Chapter 421: Xu Yi’s Awakening
The helicopter piloted by Li Zhuang landed directly on the newly built helipad on West Island. As soon as they disembarked, they saw Lin Yimu running toward them from a distance.
Li Qing grinned wide, baring white teeth, and eagerly went to greet him.
But Lin Yimu looked past him toward the cabin and asked, “Where’s the young master?”
“He didn’t come back?”
“He detoured to the Capital Base to pick up personnel. What’s wrong?” Li Zhuang asked with his hands in his pockets, watching as Li Qing helped the passengers off the aircraft.
“Xu Yi suddenly started upgrading. Mingxu told me to wait here for you.” As soon as Lin Yimu finished speaking, Li Zhuang took off running toward the dorms.
He was so fast that Dean couldn’t help exclaiming, “Wow!”
“Not the dorm—he’s in the Central Island villa. This way!” Lin Yimu shouted after him. Li Zhuang immediately changed direction.
“Come on, quick intro,” Lin Yimu turned to the group and said, “I’m Lin Yimu, codename Lone Wolf. I was a comrade of your Colonel Qin Xing. I’ve already been briefed on your situation and have made contact with him.”
“I’ll first take you to your accommodations. Then I’ll assign someone to familiarize you with the base. Once you decide what kind of work you want to do, I’ll help arrange it.”
“Yes, sir!”
The bright, coordinated response brought a small smile to Lin Yimu’s face. “Xiao Qing, you all head back too. And don’t forget to report your ability usage from this trip—we might arrange a second training round soon.”
“Got it, Instructor.” Li Qing watched Lin Yimu dive back into work with a dazed expression. He then turned to Dean, who was curiously looking around. “Come on, Little Dean, I’ll take you back to Central Island.”
After all, Dean and Xu Yi were considered precious assets of the base and always had an escort. They were both self-aware enough never to object.
“Thanks!” Dean instantly perked up. “Hurry, hurry! I want to see Brother Zhuang’s reaction!”
Li Qing looked at the immature kid and sighed, exasperated.
*
When Li Zhuang arrived at Central Island, the team stationed at the villa was already present. Gu Qingyue was even pushing Gu Qingzhi’s wheelchair, standing outside Xu Yi’s bedroom on the second floor.
Zhuang Mingxu stood inside, holding half a bottle of mineral water. Across from him, Xu Yi had already begun absorbing crystal cores.
“How long has it been?” Li Zhuang asked in a low voice.
Hearing the sound, Xu Yi opened his eyes, momentarily surprised.
Li Zhuang raised an eyebrow and said teasingly, “Doctor Xu.”
Xu Yi glared at him fiercely, which only made Li Zhuang chuckle.
“Less than ten minutes,” Gu Qingyue replied quietly.
Li Zhuang nodded and walked into the room. As he passed Xu Yi, he reached out and messed up his neat hair, making it a total mess. Then, ignoring Xu Yi’s angry stare, he plopped down beside him and said, “It’s alright, Doctor Xu—I’m here to guard your upgrade.”
Hearing that, Xu Yi’s gaze gradually calmed. He stared at Li Zhuang silently for a long moment before turning his attention back to absorbing the crystal cores.
As he absorbed more, Xu Yi’s pace gradually slowed. He could feel the growing energy inside his body, building up to an explosive level.
“What’s wrong?” Zhuang Mingxu wasn’t a core user and had no experience. Seeing Xu Yi slow down, he thought something had gone wrong.
Xu Yi swallowed hard and shook his head.
Zhuang Mingxu handed him the bottle. “Drink something.”
By this point, Xu Yi’s mind had basically shut down. He obediently took the bottle and sipped. Whether it was real or just psychological, he felt faint pain all over his body. Not sure if it was real, he didn’t say anything and just kept absorbing.
His body was stuffed full of crystal energy—but it felt wrapped in something hard, something impenetrable. No matter how much energy he gathered, he couldn’t break through. He tried again and again, failing each time, and could only keep absorbing more like everyone else.
He felt like an overinflated balloon, on the verge of bursting, but he knew he couldn’t give up.
His hand, still holding a crystal core, trembled uncontrollably. Tears streamed silently down his face.
A warm body hugged him from behind.
Startled, Xu Yi opened his eyes and saw that at some point, Li Zhuang had sat beside him and pulled him into his lap. With his usual cocky grin, he said, “Doctor Xu, hang in there.”
“I…” Xu Yi tried to speak. His crystal core absorption had slowed to a crawl, and he felt like he’d hit his absolute limit. Looking up at Zhuang Mingxu’s firm expression, he asked helplessly, “Where’s Lu Weiyi?”
Why is it that when everyone else upgraded, he was always there—but now, when I’m upgrading, he’s not?
Everyone silently believed that following the captain during an upgrade guaranteed success.
“He’ll be here soon. Just hold on a little longer,” Zhuang Mingxu gripped Xu Yi’s hand, staring into his eyes. “Xu Yi, hang in there.”
“Do you still remember how the Xu family treated you?”
“They kidnapped you. They wanted people to torture you. They wished you were dead.”
“They destroyed you. Destroyed your life.”
“But now they’re still living comfortably. Don’t you want to survive?”
“You’re an A-rank healer. When you speak, countless ability users will rally behind you. Think about how your uncle begged you.”
