Chapter 78: M Base: Jing City Base Stole Our Glory!

Chapter 78 M Base: The Capital Base Stole Our Glory!

Gu Jinsheng had sensed something off about Ji An earlier and speculated many possibilities, but he never expected this outcome.

"No Superpowered Crystal Core?" Gu Jinsheng asked, "How is your Psychic Superpower then?"

Ji An smiled bitterly, "It's fine. You should know—it just caused quite a scene, invading many people's minds. And during the superpower assessment, it was clearly detected at Level 4, early stage, a full level above its pre-crippled state."

Gu Jinsheng's gaze darkened. "Water?"

A single word, and both understood.

Ji An nodded, "Very likely."

As they spoke, Ji An's eyes inadvertently landed on Gu Jinsheng's arm. He asked in surprise, "Why is the bite mark still on your arm? Didn’t you have a healer superpowered treat it?"

Gu Jinsheng grew oddly flustered and quickly replied, "I did, but for some reason, it wasn’t very effective. Maybe because my level is too much higher than that healer superpowered’s. I figured it wasn’t a serious injury, so I didn’t seek another superpowered’s help. Didn’t expect the mark to heal so slowly."

"The level gap must be too big." Ji An took out a small packet of medicinal solution from his space, tore it open, and applied it to the bite mark. The mark wasn’t large, so it didn’t need much. The nearly full remaining packet was handed to Gu Jinsheng. "Keep the rest. This is the same solution used to treat Zhou Qin’s leg injury—very effective."

"Alright." Gu Jinsheng accepted it without hesitation. Ji An then retrieved the recently upgraded spiritual springwater and passed it to him. "From now on, drink only this. As for the water Yuan Mingan sends over, you can use it for bathing or other purposes."

Yuan Mingan, grateful to Ji An for rescuing her daughter and reuniting them, had insisted on providing all their daily water despite Ji An’s repeated refusals.

"Got it." Gu Jinsheng already knew the spiritual springwater was extraordinary. He poured himself a cup and took a sip—then froze.

This batch was unlike any previous batch. Drinking it brought a profound lightness, like his soul itself was purified. Even his chronic migraines—lingering since losing his superpower—eased slightly, replaced by a rare coolness.

Gu Jinsheng glanced at Ji An, who offered no explanation, only smiling back. So he didn’t ask further, downing the entire cup in one go.

Ji An then proposed, "Jinsheng, I have an idea. I want to replace all the water used in our base’s nutrient solutions with this kind."

His words were tantamount to admitting the water’s uniqueness. Most would’ve questioned it directly, but Gu Jinsheng didn’t. He fixed Ji An with a penetrating look. "Too risky. And the water will eventually run out."

Ji An understood his concern. "I’ve thought it through. Since nutrient solutions require purchasing water from water-type superpowered anyway, why not let the base assign this task to me? Our lab can oversee water procurement, allowing me to mix mine in. A ratio of 1:100 with a healer superpowered’s water would suffice—or even 1:1000 for ordinary people. The difference would be undetectable.

"As for supply, don’t worry. Even if the entire global population consumed it, there’d be enough."

This was no empty boast. Ji An had briefly worried the spiritual spring might deplete. But after learning how it upgraded, he realized his worry was unfounded.

As long as he obtained more pure, untainted aquatic specimens, the spiritual spring could keep evolving—perhaps one day even developing into a sea.

The spatial ring simulated an Earth-like environment, so the spiritual spring’s upgrades likely mirrored Earth’s water systems, where oceans covered 71%. If true, the spring’s reserves could sustain generations globally.

Gu Jinsheng still hesitated. "It’s still dangerous."

"I’ll be careful." Ji An felt the spatial ring contained greater secrets—far beyond what he’d uncovered. Such a treasure surely had greater purpose. Part of him even suspected it was humanity's salvation, a notion so chilling he dared not dwell on it.

For now, he’d take it one step at a time. By sharing the spiritual spring’s gifts while guarding its secret, he would do justice to its power.

Seeing Ji An’s resolve, Gu Jinsheng acquiesced. "I’ll arrange a secure water repository. All water-type superpowered supplies will be pooled there. Your team can blend yours in during routine quality inspections."

