Chapter 12 Cold-hearted Man

**Chapter 12: The Ruthless Man**

Ji An and Tang Ning were horrified. To take down a Level 3 zombie so easily—even if it was a sneak attack—meant this one had to be at least Level 4.

One of them was an ordinary person, the other only an early-stage Tier 2 superpowered. Even if Ji An was skilled enough to control zombies beyond his rank, he could only manage one level above his own—not two.

Even his "petrification" ability would be significantly weakened against high-level zombies, and mind control was virtually impossible.

A zombie dressed in tattered green clothes lurched out of the doorway. Despite its sluggish gait—seemingly slow as a snail—it closed the distance in the blink of an eye.

Despite knowing that mental control was likely futile, Ji An still attempted multiple psychic links. However, the threads of psychic energy he projected from his mind hit an impermeable barrier upon reaching the Level 4 zombie’s brain, unable to penetrate.

"Graaah!" The Level 4 zombie let out a beast-like roar, launching itself into the air with claws slashing toward Ji An and Tang Ning.

Tang Ning was too focused on fleeing to notice the attack. Ji An slammed a kick into her side, sending her rolling across the ground until her head struck a rock, knocking her out cold.

By the time Ji An tried to dodge, the zombie’s claws were already inches from his skull. He could almost feel the excruciating pain of his brain being torn open, death breathing down his neck.

He couldn’t die!

Ji An thought of the scientific career he had devoted his life to but had been denied in his past life, and the so-called "love" between that despicable couple. He refused to die like this.

Perhaps because of the flood of thoughts, his head pounded like a war drum, as if his brain was swelling to the point of rupture. His temples pulsed violently, and the sound of rushing blood roared in his ears.

"Ah!" Ji An screamed in agony, feeling as though his head had exploded.

Unbeknownst to him, a storm of psychic threads erupted from his mind, intertwining and weaving into a dense, enormous net that enveloped his entire body.

The Level 4 zombie’s sharp claws struck the net, shattering its claws instantly. Blood dripped from the broken tips, and its wrist bent at a sickening angle, as if it had slammed into an impenetrable wall.

Before Ji An’s mind could process what had happened, his body reacted instinctively. His machete buried itself in the zombie’s skull. At the same time, a lightning bolt—from nowhere—struck, illuminating the entire underground base.

The lightning carried immense power, incinerating the Level 4 zombie on the spot, leaving behind only a pile of charred ashes and a gleaming crystal core that silently dropped to the ground.

Ji An crumpled, spent. His head pounded like a war drum, throbbing with overexertion, threatening to split open. Nauseous and dizzy, he lay weakly on the ground.

Gritting his teeth, he lifted his head slightly, catching sight of a figure standing against the fading glow of the lightning.

Even in a hazmat suit, the man’s towering height—around 190 centimeters—was unmistakable. His frame was lean yet powerfully built; even under loose protective gear, the bulging muscles beneath were evident.

He stood out starkly among his oddly-shaped teammates, like a god among grunts.

A group of superpowered individuals accompanied him, one of whom exclaimed, “Holy shit—a live psychic? And looks like a third-tier!”

Ji An was a wreck. His hazmat suit was torn from battle, his face mask and goggles long lost. Lying helplessly on the ground, he squinted against the blinding light, looking like a cornered animal—broken yet beautiful, tugging at both pity and darker impulses.

"A third-tier psychic? That's rare. What’s he doing here alone?" A no-nonsense woman’s voice cut in.

The only two who could answer—Ji An, who was too pained to speak, and Tang Ning, unconscious in a corner—remained silent.

The man crushed the zombie’s ashes underfoot, closing the distance to Ji An.

Stopping just a step away, he knelt, grabbing Ji An’s chin with a gloved hand and forcing him to meet his gaze.

Perhaps due to the high wattage of the lighting equipment brought in by these superpowered, even from the corner of his eye Ji An could clearly see the man's eyes hidden behind the protective goggles.

Cold, ruthless, dangerous.

Being scrutinized up and down by such eyes made Ji An’s skin crawl. He tilted his head slightly, breaking the man's hold.

"Boss, what are you doing?" A loudmouth voice suddenly shattered the tense and peculiar atmosphere between the two.

Ji An recognized this voice—it belonged to the person who had earlier called him out as a level-three psychic superpowered.

Ji An had no idea how the man had pegged him. Normally, as long as he didn’t use his psychic control or 'petrification' skills in front of others, no one should have been able to tell.

When they had first arrived, he hadn’t used either of those abilities. As for what had happened to him, he was still figuring it out himself.

And wasn’t he supposed to be a level-two superpowered? Why had this man called him level three?

Before he could ponder further, the owner of that voice appeared in front of Ji An. Standing half a step behind the man, he crouched down in the same posture and stuck his big head between Ji An and the man, tilting it innocently. "Boss, you looked like you were shaking down some innocent dude just now!"

