TVSS Chapter 48

Holding onto Xue Zhen, Su Jingxuan went directly to the meeting place in the base to find Bian Zhaokun.

Despite someone reporting his safety after returning just now, he needed to go personally to check and see how the unruly individuals in the base were being dealt with.

Although the original host was already seventeen years old, Bian Zhaokun, at the age of thirty-eight, didn’t look much older. He and his partner had grown up together in an orphanage, known each other since childhood, and had been together early in life. Plus, after becoming espers, their overall physical qualities had improved, making Bian Zhaokun appear quite young—an attractive uncle with thick eyebrows and large eyes, only with a touch of melancholy between his brows.

“Son, did you get hurt? Did anyone dare to harm you? Who’s the bastard who dared to lay hands on you?”

As soon as Su Jingxuan entered, Bian Zhaokun quickly put down what he was doing. The slightly angry expression on his face turned into one of anxious concern.

Regardless of how terrifyingly ruthless Bian Zhaokun might appear to outsiders as the leader of the base, in front of his partner and precious son, he was like a protective tiger that had retracted its claws and fangs.

Warm emotions surged in Su Jingxuan’s heart as he pulled the worried Bian Zhaokun to sit on a chair and reassured him, “Dad, I’m fine.”

Bian Zhaokun didn’t believe him. He had to examine him thoroughly, checking him up and down to make sure he hadn’t sustained any injuries. Only then did he finally let go of his worries upon confirming that his son was unharmed.

His son and partner were everything to him. His partner had already turned into a zombie, and whether he could be cured was an unknown factor. If he lost his son as well, what meaning would there be in his life? If his partner recovered in the future, how would he explain to his partner if their son was gone?

“Son, what exactly happened?” Now that he was sure his son was safe, Bian Zhaokun began to inquire.

He had already checked the people involved in today’s base clean-up. While these individuals might be unruly, none of them currently had the audacity to harm his son, especially considering they lacked the ability to control a mutated wolf and his son’s esper level was not low.

If it wasn’t these people, who dared to go against him by kidnapping his son?

Su Jingxuan didn’t intend to conceal the matter. He explained the situation with Xue Zhen openly, as many things ahead required Bian Zhaokun’s cooperation. There was no harm in sharing these details.

“Son, he’s an eighth-level esper. Are you confident in controlling him?”

After listening to Su Jingxuan’s account, Bian Zhaokun furrowed his brow. He looked at Xue Zhen, who remained expressionless with vacant eyes, and felt worried.

Even though his son’s esper ability had reached level nine, could he truly have complete control over an eighth-level esper, especially one who was so close to him? If the other regained consciousness, wouldn’t his son be in danger?

“Dad, rest assured. I’m confident. Although he might not be useful for close-quarters combat, having him protect me is much better than those bodyguards with ulterior motives. His background and purpose have been explained, and he’s here to save Shu Wenze.”

Su Jingxuan glanced at the convincingly played Xue Zhen and patiently reassured Bian Zhaokun.

“Save Shu Wenze?”

Bian Zhaokun seized upon the more critical point, and his expression instantly changed.

Shu Wenze was the key to curing his partner. Even though the person who sold Xue Zhen to them for research had claimed he was just an ordinary person with no significant background, the arrival of an eighth-level esper with a mission to rescue him complicated matters.

“Dad, don’t worry. I’ve already had his other accomplices captured, and the information has been sealed off. There shouldn’t be any trouble for now. Dad, please give me the key to the laboratory. I’ll figure out a way with Shu Wenze. During this time, the base might not be peaceful. Dad, you need to oversee the overall situation.”

Su Jingxuan continued to reassure while seizing the opportunity to obtain the laboratory key. With the key, he could continue to lure his lover, and it would also prevent anyone with ill intentions from targeting Shu Wenze.

As expected, at the mention of the key, there was a flicker in the vacant eyes of Xue Zhen.

Bian Zhaokun had no objections. Although his son was young, he handled matters with prudence. He trusted his son to deal with Shu Wenze’s situation. However, managing the base might pose some difficulty for his son, and that task would require his personal intervention.

Handing over the key, Bian Zhaokun expressed some concerns, “Jiejie, you need to resolve Shu Wenze’s situation quickly. If it continues to be delayed, I’m afraid your dad will…”

“Dad, take me to see how Dad is doing.”

Su Jingxuan’s expression turned serious. In the original plot, information about the other father, Zhai Changlin, was limited. After Zhai Changlin encountered problems, Bian Zhaokun personally took care of him. To avoid causing distress to the original host, Bian Zhaokun usually didn’t allow him to visit.

Thus, the information about Zhai Changlin’s current situation in the original host’s memory was unclear. All that was known was that Zhai Changlin had turned into a zombie, but the specifics were unknown.

The protagonist received water from the spatial spring, which could indeed cure the zombie virus. However, the effectiveness depended on the severity of the condition. If the situation was too severe, even the water from the spatial spring might not be effective.

Since Shu Wenze had been entrusted to his son, and his son couldn’t be kept in the dark about his lover’s condition any longer, Bian Zhaokun nodded and led Su Jingxuan into his private room, with the controlled Xue Zhen also brought along.

Although it was called a private room, it was essentially a reinforced steel room that Bian Zhaokun had set up by welding a part of the suite.

The room was warmly decorated, with walls adorned with numerous photos of the Bian family—a trio consisting of a charming man in his thirties, his son, and his lover. Thanks to its proximity to the balcony, the room was bathed in ample sunlight.

At this moment, the man, restrained by a thin iron chain, sat quietly on the floor with crossed legs. His gaze was fixed on the photos on the wall as he drifted into contemplation.

