The blinding white light exploding in the sky was even brighter than the rising sun in the east. Jiang Xinghuai had only ever seen a bomb with such power in movies.
That kind of impact seems to spread slowly. But in reality, it bursts outward from the center in an instant. It was enough to make a person’s mind go blank.
“—Get down!” Kang Cheng yanked Jiang Xinghuai’s small arm, pulled him out of the vehicle, and forced him to the ground, pressing him tightly against his chest.
The shockwave, carrying immense pressure, hit them the next second!
The air was forced apart, their bodies crushed by the blast. The earth rumbled and trembled beneath them.
Time seemed to freeze. When Jiang Xinghuai’s legs finally gave out and Kang Cheng helped pull him back to his feet, his mind was foggy. He couldn’t hear anything.
He had never felt the world so silent before.
“Jiang Xinghuai… Jiang Xinghuai…”
Kang Cheng gripped his shoulders tightly, shaking him.
A sharp nausea rose in Jiang Xinghuai’s stomach. He gagged a few times and vomited up what he had eaten that morning.
When he straightened up again, his hearing finally returned.
“You stay here. Follow Mo Wang!” Kang Cheng’s face was ashen.
A bomb with that kind of explosive force… whether it detonated inside or outside the base, the consequences were unimaginable.
If it went off inside the base and the main gate was destroyed, they would lose their barrier against the infected mutants.
If it exploded outside the base—
Outside the base was the area of the temporary encampment, where thousands of civilians awaiting inspection were gathered, along with patrolling military units.
Either outcome was one that no one could afford to bear.
Kang Cheng yanked out the dazed driver, slammed down the button on his walkie-talkie to issue an emergency command to all units, then jumped into the driver’s seat and started the engine.
Hearing the roar of the vehicle and seeing Kang Cheng about to leave alone, Jiang Xinghuai hurriedly pulled open the rear door and jumped in.
The door hadn’t even closed yet when Mo Wang leapt straight into his arms.
Up front, Kang Cheng stomped on the accelerator and sharply turned the steering wheel to the left.
Just as Jiang Xinghuai was halfway through closing the door, the sudden jolt threw his body forward.
“Woof!” Mo Wang barked, bit down on the back of his collar, and yanked him back. Jiang Xinghuai fell backward, pulling the door shut with him.
Hearing the sound, Kang Cheng snapped his head around and finally saw the pair in the back seat. “How did you two get in here?!”
“I came to help you!” Jiang Xinghuai clutched Mo Wang tightly, his face pale with discomfort.
—It was the shock from the explosion’s impact just now.
Kang Cheng gave him a deep look before turning back and pressing the accelerator to the floor.
“Hold on tight!” Kang Cheng said.
The training field was about a thousand meters from the base gate. Jiang Xinghuai knew that even from this distance, he could still feel the aftershock of the blast, which meant that the area right at the gate, closer to the explosion, must have suffered an impact far more devastating than he could imagine.
But when the car stopped and Jiang Xinghuai got out, he froze. The situation was far worse than he had imagined.
Almost all the soldiers were lying on the ground. Those who merely vomited were the lucky ones. Most had blood streaming from their ears and noses and had lost consciousness.
The only good news was that the base’s main gate still stood. It was still solid and unbroken, towering firmly in place.
“Give me a hand.” Kang Cheng jumped out of the car and headed straight for an overturned patrol vehicle nearby.
Someone was trapped underneath.
The two of them pushed the vehicle aside together, revealing a soldier pinned beneath it. His head was split and bleeding, but he was still conscious, eyes half-open and filled with terror.
When he recognized Kang Cheng, his trembling lips managed to stammer out, “C–Captain Kang…”
“It’s all right. Don’t talk.” Kang Cheng supported the man’s head to prevent blood from entering his airway, then quickly grabbed his walkie-talkie. “Medical team, report immediately to the military gate! I repeat. Report to the military gate immediately!”
The soldier took a deep, shaky breath, swallowed a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva, and tried to speak. But it only triggered a violent cough.
Jiang Xinghuai turned back to the car, grabbed a bottle of water, opened it, and helped the soldier drink.
“Thank you.” The soldier gave him a faint smile before his face turned serious again as he looked at Kang Cheng to report. “There was a small-scale outbreak of infected in the temporary encampment outside. Our captain led a team out of the base to rescue and clear the area. But then a large number of mutants suddenly appeared.”
“What about the explosion?” Kang Cheng’s brows furrowed deeply. “The armory didn’t receive any authorization for large-scale explosive weapons.”
“Someone blew up the high-voltage power room,” the soldier said through clenched teeth.
“What?!” Kang Cheng’s face twisted in shock and fury.