"Shut up! If you don’t know how to talk, then don’t!" A woman strode over, putting him in a headlock and dragging him away from Ji An and the other man like a ragdoll, creating distance between them.

The atmosphere instantly shifted from inexplicably tense to straight-up ridiculous.

Yet the man crouching in front of Ji An might as well have been blind to it all, his expression unchanging.

His deep, dangerous eyes remained fixed on Ji An as he spoke, "I saved you."

The man’s voice was smoky, as cold and detached as his demeanor, yet unexpectedly pleasant to the ear.

"I know," Ji An replied. Even if the man hadn’t shown up, his earlier slash would’ve done the job splitting open the zombie’s skull, though it might have taken more effort and complications. Still, the man had helped, and Ji An wasn’t about to stiff someone.

He had never been the type to disregard kindness. Retrieving the level-three crystal core he had obtained earlier from his spatial superpower, along with the spatial and healing cores Tang Tang had hidden in the space—though these were only level one or two—he put them all on the table.

At the sight of the cores materializing in Ji An’s hand, the loud voice butted in again.

"Wow, this level-three psychic superpowered is actually a dual-class superpowered! He’s also awakened spatial superpower!"

This was followed by the woman’s sharp rebuke. "Shut it! No one thinks you’re mute if you don’t talk!"

The scolded man looked aggrieved.

Ji An ignored the exchange, holding out his hand. "These cores are for you, as thanks for saving me."

The man glanced down briefly before returning his gaze to Ji An’s face. "Too low."

The man was sparing with words, but Ji An understood—he wasn’t impressed by the low-level cores.

Ji An had actually killed quite a few zombies before this, but most of the cores had gone to Chen Chen and himself. The level-three core was the only one worth anything he had left.

On second thought, offering a level-three core and a few low-level ones in exchange for a life-saving favor was kinda weak. Still, even without the man’s help, he had it covered. These cores were more than enough as gratitude for the man’s intervention.

Whatever. The man hadn’t seen the full picture—he’d arrived at what looked like a critical moment and assumed Ji An was helpless. Might as well play along.

"I have tons of gear. I can give you gear instead," Ji An added.

The man’s tone was flat, giving nothing away. "Do you think I lack supplies?"

Of course not.

Someone who could casually summon a lightning superpower strong enough to effortlessly obliterate a level-four zombie wouldn’t be hurting for supplies.

However, in the apocalypse, supplies are hard currency. Using them as thanks is the most sincere way to show gratitude.

For some reason, Ji An had an instinctive feeling that the man was up to no good. He almost angrily said to his savior, “Then what do you want?”

The man didn’t speak, just stared Ji An down with those pitch-black eyes.

Ji An grew flustered and angry under that gaze. He pushed himself up from the ground and sat upright. “This is all I have. Take it or leave it.”

“Mr. Ji!” While Ji An and the man were locked in a standoff, Tang Ning woke up. She thought she wouldn’t wake again, but when she opened her eyes, she found herself in a room full of people with abilities—and the one who looked the strongest was locked in a tense confrontation with Ji An.

Tang Ning scrambled over and helped Ji An up. “Are you okay?”

She anxiously checked him from head to toe, relieved to see he was just worn out from fighting and had overused his psychic ability.

“Are you two together?” A cold male voice asked, with a hint of irritation.

Tang Ning suddenly felt a chill shoot up from her feet to her spine.

She turned and saw the man’s dangerous gaze finally shift from Ji An to her. His icy stare was like a predator lying in wait—full of lethal intent, ready to strike at any moment.

“Yes,” Tang Ning replied. She couldn’t think of anything she’d done to provoke him. Assuming it was just a leader’s presence, she steeled herself and answered, “We’re together. During the fight with the zombies earlier, Mr. Ji pushed me out of the way to save me, and I accidentally hit my head on a rock and passed out.”

As she spoke, she touched the back of her head, where a painful bump had formed. But compared to her life, it wasn’t a big deal.

The man’s demeanor turned even frostier as he examined Tang Ning, his look filled with disdain and disapproval.

Suddenly, he stood up, ignoring Ji An and Tang Ning completely, and turned to wave someone over.

“Boss, someone must’ve been here before us and cleaned out everything—not even a scrap left. It’s worse than a locust plague,” a voice chuckled behind them. “But we cracked open the brains of those zombies outside and got lots of cores. There were even several Level 3 Zombie Cores.”

“Those zombies were all hunted by us!” Tang Ning quickly interjected. She had worked so hard to kill them and didn’t want to lose the rewards—especially not so many Level 3 Zombie Cores. They could be exchanged for a lot of supplies, enough to last her a long time.

Unfortunately, no one paid her any attention. The man simply tapped the floor with his foot, signaling his subordinate to grab the Level 4 Zombie Core.