Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Wang Li wanted to laugh but couldn't. She thought Feng Hongjian was joking—how could he possibly have a superpowered son?

Given the Feng family's bragging nature, if they really had a superpowered son, everyone would have known by now. It would have been all over the neighborhood.

Feng Hongjian seemed to be showing off as he sighed, "I never expected Cong'er to be so capable, actually becoming a Superhuman."

He didn’t look like he was lying at all, and he made it clear that he had only just learned his son was a Superhuman.

"Cong'er has been missing for so long, and it’s been eating at me. Now that I know he’s doing well, I can finally rest easy." Feng Hongjian wiped his tears, playing the part of a caring father.

Wang Li was at a loss for words and annoyed. Little did she know, old lady Chen and Feng Rui were just as bothered. Although they planned to rely on Tian Manman in the future, hearing Feng Hongjian say these things still made them uncomfortable.

Old lady Chen grumbled under her breath, "How did that little shit end up becoming a Superhuman? Why couldn’t it have been my Rui'er?"

Meanwhile, Wang Li wandered back to her room, distracted. Her mom noticed her upset look right away and asked worriedly, "Lili, what’s wrong? Did something happen?"

Wang Li shook her head and put on a weak smile. "It’s nothing, I’m just a bit tired."

Seeing her mother still looking concerned, Wang Li didn’t know how to explain. Her thoughts were all over the place.

Who would have thought the Feng family had a superpowered son? She wasn’t afraid of much, but given how arrogant the Fengs were, and considering how often she had offended them in the past, she was worried they would give her a hard time in the future.

Wang Li was already considering moving away. If she lived somewhere else, away from the Feng family, she might avoid some trouble.

She counted up the points she had saved up. Originally, she had planned to use them to buy medicine for her mother, but now she might have to scrap that plan.

The next day, Wang Li’s mind wasn’t on her work.

Unexpectedly, Tian Qiao came to her workplace and asked her to come by after work.

Wang Li was surprised he had sought her out. After Tian Qiao left, she was even less focused on work. Since that was the case, she decided to call out for the day and went straight to find Tian Qiao.

Tian Qiao had just returned when Cheng Zhiyu asked him, "Did you talk to her?"

Tian Qiao nodded. "Yeah, Sister Wang was at work. I asked her to come by after her shift."

Cheng Zhiyu nodded. "Come over and eat."

Tian Qiao sat next to Tian Manman, who was keeping his head down and eating. Tian Manman had been much calmer since waking up that morning, though he didn’t bring up what happened the day before.

Cheng Zhiyu and the others steered clear of the topic either, afraid of upsetting Tian Manman.

They were having stewed chicken for dinner. Zhou Min was there too, and along with Little Black, the five of them each had a chicken leg.

As for why one chicken had five legs—well, that morning Zhou Min had showed off his power. After a chicken leg was cut off, it quickly grew back. Cheng Zhiyu almost wondered if it was some kind of CGI or something.

Hearing about it was one thing, but seeing it with his own eyes was another. Honestly, it was pretty mind-blowing.

Tian Qiao blurted out, "Wow, Zhou Min, you’re actually a Healer?"

The Healer they had met at the base entrance before could only make wounds disappear instantly, but Zhou Min could actually make bones grow back.

That meant Zhou Min was even more powerful than the Healer they had met at the entrance!

In an instant, Tian Qiao looked at Zhou Min as if he were a priceless asset.

He started to say something else, and Zhou Min thought he was going to say something meaningful, but instead, Tian Qiao said, "Does that mean we’ll have an endless supply of chicken legs from now on?"

Zhou Min: "…" Have you ever considered how the chicken feels? Though he had thought the same thing once.

Zhou Min cleared his throat. "Pretty cool ability, right?"

Tian Qiao nodded. "Cool, very cool."

Zhou Min was satisfied and then coaxed, "Wouldn’t it be great to have a Healer on your team?"

Tian Qiao kept nodding and thought about it. "Yeah, definitely."

Zhou Min: "I heard you guys are planning to leave the base later. How about taking me with you?"

Tian Qiao came back to earth instantly and took a bite of his chicken leg. "Ah… well, that’s not up to me alone. I’ll have to discuss it with Chengzi."

