Chapter 14 Show-off Freak

Chapter 14: The Tryhard

Chen Chen’s otherwise decent face twisted with rage. Sitting in the passenger seat, Song Pengcheng, already seething over Ji An's theft of the base's supplies and their failure to find him at the capital base, finally snapped.

As a superpowered with enhanced strength, he flung the car door open, stepped out, and slammed it shut with such force that both sides of the door buckled inward.

Before the apocalypse, this had been a luxury car worth over a million yuan—something Song Pengcheng, an ordinary worker, couldn’t afford in two lifetimes. Now, it was ruined by his own tantrum. A pity, but honestly, Song Pengcheng felt a perverse thrill.

It was as if he’d finally avenged his pre-apocalypse self—the timid wage slave scolded by bosses, watching rich playboys swap women like socks while he couldn’t even get a girlfriend. Song Pengcheng never blamed himself for his lack of romantic success; it was always the women’s fault.

They were all gold-diggers, blind to anything but money, incapable of appreciating a decent man like him.

Fuming, Song Pengcheng stormed toward Gu Jinsheng, bellowing, "I’ll rip your tongue out for that mouth of yours! Remember this—you can eat crap, but you can’t talk crap!"

Chen Chen remained motionless in the driver’s seat, watching coldly as Song Pengcheng played the bully, his eyes filled with disdain for Gu Jinsheng.

Song Pengcheng reached the front of the car and swung his fist down hard onto the hood.

His plan was simple: intimidate Gu Jinsheng first, then drag the trembling man out of the car and beat him senseless. It was the kind of cat-and-mouse game he’d grown fond of since awakening his powers.

But this time, Song Pengcheng had picked the wrong opponent. As his fist reared back for the strike, Gu Jinsheng, expressionless, lazily extended an arm through the open window.

He didn’t even bother to look, merely flicking a dismissive finger toward Song Pengcheng. A Thunder Dragon, wrist-thick and crackling with electricity, split the air with a roar before slamming straight into Song Pengcheng.

The moment it struck, Song Pengcheng convulsed violently as if electrocuted, his body jerking uncontrollably. Choked gurgles escaped his lips, his eyes rolled back, and his hair stood on end.

Gu Jinsheng scoffed, retracting his finger. The Thunder Dragon vanished.

Song Pengcheng collapsed to the ground, unconscious, twitching sporadically—no one could tell if he was alive or dead.

Chen Chen could no longer stay seated. Abandoning his detached act, he rushed out to check Song Pengcheng’s pulse and breathing. Other superpowereds from the car behind them also emerged to assess the situation.

Song Pengcheng was still breathing, but the lightning had seared through his body. Even with a superpowered’s enhanced recovery, injuries this severe would take at least a month to heal.

And that was just the surface damage—who knew how badly his internal organs were injured? Fortunately, their base had a healer superpowered. Even if the damage ran deep, he might recover quickly.

The healer Chen Chen had in mind was Tang Tang. He still didn’t know both of her abilities were fake.

After Ji An took back the necklace, Tang Tang had only confessed her spatial ability was fake, leaving her healing power unmentioned.

Chen Chen hadn’t asked—mostly because he couldn’t bear the thought that both her abilities were lies.

Now, gritting his teeth, he lifted Song Pengcheng, thinking how rare healer superpowereds were. Most had flocked to major bases, so having one in their backwater base was a blessing.

"You’ve crossed a fucking line!" Chen Chen glared at Gu Jinsheng. Someone who could effortlessly take down a top-tier Rank 2 superpowered like Song Pengcheng was undeniably fearsome. But pride demanded he stand his ground, maintaining the dignity of the base commander.

Then, through the windshield, his gaze landed on Ji An—sitting behind the driver’s seat, watching everything unfold with stone-faced indifference.

Chen Chen froze. Then rage detonated in his chest.

He couldn’t believe Ji An could be so heartless. Stealing the base’s supplies was one thing, but to watch impassively as his former comrade was struck down?

"Ji An!" Chen Chen roared. "Ji An is in your car! You lied about not seeing him! What, are you picking a fight with the Third Base?"

