The morning of a new day arrived in the Shin-Jinrui Central District with gentle rays of dawn, but what truly dragged the Zero Horizon group back to reality in the most blunt fashion was the sheer amount of money Kento had brought home last night.
On the worn wooden coffee table in the living room, an alloy briefcase lay wide open, revealing stacks of Sophion Coin cards emitting an intoxicating turquoise glow. Seeing this, Loona's eyes sparkled with delight as she repeatedly counted them. Ling Mo stood leaning against the wall, arms crossed silently, though his eyebrows raised slightly in surprise. Shin, meanwhile, couldn't hide his excitement mixed with bewilderment, turning to look at Kento, who was dressed in a crisp black suit:
— "Kento, where on earth did you get this much money? Don't tell me you went and robbed a bank?"
Kento casually sat cross-legged on the chair, tapping his fingers against the rim of the briefcase, smiling as he answered:
— "No, no, I didn't rob anyone. Last night I was hired by a plutocrat uncle as security. Once the contract was done, I got all 30,000 of these Sophion Coins!"
Loona looked up, her chubby face full of awe:
— "Whoa, that uncle must be insanely rich. Plus... he was reckless enough to hire an absolute monster like you as a bodyguard!"
Kento shrugged, taking a sip of plain water:
— "I was holding way back yesterday. Otherwise, that building would've collapsed long ago."
— "..."
Amidst the lively atmosphere, Ling Mo suddenly uncrossed his arms, taking a few steady strides around the room. His steps were firm, displaying no remaining signs of injury whatsoever.
Kento stared with wide eyes at his teammate's leg:
— "Huh? Ling Mo, your leg isn't broken anymore? Didn't Shin say you snapped your bone the other day?"
Ling Mo shot Kento a cold glance, his voice icy:
— "I was never actually crippled. With my physique, simply circulating Sophion for a bit is enough to heal right up."
Kento didn't mind his cold demeanor at all, immediately turning to Shin while excitedly pointing at his outfit:
— "Ah, Shin! I think I look really good in this suit. Now that we've got cash, how about I take you to buy a few? Looks super slick!"
Shin gave a bitter laugh, looking at the cash in the briefcase before shaking his head with a sigh:
— "We just got this money, we can't go throwing it around recklessly right away. We need to save it for long-term plans, little brother."
Kento waved his hand dismissively with the carefree swagger of a newly rich mogul:
— "It's fine, if we spend it, we'll just earn more! Besides, I forgot to tell you—I recruited a new member last night, Shin!"
Shin was startled, setting his apron down on the table:
— "Huh? What new member?"
— "A new member for Zero Horizon!" Kento smirked with pride. "He uses black hole and spatial arts—his abilities are pretty bizarre."
Loona blinked curiously:
— "Spatial arts? Someone like that must be immensely knowledgeable and scholarly, right?"
Kento recalled the fight from last night and clicked his tongue:
— "I recruited him because he had a few interesting moves. But honestly, his practical combat technique is way too weak—one hit from my SPATIAL FRACTURE and he was flat on his back."
Shin smiled upon hearing this, clapping his hands loudly to break the conversation:
— "Alright! Either way, today is a grand occasion—we've got cash and a new recruit. Now that we have money, let me take you all to eat Black Bean Noodles! I know a place that's incredible!"
Loona jumped up in joy, hands raised high:
— "Heck yeah, Shin! I've been craving that for so long!"
Just like that, the four of them headed out of the shabby apartment building, walking straight toward a small eatery tucked away in a quaint alley of the Central District. It was a traditional black bean noodle shop run by a Korean owner.
The moment they stepped inside, the rich, fragrant aroma of freshly stir-fried chunjang paste struck their nostrils, tantalizing all four of their palates. Shin immediately ordered four extra-large special bowls.
Only a few minutes later, steaming bowls of black bean noodles were brought out. Looking at the dish, everyone couldn't help but swallow hard. Each strand of fresh, golden-yellow noodles was handmade on the spot, thick, glossy, and perfectly chewy. Generously slathered over the surface was a thick layer of jet-black bean sauce, gleaming like obsidian glaze over seared, succulent slices of pork belly, sweet caramelized onions, and tender slices of fresh zucchini.
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When tossed with chopsticks, the squishing sound of the noodles intertwining with the rich sauce was music to their ears. The dark sauce clung tightly, coating every tender, chewy strand.
