Chapter 299: Instigation
Antonio looked eager to join, but when he saw Dean beside him, he hesitated and stayed put.
“Then I’ll go make up the numbers,” Lin Mo said, playing with the metal in his hands. He glanced at Liu Yang and Lin Tian—one was fire, one was water, one highly offensive, the other suited for the current environment.
The three followed the others and stepped into the rain.
“If you want to go, go ahead,” Dean curled up in Antonio’s arms. With his petite frame, he looked like a child next to Antonio’s bulk.
“No, baby, you’re more important,” Antonio kissed his forehead and turned to Zhuang Mingxu. “I’ll let them go.”
Zhuang Mingxu looked back at him, and Antonio shrugged.
He was referring to the matter with the Zhuang family. Earlier, Lu Weiyi had asked the old man of the Zhuang family for someone, but things had kept coming up and it had been pushed to the back burner.
It dragged on until now, and no one else really cared anymore—only Antonio had held onto it. Now he finally brought it up.
As soon as he said it, Zhuang Mingxu understood what he meant, and didn’t stop him. But with Dean’s sudden upgrade, even if Antonio had gone out, there probably wasn’t enough time to do much.
“Then I’ll have them released,” Zhuang Mingxu said. The Zhuang family members were still detained by Lu Xiao’s people in the villa. They weren’t starving or mistreated, but they had no freedom.
Antonio waved his hand indifferently and went back to whispering sweetly to Dean.
*
Lin Mo caught up to Xu Sa’s group within minutes of leaving. A similar water shield hovered above his head, like an invisible umbrella for the group.
While he had acted indifferent in the villa, Xu Sa fell silent once they were outside. He didn’t say a word, and the others didn’t dare break the silence.
They walked quietly for a while until a seven-seater vehicle pulled up. The window rolled down and Meng Huan poked his head out. “Master Xiao sent me to guide you.”
They got in, and Meng Huan quickly drove them to a remote part of the villa grounds.
“This place is huge. There’s even an area this remote?” Ning Yuan looked out the window, trying to judge their location.
“It’s not small. Every semi-powerful team here has taken a villa,” Meng Huan replied, carefully navigating the road. Seeing his difficulty, Ning Yuan used his power to clear a corridor through the rain for the next several dozen meters.
“Thanks,” Meng Huan let out a sigh of relief and continued, “This place is essentially like the elite circle from before the apocalypse. Some teams might not live here, but they definitely have at least one property in the area.”
That was also the reason why Zhang Bijuan was able to get straight to the villa earlier—otherwise, just getting through the entrance inspection wouldn’t have been possible for an average person.
Judging by the location, Ning Yuan had more or less figured out the status of Morning Light Squad. He glanced at Xu Sa, who was silently staring out the window, and sighed inwardly before looking away.
In just a few minutes, the vehicle pulled up in front of a villa.
Everyone quietly waited until Xu Sa exhaled heavily and took the lead in opening the door. Only then did the others move.
The closed villa door was opened directly by Lin Mo using his powers. The rain was blocked off, and the six of them strutted confidently into Morning Light Squad’s villa.
The villa had a similar structure to others. Inside, it was noisy—children playing, adults shouting, even the sound of arguments.
Despite the loud entrance, no one seemed to notice them for a while.
Standing at the entrance, even Ning Yuan found it surprising how carefree this group was. He cleared his throat lightly, and only then did someone finally glance over.
“Who are you people?” a middle-aged man asked. The noise on the first floor instantly died down, leaving only the children’s chatter, too young to understand the situation.
“How did you get in?” someone else asked, poking their head out to check the gate but saw nothing due to the heavy rain.
“Heh.” Xu Sa chuckled and confidently sat in the center of the sofa.
The others respectfully stood behind him, appearing like his subordinates.
Sensing something was off, everyone began acting cautiously, quickly gathering the children and retreating with the women to the corners of the room. Soon, only a few men were left standing in front, eyeing them warily.
“Call Qin Hu and Qin Zhifei down here,” Xu Sa said unhurriedly.
The man who had first spoken looked Xu Sa up and down, whispered something to a nearby person, and someone immediately ran upstairs.
“You’ve trespassed—” someone started to speak again, but the man in front shot him a sharp glare, silencing him.
Apparently, he had recognized Xu Sa.
Xu Sa lowered his eyes and smiled faintly. His androgynous face struck a familiar chord among those present.
Until—
Zhang Bijuan came downstairs with the Qin father and son.
Those in the living room exchanged glances and instantly confirmed Xu Sa’s identity.
“Sa-sa…” Zhang Bijuan seemed sick from the rain, her face pale. Seeing Xu Sa, she burst into tears, her voice frail and sorrowful.
“Don’t cry,” Xu Sa said gently. Qin Hu, hearing that tone, was just about to relax when Xu Sa continued, “Mr. Qin isn’t dead yet. Save your tears for when he is.”
