Ch 166: The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

That night, Song Kaiji took Shen Qing to see Chen Jiaxi.

Now, they had to be even more careful not to show any signs of familiarity. Although Feng Hao no longer trusted Chen Jiaxi, the officials and military leadership had not accepted his claims, so they still had to keep up the act.

It was late, and Chen Jiaxi was home alone—her husband and child were not there. Seeing Song Kaiji carrying Shen Qing suddenly appear in her living room, she let out a sigh of relief. “You finally came. I thought you would come looking for me last night.”

She had waited the whole night for nothing.

Shen Qing seemed like he wanted to say something, but before he could, Chen Jiaxi preemptively apologized. “I’m sorry. I looked into your memories.”

Song Kaiji: !!!

He stared at Shen Qing in shock. Yesterday, only Shen Qing had faced Chen Jiaxi directly. From her expression, he had guessed that she had read his mind. But the rest of the team, who had been kept at a distance, had no idea. Tang Wenjie had even praised Chen Jiaxi for being quick-witted, managing to disguise Shen Qing as their dormitory roommate in such a short time.

“You… you broke your oath. You swore on your child—” Song Kaiji stammered. Shen Qing carried so many secrets, and now Chen Jiaxi knew them all. This… this—

He couldn’t even say what exactly would happen next, but his instincts screamed danger.

However, Chen Jiaxi shook her head. “I didn’t tell anyone.”

Back then, Shen Qing had indeed made her swear on her child that she would never look into his mind. But when she swore, she had slightly altered the wording:

“I, Chen Jiaxi, swear to the heavens that I will never look into your memories in this lifetime, nor the memories of those around you. And if I ever accidentally do so, I will take the secret to my grave and never tell anyone.”

Shen Qing had been satisfied at the time and had accepted her modified oath.

Song Kaiji was stunned. “So… you planned this loophole from the start, anticipating today’s situation?”

“How could I have possibly foreseen this?” Chen Jiaxi ruffled her hair in frustration. Back then, her child had been on the brink of death. She didn’t have the time or energy to scheme. Besides, she hadn’t even known about Shen Qing’s secrets then—she had thought he was just someone with a bit of background. What could possibly be worth reading in his mind?

It was only after seeing Shen Qing in Feng Hao’s memories that she became curious. But now, she deeply regretted it.

She had taken a massive risk—breaking her oath, potentially falling out with Shen Qing and his group—just to confirm her suspicion that Shen Qing came from another world. And based on his attire in Feng Hao’s memories, she had deduced that it was likely an ancient world.

Since meeting Shen Qing, especially after going to Zizhou, she had noticed that he disappeared from Red City Base at regular intervals. No one knew where he went, but when he returned, he always had supplies.

Did that mean Shen Qing could return to his original world and bring back resources?

She hadn’t intended for Shen Qing to notice that she had peeked. She had no plans to tell anyone. She just wanted to quietly find the entrance and, without Shen Qing knowing, sneak her entire family over. Or, like Shen Qing, become a smuggler between two worlds.

Surely that wouldn’t count as breaking her oath, right? Chen Jiaxi tried to convince herself.

But when she locked eyes with Shen Qing, the shock she felt wasn’t just from discovering he came from another world—it was from realizing that only Shen Qing could travel between them.

She had clearly seen in his memories how much he wanted to bring Song Kaiji over. They had tried countless methods, even had his mother, Miao Shi, attempt to pass through. But the cave remained indifferent, opening only for Shen Qing.

Chen Jiaxi let out a bitter laugh. What a waste of effort. And in the process, she had offended Shen Qing.

Although she no longer needed anything from Shen Qing, she still felt ashamed and guilty. Lowering her voice, she said, “I won’t betray you. I kept quiet yesterday, and I swear I won’t say anything now.”

But at this point, her promises felt utterly hollow.

Shen Qing rubbed his forehead. What was done was done. He couldn’t just erase the memories from Chen Jiaxi’s mind, could he? But trusting her like before? That was impossible.

Chen Jiaxi understood that too.

The three sat in silence for a while before she finally spoke. “I really am sorry. No matter whether you still trust me or not, I will make it up to you.” She hesitated before adding, “If you run into trouble, maybe I can give you some advice.”

