ATDIWR Chapter 62

Chapter 62: Ji An Saves the Former’s Life, and the Latter’s Heart! Commendation…

“I can swear, as long as you let me go, I will tell you everything I know.” The human trafficker saw that these people had no way to deal with him, and immediately negotiated terms, his attitude becoming confident, seemingly sure of himself.

Gu Jinsheng sneered, raised his hand and released his power again. This time the thunder and fire were much fiercer than the last, almost instantly burning the human trafficker. The smell of burning flesh filled everyone’s nostrils. Within tens of seconds, the flames engulfed the human trafficker entirely.

The human trafficker’s screams were shrill and miserable, echoing throughout the entire dungeon. The mutant rats in the water cell squealed in terror.

Feeling it was enough, Gu Jinsheng raised his hand and withdrew his power. The thunder and fire on the human trafficker instantly extinguished, and everyone saw the trafficker’s horrific state.

The human trafficker was burned so badly there was almost no good flesh left on his body, giving off a foul stench like burnt pig skin. Several researchers who had barely experienced the cruelty of The Apocalypse’s Fight and had only worked in laboratories were terrified by this scene, turning their faces away. But none of them played the saintly figure to plead for mercy.

Zhao Zhen immediately threw up with a “wah” sound. Ji An didn’t expect this guy, who was usually quite boisterous, to be so weak-stomached. Gu Jinsheng also glanced at him, but no one stepped forward to care.

“Use whatever methods you want!” The human trafficker spat a mouthful of bloody foam on the ground and said fiercely, “At most, it’s death. If I die, you will never know who that person is! Hahaha…”

The human trafficker’s rampant laughter echoed in the dungeon, sending back waves of sound.

Zhao Zhen’s face was abnormally pale. He stared directly at the human trafficker, his expression contorted, “Kill him! After all this, he still dares to be so arrogant!”

Zhao Zhen’s words were ignored like farts. Zhao Zhen looked around, saw no one moving, and said angrily, “You cowards, people are shitting on your necks and you don’t know how to resist! You have no guts! I’m not afraid, I’ll do it myself! I want to avenge those children!”

Zhao Zhen raised his hand and sent a mental power directly towards the human trafficker’s brain. Gu Jinsheng released a power attack that struck Zhao Zhen’s mental power, immediately deflecting it. It hit the wall near the human trafficker’s ear, blowing off one of his ears.

Zhao Zhen had used a killing blow directly, and it was still blocked by Gu Jinsheng. Otherwise, that blow would have instantly blown the human trafficker’s head off.

Zhao Zhen glared angrily at Gu Jinsheng, “Didn’t you always preach killing to stop killing? Why are you so cowardly this time? Is it just because they aren’t shaking the interests of the Jing Shi Base, just a bunch of children with no value, so you don’t care?”

Ji An slapped him hard. Without using any power, he directly slapped Zhao Zhen’s mouth until it bled, leaving a clear handprint on his face.

“Shut up,” Ji An looked at Zhao Zhen coldly, his gun pressed against Zhao Zhen’s head. “Don’t mistake ignorance for bravery!”

Zhao Zhen stared at the gun barrel so close to him, his face red with anger, his eyes bulging slightly, but he didn’t dare say a single word, challenging Ji An’s patience.

“Get out!” Ji An motioned towards the dungeon exit with the muzzle of his gun. Zhao Zhen took a deep breath and finally walked away sullenly.

Han Yaokun’s face was even uglier than Zhao Zhen’s. This was the second time he had bowed and apologized to Ji An for Zhao Zhen.

“I’m truly sorry, I’ve caused you and Chief Commander Gu trouble again.

He’s just too arrogant, unwilling to be suppressed by a junior, which is why he can’t seem to adjust and tries to oppose you everywhere. Actually, his nature isn’t bad,” Han Yaokun bowed deeply, almost ninety degrees. Na Boyu, who saw this from the side, quickly came over to support him.