Zhou Min: Bitter melon face.jpg

Cheng Zhiyu found it amusing. As he gave Little Black some meat, he said, "Hurry up and eat."

What else could Zhou Min do? He took his frustration out on the food. If Cheng Zhiyu and the others didn’t take him with them later, he probably wouldn’t get to enjoy such good food again. He had to eat as much as he could while he still had the chance.

After the meal, although there was no fruit for dessert, Cheng Zhiyu pulled out a watermelon he’d just picked from the system space to share.

That’s right, the watermelons in the system space had ripened. Over the past couple of days, they had grown quite a bit. Cheng Zhiyu estimated that each weighed around twenty pounds—quite large, but still within the normal range. They probably hadn’t turned weird.

So far, the watermelons planted next to Little Yellow didn’t seem any different from ordinary ones.

Cheng Zhiyu didn’t mind. After all, his initial goal was just to have a piece of land where he could grow things. Whether they mutated or not was just a nice extra.

"Hey? The watermelons are ripe?" Tian Qiao noticed Cheng Zhiyu wasn’t deliberately hiding it from Zhou Min, so he openly came over.

Cheng Zhiyu nodded. "Chill it first. It’ll taste better."

Tian Qiao immediately froze the entire watermelon solid.

Zhou Min’s eyes widened. "Wow, I haven’t seen a watermelon since before the apocalypse! And you guys have such a huge one! Brother Cheng, no joke, take me with you when you leave! What’ll I do without you?"

As he said this, he hugged Cheng Zhiyu.

Little Black was clearly pissed and glared at Zhou Min, but the latter was too focused on the watermelon to notice.

Little Black: "…"

Fortunately, Cheng Zhiyu wasn’t too fond of overly intimate contact either and pushed Zhou Min away. "Keep your hands to yourself."

Zhou Min just shrugged it off.

The watermelon was chilled in no time. Without waiting for Cheng Zhiyu or the others to do it, Zhou Min volunteered to cut it open. The moment he did, the sweet, fresh smell of watermelon filled the air.

The rind was exceptionally thin, and the flesh was soft and juicy—it looked incredibly sweet.

As usual, Cheng Zhiyu took a piece and placed it in front of Little Black. This was Little Black’s first time trying watermelon, and he was so eager to take a bite that he forgot about being annoyed at Zhou Min for hugging Cheng Zhiyu earlier. His tail wagged happily.

There was no need to ask—it was delicious. Sweet but not cloying, with the natural freshness unique to fruit.

Not only was it tasty, but with each bite, they could feel a surge of energy. As Superhumans, they could sense it clearly.

As Zhou Min ate, he became even more determined to stick with Cheng Zhiyu and the others.

It was at this moment that Wang Li arrived. Cheng Zhiyu, chewing on a piece of watermelon, looked through the peephole and was surprised to see it was Wang Li. He hadn’t expected her to come at this time. He reached out and opened the door.

Cheng Zhiyu: "Come in."

Wang Li followed him, fidgeting nervously with her fingers, only to see Cheng Zhiyu hand her a slice of watermelon: "Have some."

Wang Li froze for a moment, instinctively shaking her head in refusal. How could she accept something like that? She quickly said, "I don't want it."

Cheng Zhiyu replied directly, "Go ahead, we’ve got plenty."

Seeing him still holding it out, Wang Li had no choice but to take it. Hesitating, she asked, "Can I... take this back with me?"

She wanted her mother to taste it too, but of course, she couldn't bring herself to ask for another slice—just to take this one back.

Cheng Zhiyu said, "Eat it here."

According to Zhou Min, it wasn't easy to get watermelon at the Chaoyang Base. Unlike the earlier stewed lamb, if Wang Li took it back, it would raise questions.

Fortunately, Wang Li was smart and didn’t press further. She carefully took a bite, and the sweet, refreshing taste instantly filled her mouth. For some reason, she suddenly felt her eyes well up and quickly blinked back tears.

After finishing that slice, Cheng Zhiyu tried to offer her more, but Wang Li politely declined. She hadn't done anything to deserve such kindness—how could she take advantage?

