Chapter 52: Second Update

Chapter 52 Update 2

Whenever Gu Jinsheng had time to return home, he would cook for Ji An. That evening, he prepared four dishes and a soup: stir-fried cured pork with beans and potatoes, dry-fried fresh mushrooms, stir-fried mutated beef, yellow-braised mutated chicken, and mutated pork bone and lotus root soup.

Ji An grew slightly embarrassed. "You're always so busy, and yet you still cook for me when you finally come home. I’ve never cooked for you—so far, I’ve only taken you out for Western food once."

Gu Jinsheng gave Ji An an intense look as he served him rice, saying meaningfully, "You don’t need to cook for me. Just allow me to cook for you for the rest of my life."

Ji An’s heart pounded nervously. Of course, he wouldn’t stay celibate for a scumbag like Chen Chen or swear off love forever. But he simply wasn’t ready to start a new romance yet. Others might think he had merely wasted a decade of misplaced affection, but only he knew it had been an entire lifetime. As a ghost, he had endured the span of a full human life.

Ji An thought that after such emotional torment, it was already remarkable that he hadn’t developed an aversion or disgust toward love.

"So, did Zhou Qin mention anything to you?" Unable to respond, Ji An changed the subject. "He seems to want to take over the orphanage and stay there to help out from now on."

It was a heavy topic, and Gu Jinsheng remained silent for a long moment before replying, "He’s someone with great drive and ambition. He shouldn’t waste the rest of his life like this. We’ll discuss this matter later."

"Alright," Ji An agreed. "After all, his leg was only recently broken. There’s no rush for him to step down so soon."

Gu Jinsheng didn’t comment further and instead shifted to tomorrow’s mission plans. "The exact location of the Psychic Zombie King has been locked down again, and we’ve mostly scouted out the zombie horde situation. I’ll lead the team to take them out the morning after tomorrow. Do you want to come?"

"I do!" Ji An was fascinated by the Psychic Zombie King—it was the first one he had encountered in both lifetimes of the apocalypse.

As for whether any Psychic Zombie Kings had appeared in his previous life after his death, Ji An had no idea.

Back then, he had been confined to Chen Chen and Tang Tang’s bedroom, and all his information came solely from those two.

Unfortunately, Tang Tang wasn’t career-driven—she was only interested in men. Every night, Chen Chen would return and discuss with her either romantic affairs or petty jealousy—who Tang Tang had gotten close to that day, who was pursuing her, or which powerful superpowered she was flirting with. No matter how the conversation started, it always ended with the two of them in bed.

So bored, Ji An eventually blocked them out and focused on mental research. Naturally, he had no idea whether a Psychic Zombie King had emerged at this point in his past life.

"Good." In truth, Gu Jinsheng had already reserved a spot for Ji An. He knew Ji An’s personality well enough—there was no way he wouldn’t go.

The next day, Ji An went to the lab as usual to conduct experiments. He had made some progress, but ironically, that very progress plunged him into an even deeper problem.

He felt like a traveler wandering through a desert. Every time he spotted a lake in the distance, he would desperately rush toward it, only to find upon arrival that it was just another mirage.

This was the first time since he began his research that he had encountered such a roadblock.

Wu Youyang knew Ji An was working on a new project and seemed to be stuck. He tried to console him: "Boss Ji, to be honest, in research, hitting a wall like this without finding a breakthrough is completely normal.

What you did before—succeeding at whatever you set your mind to immediately—that was what was unusual."

"Really?" Ji An replied absentmindedly. But he knew he was different—he had an extra lifetime’s worth of time. In his past life, he had been idle, eventually ignoring even Chen Chen and Tang Tang in his later years, shutting himself in his mental world to run endless calculations and simulations.

"Of course," Wu Youyang shrugged. "Boss Ji, honestly, the cellular tissue regeneration experiment you’re working on now is pretty unrealistic. If you could crack it as easily as before, I might genuinely start thinking you’re not human."

In truth, Wu Youyang doubted Ji An could pull this off. Before the apocalypse, there had been no fewer than tens of thousands of global research projects on cellular tissue regeneration, yet even now, in the apocalypse, no real breakthroughs had been made.

If anyone else had taken on this experiment as their primary focus, Wu Youyang would’ve advised them to switch projects, or at least treat it as a long-term side endeavor.

