Chapter 43 Chen Chen’s Regret

Chapter 43: Chen Chen’s Regret

The H Country cultivators stiffened their necks, speaking with defiant bravado, but their trembling legs betrayed them.

The night watch team from Jingshi Base smiled amiably. “Our base is no bandit stronghold. We’ve always been clear about settling matters fairly. Since your people haven’t caused any trouble here, we naturally won’t detain you without reason.”

“However,” the on-duty guard pointed at the coarse rice and cabbages in the hands of the H Country cultivators, “Commander Zhou has given orders. To ease your concerns and prevent any misunderstanding, we’ve been instructed to buy back all the supplies you acquired in our base at their original price, so you won’t have to worry about the quality of the items we sold you after returning home.”

The faces of the H Country cultivators turned pale, then flushed with anger. A commander had indeed made such a statement earlier, but they hadn’t taken it seriously, assuming it was just an empty threat. They never expected Jingshi Base to actually station people at the airport to intercept them.

Had it not been for the execution they witnessed, the H Country cultivators would never have obediently surrendered their goods. But after seeing Jingshi Base’s ruthless methods—acting without hesitation—they didn’t dare resist.

They swore that if Jingshi Base ever traded nutrient formula with their nation, even if the Capital Base wanted to slice them up for experiments, their country wouldn’t just raise no objections—they’d send researchers with their own scalpels to assist, afraid of dirtying the Jingshi Base’s research robes.

After all, even the mighty M Country had been forced to bow before the nutrient formula.

The H Country cultivators didn’t dare utter a word of protest. They handed over all the supplies they had purchased in Jingshi Base, including those hidden in the spatial storage ability of one among them. They feared that if Jingshi Base discovered any deceit, they’d be detained and never allowed to leave.

Once all the supplies were surrendered, the night watch team let the H Country group depart. Watching the plane take off, the personnel reported via internal radio, “Report: The H Country plane has departed. All supplies have been recovered.”

“Received.”

Only after the plane had left Jingshi Base airspace did the H Country cultivators dare vent their anger freely. “Jingshi Base is such cheap bastards! Such a massive base, yet they send people to reclaim such trivial things? So stingy—no wonder they’re going nowhere!”

Another cultivator cursed, “A bunch of savage barbarians, for all their five-thousand-year civilization yet lacking even basic hospitality for guests from afar! Their manners are far worse than ours in H Country. I’m never setting foot in this backwater hellhole again!”

“Right, never again!”

The real reason they never wanted to return was something only they knew—they had been utterly terrified by Jingshi Base’s ruthless display, too frightened to ever come back.

Meanwhile, the Third Base convoy was still on the road. Though they hadn’t attended the execution in person, the signal coverage along the route allowed them to watch the entire event via livestream.

After witnessing it, the Third Base group was left speechless, deeply shaken by Jingshi Base’s ruthless tactics.

Even after returning to the Third Base, Shen Mo and the others remained unsettled, an inexplicable dread toward Jingshi Base lingering in their hearts.

This put Shen Mo in a black mood.

As the current Commander-in-Chief of the Third Base, he wasn’t about to suppress his frustration. He needed to vent, but the target couldn’t be just anyone—it had to be someone whose punishment wouldn’t destabilize his rule. After some thought, his mind landed on the former Third Base Commander-in-Chief, Chen Chen, who was still alive despite being broken.

Shen Mo’s eyes gleamed with excitement and malice.

Though he pretended not to care about Chen Chen—now stripped of his powers—Shen Mo had secretly watched him closely, fearing that Chen Chen’s former subordinates might reach out and help him regain power.

Fortunately, Chen Chen didn’t seem to have inspired much loyalty. After being ousted and rendered powerless, no one came to his aid. The few cultivators who approached him only did so to kick him while he was down—none offered help.

By the time Shen Mo arrived, the sun was setting, casting dusky light over the land.

A dilapidated, roofless temple was packed with filthy homeless men, sprawled haphazardly, unkempt and reeking like a sewer. The stench was overwhelming, attracting swarms of flies.

Shen Mo hesitated at the entrance, repulsed by the squalor. He couldn’t bring himself to step inside.

