Chapter 25 I Don’t Like Being Wronged

**Chapter 25: I Hate Being Framed**

Gu Jinsheng glanced at Ji An. "What do you plan to do?"

Ji An hadn’t expected Chen Chen to offer half the Third Base’s stockpile in exchange for him.

Then again, the resources he had were far more valuable than that—plus the Space Necklace was a priceless treasure.

Besides, Chen Chen had already accused him of stealing half the base’s supplies. Now that they lacked spatial storage, they couldn’t even retrieve half the warehouse contents themselves. If someone discovered this, they’d have no way to explain it. So offering it up in exchange for him made sense—it covered their lie and got them back what was theirs.

Pretty clever move.

Kong Zhongcheng said, “Chen Chen’s got no shame. Why’s he so hell-bent on coming after you?”

“Maybe because of the spatial storage?” Ji An replied.

“They know you can craft spatial storage?” Kong Zhongcheng asked pointedly. “And yet they still treated you like crap?”

“No,” Ji An shook his head. “They don’t know yet. Do you remember when I first came to the base, I mentioned taking back my necklace before leaving? That was the Space Necklace. Everything I’ve researched since depended on it.”

Ji An chose to reveal part of the truth. Since his rebirth, his goal had never been to hide the necklace’s secret—but to create something just like it, so the necklace wouldn’t stand out.

“So that’s it,” Kong Zhongcheng realized. “Chen Chen still doesn’t know spatial storage can be made. He thinks it’s one-of-a-kind, which is why he’s trading half the base’s stockpile for you.”

Zhou Qin sneered. “Gaining a pebble but losing a gem. You can make your own spatial devices—who’d risk offending you over something you can just recreate?”

Wan Xueying sighed. “With someone like him running Third Base, that place is screwed sooner or later!”

The group instinctively felt Ji An was hiding something, but none of them brought it up. In the apocalypse, everyone had secrets. And treasures belonged to whoever found them. They weren’t the type to drool over shiny things.

“Since they’ve already pinned this on me, I’d be wasting their slander if I didn’t retaliate,” Ji An said, already forming a plan.

“Whatever you’re planning, I’m with you. It’s not safe going alone,” Gu Jinsheng said.

Ji An looked at him. “Alright.”

That night, two figures, bundled head-to-toe, slipped into Chen Chen’s room.

On the bed lay a man and a woman side by side—Chen Chen and Tang Tang.

Ji An’s eyes gleamed with scorn. He’d known that even if these two had nothing going on when he left, something would happen after he was gone.

Tang Tang’s spatial and healing superpowers were gone—she needed protection. Who better than Chen Chen, the base commander?

As for Chen Chen’s motives? Lust, maybe. Or Tang Tang’s dual powers. Or a mix of both.

Truthfully, Ji An had expected to find Tang Tang in bed with Chen Chen. She wouldn’t miss such an opportunity. All she had to do was act helpless—saying she feared sleeping alone with her weakened powers—and Chen Chen would bite.

"Don’t look," Gu Jinsheng moved to cover Ji An’s eyes, but Ji An dodged.

"I’m past caring," Ji An said flatly. After seeing so much as a ghost, he’d long moved on. He’d accepted that Chen Chen had never loved him as much as he once believed.

"Wake them up," Ji An whispered.

Gu Jinsheng and Ji An stepped forward, each clamping a hand over a mouth, rousing the pair.

Tang Tang went to shriek, but Ji An silenced her with a tight grip.

Chen Chen, however, stayed calm. He knew these two weren’t here to kill them. Their skills—sneaking in without triggering his senses—meant their powers outclassed his. If they wanted him dead, they could’ve done it while he slept—without a trace.

Waking him up secretly now—they must want something.

Chen Chen’s mind raced, and he quickly thought of Zhou Qin.

It was highly likely that Zhou Qin had been tempted. During the day, in front of so many officials, he couldn’t openly agree—selling out the base residents' safety for personal profit would end his career. He'd be finished as Deputy Commander.