"Good. Your personnel are more vetted than mine anyway." Ji An admitted, "Right now, Wu Youyang’s the only one in my lab I can trust."

"After this, your lab will probably be inundated with recruits."

Ji An was unfazed; it didn’t matter to him.

After exchanging a few more words, Ji An and Gu Jinsheng returned to their rooms to rest. Ji An’s head ached dully, likely due to hacking into too many minds and absorbing excessive information earlier.

Unlike the skull-splitting pain earlier, he didn’t need to take sleeping pills again. After drinking some water, he fell asleep.

No lie—the Magic Spring water worked wonders. If it were ordinary water, Ji An would have likely developed a dependency after taking such high doses of sleeping pills for so long. But the Magic Spring water wiped that worry clean.

That evening, the public channel lit up right on time with the Jing City Base’s logo.

In the past, though the public channel had always existed, bases hardly ever went live in the past seven years. But in the last six months, Jing City Base had somehow started hosting broadcasts every other day—and never just fluff. They always had substantial, even critical, content to share.

Since Cong Xun of the Northern Base visited Jing City Base and witnessed the spatial storage devices and nutrient solutions, he had developed an inexplicable trust and admiration for them.

Any news released by Jing City Base, no matter how outrageous—even if they announced plans to migrate to the moon the next day—Cong Xun would take it as gospel and immediately rally the whole base to pack for the moon.

So now, even though the broadcast started a few minutes earlier than scheduled, Cong Xun had already gathered the Northern Base’s top brass glued to the screen.

"Jing City Base has deciphered the technology allowing the coexistence of the zombie virus antigen and antibody within Superpowered Crystal Cores—pioneered by M and R nations—and now they’re making it public. You have to admit, Jing City Base is truly magnanimous, with solid technical prowess. They step up when it matters, acting like a damn patriarch—prioritizing the greater good and the future of humanity over selfish interests," Cong Xun said admiringly.

A high-ranking official from the Northern Base chimed in, "Absolutely. If we put ourselves in their shoes—if we’d cracked this first—I honestly don’t think we’d be willing to disclose it without any benefit to our own base."

Meanwhile, Han Zhiwei of the Southern Base was also gathered with his officials in front of the television, his face unreadable. "Jing City Base really cracked the coexistence technology?"

Just a few days earlier, researchers from the Southern Base had also deciphered the coexistence technology. However, they had never considered making it public. In fact, they had believed they were the only base to solve the problem and had even celebrated extensively.

Yet before their hangovers even faded, Jing City Base had abruptly announced they would disclose the coexistence technology.

"Jing City Base doesn’t shoot blanks. If they’re announcing it on the public channel, they must have genuinely solved the coexistence issue," one of the Southern Base’s researchers said grimly.

"By that logic, Jing City Base must have cracked it before us. There’s no way they deciphered it yesterday and impulsively announced it today. They must have gone through numerous clinical trials and rounds of discussions. Calculating backward, they must have solved it at least several months ahead of us."

A high-ranking official blurted out, "In the past, our Southern Base was always ahead of Jing City Base in infrastructure and development. But at some point, Jing City Base overtook us—and lapped us."

"Seems like it started with the spatial storage devices and nutrient solutions."

Someone worriedly said, "Hell if I know whether to root for Jing City Base to stop making breakthroughs—so they don’t end up absorbing us—or to hope they keep innovating for the sake of all humanity."

"That’s not for us to decide. Guess we’re along for the ride."

At Luo City Base, Owen chuckled. "I thought we’d finally outpaced Jing City Base this time—that we were the first to crack the coexistence issue. Nope, they schooled us again."

Jiang Fuzhong said, "Wasn’t it said that Jing City Base’s psychic superpower expert—the ex-boyfriend of the former Commander-in-Chief of the Third Base—burned out his Psychic Superpower in that bust against human traffickers while protecting a group of orphans? How did they still manage to decipher it?"

Owen laughed. "Jing City Base’s research talent isn’t limited to Ji An. Have you forgotten about Han Yaokun? The guy was a pre-apocalypse rockstar scientist. Gu Jinsheng went to great lengths to recruit him."

