“Bai Zemin.”
As Bai Zemin regretted over the misfortune and wondered how to appease those who were fighting in the hope of seeing their loved ones again but still raising their weapons for his cause, the soft voice of Wu Yijun’s mother served to bring him out of the gloom in which he found himself.
“Yes?”
Sun Ling did not know what Bai Zemin was thinking, she had no way of knowing. But in fact, it wasn’t hard for an observant woman like her to notice that when the crush of her daughter opened the notebook and saw the contents his shoulders slumped weakly and the sparkle in his eyes dimmed noticeably. Maybe it was for that reason and because he was the person her daughter loved but Sun Ling couldn’t help wishing to lift his spirit a little.
“I know that there are not enough words to ease the pain and that no matter what word it is can never truly soothe the death of a person. However, I am sure that your fallen comrades would definitely not blame you for the deaths or disappearances of their loved ones.” Sun Ling said with a comforting smile on her face. “You are only a little over 20 years old but you managed to travel thousands and thousands of miles in the midst of this world where death lurks around every corner. I’m sure there were more than a few times when the weight on your shoulders caused your knees to weaken… But even then you did not give in. Look at you now, didn’t you keep your promise? You led your team safely this much… Now, instead of mourning for those who are not here, wouldn’t it be better to think about how to help those in need?”
Bai Zemin looked at the woman in front of him and sighed in his heart. Without realizing it, he couldn’t stop five words from escaping his mouth, “I am sorry, aunt Sun.”
“You’re sorry?” Sun Ling blinked. “Why are you apologizing to me?”
“…No, it’s nothing.” Bai Zemin shook his head after regaining his composure. There was no way he could tell her that he was apologizing because while she and her family were showing him kindness, he was thinking of how to usurp leadership from them.
Even if after taking over everything Bai Zemin bestowed upon the Wu Family an unshakable position within his government, it was a fact that he was a rule usurper. But in fact, Bai Zemin did not regret about this fact; he regretted because he knew that all goodness and goodwill would most certainly fade away once the truth was revealed.
Just at that moment and as Meng Qi and Wu Yijun continued whispering quietly words that only the two of them could hear, another person appeared in the doorway of the spacious living room.
“Oh? What a surprise!”
Everyone looked toward the entrance and immediately found Wu Keqian taking off his coat, proof that he had clearly just arrived home. Besides, judging by the tired expression on his face it seemed that he had a lot of work recently which had kept him from sleeping properly.
“Uncle Wu, how are you?” Bai Zemin stood up out of respect as he wondered what kind of situation was causing a Second Order soul evolver to be so tired.
The reason Bai Zemin respected Wu Keqian was because the man was not only Wu Yijun’s father but also because he had somehow or other helped his family. Moreover, even though Bai Zemin had yet to tour the base, from what he had seen so far it looked like Wu Keqian was a ruler of good quality; another reason why Bai Zemin respected the man.
“Oh, young friend… I wish I were better.” Wu Keiqan smiled bitterly and turned to his daughter to greet her.
Wu Yijun seemed calmer about the sentimental situation in which her family had become embroiled and of which Bai Zemin had learned two days ago thanks to his father casually mentioning it. She greeted her father with a kiss on the cheek and even smiled without pressure, proof that she was really getting better at accepting that times had changed.
Wu Keqian greeted his wife with a gentle kiss on the lips and Sun Ling even responded with a light caress on his face, much to the relief of Wu Yijun who upon seeing the interaction between her parents smiled brightly.
Bai Zemin was also relieved to see that everything seemed fine at least on the surface. Honestly, he didn’t mind polygamy or monogamy as long as all parties involved accepted it. If everyone accepted it willingly and could be happy, why would they have to worry about what people would say? Screw society’s thoughts; a society that no longer existed as a whole.
“Uh? Young lady, it’s you! Hahaha, it really is fate. To think that you were actually this Bai Zemin guy’s younger sister!” Wu Keqian looked really happy about seeing Meng Qi.
“Mayor Wu, how are you?” Meng Qi replied with a respectful expression on her face.
“Stop, stop calling me Mayor anything.” Wu Yijun’s father waved his hand and said in a self-mockery voice, “Just call me uncle Wu, child. My title as Mayor of Changping District is just an empty title that has no use for anything now. At most, it could only be used to transmit the radio signal… but with the electricity out it’s not even good for that anymore.”
Meng Qi only smiled slightly in response and didn’t comment further on the matter. Being honest with herself, Meng Qi knew that while she respected and in a way was grateful to Wu Keqian, she was also slightly disgusted. However, Meng Qi also knew that the current world order was no longer the same as in the past and it was questionable if it would ever be again, so the matter of Sun Jie could only be ignored as much as possible.
“Father, did something happen?” Wu Yijun asked once her father took a seat.
Wu Keqian sighed and as he took a sip of the tea Sun Ling poured for him he nodded, “Two days ago one of our unmanned drones found a city under construction about 1500 kilometers from our current position in a northerly direction. According to reports, the number of survivors working is at least a few thousand so we can assume that it is a faction with considerable power.”
“What?” The eyes of Sun Ling widened in shock and she couldn’t help but point out in disbelief, “But how can such a thing even be possible? Didn’t we unite all the small factions in the north under our rule after wiping out the bandits who abused of their power?”
