The wrinkles at the corners of Sterling’s eyes gathered and twitched uncontrollably.
“Don’t believe him!”
Bai Xiaolu was so anxious that she shouted without caring about anything, “He killed Barret, the leader of the Gold Teeth Brotherhood. He is your best friend. Colonel Sterling, avenge Boss Gold Teeth now!”
“Save your saliva, Student Lu. Look at his eyes. He’s already moved.”
Shao Jinchuan smiled. “I don’t know how such an innocent guy like you survived in the desert for so long.
“You—”
Bai Xiaolu glared at him. “You are not Wan Zanghai!”
“Nonsense.”
Shao Jinchuan replied casually, “Of course not. I killed the real Wan Zanghai and took away his identity bracelet and the storage chip of his cutting-edge water-cleaning technology. It’s as simple as that.”
“Why?”
Bai Xiaolu’s eyes bulged. “Aren’t you on the same side? You are all allies. Isn’t his technology the technology of the ‘alliance’?”
“Yes. His technology is the technology of the ‘alliance’, but it is not the technology of us. Do you not understand such a simple logic?”
Shao Jinchuan sniffed and said, “The two of us worked hard to help the ‘alliance’ keep the secret of the cutting-edge water-cleaning technology. What good does it do for us? On the other hand, killing Wan Canghai and his son and stealing their technology for the ‘contract’ might lead to a different path. Even a fool would know what to choose!
“You—”
Bai Xiaolu completely understood. “You betrayed the ‘alliance’ so easily?”
“Loyalty is irrelevant in the first place. Why are you talking about betrayal?
Shao Jinchuan said, “My father built the ‘New Gold Mountain’ with his life’s work. He planned to make a name for himself in the ‘Alliance’, but it was ruined in the end. Even if he led the main troops to break out of the siege and live under someone else’s roof in other underground metropolises, his political life would still come to an end. Humph. Such a fate is unacceptable for me and my father. Even if there is only a slim chance of success, we will still take the risk and fight to the end. We will either rise to the top or die a graveless death. We will never walk a third path!”
Shao Jinchuan’s ruthlessness made Bai Xiaolu’s heart constrict. There was no telling whether she was ashamed, scared, or angry.
Sterling coughed and looked at Shao Jinchuan. He said slowly, “Let’s go back and check the authenticity of the cutting-edge water-cleaning technology.”
“Of course.”
Shao Jinchuan smiled and made an inviting gesture.
“Colonel Sterling!”
Bai Xiaolu screamed, “He is a murderer! He killed Boss Gold Tooth!”
“Not a colonel. A general.”
Stirling was emotionless. He did not even bother to look at Bai Xiaolu. “Who is he?”
“He is another small gift that I personally gave to General Sterling, a devil who controls the power of the heart. Don’t worry. He has overdrafted himself and burnt his brain. Right now, he cannot even move his little finger.
Shao Jinchuan smiled. “I believe that a devil ability user must have many uses in the laboratory of the ‘contract’, don’t you?”
“Understood.”
Sterling put on a fake smile. “I’m starting to like you. Let’s get rid of the body of the son of the mayor of New Gold Mountain. Take the devil ability user away and inject him with five times the dosage of the hypnotizing drug in case he counterattacks.”
The best soldiers surrounded Bai Xiaolu with their guns.
“In fact, I quite like you. It’s a pity that you value relationships too much. After only a few days, you’ve already fallen out with Boss Gold Tooth. Look at the look in your eyes right now. Tsk tsk tsk tsk. How terrifying. You really are like a devil. How could I dare to keep you?”
Shao Jinchuan smiled at Bai Xiaolu. “Right. Let me tell you one last thing. In fact, the chip that stores the cutting-edge water-cleaning technology does not have a password. When I killed Wan Canghai, I forced him to crack the password. Therefore, if you had been cruel enough to kill me, things might not have ended up like this. Haha. Hahahaha!”
The young man had survived the disaster and even got in touch with the ‘contract’. He was so delighted that he burst into laughter.
But he did not notice that the boy in the dust was smiling, too.
