Apocalypse Chapter 58: Expulsion

Chapter 58: Expulsion

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Li Bin and his group were assigned to Panjia Village in the southwest. Although the village was small, the environment was good. Looking north, one could see a huge banyan tree. This place was close to a resort. Li Bin had brought his wife and children here to play before. “Xiaofei, do you still remember this place? Daddy brought you here before. There’s a reservoir here.”

Li Fei looked around blankly after raising his head. “I don’t remember…”

It’s not surprising that the child didn’t recognize it. The last time they brought the child here was several years ago. Nowadays, there are earth-shaking changes every few months, let alone several years?

Li Bin comforted, “It’s okay, you’ll remember in the future.”

The electric tricycle slowly stopped in front of Panjia Village. The driver pointed in the direction of Panjia Village and said, “Here you are, you can go in now.”

After Li Bin and the others got off the tricycle, the tricycle quickly disappeared down the path, kicking up dust that sprayed everyone’s faces. The temperature was starting to rise now, and the driver had to hurry back to cool off.

Li Bin led the group with the keys towards Panjia Village. Just as they arrived at the entrance of the village, a young man who looked like a college student stopped them. “What are you guys doing?”

Li Bin quickly handed the list in his sleeve to the man. “We are survivors newly assigned to the base. Hey buddy, is this Panjia Village, Building 8?”

The man took the list and glanced at it, his brows furrowing with anger. “Damn.”

Li Bin and his group looked at each other in confusion. “What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

The man looked at Li Bin unpredictably. “What were you doing before?”

Li Bin honestly replied, “We are engineers from the Civil Defense Design Institute of City C, as well as university professors and marine engineers. Our specific occupations have already been registered.”

Upon hearing this, the man’s face turned black immediately. He tightly grasped the pass and stared at Li Bin and his group. If looks could kill, Li Bin and his group would probably have been riddled with countless holes.

Li Bin and the others were not inexperienced. After a moment of silence, he spoke, “Is there a problem? If there is, please return the pass to us, and we’ll go find Master Jiang.”

Gritting his teeth, the man asked, “Who is this Master Jiang you’re talking about?”

Li Bin calmly replied, “Jiang Rong, Master Jiang. I used to work with him.”

Upon hearing Jiang Rong’s name, the man’s expression became extremely complicated. He seemed like a wild beast on the verge of exploding, eager to bare his fangs and bite Li Bin and the others fiercely, yet also fearing repercussions. He forced out a twisted smile, “Welcome.”

Although he said welcome, his body remained stiff. He practically walked with the wind under his feet, eager to leave Li Bin and the others far behind. However, Panjia Village wasn’t that big. Even if he ran off like a shadow, Li Bin and his group could still see the house assigned to them by the base at a glance.

They had thought that the houses assigned by the base wouldn’t be too good, but when they saw the houses, everyone still showed smiles of joy. The building was a three-story townhouse with over a dozen bedrooms, each equipped with two to three bunk beds, more than enough to accommodate over thirty people.

What’s even better was that solar panels were installed on the roof. After turning on the faucet, clear water flowed out of the pipes. Those entering the room were crying and laughing. Several people even gave Li Bin a big hug. “Bin, thank you.”

If it weren’t for Li Bin knowing Jiang Rong, they would have died in the industrial park. How could they live in such a good house and have water and electricity?

Li Bin felt unworthy of their gratitude. “The one you should thank is Master Jiang.”

Everyone happily chose their favorite rooms. Li Bin and his family were assigned to the room on the easternmost side of the first floor, which had a toilet inside and opened directly into the living room and kitchen, very convenient.

Days of rushing around had left Li Bin and his group dirty all over. Now that they had water, everyone just wanted to take a good bath and then sleep well. When Li Bin entered the bathroom to take a shower, he heard voices outside the window.

“Spark Base is too bullying. We work so hard every day, but the place we live doesn’t even have air conditioning. They, on the other hand, just because they know Jiang Rong, can live in such good houses as soon as they enter the base!”

