Chapter 551: Correcting Mistakes

Rehabilitation Hospital.

The lights in the Special Care Ward were turned down to the lowest setting.

Zhou Ning lay on the bed, her face paler than paper, an IV line taped to the back of her hand, and the nearby equipment blinked green numbers in a steady rhythm.

2:17 a. m.

At the Nurse Station outside the ward, the on-duty nurse yawned and lowered her head to check the round log.

On the surveillance screen, Zhou Ning was still asleep.

The blanket was pulled up to her chest, her breathing steady.

Everything was normal.

But inside the ward, a soft sound of leather shoes came from outside the corridor.

Shush.

Shush.

Shush.

Neither hurried nor slow.

Each step was polite.

Zhou Ning's eyelids twitched.

She had been in a daze this whole time, waking only rarely; each time she woke, she couldn't tell day from night, her consciousness muddled, and she couldn't open her eyes.

This time was different.

She heard footsteps first.

Then she smelled a faint scent of rain.

But the window was closed.

The ward door was also closed.

She slowly opened her eyes.

A man sat beside the bed.

Gray Stone Mask.

Vintage black suit.

Dark red shirt.

In his hand he held a black cane, its tip inset with a rotating eyeball.

That eyeball was fixed on her.

Zhou Ning's throat was dry; she couldn't utter a word for a while.

As soon as she moved her hand, the man raised a finger before his mask.

"Shh."

Zhou Ning's hand halted at the edge of the blanket.

She stared at the bedside table.

The call button was right there.

It wasn't far away.

But her body had no strength.

What's more, although the man was clearly sitting there, the surveillance probe at the door showed no reaction.

Nurse Station.

In the surveillance footage, only Zhou Ning had her eyes open.

The space beside the bed was empty.

The on-duty nurse rubbed her eyes and kept reading tomato novels.

Inside the ward.

Zhou Ning stared at the masked man, her lips moving.

"Who are you?"

Sai Men laid his cane across his knees.

"That question is very classic."

"Usually in stories, the one who asks that gets an unpleasant answer."

Zhou Ning clenched the blanket.

She tried to keep herself from shaking.

Her brother had said, when encountering danger, don't shout, don't move recklessly, first buy time.

Where is her brother?

Will her brother come?

Her memory stops at being assaulted by Zhao Xiao.

Then there was only pain.

So much pain.

After that, things went blank.

"What are you here for?"

"For your brother."

Zhou Ning's fingertips tensed.

Sai Men observed her reaction, a pleased murmur coming from beneath his mask.

Ah, finally you have the expression you should have.

Don't be nervous; strictly speaking, I was the one who revived you.

Zhou Ning gave no reply.

She doesn't believe it.

She only believes Zhou Ping.

Her brother is the only person in the world who would never deceive her.

Sai Men saw through her thin guard, and the eye at the tip of his staff rotated half a turn.

"Your brother Zhou Ping, an auto mechanic, has little savings, little background; his greatest skill is fixing cars, his biggest flaw is caring too much about his sister."

Zhou Ning's breathing became erratic.

"Did you investigate us?"

"Not an investigation."

Sai Men sat upright.

"I'm here to tell you a story."

"A story about how a good brother turned into a monster."

Sai Men lifted his staff, and a dark crimson image lit up on the ward wall.

There was no projector.

There was no screen.

The image floated directly on the wall.

Black Pool Water Prison.

Sewage.

Chains.

Zhou Ping was hung on the wall, his body covered in wounds.

Zhou Ning's face instantly lost its color.

"Bro..."

The scene switched.

Zhao Xiao knelt on the ground, his skin peeled away, his mouth stretched to the limit, yet he could not utter a complete word.

Zhou Ping stood in the sewage, a Seven-Eyed Crown hovering above his head.

Dark crimson patterns crawled over his arm.

He seized the Fierce Ghost inside Zhao Xiao and ripped it out forcefully.

Zhou Ning raised a hand to cover her mouth.

Her stomach churned.

Sai Men continued speaking in the rhythm of a bedtime story.

