Chapter 29 Did You Know Me Before?

Chapter 29: Did You Know Me in the Past?

The children shrank back, trembling helplessly, when suddenly the old tramp seemed to be struck by an invisible force. A welt rose up on his filthy skin, and he howled in pain, instinctively releasing Little Rose’s hand.

Despite their fear, the children bravely clustered around Little Rose. Little Stone shielded her protectively behind him.

Two figures—one tall, one short—appeared at the doorway of the dilapidated house. Their fine clothes clashed with the surrounding filth.

Yet none of the homeless dared approach or beg from them. They knew these were superpowered individuals, capable of killing them as easily as crushing an ant.

"Come with me," Ji An said softly as he crouched down, as if a louder voice might scare them.

Still, the little beggars huddled together, trembling, too afraid to move, speak, or even look at the face of the person who had saved their friend.

After the apocalypse, they had given up believing there were still good people in the world—people willing to help them unconditionally.

Finally, Little Stone was the first to stir. He whispered to the others, "Let’s go with him. He’s a nice older brother—the one who gave me food and water."

The little beggars no longer trusted human nature, but they trusted their leader, Little Stone, unconditionally. Or perhaps, they simply had no other choice.

"Can we bring Little Rose with us?" the children asked Little Stone.

They didn’t know what this superpowered man wanted from them, but at least they could still run and jump. Little Rose, on the other hand, looked half-dead already. They feared he might reject her and refuse to let her come along.

But if they left her behind, she would die—and her corpse might be eaten by those starving homeless.

Little Rose clutched the ragged edge of Little Stone’s clothes with surprising strength, tearing an even bigger hole in the already tattered fabric.

As if terrified that Little Stone might abandon her, she whispered weakly in his ear, "Little Stone, don’t leave me behind. Take me with you. I promised to be your wife, remember?"

Back when they were wandering together, Little Stone had once asked Little Rose if she would be his wife. Seeing other children with families, he had envied them and pretended he was the father, Little Rose the mother, and the other little beggars their children—so they wouldn’t be orphans anymore. They would have a home.

Little Stone turned to Ji An. "Please let us bring Little Rose. Whatever you want us to do, we’ll do it well. Just give us a little water, a little food. Please don’t leave her behind—she’ll die if you do."

Little Rose, too, looked up at Ji An with fading eyes, silently pleading.

"Of course," Ji An agreed without hesitation.

He walked over and picked up the motionless Little Rose, showing no disgust at her filth.

The children followed Ji An out without any of the homeless daring to stop them.

Once outside, Little Stone seemed to relax slightly. Tilting his head, he asked, "Big brother, can I go back and get our unfinished water bottle?"

Ji An glanced back at the emaciated homeless men and shook his head. "Never mind. I have more where we’re going."

When they reached an open area, Gu Jinsheng produced a car. The children exclaimed in wonder. "A spatial superpower?"

"No," Ji An explained. "Just a spatial storage device."

These little beggars knew nothing of the outside world. They had spent every day struggling just to survive, so they didn’t realize how rare spatial storage devices were—they assumed such things were common.

Many of them had never even seen a car before, let alone touched one. Gazing at the spotless car and then at their own grimy selves, they hesitated, afraid to climb in.

"Get in," Ji An said gently.

The little beggars exchanged nervous glances, then looked at Gu Jinsheng, whose impassive face was unreadable—no disgust, impatience, or annoyance. Only then did Little Stone dare to climb in first, with the others following.

"Find a hospital," Ji An said, holding the frail girl in his arms. He could feel her life ebbing away.

Ji An used his psychic energy to extract a partially filled bottle of Magic Spring water from his space, giving some to the little girl and letting the other homeless children share the rest, each taking a sip.

It wasn’t that Ji An was stingy or unwilling to give them more water. Magic Spring water had miraculous healing effects—capable even of curing superpowered individuals—and for ordinary people, it was essentially a miracle cure.

If such potent water were given in large amounts to these children, it might overwhelm their systems with healing so much that Little Rose could spring from his arms instantly. Anyone would notice something was wrong.

So Ji An gave them precisely measured doses—enough to heal all their chronic ailments without drawing unwanted attention.

To save Little Rose, he gave her a few extra sips, just enough to keep her alive. At the hospital, any examination would only show that she had been reduced to this state by starvation.

That was normal—starvation could kill.

About an hour later, Gu Jinsheng drove into the nearest hospital. To speed up Little Rose’s checkup, he revealed his identity.