The person speaking was exactly the student who had led them in. He stood outside the bathroom window with his back to it, speaking angrily to another person, “They promised to install solar panels for us before, but after we applied for them, they’ve been just giving us the runaround. Chairman, I really feel like Jiang Rong doesn’t see us students as human beings at all. He just sees us as free labor!”

The person opposite him had a solemn expression. After a moment, he nodded slowly, “You’re right, the base is indeed unfair to us. But rest assured, Spark Base is not Jiang Rong’s dictatorship. If we unite, we can always fight for what we deserve. Just be patient for now…”

The student wanted to say something more, but he heard the person across from him say in a low voice, “Be careful, walls have ears. Let’s discuss this in detail after we go back. Tonight, I will go talk to Captain Xu. In a few days, there may be some big movements within the base.”

The two lowered their voices again to say something, but Li Bin couldn’t hear clearly. Soon, they left. Li Bin frowned, watching the direction they went. Although wherever there are people, there are struggles, encountering such things right after arriving at the base felt somewhat unusual. The next time he met Jiang Rong, he would tell Master Jiang everything he heard today.

***

At half past nine in the morning, the temperature outside had already risen to over forty degrees. People in Spark Base returned to their rooms to escape the heat. Those who had the means turned on fans and air conditioners, while those who didn’t resorted to using ice buckets and fans.

The air conditioner in the living room of Building 10 of the Fisheries Team was turned on. Although the air conditioner couldn’t be set too low, compared to facing the high temperatures directly, the room was still cool and comfortable. Residents of the house gathered in the living room on the first floor to cool off. Some lay down on mats on the floor to rest, some gathered to chat, and even two tables of people were playing mahjong.

One table’s voices were particularly loud. A thin old man gleefully turned over the tiles in front of him after drawing a tile, “Hey! I win!”

A neighbor who had come from the neighboring building asked in confusion, “Who’s this old man? Why is he shouting so loudly?”

The neighbor clicked his tongue and lowered his voice, “Who else could it be? He’s the future patriarch of Spark Base.”

The neighbor nodded knowingly, with a hint of disdain in his eyes, “So it’s him.”

After River’s Bridge was destroyed by wild boars, the original residents were assigned to other villages. Now, several villages’ people were gathered in the Fisheries Village. The questioning resident wasn’t from River’s Bridge, but he had heard some gossip.

The old man playing cards was named Jiang Fusheng. His son, Jiang Zixuan, used to be a playboy who got a girl pregnant while in college. Later, the girl gave birth to the child and abandoned it at the Jiang family’s doorstep. The Jiang family didn’t want the child, so they gave him to relatives.

Taking away the child was none other than Jiang Rong, the leader of the base. Because of this relationship, the tasks assigned to Jiang Zixuan and his father were exceptionally easy. During this time, many people saw Jiang Zixuan in contact with Jiang Xiaoheng, apparently trying to build a good relationship with him.

The neighbor sneered, “Shameless.”

To abandon one’s own child and now, seeing his son has someone to rely on, he eagerly clings to him. There are many despicable people in the world, but not many are as despicable as this.

The residents of Building 10 deeply understood, “Yes, but there’s no other way.”

Who made Jiang Zixuan’s family so lucky? Now, who doesn’t know how to build good relationships with the espers in the base? As the leader of the base, Jiang Rong’s side was already crowded with people.

Everyone knew that as long as they could build a good relationship with Jiang Xiaoheng, their lives would soar. Jiang Zixuan was the biological father of the child, so he had more reason and advantage to get close to the child than anyone else.

During this time, rumors were rife in several villages, and the residents gave Jiang Fusheng and his son the nicknames “Emperor” and “Grand Emperor.” It seemed that as long as Jiang Xiaoheng grew up, they would be able to sit firmly in the number one position in the base.

At this time, Jiang Zixuan entered the living room with a tray of beverages. Seeing his son come in, Jiang Fusheng quickly pushed aside the mahjong tiles in his hands, “Let’s stop playing, my son is back.”

