Chapter 4 I'm Fine (Two chapters combined)
Yao Du'an's words were not without sarcasm, but Qi An pondered them seriously for a while and even made a phone call to her mother and Uncle Xu.
Just as the sun peeked out from behind the clouds, briefly revealing its face before retreating again, and snowflakes began to fall from the sky once more, Qi An yanked his tentacle:
"Let's go. North Base 1 is just ahead. It's time for you to go back and pay the price for your choice."
The reaction of the North 1 Base to Qi An's entry into the base was much smaller and more normal than that of the New Student Base.
This is, of course, because Qi An had visited North Base 1 several times after the Battle of the New Student Base, and he maintained daily contact with North Base 1, so they were familiar with each other.
Because Mao Anlin was a generous and considerate person, a department called "Tianwei" was established in the secret force to handle matters related to Qi Anxu Zhuoxing and others.
Once there are departments and regulations, everything is done according to the rules. Those covert precautions, such as whether bombers have been deployed at Southeast Base No. 1, are just basic precautions that will not be brought up or discussed.
Everyone gets along quite comfortably.
There was no intimidating or annoying scene at the south gate of Base 1; only Wen Yan and his men were waiting.
Thanks to Qi An, this man was promoted rapidly within a year and is now the chief officer of the "Sky Guard" Affairs Department.
Wen Yan was filled with gratitude towards Qi An, and every time he greeted her, his smile was especially sincere.
He also came out to greet us from afar this time, offering warm greetings.
But Qi An didn't want to exchange pleasantries and said, "My captain and vice-captain are getting married on the 29th. I'm here just to meet up with my teammates and go to the new base together."
As for official business, I just want to see the construction and training results of the 'White Tower'.
"This is also official business." Qi An pulled Yao Du'an closer: "But we found it on the road, so let's deal with it first."
Qi An pulled Yao Du'an close.
Wen Yan knew Yao Du'an, after all, he had handled the "Xing Lei" case back then.
He stared at Yao Du'an for a long time, clearly not expecting that the man was still alive.
But he was mostly pleasantly surprised. He quickly notified his superiors and opened the car door for Qi An: "Then let's go to the main camp first, hand over the person, and then I'll take you to your accommodation."
Qi An pulled Yao Du'an into the back seat.
The driver was a very young male soldier who, before getting into the car, gave Qi An a standard military salute as required.
But after starting the car, despite his best efforts to restrain himself, he couldn't help but steal glances at Qi An in the rearview mirror.
The other three people in the car noticed.
Wen Yan turned directly to look at the driver, his gaze cold. The driver froze, quickly averting his gaze.
Qi An didn't pay any attention.
A smile appeared on Yao Du'an's pale face as he asked Qi An, "Is it a god, a terrifying demon, or a gorilla in a zoo?"
The young driver broke out in a cold sweat, and Wen Yan frowned, carefully tilting his head to the side.
However, since Qi An didn't speak, Wen Yan remained silent, only pondering what kind of punishment to give this green recruit. Silence filled the car.
The main camp was soon reached, but due to the presence of supply trucks and slippery roads caused by snow, the road in front of the gate was slightly congested.
Qi An opened the window, rested his chin on his hand, and watched the pedestrians and scenery while waiting for the road to open.
However, upon closer inspection, he spotted a familiar face: Qi An saw Yang Ying on the sidewalk.
Yang Ying, Yang Suning, the tallest one on the far side should be Yang Yuning.
Qi An saw the three people who were walking towards her, and they also saw her.
Of course, it was Yang Yuning who spotted her at a glance, even through the crowds and traffic, and his eyes lit up with surprise!
With the Lunar New Year approaching, it's quite normal for these three to return to Base North 1, but it's still quite a coincidence that they bumped into each other on the road.
Qi Anjue felt a mix of coincidence and embarrassment... she was still holding Yao Du'an's hand.
The cars moved, and the three people crossed the road.
Qi An got out of the car, Yang Yuning walked over quickly, Yang Suning also walked forward, while Yang Ying hid behind the two of them, glancing at Qi An every now and then.
Yang Ying's gaze was similar to, yet different from, that of the young driver.
