Chapter Forty-Three: The Road Home

“Master, I’m afraid we won’t be able to reach Bronze Mountain Base.” Li Li now regarded herself as Ma Yi’s maid; although Ma Yi had told her to change the way she addressed him, she stubbornly persisted. Eventually, Ma Yi gave up on correcting her, thinking that having a devoted maid wasn’t so bad after all. Isn’t it every man’s dream to have his own loyal servant?

“What’s wrong?” Ma Yi stepped out of the car and followed Li Li’s gaze. The hills were swarming with insects. On the distant mountaintop, many trees had been scorched, revealing a stretch of high wall. Insects constantly tried to scale the wall, while defenders fired sporadically from above. Li Li could see the mass of bugs in the distance, but only Ma Yi’s sharp vision could distinguish the wall at the summit.

Standing at the foot of the mountain, both of them could hear the relentless gunfire from above. Ma Yi could make out the thick piles of insect corpses accumulating beneath the city wall.

“Another insect siege, I suppose.” Ma Yi marveled at his luck. He had just fought waterborne bugs, and now he encountered those on land. No wonder he hadn’t seen any emerge from the flooded terrain since landing; they all seemed to have gathered here. If someone with a fear of swarming things saw this scene, they’d probably collapse on the spot—the entire mountain was crawling with insects of every shape and size: long, square, round; some with legs, some without; some that could fly and others that couldn’t; tiny ones just centimeters long, massive ones stretching several meters.

“Let’s go. Stay close to me.” With that, Ma Yi strode straight toward the densest concentration of insects. They were still several hundred meters from the base of the mountain, but the bugs were thick as ever.

Li Li followed closely behind. As Ma Yi advanced, more and more insects noticed him and rushed over.

He swung his arms and legs, cutting a path through the thick horde, slashing, kicking, sweeping. A straight road up the mountain appeared, paved with the bodies of countless insects. Severed limbs and splattered blood—red and green, earthy and pungent—covered the slope.

“Boss, look! There’s someone! Damn, he’s even tougher than our chief—must be a high-level evolved!” A soldier wiped grime from his face as he watched a child lead a woman directly toward the wall. Within three meters of their path, not a single insect survived.

“I’ll go report to the chief right away.” The man addressed as “boss” handed his machine gun to a subordinate and hurried off.

Perhaps sensing Ma Yi’s formidable abilities, a massive beetle locked onto him, and suddenly all the insects seemed to receive a command—turning to charge at Ma Yi together.

“Lucky day.” Ma Yi looked at the three-meter-long beetle. Seeing that none of the insects could breach his defenses, the beetle tried to flee. Ma Yi paused, then smiled, picked up Li Li, and veered toward the city wall, sprinting after the creature.

Sitting atop the beetle’s hard shell, Ma Yi toyed with a red crystal in his hand—a spirit core, five centimeters in diameter and about two centimeters thick, shaped like an irregular polyhedron, reminiscent of glazed glass but, to Ma Yi, more like a chunk of red rock candy.

With the insect leader slain, the rest scattered chaotically. It happened that Ma Yi’s fist, shattering the beetle’s skull, struck this spirit core. Feeling something hard, he grabbed it and found the crystal.

A man in a clean but slightly worn military uniform emerged from an iron gate beneath the city wall, flanked by soldiers, and walked straight up to Ma Yi.

“Thank you, Master, for rescuing our small base. I am the highest commander here, Colonel Qin Yu.” The man was indeed the base’s chief, Colonel Qin Yu. From afar, he had seen a child sitting atop the troublesome bug king, with a quiet woman beside him. Their demeanor made it clear the child was in charge. Unsure how to address him, Qin Yu settled on calling him “Master.” Calling him “child” would seem disrespectful, and “brother” was clearly inappropriate.

“It was nothing. I just came to your base to ask a few questions. Once I’ve got what I need, I’ll be on my way.” Ma Yi pocketed the spirit core and replied. Qin Yu’s uniform, though a bit worn, was crisply arranged, his face marked by the smoke of battle.

“Please, Master, come into our humble base and rest a while. If you have any questions, I’ll answer everything I know.” Qin Yu courteously led Ma Yi inside.

The base had very few ordinary people, and those present appeared to be young women—all wives of soldiers. The rest were military personnel.