But since the person leading this project was the same legendary genius who had invented both the spatial storage device and nutritional supplements—two supposedly impossible feats—Wu Youyang didn’t dare dissuade him.

What if the boss actually succeeded, only to abandon it because of his advice? He’d go down in history as humanity’s greatest sinner.

Ji An was a deity—a completely different species from him!

"Are you insulting me?" Ji An knew Wu Youyang was joking, so he wasn’t offended. Instead, he played along.

"No," Wu Youyang said. "You’re a god!"

"Hahaha..." Ji An laughed.

Wu Youyang grinned, "Boss Ji, if you're a god, remember I'm your first believer. This position is like the head disciple in cultivation sects—my status is different from others."

"Don't worry," Ji An chuckled. "Didn’t I already hand over the hiring decisions for our lab to you?"

Ji An had originally planned to conduct the interviews himself. After all, these would be the first researchers entering his laboratory and required careful screening.

But he truly had no time. First came trouble from America, then Superpowered Crystal Cores, and recently the emergence of the Psychic Zombie King that broke Zhou Qin’s leg. On top of that, he was now working on cell regeneration research.

And this experiment felt like chasing a phantom—he was like the proverbial monkey trying to scoop up the moon, unable to grasp it no matter how hard he tried.

Wu Youyang could offer only limited help. In fact, anyone's assistance would be limited at best.

At most, they could observe and record data regarding cellular regeneration when lizards or geckos regrew their tails after self-amputation.

Yet, it was precisely these simple observations that Ji An didn’t dare entrust to Wu Youyang and the others.

It wasn’t that he doubted their competence. Wu Youyang and the others were veteran researchers with decades of experience—recording basic observational data wouldn’t be a problem.

What worried Ji An was that they might overlook details they deemed unimportant. Often, discoveries in science aren’t made by solving hard problems but by noticing small, seemingly insignificant ones.

However tall a skyscraper is, it’s still built brick by brick. No matter how magnificent its exterior, its structure remains the same.

People might seem like marvels, but ultimately, they’re composed of cells.

If one could fully understand a single cell, they could decode every secret of the human body.

So the challenge Ji An faced now wasn’t deciphering the complex structures of the human body—it was studying what appeared simplest yet was most intricate: the cell.

Out of ideas, Ji An decided to stop for the day. There was no point forcing it since he had a field mission tomorrow. Instead, he drove to the orphanage to check on the children.

Once he obtained the Psychic Zombie King’s core, he probably wouldn’t have time to visit them anymore. With two experiments running simultaneously, he might be stuck in the laboratory for ages.

As usual, Ji An bought a thousand credits’ worth of supplies for the children before heading to the orphanage.

The orphanage gate was closed as always—to prevent the children from wandering out. Ji An didn’t think much of it and knocked. But after waiting a while with no response, he realized there was probably no one inside.

That wasn’t unusual. The orphanage was full of children—they couldn’t stay cooped up studying all day. Most likely, Yuan Mingan had taken them on an excursion now that Zhou Qin was around, giving them a chance to play.

A group of children leaving wouldn’t go unnoticed. Ji An decided to ask a nearby resident.

Just then, he turned and saw an old woman peeking through her window.

"Hello, grandma—" Ji An started to ask where the children had gone when the woman suddenly yanked the curtains shut and slammed the window closed.

Ji An let it go and turned to someone else.

Luckily, a younger woman next door didn’t avoid him and instead looked at him curiously.

"Hello, ma’am." She looked older than Ji An, but in the Collapse world, appearances were unreliable. Not wanting to risk offending her, Ji An opted for a safe bet.

"Have you seen where the children from this orphanage went?" he asked.

She shifted nervously and nodded, pointing in a direction. "There’s a Pre-Collapse park over there. Earlier, I heard the children say they were going for an outing—they’re probably there."

"Thanks, I’ll check there." Sensing no superpowered presence from her, Ji An took out an adult nutrient pack from his storage and placed it on the windowsill. "This is for you—thanks for telling me."

The woman didn’t take it immediately, but the moment Ji An turned away, she grabbed it in a flash.

The old lady next door had closed the window and drawn the curtains, yet she was hiding behind them, peering through a slit to secretly observe Ji An.

So she witnessed and overheard everything involving Ji An.

Seeing an opportunity for gain, the old lady no longer hid. She quickly crawled out from the back window, moving with agility that defied her age, her limbs surprisingly nimble.

