“Because I want to be the leader,” Qi Heng said.
Even now, he still doesn't want to tell Zhang Yun his feelings, not because he's afraid of being rejected, but because he doesn't want to bother him.
I already owe him enough. Since I can't help him anymore, at least I shouldn't cause him any more trouble.
“If you’re going to lie, at least make it believable,” Zhang Yun said.
Qi Heng stopped speaking.
The two remained silent for a moment, and then Zhang Yun said, "I still trust my intuition; you haven't betrayed me."
Qi Heng stared at him blankly.
"But you want to kill Yang Shize."
The coldness in Zhang Yun's voice brought Qi Heng back to his senses.
“He is someone I value more than my own life. If you want to kill him, it’s a hundred times worse than taking my life directly.”
Qi Heng felt bitter.
"Considering that you avenged us and helped protect the base while I was away, I will spare your life. You may leave. From now on, there will be no more Vulcan at Yunze Base. Next time we meet, we will be enemies, not friends."
Qi Heng's heart ached even more. Zhang Yun's decision not to kill him was even more painful than killing him outright!
Looking at the indifferent expression on the person's face, Qi Heng knew he had no chance left.
"I'm sorry, and also, please try not to let any more important people around you awaken their special abilities or advance in level."
Qi Heng sent him a final telepathic message, then turned and left in a somber mood.
Zhang Yun was taken aback, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face.
...
On the list of superhumans, Vulcan, who was ranked third, suddenly changed his affiliated base from Yunze to "None," which caused a stir worldwide.
When Yunze Base launched its revenge war against the capital, Vulcan was definitely the most dazzling figure on the battlefield.
Once a large-scale area-of-effect skill is unleashed, the entire area is cleared.
The bullets melted into molten iron halfway through their flight, making them impossible to get close to him.
It can be said that Vulcan became famous overnight in that battle!
However, such a powerful figure has actually left the Yunze base!
Although the reasons behind it are unknown, this does not stop people from other bases from trying to recruit him into their forces.
For a time, the StarNet was filled with information searching for Vulcan.
...
In a ward at the Yunze base, Luo Xiuqin opened her eyes.
"Mom!" Qi Yue quickly came over.
"Yueyue, listen to your mother. No matter what method you think of, you must contact the leader and let your mother see him." Luo Xiuqin grabbed her daughter's hand and said.
"Mom..." Qi Yue's eyes welled up with tears, "I just received news today that Vulcan has left Yunze Base."
"The information Feng helped me find out is that when Vulcan awakened his powers, his entire body was scorched by flames, leaving him unrecognizable. That's why he never shows his true face. Moreover, he's blind and unable to speak, relying entirely on his mental power to perceive the outside world. Later, when his mental power evolved to level 3, he began using it to communicate with others. In the Yunze base, there's only one person who can communicate with others using mental power... Vulcan, that's my brother..."
"Someone that Brother Feng knows helped him find out some inside information, saying that Vulcan was expelled from the base by the leader for making a mistake."
Qi Yue's tears fell down in a steady stream.
Luo Xiuqin held her daughter's hand, her heart aching with pain, yet also filled with pride and joy.
She felt heartbroken for her son, wondering how he had endured so much suffering all these years! She was even more proud that her son was the second war god who had always protected the base!
“Xiaoyue, please help your mother find your brother…” Luo Xiuqin choked up before saying, “Your brother was expelled from the base by the leader. It’s the punishment he deserves for doing something wrong, but your mother can’t just watch him leave alone.”
“He has always been prone to overthinking since he was a child, and now he is at a crossroads in his life. If he can’t figure things out, he will take the wrong path!”
"The chief has already done more than enough by letting your brother go. I have no face to ask the chief to retract the order, so I can only leave with him. No matter where he is, I have to find him, stay with him, guide him, and lead him back to the right path. Your brother has already gone astray once; he can't make the same mistake again!"
Qi Yue cried even harder, "Mom..."
“Auntie, my older brother is a subordinate of the God of War, I’ll contact him right away and ask him to help me find out where the God of Fire is.”
As Wang Feng spoke, he took out his communicator and said a moment later, "Auntie, I've found out that Vulcan hasn't left the base yet and is currently staying at a small hotel in the East Bay District."
Luo Xiuqin nodded gratefully, took Wang Feng's hand, and placed it together with her daughter's hand.
"After Mom's gone, you two must take good care of each other, Yueyue. When two people live together, there will inevitably be bumps along the way. You must learn to be tolerant and understanding of Xiaofeng..."
Qi Yue nodded through her tears.
"Xiaofeng, you are a good boy. Yueyue has never suffered since she was a child and has been spoiled by me and her brother. Please be more tolerant of her."
