Discussion and a Visitor

"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 come back yet then. I was afraid you'd run into danger when you returned, so I made the decision myself and killed them. There were also many people fleeing for their lives. 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 understood that she had blamed her daughter wrongly. Jian Hanyao must have been constantly watching the changes in information online, developing a sense of danger others lacked. That was why she had dared to take the risk of clearing out potential threats around them, reducing the danger to herself.

"...I spent an entire day killing those monster people, and I thought I was a freak too, as though I had killed living, normal people. I threw up all night. I kept vomiting until my whole body hurt, then I passed out. When I woke up, my body seemed full of strength. I went out and killed monster people again. It felt as though 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 everyone else. At first, I cried in secret, then laughed in secret, like an idiot. I was afraid I wasn't normal, that I would eventually turn into one of those crazed monster people. I was also afraid you would look at me like I was something strange..."

Jian Hanyao's clear, delicate eyes shone with purity, but two streams of tears flowed down her face uncontrollably. Even so, she maintained a tearful smile, as if she did not want her mother to think of her as a stranger or someone abnormal. She only wanted her mother to love and spoil 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 perfectly and treated the unpleasant incident as though it had never happened.

Only Mu Xiao stared at Jian Hanyao with utmost seriousness. He had already thought highly of her, but her mental fortitude had far exceeded his expectations.

"Her past achievements were never an accident. They were inevitable!"

Mu Xiao had wondered whether An Rongru surviving would mean Jian Hanyao would lose the stimulus to become strong. After all, it had been An Rongru's death in the future that had driven her to become a superpowered woman. But now, there was no need to dwell on such unnecessary thoughts. She already possessed the qualities of a strong person. As long as she was guided properly down the path of evolution, she would only be stronger than her future self, never weaker.

"Since you have combat experience, we can kill Song Tianhu's group first and absorb their power, then use that to intimidate everyone else. Anyone who refuses to submit can be killed outright." Mu Xiao was no saint. He did not mind using forceful methods to remove anyone who blocked his path.

"Although I haven't liked the look of you from the very beginning, what you just said suits my taste perfectly." Jian Hanyao agreed wholeheartedly.

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

Seeing that she knew 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 residents and security guards were after my ability. No wonder more than ten out of those twenty-odd neutral people died for no clear reason. Those beasts were secretly killing their own people just to obtain other people's Evolutionary Power Sources and Ability Sources, all to increase their own strength!"

"Absorbing abilities recklessly will only hinder one's own path of evolution. It may even leave behind hidden dangers." Mu Xiao did not think highly of New Humans who absorbed abilities at random. Unless they understood ability synthesis and the traits of every ability, they were gambling with their future and their lives.

"Then what type of evolutionary path should I take in the future?" Jian Hanyao immediately pressed for more. Her simple, fair face bloomed with the most youthful and harmless smile, pure as an angel's and exceptionally easy to trust. Yet a wicked little devil was hidden within her.

She knew Mu Xiao was no ordinary person and had even mastered a great deal of information about New Humans. Naturally, she wanted to dig more valuable things out of him.

So she did not mind putting on a smiling face to get everything he had, then take fierce revenge for the way he had bullied her. "As long as you obey me, I'll naturally teach you how to become a powerful New Human." If Mu Xiao could not see through this girl's thoughts, then everything he had experienced before his rebirth would have been for nothing.

In an instant, Jian Hanyao's smile finally vanished, replaced by an expression of displeasure that was light-years away from her earlier innocent demeanor.

"Pah."

She crossed her arms over her chest and spat fiercely.

Though Jian Hanyao looked extremely displeased, she did not reject Mu Xiao's words. To An Rongru, that was a good beginning, and she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. What she feared most was her daughter stubbornly fighting Mu Xiao to the bitter 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 sort of relationship with this terrifying man? Perhaps they had not truly slept together, 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, seeking the family's considerable wealth. But in the face of disaster, money was worthless. Only beauty remained tempting. Still, if this man were a bastard, her mother could not possibly look this happy...

Jian Hanyao's mind raced with countless thoughts, and she had 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 act as the vanguard and shield while she secretly learned from him and safely increased her strength was not a bad arrangement at all.