She was, of course, referring to Lantang Village. At this point, Shen Qing had no more secrets in front of her.

To Chen Jiaxi, many of Shen Qing’s actions weren’t particularly clever. Of course, considering that he was a… well, a small ger from ancient times, it had taken her some time to wrap her head around that concept. Her gaze flickered between Shen Qing and Song Kaiji.

For someone who had been illiterate barely a year ago and had come from the lowest rungs of ancient society, Shen Qing had achieved an impressive amount. He was already very intelligent and capable.

But to someone like Chen Jiaxi, an evolved psychic ability user with vast experience, his tactics were still too immature and full of flaws. If Shen Qing was willing to maintain their cooperation, even if he didn’t treat her as close as Qu Weiwei, they could still work together for mutual benefit.

She had nothing to gain from betraying him now. If even Song Kaiji couldn’t pass through the cave, there was no point in scheming. Instead, it would be better to play the role of an advisor and secure herself some advantages.

Shen Qing: …

He had to admit, he was amazed by Chen Jiaxi. How could she break an oath one moment and the next, talk about future cooperation like nothing had happened? Did she really think a simple apology was enough to sweep everything under the rug?

Oh right, according to her, she hadn’t broken her oath. She had just exploited a loophole.

Shen Qing didn’t agree to anything. He simply waved her off. “Forget it. As for the rest… we’ll talk later.”

He and Song Kaiji didn’t linger and quickly left her home. Once they returned to their bedroom in the villa, Song Kaiji asked, “Do you still trust Chen Jiaxi?”

Shen Qing remained silent. In his view, whether he trusted her or not no longer mattered. What mattered was—even if they didn’t trust her, what could they do about it?

When it came to scheming, they couldn’t outthink Chen Jiaxi. When it came to combat, they couldn’t overpower the officials and the military’s overwhelming numbers of ability users.

Even though their team was one of the strongest in Red City Base, compared to the military and government, they were still nothing more than ants trying to fight an elephant. If someone locked them up with an ability-restricting device, their most powerful members would be reduced to ordinary people.

Shen Qing sprawled on the bed, feeling frustrated. “I’ve clearly gotten stronger. I have more leverage than before. So why does life feel even harder now?”

Song Kaiji thought for a moment, then gave an example—something they had learned in school.

He compared people to circles. The area inside the circle represented what a person knew. The more they knew, the larger the circle grew. But as the circle expanded, its boundary with the unknown also increased.

“Maybe difficulties are the same,” Song Kaiji said, carefully placing a hand on Shen Qing’s stomach. “The stronger you become, the bigger the problems you face. Back in the village, your biggest concern was probably what to eat every day. But now, it’s different. Now, you have to deal with more complex challenges.”

He looked up at Shen Qing, only to find that at some point, he had already fallen asleep.

Song Kaiji: …

After a moment, he chuckled. That’s fine too. If things feel overwhelming, just sleep and deal with them later.

Watching Shen Qing’s peaceful face, he thought to himself—if things got too dangerous here, Shen Qing should just leave. He could take their child and go.

He didn’t know if their child would be able to pass through the cave. But he had already made up his mind—Shen Qing must give birth in the other world.

If their child couldn’t cross over… then so be it. He would rather never see his child than have them be born in this apocalyptic world.

And as for him… he could take Zhang Sujuan and leave Red City Base. They could find a place not too far away and build a small stronghold of their own. If Qu Weiwei and Tang Wenjie were willing to join them, they could still hunt zombies, collect crystal cores, and take on missions together. If not… well, Song Kaiji could understand. In that case, he’d just have to rely on Shen Qing to support him.

Lying beside Shen Qing, Song Kaiji’s thoughts drifted idly. But this was only his last resort—if he truly had no way to resist the base’s government and military. If he couldn’t afford to provoke them, he could at least avoid them, right? Worst case scenario, he’d hide away in the mountains, train like a madman, and only come back to exact his revenge once he was strong enough. A gentleman’s revenge is never too late, even after ten years—

But things hadn’t reached that point yet.

The military and government officials had all believed Chen Jiaxi’s words. Shao Nan seemed remorseful, and only Feng Hao still refused to let go of Shen Qing. As long as they got rid of Feng Hao, they should have a period of peace.

