Necessary Evil

After escorting the prisoners from E Country's side onto the vehicle, Xiao He's mission for the day was successfully completed.

Upon returning, Xiao He still needed to upgrade the Yinglong Robot, improving its ability to withstand high and low temperatures.

The next step is to find a way to provide these robots with "remote controllers," so that he won't have to do it himself every time.

"How was it?" Ye Wanqing asked curiously, peeking her head out from the kitchen after Xiao He returned home.

"Solved, easy peasy," Xiao He replied, brushing the snow off his clothes. "I'm so cold, Xiaoqing, can you cook me a bowl of noodles?"

"We've already started cooking, why are you still eating noodles..." Ye Wanqing frowned slightly. "Just bear with it, dinner will be served soon. I'll get you a bowl of radish and beef soup first, it'll warm you up."

"Okay, that works too," Xiao He replied, and then began to change his clothes.

After taking off his shirt, he noticed a red mark on his chest where Julius had poked him, and it was still a little painful when pressed.

That's all; the red mark will fade quickly, and it probably won't even leave a bruise.

This is mainly because Xiao He had previously Erosion the power of several Mutator, keeping his current physique at around LV6. However, this power is not permanent but a consumable. Once this power is used up, his physique will return to its usual LV2.

However... judging from the frequency of Mutator appearances, Xiao He estimated that his speed of replenishing his strength through "Erosion" was probably much faster than the speed of consumption.

In another month, Xiao He Erosion will have absorbed enough power from the Mutator to break through to level 8. At that time, even if he stood still, probably no one in the world could hurt him.

However, there were people he absolutely needed to "move."

On Saturday, Xiao He arrived at Ye Wanqing's house, intending to bring his future in-laws home for a meal.

"Uncle and Aunt, shall I take you there?" Xiao He extended his hand to the two of them. "Remember to hold on tight and don't let go, okay? In case something goes wrong, you might get stuck inside and not be able to get out."

"Um, could we take a plane?" Ye Zhichun asked nervously, but then the scenery around him became blurry.

"There are no flights there," Xiao He said with a smile. The surrounding scenery flickered and changed to the living room of their villa on the island.

Xiao He canceled the Dimensional Walker, while his parents had been waiting there for a long time.

"These must be our in-laws, right?" Xiao He's mother Ji Mingzhu, immediately stepped forward to greet them.

"Oh my! In-laws! It's finally time to meet you!" Ye Zhichun quickly stepped forward and shook hands with Xiao Yuanshan. "You two have truly raised a fine son, one who is both responsible and righteous!"

"Not at all, your Xiaoqing is so polite and beautiful, and her cooking skills are amazing too!" Xiao Yuanshan replied with a smile.

The two families, each consisting of six people, greeted each other, creating a momentary commotion.

After they had all met, Xiao He went to the kitchen to help Ye Wanqing, while Xiao He's parents chatted with Ye Wanqing's parents in the living room.

Upon entering the kitchen, Xiao He wrapped his arms around Ye Wanqing's slender waist from behind and kissed her on the cheek. "Nervous? Today we'll officially confirm our engagement."

"It's alright," Ye Wanqing turned to look at him with a bright smile, "It was something I'd already decided on a long time ago."

Xiao He rested his chin on the top of her head and said, "If you want to back out, this is your last chance, okay?"

"You won't regret it." Ye Wanqing smiled and nuzzled his face with her head. "Old Xiao, go and chop the green peppers for me, and then marinate the meat."

"Alright," Xiao He replied, rolling up his sleeves.

With the two of them working together, the food was served quickly, and the six people from both families sat down at the table, the atmosphere becoming serious.

"Now that you two are engaged, there are some things I, as her father, need to say..." Ye Zhichun cleared his throat, "After all, you're about to become someone's husband and a father soon, so you can't keep making your family worry. You understand what I mean?"

Xiao He naturally knew that Ye Zhichun was referring to his work as "Yinglong".

