140 - Cinderella’s Dream: Together Forever

Title: "Transforming into a Scum Alpha in a Post-Apocalyptic Novel" Chapter 140 Ming Feng and Ming Jue were flanked by Cao Gang, Liu Jie, and 20 additional guard members specifically assigned to security on the seventh floor. Each of these guards stood on either side of Ming Feng and Ming Jue, armed to the teeth. A nearly imperceptible cold smile crept onto Ming Feng’s face as he locked eyes with Chen Wan. "Did you destroy the nightclub? And hurt my subordinates?" "Someone like you deserves followers? They’re nothing but useless lackeys," Chen Wan replied, her gaze unwavering. "How dare you speak to the master like that? I'll kill you first." Cao Gang made a move toward Chen Wan, but Ming Feng stopped him. Ming Feng scrutinized Chen Wan’s group, his gaze landing on Jiang Yanxin, Shen Mingyan, and Yi Yi. He chuckled lightly before addressing Chen Wan again, "I have no grudge against you, so destroying my place should come with a reason, right? I’ll give you a chance; hand over the Omega and Beta from your squad and I’ll spare a few of you, letting you go to Dr. Wen on the eighth floor as test subjects. You’ll live a bit longer." "A reason? Zhao Jingjing and Qiao Shirui are just high school kids. How could you go that far, killing Fatty too? How inhumane can you be?" Chen Wan frowned as she looked at Ming Feng. Ming Feng laughed at her words. "Oh, referring to those students who joined the base later? Those two girls were delightful; the more they struggled, the more amusing it was. As for Fatty, he was killed by his own friend, not my fault." Before Ming Feng could finish, Qin Ke had already fired her gun. Somehow, Ming Feng's quick reflexes allowed him to pull Ming Jue aside, dodging the bullets—Qin Ke’s first time missing a target since obtaining her powers. At the same time, the squad members across from them responded by opening fire on Chen Wan and her group. Athena gracefully swung her shield, deflecting all incoming bullets. A ray of light from her shield transformed the attackers into stone statues. "Shit, that’s their ability," Ming Jue noted with a furrowed brow. Liu Jie also made his move, summoning a torrent of water that surged toward Chen Wan’s group. Yet, like the bullets, it was blocked by Athena’s shield, and Liu Jie himself turned into a statue from Athena’s passive ability. "Brother, there’s something odd about that foreign woman," Ming Jue began to panic, realizing their attacks were ineffective and their own side was the one getting hurt. Ming Feng understood quickly—the bizarre shield in that foreign woman’s hand was wreaking havoc among his men. "Stay calm," he said coldly. Almost simultaneously, Athena moved her spear. Instead of aiming at the Ming brothers, she targeted Chen Wan, bypassing Jiang Yanxin with her spear. Chen Wan deftly dodged Athena's spear while shouting, "Fall back, avoid attacking Athena—something's wrong with Yanxin." Luckily for Chen Wan, her agility and speed were enhanced, so actions that appeared fast to others seemed slowed to her. As Athena lunged, Chen Wan not only evaded but also warned the others to retreat. With Athena's spear nearly piercing Chen Wan, Athena then turned her spear towards Yi Yi, the closest target, who just barely dodged thanks to her being a Level 4 bionic human. Seeing the confusion, Ming Feng unleashed his electrical power, indiscriminately targeting Chen Wan’s group. Evading Athena’s attacks was already challenging for everyone, and after being hit by the electricity, Chen Wan found her body briefly paralyzed by pain. If ordinary people had been in their place, they might have been too incapacitated to rise. As Chen Wan desperately dodged Athena's thrusts, she noticed Jiang Yanxin standing there, saying nothing, and shouted to her retreating comrades, "Yanxin might be controlled! Be careful!" Wei Siyu rolled aside to avoid Athena's spear but held back offensive moves; attacking Athena would trigger her Aegis Shield's passive skill. After identifying the cause, Wei Siyu focused her mental energy around her six companions. Finally, Jiang Yanxin’s eyes regained clarity. Realizing Athena was attacking her allies, she quickly altered the command, redirecting Athena’s spear at their enemies. "Brother, your ability is nullified," Ming Jue uttered in terror, trying to mimic Chen Wan’s evasive maneuvers. He barely avoided Athena’s fatal spear thrust, but his left arm got pierced. Cao Gang instinctively swung a punch at Athena to save his master, realizing