Chapter Sixty-Seven: Betrayal Amongst Themselves

Chapter Sixty-Seven

The mental assault lasted for about three minutes. Mei withdrew her psychic power, then signaled for An Ziyou to begin. After a chant that was half-recitation, half-song, the pounding pain in everyone's heads swiftly eased.

“Did you enjoy it?” Mei asked again, her tone childlike, once everyone had calmed down.

How could anyone enjoy this? The crowd looked at Mei, whose smile was so pure, their vigilance now tinged with rising anger.

Are they angry? But it still isn’t enough! Mei released her psychic power once more. This time, she didn’t inflict pain. Instead, she manipulated their minds, making them perform bizarre actions—dancing, doing splits, twisting their waists. And yet, their consciousness remained perfectly clear, faces flushing bright red, eyes burning with fury.

“Big brothers, are you angry? But what can anger do for you? You’re not gifted like me—you can’t do a thing, can you? What should I try next? How about something a little more exciting?” Mei continued to provoke them with her words, as if still unsatisfied.

She raised her hand; blades of light materialized around her, thin and white, encircling her like a halo. With her innocent expression, she seemed like an angel who had descended to earth.

Yet this angel was engaged in acts utterly at odds with her appearance! With a wave of her small hand, the light blades shot toward the sons of the Ye family. They wanted to dodge, but their bodies refused to obey. They could only watch as the blades slashed wounds into their flesh before returning to Mei’s side.

Mei ignored the blood the blades carried back and sent them flying at the group again. The blades left fresh cuts on each pass. Though not fatal, the pain was excruciating. Blood, agony, and humiliation frayed the men’s nerves, but their inability to move left them no outlet for their rage—they could only glare at Mei, their eyes bloodshot with fury.

Mei, sensing her demonstration was nearly complete, decided to administer one final, ruthless dose.

“Oh my, even now you still haven’t managed a single thought of resistance—aren’t you all just useless? Look at you: taller than me, stronger, with so much potential, and yet you can’t even fight back. What’s the point of keeping such deadweight alive? You’d be better off—all of you—dead!” Mei enunciated each word, her voice laced with killing intent.

Her murderous aura was not overwhelming or oppressive like Ye Jingxuan’s; rather, it flowed silently and seamlessly around each of them, suffocating in its intensity.

Sensing her intent, the two hundred or so people present were dumbstruck, unable to believe she truly meant to kill them.

“What’s wrong? Don’t believe I’ll kill you? But what use are you to the Ye family—unable to awaken your powers, you’re nothing but a burden! Better if you all died! If Ah Ye can’t bring himself to do it, then I will!”

At her words, their surroundings abruptly changed. The training ground vanished, replaced by a blank, white void. Apart from Mei and themselves, they could see no one.

“Now, Ah Ye won’t witness me slaughtering you. Of course, rest assured—I won’t dirty my own hands. I’ll have you kill each other with your own hands. Kill your most important comrades—that’s my final gift to you!” Mei smiled as she spoke these cruelest of words, driving the group nearly to madness.

They stood in two lines, facing each other ten steps apart. One side was handed sharp daggers, and they began to approach their former brothers-in-arms, blades aimed at vital points.

One step, two steps.

No, not this! That’s his dearest companion, a friend who’d faced life and death by his side—how could he kill him?

Three steps, four steps.

No, I’d rather die at the hands of zombies than bear the guilt of killing my own friend!

Five steps, six steps.

No, I can’t kill a friend! I have power within me—I must break free of the witch’s control!

Seven steps, eight steps.

I could sit and wait for death—but no, I must dodge, I must escape!

Nine steps.

I can do it!

I can do it!

I must!

My power—awaken now!

I can dodge this—I must!

Ten steps.

Just as the daggers were about to plunge into their comrades’ chests, bursts of light—representing awakened powers—erupted from their bodies, shattering Mei’s control and illuminating the training ground.

Well, it finally worked! Mei watched as the rainbow-like glow of awakened abilities danced before her eyes, then withdrew her psychic power. She reached up to brush sweat from her brow, but someone beat her to it.

“You’ve worked hard, Mei’er.” Ye Jingxuan gently dabbed the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief, his movements careful and awkward—he’d never done this before, and he was terrified of hurting her.

“Aren’t you angry at how I tormented your people?” Mei asked, serious. After all, they’d nearly died.

