Chapter 292: Zhao Qiang
The hot water on the table had turned cold.
He glanced at the time. Five minutes left.
“No more waiting. Let’s go,” Lu Weiyi said, getting up. Just then, the door opened and Zhao Qiang walked in.
“Apologies, something urgent came up with the team,” Zhao Qiang said as he gestured for someone to bring fresh tea. Seeing that Lu Weiyi looked ready to leave, he checked the time. “I’m not late, am I?”
He wasn’t.
Lu Weiyi had never been stalled like this before, and it annoyed him.
Zhuang Mingxu, however, was used to it—back in the business world, if your position wasn’t strong enough, you’d see every kind of attitude.
He pulled the obviously displeased Lu Weiyi back into his seat and took the initiative to exchange pleasantries with Zhao Qiang.
Lu Weiyi closed his eyes and folded his arms, turning away.
After a few sentences, Zhao Qiang got to the point. “Captain Meng said you have something to discuss that concerns my life…”
He fixed a cold, oppressive gaze on the two of them, his expression making it clear they’d better have something serious to say.
Zhuang Mingxu wasn’t intimidated. He remained polite and asked, “Have you gathered enough plant-type crystal cores to upgrade, Chief Zhao?”
Zhao Qiang narrowed his eyes and smiled. “What, do you two have more plant-type cores to sell?”
“Not quite,” Zhuang Mingxu said, bluntly rejecting the idea.
Zhao Qiang’s expression darkened—he felt like they were messing with him.
“We can ensure you survive the upgrade process,” Zhuang Mingxu said seriously, shedding his friendly demeanor.
Zhao Qiang’s eyes flickered. He studied Zhuang Mingxu and couldn’t detect any lies. After a moment, he smiled.
“You say even your own upgrades are fraught with danger, yet you’re here offering me empty promises?” Zhao Qiang’s face turned cold, and he enunciated each word slowly: “Mr. Zhuang, are you playing games with me?”
“Does our team’s strength look like we’re constantly in danger?” Zhuang Mingxu replied lightly.
Zhao Qiang’s gaze swept over Zhuang Mingxu before finally settling on Lu Weiyi. He probed, “You didn’t notice that Captain Lu encountered problems during his upgrade and was on the brink of life and death?”
As the words fell, Zhuang Mingxu’s calm expression stiffened. He sharply turned to look at Lu Weiyi.
He opened his mouth to speak, but forcibly swallowed the words.
“Heh.” Zhao Qiang sneered. “So you really didn’t know. Makes sense. You’re just an ordinary person—it’s normal you couldn’t tell.”
“But Captain Lu, didn’t you feel anything? Your core must have a problem, right?”
“I used to think you didn’t seem like the type who could endure hardship. Now I take that back. Being able to endure pain like your brain is about to explode and still maintain basic composure—it’s impressive.”
Zhao Qiang’s words hit Zhuang Mingxu right where it hurt. The usually composed man couldn’t maintain his calm.
“So… gentlemen, what right do you have to threaten me with my life?”
As soon as he finished, Zhao Qiang’s ability activated. The small room was instantly surrounded by earthen walls. The windows vanished, and darkness enveloped them. In the fading light, Zhuang Mingxu saw countless earthen spikes rapidly forming, heading straight toward them.
He quickly reached toward Lu Weiyi, but just as his hand grasped him, the earth walls suddenly crumbled and light returned to the room as if nothing had happened.
Except for the loose, thigh-high circle of soil on the ground—and Zhao Qiang, now collapsed on the floor.
“You—”
Zhao Qiang coughed and spat out blood, eyes full of caution as he looked at Lu Weiyi.
Lu Weiyi hadn’t moved from his seat the entire time. He only opened his eyes and looked at Zhao Qiang, devoid of any emotion.
Like a killing machine.
At that moment, Zhao Qiang realized: aside from his disarming appearance, there was nothing surprising about this man being capable of anything under those eyes.
Once he felt the pressure lift, Zhao Qiang collected himself and stood back up.
“Because you’re weak,” Lu Weiyi replied to his earlier question.
“You’re an S-rank ability user?” Zhao Qiang ignored the insult and asked. Without waiting for an answer, he continued, “No, that’s not right. I’ve seen S-rank zombies. Even if I didn’t fight them, they wouldn’t be taken down in one move.”
“You’re SS-rank?” Zhao Qiang stared at Lu Weiyi in shock.
Lu Weiyi didn’t respond. He stood up. “When you upgrade to S-rank, I’ll protect you once.”
He pulled the still-reeling Zhuang Mingxu toward the door, leaving a final reminder: “You know what to do.”
“Wait.” Just as they reached the door, Zhuang Mingxu grabbed Lu Weiyi’s arm and turned to Zhao Qiang. “How did you know he had a problem upgrading?”
“I heard when you were upgrading to A-rank, your emotions were unstable…”
“Yeah,” Zhao Qiang didn’t hide it. “I nearly died back then. My head was splitting constantly, and I needed an outlet.”
During that upgrade, things were already going south. Rumors spread that he wouldn’t survive, and some in his team started getting ideas.
