Kui Qingqing silently looked at Tao Ran in confusion. Tao Ran hugged her waist and looked at her pitifully for a moment before saying, "I was wrong."
Kui Qingqing raised an eyebrow and continued to look at him.
Tao Ran continued, "Sister, you are so delicate and beautiful. How can I let you protect me? Instead, I should be the one protecting you."
As he said that, he grabbed her hand and said, "Sister, let's go. That fierce uncle is chasing after us."
Tao Ran pulled her, but she didn't budge. He pulled again, but still couldn't move her. By this time, the metal ability user had caught up to them. Determined, Tao Ran clenched his teeth and positioned himself in front of Kui Qingqing as if ready to sacrifice himself, saying, "I'll hold him off. Sister, run!"
The metal superpower user emitted a wicked laugh and lashed out his hands towards them, shouting, "Die!"
Tao Ran closed his eyes in nervousness, but then he won the bet. Suddenly, he heard a scream like a pig being slaughtered. Tao Ran opened his eyes and saw the metal superpower user convulsing on the ground.
In a state of shock, Tao Ran stared blankly at the convulsing man before turning his head and saw Kui Qingqing raise her right hand, a bright red flame blossoming in her palm.
Tao Ran stared at her for a moment, then took a step back with a pale face.
Kui Qingqing looked at him mockingly and quipped, "What? Don't want to protect me anymore?"
Tao Ran stood there like a bullied wife, his lips tightly pursed in silence.
Kui Qingqing rolled her eyes, "Get lost!"
Without paying attention to Tao Ran's reaction, she turned around and began to walk away. Tao Ran called out to her, "Sister, what's your name?"
Kui Qingqing turned her head, showing a fierce and menacing grin at Tao Ran, she snarled at him, "Do you want to die?!"
Tao Ran, though clearly looked scared, still his curiosity seemed to prevail. He asked, "Sister, please tell me. In case I become a superpower user in the future, I'll come find you, and then I won't be afraid of you anymore."
Kui Qingqing's eyes flickered briefly, then she resumed her cold and mocking demeanor. Smirking, she replied, "My name is Kui Qingqing. If you have the ability to find me alive, I'll protect you."
Tao Ran kept his eyes on Kui Qingqing's retreating figure. Meanwhile, the metal superpower user, who had been knocked out by her earlier, was starting to regain consciousness behind him. The person remained sprawled on the ground, emitting groans of discomfort with his eyes still closed tightly.
Tao Ran saw that Kui Qingqing had already gone far away, anger grew in his heart, fueling his courage. Driven by his emotions, he turned around and charged towards the pitiful metal superpower user lying defenseless on the ground. In an indescribable manner, he delivered a series of kicks to the area above the user's thighs and below the abdomen. The hapless metal superpower user widened his bewildered eyes and passed out once again due to the intense pain.
After retracting his foot, he scornfully said, "If you're looking for someone to blame, blame your own bad luck. Who asked you to mess with the wrong person!"
Hastily, Tao Ran made his way towards the rear of the base. By the time he arrived, several superpower users had already gathered. Just as he was growing anxious, a soldier who had previously been kicked by Tao Ran noticed him while shooting at the superpower users. The soldier exclaimed with joy, "Are you alright? Come over here quickly!"
Tao Ran recognized the soldier—it was the same one he had kicked earlier. Taking advantage of the soldier's cover, Tao Ran boarded the retreat vehicle and joined the rest of the troops. Due to the lack of alertness among the people residing in tents, there were significant casualties. Consequently, there were fewer individuals left to retreat together, and there were no incidents of anyone being unable to get on the vehicle.
Chao Feng had been controlled by someone, afraid that he would impulsively get out of the car to find his son.
He was handcuffed to the vehicle, futilely struggling against the restraints. The thought of his precious son possibly being dead, caused an agonizing ache in his heart. A forty-year-old man found himself in a tearful mess, sobbing uncontrollably. The soldier assigned to guard him also felt uncomfortable seeing his emotional breakdown and attempted to console him, saying, "You're still young, you can have another child. The country's policies have changed now. You don't have to raise the child on your own; the country will provide assistance."
This soldier was not particularly good at comforting people, and Chao Feng felt an overwhelming urge to jump off the car to commit suicide. He covered his face, trembling all over, blaming himself, "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have entered there first. "If only I had walked behind him, I could have sacrificed myself in his stead."
The soldier was deeply touched by the profound fatherly love reflected in Chao Feng's words. Having grown up without a father, hearing such sentiments made him realize that there was really a father's love like a mountain in the world. Moved by this realization, he gently patted Chao Feng's shoulder and said, "Stop crying. You know, I'm not much older than your son. How about I recognize you as my father?"
Chao Feng, overwhelmed by grief, covered his face and uttered, "I don't want..."
"Dad... Dad..."
In a daze, Chao Feng thought he heard someone calling him "dad." Feeling pain and irritation, he snapped, "Don't call me dad. I won't acknowledge you as my son!"
The soldier's expression turned blank, "I didn't call you that."
Chao Feng suddenly looked up, scanned his surroundings, and saw Tao Ran catching up on the vehicle behind. He was so excited that he froze, and his lips couldn't stop trembling as he looked at Tao Ran.
As the two vehicles drew closer, Tao Ran stood on his vehicle and effortlessly leaped onto Chao Feng's vehicle in one swift motion. The soldier behind him praised, "Impressive skills!"
