Free Web NovelChapter 134: He’s Glowing
"What? He abducted us, but he also saved us from that blast," Duan Ze reasoned, stepping closer. "It might have been coincidental, but I still want to find out what the hell is going on. It’s not like he actually hurt us."
Kaiwen let out a soft sigh, reaching up to gently caress Duan Ze’s face. "You’re too soft, Ze’er."
Wenzhi looked away from the display of affection, stepping up right next to Xinyuan. As he did, his hand dropped to his waist, slickly pulling his tucked gun. "Do you think we can buy an island when we’re finally done with all of this?"
Xinyuan paused, looking down at him. "I thought you said you wanted to do that in a past life."
"Well, I’d like to do it in this one."
Xinyuan’s face flushed a deep, sudden red. "You said we."
Wenzhi rolled his eyes. "Don’t flatter yourself. Can we get an island or not?"
"I’m not entirely sure, with the Red Zones expanding... but we can make something work," Xinyuan said, a spark in his eyes.
Wenzhi nodded. "Good."
In the next second, he spun on his heel and fired a shot directly at Kaiwen.
Kaiwen’s reflexes were instantaneous. With his telekinesis, he redirected the energy blast straight into the kitchen ceiling. The plaster cracked as Kaiwen glared at Wenzhi in disbelief, while Duan Ze stood between them, looking completely out of sorts.
"What the fuck was that for?!" Kaiwen snapped, his voice dropping into a dangerous tone. "You could have hit Ze’er!"
"Just testing your reflexes," Wenzhi said smoothly, spinning the gun around his finger before tucking it away. He looked at the guide. "Sorry, Duan Ze."
"Yeah... I’m fine," Duan Ze breathed, recovering quickly and offering Wenzhi a friendly, slightly shaky smile.
Wenzhi looked at him, silently hoping to hell that neither of them would turn out to be another Jiang Zhaohe. He genuinely liked them.
°~°
"Wenzhi!" Ru Yi shouted excitedly.
She came running down the snowy path toward him, with Hanmei, Fu Muhan, Yuzhen, and Zhiyao following closely behind.
"Xinyuan!" Yuzhen called out next, his voice dripping with mocking, exaggerated excitement.
Before Wenzhi could react, Ru Yi crashed into him, throwing her arms around his neck while simultaneously grabbing Duan Ze’s arm to pull him into the huddle. Wenzhi blinked, freezing for a second as he debated whether he should actually hug her back. It was undeniably good to see her alive and completely intact.
Yuzhen didn’t dare try to hug Xinyuan, choosing instead to plant himself right in front of the Esper with a thoroughly swooning expression. "Gosh, you are practically glowing. Can you see it? Look at him, he’s glowing." He poked Kaiwen’s arm aggressively.
Kaiwen actually leaned in, inspecting Xinyuan with mock seriousness before nodding in agreement. "Damn, you’re right. He really is glowing."
Xinyuan glared at them, his jaw tightening as they continued to tease him.
They stood on the barren outskirts of Yanjing City, having been dropped off by two trucks.
Everyone had been completely caught up on the details of Jiang Zhaohe’s betrayal, including Fu Muhan and Hanmei. Wenzhi, however, had strictly kept the information about Pei Luo confined to their immediate inner circle.
"There’s a massive influx of international Espers roaming the border areas right now," Fu Muhan reported, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked toward the city skyline.
"Think they’re going to start sticking their noses into our main operations?" Zhiyao asked, his brow furrowing.
"We can just slaughter them if they do," Yuzhen offered with a casual shrug.
Seeing that no one in the group disagreed with the sentiment, a sharp smirk touched Wenzhi’s lips. Everyone was becoming viciously bloodthirsty after the explosion and Zhaohe’s stunt. It was honestly refreshing.
"We wait and see if they try to initiate contact first," he commanded, setting the tone. "So far, Mo Heyun hasn’t flagged any international Espers making official moves or trying to open a dialogue."
Hanmei let out a breath, her posture shifting into military form. "We need to head back to the Bureau immediately to see exactly what the damage looks like on the ground, and secure the perimeter against any trespassers."
Wenzhi gave her a firm nod.
Fu Muhan raised a hand, giving a crisp, tight salute. "We’ll see you on the other side, Boss."
"Got it," Wenzhi said.
As Fu Muhan and Hanmei turned to head back to one of the trucks, Ru Yi stepped out of the group. "I’d like to go with them," she announced.
Wenzhi raised an eyebrow, his gaze instantly tracking over to Hanmei. To his surprise, a sharp, genuinely excited smile broke across the green-haired Esper’s usually stone-cold face. Wenzhi blinked; he didn’t think he had ever seen Hanmei smile before.
"Yeah, go ahead. You can do whatever you want, Ru Yi," Duan Ze spoke up easily.
Ru Yi flashed a bright smile at him and Wenzhi before hurrying over to the truck with the departing Espers. The vehicle fired up and tore away into the cold, leaving just Wenzhi, Xinyuan, Kaiwen, Duan Ze, Yuzhen, and Zhiyao standing on the snowy outskirts.
"Why the hell isn’t Zhaohe dead yet?" Yuzhen snapped, his face twisting into a deep frown as the biting wind brushed his red hair back from his forehead. "She might have been one of the founders of the Sovereign, but she put a massive target on our backs and fucked over the entire world. I haven’t even lived my life to my full potential yet."
"Right now, I don’t know how to address her," Wenzhi muttered, his eyes narrowing. "She obviously knows Xinyuan and I are currently together even if Chenxi hasn’t said anything, but still..."
"I can just handle her for you," Yuzhen interrupted with a casual shrug.
The easy confidence in his tone made everyone but Zhiyao stare at him in silent curiosity. Yuzhen was always a confident person, but this was a completely different level.
"You actually think you can take down Jiang Zhaohe on your own?" Duan Ze asked, his brow furrowing. "I mean, if we all do it together, Xinyuan could..."
"I ran some tests while you guys were gone. I’ve broken through," Yuzhen cut in smoothly, a smug grin touching his lips. "I’m an SSS-rank now."
The entire group froze, the atmosphere instantly turning dead silent.
"What?" Kaiwen breathed, his cocky demeanor vanishing.
"That’s amazing... but how is that even possible? It’s so incredibly rare," Duan Ze stammered, his eyes wide with shock.
Wenzhi kept his mouth shut, though his mind was racing. He could easily tell them that he had broken through to S-rank himself, but seeing Yuzhen jump to SSS-rank changed the entire board. Did that mean Kaiwen and Chenxi had a shot at reaching that height too?
"Look, I’m just saying we should go put a bullet in her head right now," Yuzhen groaned, rolling his eyes at their stunned silence. "Come onnnnn."
Kaiwen scoffed, breaking the tension with a sudden, loud laugh. "Forget it, man. Xinyuan and Wenzhi have already claimed her. I think it’s a little more personal for the three of them anyway."
Wenzhi shifted his gaze to Xinyuan, who was already looking right back down at him. Without a word, a silent, heavy agreement passed between them. It was personal.
