Discussion and Visitors

"Mom, I'm sorry." Jian Hanyao hugged An Rongru back and said softly, "The monster people I killed were all near our home. If I hadn't killed them, they would have become a threat to our family sooner or later. And you hadn't returned yet at the time—I was afraid you'd run into danger when you came back, so I took it upon myself to kill them. There were also many people fleeing for their lives then, and they looked at me like I was a monster. I thought they were idiots too. Why didn't they fight back..."

Hearing her, An Rongru raised her tear-streaked face and looked at her daughter in surprise. She realized she had blamed her daughter wrongly. Jian Hanyao must have been constantly following changes in information online, developing a sense of danger that others lacked. That was why she had dared to risk clearing out the hidden threats around them, so that An Rongru would face less danger.

"...After killing those monster people all day, I also felt like a freak, as though I had killed living, normal people. I spent the whole night vomiting. I vomited until my entire body hurt, then I passed out. When I woke up, my body seemed to be filled with strength, and I went out to kill monster people again. It seemed like my body could absorb the monsters' power. Only when I discovered that I had an ability that made me stronger the more I fought did I realize I was different from other people. At first, I cried in secret, then laughed in secret, like an idiot. I was afraid I wasn't normal, afraid that I would eventually become one of those crazed monster people. I was also afraid you would look at me like I was something strange..."

Jian Hanyao's delicate eyes were clear and bright, yet two trails of tears flowed down her cheeks uncontrollably. Still, she kept smiling through her tears, as though she did not want her mother to see her as a stranger or someone abnormal. She only wanted her mother to cherish her as she always had.

An Rongru did not apologize, and Jian Hanyao did not resent her mother for hitting her without knowing the full situation.

The mother and daughter understood each other without words, treating the unpleasantness as though it had never happened.

Only Mu Xiao watched Jian Hanyao with extreme seriousness. He had already thought highly of her, but he had not expected her mental fortitude to far exceed his expectations.

"Her past achievements were never accidental. They were inevitable!"

Mu Xiao had wondered whether An Rongru surviving would mean Jian Hanyao could no longer be pushed into becoming strong. After all, in the future, An Rongru's death had been what spurred her to grow into an exceptionally powerful woman. But now, there was no need to dwell on such pointless thoughts. She already possessed the qualities of a strong person. As long as she was properly guided along the path of evolution, she would only be stronger than her future self had once been.

"Since you have combat experience, we can kill Song Tianhu and his group first, absorb their power, and then intimidate everyone else. Anyone who refuses to submit can be killed outright." Mu Xiao was no saint. He did not mind using harsh methods to clear away anyone standing in his path.

"Although I haven't liked the sight of you from the beginning, what you just said is very much to my taste." Jian Hanyao agreed wholeheartedly.

Soon, she added, "Ability users have power too? I thought only monster people had it."

Seeing that she knew very little about new humans, Mu Xiao had no choice but to explain most of it to her in detail.

Half an hour later.

"Damn it!" Jian Hanyao cursed. "So those property owners and security guards were after my abilities. No wonder more than ten of those twenty-something neutral people died for no apparent reason before. Those beasts were secretly killing their own people just to obtain other people's evolution sources and ability sources, all so they could increase their strength!"

"Absorbing abilities indiscriminately will only hinder one's evolutionary path, and may even leave hidden dangers behind." Mu Xiao did not think highly of those new humans who absorbed abilities recklessly. Unless they understood ability synthesis and knew the traits of every ability, they were simply gambling with their future and their lives.

"Then what type of evolution path should I take in the future?" Jian Hanyao immediately pressed the matter. Her simple, fair face blossomed into the most youthful and harmless smile, as pure as an angel's, making her seem exceptionally likable and trustworthy. Yet a wicked little devil hid within her.

She knew Mu Xiao was no ordinary person, and that he even possessed a great deal of information about new humans. Naturally, she wanted to pry more valuable information out of him. Thus, she did not mind flashing him a smile first, then taking everything he had and ruthlessly repaying him for bullying her.

"As long as you obey me in everything, I'll naturally teach you how to become a powerful new human." If Mu Xiao could not see through this girl's thoughts, then all his experiences before his rebirth would have been lived for nothing.

In an instant, Jian Hanyao's smile vanished, replaced by an expression of displeasure that was practically a light-year away from her earlier innocent and harmless look.

"Pah."

She folded her arms across her chest and spat forcefully.

Although Jian Hanyao looked extremely displeased, she did not reject Mu Xiao's proposal. To An Rongru, that was a good beginning, and she quietly breathed a sigh of relief. What she feared most was her daughter stubbornly confronting Mu Xiao to the very end, leaving her caught in the middle.

In truth, Jian Hanyao possessed an intelligence bordering on the uncanny. How could she fail to see that her mother had some kind of relationship with this terrifying man? Perhaps the two had not truly crossed that line, but there had definitely been some intimate contact. She did not want her mother to have another man in her life, because the men from before had all approached her mother with ulterior motives, wanting the vast wealth of their family. But in the face of disaster, money was nothing but trash. Only beauty was a kind of **. Still, if this man were a bastard, her mother could not possibly look this happy...

Jian Hanyao's mind raced through countless thoughts, and she guessed many things correctly. So she did not want the relationship between the three of them to become too strained and make things difficult for her mother. Besides, having this man serve as a pathfinder and a shield while she learned from him in secret and safely increased her own strength was truly not a bad arrangement.