"Don't worry, Auntie, I'll spoil her even more than you do!" Wang Feng said immediately.
While tears streamed down her face, Luo Xiuqin couldn't help but smile, "Silly child, why are you still calling me 'Auntie'?"
Wang Feng's eyes reddened, "Mom!"
After learning of her son's whereabouts, Luo Xiuqin gave some instructions to her daughter and son-in-law, then pulled out the IV drip, hurriedly grabbed some luggage, and rushed to the hotel that Wang Feng had mentioned.
After revealing her identity, she pleaded with the hotel owner to lead her to the door of Qi Heng's room and knocked on it.
Not hearing any sound, Luo Xiuqin panicked and hurriedly knocked on the door.
The knocking was so loud, but there was no response from inside. The hotel owner panicked and quickly went downstairs to get the room card, swiped it, and opened the door.
Even though winter is almost here, the room is dry and warm.
Luo Xiuqin walked over quickly, lifted the helmet off the person on the bed, and was so horrified when she saw that all that was left was the skull that she fell to the ground.
"Ahhh!" The hotel owner, who had come in with her, screamed and fled the room in terror. "Help! A ghost!"
Upon hearing his shouts, Luo Xiuqin, with a sudden burst of strength, stood up, helped her son put on his helmet, and turned to the hotel owner, saying, "You, you don't shout, he's not a ghost, he's my son, he's a fire... a very good person, he definitely won't hurt you."
The hotel owner exclaimed in terror, "No matter what he is, get him out of here right now! I don't care about the money he paid after staying here for half a day! Get out of here! If people find out that I have this inhuman, ghost-like person staying here, how am I supposed to do business?"
Luo Xiuqin felt a pang of sadness and frustration upon hearing his description of her son.
He is the God of Fire! He was the base's former guardian!
But now, it's being discarded like trash!
Luo Xiuqin felt extremely guilty when she thought about how much pain and torment her son must have endured living alone all these years.
She fought back tears and said, "Yes, yes, yes! Boss, please don't be angry, I'll take him away right away!"
Luo Xiuqin went outside to spend her contribution points to find a stretcher and trolley, and asked someone to help carry her son up there.
Qi Heng remained motionless, seemingly unconscious.
In front of so many people, Luo Xiuqin dared not unbutton her son's combat uniform to check him. She could only endure it and wait until they were in a secluded place before examining him.
Luo Xiuqin rented a small single room in the East Bay area with her son.
Qi Heng had two broken ribs and one broken leg; it was unclear who had hit him.
He was nothing but a skeleton, looking like a human skeleton mold in a hospital, with only a red orb of light flowing around his skull and chest cavity, where the human heart and brain should be.
Luo Xiuqin didn't dare take him to see a doctor; with Qi Heng in this condition, no one dared to treat him.
Fortunately, Qi Heng's bones were slowly repairing themselves every day. Luo Xiuqin stayed by her son's side, wiping his bones, which seemed to be filled with red magma, with a clean, damp towel every day, never daring to leave his side for a moment.
More than ten days passed before Qi Heng finally regained consciousness.
Qi Heng's mind "saw" his mother, who had collapsed and fallen asleep by the bedside, and his withered heart skipped a beat.
"mom……"
...
"What? You beat up Qi Heng?"
In the leader's residence at the base, on the large bed in the bedroom, Zhang Yun suddenly sat up and looked at Yang Shize beside him.
Yang Shize put his hands behind his head and said, "He almost killed you. We can't let him get away with this so easily. A beating is too lenient. If you hadn't said to only exile him, I would have..."
He paused here.
Thinking back to when I searched Qi Heng's residence before, I found a locked room in his house.
The walls of the room were covered with portraits of Zhang Yun from various angles, as well as various figurines, dolls, life-size pillows, and more than a dozen old items that Zhang Yun had previously discarded!
He had always regarded He Yang as his number one enemy, but he never expected that there was such a cunning accomplice lurking around Zhang Yun's side!
Yang Shize was furious, but he couldn't tell Zhang Yun the truth, so he could only vent his anger on the person directly responsible.
He didn't bully anyone; he always suppressed his strength to the seventh rank during their "sparring".
Zhang Yun looked at her stingy lover and shook her head helplessly.
"Fine, let's fight then. I'm also quite eager to get back at him. He betrayed us for no reason and wasted two laser satellites from Dongzhou." The Dongzhou satellites are now in Zhang Yun's hands.
Previously, when the laser attacked the protagonist, the system automatically consumed Yang Shize's luck to crack the satellite's permissions and take control of it.
However, it was then teleported along with Zhang Yun to the small island where the life core was formed, cutting off all contact with the outside world.
