Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Seeing Zhou Min repeatedly making offensive remarks, Tian Qiao felt like smacking him. What on earth was wrong with him, acting so erratically?

It wasn’t until Zhou Min suddenly accused Zhang He of lying that Tian Qiao froze, finally understanding Zhou Min’s behavior.

At that moment, Zhou Min was hiding behind Cheng Zhiyu, gripping his clothes tightly, feeling perfectly secure. He looked down to find Little Black staring intently at him.

Zhou Min coughed lightly and released Cheng Zhiyu’s clothes.

Meanwhile, Wu Mengting paused, asking urgently, "What do you mean by what you said?"

Zhang He frowned, pulling Wu Mengting back. "Mengting, ignore him. Who knows what nonsense he’s spouting?"

However, Wu Mengting stubbornly kept her eyes fixed on Zhou Min, who cautiously poked his head out and said, "Just what I said. He claimed your daughter’s death had nothing to do with him, but I sensed that was a lie."

Wu Mengting whirled around to Zhang He, her eyes red-rimmed and looking rather frightening.

Zhang He swallowed nervously, cautiously saying, "Baby, you can’t just believe everything people say. I know you care about Xingxing, but didn’t we consult a medium? Xingxing herself said her death had nothing to do with me."

After speaking, he glared at Zhou Min with a grim expression. "I don’t know why you’re trying to sow discord between my wife and me, but if you weren’t a friend of my benefactor, I wouldn’t be so polite."

Zhou Min was displeased by this. "What do you mean, I’m deliberately trying to sow discord? Am I secretly in love with you? I just can’t stand people lying right in front of me. Go ask around—my ability lets me sense when someone is lying. My track record speaks for itself, okay?"

Zhang He frowned and tried to pull Wu Mengting away, but she yanked her arm free and walked a few steps toward Zhou Min. "What do you mean by what you said? He’s lying… Xingxing’s death is related to him?"

Zhou Min shrugged. "How should I know? I only know he’s lying. As for the rest… I’m not a mind reader."

Wu Mengting clenched her fists. "So, as long as he speaks, you can tell whether he’s telling the truth or not?"

Zhou Min could guarantee that. "Of course."

Tian Qiao and Tian Manman edged closer to Cheng Zhiyu. "...What’s going on?"

Cheng Zhiyu replied, "No idea. Let’s wait and see."

Anyway, they weren’t going anywhere for a while.

Wu Mengting seemed to have made a decision. She walked up to Zhang He and locked eyes with him. He swallowed nervously. "Mengting, you shouldn’t believe everything others say…"

"Just answer my questions," Wu Mengting stated.

Zhang He pleaded, "Mengting…"

"I’ll say it again—answer my questions!" Wu Mengting raised her voice, her gaze fixed stubbornly on Zhang He, unwilling to yield an inch.

Zhang He was helpless, growing increasingly agitated.

Wu Mengting asked, "Did you bribe the psychic?"

Zhang He let out a relieved breath. "No."

Wu Mengting looked at Zhou Min, who confirmed, "That’s true."

Wu Mengting frowned. "Did you cause Xingxing’s death?"

Zhang He turned away. "No."

Zhou Min made a disgusted face. "False."

Wu Mengting’s hands trembled as she struggled to stay calm, but it was impossible. She almost shrieked, "Zhang He! Xingxing was your daughter. Why would you harm her? Do you know how much she loved you? Every time you left, she would sob in my lap, saying she missed her dad…"

Zhang He looked like she'd hit a nerve and retorted loudly, "Even if I did cause her death, it was an accident! An honest mistake! I regret it too!"

Zhou Min interjected, "False, false, false."

He added, "Every word is a lie."

As if afraid others wouldn’t understand, he specifically explained, "He did it on purpose. It wasn’t an accident, and he doesn’t regret it at all."

Cheng Zhiyu and the others went quiet. They knew Zhou Min wasn’t lying. Even fierce tigers don't devour their cubs.

Tian Qiao whispered under his breath, "That’s so strange. Why did the psychic say Xingxing claimed Zhang He wasn’t responsible for her death?"

Cheng Zhiyu replied, "Some victims might not even know the cause of their death. Besides, as Wu Mengting said, Xingxing had deep feelings for Zhang He."

