Chapter 454: Revenge
Though he said nothing on the surface, that very night, Xu Miao contacted a mole the Xu family had planted long ago, planning to quietly bring Xu Yi back to the Hope Base.
“Doesn’t your base already have a healing-type ability user?”
“That’s someone from my team,” said Su Yan, who had been pretending to sleep.
It wasn’t someone from his own base, after all—using them always came with strings attached and the occasional cost.
At the start of the apocalypse, when Xu Yi was still with the Xu family, they were a dominant force at the base. Other powers often had to yield. But after Xu Yi’s disappearance and the reconstruction of the base, the Xu family had lost much of its influence.
Lu Weiyi glanced at Xu Sa, who took the cue and deactivated his ability. Xu Miao, now a snotty, tear-streaked mess, was helped to his feet—still twitching involuntarily. He looked like he was having a seizure.
“Even if you had managed to bring Xu Yi back, how exactly were you planning to make him obey you?”
Zhuang Mingxu found Xu Miao’s delusion laughable. But as he asked, he noticed Lu Weiyi awkwardly rubbing his nose, and both Su Yan and Xu Sen glanced in Lu Weiyi’s direction.
He immediately realized Lu Weiyi had something to do with this situation too.
Thinking back to when Li Zhuang was injured and Lu Weiyi returned all excited about finding a healer, then remembering how Xu Yi had acted when they met again—it all made sense now.
Zhuang Mingxu coughed lightly. “Where is Xu Yi now? Where did you take him?”
“I already had someone bring him back in advance, so he should be—” Xu Sen’s words were cut off by the sound of a car approaching and stopping at the villa gate.
Li Zhuang got out first, followed closely by Xu Yi. Trailing behind was the driver and an unconscious man, whom Li Zhuang casually tossed toward the courtyard with a thud.
Despite being tied up for half a day, Xu Yi strode in with an arrogant gait, barely sparing the Xu family members a sideways glance. He even paused beside them with a sarcastic smirk.
Xu Sa quietly filled Xu Yi in on what had happened. Everyone’s eyes were now on him.
“You’re still going to keep your promise, right?” Xu Yi asked Lu Weiyi.
Lu Weiyi stood up and stepped aside. Zhuang Mingxu, seeing this, also stood and said, “Since this is a family matter, you should handle it yourselves.”
“You mean… you’re not getting involved?” someone behind Xu Sen asked tentatively.
Everyone inside the villa immediately turned their eyes to the two people standing beside Xu Yi. Lu Weiyi crossed his arms and ignored them, yawning until tears welled up in his eyes. Zhuang Mingxu chuckled—no one could tell if it was out of mockery or agreement.
Xu Yi, now sitting with those two no longer shielding him, was suddenly struck by how exposed he was, facing a dozen people alone. He turned to seek help from Lu Weiyi—only to find Li Zhuang had sat down in the seat Zhuang Mingxu had vacated.
Instantly emboldened, Xu Yi declared, “Alright then, tell me—whose man is this?”
He pointed to the still-unconscious person on the ground.
“He’s from the old—”
“He’s from the family,” Xu Sen cut off Xu Miao coldly with a sharp look, silencing him on the spot.
He turned to look at Xu Yi, his face as gentle as ever. “Knowing you’re still alive, the family will definitely be very happy.”
“Happy?” Xu Yi chewed over the word, then burst into a giggle that sounded a little deranged in the darkness. He stood up and walked toward Xu Sen, circling the people around him. “Happy because they can lock me up again? Or happy because they get to stab me a few more times for fun?”
“Is it thrilling to watch me heal myself?” Xu Yi leaned close to Xu Miao and asked softly, his voice eerie like a ghost. “And then you get to pretend it’s all for helping me improve my ability—makes you feel all noble and important, doesn’t it?”
As the words left his mouth, Lu Weiyi, who had been half-asleep, fully sobered. He looked over at Xu Sen, momentarily speechless. They hadn’t even changed their methods—exactly what he’d warned them about back then, they had followed to the letter. If the group hadn’t splintered after the flood, once Xu Yi had strengthened his powers on his own, the Xu family would’ve paid dearly.
Thinking of this, Lu Weiyi remembered that Xu Yi’s ability was practically useless in combat. From the start, the two healers in the base had been guiding his power for him, spoon-feeding him how to use it. He had never even had the chance to think about how to protect himself.
“This wasn’t our idea—Xu Yi, you’re being…” Xu Sen didn’t finish his sentence. He suddenly felt an invisible pressure descend over him. Nothing visible, but the mental weight was real and undeniable.
His eyes subtly scanned the room and finally settled on Lu Weiyi, who was smiling at him. The man even made a courteous gesture, signaling for him to continue.
Xu Sen swallowed hard. He had tried to stir up some discord, hoping others would share Xu Yi’s anger. But clearly, no one else was willing to carry that burden.