Han Yaokun didn’t take the opportunity to stand up but instead pushed Na Boyu’s hand away, continuing to bow, his attitude sincere, “What Zhao Zhen did just now was wrong, but he was just heartbroken by what those children suffered, which made him too emotional. That’s why he became impatient and reckless in his actions. This precisely proves that he is actually a very kind-hearted person.”

Han Yaokun said this with genuine sincerity, but among the people present, the only one who truly believed it was Han Yaokun himself.

Ji An’s voice was devoid of emotion, “Director Han, if there’s nothing else, please leave here. We still have important matters to interrogate, and it’s inconvenient for you to be present.”

“Okay.” Han Yaokun agreed very readily this time. Using Na Boyu’s support to stand up, he led everyone out of the dungeon.

Wan Xueying said incredulously, “What kind of spell did Zhao Zhen cast on Director Han? He still believes in Zhao Zhen’s character even now?”

“Perhaps the closer people are, the less clearly they see, the legendary ‘onlookers see clearly, but those involved are confused’,” Ji An said lightly.

“Are you really not going to talk?” Ji An asked the human trafficker.

The human trafficker sneered, showing an expression that dared them to torture him, indicating he would lose if he said a single word.

Ji An wasn’t angered by his attitude, instead, he suddenly laughed. Wan Xueying, hearing Ji An’s laugh, thought he had gone mad with anger.

However, when Wan Xueying looked over, she saw that Ji An’s laugh was not an angry laugh turned into laughter, but a heartfelt one.

“Actually, your appearance has already told me everything. Even if you don’t say it, I’ve guessed that person’s identity,” Ji An said.

“Impossible!” The human trafficker said, “You won’t trick me!”

“I’m not tricking you, I really know. Do you want to hear if what I say is correct?” Although Ji An was asking a question, he didn’t wait for the human trafficker to answer.

“Actually, you don’t know that person at all, and you’ve never seen his face.

Your contact was one-way, always initiated by him, and always at night. Every time you met, he was completely covered.”

Ji An described it in such detail, as if he had been present at the time. If it weren’t for the secretive location of their meetings, the human trafficker would have almost believed Ji An was hiding in some corner, secretly observing the entire process.

“How did you know?” The human trafficker blurted out. Then, seemingly realizing his slip-up, he closed his mouth in annoyance.

Ji An glanced at Gu Jinsheng. Gu Jinsheng raised an eyebrow and chimed in, “Not only does Ji An know, I know too. You confirmed that person was from the Command Center because you followed him. After he contacted you, he went back to work at the Command Center, right?”

Panic flickered in the human trafficker’s eyes. He yelled, “You know everything, and you still did this to me, deliberately playing with me?”

“No, you were too stupid,” Ji An said, “What I said before was all nonsense. If anyone did something bad and didn’t want to be exposed, they would do that!

One-way contact, not letting the other person find them, covering themselves completely, not letting the other person guess their identity, and night, that’s the best cover.”

The human trafficker suddenly understood. He had been tricked by Ji An. Ji An first said he knew, disturbing his state of mind, and then said some ambiguous words, which would definitely make him waver. This was a psychological tactic.

“Then how did he guess it?” The human trafficker asked, not giving up.

“It’s simple. Under such circumstances, you should have known nothing about that person’s identity. But you were adamant and very firm, which means you really knew the other person’s identity, but they would definitely not tell you. There’s only one possibility left: you followed the person and saw them with your own eyes.”

Ji An deduced layer by layer, his logic meticulous. “As for why we guessed the Command Center, it was because of your performance.

You showed it too clearly, as if that person’s identity was your life-saving trump card. What kind of identity could give you such confidence? It must be that person’s identity had a big problem, capable of destroying the Jing Shi Base from within. Such an identity could only be held by internal personnel, closest to the decision-making center, which is only the Command Center.”

The human trafficker fell silent. At this moment, he was convinced by the mental ability users. The brains of mind-power users were truly on a different dimension than theirs. With just a tiny clue, they could unravel everything.