Loona scooped a giant bite into her mouth. The smooth noodles glided into her palate, delivering the rich, subtly bitter depth characteristic of black bean paste, followed immediately by the mild sweetness of onions and the savory pork fat melting on her tongue. Paired with a slice of bright yellow, crunchy pickled radish, the refreshing sweet-and-sour crunch instantly cut through the richness, creating an explosion of flavor that made one want to eat endlessly.
The four of them devoured their food while chatting cheerfully, their laughter echoing throughout the small eatery.
After a hearty and satisfying meal, the group strolled back to their rented apartment. However, the moment Shin pushed open the living room door, the smiles on their faces instantly froze.
Lying lazily across the worn sofa in the center of the room was a mysterious visitor. Dressed in somewhat disheveled clothing, his eyes were half-closed as if he were in his own home.
Shin grew vigilant, stepping forward to shield Loona, his voice dropping:
— "Huh? Who are you? How did you get in here?"
The person on the sofa lazily cracked one eye open, waving a limp hand:
— "It's me... I'm Jingchen, the new member Kento recruited last night. Huh, didn't he introduce me to you guys yet?"
Kento stepped forward from behind, his face darkening as he growled:
— "You bastard... you waltz into someone's house like you're breaking and entering? How did you even track us down to this remote backwater?"
Xie Jingchen sat up, letting out a long yawn before shrugging smugly:
— "Simple, because I'm Xie Jingchen! Basic positioning and signal sweeps like this are child's play for me."
Loona peeked out from behind Shin, looking at Jingchen with curiosity. She tilted her head slightly in analysis:
— "So... you must have used algorithms to probe the underground security network to find this place, right? You must be incredible at technology and computing."
Hearing this, Jingchen's lazy eyes suddenly flashed with a beam of surprise. Staring intently at the short-haired girl, he clicked his tongue in praise:
— "Little girl, you guessed my expertise from just a single sentence? You really are smart—a truly rare talent."
Saying so, Jingchen rested his chin on his hand, the smile fading from his lips and replaced by a grave expression:
— "Then... let me guess. You're not a normal human, are you?"
Loona flinched, her shoulders trembling slightly at Jingchen's sudden question. Standing up, he took a few steps closer and continued in a low voice:
— "Biologically, you are still human. But you are fundamentally different in that your IQ level is absurdly higher than ordinary humans. People in this world often mistakenly think being smart is just a normal variance, that there's no reason to classify it as a separate species—after all, regular humans have fools and geniuses alike."
Jingchen took a deep breath, a deep sadness surfacing in his eyes:
— "But to me, it's different. Your race... individuals born with an overwhelmingly superior IQ, capable of dominating and manipulating the vast majority of other humans. Because you are a member of the Intelligent Race—creatures possessing the most advanced brains in this universe."
Loona froze completely. Her eyes widened, her lips pressed tightly together in shock as she listened to Jingchen. He was spot on, nailing the origin of her lineage that she had harbored for so long.
Seeing the tense atmosphere, Shin laughed out loud, slapping Loona's shoulder proudly to dispel the pressure:
— "Haha! What's so weird about that, new recruit? My adoptive sister here is a genuine genius!"
Kento nodded alongside him, but realizing something, he asked Jingchen:
— "So... if she belongs to that race you mentioned, will she be able to meet her kin again in the future?"
Ling Mo stood silently in the corner, but his gaze also turned toward Jingchen, awaiting the answer.
Xie Jingchen lowered his head, clenching his hands tightly as he dropped a brutal truth like a bucket of ice water:
— "The sad news is... you will never meet anyone from the Intelligent Race ever again. That entire race... is extinct. More accurately, they were wiped out long ago. You, Loona... are almost certainly the sole surviving individual in this cruel world."
THUD…
Hearing the words "wiped out," the little girl's body wobbled slightly. Tears of grief and pain welled up in the corners of her eyes. Seeing this broke Shin's heart; he immediately stepped forward and pulled his little sister into a warm embrace, his big hand gently stroking her head to comfort her.
Loona buried her face in Shin's chest, sobbing uncontrollably:
— "I know... My parents are gone too... If you hadn't picked me up from the trash that day, Shin... I probably would have really died back then..."
Shin tightened his embrace, his warm yet resolute voice ringing out like a vow declared to the world:
— "Shh, it's alright, little sister. Don't cry. Look, you still have me, Kento, and Ling Mo right here by your side protecting you. We are a family, and family never abandons one another!"