"Oh, Mom and Dad, Uncle and Aunt, you don't need to worry about that," Xiao He said with a smile, pointing to the Yinglong Robot wandering around in mid-air outside the window. "That's what I thought of, which is why I created those things."

"You invented those things?" Ji Mingzhu asked in surprise. "I thought they were developed by our country's scientists."

"Anyway..." Xiao He didn't want to explain the details, "I can remotely control those robots, so most of the time I just need to stay at home with Wanqing and use the robots to work remotely."

"Ah... that's actually pretty good, isn't it, Dad?" Dai Na turned to Ye Zhichun and asked with a smile.

"Yes, that's true..." Ye Zhichun nodded, then patted Xiao He on the shoulder with a smile and laughed loudly, "Then it's settled! I agree to your marriage!"

Dai Na immediately changed the subject, smiling at Ji Mingzhu, "In-laws, when do you think the wedding date should be set?"

"Mom..." Ye Wanqing blushed immediately, "Shouldn't we at least wait until we both graduate from university before we talk about it?"

"Hey, this doesn't conflict with university," Ye Zhichun frowned. "Isn't the summer vacation the perfect time to hold a wedding?"

"Indeed, this matter shouldn't be delayed too long." Ji Mingzhu nodded in agreement. "Here's what we'll do, in-laws. There's a Yuantong Temple around here, and the abbot there is very famous. In a few days, I'll go there to offer incense and ask him about auspicious dates. If you think they're suitable, we can take advantage of a good day and settle the matter between the two children..."

"Oh dear..." Ye Wanqing's face flushed red instantly. She tugged at Xiao He's arm, "Old Xiao, you should try to persuade Mom and Dad!"

"Why?" Xiao He gently stroked Ye Wanqing's cheek and smiled, "Don't you want to marry me soon?"

"I... of course I want to..." Ye Wanqing stammered, her face flushed crimson, "But... didn't we already agree that we'd do it after we graduate..."

Xiao He was amused by Ye Wanqing's adorable appearance. He put his arm around her slender shoulders, gave her a light kiss on the head, and then turned to his parents with a smile, "Mom and Dad, we plan to get our marriage certificate at a good time first, and then have the wedding after university. You don't need to worry about that; we'll handle everything ourselves."

Ye Wanqing nodded in agreement, "Old Xiao and I have rather special identities, so we can't have too many people at the wedding. We'll probably just invite close relatives and some employees from the Special Response Department."

"Well, since that's how it is..." The two sets of parents looked at each other for a while, and could only agree.

After lunch, it was only around nine in the morning on the island, the most comfortable time of day. The two families strolled barefoot on the island, enjoying the island's charm and chatting.

"This place is really nice..." Ye Zhichun sighed, stepping on the soft sand and gazing at the sea before him. "Peaceful from the world, you can see the sea just by looking up. Living in a place like this must be very happy."

"After Wanqing and I have children, we'll invite you to come and live with us," Xiao He said with a smile.

Ye Wanqing covered her face shyly and gently punched him. "Don't say these things in front of Mom and Dad..."

"Then you'd better start early," Ji Mingzhu said seriously. "The country is encouraging three children. If you want to have three children before you turn thirty, you should start preparing now. It would be best if you could give birth to your first child by twenty-two."

"Hmm." Dai Na nodded in agreement. "Have one, then spend a year recuperating, another year raising the child, and then have a second one. One child every three years, so you can finish before you turn thirty."

"But don't put too much pressure on yourselves," Xiao Yuanshan comforted them. "If you think it's too many, having two is fine too."

The two sets of parents got more and more excited as they chatted, which startled Ye Wanqing so much that she quickly went back with Xiao He to tidy up her parents' room.

They planned to let their parents stay here for the night, treating it as a vacation.

In the afternoon, the two fathers chatted while fishing in the pavilion on the water, while the two mothers prepared ingredients for dinner in the kitchen. The two families hit it off immediately.

Xiao He and Ye Wanqing returned to their room to have a private conversation.

"Alright now? You don't need to worry anymore," Xiao He said, holding Ye Wanqing as she sat on his lap.