Ji An said to Wan Xueying, “Have someone check the surveillance footage from the recent period, focusing on the night. However, I guess you probably won’t see anything. The surveillance during that time was definitely interfered with by the other party’s ability, leaving only static.

But the static wouldn’t last too long, at most tens of seconds before returning to normal. After all, if the static lasted too long, the night shift personnel would definitely notice the abnormality and report it. Since no one reported it now, it means the interference didn’t last long, and the guard treated it as a signal issue.”

Finally, Ji An said, “That person definitely didn’t enter the Command Center. Coming to the Command Center was also deliberately putting on a show for him. He definitely isn’t from the Command Center.

But this person must be very familiar with the Command Center, often coming there to handle matters, and knows the surrounding environment inside and out to be able to avoid surveillance and leave by a small path.”

Wan Xueying immediately had people check. The facts proved that Ji An and Gu Jinsheng were completely correct.

They now knew everything the human trafficker knew, and even things he didn’t. There was no need to stay there any longer.

After the three came out, Wan Xueying said, “Boss Ji, for tomorrow’s commendation meeting, let’s set it at the orphanage. Do you think we can live broadcast the human trafficker’s execution right after? Will you feel it’s unlucky?”

“No, it’s perfect. It’s perfect for everyone to see the clear reward and punishment policy of our Jing Shi Base.” Ji An didn’t care about those superstitious things. He believed more that his own destiny was in his own hands.

Gu Jinsheng was still on leave. After interrogating the human trafficker, Gu Jinsheng left with Ji An.

On the way, they also bought groceries. For lunch, he made Ji An dry-pot mutant duck head, sliced meat in hot chili oil, home-style cold dishes, steamed mutant beef patties, three cup chicken, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, and a cooling winter melon and kelp soup, as well as a dessert, Snow Domain Red Bean Paste.

So many dishes were, as usual, finished by Gu Jinsheng and Ji An. The stomachs of power users were bottomless pits. Even so, Gu Jinsheng and Ji An hadn’t eaten their fill. If they ate freely, a Tier 6 power user like Gu Jinsheng could eat the equivalent of six to ten ordinary people.

As for Ji An, when he had his power before, he would also eat the equivalent of three to five ordinary people. This amount was not fixed and would increase as the power level rose.

Power users were literally food buckets, really wasting food.

Ji An and Gu Jinsheng looked at the plates with not a single vegetable leaf left and sincerely felt that the invention of nutrient solutions was absolutely necessary. Otherwise, the food in this world would sooner or later be entirely consumed by power users.

After eating, the two lay quietly on the sofa sunbathing their bellies. If their heads hurt unbearably, they would drink the Spiritual Spring Water that Ji An took out. Drink a couple of sips, get some relief for a while, then drink a couple more sips and get some more relief. By night, they would take sleeping pills. The day passed like this.

The next morning, Gu Jinsheng woke up and cooked preserved egg and shredded pork congee and made mutant pork pockets for Ji An. He originally wanted to add some chives, as chive and meat filling is tastier, but was afraid the chive smell would be too strong, so he didn’t.

After eating, the two went to the orphanage. For safety, the two people with splitting headaches didn’t drive, still getting someone to take them.

When Gu Jinsheng and Ji An arrived, the orphanage was already very lively, with people coming and going, everyone setting up the venue.

These people all knew Gu Jinsheng and Ji An, and greeted them upon seeing them.

Whether he knew them or not, Ji An also returned their greetings.

Ji An hadn’t walked far when he saw a majestic blue-eyed winged tiger lying lazily in the middle of the orphanage yard. It was almost three meters long, occupying the entire yard, forcing the busy crowd to walk around it. Yet, it just wouldn’t move, acting quite bossy.

Seeing the big furball, a smile appeared on Ji An’s lips. At the same time, the blue-eyed winged tiger also saw Ji An. It finally decided to move, lazily getting up from the ground, its front paws on the ground, hindquarters raised, and letting out a big yawn with its mouth wide open. The whole tiger was languid.

