Chapter 35 Capture Alive

Chapter 35: Capture Alive

The moment Jiang Fuzhong finished speaking, an arrow blazing with hellfire pierced through the flames, carrying a searing inferno that seemed capable of incinerating everything, and ruthlessly impaled the R-country operative’s brain.

The operative didn’t even have time to scream before collapsing stiffly to the ground, eyes wide open but glazed and vacant, drool trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"He actually turned the R-country agent into an idiot with one arrow!" Jiang Fuzhong exclaimed in disbelief. "How is this possible? That was a high-tier psychic-powered individual—a whole level above this mental-type super! Since when can non-combat psychics defeat higher-tier opponents?"

Owen’s crossed arms had loosened at some point; her expression had turned serious. "His mental energy arrow is still attacking—it hasn’t disappeared!"

"This is terrifying!" Jiang Fuzhong muttered under his breath, hardly believing his eyes.

A Level 3 mental energy arrow not only pierced through the flames of a peak Level 4 fire super, but also retained enough power to continue attacking after destroying the operative’s brain.

This was horrifying—even combat-oriented supers couldn’t achieve this!

Though the arrow was no longer as pristine as when first released, now reduced to a shattered remnant, it was still terrifying.

"Take down that psychic super! He can turn people into idiots!" Among the R-country agent’s companions, a tall blond, blue-eyed M-country operative spotted Ji An hiding behind Wan Xueying and launching sneak attacks. He shouted to his comrades.

In an instant, fire abilities, wind powers, water techniques—every kind of ability rained down on Ji An. Ji An had no time to control the mental energy arrow he had released and quickly wove his psychic power into a force barrier, encasing himself entirely within it.

"That broken arrow disappeared?" Jiang Fuzhong said.

"Good that it did." Owen’s eyes remained fixed on Ji An. "If he could simultaneously control his mental energy to form two separate attacks, that would be truly terrifying."

"He’s already terrifying enough as a Level 3 low-tier super," Jiang Fuzhong said. "But it’s a shame—his power level is still too low. With so many high-level supers targeting him, that little shield won’t hold."

As if to confirm Jiang Fuzhong’s words, the moment he finished speaking, a barrage of ability strikes struck the dome.

The seemingly indestructible barrier, capable of withstanding anything, began to show impact points under the relentless assault. A web of cracks spread across its surface before shattering into fragments that scattered to the ground.

The ethereally beautiful man inside gradually reappeared before the crowd, sweat drenching Ji An’s forehead.

Wan Xueying had already noticed the danger. She split her power into two streams, attempting to form a water wall in front of Ji An to block the incoming attacks.

Jiang Fuzhong shook his head repeatedly. "Too late. And that female super’s level isn’t high enough. Those T-base operatives are all at least Level 5 or above—the strongest might even be Level 7. She can barely protect herself, let alone help him."

"What a waste of talent for a genius to fall before reaching his prime," Owen remarked.

"Geniuses aren’t so easy to kill!" Du Ruanlan smirked. "Backup's arrived!"

A massive black tornado spiraled in, instantly engulfing the terrifying attacks. A green vine swiftly coiled around Ji An, yanking him away from the danger zone.

Without warning, the storm abruptly changed direction, barreling toward the T-base group. The chaotic abilities followed suit, turning back on their casters!

"Ah—"

"Ugh—"

Screams of pain and the sound of spitting blood mixed together as the T-base supers went down hard.

"Holy shit! Gu Jinsheng, the commanding officer of Capital Base, is that powerful? A Level 5 super facing three superior opponents alone!" Jiang Fuzhong wanted to curse. Since when had fighting above their weight class become the norm for supers? "Does Capital Base have some secret technique for cultivating powers? How can every one of them fight beyond their level?"

He could swear on his life—he couldn’t do it. If he dared challenge his boss, he’d be turned to dust before he could blink!

Owen frowned, her beauty intensifying, making one wish to sacrifice everything just to smooth her brow. "There’s no denying Gu Jinsheng’s power is formidable, but those high-level supers have unrefined abilities and lack real combat experience. They don’t seem to have earned their ranks in battle—more likely, they relied on Zombie Cores to artificially boost their levels. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have lost so badly. Even that idiot who got shot earlier had flawed abilities!"

The tall blond M-country operative called up his wind powers again, diverting the incoming attacks before they could strike him. The ability blasts landed on empty ground, blasting a six-foot-deep crater.

The one who unleashed the tornado to protect Ji An was none other than Gu Jinsheng. With a wave of his hand, a fierce and majestic thunder dragon soared into the sky, hurling one thunderball after another at the superpowered individuals from T Base on the ground, driving the already injured ones into chaotic retreat.