Now, he must have come secretly to negotiate.

Thinking this, Chen Chen soon calmed down and slightly moved, gesturing for Gu Jinsheng to take his hand off his mouth—he wouldn’t make a sound.

Gu Jinsheng let go, and Chen Chen spoke calmly, even deliberately lowering his voice to whisper, "What's your business here tonight?"

Tang Tang went still when she heard Chen Chen.

Ji An changed his voice, putting on a shrill tone. "I know you're after a spatial storage device."

At the mention of "space," Chen Chen's eyes went razor-sharp.

"No need to panic. What you're after is right here." Ji An took out a Space Necklace he had made as an exact copy of his own. At a glance, they were identical—no one could tell the difference.

Chen Chen’s expression changed the moment he saw the necklace. Of course, he recognized it—it had once hung around Tang Tang’s neck day and night, paraded around for everyone to see.

Beside him, Tang Tang started breathing hard, excited at the sight of the necklace.

Ji An handed the necklace to Chen Chen. "You can check if it's the one you're looking for."

The necklace had always been used by Tang Tang, so Chen Chen had never handled it before. Tang Tang assumed Chen Chen would let her inspect it and naturally reached out to take it—but Chen Chen grabbed it first.

Though Chen Chen had never used it before, he got the hang of it after fiddling with it for a second. However, to his disappointment, the supplies inside were gone.

This, Chen Chen could understand. Once the secret of the space was exposed, no way they'd leave the supplies alone. As long as the spatial treasure could be recovered, that was enough.

To confirm the necklace’s authenticity, Chen Chen tried storing a bedside ornament inside and then retrieving it.

He succeeded—this was indeed Tang Tang’s former necklace.

For some reason, witnessing this familiar sight, Tang Tang suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of unease, as though something was about to change.

"What do you want?" Chen Chen’s eyes lit up with hungry ambition. With this, even if he was injured, nobody at base would challenge him.

Not only would they rely on him for gathering supplies outside the base, but even if they were forced to migrate due to disaster or conflict, the base’s resources would still need him to store them.

"Seventy percent of the Third Base’s warehouse supplies," Ji An stated bluntly.

Chen Chen hissed through his teeth. "You've got some nerve demanding that much?"

"Not at all," Ji An replied. "If I took this spatial treasure elsewhere, I could get far more. But that’s too risky. There are only two of us—we can’t fend off every scavenger and their mother. We don’t want to be killed and robbed before we even get to enjoy it."

Ji An’s words were half-truths, and Chen Chen was somewhat convinced.

"In this apocalyptic world, you take your pleasures where you can. My brother and I just want to grab enough supplies to get all the women and booze we want. No point clinging to a treasure while grinding out supply runs like common laborers. Trading it for a lifetime of endless supplies—now that's living. Who knows if we'll even see sunrise tomorrow?"

Ji An added, "Besides, I’m a spatial superpower user myself. This trinket's nothing special to me."

As he spoke, Ji An made the trinket vanish again, then pulled it back out.

That sealed it for Chen Chen. "Fine. I agree to the trade."

Ji An said, "Don't take this wrong, but I don't trust you. I’ll be taking my cut personally."

"Alright."

Chen Chen called up his two right-hand men, and the group slipped out of the capital base under cover of night.

As soon as they were clear of the gates, Ji An pulled two cars from his spatial ability. Chen Chen couldn’t help but feel suspicious, so Ji An lifted his chin proudly. "Hey, I’m a superpowered with spatial abilities—two cars is nothing."

Chen Chen thought it over and agreed. Even though there were a few others in the capital base with spatial powers, they were still rare—and well-treated. For someone like Ji An, getting two cars wouldn’t be hard at all.

