Chapter 100: Confession

Chapter 100 Confession

Du Ruanlan's gaze shifted to the superpowered individuals behind the zombie horde, scanning the crowd until it settled on Ji An.

Du Ruanlan extended his long black nails, pointing first at Ji An, then at his own head.

He Tao tensed. "What does he want?"

"Du Ruanlan wants me to act as a translator between him and Owen. Owen (female) can't understand him anymore," Ji An said, jumping out of the vehicle. Gu Jinsheng followed suit.

Ji An and Gu Jinsheng approached Du Ruanlan together. Du Ruanlan nodded at Ji An, who then sent his mental energy into the zombie Du Ruanlan's mind.

Though Du Ruanlan had turned into a zombie, Ji An didn't recklessly search through his memories. He remained at the periphery of Du Ruanlan's mind, just acting as a translator between the two.

"Thank you, Ji An," Du Ruanlan said in Ji An's mind the moment they connected.

"Look after Owen for me from now on," Du Ruanlan added.

"I will," Ji An replied in his thoughts.

Du Ruanlan pointed at Jiang Fuzhong, who immediately asked, "What does the boss want to tell me?"

Ji An translated, "Du Ruanlan wants you to wipe Owen's tears for him."

"Huh? Oh, right." Jiang Fuzhong searched but couldn't find a handkerchief or tissue. Gu Jinsheng handed him a pack of tissues.

After Jiang Fuzhong wiped Owen's tears away, Du Ruanlan nodded in satisfaction. Ji An translated, "Du Ruanlan wants you to protect Owen from now on."

Jiang Fuzhong replied instantly, "Boss, don’t worry. It'll be just like before."

Du Ruanlan nodded before finally turning to Owen. "Owen, I once thought that if I turned into a zombie, I’d want you to end me yourself. But now that it’s happened, as long as I retain even a last bit of awareness, I can’t bear to die like that.

Let me go. I want to keep my last bit of dignity and freedom in front of you."

Owen thought of Du Ruanlan’s nature—someone who lived free. Locking him in a cage for the rest of his existence wouldn’t be protection; it would be an insult.

Owen closed her eyes, letting tears fall as she nodded with difficulty. "Alright, I’ll let you go."

"Thank you, Owen."

"If you ever encounter me after I’ve completely lost my mind to zombification, don't hold back—kill me. I'd rather it be you than anyone else."

"When that time comes, you can take the Zombie Core from my brain. I believe in myself—even as a zombie, my core will be the most powerful, maybe even let someone skip levels. Let me know if it happens."

Owen was now crying hard, tears blurring her vision.

"Goodbye, Owen, my love."

"Goodbye, Jiang Fuzhong, my brother."

With a final wave to Owen and Jiang Fuzhong, Du Ruanlan marched off with the zombie horde.

"Du Ruanlan..."

"Boss..."

"Du Ruanlan..."

"Boss..."

When saying goodbye, Owen and Jiang Fuzhong were too emotional. Ji An and the others simply couldn't hold them back, and in the end, they had to knock them out to bring them back.

Previously, since Du Ruanlan hadn't fully turned into a zombie, the matter had been kept secret. Now that Du Ruanlan had completely become a zombie and left Luo City Base, there was no point in hiding it anymore. Gu Jinsheng wasn’t the petty type to erase the achievements of the former commander, so he had Owen publicly announce on the public announcement system that Du Ruanlan had turned into a zombie to protect the base. At the same time, the story was played on all public screens across the base.

Du Ruanlan’s sacrifice should be known by every resident of Luo City Base—their current peace was paid for with her life.

Of course, there was also Bi Xue’s contribution. She willingly sacrificed her spatial superpower to save Luo City Base, becoming an ordinary person with a lifespan shorter than a superpowered’s. She, too, deserved to be remembered by all the residents of Luo City Base.

Owen said to Gu Jinsheng sincerely, "Gu Jinsheng, thank you for letting everyone in the base know about his sacrifice."

Gu Jinsheng replied, "No need to thank me. This is what Du Ruanlan deserved."

Just as Gu Jinsheng’s broadcast about Du Ruanlan aired, countless pleas for help from other bases flooded in.

Gu Jinsheng’s expression turned solemn. "Other bases couldn’t provide timely aid not because they didn’t want to help, but because they were hit at the same time by Psychic Zombie Kings."

He looked at Ji An and said, "We don’t know if these Psychic Zombie Kings are connected, but their tactics are the same—first using Mind Control on superpowered scouts, then having these controlled superpowered return to their bases to find opportunities to open the gates. The zombies infiltrate, destroy signal towers and Blocking Helmets, and launch a full-scale invasion of the bases."

Ji An asked, "How many bases have we lost contact with?"

