Chapter 117: Secret

Chapter 117: The Secret

Ji An answered the video call, and on the screen, Charles appeared, his face flushed with excitement, his eyes gleaming with an eerie glow as if he wanted to reach through the screen and devour Ji An.

Charles’ gaze unsettled Gu Jinsheng, who stepped forward to shield Ji An.

In the past, Gu Jinsheng’s defensive stance would have been seen as a provocation by Charles, inciting him to fly into a violent rage. But now, Charles was consumed by exhilaration.

Charles burst into hysterical laughter. "Gu Jinsheng, you’d better protect your little treasure. Don’t let your precious lover end up as dismembered limbs and mangled remains by a single mistake. Hahaha..."

Gu Jinsheng’s eyes turned icy, dark and deep like a beast lying in wait, ready to tear into its prey at the opportune moment.

"Commander-in-Chief Gu Jinsheng, don’t look at me like that. It’s useless. Now, if I want, your little plaything will become the enemy of all mankind, and your entire country, China, will collapse—gone forever from this world."

Ji An narrowed his eyes slightly, quickly deducing the reason for Charles’ renewed arrogance. "You broke the psychological suggestion I placed on Tang Tang."

"As expected of the man who invented space technology, nutrient solutions, and hover vehicles. Your mind is sharp indeed. I didn’t even say anything, and you’ve already guessed it all." Charles said with a Cheshire cat grin.

Gu Jinsheng’s aura grew even more frosty, his eyes filled with murderous intent and deep concern.

Gu Jinsheng knew Tang Tang was aware that the jade pendant around Ji An’s neck was a natural space containing the Magic Spring, which could restore vitality and cure illnesses.

Now that artificial spaces existed, the space itself wasn’t valuable anymore. Even if the secret got out, no one would risk much for it.

But the Magic Spring inside was a heaven-sent treasure. In this dangerous apocalyptic world, a portable spring that could save lives—perhaps with limitless other possibilities—was equivalent to an extra life, maybe even the power to save others. Enough to drive countless people mad with desire.

Charles sneered, "Guess how many people would go insane if I revealed the secret of your space. Would the humiliating Eight-Nation Alliance invasion from your country’s history repeat itself?"

Charles expected Ji An to prostrate himself in fear, whimpering and begging him not to expose the secret.

Instead, Ji An and the others remained calm, as if Charles had merely commented on the weather. Ji An even smiled. "Commander-in-Chief Charles, feel free to say whatever you like."

"You’re not afraid?" Charles was incredulous. "Ji An, don’t think I’m bluffing. I’m serious—I will expose this. If you don’t want to become humanity’s enemy, if you don’t want China to fall, if you don’t want to be branded a traitor, then hand over the core technical data—and that spatial pendant!"

Charles made exorbitant demands, confident they wouldn’t dare refuse.

If the world learned about the life-saving Magic Spring, Ji An would become a hunted man.

Yet Ji An remained unfazed. "Like I said, do as you please. But neither the technology nor the Magic Spring will be yours."

If the mechas hadn’t been completed, Ji An might have hesitated. But now, with the revolutionary war machines ready, there was nothing left to fear.

Ji An waved a dismissive hand and said to Charles, who was still struggling to process the defiance, "If this call was just to discuss this matter, then we’re done here. Goodbye."

Without waiting for a response, Ji An ended the call.

The abrupt disconnection sent Charles into a frenzy. His single eye bloodshot and bulging, he raged like a rabid beast, smashing everything in sight, heedless of the equipment’s value.

"How dare they! How dare they hang up on me! Don’t they fear I’ll expose their secret to the world?" Charles roared.

The staff in the room stayed frozen like statues. His assistant, recalling the fate of his predecessors, wished the ground would swallow him whole.

Charles destroyed everything he could before his gaze landed on the living.

His blood-red eye swept over the assistant and the workers like the gaze of Death itself, freezing them in terror.

Finally, his unblinking stare locked onto Tang Tang. Charles lunged, gripping her throat in a maddened frenzy. "Did you lie to me? Is that why Ji An isn’t afraid? It’s you—you deceived me, didn’t you?"

After days of relentless torture, Tang Tang’s psyche had already shattered. The forced removal of the mental suggestion by a superpowered psychic had left her mental landscape like a psychic wasteland, scorched by mental artillery.

The current Tang Tang was barely alive, her mind in complete chaos, unable to comprehend the meaning behind Charles's words, her actions reduced to pure instinct.

Tang Tang instinctively shook her head, instinctively struggled, emitting whimpers akin to those of an animal sensing threat.

Had Tang Tang been facing a normal person, they might have noticed her abnormality. But she was facing the equally unhinged Charles, whose mental state was scarcely better than hers. To break through his bottleneck, Charles had used cloned human cores—not just one, but many—resulting in severe mental instability and severe mania.

Just as Charles was about to snap Tang Tang's neck, his assistant had no choice but to speak up nervously. "Commander-in-Chief, keeping this Asian woman alive is still useful to us. With her, the commanders of other nations will believe our claims, side with us, and form an allied force to attack China."

"Attack China." These four words restored Charles's rationality. His crimson, lone eye fixed on Tang Tang as he slowly released his grip. Tang Tang slumped to the ground, clutching her throat and gasping for air.

