CHAPTER 139: THE LEADER & THE SUBORDINATE

At first, the girl named Kira had been lively, circling around Sian with a bright smile and joy. But suddenly, before the eyes of everyone present in the hall, she burst into tears for no apparent reason, clutching desperately at Sian’s clothes.

She even fell to her knees. Sian froze for a moment, allowing the girl to collapse and cling to his legs.

Then, slowly, he knelt down and embraced her with obvious affection. One hand wrapped around her back, the other gently patting her hair as he murmured comfortingly with a tender, moved expression:

"Don’t worry. It’s over now. Stop crying, Kira—you’ll ruin your pretty face."

The girl only cried harder. Between her sobs, her beautiful, innocent face revealed glimpses of the torment she had endured. Yet no one could have imagined how a girl, not even in her twenties, could carry such a heavy burden of sorrow and scars.

"Leader... Leader... we—we failed. Everyone was slaughtered after you left."

After saying this, the girl clenched her teeth and continued bitterly, "Those bastards came back. Just days after your death, they wiped out our entire squad. Everyone at the base was killed. Uncle John tried to help me, but I couldn’t escape the invasion of the monsters."

Although Sian heard everything—his eyes darkening as he learned of the massacre that had befallen his base and his people—Kira’s broken words left the full picture unclear. He tried to console her:

"Don’t cry. Stop the tears first. Sit down. Aren’t we alive right now? Calm yourself, then we’ll talk."

Even though Kira was on the verge of emotional collapse, she still trusted her commander instinctively and followed his will. She forced herself to stop crying, sat quietly, and flushed with shame for losing her composure. Ever since she had arrived in this world, she had modeled herself after her commander—aloof, detached, unapproachable.

If Sian had heard her inner evaluation, he might have broken her façade on the spot, showing her what "inhuman" truly meant.

Once both of them sat down, they remembered that they were not alone. In the far corner of the hall, there was still an abandoned audience.

Lady Mei Lin was staring at her daughter’s face, now red from crying and embarrassment, with a complex gaze. She and her husband had decided to treat the girl as their own daughter, even after learning that the soul within her body was not their child’s. But the girl had always carried an aura of "keep away," and they had never been able to break through her walls.

And yet, the man before them had dissolved those iron walls with a single glance.

Did Kira call him "Commander"? Then... he too was not from this world?

It was a shocking conclusion for everyone present.

Of course, little Xiao Zhu understood nothing, but that didn’t stop him from gazing at his brother Sian with awe and reverence.

As for Liang Wei, the father, his brows furrowed with deeper thoughts beyond those of his wife. The presence of people from another world was not frightening in itself—but their strength was. His deputy had told him everything about the Institute incident, and he knew Sian was hiding immense power. Especially with his daughter relying on him and addressing him as "Commander," Liang Wei was certain this was no simple acquaintance.

As a minister of state—and one of the few who possessed knowledge of the supernatural and unexplained events—he was a cautious man by nature. With recent events, he feared these were the beginnings of something far greater and far darker, not just for the empire but for the entire world.

Meanwhile, Lan Qisheng’s blue eyes grew more enigmatic as he studied Sian and Kira intently.

The first to speak was Kira’s father. Looking at the girl who was no longer truly his daughter, he asked, "Kira... was this man present in your world as well? Is he the one you spoke of?"

At the sound of her father’s—no, the body’s father’s—voice, Kira’s eyes fluttered nervously. She bit back her denial, glancing fearfully at Sian.

Naturally, Sian caught the guilt in her gaze. He smiled, though it was hardly a smile at all.

"Oh? So you even spoke of me? Kira, it seems the training you went through wasn’t enough after all. You dared reveal secrets about your commander—and even had people searching for me?"

The intensity in his eyes was no jest. He may not have been irate, but the mere mention of "training" made Kira’s body shudder. For though she was among his closest subordinates, she knew his coldness all too well. He was merciless to others—and even more merciless to himself.

Without realizing, Kira began to beg, her tearful eyes shimmering:

"Leader, Leader, I really didn’t reveal any of your secrets! I only told them about your existence because I wanted to find you as quickly as possible. You’re the greatest, most wonderful commander! Please, no more additional training! Last time you threw me into that pit full of rotten beasts, I barely crawled out with half my life—if it weren’t for Elder Brother’s healing, I’d be dead! Commander..."