"Three major bases, and dozens of smaller ones—some confirmed, others unaccounted for."

Ji An sighed. "For the ones we know about, send high-level superpowered to investigate. If it’s too dangerous and uncertain whether the base has already become a zombie stronghold, don’t risk it."

Gu Jinsheng nodded. "What about the Mental Scanners? Can we ramp up production?"

Ji An replied, "I didn’t keep the core technology secret—many outsiders have joined to help. It should be quick. By the time they set out, we should have five for major bases and two for smaller ones, which ought to be enough."

Of course, as the main base, Ji An had already sent the technical details to Zhou Fanxiu and others at Jing City Base, instructing them to begin production immediately and contact him for guidance if needed.

Gu Jinsheng said, "The Mental Scanners might just about cover it, but what about the psychic superpowered who can break mental suggestions?"

Ji An answered, "We’ve been away from the base for half a month now, but our superpowered have been training diligently. Dispatch our best psychic superpowered first, with extra protection from other superpowered. Assign those with the best mental resistance and highest superpower levels to guard them."

"That’s all we can do for now," Gu Jinsheng said. "Just now, North Base sent a distress signal asking me to go. It seems their losses were severe, and they’re considering merging with Jing City Base. I need to go personally—do you want to come?"

Ji An looked straight into Gu Jinsheng’s eyes. "I’ll go. From now on, wherever you go, I’ll follow."

This was the first time Ji An had said something so ambiguously intimate. Gu Jinsheng’s heart raced wildly as he met Ji An’s gaze—this time, Ji An didn’t look away but held his stare.

Gu Jinsheng wondered if his longing for Ji An’s emotional response had conjured an illusion, because he seemed to see something different in Ji An’s eyes.

Gu Jinsheng swallowed hard. "Xiao An, do you remember the question I asked you in the medical room after you woke up from fainting? Now, after all this time… will you give me an answer?"

"I will," Ji An said, smiling at Gu Jinsheng. "Jinsheng, let’s be together."

At that moment, Gu Jinsheng heard the sound of his blood rushing, the buzzing in his ears, the blooming of countless flowers, the revival of all things.

Overwhelmed with emotion, Gu Jinsheng lost control—Thunder Dragon spilled out of his mind, immediately nuzzling Ji An’s face and gushing affectionately, "An'an, I missed you so much! That dummy Gu Jinsheng got so excited when you agreed that he couldn’t keep me in anymore. An'an, he’s still doubting if he heard right—tell me, isn’t he a fool?"

Ji An grinned, his eyes crinkling like crescent moons, brighter and softer than the moon in the night sky. He leaned in, stood on his tiptoes, and lightly kissed the corner of Gu Jinsheng’s lips. "Gu Jinsheng, you didn’t mishear. Let’s be together."

Gu Jinsheng yanked Ji An into a crushing hug, unable to restrain his surging passion any longer, and deeply kissed the person he had longed for so much.

Thunder Dragon bounced around like an overexcited puppy, shouting, "Me too, me too! An'an, kiss me too, okay?"

"An'an, can you materialize your superpower too? You and Gu Jinsheng are all over each other, while I’m just a lonely dragon, like some old bachelor—so pitiful, so lonely!"

Thunder Dragon’s incessant chatter was truly a buzzkill. Unfortunately, Gu Jinsheng covered Ji An’s ears with his hands, completely ignoring whatever nonsense Thunder Dragon was spouting.

When the two finally parted, both were panting heavily. Gu Jinsheng couldn't bear to let go of Ji An, cradling his head with his lips still pressed against Ji An's, his warm, unique breath heavy with unspoken desire.

Gu Jinsheng asked hoarsely, "Why?"

"It hit me—I’m done wasting time. I should let go of the past." Ji An met Gu Jinsheng's gaze. "I don’t want us to end up like Owen and Du Ruanlan. I don’t want regrets. Our time—everyone’s time—is limited. If I’m into you, I’m into you. If you’ve taken hold of my heart, then so be it. There’s no need to resist these feelings."

Ji An could clearly see the storm raging in Gu Jinsheng’s eyes, a tempest so violent it felt apocalyptic. The intensity of it even startled Ji An.

"Xiao An, tell me—did you agree to be with me because of who I am now, or because of the little boy from your memories?"

"You!" Ji An answered firmly.

Unable to hold back any longer, Gu Jinsheng kissed Ji An again.

At this moment, the howling storm outside meant nothing to them. Their world consisted solely of each other.

Meanwhile, Dewitt from T-Base had been waiting for the results of the Psychic Zombie King's invasion of China's bases. To his fury, only some small and medium-sized bases had been destroyed, while the major bases had merely been severely damaged. Worst of all, Gu Jinsheng and Ji An had not only escaped the pursuit of R-nation’s cloaked jets but had also evaded the Psychic Zombie King’s attacks and even retaken Luo City Base. Dewitt was livid.

