the coffee table with a loud “bang,” losing consciousness.
“Xiao Ming, Xiao Ming, what’s wrong with you?” Xia Xiaorong’s voice came anxiously, crying, “Cheng Li, come quick, look at our son!”
She pulled a handful of blood from the back of Xia Mingzhi’s head, her scream doubling in volume.
“Quiet,” Lu Weiyi whispered. “I told you I hate mistresses and illegitimate children flaunting themselves in front of me. Do you have no sense or are you testing your place in the Zhuang family after being hidden for over ten years?”
He glanced lightly at Zhuang Chengli, who took a few steps forward then stopped.
The room fell silent except for Xia Xiaorong’s quiet sobbing. Lu Weiyi slowly settled onto the sofa.
Old Master Zhuang who followed inside ordered the butler to take Xia Xiaorong and Xia Mingzhi downstairs before sitting opposite Lu Weiyi.
Captain Sun and Major Liu followed closely behind, blocked by several Zhuang family members but forced their way in.
Lu Xiao sat beside Lu Weiyi, with Captain Sun and Major Liu standing between the two sides.
Old Master Zhuang silently stared at Lu Weiyi with a dark expression, just like when news of Zhuang Mingxu’s death was reported back to the base in a previous life. He spoke deliberately, “If I had known you were such a disaster, I would have killed you no matter what back then.”
At that time, Lu Weiyi hadn’t recovered from the shock of Zhuang Mingxu’s death. He silently listened as they absorbed Zhuang Mingxu’s remaining squad, ignoring promises to Zhuang Mingxu and forcing him out.
“The video was already sent to all the hunter guild teams. They should be surrounding Luo Qi by now,” Lu Weiyi said in his usual calm tone. Others might hear strategy in his voice, but he felt little emotional fluctuation.
“Do you think no one knows about the plan between the Zhuang family and Luo Qi?” he asked Old Master Zhuang.
Old Master Zhuang’s eyes flickered but showed no outward sign. However, Lu Weiyi’s sensitive perception of abilities detected his slightly irregular breathing.
Lu Weiyi continued, “Whether your people know or how many were involved, Zhuang Mobai is your family. He and Zhuang Chengye conspired to capture the only members of my squad and took them to the lab.”
“If your family is involved, I assume you are all participants,” Lu Weiyi said slowly, eyes closed, pressing his temples repeatedly. “I’m not here to ask if you are involved. I’m here to tell you…”
He opened his eyes, his gaze sharp for a moment, speaking deliberately, “I’m here to seek justice for my squad.”
“Pfft,” Zhuang Chengye suddenly laughed out loud, tearing off all pretense. “Why should you?”
He spoke only halfway before suddenly feeling what Xia Mingzhi had felt moments ago—they had arrived too late to see what happened and assumed Lu Xiao, who followed Lu Weiyi closely, was responsible.
An invisible force suddenly struck Zhuang Chengye’s abdomen fiercely, sending him flying into a wall. He fell to the ground, coughing up half a mouthful of blood.
Lu Weiyi leaned back on the sofa, looking weak and sickly. He closed his eyes again without opening them at all. “With my power, I could kill all of you right here, yet I’m leaving you a way out.”
This sudden declaration stunned everyone in the living room, freezing them in place.
“Dad, Dad, what’s wrong with you?” The voice of Zhuang Mingwu came from upstairs, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps descending. He quickly knelt down on one knee beside Zhuang Chengye and gently helped him up.
His eyes were fiery, glaring angrily at everyone present. “Who among you attacked my father? How dare you lay hands in the Zhuang family? Who gave you the guts?”
As soon as his words fell, an invisible force grabbed his neck.