Just then, a woman’s shrill voice rang out. “We agreed—one steamed bun per round! You’ve gone multiple rounds but only gave me half a moldy piece!”

A homeless man’s satiated voice replied lazily, “Take it or leave it. If you don’t want it, give it back.”

“No! Why should I? We had a deal—one steamed bun per round. You owe me more—I’m the one getting shortchanged here!”

The homeless man snorted coldly, "Be glad you got anything at all. Don’t get cocky. You still think you're the mother of the Commander-in-Chief? Let me tell you—we could just use you and toss you aside. Give you nothing, and you’d still have to take it. Still expecting that useless son of yours to back you up? Keep dreaming!"

The woman didn't speak again. After a few seconds, her voice came once more, soft and low: "Son, here's half a steamed bun. It's a bit moldy, but you haven’t eaten in days. Eat this for now. I’ll get you something better tomorrow."

It was a long time before a hoarse male voice responded, "I’ve put you through too much."

Those few words brought tears instantly to the woman’s eyes. She turned away so her son wouldn’t see, wiped them off quickly, and forced a smile. "No need for that. We’re family."

Then came the sound of chewing.

"Am I interrupting?" Shen Mo stepped into the ruined temple with a smirk. "Just started eating?"

Chen Chen had already found it hard to swallow the bun his mother had traded her body for. Now, seeing his former rival and enemy—who had always been beneath him—standing there, the bun tasted like glass shards, shredding his mouth, throat, heart, and gut.

He closed his eyes briefly but didn’t spit it out, forcing himself to swallow.

"Save it," he said after a moment. "I’m not worth your time anymore."

Losing his superpower wrecked his body. With proper care, he might have recovered enough to live like a normal person.

But Chen Chen had no such luxury. Just staying alive was hard enough. Even if he was tough, his body couldn’t possibly recover under these circumstances.

He was hanging on by a thread, weaker than his own mother.

This broken version of Chen Chen wasn’t even fun anymore. Shen Mo lost interest in toying with him. His smile faded, replaced by a cold stare as he looked at the shell of the man Chen Chen used to be.

"I came to give you some news," Shen Mo said flatly. "About your old flame, Ji An."

Chen Chen kept his eyes downcast, showing no reaction—as if the name meant nothing to him.

Shen Mo curled his lip. "He’s the creator of the spatial storage devices. Ji An. I suspect he was behind your downfall too."

The bun slipped from Chen Chen’s fingers and hit the ground—he couldn’t hold it anymore.

"He’s doing well now. Very well. The four Commanders of the Capital Base are working with him. Junk traded for scraps now sells for millions of credits."

"You're lying!" Chen Chen’s composure cracked. He struggled to stand, but his body—which usually fought to obey—now gave out completely. Again and again, he collapsed.

"Believe what you want." After drinking in Chen Chen’s misery, Shen Mo turned to leave, the weight on his chest finally lifting. "I’ll never understand. Ji An was devoted to you—willing to die for you—and capable too. He stayed by your side for seven years in the apocalypse. Why throw him away for that Tang Tang?"

Why?

The question cut Chen Chen to the bone. Maybe just greed.

He knew Ji An loved him, knew Ji An would sacrifice everything for him. But what good was that?

Ji An was just an ordinary man who could never awaken a superpower. No matter how hard he pushed himself, ordinary people could never match the superpowered. Even the weakest among them could snap him like a twig.

He was useless to Chen Chen now.

Even when Chen Chen later sensed something unusual about Ji An—suggesting he'd awakened a psychic ability—what did it matter?

Chen Chen had given Ji An chances. He wasn’t heartless. He hadn’t wanted to trash seven years together.

He had secretly inquired at other bases and learned that psychic superpowered individuals were considered the most useless—they were only slightly stronger physically than ordinary people without superpowers, and their psychic superpower had no practical use otherwise.

Of course, psychics belonged to the mental superpowered category. While they lacked combat prowess, their minds were sharp, making them excellent candidates for research.

The problem was that Third Base was poor—it couldn’t afford experimental equipment. Moreover, Ji An hadn’t even graduated from university. Even if he awakened as a mental superpowered, what could he do?

