The Comrade

Chapter Seven: The Comrade

Lu Yuanming hadn't dared to receive these people at home, especially not the old man.

You had to be kidding.

Even his parents knew who this man was. He was the sort of person who often appeared on television—and on the national news, no less.

Lu Yuanming himself had never expected someone of this stature to pay him a personal visit.

In his best-case scenario, Captain Wang would come and speak to him politely. He'd hoped it wouldn't be that Expert Woman, or someone who spoke in officialese.

But when the old man appeared, Lu Yuanming couldn't help feeling warmly toward them.

It was a sign of respect, and it also meant the government wasn't planning to use force against him and his family. Otherwise, they wouldn't have sent this old man. Someone with his status couldn't be used as bait.

Lu Yuanming was about to take them to a pavilion in the residential compound so they could talk properly. But as soon as they left Building A, he saw seven or eight people gathered around a vehicle that looked like a Changan Bread Van. When they saw the old man and Lu Yuanming come out, they instinctively opened the van's doors. Inside, it was laid out like a meeting room.

Seeing this, Lu Yuanming felt awkward again. There was no way he could take the old man to a pavilion in the compound. The old man seemed to notice his predicament and chuckled. "Looks like you've made arrangements, young comrade. No matter. Let's go see the secret base you've prepared."

The two bodyguards—or perhaps soldiers—following the old man immediately grew anxious and started forward as if to speak. But the old man seemed familiar with their behavior. He merely glanced back at them, and the two soldiers had no choice but to stop where they were.

The whole exchange happened quickly, and their movements were subtle. Lu Yuanming's younger sister probably hadn't noticed anything; she still looked dazed. But Lu Yuanming had seen it all clearly. With his Neural Reaction Speed combined with his dynamic vision, even the slightest movement looked like high-definition slow motion as long as he focused.

So Lu Yuanming paused briefly, then shook his head. "Grandpa Wang, I haven't made any arrangements. Home isn't a good place to discuss this, either. You should choose where we go."

The old man smiled and walked over to Lu Yuanming, taking him by the arm and leading him toward the van. As they walked, he said, "You're about the same age as my grandson. You can call me Grandpa. Don't be afraid, Yuanming. We're not the kind of people you imagine. We can talk things through. If you don't want to, we can leave right away."

Just then, the Expert Woman panicked. Ignoring the old man's presence, she hurried over to Lu Yuanming and dropped to her knees with a loud smack, not caring how badly she hurt them. "Mr. Lu, I was out of line before. I had no experience dealing with people, and I acted like an idiot... Please, don't hold my recklessness against me. I'll kowtow to you!"

Then she really did bang her head against the ground several times. Lu Yuanming immediately reached out to help her, but the old man sighed and gripped his arm. "Let her do it. Otherwise, she won't be able to get past this. We finally found a power that can fight those things. If she makes you wary of us or hate us, she'll probably want to die."

The woman lifted her head. Blood was seeping from her forehead as she cried, "Please help us! I'm begging you. So many comrades die every day. We tell them to enter the Field as soon as it opens, and they die inside. Then we go in after them, and we die too... Please help us."

She tried to bow her head again, but Lu Yuanmin rushed over and held her, forcibly pulling her to her feet. She said nothing, but the look she gave Lu Yuanming said everything.

Lu Yuanming smiled bitterly and said to the old man, "Grandpa Wang, let's go inside and talk."

The old man smiled and patted Lu Yuanming on the arm, then turned to the woman. "You... go get that wound treated first."

The woman stubbornly shook her head. The old man could only sigh and look at Lu Yuanming. What else could Lu Yuanming do? He immediately said, "Everyone, let's go."

They all climbed into the vehicle. It had clearly been extensively remodeled inside, and there was plenty of room for everyone to sit. Lu Yuanming led his sister to seats in the aisle. The old man didn't mind. Once he was seated, the two bodyguards—or soldiers—went to fetch enamel mugs marked with red stars. They took out packets of tea and put them in the mugs, then another person brought over hot water and poured it in.

While they did that, the old man spoke first. "I wonder if you can still use your Stand User ability, young comrade."

Lu Yuanming lowered his head slightly, his face flushing. The same embarrassment he'd felt at the entrance came over him again. He wished he could dig a hole straight through the van with his feet. He said, "It isn't actually a Stand User ability. It's my soul... For some reason, my soul is much stronger than an ordinary person's."

Everyone looked at Lu Yuanming. He hesitated, then said, "I'm sorry. It's not that I don't want to tell you the 'reason.' That information is dangerous. If I say it, everyone here could be in danger. Those things might sense you. I don't want to put you at risk."

Hearing this, the old man immediately said, "That information is important. Report it to Front Command at once, and tighten online information controls. Evacuate as many people as possible from around the Fields!"

