Chapter 00124: Why Bother
# Why Bother?
Chapter 124
Novel: After the Myth
Chapter 124: Why Bother?
"Who is John Nesf?" Ding Huan's voice broke the terrifying silence.
John Nesf was stunned.
He had thought that no matter how powerful Ding Huan was, he would still be just another Zhong Chi.
After all, Zhong Chi was considered the pinnacle of martial arts cultivation.
Could martial arts really surpass that pinnacle?
With so many people here, why should they fear Ding Huan alone?
As for the claim that Ding Huan was the one who annihilated the alien forces, ha, Zhong Chi must be lying.
If Ding Huan were truly that powerful, he wouldn't have been wanted by the Gene Alliance.
Moreover, how old was Ding Huan?
But the scene before him brought him back to reality.
Hou Hezhong's agonizing screams gradually weakened, and the charred remains gave everyone a chilling feeling.
"Ding Huan, as a teacher, how can you be so unreasonable..."
John Nesf's voice was fierce, but it was clear he was afraid.
"So it was you who captured Qu Yi?" Ding Huan asked.
When he had entered earlier, it was this guy who had said they would capture all of them.
"So what if it was? We didn't harm Qu Yi. She was just in a critical situation..."
Ding Huan didn't wait for John to finish speaking.
With a wave of his hand, a wind blade shot out.
"Thud!" Another arm fell to the ground.
Ding Huan didn't kill John immediately.
After cutting off one of John's arms, he sent another wind blade, severing both of John's legs.
"Teacher Ding, this matter..."
John, now on the ground, wanted to plead for mercy, but the pain made it impossible for him to speak.
When another wind blade landed on his neck, he felt a chill, and an overwhelming fear rose within him.
John's strength wasn't much weaker than Gu Zhong's.
He had never imagined that he would be completely defenseless against Ding Huan's attacks.
He saw the wind blade coming for his neck, but he couldn't dodge it.
He could only watch as it sliced through his neck.
As his head fell, he regretted it.
The Zhan Shen Crystal wasn't for his use alone.
Why had he been so eager to be the first to die?
But his thoughts ended there.
No one dared to plead for mercy anymore.
Everyone now understood how polite Zhong Chi had been.
"Bring Qu Yi here. You have three minutes. If she's missing even a single hair, you all know the consequences."
Ding Huan's tone was calm, not at all like the anger he had shown when he kicked the door open.
Even Zhu Qinjiang, who had sent Liu Aimei to fetch Ding Huan, felt a chill run down his spine.
He had interacted with Ding Huan before and had always thought that Ding Huan was just young and impulsive, which was why he had gone to the Gene Alliance's base twice to kill.
Now he realized how little he truly understood Ding Huan.
Shi Changyi's face was pale.
If he could leave, he would have done so already.
He wished Ding Huan would treat him as if he were invisible, but Ding Huan's gaze fell on him.
"Shi Changyi?"
Shi Changyi knew that no matter how righteous he tried to appear, no one would come to his aid today.
When Ding Huan addressed him, he quickly clasped his hands in a salute.
"Teacher Ding, I admit I was biased before. We are all working for the future of Earth. My methods were too extreme."
At this point, Shi Changyi didn't care if others looked down on him.
If he lost his life, what did it matter who respected him or not?
"First, you sent people to hunt me down years ago. I've always wanted to settle that score, but I never found you. Second, you sent people to capture Qu Yi for genetic experiments, leaving her severely injured and on the brink of death. If I hadn't been lucky enough to have some skills, Qu Yi would have been killed by you. If you had only offended me, I would have just taught you a lesson. But since you offended Qu Yi, I can only say I'm sorry..."
When Shi Changyi heard Ding Huan's last three words, he immediately tried to flee.
But the next moment, he felt something was wrong.
Several cold auras locked onto his path.
Shi Changyi didn't care about appearances anymore.
He rolled on the ground like a donkey, barely dodging Ding Huan's wind blades.
He stood up and stumbled forward, but a blade of light suddenly appeared at his neck.
"Thud!" Like cutting through tofu, Shi Changyi's head was severed.
"Old Zhong, it seems you're not doing well. You've suffered internal injuries. Who did this to you?"
Ding Huan's gaze fell on Zhong Chi, who was supporting Gu Zhong.
"It was me, Nong Yizhen," Nong Yizhen suddenly stood up.
He did have his own motives, but his main goal was to keep the Zhan Shen Crystal to cultivate some powerful martial artists.
Qu Yi had good opportunities, but she was still a woman.
Zhong Chi quickly explained:
"Brother Ding, Nong Yizhen and I may not be close, but he didn't really mean to harm me. Please, for my sake..."
"Stop..."
Ding Huan interrupted Zhong Chi.
"Old Zhong, harming you and harming Qu Yi are two different things. If it were Qu Yi, I would have killed him already. But since it's you, and you don't seem to care, I'm not going to help you."
Ding Huan stopped Zhong Chi's plea.
Zhong Chi had ignored his advice before and was now pleading for his opponent.
Ding Huan had no respect for that.
Zhong Chi smiled bitterly.
"I regret not listening to you before. Now I know you were right. Brother, I still want to ask for your mercy. Let Commander Gu go get treatment. If his arm isn't reattached soon, it will be ruined."
Zhu Qinjiang also chimed in:
"Teacher Ding, Commander Gu really needs to get treated immediately. He was just caught in the crossfire."
"Brother Ding..."
Qu Yi had arrived at the meeting room.
