ATDIWR Chapter 60

Chapter 60: Illusion Shines into Reality? Sold by Grandmother to Human Traffickers…

Since Gu Jinsheng and Ji An had both woken up, continuing to stay in the hospital would be a waste of medical resources, so they were discharged and went home to recuperate.

Late at night when everything was quiet, Gu Jinsheng couldn’t sleep due to a headache and planned to get up and take some sleeping pills with the healing spring water Ji An had given him.

It was strange to say, but it was the same sleeping pill. When Gu Jinsheng took it with his own mineral water, it had no effect at all. He still couldn’t sleep from the pain, it was useless.

But the mineral water Ji An gave was different. This water seemed to amplify the effect of the medicine hundreds or thousands of times. He could fall asleep within a few minutes after drinking it.

Holding the medicine in one hand and the mineral water in the other, Gu Jinsheng fell into deep thought. He suddenly remembered something about Ji An.

The beginning of Ji An’s defection from the third Base, even turning against Chen Chen, was all because of a spatial necklace.

At the auction, Tang Tang had said that Ji An had a secret, a very important secret he was hiding from him, about the spatial necklace.

Gu Jinsheng had said he didn’t care, and in fact, he really didn’t. No matter what kind of treasure Ji An’s spatial necklace was, Gu Jinsheng didn’t care.

All he cared about was Ji An’s trust. He hoped to gain Ji An’s trust and help him keep that secret together, but if Ji An didn’t want to say, then don’t say it. That wasn’t Ji An’s fault, it was because he hadn’t done well enough to earn Ji An’s complete trust.

Of course, having said that, if this spatial necklace belonged to someone else, Gu Jinsheng would not covet it either. Someone else’s things are someone else’s, no matter how good they are. He, Gu Jinsheng, was not so incompetent that he needed to snatch other people’s things to strengthen himself.

Of course, unless that person was doing something bad with the spatial necklace, he might intervene. But that had nothing to do with the spatial necklace. Even if that person didn’t have any necklace and was doing evil, Gu Jinsheng couldn’t stand by.

When spatial storage items appeared out of nowhere, everyone’s attention shifted to them. Even Gu Jinsheng thought the spatial necklace might just be an ordinary spatial necklace, and since such a treasure had never appeared before, that was why Tang Tang treasured it.

Ji An took it back, thoroughly researched its principles, and then created similar items, leading to the birth of spatial storage items. Now it seemed that the spatial necklace indeed had other secrets, just as Tang Tang had said.

As for what the secret was…

Gu Jinsheng pulled back the curtains and looked at the street under the starlight outside. Before, looking down from here, there were always hurried pedestrians. By this hour, there were almost no people out.

Now that the nutrition agents were available, solving the problem of food and clothing, it seemed as if the entire world was instantly pulled from hell back to the human realm. People once again had thoughts of leisurely pleasures.

Downstairs, traffic flowed like a river, men and women held hands and embraced, talking about tomorrow and the future, about stars and the moon, talking about love and affection.

A smile appeared on Gu Jinsheng’s lips. All this beauty originated from Ji An. It was he who changed this human purgatory, leading it by the hand towards tomorrow.

How could he not love such a Ji An, how could he bear to let go? Such an excellent person, you only meet one in a lifetime. If you miss him, everyone else will be a compromise!

Actually, if the spatial necklace had another secret, Gu Jinsheng already knew what it was.

It should be related to the healing ability.

As soon as the spatial necklace was taken away, Tang Tang’s dual abilities of space and healing had problems. That is to say, the spatial necklace should simultaneously possess both space and healing abilities.

Gu Jinsheng looked at the water in the mineral water bottle. So the remaining healing ability was likely related to this water. He just didn’t know how this water existed within the space, and if it would decrease with use.

At this moment, Gu Jinsheng suddenly felt very honored. He still remembered the way Ji An lowered his eyes when taking the mineral water out of the space. He had finally chosen to trust him and gave him the water!

Even knowing that he might likely guess the truth after getting the water!

Even though Ji An had gone through such emotional betrayal, he still chose to trust him in the end. Gu Jinsheng was truly flattered and also very happy.

Didn’t this mean that Ji An had begun to let down his guard towards him and was taking his first step towards him?

Gu Jinsheng’s eyes looked at the night sky, where the stars twinkled like Ji An’s eyes. Ji An’s eyes were so beautiful, as if they forever held the starry sea.