A young soldier saluted and hurried to the front of the van. Lu Yuanming heard electronic tones and the clicking of what sounded like a telegraph. The Expert Woman said, "Things are bad right now. Monster Fields have appeared not just in our country, but across Europe, America, and Africa. Some island nations have been hit by them again and again. A few small island nations are nearly gone. It's extremely difficult to control the information. The people upstairs are also afraid the apocalypse is coming. If we keep controlling information under these circumstances, we might be harming the public. Some people are calling for complete transparency. We're in a difficult position, too. No one knows what comes next. What if releasing the information causes social unrest? But if we don't release it and the world ends, what if the public is completely unprepared?"

After the woman finished, the old man took a sip of tea from his enamel mug and sighed. "There are still too many unknowns. But looking at the timing, Monster Fields are appearing more frequently, and they're growing larger. We've always prepared for the worst. Thank goodness we finally found you, young comrade. Is there anything else you can tell us? Are there others with souls as powerful as yours? Do you know where these monsters came from? Is there a way to deal with them at the root?"

Lu Yuanming carefully considered what he knew, then spoke as he thought. "There probably isn't anyone else with a soul as powerful as mine, at least not right now. I can't talk about where these monsters came from. I suspect they're... but I can't talk about that, either. As for getting rid of them completely, it'll be difficult. But this shouldn't have happened so soon. I need to go back... I need time to confirm."

The old man listened quietly and nodded. In another vehicle more than ten meters away, several people were listening to the audio and watching the footage from the surveillance system, rapidly analyzing it. The same audio and video were also being sent to Front Command and numerous departments in BJ. Lu Yuanming had no idea that more than ten thousand people were analyzing every expression and every word he produced, while building a Personality Model based on his past information.

The old man spoke again. "I wonder if you can use your Soul Body again?"

Lu Yuanming immediately said, "Yes, but only inside a Monster Field. In there, I can manifest my soul almost without limit. It's colorless... and consumes very little. Outside the Fields... I can do it, too, but the cost is high."

What Lu Yuanming didn't know was that his words shocked not only everyone present, but also the tens of thousands who heard them as the information was relayed, along with people like the old man.

According to Captain Wang and the expert team, Lu Yuanming's strength and speed exceeded the limits of human capability, putting him close to a superhuman. He had also demonstrated the ability to heal injuries instantly. Personnel were already trying to determine the limits of his Healing Ability, including whether it could cure all kinds of terminal illnesses.

Nearly every theory assumed that Lu Yuanming could only use his special abilities inside Monster Fields and that he couldn't use them in the outside world. Otherwise, there was no way he could have lived such an ordinary life for twenty-four years. And he wouldn't have been hit by a car and left in a Vegetative State. Even if he was the sort of detached person who took everything in stride, faced with a threat to his life, he would instinctively have unleashed his power. So it was highly likely that his abilities had come from the monsters.

Among the many guesses and theories, several suggested that Lu Yuanming might have somehow bound, absorbed, assimilated, or controlled a monster, which was how he'd gained his special abilities.

But now Lu Yuanming had said outright that he could use his abilities in the outside world, even if it came at a great cost. Being able to use supernatural power outside a Field was a fundamental difference between zero and one. It was the difference between having that ability and not having it.

The old man silently digested the information. The woman then asked urgently, "Mr. Lu, can you use your soul right now? Not here, but in another Field. Do you need to rest? Do you need supplies or anything special?"

Lu Yuanming immediately thought of the information he'd found online about Chunxi Road in CD. The Field that had appeared in CD was right in the city's busiest area.

He nodded at once. "No problem. My Soul Body is strong, and I can still fight. I don't need anything else. I just need to have eaten enough, and I've eaten. So don't worry. I know why you've come... It's CD, right? Do you have a plane or something? I can get there quickly and fight!"

His eagerness surprised everyone. Captain Wang said at once, "That's my boy! Great... I'll go in with you. If it weren't for you, my team and I probably wouldn't have made it out alive!"

The woman immediately added, "I'll go in, too. Don't worry, I won't hold you back. If necessary, I'll end my own life immediately!"

After they had finished speaking, the old man took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Young comrade, can you answer one question? It's purely personal curiosity... Don't you have any reservations? About your family, or about being so frank with us about your abilities. Everything said here will be analyzed by the state and made known to them. If you have any concerns or needs, you can tell us now. I'll make sure they're taken care of."

Lu Yuanming glanced at his sister and saw her give a serious, slight shake of her head. He smiled frankly. "I have no reservations. The fact that you came in person, Grandpa Wang, tells me you're not like the people in novels and online stories. I know you'll take good care of my family. As for my being frank..."

"To be honest, I'm grown up, but I still like watching Ultraman and Kamen Rider. I..."

"I'm willing to trust first. And if I happen to have a torch in my hands, I'm willing to be the light for everyone in the darkness."

As he spoke, Lu Yuanming awkwardly scratched his head and smiled. "Is that too childish and embarrassing?"

"No."

The old man rubbed his eyes and said earnestly, "Young comrade, no..."

"Comrade, you're a good man."

Then the old man gave Lu Yuanming a solemn, perfectly formal salute.

At the same time, Lu Yuanming heard a powerful rush of wind outside the van. A small helicopter then landed on the road in the residential compound.