The blue-eyed winged tiger padded slowly towards Ji An, tail wagging.

Ji An really liked this intelligent big furball. He reached out to stroke the big furball but was avoided by the big guy.

The big guy sat down on the ground, tail wagging, and looked at Ji An with its clear blue eyes, as if waiting for Ji An to give it something.

Ji An felt speechless for a moment, but still took out water from his space necklace for the blue-eyed winged tiger.

Ji An was afraid the blue-eyed winged tiger wouldn’t drink comfortably, so he specifically put it in a basin for it.

This time the blue-eyed winged tiger was no longer reserved. It curled its big tongue and lapped the water with slurping sounds. Ji An touched it, and it allowed itself to be petted and stroked.

Ji An laughed, “You realistic big guy!”

Gu Jinsheng looked at the blue-eyed winged tiger drinking water and suddenly remembered something, “When you were unconscious back then, I was holding you when this blue-eyed winged tiger suddenly appeared, carrying a bottle of water in its mouth.

I didn’t notice it at first, but it nudged me with its head, and then I saw it.

Right then, your lips were very dry, so I used that bottle of water to wipe your lips and fed it all to you.”

Ji An also remembered something and looked at the blue-eyed winged tiger with even gentler eyes, “That bottle of water was one I gave it.”

Ji An knew that Gu Jinsheng had already guessed the secret of the water, but neither of them had pointed it out. Saying this now was almost openly telling Gu Jinsheng that there was something special about the water.

But Gu Jinsheng didn’t pursue the matter.

“Brother Ji An.” Little Stone and Little Rose were helping set up the venue. Hearing that Ji An and Gu Jinsheng had arrived, they ran out. A stumbling little fellow was following Little Rose’s feet.

As soon as the little fellow ran over, it first rubbed against Ji An’s calf, then before Ji An could stroke it, it plunged headfirst into the big tiger’s water basin, even nudging the big tiger’s head away. The big tiger didn’t get angry, licking its mouth and letting the little fellow drink.

Little Stone said, “Mother Yuan always makes sure they have enough water. When I came out just now, I saw their water basins were full of clean water, but none of them drank it. Now, Brother Ji An, when you feed them water, they rush to drink.”

“Maybe they like me,” Ji An casually replied, “How are you two doing now? Are you still having fever? I heard from Zhou Qin that you were sick before.”

Little Stone and Little Rose’s eyes flickered simultaneously. Little Stone smiled, “We’re all better, thank you, Brother Ji An. How about you, Brother Ji An? Has your body recovered even a little bit?”

Little Rose added, “Brother Ji An was so badly injured that day, it scared us to death! And Uncle Gu, he was so worried about you, the way he looked was especially scary.”

Gu Jinsheng lightly frowned, repeating the three words, “Uncle Gu? Do I look that old?”

Little Stone quickly explained, “No, no, Chief Commander Gu, you look very young, about the same age as Brother Ji An. But Chief Commander Gu gives off a very mature, steady, and reliable feeling.”

After Little Stone finished speaking, he felt something was wrong and shook his head frantically, “I’m not saying Brother Ji An isn’t steady, reliable, or mature! Brother Ji An is the most reliable person I’ve ever met!

It’s just… it’s just, I really don’t know how to describe it, but Chief Commander Gu gives me the feeling of someone from my uncle’s generation, while Brother Ji An feels like an older brother.”

Seeing Little Stone sweating profusely, making things worse the more he explained, Ji An couldn’t help but laugh.

Gu Jinsheng glanced at Ji An and said to Little Stone, “Call me brother.”

Even though Gu Jinsheng wasn’t scolding the two children, Little Stone and Little Rose still seemed to have been scolded, dropping their heads and obediently saying, “Chief Commander Gu brother.”

The little furball seemed to sense the two little fellows’ dejection. It finally pulled its head out of the water basin, stuck out its little tongue licking its mouth, and rubbed its fluffy little head against Little Stone and Little Rose’s calves, trying to comfort the two little fellows.