It seemed that he noticed someone entering, and his eyes reddened as he bared his teeth and turned around. However, the ferocious expression quickly disappeared when he clearly saw the newcomers.

“Bokun, Akun, Jie Jie, Jie Jie.”

He kept calling these two names, his face filled with a delighted smile, struggling and fluttering towards the doorway where Bian Zhaokun and Su Jingxuan stood, like a child who had seen his family.

If it weren’t for his abnormal skin color and the zombie-like veins on his face, his appearance would make people think he was an intellectually challenged adult.

It was precisely because Chai Changlin, after being infected with the zombie virus, still retained some humanity, giving Bian Zhaokun hope. That’s why he persisted in wanting to cure his lover.

Seeing his partner excited, Bian Zhaokun wasn’t afraid of being bitten. He quickly came over, embraced him to comfort, and when his partner leaned against him to stabilize his emotions, he turned back with red eyes.

“Son, your dad hasn’t completely turned into a zombie. He still has consciousness and remembers our father and son. It’s just that recently, your dad’s condition has gotten worse. He’s becoming more and more manic, and the number of corpse spots on his body is increasing. I don’t know how much longer he can hold on.”

Bian Zhaokun is an extraordinarily strong man inwardly; tears simply don’t exist for someone like him. However, everyone has a soft spot, and for him, it’s his partner and son.

Sensing his grief, Chai Changlin, who was leaning against him, lifted his head to look at Bian Zhaokun and called his name, “Ah, Ah Kun.”

His voice carried a hint of urgency, and his handsome face displayed a look of distress, as if not understanding why the person holding him emitted an uncomfortable vibe.

Bian Zhaokun wasn’t comforted; his heart felt even more distressed.

Watching this, Su Jingxuan felt a surge of bitterness, not his own emotions but an instinctive response of this body.

Perhaps in the eyes of others, a family with two fathers might draw criticism, but the original owner never felt anything was wrong. He always thought his life was happy, and both fathers protected and spoiled him excessively.

Chai Changlin turning into a zombie was also to protect him. In the original plot, when the protagonist sought revenge, Bian Zhaokun was killed easily because he was protecting his son. Dad and Papa were the people who loved him the most in this world.

Standing on the side, Xue Zhen remained expressionless, but he had come to believe Su Jingxuan’s previous words. It seemed that the young man hadn’t lied to him.

“Dad, I will definitely cure Papa.”

After the instinctive bitterness in his body subsided, Su Jingxuan sniffed and made a firm promise, leaving the space for the two fathers.

To fulfill the original owner’s wish, Chai Changlin was crucial. Given Bian Zhaokun’s deep affection for his partner, if Chai Changlin couldn’t recover, Bian Zhaokun might choose to go down together.

With Chai Changlin’s zombification worsening, time was running out. Even if he couldn’t pry open Shu Wenzhe’s mouth, they must find a way to suppress Chai Changlin’s zombie virus.

Exiting Bian Zhaokun’s room, Su Jingxuan immediately took Xue Zhen to the laboratory where Shu Wenzhe was being detained. The other accomplices captured by him were also brought to the lab.

Seeing their leader, who usually commanded them, obediently following behind Su Jingxuan like a puppet, the faces of the brothers who came to rescue together with Xue Zhen turned even uglier.

Everyone knew that when a telepathic ability user reached a certain level, they could control and manipulate others. Seeing their leader in this state, there was no doubt that he was being controlled.

The group felt a mix of urgency and anger, but with their psychic abilities blocked and firmly bound, they had no power to resist. Their mouths were sealed with duct tape, leaving them helpless and only able to glare angrily.

Su Jingxuan completely ignored their hostile stares and had them escorted to the laboratory, where they were confined alongside Shu Wenzhe.

Shu Wenzhe, upon seeing the familiar faces, froze in place. Discovering that even Xue Zhen was under control, a sense of coldness and panic crept over him.

This situation was clearly different from his memories in the previous life. According to the original trajectory, Xue Zhen and the others should have rescued him a month later. However, they were all captured now.

Seeing the familiar faces, Shu Wenzhe turned pale. Su Jingxuan, uninterested in wasting words, cut a small wound on his hand and collected a small bottle of blood as a sample. He then issued a warning.

“Shu Wenzhe, don’t think that being stubborn will make me helpless. My dad doesn’t have much time left. I’ll give you another month to consider. If you’re still stubborn after that, don’t blame me for not giving you a way out. If you don’t cooperate, I’ll make use of your blood and flesh regardless.”

In the original plot, the father and son from the Bian family had been trying to get Shu Wenzhe to use the Spirit Spring to save their family. However, given the protagonist’s enhanced physique from drinking the spring water, his body was practically miraculous. He could heal naturally without the need for the Spirit Spring.

Even if it wasn’t for the concern of feeding human flesh to Chai Changlin and potentially causing issues after he regained humanity, Su Jingxuan might have considered directly using Shu Wenzhe’s flesh to save his father.

Despite the threat, Shu Wenzhe remained stubborn and resentful, waiting for Su Jingxuan with hatred.

“I’m not being stubborn. You’re insane. Your dad has been a zombie for so long; how could he possibly be saved?”

“We won’t know until we try. Anyway, you have a month to think about it. The key to the laboratory is with me. If there’s anyone outside who still wants to save you, let them come to me to get it. I want to see who has the ability to rescue someone from me.”

Su Jingxuan smiled as he took out the key to the laboratory and shook it teasingly. Then, right in front of everyone, he enveloped the key with his psychic ability, swallowed it, and showed a satisfied expression.