Gu Jinsheng gazed at the stars, took a big gulp of mineral water, and swallowed the sleeping pills. His head hurt too much; it hurt so much that he couldn’t concentrate on thinking.

When he turned around and put the water bottle back on the table, Gu Jinsheng’s gaze fell on the tooth mark on his arm. Regarding this tooth mark, he really didn’t know what happened. He had no impression at all, he couldn’t remember anything?

But such a location, which wasn’t exactly private but also not intimate, yet somewhat intimate, he said he didn’t know how the tooth mark got there. Not to mention Ji An wouldn’t believe it, even Gu Jinsheng himself didn’t.

If this hadn’t happened to him but to someone else, Gu Jinsheng would likely tell that man to be brave and take responsibility as a man.

This responsibility was too great, Gu Jinsheng couldn’t bear it. If he did, the distance he and Ji An had finally managed to get close to would return to how it was, or even further. So Gu Jinsheng lied to Ji An, saying it was the little rose who bit him.

Actually, it wasn’t, but how did this tooth mark appear?

Gu Jinsheng endured the headache and tried to trace back. He could only remember that this tooth mark was definitely not there before the incident.

After the incident, he had fainted. Could it be that someone bit him while he was unconscious? Although this idea was a bit too absurd, excluding all impossibilities, there was only one truth.

Suddenly, a scene flashed through Gu Jinsheng’s mind. It was a hallucination that occurred when he thought Ji An was dead, his mind was disordered, and his ability was rampaging, falling into a dual mental torment, causing him to be unable to distinguish reality.

He estimated that he might have had early signs of schizophrenia at that time, with hallucinations appearing in his brain. He seemed to see Ji An. Now thinking about it, he must have not wanted Ji An to die so much at that time, which led to hallucinations.

The Ji An in the hallucation seemed to have bitten him, and it was exactly on this spot.

Thinking of this, Gu Jinsheng suddenly felt that perhaps his brain was injured after his ability was lost.

Even if those hallucinations were real, they were just things that happened in his brain. If Ji An bit him, it would have been on his soul. It couldn’t possibly penetrate the soul and leave a mark on the physical body, could it?

Gu Jinsheng rubbed his temples helplessly. The more he thought about it, the more absurd it became. Indeed, when a person has a splitting headache, it’s better not to think about things. Not only can’t you think straight, but the more you think, the more outrageous it gets.

Gu Jinsheng lay on the bed, emptying his mind, and soon fell asleep. Next door, Ji An was also in a deep sleep.

Ji An was woken up by a fragrant aroma in the morning. When he came to the kitchen, he saw Gu Jinsheng busy at the kneading board. Ji An’s heart clenched slightly. He couldn’t describe the feeling, it was both sour and painful.

When Gu Jinsheng was home, he didn’t allow Ji An to eat nutrition agents. Although nutrition agents could completely provide Ji An with the necessary daily nutrients, Gu Jinsheng still insisted on cooking for him.

It wasn’t that Ji An didn’t like delicious food; how could anyone not love delicious food? Ji An was just worried about Gu Jinsheng’s body. He and Gu Jinsheng were in the same situation. He himself had headaches every day to the point where he didn’t want to do anything, wishing he could just take a whole bottle of sleeping pills with healing spring water and sleep for a year.

But Gu Jinsheng had to endure such splitting headaches every day to cook for him. Ji An’s heart ached.

“Jinsheng, you don’t have to do this,” Ji An said. “Our abilities have just been lost, we need to rest more. You don’t need to cook for me anymore. I can just eat nutrition agents. They can completely provide my essential basic nutrients every day. I developed the nutrition agents, I know their effects. They are nutritionally balanced and comprehensive, actually healthier than eating food directly.”

Gu Jinsheng rolled the dough under his hands without lifting his head. “You developed them, so I’m naturally at ease. As for the pleasure of eating, it’s okay to eat it occasionally to satisfy cravings. When I go to work, you’ll have plenty of time to eat nutrition agents, and I won’t have time to cook for you.”

How could anyone not like delicious food? If it weren’t for the lack of food, even if nutrition agents were cheap and nutritious, Ji An believed that everyone would still choose delicious food, even if delicious food with good color, aroma, and taste might cause some diseases for humans.

Ji An was no exception. Because he grew up in an orphanage, he actually had a stronger craving for delicious food than others, but his childhood experiences taught Ji An to suppress and restrain himself. He suppressed his nature and restrained his desires, not letting people discover his true preferences, thus preventing them from grasping his weaknesses.

