Apocalypse Chapter 93: Cooperation for Mutual Benefit

Chapter 93: Cooperation for Mutual Benefit

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

About ten minutes after the driver spoke, the small car ahead pulled into a courtyard. Above the gate hung a sign bearing bold letters: The Sovereign Base Research Institute.

Experts in white lab coats stood in front of the building waiting. Gu Zefeng got out of the car and handed Xiaoheng over to an elderly man leading the group. “First, give the child a thorough examination. See if he can be treated.”

Though Jiang Xiaoheng was brave, being handed to strangers still frightened him. He turned his head, looking toward the bus. “Daddy.”

Jiang Rong quickly jumped down and ran toward his son. “Xiaoheng, don’t be afraid. Daddy’s right here.”

Gu Zefeng scratched his cheek with amusement. “Captain Jiang, you don’t need to be so nervous. With so many people watching, the kid won’t get lost. If you’re worried, you can wait outside the lab.”

The lab had large transparent windows, allowing anyone standing outside to clearly see inside. Xiaoheng obediently lay down on the examination equipment. At first, he was tense, but under the gentle reassurance of the medical staff, he soon calmed down and even started chatting with the attending doctor.

After a short while, good news came from the lab: Jiang Xiaoheng’s illness was treatable. Hearing this, Jiang Rong pulled at the corners of his mouth, trying to smile, but his nose prickled and his eyes reddened. He had waited so long for this news. Ever since Xiaoheng was hospitalized with a lung infection, every day has been a nightmare. Now, finally, Xiaoheng had hope.

Gu Zefeng whistled nonchalantly, holding the treatment plan. “Captain Jiang, got a moment? Let’s sit down and talk about the medical expenses.”

Jiang Rong straightened up. “Captain Gu, please.”

The negotiation took place in the conference room across from the lab. Gu Zefeng lounged back, legs crossed on the table. “Our Sovereign Base isn’t a bunch of bandits. As long as the terms are right, treatment will start immediately. Captain Jiang, my only request is this: let us keep Master Guan here at the Sovereign Base.”

Before Jiang Rong could respond, Guan Shao shot Gu Zefeng a cold glance. “You’d better think twice before saying that.” Leaving Guan Shao in the Sovereign Base would surely make Gu Zefeng’s life difficult.

Gu Zefeng chuckled. “Just kidding. Old arms and legs like you aren’t much use. I heard the Spark Base has pretty good production—vegetables, meat. Captain Jiang, how about this? For the next ten years, Sovereign Base gets half of the Spark Base’s harvest. Vegetables, meat, anything—we want half.”

At those words, the Spark Base espers all darkened. As expected, Gu Zefeng’s arrogance was no joke. Jiang Rong glanced toward the lab, then sat up straight and spoke seriously. “Captain Gu, the Spark Base isn’t my personal kingdom. As a father, I’m willing to give everything to save my child. But as a member of the base, I have no right to harm the collective interest.”

“The Spark Base can provide seeds and technology to help the Sovereign with agriculture and livestock. The two bases can coexist peacefully and cooperatively. But if the Sovereign wants to treat the Spark Base as just a logistics supply base, I won’t agree—and neither will anyone in  the Spark Base.”

Gu Zefeng raised an eyebrow, waving the treatment plan. “Captain Jiang, don’t forget: the Spark Base is the one begging the Sovereign for help right now.”

Jiang Rong shook his head calmly. “Captain Gu, you’re mistaken. It’s not the Spark Base that needs the Sovereign—it’s me who needs the Sovereign.  The Spark Base doesn’t need me, nor does it need a child. But a father cannot lose his child. Within my ability, ask for whatever you want.”

Gu Zefeng slid his legs off the table and rested his chin on one hand. “If that’s how you feel, I’ll be honest with you.”

He pointed toward the lab outside. “Do you know how expensive our equipment is? How much does it cost to run a single test? How much does one dose of the special medicine cost? Captain Jiang, forgive me, but how much can you personally offer?”

Jiang Rong answered solemnly, “I have crystal cores and some supplies.”

The Spark Base used crystal cores as currency. Espers usually kept the cores they earned, using them like money inside the base. But outside  the Spark Base, crystal cores were hard currency.

Hearing “crystal cores,” Gu Zefeng appraised Jiang Rong up and down. “Crystal cores? Not bad.”

Jiang Rong said firmly, “Captain Gu, please calculate how many crystal cores are needed to treat Xiaoheng.”

Gu Zefeng stared thoughtfully for a moment, then raised his hand. “Get finance to calculate our treatment costs.”

Ten minutes later, the Sovereign’s finance returned the estimate. Based on Xiaoheng’s condition, he needed three doses of special medicine initially, then two doses every year afterward.

