|
.png)
“It's the second type.” Jing Xia immediately interrupted Qi Yang, saying, “If it were the first type, he wouldn't need to face the mutated beasts himself, because he would be nearly invincible against anyone.”
Qi Yang's meaningful gaze lingered on Jing Xia for a long time, carrying a hint of barely perceptible approval.
After a long while, he gently nodded and said, “That's right, my deduction is indeed the second type. However, since we have deduced a conclusion with over 90% probability, the urgent task now is—how to deal with it?”
As soon as this question was raised, the previously heated discussion in the room instantly fell silent.
Seeing that Jing Xia and Ji Chuancheng both wore serious expressions and did not respond, it seemed they were hesitating on how to evaluate an acquaintance. In contrast, Qi Yang had no such concerns; he teased, “Su Weishang's abilities are very important for the S City base, or rather... extremely important for all of humanity.”
A sudden jolt ran through Jing Xia's heart, and he immediately looked up at Qi Yang, a hint of hesitation on his handsome face: “Are you suggesting... to properly utilize Su Weishang, making him a pillar in the human stronghold?”
Rationality told Jing Xia that someone with such special abilities as Su Weishang was indeed a key figure that humanity needed to cultivate. However... he could not forget the boy's crazed, venomous gaze and malicious words just before his death. Although Su Weishang appeared flawless in his demeanor towards others, when it came to himself...
A person who could calmly plan and excitedly kill his own brother, Jing Xia absolutely did not believe he could selflessly dedicate himself for all of humanity and earn their trust.
Talent without virtue is a dangerous thing.
Such a person should be isolated.
Resolutely making up his mind, Jing Xia even decided that if Qi Yang insisted on utilizing Su Weishang, he would eliminate him, even if it meant assassination. Just then, Qi Yang chuckled, “Xiao Xia, you actually think I would want to utilize Su Weishang?”
This scene was completely different from what Jing Xia had imagined, leaving him utterly stunned.
Shouldn't it be... a debate and argument of opposing views?
Why did it seem like...
“I knew what kind of person Su Weishang was the first time I met him. I, Qi Yang, am not so foolish as to put him in my heart over such a trivial dimensional space. He might become a crucial piece on the chessboard, but he absolutely won't affect the overall situation.” With his refined and handsome features, the red star silver-rimmed glasses reflected dazzling light under the illumination, making it hard for Jing Xia to see Qi Yang's expression.
He pushed up his glasses and smiled, “Alright, Major Ji, you've been watching the show long enough. Just issue the order to decide Su Weishang's fate.”
Jing Xia immediately turned to look at Ji Chuancheng.
This statement suddenly reminded Jing Xia of the man beside him who had been silent for a long time, standing quietly in a corner, so much so that Jing Xia had almost forgotten his presence.
The handsome and profound man, now illuminated by the white light above, had even more defined features. He silently gazed at Jing Xia, not knowing how long he had been looking, his thin lips slightly curling up, revealing a hint of barely visible satisfaction and joy.
Ignoring Qi Yang's deliberately teasing tone, Ji Chuancheng shot him a cold glance and said, “Eliminate him.”
Those two short words were nothing like the hesitant demeanor Jing Xia had just displayed!
Clearly, Ji Chuancheng had almost no personal stake in this matter, nor did he have a life-and-death feud like Jing Xia, yet he could decisively issue such an order. His tone held no trace of hesitation, his voice cold and hard, carrying a barely perceptible hint of killing intent.
It was as if...
He had never known Su Weishang at all, and was merely stating something as simple as “What are we having for dinner tonight?”
Jing Xia's heart sank heavily. It wasn't out of worry or hesitation, but rather he felt... even after his previous life, he still could not match the decisiveness and ruthlessness of Ji Chuancheng and Qi Yang.
After all, having grown up in a wealthy and peaceful world, even though he had personally slain thousands of mutated beasts in his last life, he had never shed human blood. And in this life, he had never considered taking direct lethal action like Su Weishang, not until the very last moment.
Of course, if Qi Yang truly wanted to protect Su Weishang and promote him to a core member of the base, he would indeed use every means to eliminate him, preventing him from causing harm to humanity.
“Is it really that simple?” Seemingly not expecting Ji Chuancheng to respond with such a simple two-word answer, Qi Yang waited a moment before asking, “There are many ways to eliminate him; I can think of over twenty methods right now, all without leaving a trace and convincing everyone. But...”
