Chapter 472: A Visit
“Qingqing…” Qin Hai forced out a smile.
The girl ignored him, looked up at everyone, and announced, “She’s dead.”
“Impossible!”
Qin Hai roared in denial. Xu Sa only shrugged, glanced at Liu Rui, who gave him a silent nod.
At that moment, a group of people in matching uniforms appeared outside the gates. The man leading them scanned the courtyard before his eyes landed on Jiang Xin. “We received a report of someone abusing and murdering a healer-type ability user.”
“Perfect timing,” Xu Sa pointed at Qin Hai. “This man beat a healer to death in broad daylight. We all witnessed it.”
“And you are?” the man asked, studying Xu Sa.
“I’m a member of the only squad from Moon Bay Base. I came to collect a body, and I ended up seeing this spectacle. You must ensure this man—who blatantly violated base regulations—is punished severely,” Xu Sa said, his youthful, clean-cut face full of righteous indignation.
He looked young, fresh, and sincere—his sorrow even looked convincing. “This kind of lawless behavior, especially while representatives from other bases are still present, will bring shame to Capital Base if word gets out.”
Though Moon Bay Base wasn’t large, its advancements in tech and abilities were well-known. Hearing Xu Sa identify himself as part of its elite squad, the man’s attitude shifted.
“I’ll investigate thoroughly.”
“Thank you. Let me know if you need anything—I’ll cooperate.” Xu Sa stepped aside to let him in, then turned toward the two children.
“You two.”
Qin Leyang looked up at him, stubbornness masking the panic in his eyes.
Xu Sa stood frozen, his teeth clenched so tightly they creaked, unable to speak.
He knew they were innocent. But who wasn’t?
Just because they shared a few drops of blood, did that mean he had to care for his enemy’s children?
But he also knew—with kids their age, without adult protection, the odds of survival were near zero.
The memories of living in that prison-like hell returned vividly. Xu Sa’s hands clenched until blood dripped from between his fingers.
Suddenly, Liu Rui patted his shoulder. “Sa… Brother Sa… y-you… go… go back.”
Xu Sa turned to him. Liu Rui met his gaze and said seriously, “I-I’ll take care of it… You… don’t… don’t worry about it.”
He gently pried open Xu Sa’s fingers and gave him a small push toward the gate.
Xu Sa looked at him for a few seconds. The timid youth smiled confidently in the sunset, his eyes full of sincerity. He patted his chest as if to prove his reliability.
Xu Sa nodded and turned to leave.
Once he was out of sight, Liu Rui’s smile faded. He looked at the two children. “You… y-you… come with me.”
“Get up,” he motioned, gesturing as he spoke. “Find a… a bottle… a jar?”
Qin Leyang didn’t know what he meant, but he knew he had to obey. He gently set his sister down at Liu Rui’s feet, then ran into the villa and returned a moment later with a cloth sack, from which he pulled out an empty water bottle.
Just as Qin Leyang was about to hand the bottle to Liu Rui, they saw flames suddenly engulf Zhang Bijuan’s body on the ground.
“Mom…” Qin Leyang lunged forward, but Liu Rui grabbed his arm. He shouted, “What are you doing?!”
“Can’t… can’t take her with us,” Liu Rui replied calmly.
Those who had been asking about Jiang Xin’s cause of death turned their attention to the scene. The officer leading the group had already heard from others about Zhang Bijuan’s situation. While he felt a twinge of sympathy for the crying children, there were simply too many pitiful people these days—compassion was a luxury long lost.
He gave the children a few extra glances, then returned to examining Jiang Xin’s body.
Qin Leyang knelt on the ground. His little sister knelt beside him, dazed. She had cried for so long her eyes were red and swollen. Seeing her brother’s silent tears, she moved forward, unsure of what to do, and gently wiped his cheeks, softly calling “Gege” (big brother).
Qin Leyang pulled her into his arms, burying his face in her neck, his body trembling as he finally let it all out.
Under the flames controlled by an S-class ability user, it took less than three minutes for a human body to be reduced to ash—leaving behind only a faint human-shaped outline on the ground.
It was only then that people noticed a glass-like substance had formed on the surface where Zhang Bijuan’s body had lain, preserving the shape and keeping the ashes from mixing with the dirt.
“Go, collect them,” Liu Rui ordered Qin Leyang.
Whether from grief or shock, Qin Leyang’s head trembled slightly as he crawled forward, carefully gathering the ashes into a bottle with both hands. When one bottle filled up, he went to find another.
A living, breathing person—now reduced to less than two bottles of ash.
“Take… take your things… and let’s go.”
While Qin Leyang went inside to pack, Liu Rui said his goodbyes to the officers and quietly led the children away from the villa.
“Do… do you know… what your parents… did?” Liu Rui asked as they walked.
“My mom said… they did something… very wrong to him,” Qin Leyang replied softly.
“Yeah… they ruined his… whole life.” Liu Rui slowed his pace and stammered through the explanation of the long-standing grudge between the children’s parents and Xu Sa. “Doesn’t… doesn’t matter if you… understand or not…”
“You should know… even if he doesn’t… take care of you… it’s justified.”