Qu Weiwei had stopped working at the Third Farm. She had never been particularly willing in the first place, and after everything that had happened, the friendship they had carefully maintained with the military—especially with Shao Nan—had completely fallen apart.

Shao Nan had come by twice to apologize and even tried to convince Qu Weiwei to return to work, but she was unmoved. Instead, she cleared out the shop the military had given them for permanent use, preparing to shut it down.

“This was really just a misunderstanding! We weren’t siding with Feng Hao, we were just following protocol. And now that the protocol has been followed, isn’t everything fine?” Shao Nan’s voice grew more and more uncertain. He had been told to placate them, but he also genuinely didn’t want to lose Shen Qing’s team as friends. Besides…

He glanced at Qu Weiwei.

But she never once looked him in the eye. “I understand. I really do.” She pulled down a military-issued banner that had been hanging in the shop, rolled it up, and shoved it into his arms. “We haven’t made any demands, have we? We haven’t asked for compensation from the military, nor have we demanded a public apology or for Feng Hao to be punished. We’re just choosing not to run this shop anymore. Why are you so anxious?”

Shao Nan couldn’t find the words to respond. The banner in his hands felt like it was burning him.

“Shao Nan, people have their limits,” Qu Weiwei said as she locked the shop door and handed him the keys. “You had a choice between your duty and us. You chose your duty, and we don’t blame you.”

“But just like you prioritized your duty over us, I will always choose my team over you. If you couldn’t put us first, then you should accept that we won’t see you as important either.”

If they cut ties completely and treated each other as strangers, that would be fine. But why should an apology automatically mean forgiveness?

“We can still be polite strangers. That way, if something happens in the future, we won’t have any expectations of you. No expectations mean no disappointment.”

Shao Nan was left standing there, stunned. “But…”

But how could Shen Qing’s small team compare to the military? He wanted to say something, but when he met Qu Weiwei’s gaze, he found himself unable to say anything at all.

To him, of course, the military was far more important than Shen Qing’s team. But to Qu Weiwei, no one mattered more than her team.

---

Four days later, Shen Qing and Song Kaiji discussed their plan. “It’s been a few days now. Can we kill Feng Hao yet?”

They didn’t bother speaking in hushed tones, and Qu Weiwei overheard them. She was delighted. “How are we doing it?”

Feng Hao had captured them all, shackled them, and locked them up in the research facility. Qu Weiwei already had plenty of grudges against the research institute, and this only fueled her anger further.

“Just teleport in, catch him off guard, and kill him directly?” Song Kaiji had already found out where Feng Hao lived.

“I don’t mean that!” Qu Weiwei waved her hand. “Feng Hao only has a grudge against us. If he dies a violent death, no matter how much time has passed, the research institute will still suspect us. What I meant was—can we make it look like natural causes? A heart attack, sudden death, something that seems normal?”

She didn’t want to kill one Feng Hao only to have a dozen more people come seeking revenge. If they killed the small fry and the big fish came after them, the trouble would never end.

Shen Qing and Song Kaiji thought about it and agreed she had a point. They dug through their inventory, selecting two drugs that could cause sudden death and some anesthetics.

Song Kaiji considered it. “I’ll make him take a whole handful. If he doesn’t die right away, I’ll just smother him.”

There was no helping it. They couldn’t delay killing him just because they wanted to be overly precise.

Qu Weiwei: “…Forget it, just kill him however.” Ideal plans were one thing, but reality was far more complicated. They weren’t experienced in assassinations and didn’t have the right tools for the job.

She slumped onto the sofa, thinking for a moment before saying, “My hometown, Chi City, recently established a new base. If things go south after we kill Feng Hao… why don’t we relocate? Start over in Chi City?”

Qu Weiwei had a small personal motive. She knew her family was probably gone, but maybe she could try her luck. But more importantly, she felt that Red City Base was no longer safe.

Her reasoning wasn’t wrong. In fact, it aligned with Song Kaiji’s thinking. However, since Song Kaiji knew that Shen Qing’s cave couldn’t be moved, he had planned to establish a small base nearby instead of going elsewhere. But this wasn’t something he could easily explain to Qu Weiwei, so he and Shen Qing gave a vague response. “Let’s kill Feng Hao first. If things go smoothly, there’s no need to leave.”