Tian Qiao had nothing more to say and was looking at Zhang He like he was a beast.

"Zhang He, you’re nothing but a scumbag!" Wu Mengting shrieked, her entire body trembling as she lunged at him.

Zhang He scrambled out of the way, pleading as he moved, "Mengting, don’t believe him. Xingxing was my daughter too. How could I bear to harm her?"

Zhou Min tsked, adding fuel to the fire. "Still lying."

Zhang He finally snapped. He shouted angrily and glared at Zhou Min. "Why are you talking so much nonsense? What does our family business have to do with you?!"

Zhou Min scoffed. "Can’t I intervene when I see injustice?"

Zhang He gritted his teeth. "Mind your own business!"

Before he finished speaking, a sharp, hardened clump of earth shot toward Zhou Min with enough force to kill him.

Zhang He had spent the previous night absorbing all the crystal cores he could get his hands on and was now a Level 2 earth-element user.

The earthen clump was even harder than rock.

However, a large blade slashed through it, shattering it to dust.

Tian Manman stood holding the blade, glaring daggers at Zhang He. He didn’t care about anything else—all he knew was that Zhang He had dared to attack his friend. He had a death wish!

Cheng Zhiyu’s expression turned cold. "Zhang He, are you trying to start something with us?"

His words were a clear defense of Zhou Min. If Zhang He continued to attack Zhou Min, they wouldn’t go easy on him.

Zhang He’s expression turned ugly. "Brother Cheng, I’m just trying to help you. With such a troublemaker in your team, aren’t you afraid you’ll get yourselves killed one day?"

Cheng Zhiyu replied, "That’s our business. You don’t need to worry about it."

Zhou Min got all emotional. "Aww, I love you guys so much."

Little Black remarked, "Always throwing 'love' around so casually. How frivolous."

Cheng Zhiyu smiled faintly.

Seeing that he had gotten nowhere with Cheng Zhiyu, Zhang He turned to Wu Mengting. "Mengting, we’re still husband and wife. Are you trying to kill me? How could you be so cruel!"

Wu Mengting’s eyes were bloodshot. "Then tell me, why were you so cruel to Xingxing!"

"Hah, she put on a good act, pretending to be innocent, but she was actually full of schemes!" Zhang He had given up all pretense. Since Wu Mengting already knew, he decided to let it all out.

Wu Mengting couldn't believe it: "Xingxing is only five years old, how could you say that about her?!"

Zhang He snapped, "Am I wrong? If it weren't for her, would my son have died? She was afraid that my son would be born and take away her favor, so she cold-bloodedly killed him!"

He questioned, "Wu Mengting, you keep saying you love Xingxing, but what about our unborn son? Don’t you love him too?"

Wu Mengting was speechless for a long time. Zhang He muttered to himself, "If it weren’t for her, my son would be a year old by now, right? Both of us are Superhumans, so he would definitely be one too. Our family could have been happy—it’s all her fault! My mom said she asked experienced elders, and that pregnancy was definitely a boy. She wandered off while you were pregnant, making you look for her all day. I think she did it on purpose to make you miscarry!"

"Xingxing got lost accidentally. That day, I asked you to look for her, but you refused, so I had to search myself. Did you ever think that my miscarriage was partly your fault too?" When Wu Mengting had the miscarriage, she was heartbroken too, but she knew it wasn’t Xingxing’s fault. Instead, Zhang He’s behavior as a husband made her feel heartbroken.

Her daughter was lost, and he didn’t even care. It was because of that incident that, after Xingxing’s death, Wu Mengting always felt Zhang He was responsible for killing her.

"Besides, Zhang He, don’t think I don’t know—that time Xingxing went missing, it was your mom who took her out. Your mom wanted to abandon Xingxing!" Wu Mengting had always known her mother-in-law didn’t like Xingxing because she was a girl. She had suspicions about that incident but had no evidence. Plus, since her mother-in-law didn’t live with them, she had to drop it.

But this matter had always been a thorn in her heart: "It was your mom who killed our unborn child!"

