Chapter Ten: Fateful Enemies

Chapter Ten

The place where the gifted live isn't bad—a four-story building, each with a two-bedroom apartment, two units per floor. Mei and Mo Chen were assigned to the same floor, since they were together.

Mei took a look around her allocated apartment. The space was about eighty square meters, with two bedrooms, two living rooms, and a bathroom—more than enough for one person. However, there was an unwritten rule in the base: each gifted individual could bring up to three ordinary people to live with them. If that happened, the place would feel cramped!

Each bedroom was furnished with a single bed, a small table, and two chairs. Nothing else. The bathroom, at least, was fully equipped, with a shower, wash basin, and toilet.

The room was truly bare-bones.

It seemed that if one wanted to live comfortably, unless they joined the base, they'd have to figure out ways to gather things themselves.

Mei took a brief tour, then stepped out to go to Mo Chen's apartment. The door wasn't locked; she pushed it open and found him inspecting the place as well.

“Not bad; at least there's nothing unnecessary here.” Seeing Mei come in, Mo Chen lifted a corner of his lips.

“If there were, I'd rather live out in the wild!” Mei looked genuinely relieved.

Since entering the base, both of them had felt as though they were being watched. Mei, though she enjoyed playing the innocent little rabbit, couldn't keep up the act indefinitely.

Mo Chen laughed quietly at her expression. He had never realized how interesting she could be. In that place, no one dared show their true selves; if you wanted to survive, the first lesson was disguise.

Her persona—a reclusive girl skilled in computers—had always been a mask, and Mo Chen had known as much. But he hadn’t realized how distinctive her true nature was. Before trusted friends, she wore her emotions openly, appearing naïve while seeing through things more sharply than anyone. Most of the time, she was lazy—if she could sit, she’d never stand. Yet, when necessary, she could be fiercer than anyone, especially toward herself. To hone her archery, she once shot arrows for five hours straight; when she finally stopped, her right hand was marked with deep grooves from the bowstring.

Along the way, he found these days with her the most relaxing. Perhaps it was because, though both knew the other held secrets, they were still each other's most trusted companions.

“What do you think of this base?” Now certain no one was eavesdropping, their conversation could finally be candid.

“It’s pretty much as expected. They weed out useless ordinary people and try to recruit powerful gifted individuals. So far, they haven’t abandoned those freeloaders, probably keeping them around as cannon fodder in case things go south.” Mei propped her chin on her hand, half sprawled on the table, speaking lazily.

“The base is too strict in controlling the gifted—it’s not good for independent power.” Mo Chen slouched in his chair, sounding somewhat frustrated.

“For this base, it’s normal.”

The Huang family worked with the military, but to secure their leadership, resources alone weren’t enough—they needed formidable force as a backing. Besides, food would eventually run out. Forming their own teams to search for more resources was essential.

“Yes, but this situation won't last long,” Mo Chen agreed, nodding.

Because they controlled resources, the Huang family had a huge advantage recruiting allies in the early days. Once their power grew, they’d inevitably compete with the military for control. The military wouldn’t just sit back and let the Huang family rise; the evidence was visible in the appraisal hall, where the two soldiers were less about preventing accidents and more about monitoring the testers.

“What are your plans?” she asked, referring to revenge.

“We’ll watch and wait. We don’t have enough leverage yet—no need to rush.”

What once seemed impossible now had a chance to become real, so he was in no hurry. He wanted a solid grasp before acting—he wasn’t about to risk everything for vengeance.

“You know what you’re doing, then. So, should we join the base or strike out on our own?”

“I’ll check out the trading hall this afternoon. Unless absolutely necessary, I’d rather not join—the restrictions are too much,” Mo Chen frowned as he spoke.

“I’ll leave that to you. Just let me know the outcome.” Mei waved her hand, dismissing the matter. “Now, shouldn’t we be thinking about lunch?”

Whenever circumstances allowed, especially regarding food, she never compromised. If she couldn’t cook, she’d pester someone else to do it. Traveling together, Mo Chen’s culinary skills had been forced to improve by several degrees.

Since they hadn’t officially joined the base, they were only entitled to one free dinner daily. While better than the bare minimum, it still wasn’t much.

Once settled here, everything would be watched; they wouldn’t get to eat whatever they pleased. Now was the time to indulge while they still could.

Mo Chen seemed to have realized this as well. Though annoyed, he pulled out the cookware to prepare lunch.

Though he was “cooking,” there wasn’t much he actually needed to do. Mei, usually lazy, was always diligent when it came to food. After rinsing rice and setting it to steam, all Mo Chen had to do was put the prepared dishes in the microwave and season the tomato and cucumber salads.

The two tomatoes had already been carved into flowers, layered beautifully. Mei was arranging cucumber slices into a platter—thinly sliced, gradually forming two coiling dragons, a sight to behold.

Every time Mo Chen saw her vegetable carvings, he felt he was looking at works of art and finally understood why her dishes always looked so exquisite.

But how was she able to make them taste so terrifying?

Mo Chen had tried to figure it out many times, to no avail.

The simplest dish—tomato with sugar—was perfectly normal before seasoning. Sugar was sugar, tomato was tomato. But once she finished preparing it, the taste became indescribable.

He watched her make it, yet somehow the result always turned out that way. He was utterly baffled.

Braised meatballs, black pepper beef strips, tomato with sugar, chilled cucumber, and a bowl of seaweed and egg soup.

Such a meal would have been excellent even before the apocalypse, let alone now. Probably only a handful in the whole base could enjoy such fare.

“Mei, what else do you have in your space?” Mo Chen asked curiously as they ate.

Frozen ingredients were one thing, but how did she manage vegetables that seemed freshly picked? Even if her space didn’t have time suspended, she’d have to harvest and store them immediately to keep them so fresh.

Mei finished the last sip of soup leisurely, put down her bowl, and looked up at Mo Chen with sincere candor. “That’s a tough question. Honestly, I don’t really know myself.”

From her old world to this one, she had collected so many things she’d lost track. Besides, her space was its own small world, abundant with life, nurturing countless plants and animals.

If anything was missing, it was intelligent life.

“You really have nothing to do with the God of Fate? How do you always stumble upon such good fortune?” Mo Chen was jealous yet again.

“God of Fate?” Mei’s face suddenly twisted in unprecedented derision. “Heh, of course. We’re mortal enemies!”

As someone abandoned by fate, striving to defy destiny, how could they not be enemies?

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