“I was going to let you all go,” Xu Yi said with a pitying look at Xu Miao. He walked lightly toward the unconscious man on the ground, patted his cheek. When there was no response, he clicked his tongue—and before anyone could react, he stabbed the man with a knife.
“Ah—!” With a scream, the unconscious man jolted awake. Not understanding the situation, his years of apocalyptic vigilance kicked in and he tried to manipulate the earth beneath him to escape.
But as he reached out with his ability, he realized nothing was responding. It was as if his powers had been cut off.
“Xu Yi, I’ll f—” Xu Miao roared and moved forward, but was blocked by Li Zhuang, who suddenly appeared in front of him.
“You…” The man on the ground stared at Xu Yi in panic, looking around and slowly realizing what was happening.
Xu Yi grinned at him and calmly pushed the knife in again. As the man screamed and struggled, blood splattered over Xu Yi’s face. The drug in the man’s system left him weak, and he began dragging himself away inch by inch.
Xu Yi didn’t rush. Like a predator stalking prey, he followed slowly, stabbing him again and again. The air filled with the smell of blood, and the man left a long, smeared trail as he crawled.
His screams turned to whimpers, then pleas for help. Eventually, he started crawling toward Xu Sen.
Xu Sen shut his eyes tightly, gritted his teeth, and looked to the three leaders of the Capital base. “Aren’t the three of you going to do something?”
Lu Xiao acted like he hadn’t heard. Zheng Yi and Zhao Qiang looked instead to Lu Weiyi—who was now sleeping in Zhuang Mingxu’s arms like he had no idea what was happening.
The fact that they hadn’t left the room showed clearly enough where their support lay. Their silence only proved that this was all within their tolerance.
“I’m taking revenge on someone who kidnapped me—why should anyone interfere?” Xu Yi spoke up on behalf of the two who had nothing to say.
“You want to save him?” Xu Yi asked, not even waiting for Xu Sen to answer before stabbing the man directly in the chest. He stared at Xu Sen while twisting the knife. The man wheezed a few dying breaths, convulsed, and then fell still.
The man died in front of the Xu family’s eyes, causing unrest among them.
“Xu Yi, we’re still family—”
Someone had just started to speak when a dagger flew straight at them. Xu Sen activated his ability, stopping the blade in midair just before it struck. The few people in its path stumbled backward in fear. No one dared say another word.
“Don’t you f***ing talk to me about ‘family’!” Xu Yi snarled, casting a vicious glare at them. He grabbed the suspended dagger and yanked it back.
Once everyone had fallen silent, he turned to Xu Miao. “Your turn.”
“How do you want to die?” Xu Yi asked.
“Heh, me die? Xu Yi, you must’ve forgo—” Xu Miao didn’t get to finish. Li Zhuang, still standing in front of him, lifted his leg and kicked. Xu Miao flew through the air and slammed into the wall, collapsing it and getting buried in rubble.
“Keep it down. You’re making my ears ring,” Li Zhuang said casually.
Xu Sen clenched his fists so tightly that blood dripped to the ground. This scene was no less than a thousand slaps to his face.
While others rushed to dig Xu Miao out, Xu Sen forced himself to remain calm. He turned to Xu Yi and asked, “What will it take for you to let him go?”
Still high off Li Zhuang’s kick, Xu Yi looked like a kid who had just gotten a favorite toy—gleeful and merciless. He thought for a moment and replied seriously, “Cut off all ten of his fingers, chop off one arm, break a leg, and give me some crystal cores for the trauma. Then I’ll let him go.”
Seeing Xu Sen’s expression darken, Xu Yi walked up to him and stared into his eyes. “Those are all things I went through in the Xu family. But I guess the noble young master has forgotten, hasn’t he?”
Xu Sen was silent for a long time. Then he turned and walked toward Xu Miao.
“Master…”
“Captain, you can’t—”
The others had just dug Xu Miao out when they saw Xu Sen forming a metal blade in his hand. They wanted to stop him but couldn’t find the words.
“Blame Xu Miao for being too arrogant,” Xu Sen said grimly. They had no choice. Xu Yi was now an A-level healer. Who knew what else the Half Moon Bay base would tolerate on his behalf? Today it was Xu Miao—tomorrow, it might be their entire team.
Just as Xu Sen was about to act, Xu Yi casually reminded him, “Young Master Xu, don’t get the order wrong.”
Xu Sen’s knife paused. He then signaled for someone to hold down the unconscious Xu Miao. With one slash, accompanied by a blood-curdling scream, all ten of Xu Miao’s fingers fell to the ground.
Xu Miao began to struggle violently. Flames erupted around his body, forcing the people holding him to let go. Still, two of them had their clothes catch fire, and chaos ensued as they scrambled to extinguish it.
“Ah… ahhhh—”
Xu Miao held up his mangled hands in front of his chest, unable to tell which finger hurt the most.
Xu Yi watched calmly, as if recalling something. His gaze showed a flash of fear.