“Think about how your aunt repented.”
Xu Yi’s mental state was already fragile. Before long, Zhuang Mingxu’s deep voice had him following his words, step by step.
“They’ll come groveling. Say they were wrong. Say they shouldn’t have ruined your life, shouldn’t have deliberately led you astray. They’ll admit you’re a brilliant child—the pride of the Xu family.”
“You have to live, right? Only by living can you see that day come.”
“Yes,” Xu Yi gritted his teeth and began rapidly absorbing the crystal cores again. “I want to live. I still want to get revenge on them.”
“Why should they get to destroy me and still sleep peacefully at night?” Hatred surged in Xu Yi’s eyes—it became the fuel keeping him going.
But that fury didn’t last more than a few minutes. The more you absorb from a crystal core, the harder it becomes. Among those waiting outside the room, only Dean truly understood what he was going through.
Forcibly absorbing too much creates a feeling like your body is about to explode. But stopping doesn’t help either—the energy continues to swell uncontrollably.
It’s as if no matter what you do, it’s wrong.
He didn’t know if other abilities upgraded like this, but maybe healing powers were just naturally defiant against the heavens—that’s why it was so difficult.
“Xu! Hang in there. Brother Zhuang hasn’t confessed yet. You two still need a long, long future together!” Dean pumped his fist at Xu Yi, cheering him on.
Everyone turned in shock to look at Li Zhuang. For the first time, Li Zhuang felt the urge to curse someone. When he saw Xu Yi so surprised he forgot to keep absorbing, he quickly urged, “Don’t stop!”
“You… like me?” Xu Yi asked in disbelief.
Li Zhuang didn’t answer, only nudging him to focus on the crystal cores.
Xu Yi didn’t ask again. He took the water Zhuang Mingxu handed him, drank two gulps, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath—going for one last push.
The more crystal energy he absorbed, the more his consciousness blurred. He no longer knew where he was or what he was doing. All he felt was endless grievance… like his entire life had been.
“Xu Yi—!”
“Xu Yi!”
Voices echoed in his ears, but he didn’t even register they were calling him until someone began slapping his face.
“The plane is back!”
“Hurry! Go get the captain!”
“He’s coming right now!”
The noisy chatter made Xu Yi’s head ache. But what hurt more was the feeling of something like pliers squeezing his whole body—so tight he could barely breathe.
“Xu Yi, wake up. If you don’t, I’m gonna pinch your butt!”
There it was again. The butt pinching.
That somehow triggered something deep inside—a humiliating reflex—and Xu Yi’s fuzzy awareness suddenly cleared. Tears streamed from his eyes as he cried, “You always bully me! I don’t owe you anything!”
“Why does everyone always bully me?”
“Then wake up. I’ll let you pinch me back.”
“You’re an A-rank healer. You can command countless ability users. You can pinch whoever you want, bully whoever you want. Don’t you want to try? This time, you get to bully others.”
“Bully…” Xu Yi was still in a daze. But the next second, a pair of strong, naughty hands grabbed his butt and gave it a firm squeeze.
A voice whispered by his ear, “Tsk, feels pretty good.”
“You bastard!” Xu Yi opened his eyes and immediately saw Li Zhuang’s serious face. His dark eyes were staring at him intently. And for a moment, Xu Yi could’ve sworn… he looked afraid.
Was he… afraid he might die?
Was there actually someone who feared he would die?
“What the hell are you thinking?” Xu Yi couldn’t hold it back anymore. He growled, “What the hell are you thinking, damn it!?”
Xu Yi could sense that Li Zhuang’s feelings toward him weren’t just platonic. But how could someone like him—someone who’d done so many awful things growing up—be loved?
He didn’t dare imagine it. He wouldn’t allow himself to hope. And yet this man kept doing things that made him misunderstand, only to act like it was all normal.
Footsteps came thudding down the hallway. The crowd parted, and a breathless Lu Weiyi appeared in the doorway.
“How is he?”
Zhuang Mingxu handed him the water bottle. “He drank three times to restore stamina. He might be at the final stage.”
Lu Weiyi took it, tilted his head back for a sip, and tasted peach juice. Without changing expression, he added a bit more liquid and handed it to Xu Yi. “Finish this. Push through. I’ll watch over you.”
Xu Yi didn’t take it. Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked at Li Zhuang. Li Zhuang silently met his gaze.
“What’s going on?” Lu Weiyi asked quietly.
Zhuang Mingxu shook his head.
“Blue Love,” Dean said seriously, trying to explain—which only left Lu Weiyi more confused.
“Xu Yi!” Lu Weiyi grabbed his face and forced him to look over. For the first time, he got angry. “Do you want to die!?”
“Do you want me dead?” Xu Yi asked softly.
“I want you to live,” Lu Weiyi replied firmly. “I told you—the apocalypse is your chance to be reborn. You’ve broken free of everything you couldn’t escape before. Now live well.”
“You’ll have someone who loves you deeply. You’ll have a beautiful child. You’ll be a good father, teaching them how to grow and protecting them from all the pain you’ve endured.”
“Xu Yi, being reborn means moving forward—leaving the past behind and looking ahead.”
Xu Yi stared at Lu Weiyi, who was gripping his face. He had envied this man before. They had both come from hell, but someone had saved Lu Weiyi. No one had ever saved him.