"Oi, oi, oi!" Not knowing Ji An's name, the old lady shouted rudely. Ji An turned and asked, "Is there something you need?"

The old lady immediately said, "You’re lookin’ for those no-mama brats, ain’t ya? I’ll tell ya—they went to that park over there, led by some old hag and a cripple with a busted leg."

After speaking, the old lady looked at Ji An expectantly.

Ji An knew what she meant—she wanted a reward. Ji An could spare a nutrient pack or two; he was the manufacturer and had plenty. But he wouldn’t give any to her. He disliked people with her kind of personality, as his own conduct showed.

He didn’t demand others must help, but a little help cost nothing. If someone didn’t want to help, that was fine—no one forced them—but then they shouldn’t envy the rewards others got for doing good.

In truth, Ji An hadn’t given the nutrient pack to the young woman to show off to the old lady. It was just how he’d been raised—he disliked owing others favors, even for something as small as a piece of information.

Unexpectedly, it had provoked the old lady, which was an unexpected bonus.

Ji An said, "I already know. Someone told me. But thanks anyway."

The old lady asked in disbelief, "That’s all?!"

"I already thanked you," Ji An replied without any guilt, as if it were the most natural thing. "I said thanks as a courtesy—nothing more."

The old lady curled her lip. "Cheapskate!"

Ji An nodded. "Thank you for the compliment."

This infuriated the old lady, but Ji An ignored her and strolled off, pleased with himself.

*Bang bang bang!* Before Ji An had gone far, he heard the old lady slamming the window furiously. "Hand over the nutrient pack now! Give it to me!" she snarled threateningly.

The young woman inside neither opened the window nor spoke, but the old lady refused to let it go, continuing to hammer on the glass.

Ji An stopped and turned back, locking eyes with the old lady’s vicious glare. Far from feeling ashamed, she glared back, unrepentant, pounding the window even harder. She even began spewing filth: "You little whore, cough it up! Always seducing men, and those men are just shameless enough to—"

Ji An’s face went cold. He wasn’t the type to bully others with his powers, but this time, he raised his hand and sent a lash of psychic energy shooting from his fingers. It struck the half-open windowpane with a crisp *crack*, shattering the glass into fragments on the ground.

Ji An was precise—despite reducing the window to pieces, he didn’t harm the old lady at all.

Even so, the old lady crumpled to the floor, terrified, reduced to a quivering wreck. "Y-you can’t kill me!" she stammered. "The base forbids using superpowers! You—you’ve violated the rules! The base will expel you!"

"Oh?" Ji An flashed a grin that didn’t reach his eyes. "Didn’t you know the orphanage was established by the base? And I’m an internal member. You know how it is—internal members get special perks."

This was, of course, pure bullshit. Gu Jinsheng’s management was strict—even he himself had no special privileges.

But the old lady didn’t know that. She trembled violently before her eyes rolled back and she fainted.

With his psychic power, Ji An could easily tell whether she was truly unconscious or faking. He ignored her and turned to see the young woman standing by the window, gazing at him with admiration. Ji An gave her a polite nod before striding away.

Almost as soon as Ji An turned the corner, the old lady leapt up from the ground. The young woman, frightened, immediately retreated from the window. The old lady saw this but didn’t dare curse this time, afraid Ji An might still be nearby and return to settle the score.

She scrambled back through the rear window in a flash, slamming it shut as if fleeing demons. Even then, she couldn’t resist lamenting the broken glass.

Zhou Qin, not wanting to hold everyone back, had deliberately brought a wheelchair today, which indeed sped things up.

The group soon arrived at the park. Gone were the towering trees, green grass, and trickling creeks of the pre-apocalypse era. All that remained were dilapidated rockeries, broken bridges, and dead weeds.

However, for children who have been wandering for years, this was already a wonderful place. In the past, even if they passed by here on an empty stomach, they would rush past without stopping to play. Today, they could finally have a good time.

The art teacher said, "You can choose a spot or a scene based on your preference—a flower or a blade of grass will do—and then draw it. I'll check when we gather later."

"Yes, teacher!" Little Rose replied with the children in unison.

Yuan Mingan added, "Stay close to the three of us. Play within this garden, and stick together in pairs. If anything happens, shout immediately."

"Okay!" the children answered, with Little Stone’s voice the loudest.