To keep the group in line and discourage any bad ideas, Gu Jinsheng demonstrated his wind-based power along the way. A massive whirlwind tore through even a peak Tier-3 zombie, turning it into meat slurry. The sight left Chen Chen and the others completely intimidated, no longer daring to think of rebellion.

Chen Chen had sneaked out secretly, and he returned the same way—especially since this time he was bringing people back to steal from the base.

Ji An kept Chen Chen walking ahead of the group. Returning to familiar ground stirred mixed feelings in him—hard to describe.

The warehouse was guarded by one of Chen Chen’s trusted men. When Chen told him to scram, the man didn’t ask questions or demand paperwork—he just left.

Chen personally unlocked the warehouse for Ji An and his companion. "Make it quick. Dragging this out risks exposure."

But Ji An stayed put. Arms crossed, he smirked. "I remember Commander Chen had broadcasted to every base worldwide that your supplies were stolen by a superpowered individual. But judging by how full this place looks, I don’t see signs of any theft."

Chen Chen’s face darkened. "None of your business. Just take what you came for."

"Call me curious," Ji An shrugged. "And I want the truth—I’d hate to get dragged into some messy situation without knowing what’s going on. If Commander Chen isn’t willing to play straight with me, we’re done here."

Chen Chen’s eyes narrowed dangerously. "That’s not your call!"

Ji An wasn’t fazed. He leaned back casually. "I wouldn’t try anything if I were you, Commander. One loud shout and the whole base will know something’s up. Then your little secret’s out."

He smiled sweetly. "I can guarantee my buddy and I will escape just fine. But can you say the same for your position? And what about that Space Necklace of yours—its secret won’t stay hidden either."

Chen Chen’s face went pale. "That person stole from my private stash. Happy now?"

"Fine," Ji An chuckled. "I just don’t want any drama. You could’ve said so earlier, Commander."

In seconds, Ji An had packed away the goods. The warehouse lost seventy percent of its stock in the blink of an eye.

Once everything was secured, Ji An eyed the near-empty space warily. "Commander Chen, this was a clean deal—my Space Necklace for seventy percent of your supplies. You won’t go around saying I stole them after I leave, will you?"

"No." Chen Chen’s patience was clearly gone. "I’ll blame it all on that traitor Ji An. I’ll announce publicly that he was the thief."

"Good," Ji An nodded. "We couldn’t care less who takes the fall—as long as it doesn’t land on us."

Just as they were about to leave the warehouse, Ji An suddenly said to Gu Jinsheng, "Give us a minute. I need to talk privately with Commander Chen and the lady beside him."

Gu Jinsheng knew the history between Ji An and Chen Chen. He assumed Ji An might have something to say—or perhaps plant a mental suggestion. He nodded. "I’ll be right outside. Call if you need me."

"Got it," Ji An replied.

Now that the Space Necklace was in his possession, Chen Chen had no patience left. "What do you want to say to me?"

The moment Chen Chen met Ji An’s gaze, his expression turned blank.

"You will never speak of the Magic Spring inside the Space Necklace," Ji An whispered, voice barely audible. "If you do, your mind shatters, and your brain bursts."

Chen Chen responded slowly, almost robotically. "Don’t… know… Magic Spring."

Ji An paused, then realized—Tang Tang, out of selfishness, hadn’t told Chen Chen everything. She’d only mentioned the spatial power.

"Alright, now forget about the Magic Spring, and forget that I ever asked you about it. Just now, nothing happened—we took the supplies and left."

Chen Chen replied slowly, "Okay."

"Brother Chen, what are you two talking about?" Tang Tang had been watching them whisper with their backs turned to her, speaking too softly for her to hear, which made her suspicious.

"Now you're very sleepy and will doze off standing up. No matter what happens, nothing will wake you until a minute passes. Then you'll forget everything you were asked."

"Okay."

By then Tang Tang had walked over and asked again, suspiciously, "What are you talking about?"

Ji An suddenly turned his head. Tang Tang, caught off guard, met his eyes. Threads of psychic energy seeped from Ji An's pupils, flooding into Tang Tang's eyes and burrowing into her brain.

