Chapter 107: Li Zhuo

"Yes, more than right. I see no reason not to consider myself a god," Zhao Zhuo laughed maniacally. "You are too timid, always bowing and scraping, fearing this and that. How could you ever achieve great success?"

"Humanity ought to hold nature in reverence, for the path of evolution is a precarious walk across a single-plank bridge."

"Don't give me that cowardly theory of yours. I only believe in myself. No matter what, it is I who stand here now. I can decide your life or death—that is the difference between a coward and a god!" Zhao Zhuo grinned.

"Heh," Li Qingshui’s laugh remained calm. "Do you think you have already seized control of the situation?"

"What? Do you want to tell me you’re planning a desperate counterattack?" Zhao Zhuo couldn't care less about Li Qingshui’s threat. "Forget it. I know exactly what you’re worth. In terms of neurological mutation, you are inferior to me. In terms of connections and experimental advantages at the institute, you are also inferior. You cannot defeat me."

"Because I have always been inferior to you, I have paid even closer attention to you," Li Qingshui said, lifting his forearm.

This movement was captured by Liu Chang, who had been watching from the bushes over ten meters away. Crouched in the foliage, he caught a glimpse of a faint scar on Li Qingshui’s forearm. He was familiar with that scar, as he had one himself—left behind the day Li Qingshui attempted to splice his own genes into Liu Chang's body.

The implication of that scar was self-evident.

"This is?" Zhao Zhuo looked at Li Qingshui’s arm, his eyes filled with confusion.

"Yes, a new type of synthesis experiment. If you’re as smart as you think, why don't you guess whose genes I fused into my body?" Li Qingshui grinned, revealing a madness characteristic of Zhao Zhuo himself.

"Genes..." Zhao Zhuo stared at Li Qingshui’s arm. A moment later, his expression shifted to one of sudden realization and terror. "You fused my genes into your own?"

"Yes, your genes. I extracted them from a hair you dropped. The ironic part is that this synthesis experiment should have been performed by you first. But because you view yourself as a god, you refused to allow yourself to possess a fragile body. You pursue perfection, wanting to account for everything, which is why you are destined to fail." Li Qingshui laughed wildly. "But I have always believed that humanity does not need perfection. Whether in the natural world or the human world, when wisdom reaches its peak, raw power becomes insignificant."

"So, compared to the perfect combination of power and wisdom, I prefer the sublimation of wisdom itself!" Li Qingshui’s laughter grew loud and arrogant. "And fortunately, I succeeded. I possess abilities beyond your imagination—my brain has undergone a second mutation!"

"But even so, I endured you until now. Because, as you said, you held the advantage." Li Qingshui suppressed his laughter, a look of disdain appearing in his eyes. "But what does that matter? This world will ultimately belong to the clever."

"What you don't know is that to lure you into this trap, I laid out seventeen other snares. You didn't notice them—why?" Li Qingshui stared into Zhao Zhuo’s eyes. "Because I am smarter than you. Your inferior intellect could not perceive my verbal traps!"

"I never acted against you before because I feared those hundred synthetic soldiers you controlled. But now, with only these few stragglers left..."

As he spoke, Li Qingshui patted the hand of the powerful synthetic soldier holding his chest. The creature seemed to lose consciousness, slackly releasing its grip.

As his feet touched the ground again, Li Qingshui began to laugh with the same madness as Zhao Zhuo: "That means it is your end! I do not move unless I am certain, but once I do, it is like a thunderbolt. Since I’ve made my move, I must ensure nothing goes wrong!"

"Zhao Zhuo, you are going to die today." Li Qingshui continued his Zhao Zhuo-esque manic laughter. "I tell you this much out of respect for you. I want a clever person like you to know exactly why you are dying!"

As Li Qingshui finished speaking, the synthetic soldiers surrounding Zhao Zhuo collapsed to the ground one by one, their lives extinguished.

Seeing this, a look of fear appeared in Zhao Zhuo’s eyes for the first time. Agile of mind, he realized the tide had turned and did not hesitate for a second, turning to flee the area.

But at the very moment his heel shifted, Liu Chang, watching from over ten meters away, suddenly felt his scalp prickle. Every hair on his body stood on end, and a chaotic surge flooded his mind. In that instant, he seemed to see scenes from his childhood and visions of the future flashing before him. The changing scenery made it impossible to distinguish dream from reality. He forgot the danger before him, his vision went black, and he collapsed in a strange, inexplicable faint.