He roared at Kobashi Ichiro on the video call, "Are you an idiot?! You failed in aerial combat, and now you’ve screwed up the deployment of the Psychic Zombie King! What else can you even do?!"

Kobashi Ichiro quickly defended himself, "The Commander-in-Chief of Luo City Base died in this battle—he was a formidable figure, no less capable than Gu Jinsheng! We didn’t come away empty-handed."

"Bullshit! Who cares about him?! I want Gu Jinsheng and Ji An dead! I couldn’t care less about Luo City Base!" Dewitt bellowed. "Did you actually think your target was Luo City Base or Du Ruanlan just because I told you to focus the Psychic Zombie King’s assault there?! I told you—it was all a ruse! The plan was to lure Gu Jinsheng and Ji An out of the capital base so we could eliminate them on the way!"

Kobashi Ichiro scoffed. "I know. They were supposed to be destroyed mid-air, but somehow Ji An used some trick to escape."

"That Ji An even developed a Mental Scanner that can detect whether a super’s mind has been invaded. Otherwise, we could’ve continued using the Psychic Zombie King to attack the capital base."

"Excuses!" Dewitt snapped. "I don’t want to hear them, Kobashi Ichiro. Let me make this clear—Commander Charles is extremely dissatisfied with your performance. He’s gave you one last chance: if you can’t find a way to kill Gu Jinsheng and Ji An, he will ensure R-Base is erased from existence."

With that final threat, Dewitt ended the call, ignoring Kobashi Ichiro’s desperate pleas on the other end.

Turning away, the previously domineering Dewitt immediately forced a groveling smile as he addressed Charles on the video call. "Commander Charles, rest assured—Kobashi Ichiro won’t dare slack off this time."

Charles pinned Dewitt with an icy stare from his single eye. "It had better be so. Otherwise, neither you nor Kobashi Ichiro will escape punishment."

"Have you obtained the core technology of Ji An’s new Mental Scanner yet?" Just hearing about it made Charles’ blood boil. Ji An had dared to blackbox the tech from all bases outside of China.

Dewitt hung his head in shame, not daring to meet Charles’ gaze. "I apologize, Commander Charles. We haven’t secured the core technology of the Mental Scanner."

"How could you fail?! Ji An announced the technology would be open to all of China’s bases—why wasn’t T-Base included?!"

Most of China’s bases had already received the Mental Scanner’s core technology—only a select few hadn’t. And everyone knew why: though these bases still stood on Chinese soil, they had long since become R-nation or M-nation puppets.

Charles sneered. "Idiot. Don’t you know how to wage an info war? Can’t you rot them out from the inside? If T-Base is a Chinese base, then use that identity to turn China’s bases against each other. Make them tear each other apart."

Dewitt nodded hastily. "Understood. I’ll get it done immediately."

With a cold hum, Charles ended the call and turned to his assistant. "Has that woman from the capital base still not talked?"

"We’re breaking her down. She’ll crack soon," the assistant replied, shaking, remembering coworkers who’d been killed for less.

"Useless! All of you are useless!!!" Charles grabbed his assistant by the neck and, ignoring the assistant's struggles, twisted it until it snapped.

Three days later, Gu Jinsheng and Ji An flew to the Northern Base with dozens of superpowered personnel.

When they arrived, the Northern Base had mostly stabilized, but as Gu Jinsheng stepped off the plane and entered the base, he could hardly recognize the war-torn ruins as the Northern Base.

Cong Xun said bitterly, "I lack Du Ruanlan’s skills. The Psychic Zombie King didn’t infiltrate directly—merely by controlling the high-level superpowered in the base nearly wiped out my entire Northern Base."

Cong Xun shuddered to think what would have happened if the Psychic Zombie King had infiltrated like it did in the Luo City Base.

He might’ve even fallen under the Psychic Zombie King’s Mind Control. Unlike Gu Jinsheng, he wouldn’t have been able to break free, let alone sacrifice himself like Du Ruanlan to protect the base.

The Northern Base’s survival came down to pure luck—they had accidentally noticed something amiss in time.

The fact that the Northern Base still existed wasn’t due to his strength as Commander-in-Chief, but sheer luck.

That was why Cong Xun was terrified and desperate to lead the Northern Base into joining the Capital Base.

Cong Xun said awkwardly, "Commander-in-Chief Gu, regarding the Mental Scanner technology you sent us, our researchers are struggling to grasp certain aspects..."

Ji An replied, "You can ask me about anything unclear. I’m the inventor."