She rattled on without realizing the impact of her words on the listeners, who were staring at Sian in shock.

Perhaps moved by pity for his daughter, Liang Wei spoke to Sian, "As she said, she only told us a little—that she wasn’t of this world, and that there was someone she knew who should arrive here. She wanted to find you. Nothing more."

Instinctively, he held back from repeating her other claim: that if anyone could save this world from looming destruction, it was her commander alone.

And he was right. If he had spoken those words, Sian would have been furious with the talkative girl. After all, he still clung to his lazy life. Despite everything that had happened, he had no intention of giving it up.

And now his subordinate dared to paint him as a hero of the world? Did she not know how much blood, sweat, and tears a so-called hero had to spill to reach that path?

Back to the moment—Sian said nothing to Liang Wei, only glanced at him briefly before turning to Kira, who was shrinking into the sofa.

"Did you also tell them about your powers? Do you not fear being locked in a lab and dissected again?"

Kira trembled at his words. She had been one of those subjected to experiments in their old world. All of them loathed and feared researchers of every kind.

Perhaps sensing her daughter’s fear—because after all, a mother remains a mother—Mei Lin looked at her husband, then at Sian, and said, "We would never do that. She is our daughter. The state protects her, and we—"

"Oh? The same state that secretly gathered zombie parts and experimented on them? That kind of state will bring blood upon itself sooner or later."

Sian’s merciless mockery cut her down without pity.

The couple was stung but could not deny his words. Their deputy had told them everything, and they knew well what had transpired at the Institute. Now, from Sian’s tone, it was clear his hatred for scientists came from bitter, personal experience.

Silence fell over the hall.

Sian didn’t care. He turned back to Kira and said, "Tell me everything from the beginning. How did you get here, and how much of your strength have you recovered?"

"I arrived two years ago. This body... it was already dead when I came. My power was sealed, almost nonexistent. Because of certain events, I ended up becoming part of the state’s secret organization for superhumans."

She glanced at Sian, but as expected, his expression was full of rejection and hostility.

"Hah. You haven’t changed—still foolish as ever. Handing yourself over to the state? I won’t be surprised if one day they kill you without you even knowing it."

Kira flinched at the harsh remark, her lips parting to protest, but Sian cut her off with a tired sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Continue."

With that single word, all of Kira’s complaints died in her throat. She continued her report with disciplined precision, knowing better than to test his temper.

"There are many superpowered individuals in the team. Their abilities resemble ours from back home, though weaker. Their job is simple—investigating supernatural crimes. There aren’t many gifted people, so their presence is scarce; thus, it remains a major international secret. I suspect this kind of group exists across the world. Commander, that silent killer we encountered may—"

Sian interrupted her.

"Enough. I sensed his power too—it was the same. Perhaps he really is the same person. Either way, what about your abilities?"

"At first, I could barely feel them. But half a year ago, when I foresaw your arrival, my power grew stronger."

Just as Sian had expected. That was the time he had indeed crossed over.

"So then... can you now open a passage between worlds and glimpse the future?"

"Better than that, Commander. I can take us directly to another world—to a precise point in time."

At those words, someone else was the first to react.

Lan Qisheng shot to his feet, his eyes blazing at Sian as if terrified that the man would vanish should he so much as blink.

Sian understood his fear all too well. He met Lan’s gaze and said coolly, "Don’t exaggerate. No matter our power, we can’t return to our old world. Meddling with time has consequences."

He wasn’t lying, and Kira confirmed it:

"That’s true. Even though I can open a temporal tunnel, returning to our world is impossible. Two souls with the same frequency cannot coexist in a single world. And since our world was completely destroyed after our deaths, the only way back would be to return to a time before we died. But that’s impossible. The heavens and nature itself would erase us."

"Our world was destroyed?" Sian asked, his brows furrowed.

Kira’s eyes dimmed. "I tried to look at it when I first arrived here. I saw what had become of it. After our squad was annihilated, it took only a few months for our world to be erased entirely—wiped out of existence."