The reason Ji An said that was simply because he didn’t want Gu Jinsheng to work so hard; he just wanted him to rest and recuperate properly.

Seeing that this wouldn’t persuade him, Ji An changed direction. “Jinsheng, actually we should conserve food more. This is a special period, food resources are scarce. This meal of ours is enough for many, many people to eat nutrition agents for several days. Think about it, if we eat one less meal, we can save many lives.”

Gu Jinsheng’s movements paused. Just when Ji An thought he had convinced him, Gu Jinsheng said, “The nutrition agents you developed have already saved tens of thousands of people. Perhaps even if you specially assigned a few people to count how many people you’ve saved in your lifetime, they wouldn’t be able to finish counting. So in the end, you, who saved tens of thousands of common people, aren’t even allowed to eat a bite of delicious food?

Even if everyone in the world can’t, only you have this qualification, because of you, they can avoid starvation.

I believe this is the common understanding of all grateful people.”

Ji An was momentarily speechless, blocked by his words. Finally, he could only speak the truth. “I feel bad for you, I don’t want you to be so tired. I just want you to rest properly and not leave any sequelae.”

Gu Jinsheng had already started cutting the dough into small square rhombuses with a knife, then using a small spoon a bit larger than a thumbnail to scoop a spoonful of meat filling and wrap it in the dough, pinching it into a beautiful little wonton.

“No, I know my own body,” Gu Jinsheng said without lifting his head. While talking, he had already pinched several wontons; his movements were very skilled.

“Even when recuperating, people can’t just sleep all day. That doesn’t help the mind, instead it makes you sleep foolish. I’m not working now, so it’s just right to cook. It’s not mentally taxing, and it serves as exercise. It’s better than doing nothing and just sitting there uncomfortably. Doing something to distract myself seems to make the headache less severe.”

Since Ji An couldn’t persuade Gu Jinsheng, he simply sat down and wrapped them with him.

Ji An’s cooking didn’t taste very good, but wrapping wontons was fine. At least none of them broke when they were boiled.

The bone broth was freshly simmered by Gu Jinsheng that morning. It had been simmering for two hours by now, turning milky white. The small wontons were put in and bobbed up and down on the surface of the water, cooking in three to five minutes.

They were scooped out and placed in a large clear glass bowl, then minced scallions, cilantro, garlic paste, dried shrimp, and seaweed were added, and finally drizzled with a spoonful of bright red chili oil. Just looking at it made one’s appetite soar.

The taste was even better, needless to say. The mutated beast meat inside was finely ground and stirred in one direction into a meatball. The texture was Q-elastic and refreshing, full offresh and fragrant flavor.

Delicious!

Even with a headache, Ji An endured the discomfort and ate two large bowls. The small wontons made by Gu Jinsheng were simply too delicious, a taste absolutely unavailable outside.

After finishing all the wrapped wontons, the two of them sprawled on the sofa soaking up the sun when Ji An received a call from Wan Xueying.

“Boss Ji, how is your body recovering?” Wan Xueying asked.

“Pretty good, eating well and sleeping well, almost like a pig being fattened up, just waiting to be slaughtered and eaten for the New Year,” Ji An joked.

Wan Xueying laughed, “We wouldn’t part with you, Boss Ji. You have too many treasures in your head. We wouldn’t do something like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. Besides, with the Boss around, we wouldn’t dare even if we ate a bear’s heart and leopard’s guts.”

Ji An had put it on speakerphone, so Gu Jinsheng naturally heard it. He just hummed lightly, indicating his attitude.

Wan Xueying was speechless. Was it necessary?

“Alright, let’s talk about serious matters,” Wan Xueying said seriously. “Boss Ji, I’m afraid if I keep chatting with you, I’ll be assassinated by a certain jealous person tonight.” Wan Xueying said seriously, “The Command Center here plans to hold a commendation meeting for you. What day is suitable? Can it be set at the Command Center?”

“Commendation meeting?” Ji An hadn’t heard any news before. He looked at Gu Jinsheng and saw no surprise on his face, knowing that Wan Xueying must have talked to Gu Jinsheng beforehand about this matter.

“Yes, such good deeds and good people deserve praise, especially in the Apocalypse. Everyone sweeps the snow from their own doorstep, except for the small patch of land inside their own gate, they don’t care about anything outside,” Wan Xueying said. “If this were before, our Command Center wouldn’t say anything, after all, it’s hard enough to survive in the Apocalypse, everyone can’t even eat their fill, how could they have excess sympathy for others?