Seeing this, Cheng Zhiyu didn’t insist. The twenty-pound watermelon was soon finished.

Zhou Min slumped comfortably on the couch, rubbing his stomach, feeling utterly blissful: "I feel like I'm living like a king now."

He then blinked at Cheng Zhiyu: Take me with you next time!

Cheng Zhiyu ignored him. Seeing that Tian Qiao had already taken Tian Manman away, he finally turned to the matter at hand with Wang Li.

Over there, after sending Tian Manman back to his room to rest, Tian Qiao hurried over as well.

Cheng Zhiyu asked, "Is Manman asleep?"

Tian Qiao nodded: "Don't worry, Manman never liked being around people or spending time outside anyway."

Cheng Zhiyu nodded. Even so, they spoke in hushed tones: "You can probably guess why we asked you here, right? It's about something, isn't it?"

Wang Li nodded: "Is it... about Feng Rui?"

Tian Qiao: "Yes. Tell us what you know. It seems like you know Feng Rui."

"We know each other, but we don’t get along." Having met Cheng Zhiyu and the others and sensing where they stood, Wang Li felt much more at ease. She honestly shared everything she knew about Feng Rui's family, including the threats they made to her yesterday.

After hearing it, Tian Qiao was so mad he almost laughed: "That family, god, they're shameless!"

Cheng Zhiyu was also taken aback, perhaps unable to understand Feng Rui's logic. How could they think Tian Manman would help them instead of... taking revenge?

Wang Li stayed silent. From Cheng Zhiyu's attitude, it was clear they didn't want Tian Manman to make peace with Feng Rui's family. Their treatment of Feng Rui seemed more like dealing with enemies than finding Tian Manman's relatives...

Wang Li wasn't stupid and quickly figured it out. No wonder the Feng family never mentioned Tian Manman. Cheng Zhiyu and the others were good, kind-hearted people. For them to hate someone this much, the Feng family must have done plenty of awful things.

But Wang Li didn't know the specifics, and she knew better than to ask. It was likely that the Feng family had treated Tian Manman poorly before and ditched him when the apocalypse hit. They never expected Tian Manman to develop powers, and now, upon learning this, they shamelessly tried to latch onto him.

How pathetic! Even though it didn't happen to her, Wang Li was furious just hearing about it.

After sharing what she knew, Wang Li left.

"That family is disgusting, Cheng Zhiyu. How should we deal with them?" Tian Qiao certainly couldn’t just let it slide.

Cheng Zhiyu couldn't think of a solution right away. They were still stuck in pre-apocalypse thinking. In the past, the Feng family's behavior would have gotten them thrown in jail, but now it was the apocalypse.

If they encountered zombies, they could take them out no problem, but the Feng family, however disgusting, were still human, not zombies.

Simply put, Cheng Zhiyu and the others had too high moral standards and couldn't adjust their thinking immediately. As Superhumans, dealing with the Feng family would be easy, but they didn't see the strong preying on the weak as a given.

Surprisingly, it was Zhou Min who came up with an idea first: "Uh... how about we chop their legs off and then let ’em grow back?"

Cheng Zhiyu's mouth twitched: "You really aren't afraid of people finding out about your ability, and besides, wasting your powers on people like that isn’t worth the effort."

Tian Qiao scratched his head: "Then what should we do?"

As they were talking, Little Black suddenly glanced toward Tian Manman's room. Cheng Zhiyu paused, stood up, and walked over, quietly opening Tian Manman's door to find him standing there, not sure how long he’d been standing there.

"Manman, why are you awake?" Cheng Zhiyu smiled: "Can't sleep?"

Tian Manman nodded: "Mm."

"If you can't sleep, come out. We'll take a walk later." Cheng Zhiyu wasn't sure if he'd heard their conversation and decided not to bring it up.

Tian Qiao coughed lightly, walked over, and threw an arm around Tian Manman’s shoulder, smiling: "Yeah, great time for a walk."

Tian Manman didn't speak.

Tian Qiao: "Manman?"

Tian Manman whispered: "I... heard everything."

They exchanged looks, relieved that Tian Manman seemed calm.

