Chapter 24: The Beginning of Mutation

When Xia Xingli woke up, Stephen was already gone.

A note was pinned to the living room table.
The handwriting was Stephen’s scrawled Chinese characters: “Go back as soon as you wake up. You didn’t take too long of a leave, did you~”

“Unfortunately, I took a whole day off.”
Xia Xingli’s lips curled into a smug smile.
She picked up a pen from the table and wrote a reply below the note.

“You really need to practice your Chinese characters, Big Sister Stephen.”

The common language after the apocalypse was not Chinese, but for ability users, mastering several languages was relatively easy and necessary.
A language like Chinese, which was quite important and widely spread before the apocalypse, was basically mastered by all “Guardians.”

After leaving a message for Stephen, Xia Xingli stretched lazily and planned to go to the testing area again.
After all, the entire testing area had been reinforced with abilities, and there were so many testing instruments.
It was more than enough for her to train and familiarize herself with her new ideas.

But when Xia Xingli returned to the testing area, she was stopped by the gatekeeper, Wang Cheng.

“Lady Stephen has given instructions that you are not allowed to enter again today.”

Completely caught off guard, Xia Xingli glared at Wang Cheng.

“Um, it’s no use glaring at me… Not to mention that Lady Stephen has the right to restrict ability users from entering the testing area for a certain period of time, just the fact that she is your guardian now is enough.”

Wang Cheng spread his hands, looking helpless.

Although she was an A-rank ability user, considering that Xia Xingli was still too young, Stephen had been made her guardian.
And as a guardian, she had the full right to restrict Xia Xingli’s access to certain areas, and the testing area happened to be included.

With no other choice, Xia Xingli had to give up on her original plan.
But she had taken a whole day off, and it was only afternoon now.
What was she supposed to do next?

Walking all the way out of the “Central Tower,” Xia Xingli still couldn’t figure out what to do, so she simply started wandering the streets.

“Damn it… that Stephen. I’m not a child who doesn’t know what’s important. No matter what, I wouldn’t overwork my body. Why did she have to forbid me from continuing to practice my fighting style in the testing area…”

Walking on the street, Xia Xingli was still a little indignant about Stephen’s ban.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt that Stephen was making a mountain out of a molehill.
How could she not know her own body?
No matter what, she wouldn’t disregard her own body.

But she could only grumble.
She didn’t try to train in the training area, because the meticulous Stephen must have also instructed them in her capacity as a guardian not to let her in today.
Stephen’s meaning was clear: she was already so tired before, so she should rest well for the rest of the day.

But Xia Xingli couldn’t rest peacefully at all.
Now, due to her physical condition, she could hardly go outside the city to fight Aberrant Beasts.
To have a powerful ability but be unable to do anything made Xia Xingli feel terrible.
At any rate, she was an A-rank ability user, a “Legion-class combat power.”
If this powerful force could only be cooped up in the central city, what kind of “Guardian” was she?

Somewhat annoyed, Xia Xingli’s attention was not very focused, so much so that she was almost knocked over by a person who ran past her.
Even so, Xia Xingli, who was brushed by the person’s arm, lost her balance and fell to the ground.

“Oh! Sorry, little sister, are you hurt?”

This was a young man who looked to be in his twenties, wearing a somewhat old long-sleeved shirt.
His obviously freshly styled hair made him look quite spirited, as if something wonderful had just happened.

“I’m fine…”
Without waiting for the man to extend his hand, Xia Xingli got up on her own.
Patting the dust off her clothes, Xia Xingli intended to leave directly.
After all, this man didn’t do it on purpose, and his apology was very sincere.
Besides, she was also responsible for being distracted, so she had no intention of pursuing the matter.

What’s more, looking at the man’s clothes and his slightly thin figure, Xia Xingli could roughly guess that he was an ordinary person hovering on the poverty line.
His hair was obviously styled, so his clothes should also be the neatest and best he had.
Although it wasn’t deep autumn yet, the overall temperature had dropped a little after the apocalypse.
In the current weather, a thin long-sleeved shirt was no longer enough to keep out the cold.

After the apocalypse, humanity had suffered a devastating blow.
Although the number of survivors was not large, the remaining resources were even scarcer.
After the “universal currency” was changed to the current “resource points,” although the situation had improved a lot, there were still many people living in considerable poverty.
After all, points needed to be exchanged for contributions.
If one had no contribution at all, they could only receive the most basic insurance points, just like the subsistence allowance before the apocalypse.

This man was clearly an ordinary person “living on subsistence.”
After all, the “Guardians” all received a fixed number of points.
A “non-contributor” like this man, who made no contribution, naturally couldn’t get points for free.
In fact, giving these people the most basic insurance points was already quite benevolent.
At least they were better off than the homeless before the apocalypse.

The “Central Tower” was located in the center of the central city, and the surrounding area could be said to be a “rich people’s street.”
Why would an ordinary person “living on subsistence” like this man rush here so excitedly?