The outermost perimeter of the temporary camp was surrounded by a tall electrified fence, with voltage levels reaching up to 1,000 volts. Whether infected or mutant, anything that touched it would instantly collapse. The power for that grid came from a high-voltage power room. One that engineers had converted from a nearby transmission tower.
Let’s not even talk about the power of the explosion in the high-voltage electrical room. Whether there’s anyone still alive in the temporary base is uncertain, but the power grid is definitely destroyed.
That was their first firewall between them and the virus!
Heavy, orderly footsteps echoed from the surface. Jiang Xinghuai turned his head—
The army had arrived.
Kang Cheng reached out and pressed down on Jiang Xinghuai’s head. “Help him get to the vehicle. The medical team will be here soon. Don’t wander around. Wait for me in the car.”
Jiang Xinghuai nodded.
Kang Cheng looked at him, wanting to say something more, but the army not far away had already formed ranks. He could only give Jiang Xinghuai a reassuring pat on the shoulder before quickly turning around and striding toward the approaching troops.
“Our captain…” The soldier’s eyes turned red as Kang Cheng walked away. “To cover us… he stood in front of the main gate… and sacrificed himself.”
Jiang Xinghuai lowered his head to look at him. After thinking for a moment, he pulled out the biscuit Fu Yan had stuffed into his pocket and placed it in the soldier’s palm. “I’ll carry you over. How heavy are you?”
The soldier looked down at the small biscuit in his hand and slowly smiled. But as he smiled, he started to cry. He said, “A bit heavy.”
The medical team arrived soon after. The soldier, still clutching the biscuit, was taken away.
Jiang Xinghuai returned to the side of the vehicle. He glanced at the blood on his hands—blood from the soldier—and then lifted his head to stare at the towering main gate. His heart thumped heavily.
He stood up, gripped the top of a nearby patrol car, and stepped up onto the front of a large truck beside it.
The military district gate was tall. So tall that even when Jiang Xinghuai stretched and stood on tiptoe, he could only see a small portion of what was beyond it. But just that small portion was enough to make his legs go weak.
A vast expanse of blackened, scorched earth spread out in a radial pattern. Half a body lay blown apart, mangled beyond recognition. The camp was in complete ruin…
“Get down!” Kang Cheng shouted from below the truck.
Jiang Xinghuai took a deep breath and climbed down. Before Kang Cheng could say anything, he spoke first.
“Fu Yan must be scared out of his wits. I need to go back and comfort him.” Jiang Xinghuai’s tone was firm. “If you don’t need me for anything else, I’ll go ahead.”
Kang Cheng looked at his pale face and nodded. “Alright, I’ll find someone to take—”
“Who goes there! Stop!” A soldier’s shout rang out from a distance.
“Stop! Don’t run!”
Both of them turned toward the commotion—
A middle-aged man was stumbling toward them, clutching a bulging luxury leather briefcase under his arm. His expensive suit had become a crumpled mess, like a heap of pickled vegetables. One of his designer leather shoes was missing.
Kang Cheng frowned, took a few steps forward to block his path, and raised his hand to signal the soldiers behind to stop chasing.
The middle-aged man, upon seeing Kang Cheng, trembled at the lips and actually stopped in his tracks.
Jiang Xinghuai squinted, studying the approaching man. He looked familiar. But for a moment, Jiang Xinghuai couldn’t quite recall who he was.
Kang Cheng gave the man a once-over from head to toe. “Wang Qinhai, what are you doing here?”
The moment that name was spoken, Jiang Xinghuai remembered.
It was that bald man who had appeared with his father that day, the one who also knew Fu Yan.
“Oh, it’s Captain Kang…” Wang Qinhai’s eyes flickered evasively, unconsciously glancing back toward the gate. The terror in his eyes resurfaced.
He hadn’t expected things to turn out like this. More than half of the temporary base had been destroyed. At least three to four thousand people were dead, and among them were soldiers. Apparently, even a battalion commander…
If that were true—
“I asked you what you’re doing here.” Kang Cheng took a step forward, his sharp gaze locking onto him. The tall figure in his crisp military uniform radiated a pressure as overwhelming as ocean waves.
Wang Qinhai instinctively took a step back but forced himself to lift his chin. Tugging at his torn suit jacket and straightening his back, he tried to regain his usual sense of superiority. “I came here on behalf of the Xu Corporation to deliver supplies to the people at the temporary base. You know that. Our Chairman Xu—”
“Ah!” Halfway through his words, Wang Qinhai’s eyelids twitched as he caught sight of Jiang Xinghuai standing behind Kang Cheng. He looked closely, then his eyes widened in surprise. “You’re that… that President Jiang’s son, aren’t you? Xing Xing, right?”