Xie Jingchen looked at the scene, letting out a bitter sigh before explaining the bloody history:
— "Precisely because Loona's race was too intelligent compared to the rest of the world, a blood-soaked purge of the previous era was carried out targeting them. The rulers of the Federation saw that if a creature possessed both an insanely high IQ and Sophion energy, it would be like a fish in water—far too dangerous for their rule."
Stuffing his hands into his pockets, his distant gaze reminisced as he recounted to Loona:
— "Back when I was still an intern at a research facility, I once encountered a girl around ten years old from the Intelligent Race. She had red hair and watery blue eyes. But ironically enough... she was turned into a living test subject. Only on brief weekends was she allowed to step out of the suffocating lab to play in the common yard."
— "She was heartbreakingly mature," Jingchen's voice quavered. "She knew she was being used for experiments, knew she was treated as a biological specimen from birth. The scientists back then were frantically trying to extract the genome of the Intelligent Race to splice into ordinary humans to create an army of super-intellects. But tragically, everyone who underwent the trial transplant died suddenly without explanation."
— "Then one day... I stopped seeing her at the playground. Even the other children her age vanished mysteriously. I went looking and was horrified to discover that over ten children had been transferred directly to a top-secret lab focusing on biomechanical integration."
Jingchen closed his eyes, his facial muscles twitching in disgust:
— "I took the risk and ran over there... And when I looked through the glass slit of that cold room, I saw... they had cut open the children's skulls and heartlessly extracted their brains. Their brains were then hooked up to a mass of mechanical wires, turned into biological supercomputers to serve their research projects..."
SLAM!
Shin punched the wall violently, bloodshot veins bulging in his eyes from pure rage:
— "How could they be so cruel, so monstrous?! Didn't you try to do anything back then? Didn't you try to save those kids?"
Jingchen lowered his head, replying helplessly:
— "Back then, I was just a low-ranking intern with zero power or strength... After that horrific day, I immediately resigned and fled that cursed place to work in another district. That old research lab... was owned by major shareholders of the AX Corporation and secretly funded by the Federation Corporation itself—the ones controlling this entire region."
Kento stood leaning against the doorframe, remaining silent for a moment before coldly observing:
— "Figures... there's never a happy ending for the weak."
The room plunged into a suffocating, dreadful silence. Loona wiped away her tears and looked up at Jingchen, speaking in a fragile, trembling voice:
— "I hope those little boys and girls are at peace now... Jingchen, the ten-year-old girl in your story... was her name Alex? When I was eleven, I used to take that neighbor girl out to play with the other kids... back when Alex was only eight years old."
Jingchen flinched, looking at Loona with deep sorrow before nodding softly:
— "Regrettably... that girl was Alex. That's how everything unfolded—far too tragic... But I genuinely couldn't do anything back then. I'm sorry, Loona... for failing to save those children..."
Shin took a deep breath. Sensing the heavy grief in the room, he actively clapped his hands to lift everyone's spirits:
— "On another note! The mood here is way too gloomy, let's switch to a brighter topic!”
Kento immediately agreed, nodding sharply:
— "I'm with you on that! Leave the past in the past; blood debts will be paid back in blood later."
Ling Mo in the corner silently gave a thumbs-up.
Seeing how quickly everyone recovered their spirits, Xie Jingchen scratched his head, asking in confusion:
— "Honestly though... why is our group so weird? It's nothing like I imagined. I thought an organization like Zero Horizon with such a legendary underground reputation would be packed with members and grand in scale! Who knew there were only a handful of us?"
Kento chuckled, slinging an arm around Jingchen's shoulder:
— "We're still in the foundational phase, little brother! Once the time is right, we'll recruit plenty more monsters."
Jingchen looked around the cramped, dilapidated apartment and suggested:
— "I take it our group doesn't have an official base yet, right? How about everyone moves into my private research facility? There's plenty of space, state-of-the-art equipment, and it's extremely comfortable for all of us to live in. It's also the perfect place for Loona to unleash her full tech genius! What do you guys say, shall we?"
Shin didn't make the call alone, turning gently to look down at his little sister in his arms:
— "What do you think, Loona? We'll stay or go based on your decision."
Loona looked at Shin, then at Kento, Ling Mo, and finally Jingchen. Her face broke into a radiant smile as she nodded vigorously:
— "Yes! I... I agree! Let's move!"
Xie Jingchen laughed in delight, springing up:
— "It's settled then! Pack your things, everyone—I'll wait out in the car!"
Shin began gathering their belongings, while Kento watched Jingchen's retreating back, his lips curling into a smug smirk:
— "Looks like... recruiting this kid was worth every penny after all!"
END OF CHAPTER 35