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

Mu Xiao glanced at her. Though he did not know what mischief she was plotting, he sensed that it concerned him. She was probably thinking of using him. Unfortunately, she had met 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 trigger a conflict between the security guards and the residents. Once they've beaten each other half to death, we'll come out and clean up the mess." Mu Xiao settled on the best plan in just a few words.

Mu Xiao was undoubtedly the strongest person in the villa district. Together with An Rongru and Jian Hanyao, he had already formed a hidden small force. Their overall strength was not much weaker than that of more than a dozen New Humans.

"Right." Mu Xiao recalled something and 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 the residents' side and the security guards' side will drive them away soon enough." Jian Hanyao said, "They only focus on improving their combat strength. They don't take in survivors, and they haven't joined either side. They might be planning to leave this place and seek another way out."

"Oh." Mu Xiao did not pause to think before asking, "Why haven't they joined either side?"

"The security guards' way of doing things is too bastardly, too beastly. The residents' side were already people of higher status, and now they've become New Humans. Even if those dozen people joined them, the residents would still have prejudices because of their former status differences. They couldn't truly treat everyone equally. Besides, those bodyguards and staff may not want to remain inferior people for the rest of their lives."

Jian Hanyao's dismissive expression made it clear she had hit the heart of the matter.

New Humans had the right to control their own destiny and freedom.

"Among those neutral bodyguards and staff, are there any trustworthy people? Is there a chance we can pull them over to our side?" Mu Xiao did not know the people in the villa district very well, so he threw the question to An Rongru and Jian Hanyao to see how likely it was.

"Aren't you very strong? Why do you need to borrow other people's strength?" Jian Hanyao said with a faint sneer.

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

"Why is that?" Jian Hanyao did not want to miss any opportunity to gain information.

"If a place has a large concentration of New Humans, Mutant Monsters will sense that they cannot compete and will not rashly launch an assault..."

Suddenly, Mu Xiao changed the subject. "But over time, some Mutant Humans will gather many Zombies and launch a zombie tide. Powerful mutants will take the opportunity to slaughter large numbers of New Humans and increase their own evolution level. So if we can keep some New Humans here, then naturally we should keep them."

"And this is a good base, isn't it?" An Rongru spoke the meaning Mu Xiao had left unsaid.

"Mm." Mu Xiao nodded.

"Han Yao, tell us which bodyguards and staff they are. See whether Mom knows them and whether we can persuade them." An Rongru asked.

She had always treated her employees well and offered them generous benefits. If they remembered her past 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 schadenfreude.

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

The moment she saw her daughter's expression, she understood who her daughter meant. Worried that it would cause Mu Xiao to speculate, she did not want her daughter to say it.

Unfortunately, Jian Hanyao said it anyway. Mu Xiao had remained calm, but he also realized that An Rongru was hiding something from him.

"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 remained unmarried all this time and has always been devoted to you. If you go persuade him now, you can definitely lure him..."

"Han Yao, you're getting more and more outrageous!" An Rongru covered the girl's mouth. Her fair, full face flushed with alluring red, and her watery eyes secretly glanced at Mu Xiao. Only when she found that he did not seem to care did she relax.

Jian Hanyao pulled An Rongru's hand away and said, "Actually, Uncle Pang came to see me several times. He said it would be safer for me to stay with them. But I can protect myself, so I didn't get involved with them. He's actually a good person, a righteous person. I can feel it."

As she spoke, she deliberately glanced at Mu Xiao, subtly insinuating that he was not a good person.

An Rongru was just about to explain when loud knocking sounded from downstairs. Jian Hanyao's relaxed body instantly tensed like a savage beast. She dashed into a room and, in less than ten seconds, hefted out an old-fashioned rocket launcher. She rushed to a window and shouted, "Which bastard is it? State your name!"

"Miss Hanyao, this is Pang Xuejun." A resounding, forceful, dignified voice carried up from below.

"Oh, it's Uncle Pang. Wait one minute." Jian Hanyao answered, then gave Mu Xiao across from her a half-smiling look. "Well, 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 those clothes. What you're wearing now is so ugly."

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

"Rongru, let's avoid him for now." Mu Xiao said calmly. "They may be here for something else. We'll decide whether to show ourselves after seeing what happens."

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