Although she was a little puzzled, Xia Xingli didn’t take it to heart.
Seeing that the man, who had seen her face clearly, was stunned on the spot, Xia Xingli simply turned around and planned to leave.
But just as she turned around, her wrist was suddenly grabbed by the man.

“Wait…”

Her body reacted subconsciously.
With a twist of her wrist, she had already performed a counter-grapple move.
Although Xia Xingli’s strength was not great, the man obviously just wanted to stop her, so very easily, Xia Xingli directly countered him.

At any rate, she had inherited Xia Lixing’s memories.
A simple counter-grapple like this was a piece of cake for her.

“Ouch, little sister, don’t misunderstand, I mean no harm!”
The pain from his arm being restrained made the man cry out in pain.
“I just wanted to compensate you for your coat! Your coat got a little torn!”

Xia Lixing was stunned for a moment.
Although she had fallen just now, this special long coat was even more defensive than the uniform coats of ordinary “Guardians.”
How could it have torn just from rubbing against the ground?

But when she let go of the man’s arm and pulled the back hem of her coat over to look, she really did find a few tears.
That’s right, not just one, but several.

After carefully observing those tears, Xia Xingli understood how they had come about…
The instrument in the testing area that she had broken was still not repaired.
It was probably torn by the unstable energy and the flying metal fragments at that time…

Thinking of the destruction she had caused after trying a new fighting style, Xia Xingli’s expression became a little unnatural, and her attitude towards the man in front of her, who had reminded her of those bad memories, also became less friendly.

“These tears weren’t from just now, and besides, you probably can’t afford such an expense, can you?”

In a bad mood, Xia Xingli made a rare sarcastic remark, but the man didn’t catch it and instead had a smile of unconcealed pride on his face.

“It’s alright. Maybe I couldn’t afford it before, but from today on, it’s different! Because I’m going to become a ‘Guardian’!”

The man’s voice was not concealed in the slightest, causing the surrounding pedestrians to glance at him.
Xia Xingli, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes and looked at the man thoughtfully.

“I see, so you’ve awakened an ability…”

It was common for adults like this man to awaken abilities, but they were basically all low-level abilities, and many were even for daily life.
For example, there was a clothing store owner on this street whose ability was related to making clothes.
Although combat ability users also appeared, most of them were of too low a rank and had no room for improvement.

But even as the lowest-ranking “Guardian,” one would still receive a fixed number of points, which was indeed much better than being an idle “non-contributor.”

“Hey, the ability I awakened is not weak. It should be at the level of a C-rank ability user.”
The man became excited as soon as he mentioned his ability awakening.
“The fixed points for a C-rank ability user are definitely not a small amount. At that time, let alone compensating you for one piece, I can even compensate you for a whole new set of clothes!”

Xia Xingli gave the man a very subtle look, as if looking at an idiot, and unhurriedly took out her chest emblem from her pocket and shook it. “Thank you for your kindness, but it’s not necessary. At any rate, I’m also a ‘Guardian.’ A coat is nothing I care about.”

After saying that, no longer paying attention to the man who was stunned on the spot, Xia Xingli quickly left.
She didn’t care whether the man had really awakened as a C-rank ability user or not.
It was just that the man’s words made her feel a little ridiculous.

They, the “Guardians,” called themselves “Guardians” because they were fighting Aberrant Beasts with their own strength to protect humanity.
Although “Guardians” had very good treatment, basically all those who became “Guardians” did not become “Guardians” for that treatment.

The man’s thoughts could not be said to be wrong.
Becoming a “Guardian” to obtain points and live a better life, such a thought was understandable.
But Xia Xingli just felt that this kind of thought was very uncomfortable.

Every year, a large number of “Guardians” died.
They, who fought with Aberrant Beasts, could be said to have exchanged their own lives for the stability of the central city.
But in the eyes of some people, there was only their treatment.
Little did they know that treatment was proportional to risk and ability.
Without giving, how could one talk about treatment?

Exhaling, Xia Xingli threw all these annoying thoughts to the back of her mind.
She couldn’t control the thoughts of others.
No matter what era, there would always be some people who only looked at the surface of things.
Even in the apocalypse, such people were not uncommon.
But at least for now, she hadn’t heard of anyone maliciously slandering “Guardians,” which was probably the only thing that was somewhat comforting.

“Well, in the end, it’s human malice.”
Walking alone on the street, Xia Xingli muttered to herself.
“Perhaps, humans should just disappear altogether…”

She said this in a flat tone.
But the next moment, she burst out laughing.

“…or something, that sounds like a big villain. But it’s also very chuunibyou…”

After amusing herself for a bit, Xia Xingli, feeling much better, continued to wander aimlessly on the somewhat bustling street.
The setting sun in the western sky shone its light on this central city called “Xia,” falling on Xia Xingli’s body, giving a warm feeling.

Today, this world is still very beautiful, isn’t it?

It is.