But now it’s different. Nutrition agents are available, basically everyone can eat their fill. When the problem of hunger is solved, propriety and righteousness should also be picked up again, and everyone should also learn to sympathize with others.

Otherwise, this society will only become more and more indifferent.”

Wan Xueying continued, “Actually, the last time you shot and killed Krus, the Base should have given some recognition, but for your protection, it couldn’t be made public, fearing retaliation from Country M. Now that you’ve lost your ability, it’s even less possible to make it public, but you will still receive the rewards you deserve. They will be given to you together with this incident.”

“Okay,” Ji An agreed. Rewards or no rewards, he wasn’t lacking now, and he wasn’t someone who cared much about being in the spotlight.

Ji An wanted to use this incident to convey a positive energy to the people struggling in the Apocalypse, to make the love in their hearts manifest, not to wait until it was completely abandoned before trying to find it, because then it might be lost forever.

“Thank you, Boss Ji,” Wan Xueying already knew Ji An would agree. Through just a few months of contact, Wan Xueying had already figured out what kind of person Ji An was.

Brave, responsible, capable, and possessing a strong sense of social responsibility.

Wan Xueying asked, “Boss Ji, what about the location and time? We might adopt a live broadcast method at that time.”

“Set it at the Orphanage, the day after tomorrow at nine in the morning,” Ji An said. “I want more people to notice these children, and I also want to convey love and awaken more people’s sympathy through the Orphanage.”

“Okay,” Ji An’s idea converged with Wan Xueying’s; Wan Xueying had no objections. “Oh, that’s right, Mr. Ji, those human traffickers haven’t been interrogated yet. The Boss said before that he would wait for you to wake up before interrogating them. When do you think you’ll interrogate them?”

Ji An thought the interrogation was already completed; he didn’t expect it hadn’t been.

Gu Jinsheng said, “Your ability was taken away by these human traffickers. The interrogation should be done by you; this is what you deserve.”

“Alright, then let’s go now.”

This building was full of Power Users, all of whom worked in the Command Center. Gu Jinsheng might not know them, but they all knew Gu Jinsheng. With a word from Gu Jinsheng, someone came to take them there.

“Boss, Boss Ji, you’re here. This way.” Wan Xueying led Ji An and Gu Jinsheng to the dungeon where death row prisoners were held.

This was no ordinary prison. It was a cage for holding major criminals who were Power Users. All the iron bars were specially made and were electrified twenty-four hours a day. The blue current flickered with a cold light. Touching it accidentally could directly electrocute a Power User into unconsciousness.

Mutated rats as large as babies scurried on the ground. These mutated rats scurried in and out of the iron bars. They didn’t know what they ate to grow so big and plump.

Ji An followed Wan Xueying deeper into the dungeon, hearing bursts of piercing screams and seeing people desperately begging for mercy as they walked past.

“I’m sorry, I was wrong, I shouldn’t have killed. Please let me out!”

“It’s too scary here, I don’t want to stay here, just kill me!”

“Save me, I’m innocent, I didn’t do such a thing, and please give me something to eat!” The last person shouting to Ji An was a one-eyed old woman with one eye blind. She looked like an ordinary person and was kneeling on the ground kowtowing to Ji An repeatedly.

Wan Xueying sneered when she saw her. “This old woman looks pitiful, but her heart is darker than anyone’s. She was pointed out by the human traffickers themselves.

To save her own life, this old woman sold her granddaughter to those human traffickers. She knew exactly what her granddaughter would suffer in the hands of those people but still did it.

And those human traffickers only gave her three tubes of nutrition agents for ordinary people.”

Ji An looked at the old woman again and felt nauseous in his stomach.

“What else could I do? If I didn’t sell her, neither of us, grandmother and grandchild, could survive. I didn’t want to either. If I sold her, although her hands and feet would be broken, at least she could still live. Those human traffickers wanted her to beg for food, they would always give her a bite to eat. But I, this blind old woman, can’t do anything, I can’t afford to raise her anymore. I did this for her own good, wanting to save her life.”

People like the blind old woman were the most disgusting. They were doing the most disgusting things in the world, yet they insisted on finding a grand and noble reason to shield themselves, as if that could cover up their despicable character.

Ji An didn’t want to look at her again.

The group walked to the innermost and worst part of the dungeon. This dungeon was lower than others; it must have been deliberately made that way. The prison was filled with water, and the stagnant water emitted a strong stench. At the same time, the surroundings of the water prison were also electrified. Water conducts electricity, which meant the human traffickers chained with iron chains were constantly being electrocuted.