After Jiang Zixuan entered, he didn’t greet anyone and went straight upstairs to his room. Once in the room, Jiang Zixuan turned on the air conditioner. The old air conditioner made a buzzing sound, and the cool breeze soon blew away the sweat on his body.

The power generation of the solar panels was limited. Normally, only one air conditioner could be powered per building. Building 10 was somewhat special. Their rooftop had two extra solar panels, just enough to allow Jiang Zixuan’s family to use an air conditioner.

As soon as he entered the bedroom, Jiang Fusheng eagerly asked, “How did it go? Did you see my grandson?”

Jiang Zixuan sighed, “I waited at the market all morning, but he didn’t show up.” 

Even the Lele Duo he exchanged with great difficulty couldn’t be given out, which made Jiang Zixuan feel a bit frustrated.

Jiang Fusheng encouraged, “It’s okay, if not today, then tomorrow. As long as you have time, go to the Village Three more often, meet with the child more, and become familiar with him.”

Jiang Zixuan’s eyes dimmed, “Dad, I don’t want to go anymore. You don’t know, there are too many people trying to please that child. My little offerings can’t even catch his attention.”

Jiang Fusheng smiled, “You foolish boy, you don’t understand anything. Giving up already? This is the best time to repair your relationship with your son. If the child grows up, will he recognize you? Will he have the patience to listen to your grievances? Son, opportunities come and go in an instant, you have to seize them!”

Jiang Zixuan collapsed heavily on the bed, sighing deeply, “I understand the reasoning, but right now, I find it difficult to even say a word to him. There are so many people around him, you don’t know, there’s even a mutated tiger standing taller than me by his side.”

Jiang Fusheng sighed, “I’ve heard about it, but the more challenging it is, the less we can retreat. I heard from people in the village that in the future, the base will scatter us to do various tasks. The fewer opportunities you have to see that child.”

Jiang Zixuan lamented, grabbing his hair, “If only I hadn’t sent the child to him in the first place. Dad, you don’t know how it feels to look at that child.”

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Jiang Fusheng gently patted Jiang Zixuan’s chest, “Dad understands. Dad is also a man, how can he not understand? There’s not a single man in the world who wants to see his own son calling someone else Dad. But things have come to this, we have to look forward.” Jiang Fusheng sighed, “It’s also my fault. At that time, I thought we had some family background, and when you were young, you would find a wife and have a son you liked in the future.” 

Unexpectedly, the Great Crisis came, and their family lost everything. Fortunately, the child was given away, otherwise they wouldn’t know what they would become now.

Jiang Fusheng emphasized, “Zixuan, believe Dad, Dad won’t harm you. Now, building a good relationship with the child is for your own good. Think about it, we’re just ordinary people. If there’s no one backing us up from above, how difficult will our future days be?”

Everyone in the base knew that Jiang Rong cherished his child, but Jiang Xiaoheng was not his biological son. As long as they could build a good relationship with the child while he was young, when the child grew up, he would surely acknowledge his roots.

Jiang Zixuan understood this principle. He took a deep breath, “Alright, I’ll go to the market again tomorrow and wait. If it doesn’t work, I’ll go to Chu Qiang’s house…”

While father and son were planning how to approach Jiang Xiaoheng, there was a knock on the bedroom door. Jiang Fusheng raised his voice, “Who’s there?”

The voice of the old village chief from Jiang Family Village came from outside the door, “It’s me, open the door, I have something to discuss with you.”

After the door opened, the old village chief looked Jiang Zixuan and his father up and down, “You’re lucky, the base has assigned a good task to you. Come with me.”

Jiang Zixuan was somewhat surprised, “A task? What kind of task at this time?” 

They weren’t espers; usually, tasks were done at night.

The old village chief frowned, “It’s perfect to do tasks under the bright daylight. Don’t worry, it’s not a difficult task. If you don’t go, I’ll find someone else.” 