"Can you blame my mom? If Xingxing hadn’t thrown a tantrum about not wanting a brother, to the point you considered abortion, would my mom have done that?" Zhang He, influenced by his mother’s mindset, had long accepted that set of son-preference mentality.

He could dote on Xingxing, but only under the condition that he would also have a son. When Xingxing became an obstacle to his son’s birth, he couldn’t accept it.

Wu Mengting sneered, "So you admit it!"

Zhang He said coldly, "She deserved to die. As long as she was alive, you wouldn’t have another child. And after the apocalypse, when I returned home, my mom was already dead, but she was still alive. My mom was killed by her too—she’s a demon!"

That wasn’t true at all. It was the mother-in-law who ignored Xingxing’s pleas and insisted on going outside to look around, only to get bitten by a zombie.

After being bitten and on the verge of turning into a zombie, she banged on the door trying to get inside. Xingxing, seeing her grandmother about to turn, didn’t open the door.

Wu Mengting didn’t think Xingxing did anything wrong. Before she left, she had told Xingxing never to open the door no matter what. Honestly, if it weren’t for the apocalypse, she would never have allowed her mother-in-law to be in the same space as Xingxing.

Wu Mengting seemed to calm down and asked Zhang He, "How did you kill Xingxing?"

Zhang He retorted, "She was killed by zombie bites. What does that have to do with me?"

Zhou Min interjected indignantly: "Liar!"

Wu Mengting’s fingers trembled: "You deliberately pushed her into the zombie horde, didn’t you?"

Zhang He didn’t reply. He changed the subject: "Mengting, as long as the two of us are living well, isn’t that enough? It’s the apocalypse—death and separation are common. If you like children, we can just have another one."

Speaking of this, Zhang He seethed at Zhou Min. He had just recently managed to coax Wu Mengting into a better mood, saying that if they had another child, maybe Xingxing would be reincarnated into their family?

Of course, that was all a lie, but Wu Mengting, as a mother who had just lost her child, was easily persuaded by such reasoning. All he really wanted was another son anyway.

Wu Mengting didn’t speak, just stared at Zhang He. The latter sensed danger, but by the time he realized it, he already felt an intense heat around him. He was suddenly engulfed in flames.

Zhou Min: "...Whoa."

Honestly, the scene was pretty terrifying, especially since Wu Mengting was watching the flames with a chilling smile.

An ordinary person would die instantly if engulfed in fire, but Zhang He was, after all, a Superhuman. He was still alive, but the burning pain was worse than death. He shrieked and struggled in agony, hearing Wu Mengting say, "Xingxing must have felt this much pain too."

Zhang He screamed: "Help!... Save me..."

The base was busy with foot traffic, and soon someone noticed the commotion, startled by the burning figure.

A Superhuman ran over to try to put out the fire, but Wu Mengting warned, "Anyone who tries to save him, I’ll burn you too."

Wu Mengting seemed mentally unstable, which made the other Superhumans hesitate—no one wanted to provoke a lunatic.

Zhang He shrieked in agony. His Superhuman physique, hardier than a regular person’s, made his suffering even more protracted. He was in extreme pain, even wishing for death to end his misery.

He never imagined his life would end like this. Suddenly, he remembered Xingxing’s desperate eyes when he lured her into the zombie horde and she was being ripped apart. She cried, "Daddy, save me, please... save me..."

Xingxing never even understood why she was surrounded by zombies. Until her last moment, she believed her father would come to rescue her.

The flames died down, leaving only a pile of ashes.

Wu Mengting twisted her lips, looked up at the sky, and lifted her hand, ready to strike herself down and end her own life.

Cheng Zhiyu sighed: "Xingxing wouldn’t want this for you."

Wu Mengting paused. She, who hadn’t cried until now, finally cried. She remembered what the medium relayed from Xingxing: "Mom, Xingxing wants you to be well."

Cheng Zhiyu: "If you live, at least there will still be someone in this world who remembers Xingxing."

Zhou Min coughed lightly: "Run, quick. Killing someone in the base is a major violation."

The base security was probably already sending people to arrest her.

Wu Mengting was in a daze. Tian Qiao reminded her: "Don’t overthink it now. Just run. Are you willing to be caught because of this piece of trash?"

