Undercurrents (Part 2)

Li Tian stared expressionlessly at Li Hao; it was clear he was furious.

"For a woman, you cause trouble all the way to the Public Security Bureau. You've completely embarrassed me!"

Li Hao subconsciously shifted his gaze, not daring to meet Li Tian's eyes.

Li Tian was a Third Order Awakened. Even the slightest aura he unintentionally let out was incredibly oppressive.

"When your brother was your age, he could already kill a First Order calamity alone. And you? Besides causing trouble for me, what else can you do?"

Him again...

Every time he messed up, Li Tian would bring up his cousin, who had also awakened with Charge.

Li Hao gnashed his teeth irritably, a strange sense of vexation welling up inside him.

Even though he had successfully awakened last month, and his Steel Bones was not far behind their Charge, Li Tian was still unhappy with him.

In Li Tian's eyes, that cousin was always the most outstanding, and he was constantly used to put Li Hao down.

"What about me?"

Li Hao retorted indignantly.

"Didn't I also awaken successfully? While Steel Bones isn't as good as your Charge, it's not weak, right?"

"Not weak?"

Li Tian scoffed, "That depends on the person."

"After your brother awakened, he strictly disciplined himself, voluntarily increasing his training load, and even joined the City Defense Force as a trainee, all to better himself. And you..."

"You loaf around all day, and then you cause this kind of trouble over a woman. With your temperament, even the best ability would be wasted on you!"

"I... I..."

Li Hao opened his mouth, wanting to argue, but found that after countless times of being suppressed and denied, he had already become self-indulgent.

"Hmph."

Seeing that Li Hao was speechless, Li Tian snorted coldly and continued, "Look at yourself, what are you even doing! Think about it properly, and behave yourself from now on."

"...Dad, I understand. It won't happen again."

Li Hao lowered his head, no longer arguing.

Despite his words, a deeper malice festered in his heart.

This old man always suppressed him like this, messing with his head, making him unable to hold his head up at home, so he simply let it go in one ear and out the other.

Outside, he was a high and mighty Awakened, doing whatever he pleased.

As for working hard? What a joke. This was just how he was. Working harder would be useless anyway, it was better to just give up.

He thought of Jiang Mian's delicate face and her gentle, well-behaved demeanor.

That appearance was exactly what could perfectly fill the void within him. His suppressed emotions needed someone to bear them, and he just happened to choose Jiang Mian.

Seeing his "obedient" appearance, Li Tian's anger gradually subsided.

He glanced at a message displayed on his phone and frowned.

"There's an escort mission at the bureau that I need to attend personally. You can go home yourself."

"Also, there might be major movements from above recently, so stay out of trouble. Do you hear me!"

After speaking, Li Tian kicked Li Hao out of the car and drove straight towards the construction bureau.

Li Hao watched the car drive away, curling his lips in disdain.

Major movements?

What does that have to do with me?

The more his father suppressed him, the more he wanted to rebel.

Li Hao's mind was filled with Jiang Mian, and he just wanted to "repay" her properly.

"Just you wait..."

He refused to believe that she could escape this time.

If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf to avoid losing it next time.

As long as he made Jiang Mian obediently comply, with her personality, she definitely wouldn't say anything.

But before that, he needed to relax his taut nerves.

He had been cooped up in the detention center for so many days, and he was full of pent-up anger.

Thinking of this, Li Hao took out his phone and dialed a number.

"A Jie, gather the brothers. Meet at the usual spot."

Half an hour later, in a private room at a high-end club in the West District.

Li Hao sank into the leather sofa, smoking, while several scantily clad hostesses carefully served him.

"Brother Hao, today is..."

A green-haired man fawningly lit a new cigarette for him.

"Don't even mention it. As soon as I got out, my old man chewed me out, talking about how amazing my cousin is."

Li Hao glanced at the women trying to get close to him, their heavy makeup and strong perfume filling him with annoyance.

He frowned in disgust and waved them away.

These common prostitutes were beneath his notice.

Seeing Li Hao's expression falter, the green-haired A Jie's eyes darted around, and he lowered his voice.

"Brother Hao, are you still thinking about that one you mentioned last time... Jiang Mian?"

Another red-haired subordinate chimed in, his interest piqued.

"Brother Hao, that photo we saw last time... Damn, she's incredible! Even her crappy ID photo looks that good. I've never seen anyone like her in my life."

"Honestly, even Shen Qiuyu, the so-called campus belle from our Fifth Middle School, might not be able to compare to that girl in terms of looks."

"Shen Qiuyu?"

He had certainly heard of her name; she was a prominent figure at school.

Not only was she exceptionally beautiful, but more importantly, her Awakening was successful.

They hadn't revealed the specifics of her ability, but her sequence ranking seemed quite high, said to be an advanced sequence.

That was a top-fifty sequence. Even if she had just been an ordinary person before, awakening such an ability was like taking off!

Not to mention... her family already had some background.

She was a true daughter of heaven, always looking down on others. She was nothing like him, a second-generation heir just drifting through life.

"Yeah!"

The red-haired subordinate continued to flatter him. "Brother Hao, your taste is impeccable. Even though she's not an Awakened, beautiful and clean girls like her are rare..."

Fueled by alcohol and his subordinates' flattery, Li Hao temporarily forgot his father's scolding, his obsession with Jiang Mian growing stronger.

I can't compare to my brother, and I can't beat my old man, but can't I at least deal with you?

"Phew~ I didn't even break a sweat, but I'm still exhausted."

At the border of North City and West City, inside an old residential building, Jiang Mian put down her luggage, straightened up, and stretched.

Although the location was remote, it was more spacious than her previous place, the facilities were newer, and it was quiet, without so many troublesome people.

She surveyed the room. It seemed no one had lived there for a while, as it was covered in dust, with the crevices being the worst.

An idea struck Jiang Mian. She walked to the center of the room and extended her right hand.

A faint vortex formed in her palm, and then a gentle breeze slowly spread out, enveloping the entire room.

It lightly lifted the dust from the floor and furniture surfaces, drawing it into the vortex.

The power of Gale felt as natural as breathing. Ever since her Awakening, Jiang Mian could control it with ease, down to such a minute level.

If anyone else saw this, they would never believe it was a derivative ability of Doomsday.

Jiang Mian gently released the vortex in her hand, forming a small pile of dirt on the floor. The rest of the room was now spotless.

"Complete victory."

She brushed away nonexistent dust from her hands and put her hands on her hips, looking quite satisfied with the cleaning results.