After speaking, the village chief turned to leave. Jiang Fusheng quickly grabbed the old village chief’s arm, “Hey, cousin, don’t be angry, we’ll go now.”

After leaving the house, the scorching sun made them sweat profusely. Fortunately, after reaching the village gate, they got into a car. The car was fully air-conditioned, and as soon as they got in, father and son started to cool down.

Seeing the old village chief standing outside the car, Jiang Zixuan was puzzled, “Village Chief, aren’t you coming with us?”

The old village chief leisurely said, “My body can’t handle tasks like this anymore. You two go.”

Jiang Zixuan felt something was amiss, but considering the care the old village chief had shown them recently, he relaxed. After the car started, Jiang Zixuan realized that the driver was Chu Qiang. He greeted warmly, “Brother Chu, is it you? How could I let you drive us? Let me drive instead?”

Chu Qiang kept his eyes straight ahead, “It’s on the way, so I’m taking you guys.” 

Chu Qiang never liked Jiang Zixuan, so naturally, he didn’t give him a good face when they met.

Seemingly oblivious, Jiang Zixuan sat down with a smile, “Brother Chu, what kind of task does the base want us to do? Why does it seem like we’re heading north?”

Chu Qiang remained expressionless, “You’ll know when you get there. Also, don’t disturb me while I’m driving.”

After driving north for more than ten kilometers, they arrived at the national highway on the north side of the base. There was a large willow tree beside the highway, and two cars were parked under it. One was the military vehicle that Jiang Rong and Guan Shao often drove, and the other was a sedan that looked almost brand new.

When Jiang Zixuan saw the military vehicle, his eyelids jumped. Even if he were a bit slow, he realized that something was wrong. Jiang Rong, as a figure of such status, how could he have time to wait for them here?

Chu Qiang opened the car door with a sly smile, “Alright, get out of the car, we’ve reached our destination.”

Jiang Zixuan and his father didn’t want to get out of the car; they just wanted to go back quickly. But they weren’t a match for Chu Qiang, so they could only grit their teeth and get out of the car. With his arms crossed, Chu Qiang urged them, “What are you standing there for? Move forward.” 

As soon as he finished speaking, the military vehicle opened, and Jiang Rong stepped out of the car. The last time Jiang Zixuan saw Jiang Rong was during the wild boar attack on River’s Bridge. At that time, Jiang Rong was covered in blood and had a formidable presence. Compared to last time, Jiang Rong’s clothes weren’t stained with blood this time, but his expressionless face seemed even more intimidating. Jiang Zixuan nervously greeted, “Long time no see.”

Jiang Rong looked Jiang Zixuan up and down, their faces somewhat resembling each other. It was precisely because of this slight resemblance that Jiang Rong felt somewhat uncomfortable. He said coldly, “Do you know why I called you two out?”

Jiang Fusheng’s heart skipped a beat. After exchanging a glance with his son, he decided to play dumb, “No, we don’t know.”

Jiang Rong looked at them coldly, “I can allow you to slack off in the base, take advantage of your past relationship to do easy tasks, and allow you to live in better conditions. But I won’t allow you to approach Jiang Xiaoheng with ill intentions.”

Hearing Jiang Xiaoheng’s name, Jiang Zixuan’s eyes were panicked, “We don’t have any ill intentions. We just want to see the child more. After all, I’m his biological father…”

Jiang Rong interrupted, “When Jiang Xiaoheng was just born and crying in the cradle, why didn’t you, as his father, hold him? Why didn’t you change his diaper or feed him milk? You regarded him as a burden, only thinking about getting rid of him when he was born. Why didn’t you think about the fact that he shares your blood?”

Jiang Zixuan couldn’t even utter a word of rebuttal; Jiang Rong’s words hit him right where it hurt. Three years ago, when he found out about his son, Jiang Zixuan’s heart was full of panic and disgust. Jiang Xiaoheng was an accident, he never expected his ex-girlfriend to give birth to an unwanted child. At that time, he had just landed a good job and started dating the daughter of his Boss, how could he let an infant ruin everything?