"But having three..." Ye Wanqing muttered softly, "I'm afraid..."

"Then let's have one child and adopt one," Xiao He said with a kiss on the cheek. "I don't want you to have so many children; it's too hard on you. Most importantly..."

"The most crucial thing is?" Ye Wanqing glanced at him curiously.

Xiao He smiled slightly, "If you have one child, I won't be able to bother you for half a year. If you have three... how could I possibly handle that?"

Ye Wanqing rolled her eyes at him, annoyed, and stomped on his foot. "You filthy scoundrel!"

"Nonsense, I'm clearly carrying out the task my parents assigned me," Xiao He said seriously. "It starts tonight."

"Oh no! My parents are here, it's too embarrassing. I'll give you OIO instead..."

"It's a deal!"

"Look how happy you are, you're shameless..."

That day, the two families stayed overnight at the island villa and experienced the island atmosphere. The next day, after seeing their parents off, Xiao He and Ye Wanqing went to Xie Haining's home.

The Four Cornerstones of the Special Response Department are having dinner together today.

"Godfather." After greeting everyone, Xiao He had just sat down on the sofa when Xie Xinya grabbed a children's book and came over, pleading in a sweet, coquettish voice, "Read me a story!"

"Sigh." Xiao He was most vulnerable to such adorable little girls, so he took the picture book, pointed to the pinyin on it, and read aloud, "Where Are We Going, Dad?...?"

Xie Xinya stared blankly at the book's cover title for a moment, then read out each word carefully, "Dad, Dad, where... did he go?"

"Where is it? Where, er." Xiao He pointed to the words "where" and "er" in the title and read them aloud.

"Dad, Dad, where... did you go?" Xie Xinya pointed with her little hand, word by word, but she didn't understand the function of the "er" sound. So when she finished saying "le," her finger was still on "er," and she was stunned on the spot.

After thinking carefully for a while, Xie Xinya looked up at Xiao He in surprise and said, "Godfather, there's an extra word!"

Looking at the little girl's innocent and adorable face with her beautiful blinking eyes, Xiao He turned to Ye Wanqing: "How about having a daughter in the future?"

"It depends on your own abilities..." Ye Wanqing muttered, pursing her lips.

"Alright, stop bothering your godfather." Tong Xiaojie laughed and picked her up. "He's so busy every day, let him rest a bit."

"Not really..." Xiao He said with a smile, "It's mostly robots doing the work, and I'm fine. Once the VR controller for the robots is ready, I won't even need to operate them."

"Then Brother Xiao can be Sister Man's bodyguard with me," Xia Yu said with a smile.

"By the way, where's Sister Man?" Xiao He turned his head and glanced around, noticing Cui Man absentmindedly playing on her phone. He came up behind her, put his hand on her shoulder, and laughed, "What are you doing? Acting like you're socially awkward."

"Take a look at the reward notice from the United Nations," Cui Man said with a smile, touching his cheek. "Interested?"

Xiao He leaned over for a look and saw that besides the Mutant, there were also quite a few Mutator among the bounties. Judging from this, it seemed that quite a few Mutator had already appeared outside of the Dragon Country and had already caused trouble.

Most of the bounties were in the tens or hundreds of thousands of US dollars, but Xiao He immediately noticed one exception: this person's bounty was a whopping five million US dollars!

"Why is this thing so valuable?" Xiao He asked in surprise, pointing at the person on the computer screen.

The man in the photo is about forty years old, wearing a gray suit, a trench coat, and a top hat. He looks like an elegant gentleman.

"Because it was released by the M Country, they're rich and powerful..." Cui Man rolled her eyes and said.

"Claude Moriarty ..." Xiao He murmured the middle-aged man's name.

"This guy is something else," Cui Man introduced the man. "It's said that he was originally intended to be sent by M Country to deal with you in the arena, but he escaped before being put on the plane and his whereabouts are now unknown."

"Luckily, he didn't run away from our country," Xiao He chuckled. "What's his Superpower?"

