Ch 187: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

And whenever they ran into some disobedient troublemaker, that’s when Mu Xing stepped in.

At those times, Mu Xing would slowly get up and leisurely summon two vines.

He wasn’t a violent person, didn’t like fighting, preferred friendly and peaceful ways to solve problems.

Those hot-headed young men would end up hanging upside down, strung across the main path for everyone to see.

With their enhanced bodies, ability users had tough skin and strong endurance. Hanging there for two days without food or water didn’t actually hurt them, just left them hungrier than usual.

Aside from the humiliation, the most terrifying part was this: they discovered the plants binding them could actually absorb their powers, just like some ability-draining technique from a novel.

No one dared act up in front of Mu Xing again.

The nickname “Devil Instructor” began spreading among the trainees, and soon, to every new ability user entering the base.

Later, it spread to the internet.

All the netizens online knew: the ability-user base had a Devil Instructor, super fierce. Every awakened person sent there would be stripped of a layer of skin under his watch!

It was even rumored that his power was connected to the ancient Ten Tortures, terrifying enough to make people cry for their parents.

Some even analyzed it seriously, claiming that based on the rumors, the Devil Instructor’s close friend must have studied law, and was proficient in every type of punishment throughout history — that’s why he knew how to torment people so well.

Mu Xing: …

That day, Gu Zhao received a phone call from Li Jin.

Gu Zhao brought it to Mu Xing.

Hearing the matter, Mu Xing’s spirit sharpened.

Li Jin said he had noticed people following him these past few days.

Yesterday, he confronted the two stalkers, demanding to know what they wanted.

They invited Li Jin to join their organization.

According to Li Jin, both men were Asian in appearance. One spoke fluent Mandarin, but the other’s accent was stiff and clumsy — very likely a foreigner.

Li Jin told Gu Zhao: “Major Gu, I suspect they’re up to something! But they’re ability users too. I’m not sure I can take them both down. If they escape, I’m worried they’ll retaliate against my parents. Requesting support!”

Gu Zhao thought they might be the same group who had once sought out Mu Xing.

Mu Xing agreed — it sounded like Zero. In the original storyline, this group frantically recruited ability users in the early days.

The original body’s hatred for that organization was unshakable.

Right now he was tied up, still needed as a figurehead to steady the ability users at the base. But once things settled, he absolutely intended to visit Zero’s headquarters.

A nest of scum like that was better off burned to the ground.

Li Jin’s home was in Xiangnan City, not far from the capital.

After discussing, Mu Xing and Gu Zhao decided to check it out personally.

They brought along three of Dragon Fang’s newest members.

That afternoon, they arrived in Xiangnan City.

That night, Li Jin followed their instructions and arranged to meet the two men in a park corner.

The two had originally suggested a bar. But Li Jin, not wanting ordinary people caught up in a fight, put on a righteous face: “I’m still underage! How could I go into a place like a bar?!”

The two men: “…”

They thought: Chinese kids sure are strictly disciplined.

At 10:30 that night, Li Jin arrived at the agreed spot, a lamplit bench.

He sat down, and from the “mole” on him, Mu Xing’s voice came: “They’re here.”

His body tensed, eyes darting around — where?

Over a minute later, two tall, thin figures finally appeared in his field of vision.

They moved like cats, silent in the night.

Li Jin marveled inwardly: spotted from so far away… Instructor Mu really is that strong.

In the dark, Mu Xing narrowed his eyes.

Through the plants, he saw their faces clearly.

Both looked familiar.

One was among those who had taken him during his own awakening.

The other was a face he often saw when lying on the experiment table in the original plot.

As expected — Zero.

The two men approached Li Jin.

“Young Master Li,” one said, “you told us you needed two days to think it over. Tonight, you’ll give us your answer. So — what have you decided?”

Li Jin answered: “I’ve thought about it carefully. I’ve decided to refuse you.”

The man on the left’s face darkened. “Why?”

He barked angrily: “China doesn’t value you at all! Great ability users like us deserve proper treatment! If you join us, wealth, power, beauty — whatever you want, you can have it!”