“Pfft…” Ji An couldn’t help but laugh. Gu Jinsheng’s faint gaze cast over, seeming to carry a hint of resentment.

“Alright, it’s okay, your Chief Commander Gu brother doesn’t mind. These are candies, take them and eat them, go play by yourselves.”

Although Little Rose and Little Stone would no longer starve now, treats like candy were almost impossible to get. The two little fellows happily took the candies and immediately forgot about the small mistake they made just now, running off to play happily.

The little tiger stumbled clumsily along Little Rose’s feet. Little Rose picked it up and said, “There are exactly two candies. We’ll eat one later, and give one to the little tiger and the big tiger. They’ve definitely never eaten them before.”

“Okay,” Little Stone agreed happily.

Seeing the little tiger run off, the blue-eyed winged tiger stopped drinking, then lowered its head again and drank the water in the basin in a couple of gulps.

Just then, Yuan Ming’an came out. Yuan Ming’an was directing people to move the children rescued from the human traffickers out of the room and seat them on the chairs in the outdoor venue.

Yuan Ming’an directed loudly, “Yes, have them sit in the first row. This way, they can see clearly who the person who risked their life to save them is. They should remember Mr. Ji. He is their savior, the person who changed their destiny forever!”

Seeing Yuan Ming’an so full of energy, Gu Jinsheng and Ji An exchanged glances, unsure for a moment whether they should tell her about her daughter.

When Ji An’s eyes fell on Yuan Ming’an’s graying hair, hair that had turned gray from years of desperately searching for her missing daughter, Ji An knew he should tell Yuan Ming’an everything.

“Tell her. Although it will be painful, she has the right to know,” Gu Jinsheng said.

“Okay.” Ji An called out, “Sister Yuan, over here. Come here for a moment, I have something to tell you.”

Yuan Ming’an, who had been busy, finally saw Ji An and the other person. She quickly gave a couple of instructions and then ran over quickly.

“What is it?” Yuan Ming’an asked.

“It’s about your daughter.” As soon as Ji An spoke, Yuan Ming’an’s tears immediately streamed down. It was as if she had some kind of intuition.

“She fell into the hands of those human traffickers, didn’t she? Is she dead or alive?”

Ji An didn’t play games and directly pointed the person out for Yuan Ming’an to see. Ji An had seen a photo of Yuan Ming’an’s daughter.

After matching the case yesterday, Wan Xueying verified it. To ensure there was no mistake and avoid giving Yuan Ming’an false hope, they even specifically performed a parentage test for the two. The result showed a mother-child probability of up to 99.999%, which almost confirmed the mother-daughter relationship one hundred percent.

Yuan Ming’an looked in the direction Ji An pointed and saw a little girl being carried by a power user and placed on a chair in the first row.

The little girl looked only seven or eight years old, or even younger, but Yuan Ming’an’s daughter was already ten years old this year.

The little girl’s left leg was completely severed from the hip joint. Her right arm was severed from the forearm. The remaining arm and leg were intact.

However, Yuan Ming’an clearly remembered that when these children were rescued, they had no good spots on their bodies. It was later that healing-type power users helped treat them.

Yuan Ming’an covered her mouth and cried out, a “wah” sound escaping her lips. She excitedly ran to the little girl and embraced her tightly, “Fu Xin, it’s Mom, it’s Mom!”

The little girl remained motionless, her large eyes not even blinking. No matter how Yuan Ming’an shook her, she was like a puppet, without a soul, completely unresponsive to the outside world.

Almost all the children rescued from the human traffickers were in this state, likely having been severely tortured by the traffickers.

Currently, psychologists were providing counseling for these children, but the trauma inflicted upon them was too great, and the effect of the counseling was minimal.

From then on, Yuan Ming’an had no mind to manage the venue. She sat by the little girl’s side and talked to her. Yuan Ming’an held her daughter tightly, as if she would disappear again if she let go even for a moment.