Her voice trembled with emotion when she saw Ding Huan.
Seeing that Qu Yi was unharmed, Ding Huan waved his hand at Zhong Chi.
"For your sake and Director Zhu's, I'll stop after killing one more person today."
As he spoke, Ding Huan sent out another blade of light.
Qin Qiang, who was still sitting in her seat with a pale face, felt a chill at her neck and then collapsed.
In the end, she couldn't escape.
She had spent her days unscrupulously seeking cultivation resources, even offending someone as ruthless as Ding Huan.
And in the end, she was just a mere third-level gene cultivator.
Why bother? That was Qin Qiang's final thought before she died.
When Ding Huan said that harming Zhong Chi and harming Qu Yi were two different things, she knew she was done for.
Zhong Chi, holding Gu Zhong's severed arm, hurriedly helped Gu Zhong leave.
With modern medical technology, taking Gu Zhong for surgery now would allow him to fully recover.
Ding Huan's gaze fell on Nong Yizhen.
"Dean Nong, I have plenty of Zhan Shen Crystals. In fact, I have a whole pile. You could have just asked me for them."
Dou Qingzhi quickly tried to mediate:
"Dean Nong probably didn't mean it that way."
Ding Huan snorted.
"Didn't mean it that way? I worked hard to annihilate the alien forces and severely injured the demon dragon and giant ape at the human corridor defense line. And what did I get in return? The few Zhan Shen Crystals I left for my friends were also coveted by you. I just won't give them to you. What can you do about it?"
"Brother Ding, Director Dou has always been helping me," Qu Yi said softly, seeing Ding Huan's anger.
"Fine, for your sake, I won't bother with these people. Let's go."
Ding Huan turned to leave.
Zhu Qinjiang quickly spoke up:
"Teacher Ding, that demon dragon might still be alive. I'd like to ask for your help once more. Otherwise, the human corridor defense line might collapse again."
"Helping once isn't a problem, but I also need a favor from you. I want to forge a weapon, but I can't find the right materials..."
Before Ding Huan could finish, a woman stood up.
"Teacher Ding, I, Fan Yibing, guarantee I can fulfill your request. My words represent the federal military, and there will be no falsehoods."
Qi Xinyue looked at Fan Yibing and thought to herself, this woman is so beautiful.
How could Cang Beichun mistake me for her when I'm so ugly?
"Alright, but I also need to borrow a gene lab. Is there one here?" Ding Huan asked.
If that demon dragon was a Foundation Establishment-level beast, Ding Huan doubted he could handle it alone.
So, preparing some gene-based poison specifically for the demon dragon was necessary.
"Yes, yes, I'll take you there," Zhu Qinjiang immediately offered.
"No need, I'll go myself later."
Ding Huan's spiritual sense had already located the gene lab.
The defense line's gene lab was at the edge of the Dakar Airport, connected to the Dakar Airport defense building.
"Alright, let's go. Qu Yi, Xinyue."
With a gene lab ready, Ding Huan decided to first gather the necessary herbs and then return to create the gene-based poison.
Seeing Ding Huan leave, Liu Aimei quickly followed.
This wasn't a place for her to stay.
...
As soon as Ding Huan left, Zhu Qinjiang snorted.
"Old Zhong has told you all countless times: don't provoke Qu Yi, don't covet what isn't yours. No one listened. Now, are you all satisfied?"
Nong Yizhen opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.
Besides being dissatisfied with Ding Huan's tyranny, he also felt a sense of despair.
He had cultivated to the Xiantian level and was the dean of Zhenyu Academy, ranked first among the top ten academies on Blue Star.
He had always believed that his strength was on par with Zhong Chi's.
Now he realized how far he was from a true powerhouse.
It was a pity that his relationship with Ding Huan was so poor.
Otherwise, he would have sought Ding Huan's guidance long ago.
"Director Dou, Dean Nong, the commander isn't here right now. Teacher Ding has agreed to help eliminate the demon dragon at the human corridor defense line. We need to discuss how to cooperate with him."
Fan Yibing stepped forward.
At this moment, perhaps only Fan Yibing, with her straightforward mind, would still be concerned about the human corridor defense line.
Before anyone could respond, Zhong Chi hurriedly entered the meeting hall.
"Everyone, Old Gu has been taken to surgery. He should be fine. Old Gu asked me to relay a message."
At Zhong Chi's words, everyone fell silent, even the soldiers cleaning up the bodies moved cautiously.
Zhong Chi announced loudly:
"Old Gu recommends Fan Yibing to take his position and serve as the commander of the human corridor defense line."
"This can't be. I'm not experienced enough," Fan Yibing quickly protested.
Zhong Chi waved his hand.
"Experience? What does that matter? Brother Ding is younger than you, yet he's accomplished so much. How old is Qu Yi? She's already the director of Puhai Security Bureau."
When Zhong Chi mentioned Ding Huan's accomplishments, everyone fell silent.
Was this what they called young and accomplished? More like ruthless and cruel.
"I agree with Fan Yibing taking over as the commander of the human defense line," Dou Qingzhi was the first to speak up.
With Dou Qingzhi's support, Qu Weimin, the head of the Martial Arts Alliance who had remained silent, also spoke.
"Indeed, Fan Yibing is the most suitable candidate for the position."
To be honest, he was relieved.
Ding Huan hadn't come after him, and he hadn't done anything too extreme.
The deans of the top ten academies on Blue Star, those who hadn't been killed, all voiced their agreement.
(End of Chapter)