Life and Death Mean Nothing, Fight Anyone Who Objects

Xiao Ya was old enough to be starting to understand things, after all. Having experienced and taken part in something so terrible, it was normal for her long-suppressed emotions to erupt and overwhelm her.

What came next was healing from and coming to terms with her psychological trauma, and facing the mistakes she had made. It would be a long process, and she would have to see herself through it. No one else could help her.

When Xiao Ya saw Jiang Nian, she threw herself into his arms, her eyes blurred with tears.

"Brother..."

"Boo-hoo..."

"I'm sorry, I was wrong..."

"I helped Mom kill people, boo-hoo..."

"I killed people... I was wrong..."

"..."

The "imprinting" from a single piece of candy, together with Jiang Nian's kind face and gentle presence, had given her an inexplicable sense of trust and dependence.

Of course, Huang Qian and the others were all very kind, willing to take in a bad person like her, but Jiang Nian, who had given her candy, was still special among all the older brothers and sisters.

"Xiao Ya..."

Seeing how dependent she was on him, Jiang Nian felt a flash of malice. In the end, he spoke with mixed feelings.

"Listen, what's happened can't be changed, and neither can the mistakes you've made. But as long as you're alive, you have to move forward... We'll protect you for now, and you need to work hard alongside us."

He wasn't good at comforting people, and he couldn't bring himself to say anything too protective of her. He could only state the facts.

"Mm, boo-hoo..."

The little girl nodded as she sobbed in his arms, crying so hard she could barely catch her breath. She hadn't meant to do it, and she couldn't control herself, but she had still been wrong.

Jiang Nian only sighed and patted her back, letting her cry as much as she needed.

Only after she had cried herself out and drunk a cup of warm water with a sedative Huang Qian had put in it did Xiao Ya finally fall asleep.

Jiang Nian wrapped her in a thick fleece blanket and carried her back to her room so she could get some proper sleep.

Huang Qian followed him in and pulled the door almost shut.

"...Sister Qian."

Jiang Nian hesitated, but Huang Qian spoke up directly.

"In a world like this, fighting evil with evil often feels more satisfying. I know what you wanted to do that day. If any of the others, Cheng Jing included, had done it, I wouldn't have stopped them. But not you, Jiang Nian. If you'd killed Xiao Ya with your own hands, you definitely would have regretted it. Trading a lifetime of inner turmoil for a moment of satisfying justice isn't worth it."

She understood how Jiang Nian felt, because she too felt like killing people every so often when she ran into those bizarre characters.

"..."

Huang Qian had seen right through him, so Jiang Nian didn't argue.

"Thank you, Sister Qian."

It was true. He had never killed anyone, not even in his previous life. If he really had killed Xiao Ya, the shadow of it would have been branded on his heart for the rest of his life.

Huang Qian waved a hand.

"When someone truly wants to kill, they don't hesitate when it's time to do it. In your heart, you don't think she absolutely has to die-or perhaps you think she deserves to die, but that it shouldn't be you who punishes her. In that case, why put yourself at odds with yourself?"

With that, she patted him and pulled open the door, and they went out together.

Over the past few days, Cheng Jing had asked her and everyone else individually what they thought about taking Xiao Ya in for the time being. No one had objected.

Partly, it was because of the way the authorities were handling the matter. And partly, as Jiang Nian had said, they all knew Xiao Ya was guilty and had done wrong, but she was also just a child who couldn't make her own decisions and had obeyed her family.

Since they couldn't bring themselves to kill her on the spot, and couldn't bear to throw a child out either, all they could do was take her with them for now.

And so, with the whole team in agreement, the matter of temporarily taking Xiao Ya in was settled.

Afterward, Huang Qian went to the command room to complete the paperwork for Xiao Ya's temporary guardianship. Until they reached the base, Xiao Ya would stay with them.

Jiang Nian and Cheng Jing didn't leave until after night had fallen and they had eaten dinner.

From then on, Huang Qian couldn't conveniently accompany the team on its outings because she had to look after Xiao Ya. As a highly capable assistant, she naturally had no trouble taking care of a child.

Occasionally, though, the team took Xiao Ya out with them after scouting the area.

She was an ability user too, after all, and had no problem withstanding the cold. There was no harm in letting her train within reasonable limits.

Xiao Ya's emotions gradually settled, and she no longer needed sedatives. Though quiet, she was well-behaved and obedient.

Only when facing people outside the team did she become especially nervous.

She didn't dare speak or raise her head, afraid that others would learn what she had done, and she felt guilty toward everyone.

She never used her ability again either, no matter how everyone tried to persuade her.

Except when she absolutely had to, Xiao Ya wore gloves, refusing to take them off even when they made eating inconvenient.