Each dose required two thousand level-two crystal cores. Gu Zefeng tapped the table casually. “Three doses come to six thousand crystal cores, plus nursing, hospitality, and miscellaneous fees… Captain Jiang, this time alone will cost you eight thousand level-two crystal cores.”

He gave Jiang Rong a half-smile. Jiang Rong needed crystal cores to upgrade too, and he had many espers under him. Eight thousand level-two crystal cores was a huge sum for him and  the Spark Base, very hard to come by.

As expected, Chu Qiang muttered, “What kind of special medicine costs two thousand cores a dose? This is robbery.”

Gu Zefeng had been waiting for Chu Qiang to speak up. “This brother here doesn’t mince words,” he said. “You think special medicine is easy to come by? To be honest, every dose of that special medicine has countless espers lined up for it.”

Jiang Rong raised his hand, signaling Chu Qiang to hold back. “Captain Gu, I’ve been meaning to ask—what exactly is the nature of this special medicine you mentioned? Could you show us?”

Gu Zefeng glanced around the room before standing up. “Alright, follow me.”

Jiang Rong and the others trailed behind Gu Zefeng as he led them out of the conference room. They exited through the back of the research building, where they discovered a river flowing quietly. At a narrow point, large machinery blocked the waterway; the gray-black water churned white as it passed through filters.

Standing on the riverside platform, Gu Zefeng pointed down to the water. “Why do you think our world became what it is today?”

Guan Shao answered seriously, “Because of the red light on the day of the Great Crisis, and the black rain that followed.” After the red light, flora and fauna began to mutate; those who couldn’t survive were lost to the past forever.

Gu Zefeng nodded slightly. “Correct. The red light can’t be collected, so we have no clue what it truly represents. But the black rain has seeped into every inch of land. Our base’s team, through relentless research, discovered an element within the black rain—a completely new element, undocumented anywhere. We named it D32.”

“D32 affects esper abilities. If used correctly, it could be even more terrifying than crystal cores.”

“But it’s extremely difficult to obtain. Once exposed to air, it begins to degrade. Now, it can only be found in water.”

At that, Gu Zefeng nodded to an esper beside him, who quickly carried a box forward.

When opened, the box contained a metal vial. Gu Zefeng manipulated it so the radiant golden D32 slowly flowed inside. It was hard to imagine such a beautiful element could be extracted from the black rain.

Holding the vial—no longer than his thumb—Gu Zefeng spoke deliberately, “This is purified D32. Just this little amount took every filtration device in the Sovereign working day and night for three months.”

“The special medicine used for Jiang Xiaoheng is composed of D32. Now, do you still think this medicine is cheap?”

The Sovereign was a large base with hundreds of filtration systems. The cost of running so many devices for three months was indeed enormous. Now, a price of two thousand crystal cores per dose seemed reasonable.

Jiang Rong’s concern was different. “Is it safe?” When it came to medicine for children, there was no room for negligence. They had no prior experience with D32—what if Xiaoheng reacted badly?

The esper carrying the box answered, “Our researchers and Captain Gu have personally tested the drug’s effects. D32 is radioactive but poses little harm to humans. It has a long half-life…”

Gu Zefeng cleared his throat. “Get to the point.”

The esper smiled awkwardly. “It’s quite safe. Low doses of D32 help espers increase their abilities. But if the concentration is too high, it actually suppresses esper powers.”

“Jiang Xiaoheng’s organ failure is because his esper power is too strong—his body can’t handle it. By injecting high-concentration D32, his abilities will be temporarily suppressed. We estimate that once he reaches adulthood, he can stop the injections.”

“Captain Jiang, truly, this isn’t us asking for a ransom. D32 is just that rare. The purer the element, the harder it is to extract.”

Jiang Rong and Guan Shao exchanged looks. From what Gu Zefeng said, the black rain contained large amounts of D32. That explained why people grew weak after exposure but also why espers’ powers increased afterward.

Jiang Rong’s eyes brightened. “Expert, if black rain still existed today, could we extract D32 more quickly?”

The esper nodded but smiled bitterly. “That’s right. If the original black rain were still around, we could advance our research much faster. The earliest black rain had the highest concentration of D32. Looking back, that wasn’t just rain—it was a shower of gold from the heavens.”

Unfortunately, humanity was slow to realize its value and failed to preserve any of that precious rainwater. If they had bottled even a single cup back then, it would be worth six months of our filtration now. But that’s impossible now—the heat after the rain evaporated everything, even water pooled in mountain ravines.

Jiang Rong took a deep breath to steady his pounding heart. “Captain Gu, the Spark Base has black rain.”

Not just a little—they had quite a bit. Gu Zefeng, who had been picking his ear, suddenly froze. “What?!”

Jiang Rong’s voice trembled with excitement. “Our base has black rain. Let’s sit down and discuss this seriously.”

Gu Zefeng was speechless.