Li Jin looked at them in confusion: “What does it mean to be valued? Do you want me ranked as a first-class citizen? But what did ordinary people do wrong? My parents are still ordinary. I even worried my classmates wouldn’t accept me, but everyone’s been natural about it. I really like my life right now.”

“Besides, it’s not like I lack money. I’ve got a parkour delivery side job. They give me special orders that customers scramble to claim, and the commission is high. They even ask for selfies with me every time!”

The man who spoke before roared again, voice full of frustration: “You’ve been blessed by heaven, chosen as an ability user! Why is your thinking still so mediocre? We are the ones favored by destiny, we wield powerful abilities. This is a sign from the heavens — we should be the rulers of this planet!”

Li Jin: “…”

He looked at the man like he was an idiot, then took a step back.

“I’m long past the age of being interested in middle-school shounen manga.”

“Besides,” he asked strangely, “if I join you guys, do I have to go abroad? What about my parents, my friends?”

The man said coldly, “You’ve already become a superhuman. All those worldly burdens must naturally be cut off.”

Li Jin: “…”

He looked at the two of them speechlessly. “I think you’re just a bunch of lunatics!”

The man glared darkly at him. “You really don’t want to join us?”

Li Jin shook his head.

The man let out a cold laugh. Li Jin’s back went cold as two vines whipped past his body, seemingly trying to bind him.

“You two against one, and you don’t even announce it before attacking? No sense of honor!” While talking, his feet moved quickly, dodging a slice of wind.

So that was their supernatural ability.

Dodging, Li Jin shouted loudly, “I’m warning you—stop attacking, or I won’t hold back!”

The two naturally ignored him.

They had already revealed themselves in front of this youth; if he couldn’t be recruited, they couldn’t let him live.

Li Jin’s eyes shifted. “Fine, since you’re the ones without honor, don’t blame me.”

He suddenly dashed a hundred meters away and shouted, “Instructor! Someone’s playing with plants right in front of you—are you gonna let that slide?”

The two from Organization Zero froze.

Immediately, the hairs on their backs stood up.

The entire park “came alive.”

Countless plants surged, slender branches rising from the ground, weaving from all directions into a giant cage closing in on them.

Obviously meant to trap them inside.

The plant-type ability user was shocked at the sight.

He couldn’t imagine how much energy it took to mobilize this many plants.

Worse, when he tried to channel his own power, he found he could no longer control the plants around him.

The other ability user conjured blades of wind, trying to cut the branches.

But there were simply too many. Slice one down, and more immediately surged forward.

The two were trapped inside a square plant cage, unable to escape.

They shouted furiously, “Li Jin, you actually ambushed us!”

Li Jin snorted. “You ambushed me first—what right do you have to complain?”

Looking at the massive plant cage, he gave Mu Xing a thumbs up. “Every time I get a little proud of my own powers, Instructor Mu, you always show up and remind me that even as an ability user, I’m still just an ordinary one among them. This move is too cool!”

Sometimes, he really felt Mu Xing wasn’t even on the same level as them.

They were just people who awakened powers—basically ordinary folks with super abilities.

But when Instructor Mu used his plant ability, he didn’t seem human anymore.

He was like a god of plants!

The comparison with that other plant user made it obvious. Both had the same type of power, yet in front of Instructor Mu, the guy couldn’t even activate his abilities.

Mu Xing smiled as he accepted the praise.

The massive cage didn’t shrink further but held steady at about the size of a basketball court.

He said toward the back, “Great chance for combat practice. Go on.”

He even lifted his suppression on the plant user.

Three figures hesitated for a moment, then leapt through an opening into the cage.

Mu Xing waited, then asked curiously, “Major Gu, you’re not going?”

Gu Zhao replied calmly, “If I go too, they won’t get any chance to fight.”

Mu Xing thought for a moment, then nodded. “True enough. You’re too strong—these two aren’t enough for you.”

On the other side, the two enemies were furious. What did these Chinese people mean? Treating them like free sparring partners?

And that was exactly what they were.

With Mu Xing watching, every time the three trainees were about to get hurt, a vine would lash out and block the blow.

With nothing to worry about, the three freely pummeled the two captives.

Before long, Gu Zhao received a report in his earpiece: a suspicious figure had been spotted near Li Jin’s home, possibly a sniper with a silenced rifle.