Jiang Xinghuai raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
Really? He’d clearly seen him before, yet now he was pretending this was their first meeting.
“Xing Xing, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten me.” Wang Qinhai stepped closer. “I’m your father’s friend. Don’t you remember Uncle Wang?”
“I don’t remember,” Jiang Xinghuai said flatly.
“You—No, Xing Xing, I’ve been good friends with your father for many years. He was actually very happy to see you that day. He just got a bit too emotional. How about this: you come with Uncle Wang to see your father. I’ll explain everything to him properly for you.”
Jiang Xinghuai raised his middle finger at him.
Wang Qinhai: “…………”
“Captain Kang,” Wang Qinhai gave an awkward smile, lifted his foot, and turned as if to leave. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going first.”
“Wait.” Kang Cheng’s deep voice stopped him.
Wang Qinhai froze. Cold sweat began to bead on his forehead. He didn’t even dare turn around.
“What’s in your bag?” Kang Cheng narrowed his eyes, staring at the leather briefcase tucked under Wang Qinhai’s arm.
Wang Qinhai let out a small sigh of relief. He removed the bag, unzipped it, and opened it up to show him, forcing a smile. “Just some cigarettes. Would Captain Kang like a few?”
Kang Cheng didn’t even glance inside the bag. His gaze stayed fixed on the faint smile at the corner of Wang Qinhai’s lips. After a moment of silence, he suddenly waved his hand sharply. “Mr. Wang seems to be injured. Send him to the medical team! Make sure he gets a thorough check-up!”
“Yes, sir!” The soldiers standing nearby snapped to attention, saluted, and quickly came over to seize Wang Qinhai.
“Hey, hey! I don’t need it! I’m fine. Let go of me! Captain Kang! Colonel Kang! Kang—”
“Do you know Wang Qinhai?” Kang Cheng asked, watching the man’s figure being dragged farther away.
“…I’ve seen him before,” Jiang Xinghuai hesitated, then nodded. “He knows… my dad, and he also knows Fu Yan.”
Kang Cheng turned to glance at him, then smiled faintly. “Don’t worry. This has nothing to do with you.”
“Wang Qinhai…” Kang Cheng sighed and shook his head helplessly. “Right now, ninety percent of the food supplies in this base come from the Xu Corporation. Officially, they say they’re handing everything over to the military to support the nation, but in truth, they’ve been controlling the food distribution all along. They’ve also gathered a group of so-called ‘guards’ around them. You’ve been to the canteen. You must have noticed that those who follow Xu Huiwen get special food supplies, while the rest of the people can only eat vegetables. Now the civilians are growing stronger while the military grows weaker. I can’t help but feel… if this continues, something bad is bound to happen sooner or later. We need to start preparing for an early evacuation.”
Kang Cheng didn’t know that his words would soon become a prophecy.
Jiang Xinghuai frowned, thinking for a moment before speaking slowly. “I… I think my dad might be working with them—”
“You—” Kang Cheng’s expression changed in alarm. He quickly reached out and pinched Jiang Xinghuai’s nose, frowning. “Why are you having a nosebleed?”
Jiang Xinghuai froze. Another nosebleed.
“It’s fine, I just—” He didn’t finish his sentence before a wave of dizziness hit him, and he pitched forward. Kang Cheng hurriedly caught him, shouting, “Jiang Xinghuai!”
The faintness only lasted a moment. Jiang Xinghuai quickly regained his balance, stood up straight, and wiped the blood under his nose. “I’m fine, really. I’ve just been eating too many canned foods lately, and the air up north is so dry. It’s just the heat getting to me. I’m fine, really. I was about to head back anyway.”
The deep rumble of a car engine echoed nearby.
“No need,” Kang Cheng said, lifting his head to look ahead. “Your guardian… is here to pick you up.”
Jiang Xinghuai turned around—
A black off-road vehicle had come to a stop about fifty meters away, its engine cutting off. The door opened, and a pair of black leather shoes stepped down into the sand swirling in the wind.
Fu Yan was wearing a white lab coat over his suit. It looked like he had come straight from the lab.
“Fu Yan!” Jiang Xinghuai called out in surprise.
Fu Yan narrowed his eyes, his gaze landing on Kang Cheng’s hand still holding Jiang Xinghuai by the waist. He stopped walking and said, “Come here.”
Author’s note:
He’s here! ヽ(‘⌒メ)ノ
Oh, right. Many of you sweet readers have been hoping Xing Xing will mutate or something, but, uh… nope. The synopsis already said it. Everyone in this story is just an ordinary human! He won’t turn into Spider-Man or Captain America! Don’t even think about it!
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