Cong Xun stared at Ji An, feeling he looked familiar. After a long moment, his eyes widened. "You’re Ji An! The ex-boyfriend of that blind, incompetent Commander-in-Chief from the Third Base, the developer of the spatial storage device. But didn’t you lose your superpower? How can you still do research after protecting those kids?"

Ji An was speechless. Why did everyone ask him this? Jiang Fuzhong had asked before, and now Cong Xun.

Did they think losing Psychic Superpower disqualified him from research? Researchers before the apocalypse had no superpowers at all, yet they created miracles one after another.

In fact, it was after losing his Psychic Superpower that he developed the treatment pod and regained his abilities.

Before Ji An could respond, Gu Jinsheng spoke first. His tone was usually flat, but this time, everyone could hear the icy edge in his voice.

"Xiao An is my partner now. Please don’t make that mistake again, Commander Cong." His voice was icy, laced with undisguised possessiveness.

Ji An flushed.

Cong Xun choked back a cough, startled.

Ji An sighed, both amused and exasperated. "I’m Ji An, now Gu Jinsheng’s partner. I never actually lost my superpower—it was a misunderstanding stemming from complex circumstances."

He repeated the same explanation he’d given the Capital Base.

Cong Xun believed him immediately, mainly because he saw no reason for Ji An to lie.

While Ji An helped the Northern Base researchers with their questions, Gu Jinsheng was even busier—managing the Northern Base’s assimilation, handling post-war issues, and later assigning others to handle bases seeking sanctuary to Zhou Qin, Wan Xueying, and Kong Zhongcheng.

By the end of the year, the Northern Base had finally completed its reconstruction, and Gu Jinsheng and Ji An could finally leave.

The Northern Base had officially joined the Capital Base as a sub-base, with Cong Xun remaining as its Commander-in-Chief.

"Only after joining the Capital Base did I realize how backward we were. Spatial superpowers can do so much—Spatial Slash, Spatial Blade, teleportation, even spatial displacement!"

As he saw Gu Jinsheng off at the plane, Cong Xun marveled, "Seriously, it’s like we struck gold and vaulted into the future."

"If I’d known joining the Capital Base meant free access to nutrient agents, internal discounts, treatment pods, and social welfare benefits, I’d have done it ages ago."

But that was empty talk. Had the Psychic Zombie King not invaded suddenly and caused heavy losses at the Luo City Base, Cong Xun would never have joined, no matter the perks.

Gu Jinsheng didn't press the matter. After giving Cong Xun a few instructions about the base's development, he took off by plane.

China's airspace is now constantly patrolled by fighter jets circling to prevent a repeat of the last incident.

This time, Ji An and the others' flight encountered no issues and landed directly at Luoshi Base airport.

As soon as the plane touched down, Jiang Fuzhong came to greet them. Ji An and Gu Jinsheng hopped in a car and headed straight back to the command center.

After months away, Luoshi Base had transformed completely. Gone were the ruins from when Gu Jinsheng first arrived—things were back to normal. With strong support from the capital base, along with the aid of nutrient solutions and treatment pods, the base was doing even better than before.

The moment Ji An and Gu Jinsheng stepped out of the car, they saw several superpowered folks putting up a huge statue in front of the command center.

The material of the statue looked peculiar, kind of familiar, but Ji An couldn't put his finger on it at first glance.

"What is that?" Ji An asked.

Jiang Fuzhong might have misunderstood the question, awkwardly replying, "It's a statue of the boss made from her crystal core."

Jiang Fuzhong always referred to Du Ruanlan as "the boss," while addressing Gu Jinsheng always formally as "Commander-in-Chief Gu."

Owen had previously sought Gu Jinsheng's opinion on this matter, and Gu Jinsheng had agreed without hesitation.

Afraid Gu Jinsheng might take offense, Jiang Fuzhong quickly explained, "This was a spontaneous initiative by everyone to honor the boss's sacrifice for the base. It’s absolutely not meant as any disrespect to you."

Gu Jinsheng didn’t mind. He waved it off, saying, "Du Ruanlan deserves this. Without her sacrifice back then, Luoshi Base might have fallen long ago. Even if Xiao An and I had arrived later, we’d likely have faced nothing but a nest of zombies."

Ji An quietly took Gu Jinsheng's hand. The corner of Gu Jinsheng's lips lifted slightly—already indifferent to the matter, he now cast it entirely from his mind, his heart swelling with happiness at his wife taking the initiative to hold his hand.

Jiang Fuzhong could tell Gu Jinsheng truly didn’t care, which put him at ease. Still, he found it puzzling—even if Gu Jinsheng wasn’t bothered, why was he so pleased?

Not getting it, Jiang Fuzhong let it go and added, "Bi Xue also has a statue, though it’s made of stone. It’s in the square, not here."