Those words snapped Wu Mengting back to reality. She thanked him gravely and ran toward the base exit as fast as she could.

She had her essentials on her; there was nothing else she needed to take. Wu Mengting clutched the small ashes urn tightly.

Xingxing, Mom has gotten revenge for you.

—

Soon, people from the base arrived. Zhou Min looked and thought, speak of the devil—the leader was someone he knew, one of Brother Zhang’s subordinates.

Zhou Min quickly walked over: "Brother Feng, what brings you here?"

Brother Feng, seeing it was an acquaintance, eased up a bit: "We got a report that a Superhuman injured someone here. Where is the person?"

Zhou Min pointed at the charred remains on the ground: "Right here."

Brother Feng took a look and immediately had someone collect the body. He asked Zhou Min, "Where’s the Superhuman who did this?"

Zhou Min patted his chest: "I’m a witness. Let me tell you what happened."

Brother Feng glanced at him: "Do you know the Superhuman who did this? Trying to stall for her? It’s no use—the base gates have been notified too. She won’t escape."

Zhou Min: "..."

"Let me tell you what happened. You’ll definitely think this guy deserved it!" Zhou Min pulled Brother Feng aside and whispered to him. Brother Feng’s expression shifted repeatedly, clearly angered by Zhang He’s actions as well.

Zhou Min patted him: "So, how about giving her a break?"

But Brother Feng said: "The base has its rules."

Zhou Min persisted: "Rules are black and white, but people are flexible."

Brother Feng glanced at him: "Without rules, there’s no order. If rules can be changed arbitrarily, what credibility would the base have?"

Zhou Min: "..."

Brother Feng’s communicator beeped. The base now had internal communication, though the devices only worked within. He checked it—it was from the gate. He answered then, "Did you catch her?"

The security at the gate was very tight, and Feng-ge felt certain they would catch her. However, the gate guards reported, "She never showed up here."

Wu Mengting hadn’t gone to the gate at all, which Zhou Min hadn’t expected. He exchanged glances with Cheng Zhiyu and the others.

Feng-ge frowned. "Search everywhere. She must be hiding somewhere."

He ended the communication and glanced at Zhou Min. "Don’t do anything foolish. Harboring a criminal is punishable the same as the crime itself in the base."

Zhou Min looked confused. "I’m just as curious about where she went."

Seeing that Zhou Min didn’t seem to be lying, and since he still had to focus on the search, Feng-ge gave a few instructions and left.

Once Zhou Min was sure Feng-ge was gone, he leaned in toward Cheng Zhiyu and the others. "Where do you think she’s hiding?"

None of them knew, but one thing was certain: Wu Mengting, seeing the tight security at the gate, hadn’t tried to force her way out and had instead hidden herself.

They discussed it and decided to stay in the base for another day, leaving early the next morning. Before departing, Zhou Min made a point of checking and heard that Wu Mengting still hadn’t been found in the base. He breathed a sigh of relief—not found was good news.

"Maybe Wu Mengting has some special escape skill and has already gotten away?" Zhou Min said optimistically with a smile.

Whatever the case, they hoped she had good luck.

Zhang He had been such a beast that no one saw any issue with Wu Mengting burning him alive.

What kind of person with any moral boundaries would harm their own five-year-old child?

"Let’s go. It’s time to leave," Cheng Zhiyu said.

He glanced down at Little Black, who had grown even more. Originally reaching mid-calf, Little Black was now a little higher than Cheng Zhiyu’s calf. Compared to when they first entered the base, he had grown so much.

Afraid others might notice something unusual, Cheng Zhiyu had kept Little Black away from outsiders since leaving the forest. Now, as they prepared to leave, he had Little Black stay in the backpack. Little Black seemed reluctant—the backpack was cramped and surely uncomfortable.

Cheng Zhiyu gave him a soothing kiss. "Be good now. Just put up with it for a little while. It’ll be over soon."

Cheng Zhiyu added, "Is Little Black the best-behaved puppy?"

Little Black jumped into the backpack. "...Childish!"

Cheng Zhiyu laughed as he zipped up the backpack, carefully leaving a gap.

Little Black seemed to remember something and suddenly insisted, "I’m not a dog!"