"Chapter One: The suffering brother prayed to the heavens for help, but no one answered."

"Chapter Two: He turned to pray to ghosts, and the ghosts were generous."

"Chapter Three: He killed those who bullied him."

"Chapter Four: He discovered that murder could be praised by many."

The scene changed again.

Black Pool Detention Center.

A prison guard fell to the ground.

The Deputy Director knelt, begging for mercy.

The archive room ignited with dark crimson flames.

A group of people in prison garb followed behind Zhou Ping, calling him 'King'.

Zhou Ning's hand pressed to her chest, the Nail digging into the Patient Gown.

"It's not..."

"He isn't that kind of person."

Sai Men tilted his head.

"You're right."

"It wasn't before."

The scene jumped to the Purple Gold Mountain Club.

Chen Huaiyuan was dragged in front of a live broadcast camera.

The mountain macaque was peeled away.

Xu Xiaoman fired a gun.

Global bullet comments flooded the screen.

Zhou Ping stood behind the glass door, the Seven-Eyed Crown looking down on all the Devious.

Sai Men's tone became lighthearted.

"Now, the whole world is shouting his name."

"Seven-Eyed King."

"Avenger Leader."

"The Devious' natural enemy."

"Knife of the Underclass."

Zhou Ning stared fixedly at the wall.

In the image, Zhou Ping still had her brother's face.

But that face lacked the clumsiness she knew.

There was no hidden joy she felt each time she bought discounted fruit.

Nor the patience she had when peeling an apple for him—complaining it was troublesome yet doing it slowly.

He stood there, revered by many.

Also feared by many.

Zhou Ning shook her head.

"Wrong."

"My brother wouldn't kill indiscriminately."

"He's not a bad person."

Sai Men lightly clapped.

The applause was slow.

"Filter—truly one of humanity's most durable self-deception methods."

Zhou Ning glared at him.

"What exactly do you want to say?"

Sai Men wiped the image from the wall.

The ward returned to darkness.

"Your brother has received a blessing."

"He should, as a believer, devoutly use this gift."

"Unfortunately, he was persuaded by a few mediocres."

"Those who hang order on their lips."

Sai Men moved a bit closer.

"They try to put your brother's hatred into a box and label it."

"Legal."

"Controllable."

"Guidable."

"How boring."

Zhou Ning bit her lip.

"Where is my brother?"

"The outskirts of Modu, abandoned shipyard."

Sai Men answered too bluntly.

Zhou Ning instead dared not take it.

Sai Men continued: "He just received an overseas evildoers list, preparing to take the avengers out to sea."

Zhou Ning felt her limbs go cold hearing it.

She didn't understand the big picture.

She only understood one thing.

Brother was killing people.

Many people.

And this masked man before her, in the way she feared most, was pushing her brother deeper.

"What are you doing?"

Sai Men paused for a few seconds.

As if savoring this question.

"Correct the mistake."

"Make Zhou Ping remember...... who gave him power."

At the same time.

Outskirts of Modu.

Abandoned shipyard.

The rain fell lightly.

The avengers had already begun to form groups.

An overseas map was projected onto an old computer screen, red dots densely packed.

Scarred man led a few people to inspect weapons.

Female avenger sealed the file copies into a waterproof bag.

Someone muttered a curse.

"These beasts are hiding quite comfortably."

"Europe, South Seas, West Coast, yacht manor charity gala—they should really be sent back to Heitan to experience the monthly service."

"Don't be poor, Wang says first verify the coordinates."

Zhou Ping stood at the shipyard entrance.

Rain fell on his shoulder.

The plan to go to sea cannot be delayed.

The list delivered by Duke Wei is not kind.

It is a river channel.

Draw his hatred outward.

Zhou Ping dislikes being arranged.

But those on the list deserve to die.

That's enough.

As long as his sister is receiving proper treatment in the hospital, he can hand over domestic affairs to the Abyss Purification Operation.

Wait until the Federation can't move, then he'll come back.

He has already drawn a line for himself.

Do not kill innocent family members.

Do not touch those under investigation.

These words coming from Jiang Yuan's mouth are annoying.

