Chapter Sixty-Six: Stirring Awakening

Chapter Sixty-Six

The outing to the market was ultimately forced to be canceled because Mei was dragged home by a certain dark-faced man for further education. He was determined to make her understand that certain words and reactions were only appropriate when referring to animals, never to people!

Upstairs, Mei listened to Mo Chen’s gritted instructions, her mind confused. She couldn’t grasp why—when the situation was exactly the same—people and animals had to be described with different words. According to the biologists of this world, humans were mammals too. Where exactly had her words gone wrong?

Though Mo Chen’s explanations never fully clarified things for her, at least she managed to comprehend one crucial point: some things simply shouldn’t be said casually, and if spoken, should be done in private!

Meanwhile, downstairs, Qu Wenjuan sat in the living room, facing An Ziyou, whose gentle smile made her feel utterly uncomfortable.

Could he please stop smiling?

Qu Wenjuan subconsciously shrank deeper into the sofa, her inner child biting a handkerchief with tearful eyes.

“Wenjuan, do you know what I used to dislike most when I was a celebrity?” An Ziyou’s voice usually had a refreshing, spring-like quality.

But today, Wenjuan felt as if that spring breeze was rather chilly.

“Uh, no, I don’t!” Wenjuan replied honestly, shaking her head.

She truly didn’t know. After all, she had arrived here right before the apocalypse began; where would she have found the time to learn about celebrity gossip in this world?

“Oh, then let me tell you. What I detest most are the baseless rumors spread by paparazzi. Wenjuan, can you tell me what evidence you have to prove that the woman called Xiao Keren has taken a fancy to me?” An Ziyou raised a shapely brow, gazing at her intently.

“Intuition, haha, just intuition!” Wenjuan forced a dry laugh.

What evidence could she possibly have for such a thing? Yet every time Xiao Keren saw An Ziyou, she always ignored everyone else. If Wenjuan were to believe Xiao Keren had no feelings for him, she simply couldn’t accept it.

“Intuition, is it?” An Ziyou drew out the last syllable, his tone winding and twisting, causing Wenjuan’s heart to tremble.

“I’m really sorry. I’ll never speak recklessly again!” she hurriedly apologized.

An Ziyou smiled without saying a word.

But Wenjuan’s heart trembled all the harder.

“I swear, I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just joking with Mei, really, nothing more.” Wenjuan braced herself and continued to explain.

“A joke? But Mei took it seriously—what then?” An Ziyou finally spoke, his brows slightly furrowed, his expression seemingly troubled.

Thinking of Mei’s actions and words in the street, An Ziyou felt powerless. Not only was he misunderstood as a flirt, but she so matter-of-factly compared people to animals. Remembering her innocent expression, he felt conflicted—annoyed, yet not truly angry.

Unsure what to do with her lack of understanding, he could only vent his frustration on someone else. If Wenjuan hadn’t said what she did, Mei wouldn’t have developed such strange ideas. So he decided to teach Wenjuan a little lesson, to let her know that while one may eat whatever, words must be chosen carefully—not too much to ask, surely?

An Ziyou lowered his gaze, hiding the fleeting darkness in his eyes.

“I’ll explain everything properly to Mei, I promise she won’t misunderstand you again!” Not knowing what he was thinking, Wenjuan hastily promised, while inwardly planning to complain about his villainy to Mei—how dare he scare her!

“Then I’ll leave this matter in your hands. There’s a saying: disaster springs from careless words. I hope you’ll remember it and not forget!” An Ziyou finally relaxed when he heard her promise, seemingly ending the matter.

Though his tone had been gentle throughout, and his words never harsh, Wenjuan couldn’t help but feel uneasy, as if she’d overlooked something important.

This anxiety persisted until she choked while drinking water, got food stuck in her throat, and knocked over a vase while walking. Only then did she realize what she had forgotten—An Ziyou’s ability was unique!

How could she have forgotten that he could turn spoken words into reality? How could she have carelessly offended him?

Wenjuan’s regret ran deep, and she forever remembered his last words to her: “disaster springs from careless words”!

Oh woe, she never dared to speak recklessly again!

Her misfortune didn’t last long. By the time dinner was over that night, the effect of An Ziyou’s ability wore off.

But Wenjuan didn’t know this, so she spent the entire evening on edge, wondering whether she should apologize again tomorrow. She desperately wanted her bad luck to end!

A night of anxiety resulted in her waking up the next morning with a pair of panda eyes. But she wasn’t the only one who’d slept poorly—Mei, who slept alone, also appeared somewhat drained.

“What’s wrong? Didn’t sleep well again last night?” Mo Chen asked during their morning run, noticing Mei’s lack of energy.

