Chapter 437: Extra Story 3
The pink RV set off from Taoyang, with the first stop being the ruins of the He Kang Base.
Joining the trip were the original 12 members of Shen Wencheng’s team. Their main purpose was to pay tribute to Mr. Ji, who had once poured all the base’s financial and material resources into supporting Shen Wencheng’s research. In the team’s darkest hour, it was also Mr. Ji who sent a distress message to Taoyang, pleading with them to take in the research team.
Shen Wencheng himself had been saved by Mr. Ji when he was at death’s door, starving and barely alive. Without Mr. Ji’s support, the development of the vaccine and the medicine might never have happened.
Unfortunately, Mr. Ji met a tragic end—pushed out of a moving vehicle by his own son while fleeing.
Su Tao still felt deeply affected by this event.
As for Mr. Ji’s son, Ji Caizhe—after being sent to Changjing, he got involved with a minister’s daughter despite already being engaged. When the girl’s father found out, he had Ji Caizhe thrown back to He Kang in disgrace. His former fiancée’s family retaliated harshly, leaving him physically ruined and mentally broken, barely surviving on the charity of his father’s old subordinates.
The RV cruised steadily along the highway to He Kang Base. Along the way, construction sites stretched as far as the eye could see, bustling with life. Survivors who had once struggled in the apocalypse were now finding stable work through these reconstruction efforts.
Upon arrival, Shen Wencheng and his team located the place where Mr. Ji had died and erected a statue in his honor, commemorating his vital contribution to vaccine research—a project officially approved by Changjing. No one who made sacrifices would be forgotten.
With tears in his eyes, Shen Wencheng bowed deeply before the statue.
As they prepared to leave, Su Tao glanced at the statue and sighed softly.
“You still loved Ji Caizhe, didn’t you? If I avenged you, you’d probably feel heartbroken.”
“I hope that in your next life, you’ll have a child who truly loves and cherishes you.”
After their departure, a beggar-like man caused a commotion at a local shop, refusing to leave without money. He was eventually thrown out by two burly construction workers.
Dazed and lying on the ground, he suddenly noticed the gleaming statue.
Jumping up, he grabbed one of the workers and asked, “When was this statue built?”
The worker sneered. “A few days ago. People from Taoyang came to build it to honor the former He Kang Base Leader for his contributions. Thanks to him, Changjing even allocated funds to rebuild He Kang. If we’re eating today, it’s because of this old man’s kindness.”
The beggar froze in shock before screaming, “Funding?! Why didn’t anyone tell me?!”
The worker scoffed. “Who do you think you are? Why would anyone inform you?”
The beggar jabbed a finger toward the statue. “He’s my father! While he was alive, I got nothing. Now that he’s dead, he’s still giving me nothing! Look at me—look at how I’m living!”
He furiously pounded the statue, cursing his father. In his rage, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed, never to rise again.
The next day, construction workers found his corpse among the discarded building materials.
The RV hummed along to the next stop—the Xiao family estate.
It was the day Xiao Wenyu officially took over as the head of the family.
Six months earlier, after marrying a much younger wife, Old Master Xiao’s health had rapidly declined. By three months ago, he was bedridden. With his illness, the Xiao family descended into chaos as his children fought viciously for power. Even Xiao Wenyu, who had no initial interest in the family struggle, was dragged into the fray.
“In a family like this, as long as you have Xiao blood, you can’t escape the bloodshed. I was too naïve to think otherwise,” Xiao Wenyu had once told Su Tao.
Two days before making that statement, she had narrowly escaped an assassination attempt orchestrated by her fourth sister and fifth brother—an exploding car that almost killed her.
Returning to the Xiao estate wasn’t about power—it was about survival. Only by eliminating her rivals could she secure her own life.
What surprised Su Tao was how much Xiao Wenyu had hidden over the years. Behind the scenes, she had built her own business empire and even controlled a private militia.
Initially, these ventures were just a way to fund her travels and fuel her independent spirit—but they became her greatest weapon in the battle for the Xiao family’s throne.
Unlike her scheming yet incompetent siblings, Xiao Wenyu was ruthless and efficient. Within two months, she systematically eliminated every threat—both her siblings and her father’s old loyalists—seizing total control.
Even the bedridden Old Master Xiao, upon hearing of his children’s demise, didn’t grieve. Instead, he looked proud—relieved that someone in the family was finally capable.
Su Tao, standing outside the hospital room, overheard Xiao Wenyu’s cold, clear voice:
“Dad, do you know who I hate the most?”
“Not my backstabbing siblings. Not the third concubine who drugged my food as a child. Not your other wives who tried to marry me off to pathetic men. It’s you.”
“You disgust me. Just looking at your face makes me want to vomit.”
“You forced my mother to bear your children. You let her be tormented by your mistresses until she died of depression. And not even a month after she died—you remarried.”
“By the way, that new wife of yours? She’s mine. Her ‘Witch’ ability accelerated your illness. Without it, you might’ve lasted a few more years.”
“You’ve lived long enough—wealth, power, endless mistresses. It’s time to go.”
Smiling coldly, Xiao Wenyu removed his breathing apparatus.
Old Master Xiao’s eyes widened in horror. His body convulsed violently for a moment before he fell still—dead.
Stunned by the scene, Su Tao suddenly heard a voice she hadn’t heard in over a year:
[Detected scattered system fragments nearby. Merge them?]
