Chapter 13: Unclaimed City

After her shower, Ye Fengwan went to check on Ye Jianggui.

Aunt Geng had managed to feed her a little congee earlier, and she had finally fallen asleep, though she seemed quite restless.

Ye Fengwan took off her shoes, climbed onto the bed, and lay down beside her.

She switched off the bedside lamp, closing her eyes to prepare for sleep, when Ye Jianggui’s voice came from beside her.

“Fengwan.”

Ye Fengwan turned her head.

“Fengwan, forget Mom and Dad’s hatred. Go live your own life.”

Ye Fengwan stared at the pitch-black ceiling, silent.

“More than revenge, I think Mom and Dad would rather see you live like a normal person, a simple life, safe and smooth.”

Ye Fengwan shook her head.

In this world now, where was there any peace or smoothness?

In the darkness, unable to see her shake her head, Ye Jianggui continued: “Go to Central City. Once they realize it was you who truly developed the New Species Cactus and Purification Grass, they will treasure you.”

Ye Fengwan turned on her side. In the dim light, she could faintly see the elegant outline of the face beside her.

“If you’re unwell, rest properly. Don’t let your thoughts run wild,” she said.

Ye Jianggui couldn’t suppress a couple of light coughs before asking, “You called the Qu family just now, didn’t you? Was it very humiliating?”

Ye Fengwan smiled. “Not humiliating. Think about it: with just one phone call, I can make them deliver their top-tier, painstakingly grown food right to our doorstep. Isn’t that even more frustrating for them?”

Ye Jianggui sighed. “Oh, you.”

How could she believe that?

Ye Fengwan said, “Don’t think about it anymore. Focus on being the Research Institute Director. You believe in science, pursue the truth. As long as your faith doesn’t waver, and you remain focused, no one will touch you.”

No matter who held power, to win the people’s hearts, one must give them hope. Scientists were often the ones who brought that hope, especially those working in the field of food crops.

As long as her sister remained impartial and dedicated to her field, avoiding irreconcilable conflicts, she could ensure her own safety.

Ye Fengwan said softly, “I know you worry about me, but worry is useless. I will only get better.”

Ye Jianggui sighed. “On this matter, I can never win an argument against you.”

She finally drifted off to sleep.

The conversation, however, had stirred Ye Fengwan awake. She pressed her wristband on again, her fingers aimlessly scrolling until they landed on Ruan Ming’s number.

The night was long, and an impulse to send her a message rose within her.

But the time on her wristband showed midnight. She ultimately dismissed the thought.

Mainly because, in the other’s eyes, she was just a Research Institute staff member, with no connection between them. Their only bond was that kitten.

Such a relationship wasn’t enough to warrant contacting each other in the middle of the night.

She turned over, facing away from Ye Jianggui, resting her head on her left hand. Her thoughts swirled chaotically, drifting hazily back to that day three years ago.

That day, she had met Phoenix in the city for an exchange, and they’d stumbled upon the Motorcycle Gang snatching people off the street.

One of Phoenix’s abilities was Body Extension. Seizing the perfect moment in a blind spot of the surveillance, Phoenix used her ability to grab the young woman tied to the back of a motorcycle like cargo, snapping the ropes and pulling her down.

She then tossed the girl to Ye Fengwan and rushed out to draw the villains away.

The girl in her arms had flushed cheeks, clearly drugged, dazed and helpless.

Ye Fengwan wanted to take her to the hospital, but at the word “hospital,” the girl refused profusely, clutching tightly at her sleeve, refusing to let go.

“Save me.” Her breath against Ye Fengwan’s neck and shoulder was hot, her skin scorching.

If it had been anyone else, Ye Fengwan might have handed her directly to a companion, but seeing the girl’s red-rimmed eyes, her damp gaze, and the unconscious allure she exuded, she didn’t feel safe.

Afraid other companions might succumb to her beauty and violate her, she brought the girl back to her apartment.

Her sister wasn’t home, and Aunt Geng never interfered in her private life.

She brought Ruan Ming into the bathroom, trying to soak her in cold water.

But the dosage those men had used was too strong. Just as she got up, intending to fetch a sedative from her sister’s room to inject her, the person behind her had already torn off her clothes and wrapped her arms around her waist from behind.

She had never doubted her own self-control, but the moment she turned and embraced Ruan Ming, those soft, burning lips pressed against hers, and she herself knocked down the wall of her willpower.

The next morning, when Ruan Ming woke and fled in a panic, Ye Fengwan had actually been awake. She just didn’t know how to face her, so she chose to continue pretending to sleep.

She had thought it was just a one-night encounter. But in the days that followed, she couldn’t help investigating her. She also investigated the person who had dragged her into that vehicle.

Cui Rong.

Along with the human trafficking chain behind him. What she never expected was that the other end of that chain was held by the Qu family.

As the Safe Zone’s population exploded and food grew tight, the increasingly cramped space further intensified the conflict between commoners and the ruling class.

It was during this time that the Qu family formed a partnership with the slave traders.