Charles let out a bark of laughter as he watched the disheveled Asian woman cough violently from her desperate breaths, as if her wretched state foreshadowed China's equally miserable fate.

"Divine Ji, what did Charles mean by his words?" Wan Xueying asked.

Unaware of Charles's intentions beforehand, the video call wasn't private from the base's Deputy Commanders. At this point, there was nothing left to hide.

Ji An took out the Space Necklace and explained to Wan Xueying and the others, "The space pendant Charles mentioned is this. Inside this jade lies a natural spatial superpower, which I discovered accidentally."

The jade in Ji An's hand was familiar to Wan Xueying and the rest. Ji An had been wearing this jade necklace since his arrival at the base.

Kong Zhongcheng widened his eyes, pointing at the pendant. "So, this spatial superpower wasn’t developed by you, Divine Ji?"

"No," Ji An shook his head. "I don’t know how the space inside this jade came to be—whether it was created by someone else or formed naturally. Nature is a miraculous force; anything is possible."

Zhou Qin added, "It must be natural. If someone had developed it, there would’ve been some trace. Even if they hid it out of fear, after your rise, Divine Ji, with you as a shield, there’d be no reason to stay silent."

Wan Xueying agreed. "It’s highly likely a naturally formed space. If not for the apocalypse, I might’ve doubted it. But now that superpowers exist, nothing is impossible."

Gu Jinsheng added, "Back then, Tang Tang and Chen Chen chased Xiao An precisely because of this space."

Ji An explained, "This Space Necklace was given to me by my professor. At the time, I didn’t know it contained a space. Tang Tang borrowed it to wear, and I lent it to her. Later, somehow, she discovered the space inside. No matter how many times I asked for it back, she refused. Gradually, I realized something was wrong."

His rebirth was Ji An's secret, one he wouldn’t share. Instead, he claimed to have sensed something wrong.

"From then on, I began observing Tang Tang’s behavior in secret and noticed the oddities in her space manipulation. Since she refused to return the necklace, I suspected her spatial superpower might be linked to it," Ji An said. "I found an opportunity to steal it back and discovered the space inside. The rest, you already know."

Kong Zhongcheng fumed. "Tang Tang and Chen Chen are a shameless pair! How shameless—to frame you when it was clearly your possession."

Wan Xueying pondered. "Back then, Chen Chen accused you of stealing base supplies, but what you took were actually the resources that pair had embezzled."

"Exactly," Ji An nodded.

"No wonder Chen Chen was so generous, trading a third of the base’s supplies in exchange for you. Turns out you had far more," Zhou Qin realized.

Gu Jinsheng remarked, "This necklace is far more useful in your hands than theirs. To them, it was just an ordinary space. But you’ve created countless spaces from it."

Ji An smiled slightly. He hadn’t noticed before, but Gu Jinsheng was such a staunch supporter for him, never missing a chance to praise his achievements.

"That’s just the first part. Secondly, this space also contains a spiritual spring. Its waters strengthen the body and heal injuries—Tang Tang’s healing ability came from it," Ji An revealed.

Everyone present was stunned. No one had expected the necklace to be this miraculous—not only containing a space but also a healing spiritual spring.

They couldn't help imagining the miraculous properties of spiritual springs in fiction, wondering if this one held similar wonders.

If it truly did, even without illness or injury, regular consumption could enhance physical fitness and perhaps even aid in superpower advancement.

At this thought, their faces changed slightly. In the apocalypse, superpowers meant survival.

Ji An had no intention of testing their loyalty. Wan Xueying and the others had fought alongside Gu Jinsheng through life and death. Though they had their selfish motives, their sense of righteousness outweighed them. There was no need to test their devotion—doing so would only cause bitterness.

Ji An said directly, "The Magic Spring is indeed miraculous, beneficial for both superpower enhancement and psychic power, so I've added it to the nutrient solution."

Kong Zhongcheng blurted out in astonishment, "So you mean the nutrient solution we're consuming now contains the Magic Spring?"

"Yes," Gu Jinsheng cut in this time. "The Magic Spring is too extraordinary to be disclosed publicly. Yet, Xiao An never considered hoarding it. Even before any of you knew about it, he had already thought of ways to let more people benefit from the Magic Spring."

This revelation truly caught everyone off guard. Putting themselves in his shoes, they realized that if the Magic Spring had fallen into their hands, they would have surely kept it hidden, sharing it at most with those they cared about—never with others.

But Divine Ji, upon obtaining the Magic Spring, even without intending to publicize it, secretly sought ways to ensure more people could drink from it. Such big-hearted generosity left them in awe.

Zhou Qin bowed deeply to Ji An and said, "Divine Ji, thank you. On behalf of myself and all those struggling in this apocalyptic world, I express my deepest gratitude. Your unlimited kindness has won my complete admiration."

Kong Zhongcheng followed with a bow. "Divine Ji, I'm not good with words, and I don’t know how to express how moved I am. But I want to say this—I’ll follow you and our leader for the rest of my life. You are the ones truly worth dedicating myself to."

Wan Xueying looked conflicted. "I’ve always known Divine Ji is selfless, but I never imagined you could be this magnanimous. I’m truly humbled. Thinking about it carefully, the Magic Spring belongs in your hands—only then can it serve its greatest purpose and reach more people. With you in charge of the Magic Spring, I can rest easy."