"Remember, don’t leave my sight or Zhou-jie's," Yuan Mingan emphasized again. "Now, go ahead and play! When you hear the whistle, come back right away!"

Yuan Mingan and Zhou Qin sat on the lawn with the widest view, from where they could see almost the entire park.

In truth, just two days ago, this park had been far more desolate, with weeds waist-high from neglect.

It was the art teacher who planned to take the children out for sketching, so Zhou Qin had gotten up early to tidy the place.

Zhou Qin never imagined that one day his plant-based superpower would be used for cleanup—but the effect was quite good. By morning, though the park wasn’t fully restored, it no longer resembled wilderness. Sitting on the lawn, they could clearly see the positions of all the children in the small park.

"Commander Zhou, will you take over the orphanage from now on?" Yuan Mingan asked casually while keeping an eye on the children.

Zhou Qin smiled. "Yuan-jie, just call me Zhou Qin or Xiao Zhou from now on. Drop the 'Commander.' We’ll likely be colleagues soon, as my work focus will gradually shift here."

Yuan Mingan didn’t ask about Zhou Qin’s legs. His status, connections, and influence were beyond her reach. If there had been any hope of treatment, it would have been pursued long ago.

"Little Rose! Aunt Yuan, help! Someone took Little Rose! Waaah—" Little Stone’s voice suddenly cried out, frantic and desperate, but after just one cry, it was cut off into muffled cries.

Zhou Qin and Yuan Mingan looked up to see a dozen or so grown men grabbing the children from the orphanage. Little Stone, Little Rose, and more than a dozen others were each clutched in a man’s arms, their mouths covered.

Seeing they’d been spotted, the men unleashed superpowered strikes at Zhou Qin and Yuan Mingan first, then turned and fled.

A dozen superpowers struck simultaneously, each a lethal blow—swift and merciless.

In an instant, the attacks reached Zhou Qin and Yuan Mingan. Zhou Qin countered with several strikes of his own, neutralizing some of the incoming assaults.

He then activated "Dense Forest," causing the weeds and withered trees around the men to grow rapidly, twisting wildly. In moments, a wall of vegetation blocked their escape while vines coiled around their ankles, dragging them down.

"Ah!" Little Stone seized the chance to bite down hard on the hand of the man holding him. The man shrieked in pain and instinctively loosened his grip, allowing Little Stone to break free and dash toward Little Rose.

At the same time, Yuan Mingan let out a scream. Her superpower level was lower than the attackers’, and her counter was shattered. The remaining force forced a mouthful of blood from her lips.

Two more superpowers were already hurtling toward her. If these three strikes landed, Yuan Mingan would be killed instantly—even Fang Rurong’s presence wouldn’t save her.

Zhou Qin had no choice but to abandon his assault on the men and save Yuan Mingan instead. The moment he deflected the attacks aimed at her, the art teacher cried for help—she too was under attack. Zhou Qin rushed to her aid, forming a wooden barrier around both Yuan Mingan and the teacher to protect them.

In that brief moment of distraction, Zhou Qin’s suppression of the men weakened, allowing them to seize their chance and flee.

"Aunt Yuan, they’re getting away!" Little Stone kicked and punched at the man holding Little Rose, but his strength was too feeble. The man merely unleashed a superpower, sending Little Stone tumbling across the ground, blood trickling from his mouth.

Trapped inside the wooden walls of Zhou Qin’s superpower, Yuan Mingan was safe—but also cut off from the outside.

"Zhou Qin! Zhou Qin, withdraw your superpower!" Hearing Little Stone’s cries, Yuan Mingan was frantic. She scrambled up, ignoring the blood at her lips, and hammered the walls, screaming in desperation.

No matter how many times she called, Zhou Qin didn’t respond. Unable to see outside, she grew increasingly anxious and began attacking one spot on the wooden wall with all her might.

The wooden enclosure might have seemed fragile, but anyone who tried to break it would soon learn just how unbreakable it really was.

Yuan Ming’an kept attacking the same spot, one hit after another, unaware how long she had been at it before finally managing to create a small hole.

She quickly pressed her mouth to the hole and shouted, “Zhou Qin, deactivate your superpower and let me out!”

This time, Zhou Qin seemed to hear her. He swiftly withdrew his ability, and Yuan Ming’an, clutching her chest, stumbled out, disheveled and bruised. She saw Little Stone, who had been sent rolling head over heels from the beating he’d taken, clutching his bleeding mouth as he struggled to his feet and ran in the direction the kidnappers had fled.