too late the fate of others who attacked Athena. Cao Gang’s punch landed on Athena’s shield, transforming him swiftly into a statue. Chen Wan and her team began to recover. Qin Ke fired a series of shots at Ming Jue, and without Ming Feng's backup, Ming Jue was fatally shot by Qin Ke. Switching her magazine, Qin Ke aimed her guns at Ming Feng. Preoccupied with dodging Athena, Ming Feng found himself under additional fire from Qin Ke, taking bullets to his left arm and abdomen. With all his men either dead or wounded, Ming Feng attempted one last use of his mind-control ability, but Wei Siyu’s protective field rendered his efforts ineffective. Briefly distracted, he was impaled through the right arm by Athena's spear. In a final plea, Ming Feng shouted at Chen Wan’s group, "Make it stop! I'll give you anything—make it stop, and ‘Tomorrow’ will be yours! They were just students; we had no real grievance. It's not worth this! I’ll even hand over all my experimental formulas." As Ming Feng let out one more agonizing scream, Athena drove her spear into his leg, while Qin Ke resumed her gunfire. With Ming Feng trapped by Athena’s spear, he was unable to dodge and a bullet struck him square between the eyes. With that, Chen Wan’s group successfully cleared the entire floor. With her hands still shaking, Jiang Yanxin was quickly pulled close by Chen Wan who asked, "What happened just now? Were you controlled by Ming Feng?" Jiang Yanxin nodded, her voice trembling, "It was like my mind went blank. I kept trying to break the mental shackles with my powers but couldn't. It felt like being trapped in a dark cell, isolated from everything outside." "The enemy must have had a mind-control ability too, but his power seemed limited to short-term effects. Fortunately, Wei Siyu broke it," Yi Yi, although not an empowered individual herself, was aware of such effects as she was a system. All eyes turned to Wei Siyu, who nodded and explained, "My ability is also mental but defensive. I call it ‘Immunity.’ When I activate it over a specific area or person, they’re immune to enemy abilities. Additionally, anyone who attacks me with an ability suffers a few seconds of disorientation. All active or passive abilities directed at me become ineffective. Ming Feng experienced this when Athena pierced his right arm." Chen Wan was amazed; no wonder Wei Siyu was the protagonist. The ability didn’t sound offensive initially, but in the post-apocalyptic world, it was incredibly powerful. In previous situations like this, if Jiang Yanxin had manifested Zeus instead of Athena, the area could have been electrified and shattered. Wei Siyu’s ability essentially placed a protective shield over their team, rendering opponents' abilities useless. Jiang Yanxin’s powers were active and offensive, while Wei Siyu’s provided comprehensive defense. No wonder they were able to avenge and dominate in the original story, eventually establishing an orderly survivor base. Chen Wan couldn’t help but admire their skills while feeling a tinge of concern. Their camper crew didn’t have such abilities; separating from Wei Siyu’s group could leave them vulnerable to future mental attacks. Jiang Yanxin still felt chilled to the bone, her hands and feet icy. She was thinking the same thing as Chen Wan—encountering a mind-control ability user truly left them at a loss unless they could endure long enough for the opponent's mental energy to deplete. Chen Wan snapped back to reality, noticing the chilling temperature of Jiang Yanxin's hands. She began to warm Jiang Yanxin's hands with her own, saying, "Let's move on. We need to head upstairs; the lab is also in this building. We were really fortunate to have Wei Siyu with us today. Otherwise, we would’ve faced a major problem." Though the opposing force wasn't exceptionally strong, the ability to manipulate their own team against one another was indeed terrifying. "It’s fine. My ability just serves to protect everyone. We’d have been in real trouble if it weren't for Jiang Yanxin’s Athena, though. Her skills kept us safe today. Otherwise, no matter how capable we are, we couldn’t have escaped the dozens of sniper spots in this building. We’d have been riddled with bullets," Wei Siyu replied as they walked. As they conversed, they reached the eighth floor. To Chen Wan’s surprise, the entryway featured a high-tech infrared sensor door, appearing even more secure than the seventh floor's defenses. But no matter how advanced, it couldn't stop Chen Wan and her team.