Cheng Zhiyu said: "Manman, we weren’t trying to keep it from you."

Tian Manman naturally understood—they were thinking of him, even secretly discussing how to get revenge for him.

Tian Manman felt they were way too good to him. He'd never met such kind people before, to the point where he'd almost forgotten all those painful years.

Tian Qiao patted Tian Manman's shoulder: "Don't overthink it. We're here for you now. Don't worry, we'll take care of this!"

But Tian Manman unusually looked up at Tian Qiao, shaking his head: "No, I want... to do it myself."

Tian Qiao: "Manman..."

Tian Manman clenched his fists, as if making a decision: "I don't want to hide anymore. Before... they bullied me. Now, I'm stronger than them. I don't want... to be bullied again."

Cheng Zhiyu ruffled his hair affectionately, smiling: "Don't forget, we're here too. Before, we weren't around, but now that we are, no one dares bully you. Anyone who tries will have to answer to us first."

Tian Qiao: "Exactly! You've got people protecting you now!"

Zhou Min quietly raised his hand: "And me too. I mean, if you want to torture them, I can make sure they don't die, so you can torment them longer."

Zhou Min really had the most innocent face while saying the most terrifying things.

Little Black: "I can turn them into charcoal with lightning." Well... isn't that a form of divine punishment?

Cheng Zhiyu laughed, stroking Little Black's fur, and relayed his words to Tian Manman.

With everyone chiming in, Tian Manman inexplicably felt that those past memories seemed less frightening. His heart warmed, but his nose tingled, tears streaming down as he sobbed loudly.

Cheng Zhiyu and the others let him cry it out—sometimes letting emotions out was better than bottling them up.

After Tian Manman had cried enough, they discussed what to do next.

Tian Qiao, being impatient, immediately said, "Why talk so much? Let's just go beat each of them up to vent our anger first!"

This statement was met with agreement from everyone, and Tian Manman also clenched his fists, looking eager to jump in.

He thought about those days when he was either beaten or scolded by those people—how could he not feel angry? But back then, he couldn't fight back. Even if he mustered the courage to resist, it just brought more beatings and insults.

Being beaten and scolded was one thing, but they would also deliberately starve him, withholding food from him. That gnawing, twisting hunger was something he could never forget.

When he was starving half to death, they would toss a stale, rock-hard bun into the cellar. Many times, Tian Manman wanted to die, but he still crawled over, picked up the bun, and forced it down, bite by painful bite.

Eating after being starved for so long just made the cramps worse, especially with a cold, hard steamed bun. He was stuck in this cycle of torment every day, yet he couldn't die.

Later, when the apocalypse hit, that family ran away, leaving him forgotten in the cellar. He had no idea what was happening outside and thought they had forgotten him again, only this time for an unusually long period.

Tian Manman developed a fever in the cellar, burning up until he passed out. He thought he was finally going to die, but to his surprise, he woke up again a few days later.

He didn’t know he had developed an ability; he only felt that after waking up, his body wasn't frail and wasted like before. Instead, it felt like it was surging with new life.

At the same time, he felt extremely hungry. Mustering his courage, he left the cellar. He didn’t see that family, only zombies shambling around everywhere.

The zombies would attack him, and Tian Manman was scared, but he ran fast enough to avoid them all.

He found food. Ironically, after the apocalypse, he had his first full meal, even though it didn’t taste very good.

Perhaps because of his past experiences, Tian Manman had a real hang-up about food. This was also why, despite his fear of interacting with people, he couldn’t resist tracking down Cheng Zhiyu and the group after smelling the food Cheng Zhiyu cooked.

Everything from the past was still seared into his memory—how could Tian Manman ever forget?

The group was all in. No matter what, they would kick their asses first to blow off steam!

——

Feng Rui sneezed and continued bragging to his girlfriend that he had a brother who was a Superhuman.

His girlfriend was also a Superhuman. Feng Rui, being an ordinary person, had only managed to land her purely on his looks. Because of their unequal status, he had always been acting subservient.

Feng Rui had long been sick of it. In the past, he had no choice—he still wanted to rely on his girlfriend. Now, upon learning that "that bastard" had become a Superhuman, he felt uncomfortable but couldn’t help showing off.

