Kara’s Helplessness

Walking along a dirt road through the barren mountains, Zhang Ye and the other two followed faint bloodstains scattered across the rocks, tracking an unknown presence.

They had discovered the massacre while passing a farm. They had not wanted to approach the place, but Kara’s keen sense of smell caught the stench of rotting corpses. There were probably no survivors left, so Zhang Ye decided to help sort through their belongings.

In this desolate land, death did not seem particularly surprising.

The farm was littered with corpses, a chilling sight. Several bodies on the ground had already been picked clean. When Zhang Ye and the others approached, several vultures flew up in alarm, but they did not leave. They merely perched on the withered old trees outside the farm.

The vultures stared directly at the three strangers with their avian eyes, seemingly curious about what these humans interrupting their meal intended to do.

After a brief investigation, they found that all seven members of the farm family had met violent deaths. Nothing inside the house had been taken. It seemed the killer had come specifically to eat them.

Pietro guessed that perhaps they had been attacked by a beast, such as a brown bear, but Zhang Ye did not think so. There were indeed many strange beasts in this wasteland world, but judging by the horrific scene, this had most likely been done by an intelligent creature with a feral nature.

There were seven people in the family, something that was obvious from their family portrait. They even had a nursery that had been specially prepared. It looked as though they had lived peacefully and happily in seclusion. Who knew why such a tragedy had befallen them?

Maybe they had just been unlucky.

That was what Zhang Ye said.

In this warped, corrupted world, no one could remain untouched. Perhaps death was a good thing for them.

Then, as they prepared to gather the bodies and bury them, Zhang Ye and the others suddenly realized the number of corpses did not add up. There had been seven people, but only five and a half bodies at the scene. That meant the killer had packed one up to take away.

With Kara’s extraordinary five senses, the three quickly found the blood trail left behind and followed the drops of blood, which appeared every few dozen meters, deep into the mountains.

However, Kara had not looked very well the entire way.

"Still thinking about that little girl?"

Zhang Ye spoke up. A team needed proper communication. He did not want Kara to brood herself into a corner over this. Kryptonians might be incredibly tough and impervious to blades and bullets, but their hearts were soft.

"…" Kara said nothing, merely lowering her head as she continued onward.

"Kara, I can’t guarantee how important I am to you, but I should be one of the people you trust most, right?" Zhang Ye moved a little closer to Kara. "So if there’s something on your mind, you don’t have to keep it bottled up. You can tell me."

Kara paused at that. After a long silence, she finally spoke slowly.

"I just can’t understand what’s wrong with this world. I can’t understand anything anymore. What is the way things are supposed to be? Why would a little girl repay kindness with hatred? Is there not even a trace of conscience in her mind? Can she still be called a ‘person’?

"I really can’t accept it. Back on Krypton, some senior elders had studied many subjects concerning civilizations and written several post-era revelations. They described in detail how dark and unbearable civilizations could become after going through such trials, but I! I thought those were just stories!

"Do you understand?

"They were just stories. They shouldn’t happen. Every human heart should be kind and bright. No matter how dark the world becomes, there should always be people brave enough to chase the light, because ‘hope’ still exists. It exists in everyone’s heart!

"But here, I…

"I really…"

Zhang Ye raised his hand. After hesitating for a moment, he finally put an arm around Kara’s shoulders.

"Helplessness, right?" Zhang Ye let out a long sigh and pressed his lips together. Looking at Kara’s bowed head, though he could not see her expression, he believed he understood how she felt.

"Do you feel especially empty and powerless inside? Do you not understand why this society has become so cruel? Are you wondering whether there is still any need to save them?"

Zhang Ye glanced at Pietro beside him. Perhaps Pietro understood this subject more deeply.

"…Don’t doubt yourself, Kara. The reason you’re troubled and trapped in this mental dead end is because you were wrong from the beginning. You have kindness in your heart, you hold onto hope, and you still see them as ‘people.’"

"But they stopped being ‘people’ long ago."

Zhang Ye shook his head slightly and continued.

"Don’t talk about empty things like those who chase the light. The people who charge into darkness shouting about friendship, bonds, and the future only exist in ideals. They are an excuse for the weak to place their hopes in others. They want to be saved, but they do not want to be the ones who sacrifice."

"You say there will always be people searching for hope, but when people cannot even meet their most basic needs for food and warmth, do you think hope still matters to them? Can they still be called ‘people’?"

"I don’t know," Kara murmured, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.

"Then find the answer yourself. Pietro and I will always be with you." Zhang Ye gently patted Kara’s shoulder.

"That’s right. We’re family," Pietro added.

Pietro knew he was not good with lofty speeches and could not really contribute to that discussion, but that did not mean he failed to understand Kara. After all, he too came from a hopeless world much like this one.

The three walked for an entire afternoon and finally reached the killer’s base before sunset.

It was a cave situated on a cliffside, more than twenty meters above the ground. Beneath the cliff lay countless gnawed-clean bones, including not only human remains, but also the bones of large beasts.

Zhang Ye even saw the skeletal structure of a mammoth, showing just how widely the creature living here hunted.

"That thing should be inside. Let me go."

Kara took a deep breath and temporarily cast aside all the worries in her heart. She flexed her fingers, producing a series of cracking knuckle sounds.

"Be careful."

Zhang Ye did not refuse Kara’s request. After what had happened in the previous village, Kara had held things in for too long. Right now, she desperately needed something to vent her emotions on.

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Ye added something else.

"…Be careful with its safety. I only have one requirement if I’m going to absorb its energy: I need it alive. Don’t bring me back a bowl of meat paste. I won’t be able to do anything with that."

(Qidian’s male reader bestseller rankings put me in the top hundred. Even though I don’t get much because it debuted on Chuangshi, you guys really startled me. I am deeply grateful for your support, and you even let me experience what it feels like to fight among immortals.)

(A good book takes time to polish. I will present everyone with a real yet bizarre world of heroes, and I hope you’ll be unable to stop yourselves from getting drawn into it. That’s what will make it even more satisfying!)