“I’m fine, just didn’t get enough sleep!” Not wanting them to worry, Mei hid the fact that she hadn’t slept all night, even pointing at Wenjuan and saying, “See, I’m not the only one—Sister Wenjuan didn’t sleep enough either!”

Dragged into the conversation for no reason, Wenjuan could only chuckle awkwardly in the face of everyone’s puzzled looks.

Apparently convinced by Mei’s explanation, Mo Chen said no more.

After the run, the six went about their own activities—some sparring, some training.

Ye Jingxuan gathered the younger members of the Ye family and asked Mei to check whether they had the potential to awaken abilities.

Mei produced a crystal sphere for everyone to touch in turn.

The sphere’s surface was engraved with a special magical array, and inside was concentrated a unique energy. By touching the array, the sphere’s energy would resonate with the energy in the human body, detecting whether the person possessed latent energy and what its attribute might be.

The Ye family members touched the sphere one by one, and the final results stunned everyone. Of the 278 tested, at least 200 contained various types of energy within.

This result brought Ye Jingxuan immense joy. If these people could awaken abilities, what worries could the Ye family ever have?

But how to stimulate them into awakening?

Ye Jingxuan chose a straightforward method: he released the pressure and killing intent of a level-four ability user, fully oppressing those 200 people, hoping they would erupt under such intensity.

But the effect was disappointing. The pressure of a strong ability user was irresistible to ordinary people, and combined with a strong killing aura, it instantly brought the scent of death. Under his oppression, the people couldn’t even stand, nearly collapsing to the ground, yet none awakened abilities.

Seeing that continuing would be fruitless, Ye Jingxuan withdrew his aura.

He was puzzled. These Ye family members had trained from childhood—not all had faced life and death, but they had fought with real weapons and had steadfast wills. Ordinary people could awaken abilities, so why couldn’t they?

Mei had said sufficient stimulation was necessary—could it be that he hadn’t provided enough?

“A’Ye, they’re almost in despair, with barely any will to survive—how could they possibly awaken abilities?” Mei watched Ye Jingxuan’s methods and was speechless.

No will to survive?

Ye Jingxuan grabbed someone at random, and seeing terror in his eyes without the slightest hint of resistance, he believed Mei’s words.

“This scares you? After years of training, is this all the courage you have? At the brink of death, you have not even a spark of fight in you. No wonder your abilities won’t awaken. Is this your attitude when facing zombies and enemies? If so, I truly wonder how you passed the rigorous selection to become Ye family elites! Like this, you’re not even as good as ordinary people—do you deserve the title of elite?” Ye Jingxuan scolded them coldly for their lack of spirit.

He chastised the group until they stood there with heads hung low, dejected and silent.

Mei, amused by the sight of these two hundred men, scolded into submission by Ye Jingxuan, asked, “A’Ye, are they really that afraid of you?”

Afraid?

Ye Jingxuan frowned at the question, then pointed at someone. “Are you afraid of me?”

“Uh, Young Master, I—I…”

Unable even to finish his sentence, the answer was obvious.

Indeed, their fear of him ran deep, so faced with his killing aura, they had not a shred of resistance.

Mei shook her head. It seemed she had to be the good one, after all.

She beckoned An Ziyou over, whispered in his ear for a while, and only when he nodded did she pull him to Ye Jingxuan.

“A’Ye, let me try. They’re too afraid of you, so no matter what you do, you won’t succeed.” And if they ever did develop resistance against him, that might not be a good thing.

“Then I’ll leave it to you!” Ye Jingxuan hesitated briefly, but trusted her, stepping back and handing the group over. He already owed her too much—one more wouldn’t matter. With a lifetime to repay her, there was plenty of time.

“Big brothers, are you afraid of me?” Mei smiled with innocent charm.

Everyone present knew she was as strong as their young master, but faced with Mei’s demeanor, while they were wary, they couldn’t muster any fear.

Seeing them shake their heads, Mei was delighted.

“Not afraid? Then let’s see if this scares you.” Her tone shifted, and a powerful wave of mental energy invaded their minds. None could resist the sudden, piercing pain in their heads, and they all collapsed, screaming in agony.

Humans really shouldn’t tempt fate. Just yesterday, I said my cold was getting better, and today it worsened again! What’s worse, my precious one is sick too!

I’ll be accompanying her to the doctor and picking up medicine, so updates will be slow for now.

Also, thanks to “Death Is the Reward” for the tip.

Finally, regarding the group: since it’s not visible on other platforms, I’ll mention it again here. The book group QQ is 521534648. If you’re interested in the story and want to join, please mention any character name when applying! Thank you all for your support, mwah!