“Not at all!” Ye Jingxuan answered without hesitation.

He’d watched the entire process. How could he not understand that she had done all this to provoke his men’s anger and unwillingness to submit, to ignite the power within them through the urge to resist? He was only moved by her effort, never resentful.

“That’s good. But I’m afraid your people must hate me now!” Seeing his reaction, Mei shrugged, a little self-mocking.

“They won’t,” Ye Jingxuan said with utter conviction.

Her methods were far gentler than what he’d intended. If he’d taken charge, these men would have been skinned alive, if not killed outright. Now, they’d only suffered minor wounds and gained their abilities. If they dared to hold a grudge, he’d personally show them what true cruelty was.

“Thank you.” Ye Jingxuan gazed into Mei’s eyes. Though those two words fell far short of expressing his gratitude, and could never repay her, he had to say them.

Mei smiled and accepted his thanks, then pointed to An Ziyou. “You shouldn’t just thank me. If it weren’t for Xiao You, these men might have been broken beyond repair today!”

She wasn’t exaggerating. If An Ziyou hadn’t soothed the group’s minds at the start, and then stabilized her power later, she could never have controlled her psychic force so precisely in her current unstable state. Without him, these men would have been driven mad, not awakened to their powers.

Ye Jingxuan turned to the exhausted An Ziyou and nodded deeply. He didn’t say more—the debt was recorded in his heart. If An Ziyou ever needed help, Ye Jingxuan would aid him without hesitation.

An Ziyou felt the gratitude from Ye Jingxuan but only smiled. He hadn’t done it for Ye Jingxuan; he’d done it for Mei. She needed his help—and as long as he could help her, no hardship was too great.

Mei rested for a moment before turning to the group. The earlier ordeal hadn’t awakened powers in all two hundred; over fifty remained unchanged. While the newly awakened celebrated with excitement, these few sat dejectedly on the ground, shrouded in despair and self-loathing.

“What now? Have you really given up hope?” Mei crouched before them and asked.

“What choice do we have? Can we possibly awaken now? You were right—we really are useless.” One man spoke up with bitter self-mockery.

They’d come this far and still couldn’t awaken powers—what else could they be but worthless?

“Isn’t it a bit soon to call yourselves useless? I’ll give you one last chance—do you want to try?” Mei propped her chin on her hand, offering hope once more.

Hearing there was still a chance, the fifty-odd men instantly brightened, eyes shining as they looked at Mei.

“We’ll try! Even if we have to walk through fire or blades, we’ll do whatever it takes!” each man declared, pounding his chest to show they weren’t afraid of pain or suffering if it meant gaining powers.

“If walking through fire or blades could awaken powers, why would I bother with all this?” Mei shot them a look of disdain, then produced a pile of zombie crystals in front of them.

The crystals were a dazzling array of colors, representing every ability type—though all were level one, the sheer quantity was impressive. These were all the crystals Mei had collected since the apocalypse began. She wasn’t sure if it would be enough.

“Remember what color the crystal ball showed when you touched it earlier? Choose the zombie crystal of the same color and try to guide its energy into your body. This is your last chance. If you still can’t awaken, there’s nothing more I can do.”

The men seized on the crystals as their last hope, quickly sorting through the pile to find those matching their own ability color and began trying to absorb them.

Fortunately, they were all quick learners and soon figured out how to draw in the energy. With each crystal, they felt their internal power grow and the sense of awakening draw closer.

When the first man succeeded, the rest went wild, frantically absorbing as much energy as they could from their crystals.

Though Mei kept reminding them not to drain the crystals dry—lest they shatter—controlling the rate was tricky, and the energy in a level-one crystal was limited. More than a few were reduced to powder in their eagerness.

Watching the crystals turn to dust, Mei’s heart ached.

Her beloved crystals—gone just like that! Even though they were low-level, together they represented a considerable store of power. Not to mention, these crystals could replenish their energy on their own, better than any battery. Now, all gone—how could she not feel the loss?

“Don’t be upset. Make them pay you back double in the future!” Seeing her pained expression, Ye Jingxuan couldn’t help but pull her into his arms to comfort her.

Mei’s eyes lit up at his words, and she immediately said, “You said it! If they don’t pay up, I’ll come to you for compensation!”

“Deal. I’ll pay you myself,” Ye Jingxuan promised without hesitation, making Mei beam with joy once more.