Chapter Thirty-Six: Escalating Tensions

A resounding slap landed, knocking out Lin Meifeng’s teeth and swelling half her face until it resembled a pig’s head, a glaring red handprint blooming across her cheek.

Lin Meifeng was stunned senseless by the blow. She took only a moment to recover before erupting into a shrill, pig-like howl, bursting out of the steel shelter to scream at the top of her lungs.

It wasn’t long before a squad of city guards arrived.

“That’s him! He pretended to be an Awakened, and when I exposed him, he flew into a rage and hit me. Hurry and arrest him!” Lin Meifeng shouted, pointing furiously at Gu Sha.

The guards entered with weapons raised, but saw one of their own standing beside Gu Sha. One of them asked, “Ma Yue, what happened here?”

The guard at Gu Sha’s side was indeed Ma Yue. He quickly saluted and reported, “Sir, I brought Awakened Gu here for registration and verification, but Lin Meifeng complained we disturbed her sleep. Not only did she refuse to register him, she also verbally insulted Mr. Gu, which led to the conflict!”

Hearing this, the faces of the city guards darkened.

They had always toiled on the front lines, facing immense dangers. Since the Awakened Association was established, their casualties had dropped sharply thanks to the assistance of the Awakened. As a result, they held these individuals in high esteem, as did the official directives they followed.

If Ma Yue was telling the truth, then this woman, Lin Meifeng, deserved all that was coming to her.

Many of the guards recognized her; she was notorious for her ostentation, still fussing over makeup and hot meals in the apocalypse, nitpicking everything. She got away with it because of her connections, and though the others endured her, they certainly harbored resentment—here they were risking their lives while she simply came to “polish her resume” and still found ways to hinder their work.

Realizing the tide was turning against her, Lin Meifeng raised her voice, “Nonsense! My husband is an Awakened, a squad leader in the Awakened Association! I spend every day with Awakened, I can tell them apart at a glance! This man’s a fraud, and that guard is in on it, trying to scam the benefits reserved for the Awakened! I exposed them, and now they’re making a scene!”

Ma Yue snorted coldly. “If you could tell an Awakened at a glance, why did the authorities go to such lengths to develop detection devices? Why don’t you explain the difference between Awakened and ordinary people?”

“You—he’s a fake, that’s all!” Lin Meifeng snapped. “Arrest them now, or I’ll—”

“Enough.” The officer in charge cut her off, then instructed the other guards, “Notify the Awakened Association directly. Have them send someone for verification and registration.”

Lin Meifeng’s complexion shifted instantly. If the headquarters sent someone to investigate, regardless of whether Gu Sha was really Awakened, she’d be charged with dereliction of duty at the very least—and her precious assignment here might be lost for good.

She hurriedly turned to the officer. “My husband is Liu Song, captain of the Second Squad at C City Awakened Association Headquarters, you—”

But she was overestimating her influence. Times had changed. In the old days, networking and connections might have mattered, especially among officials and bureaucrats, but now everyone was dancing on the edge of death. For these city guards, any extra hope was more valuable than maintaining relationships.

The officer ignored her completely and walked over to Gu Sha. “Comrade, please accept our apologies. Lin Meifeng’s actions in no way represent the Bastion or the Awakened Association. We regret the inconvenience. Someone will be here to assist you shortly. Once again, we apologize.”

Gu Sha nodded silently, saying nothing.

Joining the Awakened Association was part of his plan, and he would not let a foolish woman derail it.

He glanced at Lin Meifeng, marveling at the patchwork nature of the world—how could someone so stupid have survived this long? Her luck was truly extraordinary.

But he’d seen her type plenty of times before. There would always be those who, given a scrap of authority, became so intoxicated by it that they lost all sense of who they really were. There were fewer of them after the apocalypse, but before? They were everywhere: bank clerks demanding the deceased come in person to withdraw money, agency employees refusing to stamp a form until you’d run in circles a dozen times, never explaining all the requirements at once—utterly commonplace.

Seeing the guards ignore her, Lin Meifeng slunk off to the side, pulling out a satellite phone to make a discreet call.

...

The Awakened Association moved quickly—perhaps due to the city guards’ report, or their own regard for Awakened matters. Barely fifteen minutes later, a group arrived.

Leading them was a middle-aged, portly man in a suit with a receding hairline, accompanied by a sharp-faced, cold-eyed young man. Several others in Awakened Association uniforms followed behind.

“Honey!” Lin Meifeng spotted the cold-eyed young man and rushed over, sobbing as she accused Gu Sha of impersonating an Awakened, pestering her after being exposed, and even assaulting her—her performance was nothing short of dramatic.

The young man’s gaze was hostile as he approached Gu Sha. The balding, middle-aged man quickly interjected, “Captain Liu, the Awakened Association has rules and discipline!”

Liu Song’s expression was icy. “Director Chen, I never said I’d break the rules. I’m just saying hello.”

He brushed past Director Chen and stopped before Gu Sha, his tone frigid. “Brother, hitting a woman is going too far. And besides, this is my woman. You shouldn’t have hit her. You’d better really be Awakened, or you’re finished.”

Gu Sha frowned. “Aren’t you even going to ask what your woman did? She’s tarnishing the reputation of the Awakened Association.”

“My woman is none of your concern,” Liu Song retorted coldly. “Even if she’s at fault, it’s not your place to hit her, understand? Even if she refused to register you, even if she stabbed you twice, you should endure it.”

Gu Sha was speechless.

Director Chen quickly stepped in, “Let’s settle the rest later. First, the assessment—”

“No need,” Gu Sha said abruptly, rising to his feet. “There’s no need for any assessment.”

At that, Lin Meifeng shrieked, “See? He’s afraid of being exposed! He’s a fake!”

All eyes turned to Gu Sha.

He let out a cold laugh. “Sorry, you misunderstand,” he said, pointing at Liu Song. “I mean, if even trash like this—someone I could topple with a single finger—can be a squad captain among the Awakened, then the Association is nothing special. Hardly worth joining.”

(End of chapter)