This was only possible because they were Power Users; an ordinary person would have collapsed long ago.

At the same time, Ji An also knew how those mutated rats got so fat in an environment without food.

Several mutated rats were gnawing on the human traffickers who were tied to the wall. These human traffickers were tied up, their abilities restricted, and they couldn’t dodge at all. They could only endure being gnawed by these mutated rats.

The current in this water prison was not strong, designed mainly for torture. As long as the mutated rats were willing to endure it, they could still eat their fill.

No one had paid attention to these human traffickers for days, only ensuring through surveillance that they didn’t die. Now, seeing people suddenly, they seemed to have seen their saviors, and one after another they scrambled to say, “We’ll confess, we’ll confess everything.”

Ji An said coldly, “Then speak.”

“Before the Apocalypse, we were human traffickers. We got those children before the Apocalypse,” the human traffickers confessed on their own initiative.

“How did you get them?” Ji An asked.

“Some were lost by their families and we tricked them, some were kidnapped, and some were bought from other human traffickers. Two were sold to us by their families.” The human traffickers seemed to be seeking release; they spilled everything, even the unnecessary details, and spoke quickly. “One was sold to me by that blind old woman after the Apocalypse, and another child was sold to me by the child’s grandmother before the Apocalypse.

It seems like after her daughter-in-law gave birth to a granddaughter, she was worried that their family favored boys over girls and wouldn’t have another child. The old woman actively sold the child to me so that her daughter-in-law would give birth to a grandson for their family.

She asked for a thousand yuan.”

The human trafficker had such a clear memory because even he, a heartless person, found it bizarre.

Before the Apocalypse, children were not like weeds as they were after the Apocalypse; they were the treasures and lifeblood of every family.

If a family’s child was lost, it was like losing their life. Yet, that old woman actually took the initiative to sell her granddaughter, just so that her daughter-in-law would give her another grandson. That was truly bizarre.

Ji An and Gu Jinsheng exchanged glances, both finding the story sounded familiar.

Ji An immediately pressed, “How old was the girl who was sold by the old woman at that time?”

“Three years old, I guess.” Although a long time had passed, the human trafficker remembered it particularly clearly, mainly because he hadn’t encountered many such people in his life as a human trafficker.

“What clothes was the little girl wearing at the time? What were her characteristics?” After hearing the age, Ji An almost had a certain confirmation in his heart.

The human trafficker frowned and recalled. “I don’t remember what clothes she was wearing at the time, but I remember there was a rather large birthmark on the leg that I broke, right on the outer ankle.

The reason I chose to cut off that leg back then was also because I was afraid her mother would find and recognize her.”

Hearing the human trafficker talk about breaking a child’s leg so nonchalantly, Ji An genuinely felt that no punishment for these people was too much.

Ji An asked Wan Xueying, “Where are the children the human traffickers had originally? Have they all been rescued?”

“They’ve been rescued, twenty-six in total, and they’re all at the Orphanage,” Wan Xueying said, puzzled. “Is there something wrong with that little girl who was sold by her own grandmother?”

“She might be Yuan Ming’an’s daughter, the head of the Orphanage. Her daughter was secretly sold by her mother-in-law because she wanted a grandson,” Ji An explained. “Sister Yuan has been looking for her for seven whole years.”

Not long after Yuan Ming’an’s daughter was sold, the Apocalypse came, which increased the difficulty for Yuan Ming’an to find her daughter.

“Her daughter?” Wan Xueying asked. “Are you sure it’s her daughter, not a granddaughter? Director Yuan seems quite old. She should be old enough to be a grandmother.

Besides, for Power Users themselves, after awakening their abilities, their appearance will become younger. Since she looks old enough to be a grandmother, I thought her actual age was older.”

“No, Sister Yuan is only forty-two this year.”

Wan Xueying was greatly surprised. “Forty-two? I thought she was seventy-two.”

Then, thinking of something, Wan Xueying swore under her breath. “Damn human traffickers! It must be because Director Yuan was anxious from not being able to find her daughter for so many years. That old hag should die too. How could someone be so biased towards boys to that extent! What happened to that old hag’s family in the end?”

“They’re all dead,” Ji An said. “During the Apocalypse, Sister Yuan encountered them and personally killed their whole family.”

“Good, Director Yuan did a great job!” Wan Xueying, who hated evil, cheered.