"It's unclear for now... but this person suffers from multiple personality disorder; he has seven personalities," Cui Man said lazily, resting her chin on her hand. "Although we don't know his specific Superpower, given his high price tag, he must be quite powerful."

"Is he even more powerful than Adam?" Xiao He laughed. "If even I can't defeat myself, who can?"

"That's true." Cui Man smiled and pinched his cheek.

M Country, Mississippi.

On both sides of the bustling street, women stand on the street and homeless people beg, while wealthy people embrace beautiful women, drive luxury cars, and spend lavishly. It's as if hell and heaven are mixed together yet do not interfere with each other. It's hard to imagine that such contrasting scenes can coexist on this street.

At that moment, a middle-aged man dressed in a gray trench coat and tuxedo walked down the street, leaning on a cane. He walked alone through the crowd, as if everything around him was irrelevant.

"Sir, need someone to keep you company?" Several glamorous women by the roadside smiled at him. "Two hundred dollars, you can do whatever you want tonight."

"No need, I'm not alone." The middle-aged man politely removed his hat in a languid tone, "Thank you, beautiful lady."

The middle-aged man declined the woman's offer, then walked through the brightly lit streets to the end of the road. In the darkness there, some terrifying creatures writhed, and faint tearing sounds and low roars could be heard from them.

"Come out, I know you're there," Claude Moriarty said with a slight smile, touching the brim of his hat. "Sate."

In the darkness, a hideous face appeared, followed by a huge human figure.

This is a monster with three heads. The middle face is full of anger, the left face is grinning, and the right face is crying. It is about three meters tall, with a human upper body and a goat leg lower body.

"Look at you, a fool." The Mutator stepped forward, dragging a blood-soaked fat man along, with more shadowy figures emerging from the darkness behind him. "Tell me, are you here to die?"

"In fact, I'm here to lead you, Sate," Claude replied with a smile. "Mutator may be powerful, but frankly, they're just a bunch of brainless idiots. Without a leader, they can't accomplish anything, just like a disorganized mess. But I will make you an army, an army capable of overturning this world."

"What makes you think you can lead us?" Sate sneered, circling around Claude.

"Because only I can unite you all, only I have that ability." Claude chuckled and sighed, seemingly pitying Sate's foolishness. "In short, you're too weak."

Sate's angry face twitched, then he lunged at Claude.

Claude's figure flashed, and in the next moment he appeared behind Sate, slamming his face into the ground with a slap, sending up a cloud of gravel.

"Don't waste my time, I'm a very lazy person." Claude said, raising his hand, and several black vortexes appeared around him. "Join me, or I'll kill you all right now."

Sate reached down and pressed his hand to the ground as he stood up. He glanced at the vortexes with some apprehension, and after a long while, he asked, "Why did you do this? You're Mutant; shouldn't you be on the side of humanity?"

"There are no Mutator or Mutant in this world, only 'justice' and 'evil.'" Claude lowered his hand, and the black vortex around him disappeared. "Where there is 'justice' like Yinglong, there is naturally 'evil' like me. Only in this way can this world maintain balance on both sides of the scales. I call it 'Necessary Evil.'"

Sate looked back at the darkness behind him, then took a step forward, and various Mutator followed him out of the darkness.

"We will follow you," Sate roared in a low voice. "Let's turn this world upside down together..."

"No, what we seek is 'balance,' my friend, balance. Good alone or evil alone will lead to the destruction of the world; only balance can maintain the stability of this world." Claude smiled slightly, adjusting his hat brim.

After saying that, the human disappeared from the scene, along with the Mutator whose bodies were twisted around him.

The next second, he and these Mutator appeared in a wilderness, and behind Claude stood a densely packed group of Mutator and all sorts of hideous monsters. The scene was as if the entrance to hell had been torn open, and the demon army was preparing to devour the world.

"Welcome to the world of light, gentlemen," Claude smiled at the Mutator before him. "This world has become too naive under Yinglong's protection. It's time to let them know what the true nature of a 'hero' is..."