While the medical staff examined Little Rose, the children nervously gathered around her, afraid she might be diagnosed with some fatal illness and given a death sentence by those clinical doctors.

Ji An and Gu Jinsheng stood at a distance. Gu Jinsheng asked, “Do you plan to take these children in?”

“Yes. I’ll find them a place to stay first and work out the details later,” Ji An replied.

Gu Jinsheng didn’t try to dissuade him or say anything else, only asking, “You’re too busy. Should I find someone to help you, or will you do it yourself?”

“Do you have someone reliable?” Ji An had too many daily tasks and no dependable subordinates under his command, so he inquired.

These children would all depend on him for survival, with all expenses covered by him. He needed someone honest and trustworthy to care for them—someone who might not be an awakened superpowered but had patience, empathy, and wouldn’t exploit them for small advantages.

“Yes,” Gu Jinsheng said.

His dark eyes, deep and mysterious as a perilous galaxy, studied Ji An. “After everything—the betrayal—you haven’t changed. You’re still the same.”

Ji An hesitated. What did he mean, “still the same”? Did Gu Jinsheng even know what he was like before?

Thinking this, Ji An simply asked.

Gu Jinsheng’s eyes, deep as icy pools, seemed to swirl with unspoken emotions. Ji An expected a long explanation, but Gu Jinsheng merely said, “You’re still so kind.”

The words made it sound as if they had known each other once. But since Gu Jinsheng showed no intention of explaining further, Ji An smiled and replied, “So are you.”

Kind?

Gu Jinsheng had been described in many ways—cold, ruthless, and mercilessly decisive—but this was the first time someone had called him kind. He never imagined those words would ever apply to him.

Ji An explained, “You could have injured that old homeless man, but you didn’t. You were afraid he might already have wounds, and if he came into contact with something contaminated, he could become infected with the zombie virus and then bite others.

You didn’t kill him either—not for any reason, but simply out of respect for every life still struggling to survive in this post-apocalyptic world.”

Gu Jinsheng didn’t respond, but his deep eyes burned brighter than the moon.

Not long after, a female water-ability wielder appeared in the hospital.

“This is Yuan Mingan,” Gu Jinsheng introduced. “A water superpowered. And this is Ji An.”

After a brief greeting, Ji An quickly outlined the situation: “I need a place to stay—nothing fancy, but it must be safe.”

Yuan Mingan’s hair was completely white, without a single strand of black. Her eyes were clouded, showing the slow movements of old age. Her appearance suggested someone in her sixties or seventies, though she was actually only forty.

Now, she fixed her clouded stare straight at Ji An. “You’re planning to take them in? The world’s full of suffering—you can’t help everyone.”

Ji An replied calmly, “I’ll help those I can.”

Yuan Mingan continued, "What about other children? What if you keep running into them? This is an endless problem. How long can you afford to raise them?"

"I have money."

The spatial storage device was a cash cow—more than enough to support these children.

"If one day I go bankrupt and can't afford it, then I'll stop. What does it matter? At least these children will have lived a few more days, months, or years. At least they'll have grown a little older, becoming slightly better at protecting themselves."

Ji An said, "I'll open an orphanage to care for these children. As long as there are children, I'll take care of them, even if it's just for a few days."

Yuan Mingan's sharp expression softened as she relaxed. She said, "You can't afford it."

Gu Jinsheng suddenly interjected, "The base can support them."

Both Ji An and Yuan Mingan were stunned.

Gu Jinsheng said, "I am the Commander-in-Chief of the base. This is my responsibility. The base's current birth rate is less than 1%. Without these children, the base will eventually perish."

In this apocalyptic world, many people are unwilling to have children. Especially the superpowered—they constantly face life-or-death situations and dare not have children, fearing that if they die, their offspring won't survive in such a terrifying world without them.

Ordinary people are even more reluctant—they can barely keep themselves alive, how could they raise children?

The only ones still willing to bear children are women who sell their bodies to survive. Even they don’t want to, but they have no choice—they can't afford birth control, and if they get pregnant, they can't afford abortions either, so they give birth.

Unable to afford raising them, these children end up as street kids.

If this continues, the base's birth rate will stay dangerously low. Eventually, humanity might vanish—not from zombies, but from the absence of newborns.

Gu Jinsheng has long recognized these problems but had no solution. Barely scraping by himself, how could he demand others to have children?

They wanted to increase the birth rate with policies and benefits, but the base wasn’t economically prosperous enough to support such measures.