Qu Weiwei had no objections.

They spent some time selecting the right drugs. Then, Song Kaiji left—and returned to the living room shortly after.

Shen Qing was surprised. “That fast? The drugs worked well?”

Song Kaiji’s expression was grim. He shook his head. “I was too late. Feng Hao was already dead.”

Everyone in the room was stunned. “Someone else wanted him dead too?”

Song Kaiji nodded, then hesitated before shaking his head. The one who had killed Feng Hao was Chen Jiaxi.

When Song Kaiji teleported into the room, he found Chen Jiaxi crouching over Feng Hao’s body, using a knife to carve open his skull. A psychic ability crystal, coated in blood and brain matter, rolled out. Then, she pulled another crystal from her pocket—one that Song Kaiji recognized. After a moment, he remembered—it was the crystal from the bald space-ability user they had encountered on their way back from Zizhou.

Back then, Chen Jiaxi had planned to absorb it but had abandoned the idea after seeing the side effects it caused in Ge Bingbing. Yet, she hadn’t discarded the crystal. She had kept it all this time.

When they saw each other, both were startled, scrambling in panic for a moment.

Once they realized they weren’t enemies, they relaxed. Chen Jiaxi awkwardly stuffed the psychic crystal into her pocket and smiled at Song Kaiji. “You came to kill him too? Perfect timing. Give me a ride, will you? Otherwise, I’ll have to sneak out.”

Song Kaiji was speechless. “…You dug out his psychic crystal. That alone makes this look suspicious as hell.”

Space-ability crystals and psychic-ability crystals looked quite similar. But who would kill someone and then carve open their skull? A single autopsy would expose everything.

If it was discovered that Feng Hao’s brain crystal was missing, the first suspects would be psychic ability users like them.

“It’s fine.” Chen Jiaxi smiled and pointed to a small potted plant in the corner. “That’s a mutated plant. It sleeps at night but goes wild in the morning. It’ll pierce through his skull and eat his brain. No one will suspect anything.”

After all, Feng Hao had already smuggled zombies into the base just to investigate Shen Qing. Wasn’t it perfectly reasonable to assume he had brought back an illegal mutated plant as well?

This way, it would look like Feng Hao had been killed by his own recklessness.

Song Kaiji had to admit—she was much smarter than them. Meanwhile, they had spent half the day struggling over an unreliable plan… only to be too late.

But Song Kaiji’s gaze lingered on that psychic ability crystal. After a pause, he said, “You’re planning to absorb it.”

It wasn’t a question.

Chen Jiaxi was just as straightforward. “You know, I don’t mind absorbing the crystals of scumbags like him. I was only worried about the side effects before.” To her, moral dilemmas weren’t much of a concern.

She had been observing Ge Bingbing for a long time. Aside from being irritable in the first few days after absorbing a human crystal, she had been fine. In fact, in Chen Jiaxi’s eyes, it wasn’t even irritability—it was more like she had finally woken up.

As long as she didn’t encounter Sun Cheng’s family, Ge Bingbing was perfectly normal. She didn’t lash out at others; he was just less willing to endure grievances and mistreatment than before.

To Chen Jiaxi, that level of side effect was acceptable. If it was just one crystal, it didn’t seem too bad. But multiple ones? That was another story. So she had decided to only absorb a single one. And naturally, if she was going to absorb just one, it had to be a valuable psychic ability crystal.

She had set her sights on Feng Hao’s brain for quite some time.

“Isn’t this a win-win?” Chen Jiaxi said. “I get what I want, and he won’t be able to go after Shen Qing anymore.”

Song Kaiji sighed. He and Chen Jiaxi would never see eye to eye on the matter of human ability crystals. He also had no confidence in convincing her otherwise, so he dropped the subject. “Let’s go. I’ll take you back.”

Chen Jiaxi nodded, then suddenly thought of something. She bent down, picked up a pair of ability-restraining shackles, and handed them to Song Kaiji. “Here, a gift.”

“That guy was pretty cautious. When I came to see him, he actually made me bring these.” She had used Shen Qing as an excuse to get close. Although Feng Hao didn’t trust her, his curiosity got the better of him, so he still let her in. But to Chen Jiaxi, it was laughable.

“As if I’d need abilities to kill him?”

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