(Heurn Province- Fagong City)
(Inner Region- Garren District)
There was a strange atmosphere in the base as Sun Wei returned from her scouting mission. The other members of her temporary team were also affected by the peculiar mood.
Five years had passed since the apocalypse had begun and now with food supplies running low and survivors pouring in from all parts of the country…
Everyone had to do their part.
Even if she was the powerless sister of the leader of the base, it would not be a good look if she did not participate in a few missions.
At least she was publicly known for having no ability.
Sun Wei would never forget the seed of knowledge and the advice that the mysterious woman who had saved her life had given her.
Always keep a hidden card.
Sun Wei had kept her ability a secret from every single person in the base including her own family.
"I'm here to report the findings of our scouting mission," Sun Wei said coldly as she walked up to the man in charge of the mission board.
"That's okay… the leader wants to speak to you in his mansion. You can go ahead, and I will take the report from the other members of your team," the man gently spoke.
There was a threatening undertone in his soft, calm voice but Sun Wei did not reveal that she had noticed his strange behaviour.
What was going on?
"Okay no problem," Sun Wei finally spoke as she glanced at her teammates before heading towards the inner region of the base.
She could tell that there were numerous gazes on her body as she walked towards the mansion where her brother lived.
Sun Wei assumed a relaxed posture, but her hand drifted ever so closer to the knife that was firmly attached to her hip.
This was ridiculous… her brother was a powerful ability user who had been in control of this base for a number of years now.
There was no need for her to be concerned about his well being.
And yet… Sun Wei could not shake the feeling that something had gone horribly wrong. She looked up and saw a series of well-designed houses reinforced by large earth walls.
The residents who lived in the inner region of the base were the ones with power. They lived like kings while the rest of the survivors starved.
It was something that Sun Wei had tried to change but her brother refused to act. She understood his reasoning, but it still left a bitter taste in her mouth.
The reality was that in the end times, there was nothing cheaper than human life. The only people with value were those with special powers.
At least this base tried to provide basic housing and accommodation for the survivors, some of the stories that Sun Wei had heard about the other bases suggested that things could be much worse for ordinary humans.
The sun had already begun to sink towards the horizon and a warm orange glow lit up the surrounding area.
Sun Wei eventually arrived at a mansion that was much larger than the surrounding houses and raised up her hand to knock on the door.
She turned the doorknob and discovered that it was open. Sun Wei pushed the door open and entered inside.
The first thing that she noticed was the smell.
A coppery tang that was very familiar to anyone who had survived for longer than a week in the apocalypse.
It was the scent of blood.
There were several people in the large room, and they all turned to watch Sun Wei as she stepped inside.
She recognised them… they were the top ability users in the base. But what were they doing here?
Sun Wei's eyes swept the room and discovered her mother in the corner in a seemingly unconscious state.
Fortunately, her clothes seemed to be undisturbed and there were no traces of injuries on her body.
"What's going on?" Sun Wei asked coldly as she reached for her knife. Not a single person in the room stopped her from reaching for her weapon.
And why would they?
People with abilities were much stronger and faster than ordinary humans. Sun Wei would be unable to hurt anyone in the room even without them using their powers.
Or so they thought…
"Where is my brother?" Sun Wei asked another question and this time her voice echoed through the room.
"Your brother… he… has unfortunately passed away," a smiling woman replied as she stepped to the side and gestured in a certain direction.
Sun Wei followed her fingers and saw a man walking out of a nearby corridor holding a bloody head in his palm.
"No… no…" Sun Wei whispered over and over again as she recognised the facial features of the decapitated head.
It was her brother.
There was an expression of surprise and anger on his face as if he had never expected to be betrayed by the ones closest to him.
Sun Wei knew the man holding the head. He was the second in command of the base, a man by the name of Cai Xukun.
But he was her brother's sworn companion… how could he have betrayed him?
"From today onward… I will be the new leader of the base," Cai Xukun growled hoarsely as he flung the head on the ground.
Sun Wei was unable to take her eyes away from her brother's lifeless head as it rolled towards her direction.
She heard giggles and saw the mocking sneers on the faces of the ability users present in the room.
Ahh… so that's why they kept her and her mother alive.
This was all a sick and twisted game to these monsters.
Sun Wei idly wondered if they would allow her to live or make her serve as an example of what would happen to those who held loyalty towards the old regime.
"The former leader was a weak man who was unable to lead us to become the most powerful faction in the northern region," Cai Xukun spoke in a firm tone.
"You son of a bitch…" the new leader's speech was interrupted by Sun Wei's unexpected words.
There was a brief moment of silence as no one expected the powerless sister of the former leader to speak up.
Sun Wei raised up her head and a burning intense anger could be seen in her gaze. She rushed forward while screaming at the top of her lungs.
One of the ability users stepped forward and intended to deal with her but Cai Xukun simply raised his right hand and stopped him.
He intended to break the former leader's sister both mentally and then physically. To do that then all he needed to do was drill into her head just how powerless she really was.
Sun Wei charged forward in apparent recklessness but just as her knife approached Cai Xukun's neck, her figure disappeared into white smoke.
"What?" someone exclaimed in disbelief as he could not understand what had just happened.
"They're gone!" the woman who was smiling earlier shouted in shock.
Both Sun Wei and her mother Sun Li were no longer in the room.
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