Ji An said, “Alright then. Go back and discuss it in a meeting. If it doesn’t pass, I’ll personally fund an orphanage.”

Ji An wasn’t being overly noble. As the old saying goes, when poor, tend to yourself; when prosperous, tend to the world. He had achieved prosperity now and had the means to act.

In fact, Ji An himself had grown up in an orphanage. If everyone only looked after themselves and cleared the snow from their own doorstep, he wouldn’t have survived in this world.

“What’s taken from the people goes back to the people”—this principle applied to him as well. Many generous people had supported the orphanage, which allowed him to survive. Now that he had grown up and gained the ability, it was time for him to help others.

This wasn’t just about helping Little Rose and the others—it was more like Ji An helping his younger self from the past.

Gu Jinsheng said, “Alright. I’ll put everything from our business into this.”

Ji An smiled. “Seventy percent is enough. You need to eat right, stay healthy, and take care of yourself too.”

From this incident alone, one could see what an excellent Commander-in-Chief Gu Jinsheng was. Ji An hoped he could enjoy good food and drinks, keep his health in check, and live well. As long as Gu Jinsheng was around, the base would remain stable.

After the medical examination, the kids were all basically healthy, including Little Rose—just malnourished. A few solid meals would do the trick.

Ji An had expected this, but Little Stone and the others weren’t sure. When they heard the results, they jumped up in joy.

“Little Rose, did you hear? You’re completely fine—just hungry. Eat well for a few days, and you’ll recover,” Little Stone said, holding Little Rose’s hand and beaming.

Little Rose’s eyes sparkled. “I won’t die. That’s great. I’ll make sure to live well from now on.”

“Yeah,” Little Stone nodded repeatedly.

Once the results were in, Ji An handed the children over to Yuan Mingan and gave her quick directions before leaving with Gu Jinsheng.

By now, the sky outside was fully bright, and pedestrians hurried along the streets.

Gu Jinsheng opened the car door for Ji An, deliberately resting his right arm over the frame as if to prevent Ji An from bumping his head—he was the picture of chivalry.

To be honest, when someone treats you with such earnest care, even if they were just an ordinary person, it would still stir something in your heart.

And when that attentive person happens to be the esteemed Commander-in-Chief of a base—someone usually on the receiving end of such flattery—yet willingly lowers himself to do these things for you, Ji An couldn’t help but feel his heart skip a beat.

After Ji An got in the car, Gu Jinsheng closed the door for him before walking around to the driver’s side.

“I’ll take you home.”

“Alright.” Despite having stayed up all night, Ji An didn’t feel sleepy.

Gu Jinsheng drove swiftly yet steadily, pulling up to the apartment building quickly. When Ji An got out, he realized Gu Jinsheng wasn’t getting out. He paused. “Aren’t you going home?”

Gu Jinsheng replied, “There’s still work.”

Guilt washed over Ji An. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I kept you busy all night yesterday, I—”

“Willingly.” Those four words from Gu Jinsheng shut down whatever Ji An was going to say next.

Ji An stood there stunned for what felt like ages before finally recovering. “Drive carefully, and be cautious with your work. If possible, try to catch some sleep.”

“Alright,” Gu Jinsheng responded softly.

Ji An stood quietly, watching as Gu Jinsheng drove away before turning to head upstairs.

After a quick shower, Ji An lay down on the bed. He thought that after a sleepless night, his plush mattress would lull him into deep slumber. But the moment he closed his eyes, jagged memories pierced through the fog—dark recollections of a gaunt little boy, his face overlapping with Xiao Shitou’s.

There was no way he could sleep. Ji An rolled over, dressed, and made a beeline for the lab.

He’d come on a whim, expecting the lab to be empty, but to his surprise, everyone was there.

The team was running tests while discussing the spatial storage device.

One student remarked, “I heard Researcher Han handed over his spatial storage device for research. I wonder if they’ve made any breakthroughs? Back then, they claimed they wouldn’t need as much time as Boss Ji—just half a month or even a few days to figure it out.”

Another student said with a shrug, “No idea. Haven’t heard any updates.”

“Then they must’ve hit a wall. Otherwise, they’d be celebrating loudly, not keeping it this low-key.”

“Now that we’ve switched to Boss Ji’s side, I wonder if we’ll get the chance to study spatial technology.”

“You’re reaching—that’s proprietary tech! We’re just a bunch of students.”

“Of course I’m not delusional enough to expect the core tech. Just getting a glimpse of the periphery would be enough for me.”