“These young women are our soldiers’ families. Times have changed, and we want them to leave descendants if they wish. Those unwilling at least have a small home. The others have been sent to the main base.” Qin Yu explained, noticing Ma Yi’s curious expression. In this post-apocalyptic world, he understood all too well what fate awaited women without powerful abilities.

The base was small, barely a kilometer across. Besides steel warehouses and a mess hall, only the two-story wooden house Ma Yi entered stood out. Soldiers lived in military tents. Compared to the city guards at Changfeng Base, these troops were far more capable. Most were soldiers, with only a few conscripted civilians.

“Master, please try some snacks. Our army wives made them, and they taste quite good.” Qin Yu and Ma Yi sat down, and three plates of pastries were set on the table. Ma Yi, unconcerned about poison, took a piece. It was soft, sweet but not cloying.

“I’d like to ask Colonel Qin if there are any people here from P City, or anyone who knows about it.” Ma Yi briefly explained his amnesia and his arrival at Changfeng Base.

“Master, you’ve come to the right place.” Qin Yu listened carefully, and when Ma Yi finished, he smiled, even looking a bit excited.

“Oh? You know P City?” Ma Yi was pleasantly surprised; it was a stroke of luck to find someone so soon.

“To be honest, Master, my ancestral home is P City. Later, my father moved to S City, so you could say we’re fellow townsmen. But I’m curious—given the state of the world outside and the nine hundred kilometers between here and P City, what could be so urgent that you need to return?” Qin Yu hoped to persuade Ma Yi to stay. Though Ma Yi looked like a child, his power was undeniable.

“My wife is still at home. I have to go back.” Hearing this, Qin Yu nearly spat out his tea. Was this child joking? But then he reconsidered. In this reality, powerful men could indeed have women attached to them. Still, why would Ma Yi leave home unless it was for something important?

“I used to be a twenty-five or twenty-six-year-old adult, but due to some physical issues, the stronger I got, the younger I became. I also lost my memory, so I don’t know how I ended up here. But I do remember I have a wife waiting at home, and I must return.” Now that he had found a fellow townsman and learned about P City, Ma Yi’s mood improved and he became more talkative.

“In this world, are they still alive?” Qin Yu looked Ma Yi over, surprised. Those eyes didn’t belong to a child, but everything else about him—the lack of hair and eyebrows aside—was entirely childlike.

“I’m not worried about their safety; someone is protecting them.” Ma Yi smiled. Since his memory loss, he had never doubted his family’s safety, knowing that he had left strong allies at home.

Unable to persuade Ma Yi to stay, Qin Yu felt regret. Unlike Old Lu, Qin Yu had no desire for leadership; he just wanted his soldiers to survive as long as possible. In this world, every extra day was a gift.

To reciprocate Qin Yu’s hospitality, Ma Yi shared his insights on slashing techniques during their discussion, offering guidance that surpassed what Old Lu and Old Xu had gleaned.

The meal was lively, and with Ma Yi’s permission, all the fourth-level evolved in the base joined him for drinks and conversation. His advice opened their minds, greatly improving their abilities. Ma Yi was impressed: besides Qin Yu, this small base of fewer than five thousand people boasted seven fourth-level evolved. Combined with real military equipment, they could easily sweep through Changfeng Base. Even more impressive, the army wives here were reloading ammunition themselves, ensuring a steady supply of firepower.

Ma Yi and Qin Yu enjoyed their conversation, setting aside the troubles of the outside world to share their insights and philosophies. Ma Yi was moved by Qin Yu’s character. If he weren’t so eager to return home, he would have gladly recruited Qin Yu under his command, hoping they might meet again someday.

That night, Ma Yi slept in a military tent for the first time, filled with anticipation about his journey home. Now that he knew the route, he could hardly sleep.

Li Li lay quietly beside him. Since dinner, she hadn’t spoken a word, lost in her thoughts.

“Tomorrow we’ll go to the Southern Base. Once your revenge is settled, we’ll head home.” Ma Yi’s gentle voice broke the silence, making Li Li’s body tremble. She meekly murmured her agreement.

Hearing her soft sobs, Ma Yi turned and gently wiped the tears from Li Li’s cheeks.

“Are you afraid I’ll just leave you behind? I’m not that kind of person. When I took you from Changfeng Base, I’d already decided—since I brought you along, I’ll avenge you. Otherwise, why bother bringing you? Traveling alone would be easier.”

“I’m sorry. Seeing you so happy earlier, I got scared—afraid you’d just turn around and go home without me.” Li Li wiped her tears, embarrassed.