Looking at the ragged body of the Gold Tooth Boss, the expressionless General Stirling, the rocket pilots who were armed to the teeth, and the Citi who had been waved by the Gold Tooth Boss and Shao Jinchuan a moment ago and was now crouching on the ground, the boy was smiling hideously and hideously.
Flag, Boss, Friends, Justice, Agreement, Alliance, Wasteland, Underground, Trust, Transaction, Wine, Strong Player, Country Road, Yesterday Reappears, Hehe, Hehe, Haha, Haha, I’m back!
“Little Lu!”
The boy heard his brother’s exclamation of disbelief. “This is—you—you are actually—”
Hehehehehehe. Hahahahahaha.
Bai Xiaolu’s eyes, which were darker than black holes, were indeed as Shao Jinchuan had described, as if billions of deities had gathered all their grief and fury.
“I’m going to kill you.”
The childish boy stared at the traitorous young man and said solemnly in a low and enchanting voice, “I will kill you ten thousand times!”
“You…”
Shao Jinchuan finally came back to himself. He sensed the endless grief and coldness deep inside Bai Xiaolu’s eyes, but it was too late.
Bai Xiaolu’s brain exploded. Almost a hundred transparent tentacles pierced into the heads of Shao Jinchuan, General Sterling, and all the other rocket pilots like sharp blades!
One of the tentacles even tied up Boss Gold Tooth’s head gently and collected the brainwaves that had not entirely dispersed yet.
“Slither, Slither!”
It was as if the brains of Shao Jinchuan, General Sterling, and all the other rocket pilots had been sucked and swallowed by the boy.
They screamed hysterically, turning from dominators a moment ago into dead fish on a chopping block. Their eyes were rolled back, and their bodies were cramping. They could not have been more terrified.
“Haha. Hahahaha. Is this the outcome that you want? Then come on. Enjoy yourself. Enjoy death and destruction. Enjoy the pain that is even more excruciating than death and destruction. Enjoy everything that the devils in the desert are enduring in silence!
“As for you, Shao Jinchuan, I said that I would kill you ten thousand times. This is the first time. You must remember that.
The boy threw away the boneless young man. His black eyes were glittering. He picked up Boss Gold Tooth’s body and danced in the middle of dozens of twitching bodies.
…
He felt that he was in a dream and did not want to wake up.
Occasionally, when he woke up, he would find himself sitting in the driver’s seat of an off-road vehicle. His brother was controlling his body and driving the off-road vehicle.
“What’s going on?”
He struggled to ask his brother.
“It’s alright now.”
His brother always replied to him in such a gentle way. “It’s all over. We’re fine now.”
“Where is Boss Gold Tooth?”
Occasionally, he could ask more questions with all his strength. “Where are we going?”
“Everybody was killed by us. Boss Gold Tooth was buried deep with his flag, too.
His brother said, “Let’s go west to the territory of the ‘alliance’. Now that we have a suitable identity and the cutting-edge water-cleaning technology as our stepping stone, we might be able to sneak into the underground and live on as the ‘Thousand Treasures Sea’. Remember, from this moment on, you are the Thousand Treasures Sea.”
He did not have the strength to think about anything except sleep. Sometimes, he would hear the sounds of fierce battles and feel the crazy bumps of vehicles.
“It’s the rocket pilots. We’ve stirred up a hornet’s nest. Many rocket pilots are searching for us in the desert.
His brother said, “However, don’t worry, Little Lu. I will send you to the ‘Alliance’ safely.”
He knew that his brother must be over-exhausting his superpowers. He could feel the burning and corroding pain in his brother’s brain every second. Otherwise, how could he have fought against the rocket pilots?
He wanted to persuade his brother to take it easy, but he knew that it was all nonsense. There was no such thing as ‘unintentionally dropped minced meat’. Everything had a price. In the desert, one more second of survival meant a terrible price.
In the end, he was woken up by the noises of cannon fire.
Through the telescope, he saw a large batch of rocket pilots hovering on the horizon, but three weird-looking tanks were rushing on the ground. They were even stronger and more barbaric than the rhino tanks commonly seen in the ‘Alliance’. Two thick barrels were attached to the turrets, and they boasted unparalleled anti-air capabilities, too. They were shooting the rocket pilots who were chasing after them as if they were birds.
“It’s an ‘alliance’!”