The man in charge of this chain was the Base Chief Qu Wanshan’s younger brother—Qu Baichuan.

These people moved in the shadows, targeting helpless orphans, down-on-their-luck Espers, and exiled criminals. They sold these isolated people to the Unclaimed City, where the slave bosses distributed them to various District Masters.

The Unclaimed City didn’t belong to any base on the Eastern Continent. Powerful District Masters formed their own alliance, keeping slaves, where profit was supreme.

Those reduced to slavery were sent to mine, build city walls, or work in black-market workshops.

And, of course, the pretty young women.

As their appetite grew, they became increasingly brazen, even resorting to snatching people off the streets.

The Safe Zone had too many people. No one paid attention to the disappearance of a few individuals; some even wished to free up more space. Only the missing person’s relatives ran around frantically, with no place to appeal.

The news was suppressed. No one knew that people were going missing in this vast Safe Zone every single day.

And the Qu family, using these trafficked people, exchanged them for massive amounts of resources from the Unclaimed City.

When Ye Fengwan saw the photos sent by her comrades, saw the horrific state of those trafficked people in the Unclaimed City, she trembled with rage.

Thus, on top of her parents’ hatred, new enmity was added between her and the Qu family.

Cui Rong, Qu Baichuan—they were all people who shouldn’t have possessed Esper Abilities. But through the Second Research Institute’s experiments, using Gene Serums, they were forcibly awakened.

Gaining an ability came at the cost of half their lifespan.

Currently, the longest lifespan for an ordinary person was around eighty to one hundred years. Espers could live up to one hundred and fifty.

But these Cyborgs, forcibly awakened, had a lifespan of only fifty to sixty years.

Qu Baichuan was in his fifties. He and Cui Rong both needed regular check-ups and maintenance for their bodily functions back at the Second Research Institute. He had lain down on Ye Fengwan’s operating table.

Ye Fengwan had done what she needed to do.

Qu Wanshan couldn’t find any proof that she had acted, because Qu Baichuan was already nearing the lifespan limit of a Cyborg. She had grounds to clear herself.

As for the others, Ye Fengwan had her ways.

…

The next day, Ye Fengwan woke early and went straight to the Research Institute.

She was preoccupied with what Ye Jianggui had said before sleep. Her sister kept bringing up going to Central City, which could only mean one of two things: either she’d lost confidence in her own body, tired of the charades and humiliating food-begging with the Qu family, or she was worried about Ye Fengwan clashing with the Qu family.

The immediate priority was to solve the organic food problem.

Only by breaking free from the Qu family in this area could they avoid being controlled at every turn. Otherwise, they were at others’ mercy.

She was so absorbed in her work that she only noticed someone knocking when it was already one in the afternoon.

Her assistant, Little Wu, entrusted by her sister to monitor her eating habits, had a rule: if it was past one o’clock, she had to force a meal reminder.

She rubbed her shoulder, numb from holding one position, stood up, and opened the lab door. “Alright, I’m eating now. No need to go to the cafeteria, I’ll just have a nutrient solution,” she told Little Wu.

It was all about filling her stomach anyway; food was food.

Little Wu watched her return to her office, tear open a pack of nutrient solution, and squeeze it into her mouth, then left satisfied.

She opened her wristband. There was a message.

She tapped it open. It was a picture from Ruan Ming.

A picture of the little calico.

It was staring fiercely at the camera, mouth open in a meow.

Ye Fengwan couldn’t help but smile. She replied: Been doing experiments all morning, just checked my wristband.

Hope I didn’t disturb you?

Ruan Ming’s reply popped up quickly.

Ye Fengwan: No, I only checked my wristband after leaving the lab. Have you eaten?

Ruan Ming sent a picture over. On a table in the photo were a few fresh fairy peaches, one of them bitten, a clear set of teeth marks on it.

Ye Fengwan stared at those teeth marks for a few seconds, then lifted her wristband, took a picture of her own nutrient solution pack, and sent it over.

Ruan Ming: You’re just eating that? Tasteless. Fairy peaches are full of seeds, but at least they’re sweet.

Ye Fengwan sent a helpless emoji: Are there other choices besides fairy peaches and nutrient solution?

Ruan Ming: Just wait. One day, I’ll be able to grow organic food.

Usually, she was a bit aloof with people, but once she got familiar, a hint of playfulness would surface in their interactions.

Ye Fengwan’s eyes grew distant, that image of those damp, glistening eyes flashing before her, the sensation of that soft warmth pressing against her back. Her fingers trembled. She replied: Alright. When that day comes, I’m coming to your house for dinner.

Ruan Ming: If that day ever really comes, you have to bring Institute Director Ye with you.

Ye Fengwan smiled: You like Institute Director Ye that much?

Ruan Ming: I like her. I hope she’s well.

Ye Fengwan: She will be.

Ruan Ming: Your time is precious, I won’t keep you. Even if you’re not doing experiments, rest a bit.

Ye Fengwan: Alright.