"You won’t be able to tell anyone about the Magic Spring in any way, or you’ll suffer a mental collapse and die from your brain exploding."

Tang Tang resisted weakly, but only for a moment before Ji An suppressed her completely.

"Yes."

"When you wake up, you won’t remember me planting this suggestion. Someday, it’ll hit you that you can’t talk about the Space Necklace or the Magic Spring with anyone."

"Yes."

Ji An slowly stepped out of the warehouse, severing the mental link. Tang Tang snapped awake, disoriented for a second before shaking it off. "Brother Chen..."

"Let's go." Ji An rejoined Gu Jinsheng, and the two quickly left Third Base. To lose anyone tailing them, they took a long, winding route.

Gu Jinsheng asked, "Did you record everything?"

"Yeah." Ji An plucked a tiny pinhole camera from his clothes—common before the apocalypse but now a rarity. Still, in a place as vast as the Capital Base, tracking one down—or cobbling one together—was no trouble.

As he removed the memory card, Ji An suddenly found it amusing. Love had blinded him to what was right in front of him.

Now, free from that love, everything became clear.

Chen Chen would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.

From start to finish, his focus had only been on the Space Necklace—never even asked about who’d owned it before.

With the necklace’s secret exposed and stolen, what would happen to the person who’d had it?

Not even a “Did they survive?”—nothing to show for all their time together.

Nothing. Not one damn word.

Before the apocalypse, Chen Chen hadn’t seemed like this. When had the man he’d shared a bed with turned into this cutthroat schemer?

Ji An had missed it completely.

Gu Jinsheng watched Ji An, his gaze inscrutable. "Truth like that? Worthless."

Ji An knew Gu Jinsheng was referring to the whole charade just to make him confess.

"I don’t like being framed..." Ji An suddenly grinned. "And I want everyone to see Chen Chen for the bastard he is!"

After letting the two couriers leave, Chen Chen wasn’t naïve—he'd considered having them followed and whacked—a classic backstab.

But recalling that wind-powered freak’s raw power, he thought better of it. Taking someone that strong down was bound to draw attention, putting his secrets—and his job—on the line. Hell, maybe even his Commander-in-Chief title.

Nothing—absolutely nothing—was more important than his position as base commander.

Thinking this, Chen Chen put the Space Necklace around his own neck. Tang Tang, who’d been waiting on edge, couldn’t hold back any longer.

"Great, the necklace is finally back." Tang Tang watched as Chen Chen tucked the Space Necklace into his clothes, showing no intention of giving it to her. She grew frantic. "Chen-ge, just give me the necklace already. Shen Mo and the others have a mission coming up soon, and they want me to join. With the necklace, my spatial ability can be restored."

Tang Tang held out her hand, looking at Chen Chen with hopeful yet uneasy eyes.

However, Chen Chen didn’t return the necklace to her as she wished. Instead, he spoke in his usual gentle voice: "Tang, I’ve thought about it. The necklace is safest with me. You’re just a low-level superpowered, and you don’t have the strength to protect something as valuable as the Space Necklace. You lost it once—we can’t risk that again."

Tang Tang went pale, tears brimming in her eyes. This wasn’t some act—she was truly desperate.

"Chen-ge, then what should I do?" Tang Tang said anxiously. "People at the base are already giving me side-eye over my power not coming back. If it stays like this, they’ll definitely suspect something."

Chen Chen’s lips curled into an odd smile. "Who says your power’s not back? Tomorrow, it’ll be like nothing happened."

"But…" Tang Tang’s gaze fell on the necklace.

"Tomorrow, I’ll join you on the mission. When we collect supplies for the base, stick close to me." Chen Chen kept up that deceptively warm smile. "I believe if you act convincingly enough, no one will notice—just like before the necklace was ever lost. Tang, you can do it, right? You won’t let anyone suspect anything?"