Zhou Qin swiftly pulled Ji An over and positioned him behind Gu Jinsheng before activating his own ability. As a wood-attribute superpowered, he could manipulate anything related to plant life. One after another, massive trees erupted from the earth, blocking the escape routes of the fleeing T Base operatives.

"Stop, stop!" The blond, blue-eyed man, realizing that no one understood his English, quickly shouted in Chinese: "Cease fire immediately! I’m not with them. I’m from M Country—I represent M Country. If you don’t want to provoke an international war, stop attacking now!"

Gu Jinsheng ignored the shouting blond superpowered and continued his assault. Seeing that Gu hadn’t stopped, Zhou Qin and the others followed suit, continuing until every last enemy—including the blond—was subdued.

Though pinned to the ground, the blond clearly seethed with indignation. Despite being defeated, he still carried himself like a victor, radiating arrogant defiance.

"I advise you to release me immediately. My presence here is sanctioned by M Country. The consequences of angering my nation are beyond your ability to bear—"

"You can’t harm Mr. Cruise! He’s from M Country. Lay a finger on him, and M Country will never let this go!" another R Nation superpowered from T Base yelled in Chinese.

"Commander-in-Chief Gu, Mr. Cruise is indeed from M Country. He’s here as a diplomatic envoy. If anything happens to him in the capital base, M Country will not let this slide—it could spark a full-scale conflict between our nations," said the sole Chinese male among the T Base group, who had remained silent like a quail since the R Nation superpowered caused chaos at the airport, as if he too were foreign and couldn’t understand Chinese. Only now did he finally speak, his tone laced with the thick accent of T Province.

His words came across as authoritative, as if merely invoking M Country should send them cowering in fear.

The Chinese man continued, "You’ve already injured Xiao Yuan Erlang, reducing him to a vegetable. R Country will undoubtedly pursue this relentlessly. Do you really want to provoke M Country as well? Aren’t you afraid of bringing ruin upon yourselves, leaving nothing but ashes?"

"So you *do* understand Chinese. I thought these people genuinely didn’t," said Cong Xun from North Base. "Seems there’s even a fellow countryman among the T Base group. What were you doing earlier? When the R shits started trouble at the airport, why didn’t you say a word? Hiding in the back, too scared to fart? Now that you’re losing, you finally open your mouth—and still spew nonsense! M Country isn’t shit. This is Chinese soil!"

"These little shits were deliberately picking a fight. Serves them right! That’s exactly how you deal with these M brownnosers—beat the sense into them until they learn that kissing M’s ass comes at the cost of becoming idiots," Ding Yong cursed in agreement.

Du Ruanlan from Luo City Base scoffed coldly, while Owen crossed his arms again, expression equally disdainful. Jiang Fuzhong spat quietly under his breath.

"Shut them up," Gu Jinsheng ordered with a wave of his hand. Immediately, his subordinates stepped forward to silence the captives. The blond seemed stunned, unable to believe they would dare treat him this way.

The Chinese man from T Base also stared wide-eyed. Though gagged, his expression screamed disbelief—how the hell do they dare?

How the hell do they dare offend both R Country and M Country? Are they not afraid of the two nations joining forces against them?

Ji An approached Gu Jinsheng once more. "Have their stomachs thoroughly checked. I suspect they’ve hidden something inside. If nothing turns up, pump them full of soapy water until they’ve purged everything. We’ll find something."

"Understood." Gu Jinsheng didn’t question Ji An’s certainty. Instead, he scanned Ji An head to toe before asking, "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"I’m fine," Ji An shook his head.

"Good. Be careful."

"I will."

Gu Jinsheng gave Ji An another thorough once-over, confirming he was unharmed, then turned his attention to the burned wood superpowered.

The wood-attribute superpowered, named Gou Song, was a peak Level 3 superpowered.

He was currently being helped into a chair. To protect him during the battle, Wan Xueying had kept her water ability active around him, enveloping him in a flowing curtain of water that obscured his injuries.

Now that the danger had passed, Wan withdrew her power. As the water faded, everyone got a clear view of Gou Song’s wounds—and a collective gasp went up.

It was a horror show.

The moment the water dissipated, the reek of charred flesh hit them. His entire right side, including half his face, was seared to blackened pulp—utterly unrecognizable.

Only a superpowered constitution could endure such burns. A normal human would have been reduced to ash.

"Is Fang Rurong here yet?" Gu Jinsheng asked, his face stony-faced, though the chilling intensity around him was palpable.

"She’s here," a woman in her forties burst in, gasping for breath.

She was startled by Gou Song’s injuries. "What level superpowered is he?"

"Peak Tier 3," Zhou Qin replied. "Can he be healed?"

Gou Song was Zhou Qin’s trusted subordinate and close friend. They had supported each other for many years, even before the apocalypse.

Fang Rurong let out a relieved breath. "I can heal him."

Fang Rurong began by hovering her hand just a millimeter above Gou Song's head, slowly moving downward.