Jiang Fuzhong gave an awkward laugh. "I did forget about him. Ji An’s rep eclipses the rest."

Speaking of Ji An, Jiang Fuzhong sighed regretfully. "The gods hate a prodigy. Without his Psychic Superpower, Ji An is pretty much washed up."

"Not necessarily," Du Ruanlan, who had remained silent until now, suddenly interjected. "We don’t even know for sure who deciphered the technology this time. The gods hate a prodigy is true, but that prodigy might not be content to fade into obscurity so easily.

I suspect this broadcast is just another case of throwing chum in the water."

"The hell?" Jiang Fuzhong gaped at her.

Du Ruanlan narrowed her eyes, shedding her usual laid-back attitude for an unprecedented seriousness as she stared intently at the TV screen. "Don't you think the person on TV looks familiar?"

Owen and Jiang Fuzhong turned to the screen and saw that the public channel, which wasn’t supposed to start broadcasting yet, already displayed a superpowerer.

The man wore a suit jacket on his upper body but only a pair of baggy shorts on his lower half, revealing his straight legs. His thighs were packed with corded muscles, clearly honed through frequent combat training.

The muscular definition exuded a primal, rugged appeal.

Jiang Fuzhong couldn’t help but feel speechless. "Isn’t it cold in the Capital Base right now? Long sleeves and pants would be more appropriate. Wearing shorts like that probably requires turning on the heater. What’s the point of this? Just to show off his physique? Not to be rude, but who in the apocalypse doesn’t have a body like that from fighting?"

Owen pointed at the man. "Maybe he’s not showing off his muscles, but simply his intact, healthy, flesh-and-blood legs. And do you recognize who he is?"

Jiang Fuzhong was puzzled and turned his questioning gaze back to the screen. Just then, the man on TV spoke, sounding as if it were his first time broadcasting and he didn’t understand the process. He asked a staff member beside him, "Is everything ready? Are we live?"

"We’re live," a staff member replied.

Jiang Fuzhong found the voice oddly familiar but couldn’t quite place it. Fortunately, he knew only a limited number of people from the Capital Base, so he mentally ran through them one by one.

But he didn’t need to. The next second, Zhou Qin’s mug invaded the whole screen, startling Jiang Fuzhong, who had been concentrating on matching the voice. He couldn’t help but curse under his breath.

Then, Zhou Qin’s voice came through the screen, "Oh wow, I can really see my own face. It’s been so long since I last broadcasted, I’m rusty. Oh no, did you guys capture me walking around with my legs bare earlier? Please don’t tell me that got recorded—every base in the country’s watching! That’s so embarrassing!"

A staff member discreetly rolled their eyes. *As if he didn’t do it on purpose.* Zhou Qin was the base’s public ambassador, usually the one representing the Capital Base in speeches and broadcasts. There was no way he’d forget the process after just a few months off. He’d gone a whole year without broadcasting before and never forgot.

"It was recorded," the staff member answered honestly, despite their internal complaints.

Zhou Qin wailed, "Ah! My legendary dignity is toast! And here I thought I’d just show my upper body in this sharp suit jacket—how did my chicken legs make it on air? So embarrassing!"

Jiang Fuzhong couldn’t resist muttering, "It’s cold in the Capital Base this season. Who wears shorts in this weather unless they’re begging for attention?"

"Exactly. He did it on purpose," Owen said solemnly, looking at Jiang Fuzhong. "Who is he?"

"Zhou Qin, the Deputy Commander of the Capital Base. He’s always been the one handling their public relations—everyone knows his face from broadcasts. A real wolf in sheep’s clothing. He only stopped showing off recently because his leg got cut off. Wait… his leg?" Jiang Fuzhong finally realized what was wrong. His expression turned horrified. "Wait, didn’t Zhou Qin’s leg get severed? Completely cut off by a spy from Country R? They even broadcasted the execution of that spy. It’s only been a few months—how is it healed?"

Jiang Fuzhong wasn’t the only one who recognized Zhou Qin and had this question. Leaders from other bases shared the same confusion.