Her ability required her to touch the target directly to transfer it, so as long as her hands were covered, she couldn't use it.

Huang Qian knew she couldn't get past it, and didn't press her.

As January began, more and more ability users formed factions of their own. Smaller groups formed teams, while larger ones became various ability user groups.

Ability user organizations began to be employed by the authorities in a relatively formal manner:

They exchanged supplies with the authorities and accepted assignments from them in return for corresponding rewards.

It was a trend, and one that would continue.

But there were exceptions to the trend, and Cheng Jing and his team were among them.

Cheng Jing was an ability user with advance knowledge. Since the apocalypse began, he had taken part in nearly half of the important decisions concerning Qingyun City's apocalypse rescue efforts, and all the suggestions he had made had been adopted.

On top of that, their team had already worked with the authorities before the apocalypse. Thus, after various ability user groups began to emerge, the Qingyun City authorities extended an invitation to their team:

They were invited to join the Qingyun City Apocalypse Ability User Rescue Guild as Team 017.

As the only ability user team in the official guild composed of people outside the authorities, Cheng Jing and his teammates enjoyed the same rights and benefits as the other members, and of course bore the same responsibilities.

There was one condition, however: they could leave the guild at any time.

When Zhou Li extended the invitation, Cheng Jing had proposed that condition as a precaution. His bargaining chip was to stop concealing the fact that all his teammates had awakened abilities.

Across its four districts, the Qingyun City Rescue Guild had a total of forty-one ability user teams. Each of the forty teams composed of official personnel had ten members.

Only Cheng Jing's team had eight.

Jiang Nian didn't count, because joining the guild required registering the details of one's ability. He wanted to keep his hidden, so he could only continue accompanying them as a member of Cheng Jing's family. The same went for Xiao Ya.

Zhou Li said they could invite more teammates as circumstances allowed, but those people would need to pass an official assessment.

The command rooms in each district posted the rescue guild's roster on their office walls for everyone to see.

When they saw that Cheng Jing's "unaffiliated" team had actually received a special invitation from the authorities, the other ability users in the western district reacted in all sorts of ways: schadenfreude, envy, jealousy, and more.

Most of them didn't want to be controlled by the authorities, but still wanted to use their abilities to fleece the authorities amid the apocalyptic disaster.

So naturally, they had mixed feelings about Cheng Jing and his team's situation.

Having joined the official ranks, the teammates gathered that evening for a meal at Cheng Jing's safe house for the first time in a long while.

Huang Qian brought Xiao Ya, who was gradually growing accustomed to living with them.

The adults chatted while the little girl sat to one side, wrapped in a blanket and playing on a game console.

Faced with the dazzling assortment of supplies in the safe house, Xiao Ya didn't ask many questions, nor did she dare help herself to anything to eat. She had made an unforgivable mistake, and it was already very kind of everyone to take her in.

So she had to be good and obedient at all times. That way, she wouldn't be hated or shunned.

Huang Qian felt that although there were many things Xiao Ya didn't understand and she rarely spoke, she understood things in her heart and was willing to learn, so she was growing up quickly.

"I'm afraid we're going to become a thorn in some people's sides. Sigh."

Beauty Huang spoke lazily. After popping a piece of chocolate into Xiao Ya's mouth, she sat down beside the heater, tore open a packet of spicy strips, and began eating.

She sounded worried, but her eyes gleamed with a wild eagerness to give it a try.

Zhao Lei wasn't concerned.

"Whether we're a thorn in their sides or a pain in their necks, I don't care if they envy, resent, or hate us. Anyone who dares pick a fight gets a beating! We weren't afraid before the apocalypse, and we're even less afraid now."

With that, he casually tore open a packet of cold spicy duck necks and started wolfing them down with a crunch.

The others chimed in, all the while stuffing food into their mouths.

Cheng Jing said nothing and volunteered to cook with Liao Yu, who was the least bothered by the cold. Although the young master wasn't much of a cook, he was practiced at helping out.

Jiang Nian took a spicy strip from Huang Qian and chimed in as he ate.

"There aren't many people around yet. Once we reach the base, we'll run into all sorts of weird people and bizarre situations. We might as well get used to it. None of us even knows if we'll live to see tomorrow, so there's no need to indulge anyone. Just fight."

He had never been the sort to shy away from trouble. In his previous life, he had been bound and blinded by so-called family ties, and had come to a miserable, ignoble end.

So in this life, his guiding principle was simple: "Life and death mean nothing, fight anyone who objects."

"Brother Nian is right..."

"Brother Nian makes a good point..."

"Wise words, godfather..."

"..."

At that barrage of compliments and flattery flavored with spicy strips, Jiang Nian nearly choked. Speechless, he pulled the down blanket tighter around himself.

These sons of mine!