The young driver felt as if he had seen a mythical figure in real life, his curiosity tinged with a touch of reverence.
Yang Ying showed obvious curiosity, disgust as if she were seeing something dirty, and perhaps a kind of schadenfreude excitement.
The attitude revealed in Yang Ying's eyes truly echoed Yao Du'an's sarcastic remark: "Is it a terrifying demon, or a gorilla in a zoo?"
Yang Suning noticed Yang Ying's gaze, and seemed to tug at her, frowning as he reminded her.
Qi An got out of the car and pulled Yao Du'an out with him.
The three siblings, who had initially looked at each other differently, suddenly united in astonishment!
But they didn't have time to react, because a small team from the military governor's office was already waiting at the gate.
The squad stepped forward, and Qi An released his tentacles, so Yao Du'an was firmly handcuffed and put into the escort vehicle.
Qi An only greeted Yang Yuning briefly and told her about her encounter with Yao Du'an at the ancient temple before entering the main camp.
Behind her, Yang Yuning couldn't help but take a couple of steps with the escort vehicle, her expression seemingly complex, yet also blank.
Yang Ying was stunned for a long time, then stamped her foot: "How come he didn't die? He came back! Sure enough... whenever she appears, it's always bad luck!"
Yao Du'an's matter is bad luck for Yang Ying, but a great thing for the North 1 Base.
Mao Anlin postponed a meeting of the chiefs of staff between bases to meet with Qi An.
Qi An said to him, "There's something interesting in Yao Du'an's memories."
Mao Anlin led Qi An to sit down in the small reception room. Hearing this, he was somewhat surprised, but then put on an attentive expression.
Qi An said, "Yang Yuzhi actually knows the true beliefs of the Black God Cult."
This cult started as a normal, loosely organized religious group, but gradually some extreme believers emerged who turned to a darker faith.
Yao Du'an has always been a believer in God and would regularly attend public events at small shrines.
He was initially wary because he sensed the dangerous ideas of some extremist believers, and even planned to monitor and investigate them before reporting the matter.
However, after his wife's death, Yao Du'an also turned to this dangerous belief.
At that time, Yao Du'an was already Yang Yuzhi's chief secretary, and Yang Yuzhi was aware of his change.
But Yang Yuzhi did not stop him, nor did he try to persuade Yao Du'an.
He was merely observing Yao Du'an.
Mao Anlin knew more about the development of the Black God Cult than Qi An, but he didn't know about Yang Yuzhi.
Mao Anlin asked in surprise, "Yang Yuzhi is observing Yao Du'an? Observing what? Observing how far he can sink, or whether he can integrate and expand the organization?"
He thought Yang Yuzhi wanted to use Yao Du'an to gain control of a privately armed organization.
This was indeed the most intuitive and logical possibility, but Qi An shook his head: "No."
Mao Anlin raised his eyebrows and looked at Qi An.
When Qi Angang found out, she was also surprised. She explained, "The Black God Cult will send believers who want to mutate outside the base to help them mutate. This is a kind of 'sacrifice' ritual."
They also had dark rituals, which involved capturing someone with high spiritual power and forcibly corrupting them.
However, this kind of ritual is quite dangerous, firstly because of the danger of the mutated insects, and secondly because it makes it easy to be caught by the police.
Therefore, this kind of dark ritual was only performed once or twice by the most extreme believers before Yao Du'an banned it.
In short, this cult has made many attempts at contamination.
Yang Yuzhi's observation was to see if they could circumvent the rule that "the stronger the mental strength and will to resist, the higher the level of the mutation," and create advanced intelligent insects.
Mao Anlin was stunned for a moment, "Could it be that Yang Yuzhi... wants to become a Fallen Insect?"
“It should be a high-level Wisps, preferably an Ash Priest,” Qi An corrected.
She recalled the look of curiosity and disgust in Yang Ying's eyes when she looked at her.
Yang Ying was educated to fight against the Fallen Insects from a young age. Her family were all soldiers who fought against the Fallen Insects, so it's normal for her to hate the existence of non-human and non-insect beings.
Unfortunately, Yang Ying's dream was to gain her father's approval and love, but her father's dream was Qi An.
Becoming a free and powerful Ash Priest like Qi An was her father's lifelong pursuit!