Meanwhile, in Han Yaokun’s lab across the way, Han Yaokun—just coming off an experiment—asked Zhao Zhen, “How’s their progress? Any results?”

Zhao Zhen’s face flushed as he stammered, “There’s… a few leads.”

“It’s been a month, and you’ve only got ‘a few leads’?” Han Yaokun frowned, noticing Zhao Zhen’s uneasy expression. His voice turned sharp. “What’s the actual status?”

Before Zhao Zhen could deflect, another researcher piped up, “Professor Han, we’re at a total standstill.”

Han Yaokun’s face fell instantly.

Na Boyu jumped in to smooth things over. “This is uncharted territory for us. Slow initial progress is normal. If Researcher Han could spare some time to give us some pointers, I’m confident we’ll make a breakthrough soon.”

Han Yaokun’s expression softened slightly. “Alright, I’ll go into the lab and take a look later.”

Zhou Fanxiu and Bai Na, aware of their awkward positions, felt it inappropriate to say anything at the moment, so they remained silent, exchanging only silent glances.

Only after truly engaging with spatial technology did the two realize it was far more complex than they had imagined—so difficult, in fact, that without guidance, they might spend their entire lives without even grasping the basics.

The students who had stayed behind due to various concerns, rather than leaving with Wu Youyang, remained optimistic. Since they weren’t exposed to the core technology and only assisted the professors, they had no idea their mentors were already trapped in a web of unsolved puzzles.

One student, Meng Changan, said cheerfully, “The professors have been experimenting for a month now. I’m sure we’ll see results in just a few days.”

“Definitely! Our team is led by top experts like Professor Han and Professor Rong Fan. Over there, it’s just an inexperienced student with no published research—how profound could their technology really be?”

“I don’t know what Professor Wu was thinking, risking Professor Han’s displeasure to follow that student!”

“Who knows? Maybe he was too eager to prove himself and got blinded by petty gains.”

“Pity the students who followed him—their futures ruined just because of Professor Wu’s selfish motives!”

“But it worked out for us. Changing mentors actually landed us with someone better.”

“Honestly, I originally wanted to study under Professor Shi Jun, but his slots were full, so I ended up with Professor Wu Youyang.”

“Professor Shi Jun and Professor Wu Youyang were about the same, but Professor Shi always overshadowed Professor Wu, consistently outperforming him. Now that we’re learning from him, we’ll definitely gain way more than we would have under Wu.”

“By the time we graduate and start participating in experiments, those guys will probably still be stuck as students, learning nothing.”

“They’ll regret it then. I wonder if Professor Han would even take them back?”

“Probably not. That’s essentially betrayal.”

“What a shame about Rong Fan. He was the most talented and hardworking among us—should have had a promising career, but now it’s all wasted.”

“Ah…”

The students murmured sympathetically, as if mourning the lost potential of the student named Rong Fan.

Meanwhile, Wu Youyang was in the lab guiding his students through previous experiments and fielding their questions. When he looked up and saw Ji An, he hurried over to explain, “Chief, you’re here. We’re just replicating previous experiments—we haven’t touched your research.”

Taking someone’s experimental data without permission was a serious offense in the research field—tantamount to academic theft, punishable by law.

Ji An had stored all key research data in his *spatial storage device*. He waved dismissively. “It’s fine. I brought you here to help with the *spatial storage device*—I can’t handle it all alone.”

Wu Youyang turned red with excitement, his eyes shining as bright as the lab lights.

From the moment Ji An accepted these people, he had no intention of keeping secrets. He couldn’t work alone forever—he needed a loyal team to advance far in his research.

Since Wu Youyang was the first to commit to him, Ji An decided to test then mentor him. As long as Wu stayed obedient and kept pace, closely following Ji An’s work, he would nurture him properly.

“Chief, don’t worry. I’ll study hard, stay aligned with your work, and never slow you down,” Wu Youyang vowed, thumping his chest.

His students were equally thrilled—this was a lucky break for them.

Even if they couldn’t participate directly, their mentor’s involvement meant more knowledge for them.

Those who had followed Wu out of trust now felt vindicated—otherwise, they might never have had a chance to engage with spatial technology.

Thinking of the students who had stayed behind, dismissing Chief Ji for his lack of experience and achievements, they couldn’t help but feel a smug satisfaction.

“Meng Changan always competed with Rong Fan. Now that he stayed behind and Rong Fan came with Professor Wu, Meng’s probably going to redouble his efforts—who knows how he’s badmouthing Rong Fan now.”