His smile was still gentle, but his coaxing voice sent a shiver down Tang Tang’s spine. Her hair stood on end.

Something about Chen Chen in that moment felt off—so off it scared her.

"I… I will."

"That’s my girl," Chen Chen murmured.

A night breeze swept past, and Tang Tang shivered.

As soon as Chen Chen opened the door, his mother, who had been waiting in the bedroom, hurried out. "Xiao Chen, you’re finally back! I was so worried. It’s good you’re safe, it’s good you’re safe."

She babbled relieved prayers. "Are you hungry? Should I make you something quick?"

Between the stress and the rush, Chen Chen hadn’t had a decent meal. Now that his worries had eased, he actually felt hungry.

"Thanks, Ma. It’s late—just whip up something simple."

His mother paused. She had only asked out of habit, not expecting him to agree. After all, he had been in such a bad mood lately that he barely had an appetite.

Then, realizing something, she asked, "Son, are you feeling better? Did you sort things out?"

"Yes," Chen Chen said lightly, as if a great weight had lifted.

"That’s wonderful!" his mother exclaimed happily. "Then we’ve gotta cook up a feast! Just us two—let’s celebrate!"

Despite the hour, Chen’s mother insisted on making five or six hearty dishes—chicken, duck, fish, meat, all laid out. They even cracked open a bottle of Maotai for the occasion.

Sloppy with drink, Chen’s mother slurred, "Xiao Chen, you’re not young anymore. It’s time to have kids. That slut Ji An’s been gone forever—who knows whose bed she’s climbed into by now? Just forget about her. Be with Tang Tang and give me a chubby grandson."

Chen Chen’s smile stiffened for a split second before resuming its calm. "Let’s hold off. She’s too weak. I heard a child’s abilities might be inherited from their parents."

His mother immediately said, "Then forget it. In that case, don’t go for Tang Tang. Find some high-tier superpowered to breed with. As for Tang Tang, if you really like her, you can bring the kid back for her to raise. That’d be charity enough for her."

Seven years into the apocalypse, aside from a few mini-bases with only dozens or hundreds of people that hadn’t restored signals, almost all small, medium, and large bases had regained communication, allowing them to receive and send messages to other bases.

The public channel, which only flared to life for emergencies, suddenly crackled to life with a transmission from the capital base.

It was a notification: an online meeting at 9 PM tomorrow night, where the Beijing Base would show everyone something good.

Though this message didn’t exactly set the entire base abuzz, it still set off lively debates across various bases.

“Isn’t the public channel supposed to be reserved for major announcements? What’s the Beijing Base up to? This seems like a joke.”

“The Beijing Base is one of the largest in our country—they wouldn’t mess around like this. Maybe they really do have something good to show us.”

“I wonder what it could be?”

Though the Third Base was small, it was also connected to the public channel and naturally received the notification.

Somehow, Chen Chen had a bad feeling about it and instinctively wanted to keep it under wraps. Unfortunately, his rival Shen Mo caught sight of the notification.

Shen Mo frowned. “What ‘good thing’? The Beijing Base is so big—why does this seem so flippancy?”

In the Luo City Base, Commander Du Ruanlan swirled his wine glass, watching the crimson liquid slosh inside the transparent cup, and chuckled. “I do love good things.”

His girlfriend Owen, stunning and seductive, leaned over in her sheer red lingerie, cradling Du Ruanlan’s handsome face. Her fingers trailed down his chest suggestively as she murmured, “I love good things too.”

Du Ruanlan’s deep, magnetic voice made her melt.

Regardless of how the other bases reacted, the Beijing Base delivered as promised and aired a three-minute video on the public channel.

Almost every base had people huddled around their screens to watch.

At the Third Base, like it or not, Chen Chen, Shen Mo, and Zhang Yu were already there.

However, since Tang Tang’s powers were back, and she had successfully completed a mission to retrieve supplies that day, Shen Mo and Zhang Yu were warmer toward her.