But things are different now. He genuinely wants to mend things with Xiaoheng. Looking at the child’s face, so similar to his, Jiang Zixuan felt a surge of pride: this is his son, he’s grown so well, so obedient and sensible.

He approached Jiang Xiaoheng with selfish motives, yes, but how he longed to hear Jiang Xiaoheng call him ‘Daddy’! Jiang Zixuan’s throat tightened, “After all, I am his biological father!’”

Jiang Rong had no interest in listening to the father and son’s sophistry. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. I won’t let you influence Xiaoheng, let alone let him know he has relatives like you. Now, you have only two options before you. First: leave the base. I’ve prepared a car and supplies for you, enough to get you to the next base.”

Jiang Zixuan then realized that the other car under the willow tree was provided by Jiang Rong for them. Jiang Rong intended to drive them out of the base!

Leaving the base at this moment would be suicidal, wouldn’t it? Jiang Fusheng’s face turned pale, he stuttered, ‘”Jiang Rong, no, Chief Jiang, we signed an agreement with the base. We gave all our property to the base in exchange for its protection. The base can’t just drive us away like this!”

Chu Qiang sneered, “Haha, all your property? Don’t forget, your house has been destroyed by wild boars. If it weren’t for us, would you and your son still be alive to speak here? Not to mention, half of what you call your property is from Jiang Rong’s family, given to you to take Xiaoheng away. If you had an ounce of integrity, I’d respect you. But what did you do? You were ungrateful, complaining about the child being a burden before, now you see him as useful and want to claim him back.” Chu Qiang spat, “This is not how one should behave, being so greedy.”

Sweat poured down Jiang Fusheng’s forehead, he pleaded, “Chief Jiang, we were wrong! We promise we’ll never appear in front of Xiaoheng again, even if you kill us, we won’t utter a word about his background…”

Jiang Rong smirked, “Too late, I gave you a chance.” 

But Jiang Zixuan kept pushing his boundaries. Jiang Zixuan’s heart raced, sweat dripping like rain. It was only now that he realized how weak he was in front of Jiang Rong. He had no capability to have an equal conversation with Jiang Rong, let alone snatch the child away. After a moment of contemplation, Jiang Zixuan tentatively asked, “Is there… another option?”

Jiang Rong emphasized each word, “The second option: death.”

As soon as he finished speaking, countless red vines descended from the willow tree. The bloodthirsty vines hung over the shoulders of the father and son, their cold touch like snakes, terrifying them to the core.

In this world, killing someone is easier than drinking water. esper could easily kill an ordinary person with a snap of his fingers, let alone someone who’s in control of the base. The moment Jiang Zixuan touched the bloodthirsty vine, he was certain that if he didn’t leave, Jiang Rong would have no hesitation in taking his life.

Jiang Zixuan fell to his knees, hoarsely shouting, “I’ll go! We’ll go! Please, spare us!” 

Jiang Rong nodded slightly, “It’s a deal. Don’t ever appear in front of me again, and if I see you again, you know the consequences.”

Without looking back, Jiang Zixuan and his father hurried towards the car ahead. They quickly started the car and drove westward, soon disappearing from sight. Chu Qiang chuckled coldly to himself, “Worthless creatures, lacking ability but with grand ambitions.” 

Jiang Rong had been very kind to them, yet they still wanted to snatch Xiaoheng away. Anyone with a conscience couldn’t tolerate that! If Xiaoheng were Chu Qiang’s son, he would make sure these two disappear forever. However, outside the protection of the base, how far could this father and son go? It all depended on fate. After all, the world beyond the base is full of ‘surprises.’ Jiang Rong gazed in the direction Jiang Zixuan and his father had left, after a while, he lowered his eyes, “Let’s go home.”

His son had been waiting for him at home for a long time. It was time for him to return.

 

 

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