Chapter 513: Chapter 507: Grandiose

"Commander, let’s just retreat! We can always come back and settle this later!"

’That woman is terrifyingly fierce. We’re not going to win a direct confrontation.’

We could have escaped safely, but for some reason, the Commander’s brain short-circuited again and he ordered us to return.

Chen Zhaowei whipped his head around and glared viciously at him.

He wished he could just slap his stupid deputy across the face.

’More harm than good!’

’If this oaf hadn’t been in such a rush when they left, failing to bring Subject Zero, he never would have turned back to court this disaster.’

’And now he has the nerve to shriek at me?’

"Seeing your masterful Gold Ability, you must be the world’s number one Gold Element expert, Xie Ning, correct?" Chen Zhaowei lowered his voice, doing his best to speak to Xie Ning in a perfectly placid tone.

"I am Chen Zhaowei, the new commander of Gushang Base. We can actually sit down and have a proper discussion. We are all fellow human beings; our ultimate goals are aligned."

The words had barely left his mouth when a series of screams erupted around him.

In the instant his mind went blank, Chen Zhaowei saw a figure burst from the sandstorm, a massive, glittering golden hammer plummeting toward his head.

"Commander, watch out!" his deputy yelled, being the first to scramble aside.

In contrast to his treacherous deputy, two loyal guards actually rushed forward. With a wave of their hands, two shields instantly combined.

Unfortunately, no matter how sturdy the shield was, it could not withstand a full-force blow from a High-level Gold Ability User.

The shield exploded into fragments, and with two sickening CRACKS, the guards’ arms snapped and hung limply.

At the same time, the immense force sent them flying into the crowd, knocking several of their comrades to the ground with pained cries.

Chen Zhaowei’s chest constricted with rage, a frustrated cry nearly bursting from his lips.

’What kind of woman was this?’

’So unladylike!’

’She attacked without a moment’s hesitation, her hammer striking with incredible force. Not even several men combined could stop it.’

Chen Zhaowei’s face flushed crimson. He opened his mouth, his voice ringing with indignant fury. "Xie Ning, stop! Do you even know what you’re doing?"

"We are all human! We should be joining forces to fight our enemies, not turning on each other and creating internal conflict!"

"You’ve killed so many researchers from our Gushang Base. This is a tragedy for all of humankind! Do you know how much those researchers could have contributed to our species’ survival?"

"And now they’ve all died innocent deaths at your hands! Anyone with an ounce of humanity wouldn’t be capable of such a thing."

"Commander, you should really stop talking. At a time like this, it would be much better to get on your knees and beg for mercy," the deputy advised from where he was hiding off to the side, smacking his lips with an air of earnest persuasion.

’Kneel, my ass!’ Chen Zhaowei, incandescent with rage, whipped his head around to glare at his mustachioed deputy, his eyebrows unconsciously twisting into a knot. "Ji Xiuming, shut your mouth."

"Ji Xiuming, are you scared stupid?" a fair-skinned young man huddled beside Chen Zhaowei said, glaring at the mustachioed deputy. "Now is not the time to be a smartass! Think of a way out of this!"

"Are you trying to tell me what to do?" the mustachioed deputy scoffed. "You’re the fucking idiot, and your whole family with you! I’m telling the truth."

"Take a look at your men. Can they stop her? Now is not the time to be worried about saving face. Of course, kneeling and begging is the better option!" Xiao Huzi rolled his eyes. "If you won’t beg for mercy, then I will!"

No sooner had he spoken than he threw himself prostrate on the ground. He produced a white flag from who-knows-where and waved it feebly. "Ma’am! Ma’am, I surrender! Don’t kill me, don’t kill me! I’ll tell you everything!"

The men around Chen Zhaowei had thought the man was joking.

Seeing him act this way, they were all completely dumbfounded.

By this point, Xie Ning had already dealt with the guards in front of her. She retracted her Metal Wings and landed on the ground.

She glanced over at Ji Xiuming and saw the mustachioed man immediately break from the crowd, scrambling and tumbling until he was at her feet. He then tilted his head up and gave her a fawning grin.

"Ma’am, I have information! I’ll expose them! Everything with the lab was orchestrated by Chen Zhaowei and his boy-toy, Fan Yusen! The rest of us had little to do with it."

Xie Ning looked down, her eyes falling on Xiao Huzi.

The man’s mustache was waxed into a slight, upward curl.

He had a habit of constantly stroking his mustache as he spoke.

Ji Xiuming wasn’t an ugly man, but his mustache was hard on the eyes.

"Ma’am, I have evidence. I can submit all of it."

"As his deputy, I just helped manage the base’s residents. Chen Zhaowei never let me get involved in the heinous acts in that lab. He trusts the pretty boy at his side, Fan Yusen, far more than he trusts me."

Hearing Xiao Huzi call him "pretty boy" over and over, the fair-skinned man’s face flushed with rage. He snarled, "Ji Xiuming, you shameless son of a bitch!"

’He’d really say anything to save his own skin!’

Xie Ning stared at him for a long moment before saying coolly, "The photos and data the Capital received."

"Yes, I sent all of it! And I was the one who moved heaven and earth to get people to send out the distress signal!" Xiao Huzi nodded his head like a bobblehead.

These words made Chen Zhaowei’s chest ache with rage.

"It was you?!"

’No wonder so many people from the Capital had descended on Gushang Base overnight!’

’Chen Zhaowei had been wondering what they were thinking. Did these people from the Capital have nothing better to do than suddenly show up on his turf and cause trouble?’

’It’s true what they say: you can guard against an outside enemy, but it’s impossible to guard against a thief from within.’

’To think there was a traitor in his own ranks!’

Chen Zhaowei was so furious he wanted to rush forward and strangle Ji Xiuming.

But Xiao Huzi, now feeling emboldened, ducked behind Xie Ning. He peeked half his head out and taunted comically, "Come on, then! Bring it on! I’ve been sick of your guts for a long time! You shameless bastard, gambling with the lives of so many people in the base."

"You got the guts? Come and get me! See if the Ma’am here doesn’t pulp you with one swing of her hammer!"

The few guards still standing by Chen Zhaowei’s side now looked at Xiao Huzi with expressions that were difficult to put into words.

The fair-skinned young man beside Chen Zhaowei quickly tugged on his sleeve, his face a mask of anxiety. "Zhaowei, what do we do now?"

"Xie Ning." Chen Zhaowei took a deep breath and forced a smile that was uglier than a sob. "Don’t listen to that brat Ji Xiuming’s ramblings. He’s just trying to fool you."

"Who do you think I did all this for? It was for all of us, for all of humanity! If the lab’s experiments had succeeded, we would have all been the beneficiaries!"

Xie Ning raised an eyebrow, uttering a rare, sarcastic remark. "Experimenting on a group of children was for humanity?"

"Of course!" Chen Zhaowei stood a little straighter, his tone sanctimonious. "I’m sure I don’t have to tell any of you how low the survival rate for young children is in this post-apocalyptic world."

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