Chapter 237: Returning Home

While Zhang Wenda was busy with his experiments, their group returned to the Bureau 507 airfield. The mission was, for all intents and purposes, complete.

Although there had been a few mishaps, they still had to collect the mission bonus—200,000 in total.

Admittedly, while this line of work was extremely dangerous, it was also incredibly lucrative. What they earned in a day or two was more than what most people made in twenty months.

Once they got back to their place, the carefree Song Jianguo flopped right onto the sofa, grabbed the remote, and immediately started staring intently at the TV.

It was as if she wouldn’t have a care in the world if the sky fell the very next second.

Zhang Wenda had just bent over to pour a glass of water when the sharp scythes that served as his hands effortlessly sliced the glass into three pieces.

Staring at his incredibly sharp hands, Zhang Wenda sighed. "Ah, I’ve changed back again."

Ever since Red had forcibly torn off his rabbit coat, he’d been stuck appearing in this monstrous form.

He couldn’t help but worry about the rabbit coat. ’Logically, to screw me over, the Maya Moon God forcibly fused the coat with my flesh and blood. That rabbit fur should have been a part of my own body.’

’The coat wasn’t just a memento from my uncle; more importantly, wearing it gave me the ability to transfer wounds.’

As for the small matter of not being able to hold anything, that was easy enough to solve. Zhang Wenda yelled to Song Jianguo on the sofa, "Feed me some water."

Song Jianguo walked over and poured a glass of water. With her eyes still glued to the TV screen, she raised the glass and poured it straight into Zhang Wenda’s eyes.

"Argh! My eyes!"

After a chaotic struggle, Zhang Wenda finally managed to get a drink of water. Song Jianguo, on the other hand, was staring at a hamburger and coke combo on the screen, her eyes shining. "I want that. It looks so good."

"You have a salary. Buy it yourself."

"My salary is nothing! I saw you just got 200,000! You’re paying!"

"Stop messing around. Sit down, I need to ask you something." Zhang Wenda pushed her back onto the sofa with his elbows.

"Fine. One question per combo meal for one. Go ahead and ask."

After a moment of contemplation, Zhang Wenda spoke. "How did you know that eating ice cream could make Big Aunt bigger?"

’During Ideation #6, Big Aunt’s sudden attack had truly taken me by surprise. Despite having no special abilities, she had managed to briefly hold off Qianxi with nothing but brute force.’

’And that was when she was only seven or eight meters tall. What would happen if she grew to be tens of meters tall?’

"The TV said so," Song Jianguo replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Then have you tried to see how big you can make Big Aunt?" Zhang Wenda asked again.

"How would I know? That was the first time I’d ever tried." Song Jianguo, who was flipping channels, suddenly spotted a ferocious Godzilla rampaging through a city. She instantly put down the remote and stared, transfixed.

’Hmm... if this is utilized properly, she could become a powerful asset against Qianxi in the future. When the day comes to make a move, it would be best to do it while Big Aunt is available.’

Zhang Wenda looked at Song Jianguo. ’This girl really is something else. Most people get stronger through training or real combat. She’s the first I’ve seen to level up by watching TV.’

A pleasant ringtone sounded, and Zhang Wenda realized his phone was ringing.

Song Jianguo picked up the phone and held it to Zhang Wenda’s ear, and he heard Hu Maomao’s voice.

"Hey, it’s me. I heard Qianxi went after you? What exactly happened?"

"It’s complicated. Are you home? I’ll come over and explain everything."

"Okay, come on over."

「Thirty minutes later.」

Inside Hu Maomao’s studio apartment, Zhang Wenda briefly recounted the entire series of events.

It was impossible to read the expression on Hu Maomao, whose head was covered by a tinfoil pot, but he could see her lips were pressed into a tight line. "Qianxi secretly set a trap just to kill you."

"No." Zhang Wenda shook his head. "He didn’t want to get rid of me at first. He was just trying to recruit me, but he failed."

"It’s the same difference. Don’t go out for a while. You should stay here and lay low," Hu Maomao said, thinking of Zhang Wenda’s safety.

"Do you think that’s possible? Even if I agreed, Old Tan wouldn’t. The whole reason he brought me in was to use me as bait to lure out Qianxi, wasn’t it?" Zhang Wenda said with a shrug.

Hu Maomao cupped her chin with a hand hidden inside her sleeve, thinking for a moment. She then shot to her feet and started for the door. "I’ll go talk to him."

"Auntie, Auntie, calm down." Zhang Wenda stopped her. "I didn’t come to Bureau 507 to slack off. I came for revenge. Qianxi wants my life, and I’m looking for a way to take his."

"Are you dreaming? Do you have any idea how strong he is?"

"I know, but I’m constantly closing the gap between us." As Zhang Wenda gently opened his hand, the Red inside Hu Maomao’s body flared violently.

For an instant, the edges of Hu Maomao’s vision turned red and she began to float, but then everything returned to normal just as quickly.

"You just... how did you do that?" Hu Maomao stared at Zhang Wenda in disbelief. In such a short amount of time, he seemed to have grown significantly more powerful.

’It was hard to believe that this person in front of her was the same reckless little Haozi from not long ago.’

"Just some new abilities I got after acquiring Red," Zhang Wenda explained simply.

"Old Tan wants to use me to bait Qianxi, but I’m not just some helpless lure. I’m starting to get the hang of it now."

Hu Maomao slowly descended. After thinking calmly for a moment, she said, "This path of self-ideation isn’t easy. If it were, it wouldn’t be something only a tiny fraction of people succeed at. Even I can’t help an ordinary person take that first step inward."

"Everyone’s method is different, but I know this: the further you go down that path, the more difficult and dangerous it gets."

"On this path of self-discovery, you should be able to feel your own personality changing. If you take a single wrong step, your ’self’ will diverge completely from the norm."

Zhang Wenda didn’t deny it. Instead, he nodded in agreement. "I know. Of course I know the risks. But Auntie, I want revenge. I really, truly want to avenge my uncle."

Zhang Wenda’s voice was calm as he said this, but filled with unshakable resolve.

The room fell silent. After a moment, Hu Maomao let out a soft sigh.

"You’re nothing like Biaozi. He wasn’t stubborn at all. Fine. From now on, call me when you’re heading out. I’ll go with you."

"Within the Big Circle, there’s almost no one who can block my Mind Control. As long as I’m there, I can call the Bureau for reinforcements at any time."

Hearing this, Zhang Wenda was overjoyed. He knew what Hu Maomao was capable of; this was another powerful ally on his side. "Thank you, Auntie! You’re the best!"

"Don’t thank me just yet. Your problems aren’t solved. Let me ask you, what’s your plan for that knife in your chest? The Maya deities definitely won’t be helping you out this time."

At Hu Maomao’s words, Zhang Wenda looked down at his chest. The Sacrificial Knife of Kopan was still lodged there, glinting.