Yao Du'an had a clear understanding of the situation and saw everything about the Yang family perfectly.
Yang Ying will never receive her father's love because her father has no love for her.
Her father was jealous of her high mental enhancement value of 9.
Yang Yuzhi even considered that if the Black God Cult could reliably produce advanced Wisdom Insects, but required some kind of sacrificial evil magic, he would not hesitate to offer up one of his daughters.
Yao Du'an saw through Yang Yuzhi's indifference and was not worried that Yang Yuzhi would report the Black God Cult.
Of course, colluding with the Fallen Insects to attack "Star Fortress" could implicate Yang Yuzhi, regardless of success or failure, so Yao Du'an kept this matter from Yang Yuzhi.
Yao Du'an fled after his plot failed, without giving any thought to what punishment Yang Yuzhi would face, and believed that no matter how much Yang Yuzhi was implicated, he deserved it.
When Qi An left the reception room, he saw that Mao Anlin was somewhat dazed.
What he couldn't understand was whether his high-ranking military officer had such a strange dream, or how Yang Yuzhi had managed to evade the lie detector test.
It seems that Yang Yuzhi had heard about Mao Anlin's humanoid lie detector ability from Old Master Yang before, and was therefore prepared.
Qi An felt that her chance encounter with Yao Du'an was indeed a stroke of luck for the North 1 Base.
Although Yang Yuzhi only harbored dreams of transformation, he did not take any concrete action.
Moreover, without breaking the rule that "only those with strong enough mental strength and will to resist can become powerful Wisdom Insects," Yang Yuzhi may never commit any substantial act of betrayal.
However, this is also a potential problem, and it's always good to detect it in advance.
This incident was indeed unlucky for the Yang siblings. Qi An saw the three people again in the courtyard of a building in the main business.
Ahead of the three were several figures hurrying along, likely Yang Yuzhi and his guards.
He had been summoned to attend Mao Anlin's "Feast at Hongmen".
This incident clearly alarmed Yang Ying. When she saw Qi An again, she still looked disgusted and angry, but fear and apprehension were even more prominent.
Qi An walked over there without saying anything or showing any displeasure, which frightened Yang Ying so much that she retreated repeatedly.
If Yang Suning hadn't helped her up, she would have fallen into the flower bed.
Qi An didn't want to waste his energy and emotions on such trivial matters, so he just glanced at her and turned to Yang Yuning.
She invited Yang Yuning to walk with her, and as they walked, she told him everything about Yao Du'an and Yang Yuzhi.
Qi An felt that if she spoke directly, Yang Yuning wouldn't have to spend time searching and investigating, nor would she have to be suspicious and conflicted about his two uncles' affairs.
Yang Yuning truly understood Qi An's good intentions. He sat on the bench, his expression blank for a long while, before finally saying in a hoarse voice, "Thank you for telling me all this, I..."
He paused for a long time before saying, "These bad things were hidden beneath the surface all along; they've been rotten for a long time, and have nothing to do with you..."
Yang Ying didn't say "bad luck" to Qi An's face, and Yang Yuning's explanation shows that his thoughts were in turmoil.
Qi An simply hummed in agreement and sat with him for a while longer.
Wen Yan helped them lay out cardboard, and Qi An took out a camping blanket from his bag so that the two of them could sit down on the bench.
But by this time, the chill of the snow had soaked through the blankets, and the snowfall had intensified.
Yang Yuning snapped out of her daze at the chill and quickly said to Qi An, "Don't sit here, it's too cold. Let's go inside."
The two stood up, and Yang Yuning took the umbrella from Wen Yan and held it up for Qi An.
After a moment of silence, Yang Yuning gathered her chaotic thoughts, turned her attention to Qi An, and asked softly, "Are you alright?"
His gaze toward Qi An was full of concern.
Qi An met his gaze and realized that behind concern often lies worry. This worry meant that Yang Yuning, to some extent, shared the same thoughts as Yao Du'an and Yang Ying: that Yang Yuning's current state was not good and that she was somewhat pitiful.
Qi An stopped in his tracks.
Yang Yuning took two steps, then quickly turned back and held the umbrella over Qi An's head again. "What's wrong?"