*

Time flew by, and by late August—after nearly two months of treatment—Jiang Xiaoheng’s symptoms had completely disappeared. His abilities were suppressed for now, unable to activate his psychic powers until he reached adulthood.

Xiaoheng didn’t mind at all. He hadn’t had his powers for long, and never knew how to control them. After the medicine, the world felt peaceful to him; food tasted better, and sleep was sounder.

The August sun blazed fiercely, and Jiang Rong’s group wanted to head home while the weather was still cool. Just as dawn broke, the espers of the Spark Base slowly drove away from the Sovereign base. Jiang Rong looked ahead and spotted three heavy trucks, their cargo holds packed with bloodthirsty vines.

Having spent almost two months around the Sovereign’s mountains, Little Guaiguai and Little Fairy had cleared out all the mutated plants and creatures nearby. Outside the high walls of the base, these two had gone on a rampage. By the time the Sovereign’s espers noticed, the two plants had become the most fearsome mutated plants in the area.

What was more surprising was how well-behaved these two mutants were. Whenever they met the Sovereign espers, they would politely greet them. Before long, the Sovereign espers had come to treasure them like precious pets.

Thanks to the deterrent effect of Little Guaiguai and the lure of the black rain, negotiations between Jiang Rong and Gu Zefeng went exceptionally smoothly. In exchange for the black rain, the Sovereign not only waived Xiaoheng’s treatment fees but also signed a peace agreement.

Jiang Rong never dreamed that his idea to collect the black rain would one day pay off so well. In the basement of his home were over a dozen barrels of black rain, each weighing thirty pounds—enough for the Sovereign’s researchers to study for a long time.

From the truck came the theme song of the “Meow Meow Team.” Jiang Rong glanced back and couldn’t help but laugh. “If Gu Zefeng saw this, he’d be so hurt.”

The three children sat glued to the TV on the sofa, their pets curled up at their feet, and the once spacious lounge area was now crowded. Though Gu Zefeng was far from a good man—always scheming to steal Guan Shao’s abilities—he genuinely cared for the children. During their time at the Sovereign base, the relationship between him and the three kids had improved by leaps and bounds. Under his special care, the kids had grown stronger.

When they said goodbye earlier, the children had cried their eyes out, and Gu Zefeng’s own eyes had reddened. But it wasn’t long before the kids’ attention shifted from the farewell to the cartoons.

Guan Shao sighed, “Gu Zefeng loved kids. On missions, he always got along well with the local children wherever he went. He once told me his greatest wish was to retire with Yun Que, go back to their hometown, and adopt seventeen or eighteen kids.” Unfortunately, Yun Que was dead. After grieving, Gu Zefeng had turned to chasing power and influence.

Jiang Rong shook his head in resignation. “At least he’s not completely lost. He still knows how to weigh the pros and cons. At least he’s not rotten to the bone.” At the very least, Gu Zefeng considered the Sovereign espers. By using Xiaoheng’s treatment as leverage, both the Sovereign and the Spark Base got what they wanted.

The radio crackled to life with Chu Qiang’s voice. “Xiao Jiang, just got word from the Peace Base—Meng Liang and Liu Heng are dead.”

Jiang Rong was surprised. “Dead? Really dead? Or just pretending? I thought their stalemate would last a while longer. I didn’t expect Meng Liang wouldn’t make it through the summer.”

Chu Qiang replied firmly, “Really dead. Zhou Xing’s now in charge of the Peace Base. We’ll have to attend the funeral when we get back.”

After hanging up, Jiang Rong looked ahead. “I thought once the base stabilized we could take it easy for a while. Looks like we’re going to be busy for a long time.”

Wherever there were people, there were conflicts. Whether the Spark Base or other bases, people came and went every day, and new loves, hates, and grudges formed constantly.

Guan Shao glanced at Jiang Rong. “It’s okay. As long as everyone’s safe, being busy isn’t a problem.”

Jiang Rong nodded deeply. “Yeah.” Without his teammates, there was no way he could have saved Xiaoheng alone. The sun rose over the eastern mountains, golden light streaming onto the road ahead. Jiang Rong exhaled slowly. “Been away from home so long—I wonder what the base and family are like now.”

Guan Shao grabbed the radio and gave an order. “Listen up—floor it, full speed ahead! Let’s get home as soon as possible!”

Voices answered through the radio, “Roger!” “Oh yeah, homecoming!”

The convoy accelerated. Jiang Rong leaned back in his seat, feeling the vehicle’s gentle jolts. The road ahead was clear—no thorns, no obstacles—thanks to the espers who had cleared the way.

Watching the mountains and trees rush past, Jiang Rong realized it had been a long time since he’d thought about his past life. But there was nothing good in it anyway. This life was better: a lover, children, friends, a base—everything he needed.

He glanced sideways at Guan Shao’s handsome profile and smiled contentedly. “It’s good. Finally, we’re going home.”

 

 

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