Chapter Forty-Six: Aftermath

Chapter Ten: Aftermath

(PS: Yes, yes, I listened to everyone's suggestions and moved tonight's chapter to noon. That's really it for today—there won't be anything else.)

Lu Yuanming sat on the steps, completely dazed.

Once the monster was defeated, its field immediately vanished, leaving behind three Unknown Items that were captured by Lu Yuanming's soul. He now had six in total. Perhaps another four or five would be enough to return to the Dark Matter World.

But... he truly wished he didn't have those three Unknown Items.

After returning to the Material World, the first Monster Field he encountered had opened right in his neighborhood, almost before his very eyes. From the moment he entered the field to the moment he defeated the two monsters, less than an hour had passed. Although more than a hundred people had still died, Lu Yuanming had felt confident fighting the monsters of the Material World. He'd thought he could keep crushing fields with ease and save more people.

But reality had slapped him hard.

The monster in the field in CD was only as strong as a super-giant monster in the Dark Matter World, nowhere near the Cyclops's level. In the Dark Matter World, with his Soul Body now almost three meters tall, he could have crushed it with ease.

But when a monster of this strength came to the Material World, it could grow far stronger than him if it killed enough people. In this battle, if those hundreds of soldiers hadn't sacrificed everything to clear a path for him, the monster might have worn him down and killed him.

But... they were all gone.

Of the five hundred elite special operations soldiers selected from several PLA units, only sixteen had survived.

The Expert Woman was dead. The Tall Thin Man with the sniper rifle was dead. The commanding officer was dead. Only the Black Big Man had survived, because his leg and arm had been broken, keeping him from charging inside to detonate the explosives...

He didn't even know their names!!

He was too weak. What was all that talk about Ultraman, about being a Stand User...

Just then, a tall figure appeared beside him. Lu Yuanming looked up and saw the Black Big Man standing before him, leaning on a crutch.

The Black Big Man watched Lu Yuanming in silence for a while, then asked in a hoarse voice, "Smoke?"

Lu Yuanming blankly shook his head. The Black Big Man fell silent again, then asked, "Drink?"

This time, he didn't wait for Lu Yuanming to answer. He simply waved to someone in the distance. Two young soldiers ran over at once and set a table in front of the steps. Soon, they brought over skewers and several large cases of beer.

The Black Big Man picked up a handful of skewers. He didn't care whether they were meat or vegetables; he stripped them clean with his teeth and began chewing. As he ate, he popped open a beer bottle and took a long swig, then opened more bottles and lined them up in front of Lu Yuanming.

In a daze, Lu Yuanming began eating skewers and drinking beer, almost without thinking. As he drank, he started to cry, gulping down beer as tears ran silently down his face.

In his hoarse voice, the Black Big Man said, "They died for a worthy cause. They volunteered for the mission, so they'll at least be remembered as heroes, right? Besides, they rescued more than sixty thousand people. Most of them can go home and get back to their lives. It was worth it!"

Lu Yuanming just kept crying and drinking. As the Black Big Man watched him, his hard gaze softened. He took a cigarette from his pocket, lit it with the hand that was still more or less intact, and smoked as he gazed into the distance.

It was three or four in the morning. Most of the people in the city were asleep. They had no idea a battle had taken place in the bustling Chunxi Road area. A few windows in the residential buildings still glowed with faint lights. Maybe someone was staying up late, maybe someone was an early riser, or maybe they were preparing for the Gaokao.

"Whenever I come back from a mission, I like to find somewhere in the city to eat barbecue and look at all the lights in people's homes. As long as those lights are still on, it means our efforts and sacrifices were worth it."

The Black Big Man grinned. As he smiled, tears rolled down his cheeks. He lowered his head and said, "You're a good kid, too. At your age, you ought to be at home watching shows or playing games. You shouldn't even have to worry about work or money. Your parents must love you very much, so you cried when you saw people make sacrifices... I'm really sorry. We failed. We were too weak. We couldn't protect you!"

After that, the Black Big Man began gulping down beer, and Lu Yuanming kept drinking too...

When Lu Yuanming woke up, he saw the bed in his room. He was lying in his bedroom, and a military shoulder board rested beside his bed. Nothing else in the room had changed.

Lu Yuanming sat up. He didn't feel any of the hangover people talked about; both his body and mind felt completely restored. He only remembered drinking a great deal of beer before eventually passing out.

He got out of bed, got dressed, and washed up in the bathroom. Then he opened the door and stepped into the living room. As soon as he arrived, Lu Yuanmin and his parents looked over at him. There was also a stunningly beautiful woman there—if one hundred was a perfect score for looks, she'd easily rate a ninety-nine. One point was deducted only to keep her from getting conceited. She wore an outfit like a secretary's, along with black stockings and high heels, but she wore no makeup at all.

Everyone looked at Lu Yuanming, making him feel awkward again. Still, he'd expected this. He'd met Elder Wang just the day before, and things had been so urgent that he hadn't had time to say a word to Lu Yuanmin before boarding the helicopter. Given Lu Yuanmin's personality, there was no way she would have kept it from their parents. He'd braced himself for this, though he hadn't expected an extra person to be here.

Lu Yuanming nodded to his parents and sister, then asked the stunning woman, "May I ask who you are?"

The woman looked flustered, but composed herself within a second or two. She saluted him and said, "I'm Ke Yurong, a liaison officer sent by the central government to work with Mr. Lu. Whether you wish to speak with the central government or they wish to speak with you, I can arrange it immediately. If you have any requests, you can give me your orders as well."