A little fox's smile subtly curled at the corner of her lips.

Mu Xiao glanced at her. Though he did not know what mischief she was plotting, he had a feeling it involved him. Was she planning to use him? Unfortunately, she had run into him. In the end, she would only drag herself in as well...

"Our first target is Song Tianhu. Where is he? I'll kill him and provoke a conflict between the security guards and the property owners. Once they beat each other half to death, we'll come out and clean up the mess." In just a few words, Mu Xiao settled on the best plan.

Mu Xiao was unquestionably the strongest person in the villa district. With Jian Hanyao and An Rongru next to him, they had already become a hidden small faction. Their overall strength was not much weaker than that of more than a dozen new humans.

"By the way." Remembering something, Mu Xiao asked, "Are those dozen or so new humans made up of bodyguards and staff still in the villa district?"

"They haven't left, but I think they're about to be driven away by both the property owners and the security guards." Jian Hanyao said, "They've only focused on improving their combat strength. They don't take in survivors, nor have they joined either side. They may also be thinking of leaving this place and finding another way out."

"Oh." Mu Xiao thought for a moment, then asked, "Why haven't they joined either side?"

"The security guards' way of doing things is too bastardly, too beastly. The property owners were already upper-class people to begin with, and now they've become new humans. Even if those dozen people joined them, the property owners would still hold certain prejudices because of the difference in their former statuses. They couldn't truly treat them equally. Besides, perhaps those bodyguards and staff don't want to remain inferior people for the rest of their lives."

Jian Hanyao spoke with an unconcerned expression, yet she had hit the heart of the matter exactly.

New humans had the right to control their own destinies and freedom.

"Among those neutral bodyguards and staff, are there any trustworthy people? Is it possible to bring them over to our side?" Mu Xiao did not know much about the people in the villa district, so he threw the question to An Rongru and Jian Hanyao to see what the chances were.

"Isn't that because you're so strong? Why do you need to borrow anyone's strength?" Jian Hanyao said with faint mockery.

"Haven't you noticed that this place has rarely been attacked by mutated monsters?" Mu Xiao said.

"Why is that?" Jian Hanyao would not miss any chance to gather information.

"If a place has a large concentration of new humans, mutated monsters will sense that they cannot match them and won't rashly launch an ambush..."

Suddenly, Mu Xiao changed his tone and continued, "But after enough time passes, some mutants will gather large numbers of zombies and launch a zombie tide. Powerful mutants will take the opportunity to slaughter many new humans and raise their own evolution level. So if we can keep some new humans here, naturally we should keep them."

"And this is also a good base, isn't it?" An Rongru voiced what Mu Xiao had meant to say next.

"Mm." Mu Xiao nodded.

"Hanyao, tell us which bodyguards and staff they are. See if Mom knows them and whether I can persuade them." An Rongru asked.

She had always treated her employees well and given them generous treatment. If they remembered that kindness, it might have some persuasive effect.

"I know one person who will definitely listen to you. He also happens to be the leader of that group of new humans." Jian Hanyao smiled teasingly, her eyes sweeping toward Mu Xiao with a hint of malicious delight.

"We'll discuss that later." An Rongru's expression became slightly unnatural.

The moment she saw her daughter's expression, she understood who Jian Hanyao meant. Worried that it would make Mu Xiao suspicious, she did not want her daughter to say it aloud.

Unfortunately, Jian Hanyao said it anyway. Mu Xiao had remained calm all along, but he now knew that An Rongru was hiding something.

"Pang Xuejun, Bodyguard Pang, Manager Pang—he should listen to you very well, Mom. After all, he used to be your bodyguard, and later you promoted him to manager of the villa district. He's never married, and he's always been utterly devoted to you. If you go persuade him now, you can definitely lure him..."

"Hanyao, you're becoming more and more outrageous!" An Rongru covered the little girl's mouth. Her fair, voluptuous face was charmingly flushed, and her watery eyes secretly glanced at Mu Xiao. Only when she saw that he did not seem to care did she relax.

Jian Hanyao pulled An Rongru's hand away and said, "Actually, Uncle Pang has approached me several times. He said it would be safer for me to stay with them, but I can protect myself, so I don't want to get involved with them. He's actually a good and righteous man. I can feel it."

As she spoke, she casually glanced at Mu Xiao, subtly implying that Mu Xiao was not a good person.

Just as An Rongru was about to explain, loud knocking sounded from downstairs. Jian Hanyao's relaxed body instantly sprang into action like a fierce beast. She dashed into a room and, in less than ten seconds, came out carrying an old-fashioned rocket launcher with imposing strength. She quickly reached a window and shouted, "Which bastard is it? State your name!"

"Miss Hanyao, this is Pang Xuejun." A sonorous, forceful, and solemn voice came from below.

"So it's Uncle Pang. Wait a minute." Jian Hanyao called out, then gave Mu Xiao across from her a half-smile. "Oh my, speak of the devil..."

Then she turned to An Rongru, who was wearing a bulky protective suit, and said, "Mom, hurry up and change out of that outfit. What you're wearing now is so ugly."

Mu Xiao clearly found Jian Hanyao's childish provocation boring and ridiculous.

"Rongru, let's step aside for now," Mu Xiao said calmly. "They may have come for some other reason. We'll see whether we should show ourselves depending on the situation."

Afraid that Mu Xiao might misunderstand something, An Rongru quickly nodded, leaving Jian Hanyao both annoyed and helpless.