But after narrowly surviving, they tried to strike when he was still unwell. Despite the pain, Zhao Qiang had cleaned house and purged his entire force.
Since then, though there were rumors he might not make it through the next upgrade, no one in the Guard Squad dared say a word, let alone betray him.
“How did you get through it?” Zhuang Mingxu studied Zhao Qiang.
“It takes technique,” Zhao Qiang said, turning to Lu Weiyi. “You feel the energy in your brain running wild, darting everywhere, like it’s going to burst out any moment, don’t you?”
Lu Weiyi didn’t respond.
But Zhuang Mingxu knew him too well. Just a flicker in his eyes was enough. He asked bluntly, “How do you control it?”
“I need to know what rank you are,” Zhao Qiang said.
“You already guessed,” Lu Weiyi replied.
A flash of excitement lit up Zhao Qiang’s eyes. “How did you upgrade? I’ve been pushing myself to the limit with crystal cores and constant training. How can anyone surpass me like this?”
“You want to know?” Lu Weiyi smiled faintly, and with his pale face, the expression looked a bit sinister.
“Yes,” Zhao Qiang answered without hesitation.
He added, “I’ll tell you how to control the energy.”
Lu Weiyi shook his head. “You know why I came to see you.”
Zhao Qiang stared at him for a moment. “You’ve already figured out how to control it?”
Lu Weiyi didn’t answer.
“Makes sense. Otherwise, with energy that chaotic, you wouldn’t be able to use your ability properly,” Zhao Qiang murmured. “You want me to stop working with the Zheng family?”
“Or turn to support your side instead?”
By now, Zhuang Mingxu had regained his composure and naturally took over the conversation. “That depends on how much your life is worth, Captain Zhao.”
Zhao Qiang said nothing. Zhuang Mingxu pulled Lu Weiyi along and left the office.
The two remained silent all the way back to the villa. Once there, Zhuang Mingxu pulled Lu Weiyi directly into the bedroom.
“I’m fine,” Lu Weiyi reassured him before he could ask.
Zhuang Mingxu nodded, said nothing, and after settling him in, went to find Cong Qing.
Before long, Cong Qing returned with a group of medical staff and equipment.
“I’m having you checked,” Zhuang Mingxu said firmly, his tone leaving no room for refusal.
Lu Weiyi didn’t resist and was placed on the exam bed.
As various devices were attached to his head, the doctors began calibrating the machines.
Standing by the bed, Zhuang Mingxu held his hand tightly. Lu Weiyi noticed his hand tremble ever so slightly—yet his face was steady, not nearly as shaken as it had been in front of Zhao Qiang.
He suddenly remembered that moment right after he had been rescued—when they were returning to Qingyuan together and were ambushed, falling under the bridge.
Lu Weiyi gently traced the back of his hand with his fingers, offering comfort. “It’ll be fine.”
It sounded like a promise.
Zhuang Mingxu’s throat tightened, and he couldn’t utter a single word.
The doctor applied a transparent substance to Lu Weiyi’s forehead, and as the probe moved across his brow, a small, hard object gradually appeared on the monitor screen.
Zhuang Mingxu stared unblinkingly at the screen. As the doctor zoomed in, the cracks on it became increasingly clear.
The doctor cautiously turned his head toward the two of them.
“Speak,” Zhuang Mingxu’s voice trembled slightly.
“This gentleman… the core inside his body shows signs of fracturing…”
“Can it be repaired?”
“Sorry, our research in this area is limited.”
“What about a healing-type ability user?” Zhuang Mingxu pulled the now-sitting Lu Weiyi into his arms.
“In theory, yes. After all, abilities are essentially forms of energy, and the core is their vessel. Healing-type powers are a kind of energy that can repair,” the doctor paused mid-sentence and looked at them. “Back when Captain Zhao’s core developed cracks, they had already experimented with a healing-type ability user,” he said, pausing again. “It’s not that it didn’t work—it’s that healing-type powers couldn’t even get close.”
“This position is the core of a person’s ability. It naturally defends itself from external energy contact.”
“If we can overcome that defense, can it be repaired?” Zhuang Mingxu caught the implication in his words.
“In theory, yes,” the doctor replied.
“Then we can start by experimenting on a removed core—”
Zhuang Mingxu stopped mid-sentence when the doctor shook his head. “Once the core—whether from a human or zombie—is removed from the body, the energy stops functioning. It’s like…”
The doctor thought for a moment and gave an analogy, “Like an organ in the human body—once removed, it dies. It’s the same concept.”
“Healing-type abilities have no effect on dead objects.”
Zhuang Mingxu’s mind raced with possible solutions.
Lu Weiyi glanced at Qi Lin standing by the door and motioned for him to escort the doctors out.
Once they were gone, Lu Weiyi finally looked at Zhuang Mingxu and said, “It’s fine. I had already planned to integrate the core into my body after leveling up. This just sped it up a bit.”
“What do you mean?” Zhuang Mingxu frowned.
“Everyone knows an ability user’s core is located at the center of the forehead, which makes it vulnerable. If it’s fused into the body, it becomes much safer.” In his previous life, toward the later stages, ability users commonly converted their cores into dispersed energy throughout the body to prevent malicious people from extracting them.