Due to her disbelief, Sun Ling did not notice that the expression of the two young people sitting in front of her changed slightly, as well as that of her daughter sitting next to her. The same was true for Wu Keqian as due to mental fatigue at the possibility of a powerful enemy did not allow him to be aware of his surroundings as he continued to explain in a low voice:
“Worst of all, our drone was destroyed before it could pick up more about the other party and all the scouts we sent afterward did not return even now.”
Bang!
Sun Ling slammed the wooden table in front of her and without realizing how much strength she was using the table exploded into thousands of tiny fragments. The splinter flew everywhere and the maidservants outside the room jumped in fright.
“How dare they…” Sun Ling’s voice was quite scary, much more dangerous than when she was talking to Bai Zemin and the others. “Those bandits. They are surely no different from all the others who force the weak to work for a measly piece of bread or slaughter anyone who doesn’t move their hands fast.”
“Calm down, Ling.” Wu Keqian took his wife’s hand and shook his head, “There is no use in grumbling.”
Wu Yijun looked at Bai Zemin worriedly while Meng Qi quickly calmed down as she saw that her big brother’s expression was composed after hearing and witnessing all this. Meng Qi knew Bai Zemin practically like the back of her hand; even before the apocalypse, there was nothing he couldn’t accomplish when he set his mind to it let alone the current him.
Wu Yijun was worried because now that the Transcendent faction had been found it was highly probable that with her parents’ personalities a battle would break out soon… and this was precisely what she least wanted to happen!
“Actually, it seems that the other side does not wish to be enemies with us.” Wu Keqian suddenly said. His voice contained a certain tinge of confusion as he said in a low voice, “Although our scouts didn’t return, they weren’t actually killed either… According to Xiao Cha’s skill, the vitality of the five White Tiger guild members specializing in Agility hasn’t dropped even a bit after they were captured.”
“Eh?” Sun Ling looked at him more and more confused, “What does it all mean?”
“You ask me but who am I going to ask?” Wu Keqian forced a smile and said with hidden bitterness, “The other side doesn’t seem to have the intention of fighting, maybe it’s because they are too busy with the construction of the city? But this is also good for us.”
“Uncle Wu, can I ask a question?”
“Em?” Wu Keqian looked at Bai Zemin and said easily, “Kid, you saved my daughter’s life and in the future, you might even be my son-in-law. Ask whatever you have to ask.”
Wu Yijun was so nervous that she didn’t even have time to bother blushing at her father’s words. On the other hand, Meng Qi raised both eyebrows and wondered what kind of expression the man in front of her would put on if he knew that the person he had just referred to as a potential future son-in-law was actually aiming for his seat.
Bai Zemin also suppressed the unease he felt and asked in a serious voice, “What is your real target?”
“My real target?” Wu Keqian muttered with wide eyes.
“Right. Your real target.” Bai Zemin nodded before slowly explaining, “Currently, uncle Wu’s faction has over 200,000 survivors and among them almost 50% are military personnel regardless if most of them are new recruits without too much experience. On the other hand, the faction established under the name ‘China Renaissance’ practically rules an entire large district. My question is… Uncle Wu, do you plan to rule over China and become the new founding father?”
The atmosphere inside the room suddenly became slightly heavy when Bai Zemin asked that question. Wu Yijun’s breathing became stagnant and her hands began to become sweaty after realizing that this question might be a more than crucial point for the future.
Meng Qi silently watched Wu Keqian and in her heart, she hoped that the man’s answer would not be directed in a direction antagonistic to her brother Bai Zemin… For everyone’s sake.
Sun Ling looked at Bai Zemin breathlessly. Even she had not dared to ask Wu Keqian such a question, but the young man in front of her had not only dared to ask such a delicate question but from the calm expression on his face Sun Lin could tell that there was not even a hint of fear in him. This confused and surprised her tremendously as Sun Ling was sure that Bai Zemin was fully aware that Wu Keqian was an extremely powerful Second Order warrior!
Did he think that just because Wu Yijun was in love with him that his head was safe? Because if this was the reason behind his confidence then Sun Ling would really look down on him and mock herself for holding such a person in high esteem.
“…Kid, you really are brave to ask such a question without even hesitating.” Wu Keqian also looked at Bai Zemin with surprise.
“Uncle Wu… Do you think that a person who came out alive from seas of zombies and crawled out of seas of blood can be afraid of death?” Bai Zemin sighed and his eyes flashed with complex light when he said these words.
Wu Keqian naturally thought that Bai Zemin was exaggerating. After all, while he knew that the young man in front of him had to fight many enemies and go through hundreds of thousands to cross the Eastern Dragon’s Back, things like getting out alive from seas of zombies and crawling out of seas of blood were something that even a Second Order existence like him could not accomplish let alone a First Order soul evolver.
However, Wu Keqian understood the essence in Bai Zemin’s words. Therefore, he nodded and said with satisfaction, “A true man is not afraid to fight to the death, let alone in this world.”
After a pause, Wu Keqian let his back rest on the back of the sofa and said slowly, “As for your previous question… I have no plans to rule at all.”
“Eh?” Bai Zemin couldn’t help but look at him with genuine surprise.
In fact, not only him; everyone in the room looked at Wu Keqian in shock. However, Wu Yijun’s eyes immediately sparkled with delight as Meng Qi sighed with relief in her heart.
On the other hand, Sun Ling looked at her husband in confusion. The ambitious Wu Keqian had really just said those words of his own free will? She could not believe her ears.
However, Wu Keqian’s next words cleared all doubts.