Though her healing ability was invisible, Ji An could sense a strange energy slowly knitting Gou Song's injuries back together.

As the energy seeped into his cells, they began to repair—first the basal layer, then the epidermis. In mere seconds, new flesh had already regrown on Gou Song's scalp, spreading downward to his face, neck, shoulders, arms, and torso...

Within minutes, his body was covered in new skin, though the color didn’t match the original, leaving him looking like a mismatched patchwork for now.

The healing took a heavy toll on Fang Rurong. She was helped into a seat, visibly weak, with sweat on her forehead and pale lips—a clear sign of overexertion.

"Fang-jie, you okay?" Zhou Qin asked worriedly.

"It's fine—just overused my powers. Whoever did this must outrank me, but at least he’s healed now," Fang Rurong replied.

"Thank you, Fang-jie," Zhou Qin said sincerely.

Gou Song also expressed his gratitude. "Fang-jie, I owe you big time. Without you, I’d be peeling like a snake right now. And Commander Wan—if not for you, I wouldn’t just be peeling, I’d be a pile of ashes by now."

Now that the burning agony had faded, Gou Song remembered to thank everyone properly.

Wan Xueying and Fang Rurong both waved it off, saying it was their duty.

"You got a mirror?" Gou Song asked, still concerned about his new skin tone.

"Why the hell would I have that?" Zhou Qin retorted.

"I have one. Here," Wan Xueying said, pulling an ornate antique mirror from her storage space and handing it to him.

Gou Song took one look and yelped, "Who’s that two-faced freak in the mirror?"

Zhou Qin couldn’t bear to watch his foolishness and turned to Fang Rurong. "Will his skin go back to normal? This idiot’s still dead-set on finding a wife—with this complexion, he might never find one."

Gou Song protested, "You really had to say that?"

Zhou Qin shrugged, unfazed. "At least I’m not a walking paint sample!"

Fang Rurong chuckled weakly at their antics. "Don’t worry. Just get some sun—it’ll blend in after a season."

"Gou Song, any other discomfort?" Gu Jinsheng asked.

"None. I feel great—could wrestle a mutated bull bare-handed right now," Gou Song said earnestly. If not for looking like a bad dye job, he’d think the whole ordeal was just a nightmare.

Gu Jinsheng nodded. "You’ll get your compensation. Still, get checked at the hospital. I have matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave."

"Got it, boss. Go ahead," Gou Song said, clapping Zhou Qin’s shoulder. "You too, brother. Thanks for worrying. First round’s on me when things calm down."

Zhou Qin nudged him. "Cut the crap—we’re brothers."

Gu Jinsheng stopped beside Ji An. "You coming?"

"Am I allowed?" This seemed to involve fundamental secrets—could an outsider researcher like him participate?

"You can. The inspection was your suggestion."

"Then fine, I'll go."

Leaving Wan Xueying behind to continue as overall commander, Gu Jinsheng took Zhou Qin and Ji An with him to the hospital first. At this point, of the original ten-member team, aside from one who had been tragically killed, torn apart, and another reduced to an incoherent fool, eight remained.

These eight consisted of four men and four women. The female superhumans were all from T Base, China, their abilities at Level 1 or 2. Among the four male superhumans, one was Chinese, one from M Nation, and the rest were from R Nation.

All of them had sustained serious injuries of varying degrees, yet no one had given them medicine or bandaged their wounds. Instead, they had been gagged and forcibly pushed into various machines for examination.

From head to toe, inside and out, not a single hair was missed in the thorough inspection.

"How is it?" Gu Jinsheng asked the director in charge.

The director's expression was grim. "There really is something in their abdomens. We've already given them enemas—they’ll pass it soon."

"I knew those damn midgets were up to no good!" Zhou Qin cursed. "This time we absolutely cannot let them off easy. If we don't teach them a lesson, they’ll never know how many eyes the Horse King has! Following around some blonde mutt thinking they can swagger about—I spit on them!"

Gu Jinsheng’s eyes gleamed dangerously.

"Director, they’ve passed it—it’s here..." A doctor shouted as he ran over, holding a transparent plastic bag containing a three-centimeter-long, one-centimeter-diameter transparent cylinder smeared with filth.

Superhumans had heightened senses; their sense of smell was far sharper than that of ordinary people. Several of them covered their noses and stepped back.

The excited doctor finally calmed down, embarrassed. "We didn’t risk cleaning it—we just removed it directly."

"That was the right decision," Ji An confirmed.

The doctor smiled. "Who’s handling this? I’ll give them a few pairs of disposable gloves."

"Give it to me," Ji An said to Gu Jinsheng. "I’ll take it back to the lab for analysis. I already have a suspicion."

"Fine," Gu Jinsheng agreed without hesitation. "Be careful—this could be dangerous."

"Understood."