Could he conduct research? Those who did research were all intelligent, but not only that—they needed mentors, guidance, and years of study under a teacher. Only the exceptionally brilliant could produce even minor breakthroughs.

As for Ji An, he had no chance. The post-apocalyptic world had already wasted seven years of his life. Even if he had been an outstanding student, he had likely forgotten most of what he learned. At best, he might be more mentally agile than others.

But Tang Tang was different. She had awakened space and healing superpowers—both rare types. Either of these would have allowed her to thrive in any base.

What did it matter if her superpower level was low? Everyone started as a Level 1 superpowered and worked their way up. Even if Tang Tang was slow in advancing her levels, so what? She would improve eventually.

Anyone who compared the two would choose Tang Tang over Ji An.

He had only made the choice everyone else would have made.

Besides, he had never intended to drive Ji An away—he had simply shown more attention to Tang Tang. It couldn’t be helped. Tang Tang was exceptional, having awakened such extraordinary superpowers.

Lost in his thoughts, Chen Chen suddenly noticed Shen Mo, who had already walked ahead, stop. He didn’t turn around but remained with his back to Chen Chen.

"By the way, I forgot to tell you earlier—Ji An is now a Level 3 psychic superpowered. Not only is he skilled in research, but his combat abilities have also surpassed what they were in our base."

Shen Mo continued, "His psychic superpower has taken physical form. The psychic arrows he manifests can reduce a Level 6 superpowered to a mindless husk in just three shots! Sure, that Level 6 might have had an unstable power, possibly boosted by special means, but he was still a Level 6. A Level 3 superpowered overpowering a Level 6—even you at your peak couldn’t have done that."

"I really don’t understand. Why would you reject someone so capable, devoted, and loyal to you?"

"But he never told me he was that strong! I never knew!" Chen Chen shouted hoarsely.

Why hadn’t Ji An told him his superpower was so formidable? If he had known Ji An could fight above his level and reduce a high-level superpowered to a mindless husk with three arrows, he would never have given him up!

The reason he had painfully let him go wasn’t because he didn’t love him or could easily discard their seven years together—it was because his superpower was considered worthless!

He was the high-ranking Commander-in-Chief of Third Base! How could his lover be a low-level superpowered? That would have done nothing for his career and would have invited ridicule from the base.

Did Ji An even realize how much scorn and mockery Chen Chen had endured over the years, with him as a powerless partner? People praised his devotion to his face, but behind his back, they laughed at his kept man being a worthless pretty boy!

But why had Ji An hidden his true strength from him?

Hadn’t Ji An also shared blame for how things ended between them?

A sharp pain surged in Chen Chen’s chest, and with a violent cough, he vomited blood.

This time, Shen Mo didn’t stop. He walked away without looking back.

"Xiao Chen, Xiao Chen! Are you okay? Don’t scare me!" Chen’s mother cried in panic.

"I’m fine, Mom. Don’t worry." What did it matter if he was fine or not? He was no longer the high-ranking Commander-in-Chief. Now, he was penniless—even if he coughed up blood and died on the spot, they couldn’t afford treatment. He had to be fine.

Chen Chen closed his eyes, forcing himself not to think of Ji An.

His mother sobbed and cursed, "That ungrateful wretch! You treated him so well—never let him go hungry or cold. He leveraged his status as the Commander-in-Chief’s lover all the time, and now he’s forgotten you the moment you fell!"

"And that little slut Tang Tang—she deserves to be passed around by countless men! If she hadn’t seduced you, Ji An wouldn’t have left in anger. If Ji An hadn’t left, you wouldn’t have lost your superpower—and even if you had, that fool Ji An would’ve taken care of you with all his heart!"

"And Song Pengcheng—I always knew he was a two-faced social climber! The other day, he came specifically to lord it over us. Pah! As if he’s any better—he’s carrying such severe internal injuries he can’t even use his superpower now!"

She ranted endlessly, as if the entire world owed her. Only after exhausting her curses did she finally pause, cautiously gauging her son’s reaction before venturing cautiously, "Xiao Chen… maybe we should go find Ji An?"