Qi An exhaled a large cloud of white mist, looked at Yang Yuning, and said, "I'm fine now."
Yang Yuning paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's good."
"I'm doing great right now, in my best condition! This is a condition I've never experienced before!" Qi An emphasized.
"I have indeed mutated. I can fly, I have tentacles, and I am no longer human."
When I first mutated, I was very sad, feeling like I had gone from a little monster to a big monster.
I feel disgusted with myself, and I also feel lonely and scared.
I'm touched that Xiao Fu and the captain can accept me, but when Chen Yuezhou confessed his feelings to me, I still wondered, how could he maintain a long-term love for a non-human?
Yang Yuning seemed to pause for a moment because of the phrase "Chen Yuezhou confessed his feelings," but that was not the point Qi An wanted to make.
"At that time, I didn't want to go back to the human base because I felt that all I would face was fear and the kind of curiosity that I would have when admiring exotic animals."
Thinking about all this makes me feel irritable!
But ultimately, my frustration stems from how I perceive myself.
For so many years, I have been terrified of my abnormality, and my biggest dream is to become a real, ordinary person.
When I went from a 'little monster' to a 'big monster,' I was devastated! I even hugged the captain and cried.
Qi An recalled his feelings at that time, and couldn't help but lower his eyes, his voice still choked with emotion.
Yang Yuning turned pale, flustered, and hurriedly apologized, "I'm sorry, I..."
"You don't need to apologize, this is my own conscience." Qi An's sadness was faster than falling snow; she quickly swallowed her sobs and put on a smile.
"I've overcome my mental hurdle!"
Uncle Xu protected the mainland for 20 years. Without him, would there still be 30 million people left on the mainland?
Uncle Xu is never self-conscious, nor does he need to be. He is not a monster; he is a hero!
And what about me? I also protected the Central Plains Base No. 3, defended the Newborn Base, and saved countless lives.
My existence is far more valuable to humanity than that of an ordinary purifier!
That makes sense, Yang Yuning nodded hurriedly, but Qi An said, "But when I said that, my mother scolded me."
She said, "What a piece of junk! What value? What value do you need? Your existence, your very being, is the greatest value!"
When your grandparents came to visit, they kept nagging you, saying they hoped you would grow up to be such and such an amazing person.
Your dad got angry and said that now that you're grown up, regardless of your achievements, you're still his treasure! Did you hear that? No matter what, you're our treasure, you are now, no matter what!
"When my mom said that, I was so happy! I went back to my room, hid under the covers, and cried and laughed all night long." Qi An's smile grew even brighter as he said this:
"The next day, I was in such a good mood that I said to Uncle Xu, 'Why don't we fly a little further away to go fishing?'"
Uncle Xu said, "Sure, but this is the season when whales are heading south. How about I take you to see the whale migration?"
"Of course I said yes! I'm so excited!"
Qi An gestured: "We went north of the ocean and saw whales mating and breeding. We followed the huge female whale pods south and flew to the subtropical waters."
I heard whale songs, saw dolphins dancing, and even saw a flock of flamingos that looked like a pink continent!
I also went to the polar regions and saw the aurora borealis, which filled the sky like the skirts of goddesses!
I can even fly up to the stratosphere, soar above the sea of clouds, and I can reach out and grab a handful of clouds!
"This kind of experience..." Qi An steadied his voice, but was still excited:
"This experience is all thanks to my current strength!"
I am very powerful and can do many things that I never dared to think about or do before.
So why should I feel inferior? Why should I care about other people's fear, curiosity, or disgust?
So what if they hate me? Do they dare to dance in front of me?
So whether I hate it or love it, it doesn't matter to me.
Existence is its own justification. Humans are a kind of existence, whales are a kind of existence, and even the gods behind the fallen insects, though difficult to understand and imagine, are probably just another kind of existence.
I am also a being in the universe.
My existence is perfectly reasonable, with a cause and effect, and I stand tall and upright!
Qi An turned around with his hands behind his back, leaving a series of light footprints on the snow.
Those who despise or pity her should first despise and pity themselves.
She's wonderful, better than ever before!
Qi An is happy and joyful every day now!
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