Before he lost consciousness, he heard Li Qingshui’s final words, drifting as if through a fog:

"You cannot escape. No matter how fast you move, can you move faster than thought?"

Darkness.

Liu Chang did not know how long he was out. He dreamt a long, fragmented dream—bits of memories he had long forgotten: stealing toilet paper from a girl in kindergarten, finding a nest of millipedes under an old house with his friends, a movie he had watched years ago.

These forgotten events manifested as scattered points of light, slowly replaying in his dreams. After a long time, the lights faded. Regaining consciousness, Liu Chang felt a sharp pain in his back and jolted awake.

"Ugh!"

The first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was a green leaf, seven or eight meters away. As he focused on it, he felt the jolting movement of a stretcher.

"You're awake?" The leaf was obscured by a familiar face looking down at him. The second thing Liu Chang saw was Li Qingshui’s smile.

"Nngh!" The jolting came from the stretcher. Liu Chang endured the pain throughout his body and sat up. He looked at the two young soldiers carrying him, then turned his gaze to the figure who was becoming increasingly foreign to him.

"Where is Zhao Zhuo?"

"Dead." Li Qingshui walked beside the stretcher and pointed to the other side of Liu Chang's path. "Right there. You should be able to see him, right?"

"Uh." Following Li Qingshui’s finger, Liu Chang first saw the blood-stained face of the little girl on the stretcher beside him, then looked over to the next one, where Zhao Zhuo lay in agony. He was dead, but his expression remained ferocious, his eyes bulging from their sockets, reflecting a look of intense, profound disbelief.

"How did he die?" Liu Chang looked at Li Qingshui, recalling the inexplicable scene before he fainted.

"Cerebral interruption," Li Qingshui said, his expression calm.

"Then why keep his corpse?"

"Research. He has great research value."

"Sigh." Liu Chang took one last look at the bulging eyes of the fallen warlord and lay back down. "Is Xiao Jing okay?"

"She’s fine, a moderate concussion. But don't worry, I am confident I can heal her." Li Qingshui’s tone was filled with immense self-confidence. It was the first time Liu Chang had heard him speak this way. It was as if Zhao Zhuo’s death had shattered his cage, finally giving this eagle room to spread its wings, revealing the ambition that an eagle ought to have.

"As long as she can be treated." Liu Chang lay back, turned over, and faced his back toward Li Qingshui. "While you're at it, fix my face too. I want to be an ordinary person again."

"Very well. I can use synthetic animal bone to reconstruct it and let it fuse with your existing bone. It will look exactly the same as before..."

"No, no..." Hearing the word "synthetic," a wave of nausea washed over Liu Chang. "Could you use metal instead? I don't want to use synthetic materials."

"That’s fine, though metal won't be as effective as synthetic bone. It might slightly affect your facial expressions."

"It doesn't matter. Just give me a face." Liu Chang closed his eyes, saying no more. Seeing this, Li Qingshui remained silent as well.

It wasn't until the team passed through the jungle and returned to Zhengzhou City that Liu Chang spoke again: "Did He Zhizhi die?"

"You mean that female officer with the keen sense of smell?" Li Qingshui asked.

"Yes." Liu Chang turned over, a glimmer of concern on his face.

"She died. Her internal organs were shattered by the shockwave. Her body was too fragile," Li Qingshui said, his tone devoid of emotion.

"Is that so?" Hearing the tragic news, Liu Chang felt a lump form in his throat. Thinking of the time they had spent together over the past month, he felt a deep sense of loss and suddenly lost all his strength.

"My condolences." Li Qingshui walked to his side, patted his shoulder, and pulled a finger from his pocket. "Hers. I prepared it for you."

"Thank you." Taking the finger and looking at the clean nail, Liu Chang thought of the tomboyish officer and collapsed back onto the stretcher bed.

Li Qingshui took one last look at him, withdrew all emotion from his face, quickened his pace, and walked to the front of the team, vanishing into the mist.

Time passed in that complex, quiet atmosphere. After returning to Zhengzhou, Li Qingshui had a special medical room prepared for Liu Chang and Xiao Jing, brought in the most professional doctors, and then disappeared for three days.

During those three days, the power structure of Zhengzhou underwent a cataclysmic shift. The name "Zhao Zhuo" became a thing of the past among the elite, while a new name began to circulate among the common people: Li Qingshui.

In just three days, Li Qingshui reorganized the entire military and political apparatus. Clad in glory, he returned to the medical room three days later to find Xiao Jing and Liu Chang waiting for him.