Cong Xun said, "I heard the Capital Base used Zhou Qin’s injury as leverage to pressure M-country into sending over some healing superpowerers, including a peak-level one. Maybe a peak-level healing superpowerer fixed it? Those peak-level healers really are as incredible as the rumors say!"

Han Zhiwei from the Southern Base had the same thought, but he considered more. "There might be more to it. It’s unlikely the healing superpowerers sent by M-country were the ones who healed him. Even if a peak-level healer could do it, would M-country really be so kind as to send someone to help? No way. If they didn’t sabotage Zhou Qin’s superpower, it’d already be a miracle—they’d never actually help!"

After confirming Zhou Qin’s identity, Du Ruanlan relaxed, leaning back on the sofa and returning to her usual lazy demeanor. "Maybe this is what the Capital Base really wants to reveal. Just like last time—the auction was supposedly about spatial storage devices, but the real showstopper was the groundbreaking nutrient formula!"

"So the coexistence technology was just the bait. The real game-changer is the medical technique that restored a severed leg," Han Zhiwei deduced.

Many bases had already guessed as much and were waiting for Zhou Qin to reveal the truth. Instead, Zhou Qin sat down seriously and began explaining the coexistence technology in detail.

The problem was, it was obvious Zhou Qin hadn’t prepared. He might not have even read the script beforehand, butchering technical terms like a rookie and even making several mistakes that had to be corrected on the spot by staff.

Zhou Qin grinned through the flubs. "Well, you all know I lost a leg before, so I haven’t been as focused on work. I didn’t review this script in advance—it’s full of obscure gibberish I don’t understand.

But don’t worry, the key technical specs will be sent to you all via fax later. You can trust this document—it was written by our base’s top-tier research expert. There are absolutely no mistakes. If you find any errors, rest assured—the document is flawless (unlike you). The mistake is definitely on your end. Just go back and figure out where you went wrong."

Every word of that was a train wreck. No one knew where to begin criticizing.

Cong Xun remarked, "Did Zhou Qin’s new leg come with a lobotomy? Maybe regrowing a limb cost him half his brain cells."

Zhou Qin paid no heed to what other bases thought, fumbled through reading the speech, then tossed it aside like trash with a relieved sigh. That was the core technological breakthrough on the coexistence issue—something countless bases had poured vast resources into without success—yet Zhou Qin discarded it carelessly as if it were trash.

Zhou Qin said, "Finally done with this. I never understand these scientific things. Thank god our base has an actual genius.

Alright, enough digressions. The broadcast should technically end here, but since we're already live, I might as well take this chance to mention some side stuff."

Bases that had already guessed Zhou Qin was about to drop another bombshell were speechless. Owen raised a thumb at Zhou Qin on the screen and said, "Epic flex—I give it 10/10!"

Zhou Qin had someone bring in a treatment pod and pointed at it. "You’ve probably never seen this before. Let me introduce it—it’s called a treatment pod.

Currently, its healing capability only supports Level 4 early-stage superpowers and below, but its treatment scope can cure literally anything.

My leg was healed by it."

This statement made every base watching lose their damn minds. Many high-ranking officials stood up in stunned disbelief.

"Zhou Qin’s leg was healed by *that*? Not a top-tier healing super!" Cong Xun exclaimed in shock.

Han Zhiwei’s expression darkened. "A treatment pod? What game-changing tech is this now?"

Zhou Qin deliberately stroked his chin, feigning deep thought. "Of course, the treatment scope is still too limited. Our genius isn’t satisfied and is working hard to improve it. You can look forward to that."

"Since Zhou Qin got his leg back, he’s gotten way too cocky!" Jiang Fuzhong wanted to climb into the TV and punch Zhou Qin’s smug face. "Level 4 early-stage and below superpowerers, capable of curing *anything*, and he still thinks the scope isn’t wide enough? Is he trying to cure death next?"

Owen said, "I’d like to know if it really works."

On screen, Zhou Qin announced, "Now, let’s welcome our first patient—a superpowerer who had his eyes gouged out ten years ago during a base mission. Unfortunately, he’s had it worse than me. Please welcome him!"