Qi Yang's voice gradually trailed off, his teasing gaze shifting back and forth between Jing Xia and Ji Chuancheng for a long time, before continuing, “Is it really just about—eliminating him?”
This time, Qi Yang didn't need to “remind” them again. After Jing Xia dispelled the last bit of barrier in his heart, he looked at Qi Yang's expression with amusement. He pondered for a moment, and a mischievous smile suddenly appeared on his delicate and handsome face as he asked:
“Do you know... what Su Weishang fears the most?”
-----------
The entire S City base slowly began to recover nearly two months after the first wave of mutated beasts attacked, returning to the previously vibrant scene.
In the farming area, many people and machines were busy planting, and the wide roads were bustling with hurried pedestrians. Except for a few severely injured evolvers who could no longer engage in strenuous activities, the number of evolvers training and sprinting at the training base had significantly increased compared to before.
The cleaning and development missions issued by the base headquarters had become increasingly rare, and the S City base began to gradually loosen its grip on unnecessary territorial disputes, focusing instead on cleaning up internal affairs to ensure basic safety within the base.
As Ji Chuancheng had said over a month ago, the upper echelons would never allow that kind of despairing and numb atmosphere to spread within the base. However, within a week after the attack, the research institute began to announce humanity's new enemy—
The marine mutated group.
Proximity to the sea gave S City the richest resources and a mild climate. However, it also brought about inevitable disasters.
Only by providing humanity with a hope for survival and a crisis they had to face would they naturally forget those irrelevant sorrows, prioritizing survival issues and returning to intense work and labor.
Unlike ordinary humans who only thought about food, evolvers considered much more, especially those unknown enemies. Thus, they were even more eager to train their abilities; if there were not many mutated beasts to battle, they would engage in matches among human evolvers, striving to quickly enhance their strength.
This was the second day since Su Weishang returned to the sunlight.
The glaring sunlight was nothing like the dullness of late-year winter, radiating a heat even more intense than October. This bizarre weather had persisted since early November, and no matter how fearful or terrified they were, it could not compare to the enemies lurking in the ocean.
Since the apocalypse had arrived, humanity was indifferent to such inexplicable weather.
However, Su Weishang, just returning to the surface from underground, still felt quite unaccustomed to this sensation.
He sat alone in the center of the training base's seating area, shielding his eyes from the blinding sunlight with his left hand, seriously watching the handsome man walking towards the field. Upon seeing this, he quickly jogged down to hand the prepared water cup to Wu Jiqing.
“Jiqing, you've already fought four matches today; you should take a break.” The boy's soft voice was as pleasant as ever, his pure and charming face adorned with a faint smile, bright and beautiful.
Wu Jiqing's body trembled slightly, and he unconsciously took a half-step back, awkwardly reaching out as if to take the water cup from Su Weishang's hand, but then he couldn't help but retract his hand.
The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.
Su Weishang was taken aback and softly asked, “Jiqing?”
Wu Jiqing's face darkened, but he quickly concealed his discomfort. He cleared his throat and said, “Xiao... Xiao Shang, you just came out of the laboratory; you should rest more in the dormitory. I've gotten used to fighting ten matches every day for the past two months; if your health isn't good, just watch from the side.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Wu Jiqing turned and fled back to the field, as if some great beast were chasing him.
The brilliant sunlight pierced through the nearly cloudless sky, casting a dazzling glow on the boy's flaxen hair, creating a strange light golden hue. He squinted his clear and beautiful light-colored eyes, carefully watching Wu Jiqing's gradually receding figure, the smile that had originally graced his small face slowly fading away.
“Hey... isn't that the Su... what was it again?”
“Su Weishang!”
“Oh right, right, that's the Su Weishang. How did he come to the training base? We should hurry back and keep our distance from him.”
“Exactly, I never thought he was that kind of person; how could he...”
Their voices grew fainter, and the last words disappeared into the air.
Yet this small and weak voice, amidst such a noisy and chaotic environment, clearly reached Su Weishang's ears, causing him to freeze, and the next second he nearly lost his footing, almost falling onto the plastic seat in the arena, his face turning pale.
He tightly gripped the metal water cup in his hand, squeezing so hard that his fingers turned white.
Sweat began to bead on his forehead, unsure if it was from the scorching sun or from anxiety; his body trembled slightly as he muttered to himself, “No... this is absolutely wrong... something must have happened that I don't know about... no... no!”