“Sa-sa…” Zhang Bijuan’s expression stiffened for a moment.
“You look like you need a damn lesson. Didn’t kill you last time, and now you—” Qin Zhifei hadn’t taken Xu Sa and the others seriously at all. Especially since Xu Sa hadn’t responded to his provocations a few days earlier, he assumed he had the upper hand.
As he was cursing and thinking the men downstairs were useless, a fireball flew toward Xu Sa.
Liu Rui waved his hand, and the fireball fell to the ground before it could get close.
Then Xu Sa smiled at Qin Zhifei, and a bolt of lightning struck down from the sky, hitting him squarely. Qin Zhifei convulsed and collapsed, his words cut off mid-sentence.
“Xiaofei!” Qin Hu, who had been silent, cried out and tried to rush over, but saw the electricity still crackling around his son’s body.
He pushed Zhang Bijuan hard, trying to prompt her to speak. But she was ill and couldn’t withstand the force from a powered man. She fell to the floor.
“Mom!”
“Mom, are you okay?!”
The two children’s voices rang out, followed by the sound of their small footsteps on the stairs.
“Lele, don’t come down!” Zhang Bijuan cried out in tears, looking up at her little daughter standing hesitantly at the top of the stairs, afraid she would fall.
A moment later, the older boy came down quickly and ran to Zhang Bijuan, trying to help her up while calling out to his father, “Daddy, Daddy!”
In the chaos, Qin Hu turned to Xu Sa and calmly asked, “What do you want?”
Xu Sa leisurely looked at him.
This man, who had once stood above him, treated him like trash, as if going to prison for his son was something to be proud of.
Now his hair had turned white—it seemed life after the apocalypse hadn’t been kind.
“You people changed my life. Today, I’m going to change someone else’s life in return,” Xu Sa said lightly. “Between you and him, only one of your powers gets to remain.”
“You choose.”
It was no different than forcing someone to die. Qin Hu gritted his teeth and glanced at Zhang Bijuan, hoping she might mediate.
But Zhang Bijuan said nothing. She just clutched her son and remained silent.
“Even if there’s a grudge between us, don’t you care about your mother?” Qin Hu tried to negotiate.
“My mother died when I was eighteen,” Xu Sa replied with a smile, though his eyes had turned cold.
“The death you believe happened and actual death—there’s a difference,” Qin Hu said, glancing at the woman beside him. “If you destroy our powers today, have you thought about how she’ll live from now on?”
“That was her choice,” Xu Sa said, looking at Zhang Bijuan for the first time, “You gave birth to me. I paved the way for you. You chose them. Now you must bear the way they treat you.”
“People have to take responsibility for their own choices, don’t they?” Xu Sa asked softly.
“Yes,” Zhang Bijuan replied, kneeling on the floor, tightly hugging her son. For the first time, she dropped the pitiful act and answered seriously, “I accept it.”
“If you resent and hate me, I deserve it. If I die here today, would that make up for what happened back then?” Zhang Bijuan asked.
Her eyes locked on Xu Sa, blazing with determination, as if waiting for his confirmation—ready to follow through the moment he said yes.
Xu Sa knew she was serious. She was a strong-willed woman. Even if she used unscrupulous means, she still wanted to preserve her dignity.
Her current life was simply trampling all over her bottom line. The fact that she had endured it until now was already a miracle.
“Whether you die or not, the father and son must pay the price,” Xu Sa looked emotionlessly at his mother, who was again using her life to threaten him for the sake of those two men.
“But… if you really want to die here, that’s fine too,” Xu Sa smiled as if he had thought of something amusing. “If you die now, I’ll wipe out the entire Qin family and bury them with you. How about that? Let those two little ones be buried next to you.”
“Don’t worry, I checked with the Capital base—killing only requires compensation in supplies. And I have plenty to pay with.” Xu Sa added, smiling sweetly as he looked at Zhang Bijuan. He watched the determination in her eyes pause when she saw the innocent gaze of the child in her arms.
“Make your choice.” Xu Sa stopped her from acting on her thoughts and turned to Qin Hu. “One minute. If you don’t choose, both of you go.”
“Dad, I’ll take care of you in your old age. I’ll grow the squad bigger and better…”
“Dad, I’m still young. If I lose my powers, I’ll die. Dad…”
Although Qin Zhifei had been released, weak currents of electricity still coursed through his body, making him feel like he was being electrocuted, restricting his movements—let alone using his powers.
He clung to Qin Hu’s leg, crying and pleading, which reminded Qin Hu of how he had knelt the same way after killing someone, begging for forgiveness…
Qin Hu closed his eyes. For the first time, he wondered how he had raised such a son.
He bent down and hugged his son. Just as Qin Zhifei breathed a sigh of relief, he was pushed away.
Xu Sa looked on as Qin Hu said, “Take his powers.”
“Dad—!”
Qin Zhifei shouted in disbelief as he saw Qin Hu turn away from him in silence.