A superpowerer, leaning on a cane and guided by a seeing-eye dog, slowly walked onto the stage.

He reached the center, where staff helped him remove his sunglasses, revealing two gaping, sightless hollows.

The camera deliberately zoomed in on the gaping voids where his eyes should have been.

The unprepared audience gasped at the sight.

The superpowerer, shaking with emotion, immediately tried to grab Zhou Qin’s clothes. Thankfully, staff steadied him before he could fall.

"Commander Zhou, your leg was really healed—does that mean my eyes can be healed too? Right? You *have* to help me! They tore my eyes out for refusing to betray the base’s secrets!"

Zhou Qin stepped forward and embraced him, patting his shoulder reassuringly before muttering a name only he could hear. "I remember your name. I won’t say it aloud to protect you. Rest assured, Jing City Base remembers your sacrifice. Commander-in-Chief Gu remembers. *I* remember.

We remember *everyone’s* sacrifices, and we won’t let a single drop of our heroes’ blood be shed in vain.

See? Now that the base has a way to heal, you were the first we thought of. We remember you. Jing City Base remembers you!"

The superpowerer calmed the moment Zhou Qin correctly said his name. Now, choked up by Zhou Qin’s words, he would have cried if he still had eyes. "I don’t regret anything I gave for the base. But these eyes… Because of them, the person I loved took our child and left. I don’t blame them—who'd want a broken-down cripple?

Because of these eyes, for ten years, my superpower hasn’t advanced—it’s even regressed."

Zhou Qin said, "Don’t worry. In just ten minutes—maybe even less—you won’t be blind anymore. You’ll get your damn sight back. You’ll see this world again."

The superpowerer said, "I never dared dream I’d see again. If I really can… I’ll gladly bleed out on the spot if needed for Jing City Base, go through hell and back without hesitation!"

"Good. Us old war dogs will be waiting for your return!" Zhou Qin said.

The superpowerer nodded.

Then, he was carried into the treatment pod, while a doctor unsealed a fresh set of eyes from a cryo-stasis case.

The camera panned briefly, but everyone clearly saw a computer next to the sterile box. On the screen was a 3D miniature figure standing upright, its eyes open and blinking animatedly.

In the upper right corner of the figure, the eyes were isolated and labeled with numerous dense numerical values.

The doctor tossed the eyeballs into the treatment pod without even aligning them properly.

The viewers watching the broadcast were speechless. Han Zhiwei complained, "This doctor is so unprofessional. Just as sloppy as Zhou Qin. Now I’m really doubting how the Jing City Base, with such a careless attitude, keeps producing one world-shocking research project after another."

"Maybe there’s just that one reliable genius holding up the entire Jing City Base, pushing them to churn out groundbreaking tech one after another—otherwise, they wouldn’t keep up with the speed at which the Jing City Base is falling apart!"

The doctor closed the treatment pod’s lid. The injured superpowered individual seemed just as appalled by the doctor’s sloppiness, pounding on the transparent cover and yelling incoherently.

The doctor, clueless that his carelessness was causing the patient’s distress, remarked to his assistant, "Must be overwhelmed after decades in the dark, finally about to see again."

The assistant hesitated, then reluctantly nodded. The two of them simply watched as the patient continued yelling and thrashing inside. Bizarrely, no one there, including Zhou Qin, seemed to care.

Outside the TV, Jiang Fuzhong muttered, "With such a sloppy approach, I seriously doubt this experiment will succeed. What if this blows up in their faces?"

Owen doubled down sternly. "No, the Jing City Base isn’t a reckless place. The fact they’re this brazen only proves the treatment pod’s power."

Then, everyone saw the superpowered individual inside the pod suddenly calm down, like someone talked him down. He even responded verbally, though his words were muffled by the pod.

Cong Xun remarked, "Did the doc drive him nuts?"

Of course not. The superpowered individual said something else before closing his eyes—clearly passing out.

The moment he lost consciousness, an invisible force forced his eyelids apart, revealing the hollow sockets.