It was heavy for a child to hear, but kids in the apocalypse grew up fast. At nine years old, Qin Leyang couldn’t grasp the deeper complexities, but he understood the basic meaning.
Holding his sister’s hand, a large backpack on his shoulders, he nodded silently.
“I’ll… I’ll take you… to our base. They… take care of kids… but you’ll need… to work hard later.”
Liu Rui didn’t want the kids to appear before Xu Sa again, so instead of taking them straight to base, he asked the Jin Diao team to arrange temporary shelter for one night.
When he got back, Xu Sa had already returned to his usual calm. He was sitting cross-legged, helping Tao Tao with a craft project. When he saw Liu Rui return, he glanced briefly behind him, but said nothing.
Liu Rui didn’t bring up the kids, but they still had to inform Lu Weiyi—especially since they were planning to leave with him. If the kids were to be taken to the base, the whole team needed to be on board.
“You plan to raise them?” Lu Weiyi thought about the available rooms in the villa. Though it had been expanded, the island wasn’t that big. Housing two more kids wouldn’t be an issue, but…
With Tao Tao and Zhuang Aiyi around, Lu Weiyi wasn’t comfortable bringing in more unstable factors.
“N-no…” Liu Rui waved his hand, “Send… send them to the orphanage.”
Lu Weiyi raised an eyebrow. “Xu Sa’s idea?”
“N-no!” Liu Rui rushed to explain, stammering even more. Lu Weiyi gestured for him to slow down.
“I… I decided. Sa-ge… doesn’t… know.”
Once people are around you, trouble follows—it’s never as simple as saying “I won’t get involved.”
Lu Weiyi was about to respond when Zhuang Mingxu beat him to it. “Fine, bring them if you want. Just make sure everyone agrees and no issues arise later. Don’t end up returning them.”
“Mm. I won’t.”
Zhuang Mingxu asked for details about what happened at the Morning Light Base. When he heard that a healer had been directly killed, he smacked his forehead.
“Look at your teammate—acting like there’s no law,” he said to Lu Weiyi.
“N-no… we… didn’t do it,” Liu Rui tried to explain, but Zhuang Mingxu waved him off.
“Even if you didn’t directly attack her, she was from your base. They could easily twist the story. As long as everyone says the same thing, it becomes your fault. Who’ll vouch for you?”
Zhuang Mingxu sighed. “The worst part is neither of you stayed behind to monitor the situation. You basically handed them the chance to smear your names.”
Liu Rui was too simple-minded to have thought of all that. Xu Sa had been emotionally affected and didn’t catch it either.
Zhuang Mingxu pulled out his phone and was about to call Zhao Qiang when someone knocked on the study door.
“Captain, Officer Zhao from the security team is here to see you. Says it’s important.”
“…” Zhuang Mingxu.
He glanced at Liu Rui and called out, “Coming.”
Liu Rui suddenly jumped up from his seat, rare anger flashing across his face. He turned to storm out, clearly intending to demand justice.
Zhuang Mingxu stopped him and asked in a low voice, “Did he come alone or bring backup?”
Lu Weiyi didn’t get it. “What difference does it make?”
“If he’s alone, it’s just a heads-up, we still have room to negotiate. If he brought a team, then it’s an arrest,” Zhuang Mingxu explained.
Lin Mo didn’t quite understand but still answered honestly, “He’s alone.”
Zhuang Mingxu nodded and looked at Lu Weiyi. “Get ready to send a gift.”
Officer Zhao still held some deference toward ability users. Even though Zhuang Mingxu ran everything in Moon Bay, if something involved ability users, he’d always loop in Lu Weiyi. This time would be no different—they’d need Lu Weiyi to smooth things over.
Lu Weiyi clenched his jaw and nodded.
The two of them stepped out. Unaware of what had just happened, Xu Sa was still inside cuddling Tao Tao, planting a kiss on his chubby little cheek and praising the child for being so smart.
Meeting Liu Rui’s worried gaze, Xu Sa just looked puzzled, especially when Lu Weiyi pointed at him with a tight, warning glare.
Zhao Qiang had already been welcomed into the reception room. When he saw Lu Weiyi and Zhuang Mingxu, even the way they held their teacups froze. Lu Weiyi felt like Zhao Qiang was giving them a look that screamed “Really?”
“Brother Zhao, did you come all this way just to give me a farewell party before I leave?” Lu Weiyi immediately put on a humble, flattering act, politely topping off Zhao Qiang’s tea. “This afternoon, someone from my uncle’s side caught a mutated sika deer and sent some over. Perfect pairing for a drink.”
Zhao Qiang had never seen Lu Weiyi like this. Usually cold and blunt, he didn’t do small talk. Watching him act this way was downright surreal.
“I did hear people say there’ve been sightings of sika deer on the outskirts of the capital—just hard to catch because they’re so fast. Didn’t think you’d be the lucky one to get it, Major Lu.”