Cheng Zhiyu replied, "Okay, okay, you’re not. Then what are you?"

Little Black: "..." He was afraid of scaring Cheng Zhiyu if he said it.

Seeing that Little Black didn’t answer, Cheng Zhiyu didn’t press further. He shouldered the backpack and set off.

He thought to himself, if only the system space allowed Little Black inside—then Little Black wouldn’t have to suffer in the backpack. Staying in the system space would surely be more comfortable.

Fortunately, they soon left the base without any issues. Little Black eagerly stretched out a paw, then stuck his head out of the backpack. His fur was a bit messy, and he shook it before preparing to jump down.

Zhou Min approached. "Come on, Brother Black, jump into my arms. I’ll catch you."

He looked at Little Black eagerly, thinking that if Little Black jumped into his arms, he could sneak in some pets. Heh.

However, Little Black glanced at him and jumped down from the other side.

Zhou Min: "..."

Cheng Zhiyu laughed and explained on Little Black’s behalf, "He doesn’t like being touched."

Zhou Min: Whatever.

——

A few days later, Tian Qiao patted the SUV in front of him, his eyes shining. "This one looks good."

Cheng Zhiyu walked around it and confirmed that, from the outside, it seemed fine. He also thought it was a good choice.

They had been riding motorcycles until then—convenient enough, yes, but the daytime heat made it nearly impossible to travel. After discussing it, everyone agreed to switch to a car.

The SUV had much higher ground clearance than a regular car and was more durable. Everyone thought it would be the best choice.

Moreover, they had managed to get a map from Chaoyang Base and had planned the shortest route home. Most of the route passed through wilderness, making an SUV the perfect choice.

Besides, with Cheng Zhiyu’s storage space upgraded, he could even store the SUV in his storage space in critical moments.

Tian Qiao found the car keys and said eagerly, "I’ll take it for a test drive first."

Zhou Min was next in line. "Me too, me too."

Tian Manman stood beside Cheng Zhiyu, scratching his head. He didn’t know how to drive.

Tian Qiao got in, started the car, and drove it around. He got out reluctantly and said, "The car’s fine."

Zhou Min also took a quick drive and agreed.

"Then let’s load up. We might make it to the seaside before dark," Cheng Zhiyu said, feeling excited himself.

Part of their planned route ran along the coast. Cheng Zhiyu had grown up landlocked and had never seen the ocean before.

He had once thought that after starting work, he would earn enough to take his family on a seaside vacation. He never expected the apocalypse to hit first.

The others were also excited and eagerly got into the car. Cheng Zhiyu patted Little Black. "Time to get in, Little Black."

In just a few days, Little Black had had a growth spurt. From previously reaching just above Cheng Zhiyu’s calf, he was now almost up to Cheng Zhiyu’s waist.

Sometimes Cheng Zhiyu would wake up to find Little Black had grown another noticeable chunk. He had completely shed his cute puppy appearance, now looking imposing. His black fur was silky, and he carried a regal air that reminded Cheng Zhiyu of a black panther—truly regal.

But who would have thought this big dog would recently become so annoyed? The reason for his annoyance was that he had grown too big for Cheng Zhiyu to carry him.

His paws were almost as big as Cheng Zhiyu’s hands. Cheng Zhiyu would have liked to carry him, but it was simply too heavy—literally back-breaking. It would crush him.

Little Black looked at Cheng Zhiyu. "You get in first."

Cheng Zhiyu got into the car as instructed, and Little Black jumped in after him. Fortunately, the SUV was a roomy eight-seater—otherwise, it might not have fit them all.

Little Black naturally laid his front half across Cheng Zhiyu’s lap, with his lower body on the seat, tail wagging happily.

Cheng Zhiyu stroked Little Black’s thick paws and rubbed his bouncy ears. Little Black didn’t seem bothered by all the petting. Only when he’d had enough would he pin down Cheng Zhiyu’s hand with his paw—it was pretty funny.

Zhou Min, sitting in the front, occasionally turned to look, looking longingly. He wanted to pet Little Black too, but Little Black was very wary and wouldn’t let anyone but Cheng Zhiyu get close.

So frustrating...

The SUV sped along, and soon they could smell the salty ocean air. They were nearing the coast.