Chapter 625: Made a Mistake, But There Are Still Benefits
A’Ji told Meng Chao that there were plenty of orphans who lost their parents since young, so forget about having a legal ident.i.ty, they did not even have proper names.
Some of them were going around stealing stuff and performing illegal wealth transferring businesses to keep themselves alive. Others worked in the production lines of illegal workshops and carried out strenuous and dangerous tasks.
Besides, due to the genetic modifications from the zombie virus, they suffered from all sorts of innate diseases.
Many of the children were like weeds. They grew without a sound and died just as silently.
A’Ji’s goal was to take over one of them and live a brand new life.
“This dazzling world where the good and bad live together is completely different from the Earth in my memories. It’s like I left my home planet just yesterday,” A’Ji said and sighed. “Earth is definitely not a perfect heaven either. There were plenty of problems in it, like the difference between the rich and the poor.
“But on Earth, the difference between the rich and poor wasn’t as great as it is in Dragon City.
“In the current Dragon City, the wealthy who stand at the top have the power to destroy the world. They’re the same as supernatural beings, and have even declared themselves as the guardians of all humans. Even the Survival Committee is something they set up and control.
“As for the poor in Leprosy Village, they’re deformed, ugly, and live in poverty. They’re squashed up in cramped nests like bees and ants. They’re willing to do everything for a can of earthworm meat. Even if one hundred or one thousand of such poor people surged up, they couldn’t win against the rich superhumans. In other words, they don’t have the power to change the rules of the game.
“After living here for a while, I began to understand why Saber Jin Wanhao was so angry in the past and so averse to the nine great mega corporations. I also understood why he tried everything he could to break free of the mega corporations’ control.
“I haven’t figured out what path I want to take yet, but I’m on the same vein as the Saber Jin Wanhao in the past when it comes to breaking free from the mega corporations’ control.
“That’s why I was reluctant to reveal my ident.i.ty. I’ve made my decision to let Jin Wanhao die.
“The current me has inherited some of Jin Wanhao’s experiences and spirit energy martial arts, so I’m naturally stronger than normal nine-year-old children.
“I believed that as long as I could gather all the secret treasures Jin Wanhao acc.u.mulated and hide in Leprosy Village while training quietly for a few years, I would have a chance to do something shocking.
“With Saber Jin Wanhao’s experiences, I would definitely surpa.s.s the Underground Emperor and live a life with more freedom and satisfaction.
“But I didn’t expect that the monster civilization’s claws would stretch into the lair and turn Leprosy Village into the main battleground.
“Honestly, I had a faint inkling about Red Brows Su Lun’s abnormality and the Vortex’s actions in the lair. If I were the past Saber Jin Wanhao, I’d definitely have been able to see the full picture of their scheme and thought of a way to handle the situation.
“But the problem is, I’m not Jin Wanhao, and I’ve been spending all my energy on researching how I’m supposed to inherit the power he left behind. I was oblivious to what was happening, which was why I missed the best chance and only came to realize what was happening around me when Leprosy Village was affected by the explosion!”
When Meng Chao heard this, he thought, ‘Oh, thank goodness’.
Thank goodness that A’Ji was not Saber Jin Wanhao.
Otherwise, A’Ji would have instantly seen through him when he smeared Red Radiance Jade powder on his shoulder. After all, it was a low-cla.s.s trick.
“Once I noticed that the monster civilization had infiltrated the lair en ma.s.se, I was anxious,” A’Ji continued. “No matter what, the lair is my home. It’s a place that houses all my memories. Besides, during the few months since I regained my youth, I made some friends in Leprosy Village. When I told you that I’m Three Fingers Feng’s lackey, I wasn’t truly lying to you. I did indeed get to know quite a number of Three Fingers Feng’s thieves and become really good friends with them. Unfortunately, all of them died in the explosion.
“Also, there were plenty of valuable treasures, cultivation resources, and research data stored in the secret lab under Golden Tooth, including the seven vials of h.e.l.l’s Blood. All of them were good stuff that you couldn’t buy with money. They were also the tool necessary for me to rise to power once again with another ident.i.ty as well as Saber Jin Wanhao’s greatest secret.
“On top of that, if anyone with ill intentions looked around the place, it wouldn’t take them long to figure out that the person lying in the medical cabin isn’t Jin Wanhao, so they would realize that there was a high possibility that the real Jin Wanhao was still alive as a young adult or a child. This would bring me endless trouble.
“I couldn’t just watch everything end up in other people’s hands. It wouldn’t matter whether they would end up in the hands of the monster civilization or the mega corporations. I couldn’t let either of them have any of my stuff.
“I had to solve the crisis in the lair and s.n.a.t.c.h all of my data and secrets in the lab before anyone opened it.