Yuan Ming’an yelled, “Little Stone, come back!”

Little Stone heard her. He glanced back at Yuan Ming’an but didn’t stop, continuing his pursuit.

Yuan Ming’an shouted as she chased after him. Zhou Qin called out, “Yuan Ming’an, come back! I’ll go after them—you’re no match for them!”

Zhou Qin, frantic, tried handling his wheelchair, but he was still unskilled with it. The uneven grass made maneuvering difficult, and after a couple of turns, he toppled over—wheelchair and everything.

Yuan Ming’an immediately said, “The children still need protection here. Your superpower level is higher—stay and guard them in case the kidnappers double back. I’ll go after them!”

Helplessly sprawled on the ground, Zhou Qin could only pound the ground in frustration, hating his own powerlessness.

But there was no time to dwell. Still lying there, he pulled out his phone and called for backup.

The attack had been sudden, and Zhou Qin had been fighting nonstop until now, finally finding a moment to make the call. As for the art teacher, she was just an ordinary person—in these end times, survival was hard enough for civilians, let alone affording a phone.

“Teacher Zhou, let me help you up,” the art teacher said, rushing over to lift the wheelchair off him and helping him back into it.

Only then did she have time to blow her whistle—piercing and frantic—while shouting, “Children, gather around Teacher Zhou! Quickly! Now! Immediately!”

Ji An had just reached the entrance when he heard the urgent whistle and the art teacher’s panicked cries. Realizing something was wrong, he sprinted into the park and saw the children, scared like startled deer, rushing toward Zhou Qin and the new art teacher.

A few kids were paralyzed in corners, too terrified to move.

Ji An reached them and immediately asked, “Zhou Qin, what happened?”

Zhou Qin’s eyes, burning with frustration at his helplessness, brightened the moment he saw Ji An. He grabbed Ji An’s arm and said, “Go save Yuan Ming’an! Superpowered kidnappers took Little Rose and the others. Yuan Ming’an chased after them, but she’s no match for those superhumans. Hurry!”

Zhou Qin had never been the kind of person waiting for rescue—he was always the rescuer, never the one needing help. Yet now, he felt utterly useless, overwhelmed by helplessness.

But he didn’t wallow. Instead, he quickly laid out the situation.

“I’ll go after them!” Ji An turned to run in the direction Zhou Qin pointed, but before he could, Zhou Qin grabbed him again.

“What’s wrong?” Ji An asked urgently. Every minute wasted meant greater danger for Yuan Ming’an and the children.

Zhou Qin said, “No, you can’t go. We don’t know how many are in their hideout or if they have even stronger supers. If something happens to you, I’ll become a national disgrace! The boss would have my head!”

This wasn’t an exaggeration, nor was it favoritism—it was about Ji An being irreplaceable.

The spatial storage device, the nutrient formula—in less than a year at the base, he’d already created two game-changing inventions that defied the laws of physics. Who knew what groundbreaking discoveries he might make in the future?

Ji An’s value far surpassed that of others. It wasn’t just one life weighed against Yuan Ming’an and a few children—it was millions, even billions of lives at stake.

The math was clear.

Zhou Qin added, “I’ve already called for backup. Backup’s on the way.”

“No,” Ji An replied, “waiting will take too long. By then, any trail we could’ve followed might be contaminated by bystanders.”

Ji An firmly brushed aside Zhou Qin's hand. "I've never been a hothouse flower. Before I came to the Jing City Base, I fought tooth and nail for every scrap of supplies just to survive. Don't forget, even the lab was something I traded for with my own combat resources!"

"But—" Zhou Qin hesitated.

"No excuses. If I don't go to save them today and anyone gets hurt, my conscience will never rest. I'd be haunted by guilt for the rest of my life, incapable of producing any meaningful research—*that* would truly be the end of me!"

As Ji An spoke these words, his eyes burned brighter than the midday sun. At that moment, sunlight seemed to clothe him in a radiant halo of armor, as though he were a divine being descended from the heavens—his beauty defied gender, his handsomeness sharp and awe-inspiring!

Where his sword points, oceans stand still!

Zhou Qin’s grip on him unconsciously loosened. At this moment, Ji An seemed to radiate a magnetic presence, compelling others to believe in him and submit without question!