But they are useful.

Zhou Ping lowered his head and glanced at his palm.

The dark red pattern contracted and then expanded.

The crown is urging him.

It likes judgment.

Zhou Ping also likes that feeling of control.

But whenever that thought arises, he thinks of Zhou Ning.

Remembering how she used to sit on the hospital bed, peeling an apple with a fruit knife, making it uneven, and insisting it was artistic creation.

She said, "Brother, don't always look so grim; even the nurse sisters are afraid of you."

Back then he would still laugh and curse.

"Don't bother managing your brother's expression."

"Now?"

"If Zhou Ning wakes up and sees him like this, will she be scared?"

"King."

A communications avenger stood up from the equipment.

His headset still hung around his neck, his expression strange.

Zhou Ping turned his head.

"Speak."

That person swallowed.

"There's movement on the hospital's internal line."

Zhou Ping's eyelids drooped.

"Has the Federation made a move?"

"No, it's not."

The communications officer handed over the tablet.

"Miss Zhou Ning has awakened."

All movement in the shipyard came to a halt.

The scarred man's magazine fell onto the table.

The female avenger lifted her head.

Zhou Ping did not move.

Rainwater fell from the tips of his hair.

After two seconds, he took the tablet.

The screen showed the vital signs transmitted by the hospital system.

Zhou Ning.

Consciousness restored.

Heart rate slightly elevated.

Brain activity abnormally active.

Zhou Ping looked at those lines of text, and the cold hardness on his face cracked open a gap.

Not the King.

Not the arbiter.

Not the Seven-Eyed King.

Just a brother.

He lifted his foot to walk out.

The scarred man caught up.

"King, the sea expedition plan..."

"Pause first."

"But the coordinate window is only four hours; Fu Yunhai will change locations tonight."

Zhou Ping's steps did not stop.

"Let him live a bit longer."

The scarred man still wanted to say something, but the female avenger stopped him.

She whispered: "Don't stop."

The scarred man looked at Zhou Ping's back.

That figure walked quickly, even a bit disordered.

He had been with Zhou Ping for so long, yet this was the first time he saw Zhou Ping like this.

The communications officer hesitated before speaking.

"Should we contact the hospital?"

Zhou Ping stopped outside the shipyard.

Raindrops hit the ground.

"No contact."

"Why?"

"The Federation's lines will be tapped."

Zhou Ping threw the tablet back.

"Get the car ready."

The scarred man asked: "How many people should we bring?"

"I'll go alone."

"Wang, no way. What if it's a trap."

Zhou Ping turned and glanced at him.

The scarred man closed his mouth.

That wasn't up for discussion.

But Zhou Ping still added a sentence.

"If it's a trap, I all the more need to go."

"She's awake."

These three words fell, and no one tried to dissuade him anymore.

A few minutes later.

A black off-road vehicle burst out of the abandoned shipyard.

Zhou Ping sat in the back seat, his wet coat sticking to him.

The driver was Lao Feng, the Avengers' best driver, who had once raced on underground tracks, talkative but steady-handed.

Lao Feng glanced at the rearview mirror.

"Wang, the navigation shows twenty-three minutes."

"Fifteen minutes."

Lao Feng smirked.

"With these road conditions in fifteen minutes, the traffic police could drag my ancestors eighteen generations out to a meeting."

Zhou Ping looked out the window.

"Charge."

Lao Feng immediately shut up.

"Received, ancestors, make do for now."

The speed increased.

Zhou Ping took out the photo of Fu Yunhai, then slipped it back into his pocket.

Zhou Ning woke up.

She might be afraid.

She might be looking for him.

Or she might have been targeted.

The elevator doors opened.

Zhou Ping rushed out, drenched in rain.

The on-duty nurse was frightened into standing up.

"Sir, may I ask who you are?"

"Family."

Zhou Ping didn't stop.

His eyes held only the ward door.

Soon, Zhou Ping raised his hand and pressed the door handle.

His hand was trembling.

It wasn't fear.

It was because he hadn't heard his sister call him in too long.

He pushed the door open.