They even greeted her when she entered.

“I wonder what the Beijing Base is going to show us?” Zhang Yu wondered aloud.

“Who knows? But we’re about to find out.”

Tang Tang was on edge, unable to sit still. She glanced anxiously at Chen Chen, only to find him frowning, his expression grim.

At the Luo City Base, Du Ruanlan lounged in a spacious armchair, arms draped casually over the rests, while Owen sat in his lap, arms looped around his neck, looking every bit the temptress.

“What’s the Beijing Base up to?”

Du Ruanlan’s trusted lieutenant, Jiang Fuzhong, was staring, transfixed—until Owen flashed him a coy smile. Only then did he snap back to reality and quickly avert his eyes, earning a teasing laugh from her.

Don’t misunderstand—Jiang Fuzhong had no untoward thoughts about Owen. He was simply mesmerized by her beauty.

A siren like Owen was a match only for a man as cunning as their leader.

After all the buildup, what appeared on screen wasn’t the faces of Beijing Base’s higher-ups, but a video.

The footage, likely shot at night, was dim, but the figures were still visible.

The shaky camera focused on a man and woman lying in bed. Soon, they covered their mouths and were awakened.

Chen Chen and Tang Tang didn’t need to watch further to know what came next.

Tang Tang trembled violently. How could there be a video? How could that night’s events have been recorded and broadcasted on the public channel?

“This is it. I’m done for.” Her secret was completely exposed—she was going to die.

No, she didn’t want to die!

Tang Tang let out a sudden scream. As she bolted for the door, Chen Chen, his face twisted in panic, grabbed a porcelain vase from the conference room and hurled it at the television.

"Stop watching! No one watches this!" Chen Chen roared, his face contorted in rage, veins bulging on his neck.

Shen Mo instantly knew something was off. He barked at his men nearby: "Hold them down! Don’t let them wreck the TV!"

Chen Chen and Song Pengcheng were both injured, and Tang Tang had zero combat skills. Even if two superpowered individuals were on Chen Chen’s side, two against five was hopeless. They were soon overwhelmed and subdued.

The video was short but clear—it showed a base commander framing one of his own superpowered personnel for a Space Necklace. Later, he embezzled 70% of the base’s public supplies to retrieve the necklace, then tried to pin the blame once again on the very superpowered individual he’d framed before.

When the video ended, Kong Zhongcheng’s smug face appeared on screen, his voice so smug it made fists itch: "Want a spatial storage device? No need to frame your base’s talents or steal from your own warehouse. Just come to the auction hosted by the Capital Base on August 30th. If you can pay, you can take it home!"

After speaking, Kong Zhongcheng cut the feed on purpose, leaving behind a deliberately vague taunt that only stoked everyone’s curiosity—and fury—to the point they almost wanted to climb into the TV and beat him senseless.

"A spatial storage device… Is that even real? Could such a treasure really exist?"

"The apocalypse is here already. Why wouldn't it be possible?"

"This video was released by a major base like the Capital Base. It's crystal clear—how could they fake something like this?"

"I dream about owning one. I'd give anything. How much would it cost?"

"That Commander-in-Chief is finished. Everything’s exposed. He probably won’t keep his position much longer."

At Luo City Base, Du Ruanlan’s thin lips curled slightly. "Now *that’s* interesting."

Owen thought his partner was downright irresistible, while Jiang Fuzhong couldn’t suppress a shiver.

While superpowered individuals in other bases debated the video’s authenticity and speculated over which disgrace of a commander was involved, people at Third Base had already recognized Chen Chen and Tang Tang.

Chen Chen, Tang Tang, and Song Pengcheng were now pinned to the ground. Especially Chen Chen—the once high-and-mighty, arrogant commander now had Zhang Yu’s boot pressing his face into the floor. His jaw hung open, his head half-twisted, spittle dribbling onto the floor.