"Snort~ Hee hee~"
"Hehehehe~"
"Hehehe~"
"Hahahahaha!"
He answered honestly, but his deliberately guileless appearance amused everyone present. Lian Feng lightly covered her mouth with the back of her hand, the corners of her lips curling upward.
The other two girls, Du Qiangwei and Leina, one lowered her head and laughed while the other laughed out loud.
Du Kao smiled. "If you'd been this obedient yesterday, why would we have gone to all that trouble?"
Wang Ji smiled harmlessly. His young, handsome face bore an innate-looking simplicity. Everyone knew it was fake, yet they still found it rather amusing.
The effort to catch this guy yesterday had been bigger than fighting the Taotie!
Flanked on both sides, he answered obediently, "Mainly because I've watched too many movies. Too many... yeah."
Du Kao smiled and ignored the little rascal.
If they did not take things too seriously, then based on the boy's upbringing, all of his behavior was understandable.
"Mm, I've heard a little about your situation, along with what I've just learned..." Commander Huang Ze looked at Wang Ji.
His naturally stern expression tried to carry some kindness. "Would you be interested in telling us what you intended to do by suddenly gaining superpowers, leaving the country, and going to Country A?"
Several wise gazes focused on Wang Ji. Clever enough himself, he understood that in this situation, they could tell whether every word he said was true or false.
"Mm..."
Wang Ji paused. Under the old man's gaze, his guileless demeanor gradually faded, leaving only a habitual smile. Somewhat embarrassed, he said, "Start a little business..."
They exchanged glances, amused. Huang Ze, however, looked at him seriously and asked, "What kind of business?"
His gaze was like that of someone looking at an immature child. In truth, that was exactly what Wang Ji was.
"Well... you know." Wang Ji's young face carried the appropriate shyness for his age. Clearly, this was somewhat difficult to say aloud.
He continued, "And not just Country A. I might go to many places. You know that with my current abilities, whatever I do will probably be easy.
"My quality of life would improve, my status would rise, and I could live freely. It would all be completely within reach... and so on."
Once he said that, no one was truly surprised, but their smiles could not help fading somewhat.
"Claim a mountain and become its king? Or rule the world?" Huang Ze continued.
He was not surprised either. With his wisdom, he could see through many things, especially the human heart.
A Jie and Du Qiangwei beside Wang Ji were somewhat surprised, as were Du Kao and Lian Feng. After catching this kid yesterday, they had asked him many questions, such as why he had run, but all they got were perfunctory answers that sounded like the truth.
A Jie had stayed by Wang Ji's side all night and still had not managed to get a single sincere word out of him.
Yet facing Huang Ze, they could all sense that Wang Ji had become noticeably more serious, as if he trusted him more.
Could it be... because he saw him on TV all the time?
"Claiming a mountain and becoming its king is a little too small-scale. Ruling the world is a little too grand. But if I develop as much as possible, it would be enough to completely transform my life.
"I don't have any fully formed plans, because I haven't truly encountered the outside world yet. I only have some definite understanding from information on the internet, but it probably won't be very difficult.
"If there are powers similar to mine, I'll have to encounter them sooner or later—either cooperate with them or fight them."
Wang Ji did not deny it. His eyes were calm as he looked at the old man across from him.
"As expected." Huang Ze nodded.
Everyone fell quiet, looking at this eighteen-year-old boy as though they needed to get to know him all over again.
"Then why did you have to leave the country?" the old man asked.
"That's simple..." Wang Ji's arms were restrained, but he seemed to regain some of the bearing a superhuman ought to have. His expression was calm. "If I were a menace, there'd be no reason to menace my own people and country.
"Though I believe I'll probably succeed. Once I do, not only will I be unable to harm them, I'll benefit them too."
"Once you had superpowers, did you never think of serving your country? Or do you lack trust in your own country?"
The others looked somewhat grave, but Huang Ze wore a faint smile. He looked at Wang Ji like a junior, like a child, with warmth and kindness.
"If there were clear assessment and recruitment standards, clear benefits and job responsibilities, all out in the open, then maybe I'd give it a try," Wang Ji said frankly. "But there was nothing. How was I supposed to ensure I wouldn't end up like in the movies, possibly facing the risk of being dissected?
"Was I supposed to tentatively approach department after department that I didn't know, meet them and ask, do you know about superheroes? Do you know whether the country recruits superheroes?
"I couldn't possibly be that stupid.
"To be honest, perhaps I don't have such high ideals.
"Compared to an unclear future on one side, where a careless mistake might cost me my life, it would be a hundred times better to hold my fate in my own hands.
"And since I have power, of course I should seize the future I deserve.
"To shamelessly add some hindsight, if I become powerful enough to dominate the world and live freely, then it wouldn't be impossible for me to serve the country."
"Even after you just saved our soldiers, you still don't trust us?" Huang Ze said with a bitter sigh. "You child... in the end, you're simply too suspicious, and cautious enough."
When all was said and done, this was the reaction a normal person ought to have. He could understand it.
And considering the boy's life experiences, no one had the right to criticize him. His choices were closely tied to his experiences and the personality they had shaped.
With no ties to anyone, both parents dead, helpless and alone since childhood, unable even to keep the two homes and property his parents had left behind...
No one knew how he had made it through from such a young age alone—so many lonely, pitch-black nights, so many birthdays spent by himself.
The torment and pain he had suffered at such a young age, the wounds dealt to his heart, were probably beyond what ordinary people could imagine.
If he had not possessed a talent for computers, he likely would not even have been able to finish college.
Without being extremely cautious after such experiences, whether he could have lived to this age at all would have been a question.
"Your uncle..."
"I don't have an uncle."
"Sigh... there will be a resolution to this matter." Huang Ze nodded, a trace of coldness in his eyes.
"For me, it isn't necessary anymore. But if justice arrives, I won't stand in its way," Wang Ji said calmly.
Countless dark nights, countless resentments and tears had told him that revenge and grievance could not make him happy.
So after struggling into adulthood and finally gaining the ability to stand on his own, he had not been eager to take revenge or reclaim justice, even after gaining superpowers.
"Now I understand. Earth's crisis is imminent. Perhaps I can't simply look after myself." Wang Ji nodded.
"But why did you insist on running yesterday?" Du Qiangwei could not help asking. "Jess and I made everything clear to you. We meant you no harm. We represented the country."
"Sorry, I was overthinking it." Wang Ji lowered his head and looked at his two restrained arms...
Then he chuckled. "But I believe that if two aliens came to arrest you, you'd run from beginning to end too."
He looked at Jess, then at Du Qiangwei, and smiled faintly.
Then he looked at Lian Feng, Du Kao, and Leina, smiling faintly.
"Even if they were flying a WZ-19."
Before you continue