Gu Jinsheng remained expressionless, not even bothering to react to Chen Chen’s provocation. Without wasting words, he raised his hand and summoned another Thunder Dragon.

The moment it struck, Chen Chen realized the lightning overwhelmed him. He was utterly outmatched.

He had tried to counterattack, but Gu Jinsheng’s lightning obliterated his efforts.

Poor guy, Song Pengcheng—already dazed from the lightning strike—was now caught up in Chen Chen’s mess and struck half-dead once again.

Kong Zhongcheng rolled his eyes dramatically and quietly muttered to Ji An, “The boss is flexing again. You know shaping lightning into a dragon takes psychic energy too. Normally, he just zaps people with a basic lightning bolt to save power. No clue what’s up with him today—he’s putting on this flashy show.”

Wan Xueying, sitting in the front passenger seat, scooted away from Kong Zhongcheng to avoid getting caught in the blast when he inevitably got zapped.

Ji An noticed the lightning dragon hesitate briefly mid-air, its power dimming for a moment. Then, as if enraged, it surged back even more violently, roaring as it charged toward the convoy of cars behind Chen Chen’s team.

As it flew, the dragon spat out orbs of lightning, striking one car after another until all four vehicles in Chen Chen’s group exploded on impact.

Some of the cars still had people inside—luckily, they jumped out just in time, or else they’d have been zapped to death. Even so, a few were slightly injured, though compared to Song Pengcheng and Chen Chen, their wounds were nothing but minor.

“Commander Chen! Commander Chen!” Someone rushed over and helped Chen Chen up, calling his name repeatedly.

Chen Chen, after all, was a top-tier third-level superpowered being. Despite his serious injuries, he quickly regained consciousness, holding onto a sliver of awareness.

Wan Xueying leaned out the window, sweet as pie, and asked in a sugary tone, “So, can we go now?”

She thought Chen Chen wouldn’t mouth off again—but instead of answering her, he ignored her completely and turned his gaze straight to Ji An inside the car.

Chen Chen could barely speak without coughing up blood, yet he still managed to gasp out, voice trembling, “A-An… are you really this cruel? Seven years surviving hell together, seven years in love… do you really feel nothing at all?”

With that sentence alone, he coughed up even more blood. The superpowered ally helping him was moved by his devotion, shooting daggers at Ji An like he was scum, clearly itching to get revenge for Chen Chen.

At the same time, everyone in the vehicle turned to look at Ji An—including Kong Zhongcheng in the driver’s seat.

In the apocalypse, romantic relationships between men weren’t unusual anymore; they’d long become commonplace.

The real shocker was the revelation about Ji An’s past with Commander Ji Jian of the Third Base!

Gu Jinsheng, who had barely spoken a word since meeting them, finally asked bluntly, “You two had a thing?”

Ji An didn’t answer, but Gu Jinsheng seemed to find his own answer in the silence. Then, inexplicably, he pulled off his protective suit and goggles, revealing a face like a damn Greek statue.

Gu Jinsheng wasn’t pretty-boy handsome—his features were sharp, his bone structure striking, his presence unapologetically striking.

His handsomeness was bold, bold, and impossible to ignore.

Ji An stared for a second, momentarily dazed. As much as he thought this guy might be insane, he couldn’t deny how stupidly hot he was.

“A-An,” Chen Chen pleaded weakly, “come back. Return to the base, to my side. I’ll forget the past.” Worried Ji An might hesitate, he added, “Don’t worry—I’ll smooth things over with the base. Just come back. I can’t lose you!”

Ji An stared coldly at him. It wasn’t *him* Chen Chen didn’t want to lose—it was the Space Necklace and the supplies inside.

Before, Ji An’s psychic energy had been completely drained, leaving him powerless. But after several days of rest, it had fully recovered.

Not only that—his psychic ability had leaped three tiers, skipping straight to early-stage Level 3 Psychic.

Ji An had always been capable of cross-tier control. Now that he and Chen Chen were evenly matched, he could attempt to mind-control him.

But outright control wasn’t satisfying. He didn’t want Chen Chen dead—not yet. He wanted him to suffer slowly.