Having lacked eyeballs for so long, the surrounding tissue had atrophied and sunken. The mysterious energy made a few precise cuts, causing blood to trickle from the empty sockets.

It was equal parts horrifying and thrilling.

The eyeballs, haphazardly tossed into the pod earlier, were now lifted by an unseen force and placed into the superpowered individual’s empty sockets.

Everyone present at the Jing City Base looked on, unfazed, almost amused, as if this were as mundane as eating or drinking.

Recalling their earlier criticism of the Jing City Base’s carelessness, the other bases suddenly realized they’d been shown up again.

Once the healing process began, there was nothing particularly remarkable—just like a healer’s power, only faster than a low-level one.

Exactly as Zhou Qin had said, it took less than ten minutes—just five, actually—for the superpowered individual’s eyes to be fully restored.

When the treatment ended, the pod didn’t open immediately, and Zhou Qin’s team didn’t lift a finger. They casually chatted about where to eat after the show, like it was any other day.

Only when reminded by a staff member did Zhou Qin seem to recall. He chuckled, "The treatment’s done. Don’t sweat it. The pod can assess the patient’s condition. When he feels healthy, it’ll wake him up."

As soon as Zhou Qin finished speaking, the pod opened, and the superpowered individual stumbled out.

This time, he was overwhelmed with emotion. His eyes were intact, the dark pupils moving fluidly as if they had never been gouged out.

"Commander Zhou, I can see! I can see you! I can see the light again!" The superpowered individual drunk in the sight of everything around him.

Suddenly, his eyes landed on the guide dog beside him, and tears streamed down his face. He dropped to his knees and hugged the dog and sobbed, "I can finally see you, old friend. Thank you for these ten years. So this is how handsome you are!"

The dog wagged its tail, panting happily as it licked his face.

The superpowered individual laughed through his tears. "Old buddy, I need to give you a proper bath. Back when I was blind, I was just fumbling through it—your fur’s all matted!"

Zhou Qin grinned, "After you go back this time, you can give it a good bath. If you want, you can spend the whole day washing it."

The superpowered individual laughed heartily, tears streaming down his face.

Zhou Qin turned to the camera and said, "I'm exhausted from all this blabbering. I won't say any more. Goodbye! If you're interested in the healing chamber, just contact me. I'm too sleepy and need to go back to sleep."

Zhou Qin ended the live broadcast.

"Damn it!"

"Holy shit!"

Across all bases, identical curses rang out. At this moment, Zhou Qin's name was accompanied by all kinds of foul language, yet nobody gave a damn about him.

All the bases were waiting for an explanation, but Zhou Qin cut the signal without saying a word.

He didn't say a single word about what he should have said, but instead rambled on about nonsense.

Beijing Base's phone lines were ringing off the hook, the fax machines were jammed, and every possible means of contact was unprecedentedly flooded.

Meanwhile, Zhou Qin was lying in bed, dead to the world.

At T Base, Dewitt, who had watched the live broadcast, declared outright, "Fake! All of this is fake!

It must have been healed by our country's top-tier healing superpower. These despicable Chinese people used some cheap editing tricks to claim all the credit for themselves.

This is plagiarism! This is theft! The Chinese have stolen our country's glory!"

R-country representatives immediately brown-nosed, "The Chinese are exactly that despicable and shameless—hypocritical and pretentious. Don’t worry, the glory that belongs to America won’t be stolen so easily!"

Far across the ocean, Charles, who had watched the video, smashed his TV screen in fury. He bellowed in rage, "Traitors! Traitors! Philemon and the others have betrayed the great America! They must have revealed the cloning secrets to the Chinese!

Those Chinese must have stolen our technology, cloned, and then yanked out their eyes to heal the original body.

This is our country’s technology! It must have been leaked by Philemon and the others!"

"Mr. Charles, you mustn’t get agitated—your eyes!"

Charles looked at his assistant, two streams of bloody tears flowing from his eyes.

When he felt warm liquid running down, he wiped it and brought his hand close to his eyes, only seeing a blood-red blur.

Charles knew his eyes were shot again. He said coldly, "Are my Clone #10's eyes mature yet? Arrange the eye transplant procedure for me immediately."