His brother was overjoyed. “We are saved! This is the territory of the ‘Alliance’. We’ve finally escaped!”
He smiled, too, but he was somewhat worried. He felt that something bad was about to happen.
“Although there are still a lot of twists and turns ahead, we finally see hope. Little Lu, remember, from this moment on, you are Wan Zanghai. Don’t forget it!”
His brother said, “There’s only one last question. Lu, do you believe in me?”
“Of course.”
He said without any hesitation.
“Then give your body to your brother for another minute. Just one minute will do.”
His brother said.
Without any hesitation, he released all the control over his body and allowed his brother to control it.
“Thank you.”
His brother smiled. “Thank you for trusting me so much.”
His brother picked up a modified automatic rifle with a short barrel from the seat next to him and pointed it at the chest of the body where his brother’s brain was located.
“Brother, what are you doing?”
He was dazed, unable to think at all.
“Little Lu, no, ‘Ah Hai’, it is not easy to pretend to be someone else. In the future, you will certainly encounter a lot of doubts, challenges, and ambushes, but the most fatal problem is not you but me.
His brother said, “Maybe the real Wan Zanghai is already dead, and all his files have been destroyed by Shao Jinchuan. Nobody knows what the real Wan Zanghai looks like. But no matter what he looks like, he cannot be a deformed man, a devil, or an ugly conjoined baby.
“It’s a pity that your brother is not just a brainwave but also half a deformed brain inside your body. With the technology of the ‘Alliance’, they will certainly discover your brother.
“Therefore, your brother’s brain must be removed from your body or blown into pieces.
“Of course, the risk is high, but there’s no other choice. We have to take a gamble. In this black world, there will never be a day when the devil race stands out. Whether you have water purification technology or superpowers, you will only end up as prey.
“You shouldn’t be a prey. You should live a good life. You should go to the underground metropolis and live a happy life.
“Such a fatal wound in the abdomen cannot be treated with the technology on the ground, but the ‘alliance’ should have a solution.
“When you wake up, you will tell the story of what happened on the way as ‘Thousand Treasures Sea’ half true and half false. You will tell the story to the people who rescued you. Then, you will tell them that you were being chased by the rocket pilots and had nowhere to run to. In desperation, you will raise your gun and kill yourself. I hope you can survive. The bullets will clean up your brother and let you fool them.
“Do you understand? I won’t be able to take care of you in the future. You have to rely on yourself for everything. Be smart. Learn more from me, Boss Gold Tooth, and even that bastard Shao Jinchuan. Learn how to live, okay?”
“No!”
He was heartbroken again. “Don’t leave me, brother. First, it was Boss Gold Tooth, and now it’s you. No. I don’t have anything that you can’t do. I can’t!”
“You can do it.”
His brother said, “It’s not until now that I realize that I’ve been a burden to you all this time. My deformed brain has been a burden to your normal brain, making it impossible for you to utilize your own abilities. Chances are that you are the most capable one among the three of us. If I had known earlier, I would’ve left you long ago.”
“No! Let go! Brother! Give me back my body! I won’t allow you to do that!”
He struggled hard, but his body did not move at all. He exerted more and more strength on the trigger.
“Little fool, take care of yourself in the future. Don’t trust other people so easily. Although the underground metropolis is prosperous, maybe it is even more dangerous and cruel than the Furious Blood Wasteland. Brother and Boss Gold Tooth will support you in a different way, but you must be… well!”
His brother said.
“No! No! Never! Never!”
He roared hysterically like a devil child. “I swear that I will turn back time and restart everything. I will stop the war and save you! Whatever the price is, whatever I become, I will! I will! I will!”
“That’s why I said you were stupid.”
His brother was silent for a moment. The last laughter echoed inside his heart. “We don’t need you to save us at all. We only need you to… live on. That’s enough.”
In the distance, the battle between the super tanks of the ‘Alliance’ and the rocket pilots had come to an end.
A super tank carrying several soldiers of the Alliance was rushing toward the off-road vehicle.
BAM BAM BAM!
Dull gunshots came from inside the coach.
Then came the most miserable cry that a boy could make.
“Ah—ah—ah—ah—ah—ah—ah—ah—ah—ah—”