Qi Heng was able to lead the people of Yunze Base to destroy Ye Hui's stronghold and escape unscathed, thanks to the system taking over his satellite access. Otherwise, if the laser satellite from Dongzhou had been launched, Yunze Base would have suffered heavy losses, even if not completely wiped out.
Yang Shize smiled and pulled him back into his arms. "If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have obtained the world core, nor would we have both advanced to the ninth rank by virtue of the misfortune. That's why I didn't use my full strength."
"Hmm." Zhang Yun thought of what Qi Heng had said to him before he left and asked Yang Shize, "What exactly did he mean by that?"
"Didn't you say he was disfigured because he awakened his superpowers? I guess that's why he developed an aversion to superpowers."
Zhang Yun vaguely felt that it wasn't that simple.
But he himself is a superhuman, and from awakening to the ninth level, his body has no problems. Moreover, in the original work, Yang Shize is also a ninth-level lightning-type superhuman, so there is no problem.
Why did Qi Heng say that?
Speaking of this, Zhang Yun felt a little strange. According to the original story, Yang Shize should have awakened his superpower more than three years ago, but now that the apocalypse has been going on for almost six years, he still hasn't awakened his superpower.
Awakening of superpowers is different from evolution. The evolution of an evolved being's body always occurs during extremely critical life-or-death moments.
In other words, even if you're not being chased by zombies, but instead thrown into a near-death simulation environment, you have a chance to evolve when pushed to your limits.
Based on this principle, Yunze Base has set up special courses to stimulate potential.
But awakening superpowers is different.
Zhang Yun had previously had many people with superpowers investigated, and they all said that they woke up one morning and suddenly became superpowered without any discernible pattern.
It's as if God randomly selected some lucky people.
Therefore, awakened beings are often called the darlings of fate and are the envy of everyone.
Zhang Yun originally thought so too, but Qi Heng's words, coupled with Yang Shize's delayed awakening, made him feel that something was wrong.
If it's truly a matter of good luck for someone to awaken, then there's no reason why Yang Shize, this chosen one, shouldn't awaken.
So, is it really true, as Qi Heng said, that awakening superpowers is not a good thing?
"System, will superpowers cause damage to the body of awakened individuals?"
"Well... it depends on the person," the system said vaguely.
Zhang Yun frowned slightly. "Is there something you haven't told me?"
“Uh…” The system hesitated for a moment before replying, “It involves the Heavenly Dao, so I shouldn’t tell you. But with your intelligence, you can easily deduce it with a little investigation. So telling you directly isn’t against the rules.”
"As you know, this world has been invaded by creatures from another world. If these creatures kill Yang Shize and absorb his life core, the laws of heaven in this world will be replaced by other laws of heaven."
"In order to avoid being replaced, the Heavenly Dao of this world will automatically activate certain protective programs. For example, it will randomly grant the beings of this world the ability to change the laws in order to increase the strength of the human side."
"Only those blessed by gods and deities can use the power to change the laws. Ordinary people's bodies and souls have not undergone countless tempering and baptisms, nor have they been blessed and protected by gods. They are not qualified to change the laws at all. Forcing them to use the power will cause irreversible damage to their minds and bodies."
"The stronger the power of the laws that are being invoked, the more severe the damage will be."
"Those with superpowers are not the darlings of Lady Luck, but martyrs chosen by the Heavenly Dao of this world."
Zhang Yun was utterly shocked. "How could this be..."
"Before the sixth rank, it's better. Even if you reduce the use of your abilities or stop using them altogether, the damage to your body and soul can slowly recover. Once you advance to the seventh rank, your power will transform from mortal to godlike. The damage will then be irreversible until death."
The system said, "Heaven will not force them to advance. When a superpowered individual first awakens, it will only have a negligible impact. However, as the number of times the superpower is used increases, the superpower level will increase rapidly. With each advancement, the damage to the body or soul will increase. This is Heaven's warning to superpowered individuals."
"Under normal circumstances, only those who are extremely eager for power can advance to the seventh rank, because they know that they cannot bear the price."
"Now you understand why there were so many superhumans in the original story, and why almost all of the superhumans who survived in the early stages advanced to the sixth rank, but the number of those who advanced to the seventh rank never exceeded one hundred."
Zhang Yun understood.
Because other high-level ability users were holding the line, things hadn't gotten to the point of no return, so the sixth-level ability users chose to suppress themselves and not try to break through.
This also explains why, every time a seventh-level ability user perishes, a new wave of seventh-level ability users always emerges, and the number of people above the seventh level has always remained at a relatively stable value.
This is selfish, but also realistic.
Thinking of the dozen or so sixth-level cultivators at Yunze Base who had been stuck without breaking through, but who all advanced overnight because of his and Yang Shize's disappearance.
Zhang Yun suddenly felt like crying.
"What price will they all have to pay?"
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