Some words, once spoken, made the rest easier to say. "Ji An is doing so well at the Capital Base—just a fraction of what he has would be enough for us. Xiao Chen, let's go find him. We can act pitiful and pin all the blame on that woman Tang Tang, saying she seduced you. You could even cry a little, or kneel if needed. He cared for you so deeply—he'll definitely soften. Then we can live a good life again. I really can't take this kind of life anymore."

Chen Chen shook his head, his complexion several times worse than before Shen Mo’s visit.

"Mom, it's useless. He won't soften toward me anymore." As he said this, Chen Chen couldn’t help but feel a pang of bitterness. "The reason I ended up like this, with my superpower completely depleted, is because of Ji An. He deliberately took revenge on me.

"If we go to him now, we probably won't gain anything. Instead, those trying to curry favor with him might feed us to the zombies just to please him."

Chen Chen no longer held any illusions about Ji An. He knew Ji An too well—knew how much Ji An had once cherished him. That was precisely why, upon realizing Ji An himself was the one who orchestrated his current misery, he understood just how much Ji An hated him.

Even if he were to die right now, Ji An would probably still be laughing and chatting with others.

Honestly, deep down, Chen Chen couldn't comprehend why Ji An hated him so much.

Was it because he had slandered him? But he hadn't actually harmed him, had he?

Or was it because of Tang Tang? Did he hate him for being tempted by her?

But he and Tang Tang only slept together after Ji An left.

Hearing this, Chen's mother's eyes widened, and she started cursing again. "How could he be so vicious? Has he forgotten all the kindness you showed him before? You only treated him badly once, and he holds onto it like a grudge, ruining you like this. He really is a heartless ingrate..."

No matter what his mother said, Chen Chen regretted it deeply—so deeply it made him sick. His mother regretted it too. If she had known Ji An was so powerful and that her son would end up barely surviving, she would never have urged him to find a woman to bear a grandson. Now, not only was her son barely surviving, but the prospect of a grandson was completely gone.

Gu Jinsheng took Ji An to the hospital for a checkup. It turned out he had overused his mental-type superpower, and the doctor strongly advised him to rest. Coincidentally, Ji An also wanted to take some time to stabilize his abilities. Since arriving at the Capital Base, his powers had been jumping two levels quickly in quick succession. It was time to stabilize them, so he agreed.

Gu Jinsheng escorted Ji An home but didn't stay. Instead, he drove back to the base alone.

After returning, Ji An poured himself a cup of Magic Spring water to ease his headache, then lay down on the bed. He had intended to sleep, but his mind kept circling back to the Superpowered Crystal Core.

His hand unconsciously touched the Space Necklace hanging on his chest. He always felt this necklace was a treasure—even a holy one at that. But why did it react to the Superpowered Crystal Core?

The Superpowered Crystal Core was nothing virtuous. It had to be harvested from a living superpowered individual—a cruel method of acquisition. No righteous power would accept something obtained so viciously.

Ji An could sense the Space Necklace's uniqueness. He sensed it could become more powerful when enhanced, but he just couldn't figure out the right way to advance it.

After racking his brain with no leads, Ji An forced himself to stop thinking about it and soon fell into a deep sleep.

He woke again to the mouthwatering smell of food.

Opening his eyes, Ji An saw that dusk had fallen outside. He stepped out of the bedroom to find the tall man in the kitchen bustling about, wearing a Doraemon-print apron.

The usually cold and rigid man was now enveloped in a warm homely atmosphere—as if a lofty deity had been dragged into the mortal world, imbued with human emotions, experiencing earthly desires.

Gu Jinsheng lifted his gaze, his deep eyes resembling the warm orange glow of a bedside lamp—not glaring, but gently lighting the way.

"You came home and went straight to sleep," Ji An remarked as he entered the kitchen to help Gu Jinsheng with chopsticks and bowls.

"You really needed the rest," Gu Jinsheng said. "You don't have to help. Go sit down—I'm almost done here."

Ji An still scooped two bowls of purple rice before taking a seat at the dining table, which was already covered with dishes.

The first was an assorted stuffed peppers dish—not just stir-fried peppers, but peppers filled with various delicacies.