Instead, Ji An decided to slip a mental command into Chen Chen’s mind—a new skill unlocked with his Level 3 Psychic ability.

Chen Chen was already staring straight at him, making the mind-game effortless.

He leaned slightly forward, locking eyes with him just as intently. Ji An's pupils were inky black, and as Chen Chen gazed into them, it felt like staring into the depths of a vast, dizzying night sky.

The starry sky was beautiful—countless twinkling stars shimmered at him, and he was lost in its dizzying depths.

Dizzier and dizzier, Chen Chen’s eyes began to glaze over, his gaze losing focus, turning dull and vacant.

Ji An’s cold voice echoed throughout Chen Chen’s entire world: “Your superpower will never advance again in this lifetime. Forever, until death, you will never become a Level 4 psychic. Do you understand?”

“No, I don’t want…” Whether it was due to Chen Chen’s strong mental resistance or his overwhelming desire to ascend to Level 4, his mind bucked like a wild horse, fiercely resisting.

Chen Chen struggled so intensely that he nearly broke free from Ji An’s mental control. It wasn’t until Ji An redoubled his efforts, burning through the last remnants of his power, that he gradually regained control, calming Chen Chen down.

Like a broken marionette, Chen Chen replied, “I understand.”

Upon hearing this confirmation, Ji An immediately released his mental grip. Then, his entire body slumped backward, only prevented from collapsing by the quick reflexes of Kong Zhongcheng, who caught him. Soaked through with sweat, his forehead slick, he looked as if he had just been pulled out of water.

At the same time, Chen Chen also snapped back to alertness. Ji An hadn’t erased his memory—Chen Chen remembered everything.

In disbelief, Chen Chen demanded, “A An, you actually implanted a mental compulsion in me!”

“You just recovered your mental reserves, yet you dared to exhaust them again. You’ve got a death wish!” Kong Zhongcheng blurted out almost simultaneously, then added, “But honestly, you might be the most formidable psychic I’ve ever seen. You actually managed to curse someone above your level!”

Kong Zhongcheng shook his head and sighed, “People can mess around with anything—hell, even play with shit and piss—but never mess with emotions.

It drives them to madness, capable of anything.

Never advancing again? That’s way crueler than just putting a bullet in someone. Fucking terrifying!”

Chen Chen had never imagined Ji An’s psychic powers were this formidable—capable of planting a mental suggestion on someone above his level.

Even more unbelievable was that Ji An would subject him to such a vicious mental compulsion. This was the apocalypse—no one understood the significance of superpowers better than Ji An.

Everyone’s abilities were advancing, even the zombies were evolving. If his own superpower stagnated forever, how could he survive in this world? How could he maintain his position as the base commander?

Only now did Chen Chen truly begin to unravel. “Ji An, how could you fucking do this to me? Didn’t you swear I was your goddamn everything, that no matter what happened, you’d always protect me?

And you awakened psychic powers—such powerful ones at that—why didn’t you tell me?”

Had he known earlier, he would have made different choices.

With Ji An’s formidable psychic abilities, securing his position as Third Base commander would’ve been a cakewalk.

Ji An, lying in Kong Zhongcheng’s arms, didn’t respond. He was running on empty. Torching his power twice in a row had left him barely able to endure, his skull pounding like it had been cracked open.

The front door opened, and Gu Jinsheng stepped out of the car. His sudden appearance startled Chen Chen, who had looked half-dead just moments ago, snapping back to life as if fearing an attack. He stumbled backward several steps.

But Gu Jinsheng didn’t even spare him a glance. Instead, he yanked Kong Zhongcheng out of the car, took his seat, and pulled Ji An into his arms.

Confused, Kong Zhongcheng asked, “Boss, aren’t you always the one driving on missions?”

Wan Xueying smacked him on the head. “Just drive when told! Shut your trap!”

With no choice, Kong Zhongcheng slid into the driver’s seat with a grumble. This time, no one dared to stop them as the car sped away, kicking up a dust storm behind them.

Standing at the front, Chen Chen and the others choked on the grit, doubling over coughing—Chen Chen coughed up blood, splattering the ground.