I got back into the car with the white gloves, and the driver in front of me was a different person.
White Gloves looked at Chen Xiao beside him: "Are you relieved now?"
Chen Xiao frowned.
But I still felt a little strange.
This giant mantis is somewhat astonishing... but it's not particularly powerful. With Gonggong's strength, dealing with such a bio-beast should be no problem at all.
But why did Gonggong act as if facing a formidable enemy? Why was he so unwilling to reveal this commission to everyone? And why did he repeatedly ask Chen Xiao to keep it a secret?!
"It's considered suspended." Chen Xiao suppressed his doubts and looked at the white gloves. "Then, I will begin my mission immediately."
“Very well, in that case, I'll give you one night to prepare. Tomorrow morning, I'll send someone to pick you up from the coffee shop. I'll arrange an identity for you to approach your target. Then, for the next month, you must ensure the target's absolute safety.” White Glove suddenly changed his tone: “If the mission fails, then the conditions I previously fulfilled will no longer be valid! Moreover, there will be some other negative consequences!”
"I don't need your threats," Chen Xiao said calmly. "Tomorrow morning, it's settled then!"
In the evening, Chen Xiao returned to the coffee shop to pack her things and then went home to get a few clothes.
When he returned to the coffee shop, the three old men were already waiting there.
"You've decided to accept the commission?" Old Tian sighed.
"Why?" Zhu Rong asked, puzzled, while warning Chen Xiao, "Kid! Those guys at the club aren't easy to deal with! They're like ghosts; once you're hooked, you can't shake them off!"
"Can I really get rid of it right now?" Chen Xiao suddenly asked with a smile.
Zhu Rong was speechless.
“The time to run away is over.” Chen Xiao adjusted his glasses. His expression was more solemn than ever before. He looked at Zhu Rong, then at Lao Tian: “Actually… all along, I’ve been too cowardly, really too cowardly. I thought I could continue living a normal life; I was even terrified of becoming a monster. But…”
He smiled and said, "After that trip to Home Island, I realized that I had been a superhuman all along! It's just that my parents somehow managed to suppress my mutation, so for the first eighteen years of my life, I was like a normal person. But... I'm starting to feel that things are far more complicated than I thought."
He suddenly lowered his voice, looked at Zhu Rong, and looked at Lao Tian: "Sometimes, I even have a doubt, a doubt that makes me very scared and terrified."
"What suspicion?" Old Tian frowned.
“My parents…they were originally just ordinary people.” Chen Xiao’s voice was very soft as she whispered, “Before I was born, their research field wasn’t bioengineering, much less genetic engineering…but why? A few years after I was born, they quickly changed their research topic, and then, based on their outstanding research results, were recruited by the club? I even sometimes think back: Could it be that back then, Mom and Dad…they did it for me! To cure my illness, they switched to genetic engineering research!”
As Chen Xiao spoke, tears welled up in his eyes.
Living under a free and blue sky...
These were the last words his parents left him, and their last wish!
What does this sentence mean?
Chen Xiao had never understood this before.
But now, he understands!
Parents don't want to get involved in this world of superpowers! Especially after joining the club and seeing too many "experimenters" like Ya Ya being kept like guinea pigs, parents are even less willing to get involved in that world!
Therefore, healing themselves and becoming ordinary people again is the parents' biggest goal!
In the end, they succeeded!
The purification agent worked!
But... it brought them death!
Chen Xiao raised his head again. He looked at Lao Tian and Zhu Rong: "I didn't understand these principles before. I could still run away with a clear conscience, but now I understand... Can I continue to run away like this?"
He suddenly chuckled softly: "A girl once said something to me."
He paused, then read it aloud softly:
"You, me—we! Our blood, our lives. We are inherently different from most individuals in this world. This is our destiny, and since destiny has chosen us, there is no escaping it. Do not wallow in self-pity, nor think about whether it is fair. Because there has never been fairness in this world, never before—and never will be."
"But what do you want to do?" Zhu Rong frowned.
"I have no idea."
When Chen Xiao said "I don't know," his expression was calm and relaxed. He smiled faintly and said, "I don't know what I should do. I don't even know what I can do or what I'm capable of. But I know at least one thing: I can't keep running away! I have to stand up. Instead of continuing to hide behind others!"
Both Lao Tian and Zhu Rong remained indifferent.
Gonggong, however, finally spoke.
At this moment, although he was beside Zhu Rong, Gonggong still maintained a serious expression, no longer feigning weakness. Instead, he stared intently at Chen Xiao for a long while.
"Take care of yourself!"
Chen Xiao smiled gently: "Yes! Oh, by the way... that commission has been suspended." Chen Xiao looked at Gonggong: "I think this should be good news for you."
"What commission? What termination?" Zhu Rong immediately shouted in dissatisfaction.
Chen Xiao and Gonggong exchanged a glance: "A man's secret."
The next morning, Chen Xiao left the coffee shop. Because he would be away for a month, he temporarily transferred the coffee shop's management rights to Champagne.
As for Ya Ya, she was temporarily entrusted to Lao Tian and the others for care.
Watching Chen Xiao walk away down the street with a travel backpack on his back...
"Old Tian, I have a bad feeling." Zhu Rong took a drag of his cigarette, then threw the butt on the ground and stomped it out.
"What premonition?" Old Tian asked casually, arms crossed.