Tao Ran stepped on the hand of the soldier who was about to grab his dad and said, "Dad, I'm back. Why are you crying?"
The soldier clutched his hand so painfully that his face was full of lovelessness, his steel-like willpower could not stop the tears from streaming down his face.
Chao Feng glared at Tao Ran and muttered, "You little brat!"
Initially, he had intended to scold or even hit him for causing so much worry, but he couldn't bring himself to do it in the end. Chao Feng reached out, embraced Tao Ran, and vigorously ruffled his hair. He asked, "Are you injured? Dad was so worried about you. Just now, someone insisted on making me his dad..."
In the midst of the convoy, the highest-ranking officer furrowed his brow in distress and asked, "Dr. Zhen couldn't catch up?"
"No," a soldier replied, "When we rushed into the small building to rescue Dr. Zhen, it was already taken over by the humanoids. There were fires raging everywhere. Dr. Zhen is just an ordinary person, and under those circumstances, it's unlikely we can bring her back."
The officer looked distressed as he gazed ahead and said, "Now that we've lost Dr. Zhen, my time as a leader is likely coming to an end."
Inside the small building of the base, Zhen Ling covered her mouth and nose, hiding in a corner cabinet. Although the sea of fire had yet to reach her, the scorching heat of the flames was close to scorching her. She knew that if she didn't escape soon, she might perish in the fire. However, she also knew that the people outside had not left yet, and the superhumans held deep resentment towards ordinary individuals—they would not show her mercy.
Zhen Ling couldn't hold back any longer and coughed. She felt a sense of despair, awaiting the pronouncement of her death.
Amidst a loud crash, the cupboard she was hiding in shattered into pieces. Zhen Ling was confronted by the sea of fire, with a man engulfed in lightning standing before her. Looking at him, she didn't feel fear but rather a sense of pity. They were both human beings, yet due to changes in their bodies, they had become outcasts, condemned to a life of secrecy—it was truly a pitiful.
Zhen Ling could no longer hold on and collapsed. In her final moments, she seemed to see the lightning on the man's body disappear, and a strong hand securely caught her.
Tao Ran woke up in the middle of the night, feeling a chill engulfing his body. He instinctively moved closer to Chao Feng, who was beside him. In his half-asleep state, Chao Feng hugged Tao Ran, who was shivering all over.
After a while, Chao Feng finally sensed that something was wrong and asked, "What's wrong?"
Tao Ran, feeling uncomfortable, couldn't even open his eyes. "I'm cold..."
Chao Feng touched Tao Ran's forehead and realized it was burning hot.
"You have a fever?" Chao Feng sat up nervously and removed his own coat to cover Tao Ran. However, Tao Ran continued to shiver. Chao Feng held him in his arms, along with the clothes, thinking that perhaps Tao Ran had been frightened earlier, caught a cold, and developed a fever.
Just as he was contemplating when they would reach the new base to get some medicine, the soldier who had brought Tao Ran back turned around from the co-pilot's seat and inquired, "What's wrong?"
Chao Feng replied, "He seems to have a fever."
The soldier checked Tao Ran's condition and said, "Wait a moment, I'll get some medicine."
He stopped the car and went to the vehicle at the back to get it. He returned with a bottle of water and a box of medicine, handing them to Chao Feng, saying, "We only have this for now. Take this medicine and wait until we reach the base to see a doctor."
Chao Feng expressed his gratitude repeatedly and fed the medicine to Tao Ran.
Initially, Tao Ran still felt cold, but gradually, he felt nothing. He drifted into a dream-like state, as if he were asleep. He dreamt of a jumble of things, some from his past experiences and others were random thoughts, a chaotic mess where nothing was clear. When he regained some consciousness, he seemed to hear a tumultuous noise around him.
A man was shouting hoarsely, "Don't take away my son! Don't take him away..."
After the convoy retreated to the new base, an emergency meeting was convened. The leader from City A said, "The situation unfolded abruptly. By the time we mobilized a rescue team for Dr. Zhen, it was already too late."
Someone immediately interjected, "Dr. Zhen is currently the most promising scientist to find a solution in this field. We cannot afford to lose her."
"But she..."
"She's not dead," the aged general spoke, his voice filled with determination. "She's still alive, in the hands of Qin Ke."
Upon hearing this, everyone's expression turned grave.
"I will immediately organize personnel and spare no effort to rescue Dr. Zhen at any cost."
"But how can we save her? Qin Ke has taken her back to their headquarters. Do you have any means to safely bring her back?" someone inquired, voicing the concerns shared by all.
Aware of the daunting challenge ahead, the group was consumed by worry. Just then, someone came to report outside.
The admiral, feeling irritated, said distractedly, "Come in."
The soldier entered the room and reported, "Reporting to the chief, a new superpowered individual has been discovered in the base."
Tao Ran felt someone tugging at him. Struggling to open his eyes, he realized it was Chao Feng, who was desperately pulling him while shouting, "Don't take away my son! He's not a mutant, he's not!"
A nearby soldier interjected, "We have detected signs of mutation in him, and his current symptoms align with the emergence of supernatural powers. If you don't let go, we will be forced to take action."
Feeling weak and confused, Tao Ran asked Xiao Mei, "What's happening?"
Xiao Mei replied, "Host, you have awakened your superpower ability."