contemporary romance
There was little anyone in the encampment could do but dream. The bugs had snatched away their homeland, their livelihood, and even their family. The only things they still possessed were their lives, their language, and the power to dream.
Yang Ze snapped his fingers. "You've got it right."
The chuckles ground to a halt before the civilians burst into uproarious laughter. As the laugher echoed through the encampment, more and more people gathered.
"Haha, to think Mr. Yang's such a funny man!"
"I thought he would be difficult to get along with, but he's more interesting than I thought."
"It's been quite some time since I was able to laugh so freely and forget about the troubles I'm facing..."
Yang Ze's expression was earnest and serious, a far cry from those others around him. "I'm not kidding. The Zenith Dojo has taken down the bugs, once and for all."
Upon seeing Yang Ze's expression, the civilians' laughter slowly died away. They simply couldn't believe what he had said.
"Mr. Yang, you're not joking, are you?"
Yang Ze nodded. "I'm not joking. The Zenith Dojo has succeeded."
The civilians gaped in shock.
"Impossible. How could it be? We Martians worked so hard and sacrificed so many lives—our entire planet was working together, and even then, we couldn't do anything about the bugs! They continued to eat away at our planet and destroy our homeland, burrowing underground and devouring our family—but you claim you've dealt with them all?!"
Zhang Lie frowned.
The civilians in the encampment made way, exposing the person who was criticizing the Zenith Dojo in direct line of sight.
They certainly weren't going to take collective responsibility for what a single civilian had said. The Zenith Dojo had sent reinforcements when no one else did, and they had done so at no cost, without any expectation of payment. They had distributed food and helped them quell the bug invasion. While the bug invasion had disrupted all their lives and brought disaster to their home, the Zenith Dojo had ensured that those of them who remained needed for nothing.
How could someone level such horrible criticism at the disciples of the Zenith Dojo?
Furthermore, the Zenith Dojo both had a titan-class shuttle and the strength to sweep aside all bugs in their way. They had no obligation to help Mars, and could leave at any time. If Zhang Lie was upset by the criticism and decided to leave, what would the rest of them in the encampment do?
What would the civilians on Mars do?
Zhang Lie alone had come to help them in their time of need, and the Martians certainly didn't want to see their saviors leave. The civilians weren't fools; they knew what Zhang Lie had done for them.
They made way and revealed the speaker who had criticized the Zenith Dojo so harshly: the dispirited Yang clan head.
The Yang clan head no longer had the poise and propriety expected of a clan head—indeed, he looked like nothing more than a beggar, with tattered clothing and dirt stains on his face. His hair was clumped and oily, and he was clearly in a drunken stupor.
After failing to bring Yang Ze back to the Yang clan, he had been harshly criticized by the Yang elders. They blamed him for not recognizing Yang Ze's genius, for forcing Yang Ze away from the clan.
If Yang Ze were still part of the Yang clan, then the Yang clan wouldn't have been the brunt of everyone's jokes after Team Zenith's success during the Void Cup, and Yang Ze wouldn't have refused to escort the Yang clan away from Mars, far from the bug invasion.
In that case, the Yang clan wouldn't have to clean up after a bunch of disgusting bugs after days of turtling up within the encampment.
The Yang elders' vicious, vitriolic remarks continued to echo in his head, as though he were surrounded by a few flies that he couldn't get rid of no matter how hard he tried. Not only had he been subject to a verbal lashing, the Yang clan had deposed him of his title and expelled him from the clan.
In times of peace, the Yang clan wouldn't have dared to deal with the Yang clan head in this fashion. After all, the clan head boasted authority in his own right, and he held control over the majority of the Yang clan's businesses on Mars.
Even when Yang Ze grew famous for the first time after his victory in the Void Cup and the Yang clan became the butt of all jokes, no one was able to shake the Yang clan head from his position—but now, times were changing.
The bug invasion had changed far too much.
The Yang clan head had proved ineffective at leading the Yang clan, and he was naturally spurned and discarded by the rest of the clan.
"Ridiculous. A disaster that the whole planet working together couldn't deal with, and you claim the Zenith Dojo has handled it within a few weeks? I certainly won't believe it..." The Yang clan head continued his drunken slurs. "You're just a single dojo! What can you do against a disaster that's threatening the whole planet?
"I'll admit that you do have some strength. I saw you take down these five- and six-star bugs, but don't presume that we're fools."
Several guards strode forward and arrested the Yang clan head. "He mixed pure alcohol from our medical supplies with plain water—that's how he managed to get drunk!" they announced.
The Yang clan head screamed in madness. "Leave me! Without the Zenith Dojo, without Yang Ze, without Zhang Lie, I would still be the Yang clan head. My fall is all your fault! How will you compensate me for this?!"
The guards dragged the struggling Yang clan head away, ignoring his nonsensical words.
"Let me go! You guards from the encampment are all in cahoots with the Zenith Dojo! What right do you have to arrest me?!"
The civilians in the encampment laughed apologetically. "Please don't mind the words of a drunkard. None of us here mind—we all know how difficult this disaster will be to resolve, and it's only natural that you weren't able to do so."
"No matter what, we're very grateful that you've shown up to assist us during this time of crisis. Dealing with the bug invasion isn't something that can be handled in a few weeks, but we can take it slowly!"
"Let's forget about what just happened, shall we? We'll treat it as though it were a joke, nothing more."
Rather than explain with words, Zhou Ying stepped forward and brought out a projector, which played footage from the battle that the shuttle had been recording. "Everyone, please have a look!"
Zhang Lie had expected some level of disbelief from the civilians, and had told the members of Team Zenith to prepare some footage as evidence beforehand. The moment the footage was released, the encampment fell silent.
The video showed Team Zenith fighting against the bugs. Zhang Lie had destroyed the bug nest and slain the bug king, and the bugs were forced to flee.
The civilians' jaws dropped as they processed the footage.
One person cried out hoarsely, "Is this true? Is this footage real?"
"Have you really managed to destroy the bug nests on Mars?"
"All that you promised—it was true all along?"
Yang Ze clasped both his hands behind his back and puffed out his chest. "There's no reason for the Zenith Dojo to try to fool you with fake footage. Feel free to walk around the encampment and confirm with your own eyes that the bugs have truly been defeated."
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