novelraw Chapter 172: Fate Is a B*tch
Chapter 172: Fate Is a B*tch
The junkyard fell into a long silence.
Dao Ge and the others only dared to steal glances at Su Zhan sitting in the chair.
They had no idea what had come over this master.
They started to ask questions, then stopped asking.
Then they began to... look like they were thinking.
To test his guess, Su Zhan asked the aberrant nailed to the wall, "You're not with the Transcendence Society, are you?"
"I'm not."
The aberrant shook its head.
"Hmm. If you were with the Transcendence Society, you would have blown yourself up already."
Su Zhan smiled: "I've encountered many aberrants, but you're the most cowardly one I've ever met."The aberrant pulled a grin uglier than crying: "Sir, you're joking. Those Transcendence Society lunatics—how could I compare to them? They talk about destroying the world, and they blow themselves up at the drop of a hat. I just want to get by, make a living. It's not worth dying for."
"Oh?"
"Really! Honest to God!"
The aberrant's expression became obsequious: "I've been scraping by in Black City for five years, doing smuggling, collecting protection fees... small-time stuff. At most we trick a few outsiders into providing food. Self-destruction? That's pure lunacy right there."
Su Zhan found it somewhat amusing.
He had seen zealous Transcendence Society devotees and vicious wild aberrants, but never one this timid.
"You've got survival down to an art."
Su Zhan said with a smile.
The aberrant, as if pardoned, almost burst into tears: "Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir! I'll hide properly from now on! I won't cause you any trouble!"
Dao Ge and the others hurriedly kowtowed as well.
A dull thumping echoed through the junkyard.
Su Zhan said lightly, "Did I say I would spare you? Be quiet now."
Everyone froze.
Then they reverted to their earlier tense, terrified state.
Su Zhan continued questioning the aberrant: "Do you know the aberrants in this city? Are they all like you—clinging to life and afraid to die?"
The aberrant's expression turned awkward: "It's hard to say for sure, but from what I've seen, there are quite a few like me. You may think I'm a coward, afraid to die, but this is just who I am... You think this because I'm an aberrant with power. If I were an ordinary human, my behavior would be considered normal..."
Dao Ge's face drained of color. He yanked at the aberrant's sleeve: "Are you crazy? Apologize to the sir right now!"
They were supplicants begging for mercy, yet the aberrant was arguing back.
If you're begging, at least beg properly—what was this?
The tug hit the wound.
The aberrant gritted its teeth in pain.
"Let him speak."
Su Zhan said, now interested, and raised his hand to signal for him to continue.
Seeing this, Dao Ge couldn't say anything more.
He could only pray that the aberrant's words wouldn't further rile the man.
The aberrant clenched his courage and went on:
"Sir, do you know how aberrants came to be?"
A bitter expression crossed his face: "My name is Zhang Qin. Ten years ago I was an ordinary accountant, doing the books at a small company. One morning I woke up and turned into this mess.
This strength? These fangs? I sure as hell didn't want them!"
Dao Ge listened dumbfounded, wanting to stop him but afraid to; he could only keep signaling frantically.
"Every month, every month I need to eat a person."
Zhang Qin's voice started trembling: "The first time I vomited bile... and now? Now I can calmly gnaw through an arm without changing expression! Do you think I chose this?"
Su Zhan didn't interrupt; he just listened quietly.
"Those Transcendence Society maniacs are always talking about destroying the world."
Zhang Qin spat out a mouthful of blood and foam: "Bah! Before I became like this I was human! My parents, my sister—they don't even dare see me now! You say I'm afraid to die? Damn right! I just want to live! Scrape by like a mangy dog if I have to! I was an ordinary person to begin with! I never wanted this power! This isn't power—it's a curse! A curse sent from heaven! Forced upon me by the heavens! I had no choice! I just want to live! I only want to live!!!"
Su Zhan watched the hysterical aberrant in silence.
He had nothing to add.
Yes, clinging to life is the human norm.
Selfless sacrifice and noble devotion are the exceptions.
Aberrants are, in truth, a pitiful and pathetic group.
Ninety-nine percent of people would never choose to become aberrants.
Yet heaven punished them this way.
They had no recourse.
Those who had not awakened to be true adepts were already cut off from Daxia's upper echelons.
Now they had become aberrants...
Six words: Fate is a bitch.
Dao Ge and his four companions paled.
"Sir, please calm your anger!"
Dao Ge lunged to the ground: "Zhang Qin's brain was mashed by a door! Please don't take him seriously!"
Girl in the Leather Jacket was so frightened she forgot to cry; she kept banging her head on the ground: "He's a lunatic! Always spouting crazy stuff! We don't know him well!"
Green-Haired Lackey pissed himself right there; a dark patch soaked his trousers: "Grandfather! My actual grandfather! We're not with that madman! I knew he was bad news!"
The other two also begged nonstop, distancing themselves.
The five of them kowtowed like pounding mortar—bleeding at the brows, yet still going.
"If you still aren't satisfied, we'll go capture that bastard right now!"
"Yeah, yeah! We'll tear him to pieces!"
"We'll take care of him for you!"
Zhang Qin wasn't surprised—he had expected this reaction.
Still, seeing it up close left a sour taste.
Su Zhan watched this group of fair-weather friends and felt a little amused.
One second they defended Zhang Qin.
The next they wanted to tear him apart and eat him.
"Do you have any rules for getting by in Black City?"
Su Zhan turned to Dao Ge. "Tell the truth, or I'll take your head."
Dao Ge, seeing he wasn't being blamed immediately, said: "In Black City, it's not about race—it's about profit."
Green-Haired Lackey mumbled softly: "Last month in the west district, a human and an aberrant even teamed up to run a nightclub."
Su Zhan let his gaze pass over them.
This twisted city had long since formed a malformed survival code.
Here, the line between good and evil and between races was blurred; only naked interests and power remained.
"So you lured innocent people for it?"
Su Zhan's voice cooled.
Dao Ge immediately began kowtowing frantically: "We were wrong! We know we were wrong! We'll reform!"
Su Zhan looked at Zhang Qin: "I don't need your promise—that's not something you can guarantee."
Zhang Qin breathed a sigh of relief.
Su Zhan scanned the group: "You tried to leave me to die before. Now I'll give you one chance: tell me everything you know about this city, and I'll consider sparing you."