As she spoke, her face flushed slightly, and she fidgeted with her hands and feet. She seemed quite nervous. Judging by her age, she was probably only in her early twenties, just a year or two older than Lu Yuanmin—still college age.

Lu Yuanming gaped. "Wait, our country does this sort of thing!? Even a declining birth rate doesn't justify—"

Dad Lu gave a heavy cough. Lu Yuanming immediately sat up straight. Dad Lu politely asked Ke Yurong, "Miss Ke, would you mind if our family had a private meeting?"

Ke Yurong quickly stood up, tense. "I'll go speak with the security team, then. I'll be back in half—about half an hour."

With that, Ke Yurong hurried out of the living room. Only after everyone heard the front door close did Dad Lu turn to Lu Yuanming with a serious expression. "Yuanming, you may not have done well in school, but you've never given your mother and me much cause for worry. You're a good kid. Don't get involved in anything illegal, and besides..."

Lu Yuanmin rolled her eyes beside him. "Dad, that was Elder Wang! The one who's always on TV. How could my brother be involved in anything illegal?"

Mom Lu immediately chimed in, "There are so many scams out there now, like AI face-swapping. They look even more real than the real thing. It might be some sort of fraud. And listen, none of you are allowed to go to northern Myanmar. Your brother's looking for work, and those people lure you over with high salaries. Once you go, you're not in control of your own life anymore. They really do harvest your kidneys..."

Lu Yuanming had to say, "Mom, AI face-swapping is done to videos and photos. It doesn't actually replace someone's head in real life... You're not that old, either. I remember you were born in '72, right? Someone born in the '70s shouldn't be like this."

Dad Lu immediately said, "What are you talking about? Your mother and I work from dawn to dusk to earn money for you and your sister. We don't have time to scroll on our phones or watch the news. Whose fault do you think that is?"

Lu Yuanming and Lu Yuanmin exchanged helpless glances. They both wanted to complain, but their upbringing meant they could only sit quietly and listen.

After at least five or six minutes, Dad Lu took a sip of water and said, "Go on, tell us. If this is real, I truly can't imagine our son being important enough for Elder Wang to visit in person. That's why your mother and I don't believe it. But we're reasonable people. As long as you tell us the truth, no matter how bad it is, we'll believe you, just as we have for the past twenty years since you were born."

Lu Yuanming felt touched.

That was exactly why he was willing to be honest with people.

He'd been raised that way. His father had told him more than once that sincerity was the most powerful weapon.

Lu Yuanming considered his words carefully. He had to leave out anything dangerous, but still explain the general situation.

After thinking for a few dozen seconds, he said cautiously, "Mom, Dad, and Minmin—you can back me up on this, Minmin. I told Elder Wang the same thing. The information I have is extremely dangerous. Just knowing it could put you in danger, and not because you might do something with that information. It's... yes, it's a supernatural danger. Just knowing about it is enough to bring harm!"

Dad Lu and Mom Lu immediately looked at Lu Yuanmin. She nodded at them. "Yes, that's exactly what my brother told Elder Wang yesterday. He's never lied, so I believe him."

The two parents knew their son well, too. Lu Yuanming had indeed been raised not to lie, so they both nodded at him.

Lu Yuanming let out a breath of relief and chose his words carefully. "Mom, Dad, Minmin, what I'm about to tell you must not be shared with anyone. Not even our relatives. At most... I can try to talk to the central government and arrange for them to look after you. But you mustn't tell anyone. Promise me first."

All three nodded. Mom Lu hesitated a little, but eventually nodded too. Lu Yuanming felt relieved once again. His parents had raised him to be sincere, honest, and never to lie. To teach him that, they had always kept every promise they'd made to him, even if they'd made it casually without thinking. They had always followed through. That was why he trusted his parents and sister so much.

He spoke gravely. "This world may be heading for the apocalypse. By sheer chance, I gained some power and opportunities beyond the ordinary—the Supernatural Power, or special abilities, as you might call them. My power can fight some of the... things in the apocalypse. Yes, it can fight them. And it's very likely that I'm the only person in the world who has this power, which is why the central government needs me, and why Elder Wang came to our home. That's everything I can tell you. At least for now, I can only say this much."

That was an enormous amount of information, at least for ordinary people like Dad Lu, Mom Lu, and Lu Yuanmin. It was as astonishing as suddenly learning that the M78 Nebula had sent Ultraman to Earth and their son happened to be his human host.

The three of them were caught in a stunned mental whirlwind when a rapid knock sounded at the door. Lu Yuanming's heart tightened. He immediately got up and hurried to open it. Sure enough, Ke Yurong was standing outside, looking anxious.

The moment she saw Lu Yuanming open the door, she saluted quickly and handed him a square, unmarked phone.

Lu Yuanming picked up the phone, puzzled, and had barely said hello when Elder Wang's voice came through.

"Comrade Lu, the field on Chunxi Road in CD hasn't completely disappeared. Our cleanup team found a remnant field about ten meters in diameter. There don't seem to be any monsters inside. Our people went in and came back out; they found a strange, ruined building there. There are no monsters, but everyone who went inside has undergone physical mutations. The situation is urgent, and you may not be able to rest. The helicopter is already on its way. We'll discuss the details once you arrive!"

Lu Yuanming handed the phone back blankly, then suddenly came to his senses.

After killing the monster, he'd been so overwhelmed with grief that he hadn't collected the Gray Light Cluster!

Could this be the Xu Space formed by the Gray Light Cluster!?