“The problem was, I’m too weak. Even though my physical const.i.tution and cultivation potential are far better than those of a normal boy and I can use amazing skills like Celestial Tyrant’s Star Shattering Slash if I’m really driven into a corner, you saw what happens to me if I’m forced to use it.
“In this state, it was impossible for me to use my own strength to fight against the fierce monsters and rich corporations.”
When Meng Chao heard this, he finally understood what had happened. “And coincidentally, you ran into me. You then decided to use me to achieve your goals?”
“Big Brother Chao, don’t say that I wanted to use you, that sounds horrible. Our goals were the same, since we both were trying to save the lair. That’s why you should say that we were helping each other and fighting side by side!” A’Ji smiled wanly.
“I intended to return to the secret lab and s.n.a.t.c.h h.e.l.l’s Blood and the other important and expensive cultivation resources in the secret lab while you exposed Red Brows Su Lun’s true colors in Mutual Gold Coliseum and attracted everyone, as well as the Vortex’s, attention. Then, I’d destroy a lot of the evidence so that people would think that Jin Wanhao was really dead.
“I didn’t expect that the Vortex’s goal would have been this place from the start. I ran into it by sheer chance, and both of you caught up to me like shadows. I fought against the Vortex, and both of you ended up benefiting from it. In the end, the h.e.l.l’s Blood that Saber Jin Wanhao gathered and created through ma.s.sive effort helped you!”
A’Ji looked gloomy.
Every part of his face screamed that his heart was bleeding for his loss.
It was just as A’Ji said, the entire mess was built upon all sorts of coincidences, and they benefited because of a series of mistakes. It was truly due to pure coincidence that this happened.
If the Vortex learned about why its scheme failed, it might cough up blood and would not be able to rest in peace.
“So, Big Sis Ya, did you find anything strange in his words?” Meng Chao whispered.
“No,” Lu Siya said. “He even mentioned such a shocking secret, so I don’t think this boy still has anything to hide.”
She smiled and suddenly reached out to pinch A’Ji’s face.
A red mark instantly appeared on A’Ji’s face, and he was in so much pain that tears sprung up in his eyes. He struggled and said, “What are you doing?!”
“It’s nothing. It’s just that you chased me out of the lair last time, and I had to leave dejectedly. I never dreamed that there would come a day when I could pinch the legendary Underground Emperor’s face.” Lu Siya pinched him again, and A’Ji screeched. Then, she grinned and said, “The feeling’s not bad.”
“Um…” Meng Chao found himself speechless.
He knew that Lu Siya was quite petty.
When they were investigating the case of Blessed Paradise’s murderous pets, they did not say anything to Saber Jin Wanhao before entering. They rashly went into the lair to catch their suspect and caused a major ruckus.
Even though Meng Chao had informed Shen Yupeng beforehand, and Shen Yupeng obtained Jin Wanhao’s permission, Lu Siya did not know about it, so when she left the lair, she looked quite miserable.
Ever since the Queen Bee made her debut, this was one of the few shameful memories that she had.
Right now, Jin Wanhao was gone and had become A’Ji, which left him in the petty hands of Lu Siya…
Meng Chao cleared his throat and stood between Lu Siya and A’Ji.
“Say, Big Sis Ya, we still haven’t asked the most important question!”
Meng Chao took A’Ji down and removed all the chains and shackles. He also injected a high-calorie nutritional fluid into him and took out some medical ointment, which he smeared evenly on his arms so that they would not suffer from necrosis and have to be amputated.
They had already recovered almost entirely in the medical cabin, so they were not afraid of A’Ji, because they were going to fight together if he tried anything.
“If it’s really as you said, then you never did anything inhumane, and I have no reason to treat you as my enemy.” Meng Chao stared at the X-shaped eye on A’Ji’s chest. “But you must tell us what the thing that appeared in the bubbles of the Vortex’s carca.s.s is, and what is the meaning behind the tattoo on your chest?”
A’Ji instinctively tried to cover the tattoo on his chest, but he soon realized that no matter how he tried, he could not cover it.
He sighed like an old man and lowered his hand.
“I don’t know what those bubbles were either,” A’Ji said. “Before this, I’ve never seen a life form as bizarre as the Vortex.”
“But you recognized the figure that was formed by the bubbles, right?” Meng Chao said. “I noticed that when you saw the figure in the bubbles, your expression and demeanor changed completely. Who is that girl, and why did she call you her big brother?”
A’Ji sucked in a deep breath. A pained expression appeared on his face, and he mumbled, “I don’t know. I really don’t. Based on the fragmented memories I have of Saber Jin Wanhao’s life, he did have a younger sister, but she’s already dead. She died decades ago.”