First, long green peppers were cut lengthwise, then stuffed with freshly made shrimp paste—this was the shrimp-stuffed pepper. There were also versions with cod paste, eggs, and mutated pork.

This platter consisted of four different fillings, each requiring the peppers to be pan-fried until shimmering with oil and the fillings fully cooked before serving. None of it was quick to prepare.

The second dish is spicy fried mutant chicken.

The third dish is garlic sautéed rapeseed greens.

The fourth dish is a spicy mutant beast stir-fry.

Finally, there's a soup—tomato mutant beef rib soup.

All five dishes are made from mutant beast meat, which contains powerful energy that significantly boosts and stabilizes enhanced individuals' abilities.

An enhanced person might not feel full after eating ten pounds of ordinary beast meat, but just one pound of mutant meat can satisfy them completely. The higher the grade of mutant meat, the more energy it contains, meaning enhanced individuals need to consume less.

Ordinary people can also eat mutant beasts. While it won't enhance their abilities, long-term consumption strengthens the body, reduces illness, and helps with chronic conditions.

Of course, mutant meat isn't cheap. Even so, most people still prefer it because when the Zombie Virus fully erupted, neither humans nor animals were spared—all became infected simultaneously.

Like humans, most animals were infected by the Zombie Virus too. In fact, they spread it faster than humans since animals lack the intelligence to control transmission effectively.

This resulted in a higher infection rate among animals than humans. Many either turned into zombie animals or evolved into powerful mutants.

Animals that neither zombified nor mutated have become extremely rare—seven years into the apocalypse, they're scarcer than one in a hundred.

With such low odds, even if someone wanted to eat non-mutated meat, they'd struggle to find it. Rarity inflates prices, but when people do manage to capture and sell a non-mutated animal, few are willing to buy. It lacks energy, doesn't boost abilities, and offers no physical benefits—yet it's expensive. No one is foolish enough to pay for it!

As the last soup was served, Gu Jinsheng sat down beside Ji An and asked, "I hope you like it. If not, let me know—I can adjust next time."

Ji An lowered his eyes, his long lashes fluttering faintly. "I love all of it. Thank you."

Gu Jinsheng replied, "I should be thanking you—for the nutritional supplements and what happened at the execution site today."

"Then let’s not thank each other," Ji An said with a smile, his eyes curving like a lovely crescent moon. "We’re friends, after all."

Gu Jinsheng gazed deeply at Ji An but didn’t acknowledge the word “friends.” Instead, he said, "Let’s eat."

"Okay." The dishes Gu Jinsheng prepared looked absolutely delicious, but when Ji An actually tasted them, they were even better than they appeared—on par with a master chef's work.

"Gu Jinsheng, were you a chef before? This is incredible! Good thing you don’t cook daily, or I’d turn into a total fatty." Ji An praised sincerely. He could cook himself, though his skills were nothing to write home about—neither brilliant nor disastrous, just passable.

Gu Jinsheng’s lips curled slightly. "Once things settle down, I can cook for you every day."

His expression was serious, his eyes locked onto Ji An’s. Unable to respond, Ji An felt his heart race nervously under the intense gaze and had to look away.

They chatted about other topics, eventually finishing nearly all the dishes.

Gu Jinsheng asked Ji An to sit on the sofa and keep him company while he washed the dishes in the kitchen, their conversation turning into casual banter.

"In a few days, after seeing off other base delegations, I’ll go into seclusion to absorb the Zombie Cores. This time, I’m aiming to break through to Tier 6. If all goes well, it’ll take a day; if not, longer. If you need anything during that time, reach out to Zhou Qin, Kong Zhongcheng, or Wan Xueying—I’ve already informed them."

Understood. Gu Jinsheng had been stuck at the peak of Tier 5 for a long time. Now that he finally obtained a Tier 6 Zombie Core, advancing immediately was crucial.

Moreover, many cores were auctioned this time, and many more changed hands privately. Soon, many enhanced individuals would experience breakthroughs and advance in large numbers.

As the top commander of Jing City Base, Gu Jinsheng needed to level up quickly to deter any would-be challengers.