It seems... not just Lao Tian, but the trio from the abandoned street all seem to have stories to tell.
Gonggong pulled Chen Xiao and casually sat down on a wooden bench beside the pedestrian street. The benches in this abandoned street were naturally dirty and broken due to lack of maintenance, but Gonggong seemed not to mind at all and sat down directly. Then he patted the seat next to him: "Come on, I have something to tell you. Since you asked me, I can tell you what I can."
Chen Xiao sat down next to Gonggong and heard Gonggong slowly say:
"When I was young... well, that was many, many years ago." Gonggong gave a wry smile. Chen Xiao also pursed his lips... These old guys, their youth was decades ago...
"I was only in my early twenties back then. I was different from others from a young age. Well, my abilities made others see me as a monster." Gonggong glanced at Chen Xiao: "Later, do you know where I grew up?"
"Where?"
"Pirate's Den".
Gonggong gave Chen Xiao a surprising answer.
"The sea, pirates?" Chen Xiao's eyes widened in surprise.
However, one can imagine what this burly, muscular man would look like standing on the deck of a pirate ship, his face contorted in a ferocious grimace, a turban wrapped around his head, wearing a short jacket, and carrying a butcher's knife...
“That was in Southeast Asia. The Strait of Malacca.” Gonggong smiled. “I used to be a pirate… The Strait of Malacca was a golden sea route. I was once a notorious pirate leader in that area. I had three ships and hundreds of brothers.”
"Well..." Chen Xiao smiled wryly and touched his nose: "I'm just a little surprised that you were a pirate."
"Then, quite by chance, we robbed a merchant ship, and there were people from the service company on board." Gonggong smiled: "That time I really kicked a hornet's nest. It was my first time failing, and I was no match for that guy back then."
"That guy?" Chen Xiao suddenly had a thought.
“K.” Gonggong uttered a name Chen Xiao recognized—wasn’t this the name of the man who had caused Lao Tian so much grief and hatred? The ancestor of Phoenix. The person from the service agency who had caused the young lady Mingyue to die of heartbreak back then?!
"That guy ran into me. He defeated me, and then... the rest was simple. He took me to the service. Although I was arrogant back then, he was indeed stronger than me. My abilities weren't as powerful as they are now, and I was no match for him back then. Besides, we pirates value strength above all else; it's a dog-eat-dog world. Whoever has the strongest fist is the boss. I accepted that he was stronger than me. I followed him into the service. And then..."
Gonggong smiled and said, "Actually, I am able to live so long thanks to him."
The meaning behind these words surprised Chen Xiao!
"K was a madman, but also a true genius. He was dedicated to the research of supernatural abilities. He always believed that through scientific research, supernatural abilities could be developed and that human bodies, destinies, and everything else could be transformed... or rather..." Gonggong seemed to smile: "I think... he seemed to regard himself as God! But... he really did seem like an omnipotent God!"
He then gave a wry smile: "My body was modified, and after he made some medical modifications, my lifespan was extended... Well, by the way, I wasn't the only one who underwent the same modifications... She did too."
As he spoke, Gonggong gestured with his lips toward the direction of the coffee shop.
"Big Sister Zhurong?" Chen Xiao was stunned.
"Back then, she was quite a gentle young girl." Gonggong smiled, his eyes narrowed.
Gentle...?!
Even the most imaginative person probably couldn't connect the word "gentle" with Zhurong.
“She was indeed very gentle back then.” A hint of happiness suddenly appeared in Gonggong’s eyes: “She didn’t like to talk much back then. If someone looked at her too much or said a few words to her, she would blush. She spoke very softly. She was a very thoughtful girl. Most girls go through that stage when they are seventeen or eighteen years old.”
Seventeen or eighteen years old...
According to Zhu Rong's age this year... when Zhu Rong was seventeen or eighteen years old?
Chen Xiao suddenly had a thought!
Connecting this to the story Lao Tian had told me, it's clear that by the time Zhu Rong and Gong Gong met K, the tragedy between Lao Tian, Ming Yue, and K had already occurred!
In other words, by that time, K had already abandoned Mingyue and their feelings, and had become a mad scientist.
"Both Zhurong and I were his test subjects. However, at least in our case, he was successful. Our bodies were successfully modified. After a long period of observation, our metabolism was forcibly suppressed and slowed down, which can effectively prolong life and stop the aging process." Gonggong stroked his chin: "My current appearance is almost the same as when I was in my thirties."
"And then?" Chen Xiao frowned.
"Later? Zhu Rong and I both joined the Service Society and became key members." Gonggong smiled. "We worked together, were considered partners, and were in the same group. We participated in several confrontations between the Service Society and the Club. Gradually, we also made a name for ourselves in the supernatural community. I got the nickname Gonggong, and she started to be called Zhu Rong. However, at that time, we weren't a couple."
"Hmm. I guessed it." Chen Xiao smiled casually. "In ancient mythology, the two great gods Gonggong and Zhurong fought and broke the sky, which led to the story of Nuwa patching up the sky... Judging from your nicknames, you should be considered enemies."
“Actually… calling them enemies wouldn’t be entirely wrong.” Gonggong gave a bitter laugh. His expression was somber: “Back then, Zhurong always loved a man. That man… well, it was K.”
K again?
Is this K... really that appealing?
"It's not hard to understand, actually." Gonggong gave a wry smile. "A young girl, naive and inexperienced, shy and gentle, at that time, a powerful and charismatic man appeared in her life. He was also strong-willed, persistent, intelligent, and had good manners... Moreover, during the experiment, he cared for us a lot, although that care was only for the experiment itself. But for a young girl, that feeling would inevitably..."
Gonggong shook his head: "It's all in the past, there's no point in talking about it now."
"And what about you?" Chen Xiao suddenly laughed. "Did you like Zhu Rong back then?"
"...Uh, actually no, back then...I was always alone. Until later, I met Alice."
Toxin girl?
Chen Xiao wasn't surprised, because it seemed from the clues... there was indeed some story behind it.
"I won't go into the old grievances of us old folks," Gonggong shook his head. "Later, a few big things happened in the service center, a series of changes occurred, and we all left the service center one after another. I met some guys from the club, and they recruited me to be a mercenary for a while."
"You've been a member of a club?!"
This statement surprised Chen Xiao.
“There’s nothing strange about that,” Gonggong laughed. “In the world of superpowers, this kind of thing happens all the time. If you think of the club and the service agency as two big companies, this behavior is just job hopping. Besides, I left the service agency first, then stayed on my own for a while, and was recruited by the club to be a mercenary. It wasn’t like I officially joined; I was just doing things for money. Later… because of a special incident, I returned to the service agency.”
"What's up?"
“K found me and said he needed my help. I owed him a favor, so I had no choice but to agree and went back to the service center.” Gonggong smiled bitterly. “But I didn’t expect that after I went back, the service center had changed a lot, and there had been many internal changes. And I was already considered a senior member of the service center at that time. After I went back, with K’s support and my own efforts, I did a few very good things. Then… I joined the committee.”