Due to long-term malnutrition, his hair felt dry and slightly prickly. “Your teacher is quite right.”
Jiang Hua stood quietly by, watching this scene unfold.
He could almost feel Tong Sui’s hand resting gently on his head, a soft touch traversing time and space, landing upon the similarly frail, bloodied ten-year-old Jiang Hua.
That snow-white hand soothed the deepest shadows in his heart.
Tong Sui turned to Jiang Hua, “Captain Hua, I have something I want to discuss with you.”
Jiang Hua collected his thoughts and responded with a brief acknowledgment.
The surrounding noise was overwhelming, and the distribution of supplies would take some time, so Tong Sui suggested, “Let’s talk in the car.”
“Okay,” Jiang Hua agreed.
Tong Sui got into the car first.
Although it was his suggestion, once the door closed, the familiar environment triggered some unwanted memories, leaving him feeling a bit flushed.
Tong Sui quickly reined in those thoughts and cleared his throat. “Captain Hua, could you explain to me why you insist on distributing supplies?”
Jiang Hua replied, “If you heat water over a fire, it may appear calm at first, but once it reaches a hundred degrees, it will boil violently.”
The entire South China base was like a furnace, with ordinary people being cooked over that fire; although it seemed peaceful, energy was building up, just waiting for the moment to explode.
Tong Sui understood his meaning.
Even if Lou Yelin were killed, it would only change the person in charge; it would not alter the invisible shackles of the base.
Only by gathering everyone at the grassroots level could they possibly break free.
But that would inevitably come at a bloody cost.
Ordinary people, despite their numerical advantage, were vastly outmatched in combat power against abilities.
So, was there any way to minimize that gap?
Of course, there was.
If everyone could become superpowered, then all advantages would vanish, and everyone would start from the same starting line.
Tong Sui said, “Captain Hua, do you remember the ability I awakened after the wall collapsed? It’s actually related to the space ring I found.”
As he spoke, he took a cup of water from the spatial spring.
“This is it,” Tong Sui said. “If I can use it to awaken my own ability, then others can too.”
The water in the cup was crystal clear, indistinguishable from ordinary water to the naked eye.
Yet Jiang Hua sensed the energy fluctuations.
He knew that everything Tong Sui said was true; this water was definitely not ordinary.
Lou Yelin had thought that after this lesson, Jiang Hua would at least tone it down and reflect on his grave mistakes.
Yet the very next morning, he received another report from his subordinates.
“Jiang Hua has started distributing supplies again.”
Lou Yelin gritted his teeth.
Was he openly challenging him?
Lou Yelin cursed, “Does he really think he can step over me? This base is under my control.”
“Please don’t be so angry,” Jian Lexian said. “We can send someone to collect supplies again, and as for Jiang Hua, no matter how strong he is, he is just one person. We have ways to make him disappear.”
Lou Yelin asked, “What do you have in mind?”
“Not long from now, there will be another mutated zombie tide. At that time, you can use the excuse of a mission to send him out.”
Jian Lexian recalled that unprecedented zombie tide, which nearly wiped out all small safety bases and scattered survivors.
He himself also died during that zombie tide.
Lou Yelin frowned at his certainty. “How can you be so sure?”
Jian Lexian smiled. “If I said I’m reborn, would you believe me, Director Lou?”
Lou Yelin replied, “What?”
Jian Lexian leaned closer, affectionately sitting on his lap. “You will need me.”
Lou Yelin did not push him away.
Whether Jian Lexian was truly reborn or not did not matter.
What mattered was that he genuinely needed a trustworthy assistant, and Jian Lexian was ruthless enough, providing enough benefits in return.
As night fell,
The originally silent shanty area was awash with lights.
A squad composed of superpowered individuals expelled ordinary people who had received supplies during the day.
“You all know what to do without me saying it,” the leader of the superpowered team lifted his chin. “Put the things inside in order.”
A woman in the front row clutched several cans tightly in her hands.
The superpowered being clicked his tongue. “Put them in.”
The woman glanced at the familiar burlap sack; that was how they had taken things from them the previous day.
Her fingertips whitened from the pressure.
“These are my belongings; you have no right to take them.”
The superpowered individual chuckled, as if he could not believe what he heard. “Say that again?”
“You have no right—”
She was suddenly kicked to the ground. Despite the intense pain, she still protected the cans in her hands. “You—you have no right.”
A child cried out in fear.
Others lowered their heads, their fists clenched tightly at their sides, the atmosphere taut like a drawn bowstring.
The superpowered individual let out a cold laugh, bending down to retrieve the supplies from the woman’s hand.
The woman opened her mouth and bit him fiercely.
“Ow, you damn—”
The superpowered being clutched his bleeding hand and lifted his leg to kick the woman in the stomach. “I’m going to show you what pain looks like today—”
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly felt a white shadow flash in front of him.
The superpowered individual was knocked heavily to the ground, feeling sharp pain on the side of his face.
He raised his head in disbelief.
The one who had taken him down was a gaunt middle-aged man, and he wondered where that emaciated body had found such strength.
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