By nine o’clock, almost everyone who was supposed to attend had arrived, including Han Yaokun, Zhao Zhen, Na Boyu, Zhou Fanxiu, and Bai Na.

Except for Zhao Zhen, everyone hugged Ji An. Only Zhao Zhen, who was clearly shorter than Ji An, tried to look down at Ji An with a condescending gaze, but couldn’t manage it at all.

The commendation meeting officially began. Ji An thought the main speaker would be Kong Zhongcheng or someone else, but he didn’t expect it to be Gu Jinsheng.

Gu Jinsheng walked onto the stage. The moment he stood there, he captured everyone’s attention in the audience.

Gu Jinsheng was a born king. If he didn’t deliberately restrain himself, he exuded a powerful pressure, a sense of oppression that seemed to make people unable to breathe and unable to look directly at him.

This was probably the “uncle feeling” that Little Stone couldn’t clearly explain.

“Fellow colleagues present today, and friends watching on screen, as everyone knows…” Gu Jinsheng began with a conventional opening, briefly recounting the events. Finally, he said, “Without Mr. Ji An’s brave self-sacrifice, these children would not have been saved today. Mr. Ji An is the children’s hero, and he is also our hero!

Now, please welcome Mr. Ji An and Ms. Yuan Ming’an to the stage to receive their awards.”

Ji An stood up, extending his hand to Yuan Ming’an. Yuan Ming’an, her eyes filled with tears, held Ji An’s hand and walked onto the stage.

At this moment, all the cameras were focused on Ji An, focused on this hero.

“Mr. Ji An, may I ask if you regret now losing your power because you saved the children?” Gu Jinsheng looked into Ji An’s eyes, as if they had never known each other before.

“No, I have never for a moment regretted it,” Ji An said firmly, “Perhaps many people don’t know, I myself am an orphan. When I was abandoned at the orphanage entrance, it was the orphanage director who took me in and raised me.

The reason I am alive today is all thanks to the kind people who sponsored us before The Apocalypse.

They sponsored us without seeking fame or profit, only telling us that when we grew up and had the ability to help others, we should do our best to help them, passing on this love.”

What Ji An spoke was not a script, but his real life.

“I remembered, and I did it,” Ji An said, “So when you ask me if I regret it, I don’t. Saving these children is saving the past me.

If those kind people hadn’t helped me back then, how could I have survived? How could I have awakened my power in The Apocalypse? I would have died long ago.

Giving up my power to save these children is passing on love. Love is a loop, connecting you and me. Saving the children is also saving the past me!”

Ji An handed the topic to Yuan Ming’an. Yuan Ming’an, her eyes filled with tears, said, “I completely agree with what Mr. Ji An said. Back then, my daughter was sold to human traffickers. I searched for seven whole years and never found her.

And this time, to save the children from the orphanage and Mr. Ji An, I broke into the human traffickers’ den and rescued many children. I never expected my own child to be among them.”

Yuan Ming’an cried, “If I hadn’t saved these children, I wouldn’t have gone to the human traffickers’ den. If I hadn’t gone to their den, I wouldn’t have saved my own child.

So I completely agree with Mr. Ji An’s statement that passing on love is a loop. The loop connects you, me, and them. Every good deed we do will ultimately return to us.”

Behind Ji An, images were displayed: the children’s tragic state when they were first rescued, and Ji An’s grievous appearance with his eyes closed, seemingly dead. These images moved everyone, countless people.

“Well said, Mr. Ji An!”

“Love is a loop, connecting you, me, and them. All the good deeds we do will ultimately return to ourselves!”

“May the world be filled with love!”

Fierce applause erupted. Below the stage, some people cheered loudly, while emotional individuals were secretly wiping away tears. In front of electronic devices, millions upon millions of people were also crying. They all remembered a name—Ji An.

He was the hero of those rescued children! And the hero of those living precariously in The Apocalypse!

Ji An saved the former’s lives, and the latter’s hearts!

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