Sure enough, after he finished speaking, his girlfriend looked somewhat surprised. "Your brother is a Superhuman? Why haven’t you mentioned it before?"

Feng Rui mumbled evasively, "He only recently arrived at Chaoyang Base. We were separated before."

His girlfriend was half-convinced and half-skeptical. She knew what Feng Rui was like—boastful, lazy, and gluttonous. If it weren’t for his good looks, she wouldn't have looked twice at him.

She said, "Then introduce your brother to me sometime? I haven’t met any of your family members yet."

Feng Rui thought with a cold smirk. She had never mentioned meeting his family before, but now she was bringing it up. For a moment, he actually felt that having a Superhuman as a brother wasn’t so bad—that bastard might actually be useful.

At the same time, he also felt disdain for his girlfriend. She changed her tune faster than you can flip a page. Just wait, he thought. Once he found a new target, he would dump her immediately.

By now, it was already dark. As the two passed by a deserted alley, Feng Rui suddenly felt something sack-like dropped over his head. Realizing this, he panicked, struggling frantically and shouting his girlfriend’s name.

The female Superhuman was also stunned. Several men had just stuffed her boyfriend into a sack right in front of her—were they pretending she wasn't even there?

Even if she was only with Feng Rui for his looks, she couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.

Just as the female Superhuman was about to speak, several sharp Ice Arrows appeared before her. Her eyes widened slightly, and she gulped. "...The base doesn’t allow private fights!"

Cheng Zhiyu’s expression was calm but carried an inexplicable sense of pressure. "This is a personal matter. I'd advise you to walk away."

The female Superhuman thought to herself that she knew Feng Rui had a terrible personality and was always pissing people off, but had he gone so far as to offend Superhumans? Was he insane?

"Are you going to stay and help him?" Cheng Zhiyu frowned slightly. They were here for Feng Rui and didn’t want to involve anyone else.

Fortunately, the female Superhuman glanced at the sack on the ground and shook her head, seeing sense. There was no need to risk herself for Feng Rui. The base did have rules, but if she were killed, any punishment the base imposed on them would be meaningless to her.

After the apocalypse, the first thing she learned was to look out for number one.

The female Superhuman quickly turned and left, leaving behind the struggling figure in the sack on the ground.

Cheng Zhiyu and the others looked at the sack with eyes utterly devoid of warmth. Tian Manman stood there, head bowed, fists clenched tightly.

They weren’t afraid of Feng Rui guessing who they were. Tian Qiao looked at Tian Manman and asked, "Manman, you want me to do it?"

Tian Manman shook his head firmly. "No... need."

Inside the sack, Feng Rui struggled wildly. Hearing a certain voice, he became agitated. "Is that you? You little bastard! You actually dare to—"

Before he could finish, someone kicked him hard, and he yelled in pain.

What followed was a relentless storm of kicks and punches. Tian Manman’s eyes reddened as he remembered how Feng Rui had humiliated him—beating him, scolding him, forcing him to scramble with dogs for scraps. He had once felt utterly hopeless, leaving him with deep psychological scars. Just the sight of Feng Rui used to terrify him.

But now, he was no longer afraid. He realized that the "powerful" Feng Rui he had once feared was actually so weak. He had been trapped by the memory of his younger, bullied self.

At that moment, the shadow that had long loomed over his heart finally dissipated. He let out a sigh and stopped.

Zhou Min glanced at the motionless sack and clicked his tongue. "Seriously? Out cold already? He can't take a punch like I can."

The others: "..."

Why do you sound proud of that?

For the first time, Tian Manman lifted his head and slowly smiled. "Thank you... all of you."

"Hey, what are friends for? No need to thank us!" Tian Qiao patted Tian Manman’s shoulder.

Since the person was already unconscious, there was no point in continuing. They simply carried the sack and dumped it right on the Fengs' doorstep.

Old Lady Chen came out, saw the sack at the door, and started cursing, complaining about who had the nerve to dump trash at her doorstep.

After cursing for a while with no response, she sensed something was off. The sack seemed to contain a person. She hurried over and opened it. When she saw who was inside, she nearly fainted.