One of Us!

"I'm not joking!" Seeing that Karpov did not believe him, Jackson could not help getting worked up. His voice was so loud that it drew the attention of Kate and Gordon, who were chatting about women nearby.

Realizing he had overreacted, Jackson smiled sheepishly at Kate and the others before turning back to Karpov. "I'm seriously not joking. You saw his power too, didn't you? He claimed he came from a parallel universe. When he crashed onto our plane, he really was some black-armored monster! It was incredible!"

After being solemnly reminded once more, Karpov was actually somewhat convinced. He had not seen Li Wei transform into a black alien, but he had seen Li Wei's strength. Putting away his playful expression, he nodded slightly.

Seeing Karpov nod, Jackson seemed to gain a sense of validation and grew even more excited as he began recounting all of Li Wei's incredible feats—turning his arms into giant blades, crushing tanks barehanded, and rambling on and on. His main focus, however, was still the virus Li Wei had mentioned.

He retold the story of the Blacklight Virus that Li Wei had described, embellishing it further. The writing skills of a novelist had now become capital for grandiose boasting, leaving his former boss utterly stunned as his expression changed again and again.

He described Li Wei as a fallen angel, bearing a terrifying virus capable of destroying the world, yet doing deeds that would put even angels to shame.

While brainwashing Karpov, Jackson was also brainwashing himself. The crazed state he used to fall into while writing novels rose up again.

Kate, who had been talking about Jackson in the distance, glanced at him and instantly understood. He was "high" again.

The blonde Tamara was curious about Jackson's current state and looked at Kate gossipingly. "Was he like this before too?"

"More or less..."

Kate did not want to talk much about Jackson, so she casually brushed it off. After all, Gordon was right beside her.

The plane flew over mountains and sea. Because Li Wei had promptly gotten away from the Hawaiian Islands volcano, the engines held out until they reached the airport in the mountain range. They landed successfully at this luxurious Ark shelter built by humanity.

Li Wei took his hands off the controls and let out a long breath, then patted Sasha, who was dozing beside him, awake. "Wake up, big guy. We're at our destination."

"Huh?! Ah, sorry, I fell asleep!"

After being woken up, Sasha realized he had nearly fallen asleep. Thankfully, they had safely arrived at Ark Hope Base. He felt ashamed of his dereliction of duty.

After they exited the cabin, the others had also woken up and packed their things, ready to get off the plane. Yet all of them, without exception, looked toward Li Wei as he emerged from the cockpit.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Li Wei asked in confusion, "What are you looking at? I've been flying for so long. Do I have to open the door too?"

As soon as he said that, Jackson, who had practically brainwashed himself into becoming Li Wei's devoted bootlicker, ran over to the cabin door. He opened it and lowered the stairs, then gave Li Wei a friendly—fawning—smile.

Karpov looked at Li Wei, patted the backs of his two sons, and said gruffly, "I thank you for them."

Then Gordon raised his hand as well and sincerely said, "Thank you."

Hearing their thanks, Li Wei's steps paused slightly. However, he shook his head and replied as he walked down the stairs, "We don't owe each other anything."

The timely appearance of that little plane had, after all, played some part in allowing him to reach Ark Base safely. Giving them a ride here had merely been convenient. By "them," he only meant Jackson's group.

After Li Wei left, the others also climbed down the stairs one after another.

The Ark Base built between the mountains was extraordinarily spacious. Dozens of planes were parked at the airport, all of them government aircraft from various countries.

Only their plane had arrived unexpectedly. It had even occupied the runway without receiving permission to dock. After Li Wei got off the plane, he spotted two airport SUVs marked with five-pointed stars driving toward them from afar.

Li Wei stood where he was, observing the surrounding buildings while waiting for the two SUVs to approach.

Jackson and the others, who came down afterward, also stood in place and waited for the two SUVs to draw near.

Six fully armed soldiers drove the base SUVs up beside them. The children were too frightened to speak, but Li Wei calmly stepped forward and struck first!

"Hey, brothers, we're one of you! Is there still room on the ship? I picked them up along the way, so arrange them however you see fit."

Several soldiers got out and first glanced at the foreigners behind Li Wei. Then one of them responded kindly, "You made it just in time. The hatch will close in a little over thirty minutes. Since you're compatriots, get in. Chen Xiang, take these foreigners to their ship. The rest of you, take this vehicle. The airport will close soon!"

The two soldiers in the other SUV jumped out and climbed into the first SUV.

Then the soldier who seemed to be the captain hesitated before saying to Li Wei, "I don't speak English. Tell them to get into that vehicle. Say the soldiers will take them to their big ship."

Unable to understand the Chinese exchange, Jackson and the others looked at Li Wei and the soldiers in confusion, standing anxiously in place.

Karpov tilted his head toward his bodyguard Sasha and asked, "Do you speak Chinese?"

Sasha looked troubled and apologetically said, "Sorry, boss. Chinese is too hard to learn!"

"Hmph!"

Just as their conversation ended, Li Wei turned around and conveyed the squad leader's meaning to them.

Upon hearing that they could go to the big ship, Jackson and the others were overjoyed, thanking them over and over.

Then that many people crammed directly into the airport SUV meant for only six passengers and drove toward Ark 4. Li Wei, meanwhile, got into the other SUV and headed toward China's boarding area.

Li Wei chatted with the soldiers about the situation at the base, and the squad leader gave him a general introduction to the base and the ships.

Crowding, exclusion, food shortages, dense populations, shortages of medical supplies...

In summary, there was only one phrase for it: far from optimistic!

The vehicle dropped Li Wei off at the boarding area and left. The place was somewhat bustling, and every face was filled with anxious unease.

Many staff members were maintaining order with loudspeakers. Those waiting in line were not only Chinese; there were also blond, blue-eyed Europeans and Americans, as well as dark-skinned Africans.

The checkpoint was mainly there to check for dangerous items and visually inspect people for obvious signs of illness, which was why things were moving slowly. More than a dozen doctors in white coats were run ragged.

Li Wei looked around and found that there were only a little over a hundred people in line, and he really was the last one.

He was a civilized person. He did not cut in line and instead honestly joined the long queue.

But when the line had shrunk to half its original length, the staff members who had been using loudspeakers to maintain order in several languages suddenly opened the barriers and shouted, "Everyone, enter in an orderly manner! Board according to the soldiers' instructions! No crowding, no pushing!"

After that announcement, the line suddenly moved much faster. The people who had waited anxiously for so long were ecstatic. Having long since become frantic with impatience, how could they care about order anymore? They grabbed their belongings and rushed inside!

The dozen or so doctors and nurses also threw down what they were holding and started running...