The Villain Slaps The Protagonist’s Halo - Chapter 123

Chapter 123: Hunting in the World

When Nie Jia woke up, he felt a dull pain in the back of his neck, as if a piece of red-hot iron had been sewn into it. Before his eyes was a white wall covering and surrounding him, with PPS isolation walls, resistant to high temperatures and corrosion, and highly resistant to fire, the perfect material for detaining metal and electromagnetic ability users.

His head throbbed as Nie Jia took a shallow breath and sat up, only to find himself dressed in a pitch-black prisoner's uniform.

"What's going on?" Nie Jia, with a serious expression, communicated with KK, using his abilities to alleviate his discomfort.

"You've been captured. You're currently in the Huazhang Corporation's Ability User Rehabilitation Camp. It's labeled as a rehabilitation camp, but it's essentially a prison for ability users. Once anti-government ability users are in here, they won't make it out alive unless they repent," KK explained. "A signal source has been implanted in the back of your neck. Once your abilities are activated, the control room will release electric currents through the signal source. It could cause anything from fainting to death. It's best for you to refrain from any sudden movements."

Nie Jia reached back to touch his neck, his brows furrowing in displeasure.

"How did I get caught?" Nie Jia wondered, feeling puzzled. He tried hard to recall, but it seemed like his memory had failed him. He could only remember up until the moment he was shot.

"You lost control of your emotions and killed Kong Fei. During the intense battle with Shen Su, you lost consciousness midway and were apprehended by Shen Su," KK explained.

Nie Jia was shocked. "I killed Kong Fei?!"

"Yes, don't you remember?" KK asked, concerned. It had detected how terrifying Nie Jia's emotional outburst was before, and it had attempted to intervene, but its voice couldn't reach Nie Jia's mind, much like when he impulsively stabbed Shen Siyu to death.

Resting his elbows on his knees, Nie Jia pressed his hand against his forehead, cursing his impulsive actions.

With nobody around, Nie Jia began to search through the world's information, hoping to find a solution. Unlike previous times, this world was not filled with various emotional entanglements. The original owner of this body, Nie Jia, was a true villain.

Over a hundred years ago, a global zombie virus outbreak occurred, swift and devastating. Countless people sacrificed themselves on the front lines. Subsequently, starting from smaller countries, one after another fell into ruin, annihilated by this disaster. As humanity was driven to the brink, some survivors gradually awakened various abilities. They fought side by side to end the disaster, eradicate the zombie virus, and save all of humanity.

Unfortunately, it was too late. Human civilization had been almost completely trampled. Originally, there were over two hundred countries and regions globally, but after the disaster, almost none remained. Even Huazhang, which took over thirty years to restore its military and political systems, showed how devastating the Battle of the Apocalypse was.

After the disaster, humanity began to rebuild its homeland, but people continued to awaken abilities. Ordinary people hailed these heroes as ability users and categorized their abilities into five types: Output, Control, Sensing, Spatial, and Enhancement, ranked in order of strength. Output and Control ability users were considered godlike by ordinary people and even by other ability users.

After the first generation of ability users naturally passed away, people's living environment became much more stable. With the passage of time, perhaps due to prolonged peace, ability users became unnecessary, and coupled with some low-quality ability users abusing their powers, causing a few fatalities, panic spread among ordinary people. Citizens of various countries jointly petitioned for government intervention to regulate ability users.

The more powerful they were, the less freedom they could enjoy, otherwise, the world structure would be shattered and rebuilt once again.

The governments of the four countries unified their stance, introducing policies to regulate ability users. All existing, newly born, and newly awakened ability users had to be integrated into the national military system, re-register their identities, and be implanted with signal sources for supervision.

This compulsory regulation was met with massive opposition and resistance from countless ability users. After several outbreaks of riots, the government enforced it with even harsher measures, leading to the first racial war in human history.

Provoked by the regulations, ability users rose in anger, sparking a war between ability users and humans, directly leading to the destruction of two countries.

The war had persisted without respite until now, spawning within the ranks of ability users both Sharkism and Porcism. The Sharkists proclaimed themselves rulers, establishing bases large and small to oppose humanity, no longer considering ordinary people as kin but as livestock; in their eyes, ordinary folk were no different from household pets.

Among the Sharkists of this generation, the most prominent figure was the original owner, Nie Jia. Nie Jia was the bane of the human government. He was a rare and powerful fifth-order metal ability user, with a savage and ruthless nature born of a life amidst war. He was dangerous yet immensely powerful, having founded an organization of ability users called "Wanderers," whose aim was to eradicate both ordinary people and Porcist ability users worldwide, in order to forge a new world!

Porcist ability users, on the other hand, retained a sense of human morality. They understood well the principle that greater power came with greater responsibility. Gradually, they drew closer to ordinary people during the war, just like the protagonist aligning with Shen Su; survival depended on mutual cooperation. The targets they sought were those troublemaking, nation-dividing ability users.

The Sharkists aimed to usher in a new era, while the Porcists sought to protect ordinary people, striving to restore the peace and prosperity of a century ago.

The desires of both factions were lofty but distant, not achievable overnight.

Nowadays, with a sharp decrease in the world's population and widespread devastation, only three nations remained: Huazhang and the United States, ruled by humans, and one nation, the Oasis, governed by ability users. The Oasis was a terrifying entity, constructed by millions of ability users on the sea, impregnable and formidable.

The United States had always mocked Huazhang for the Oasis's split from it and its construction within Huazhang's borders. Due to the Oasis's formidable strength, the Huazhang government had been powerless to act against it. After all, their main concern was Nie Jia, and dealing with him took precedence.

Though Huazhang still refused to acknowledge the Oasis as an independent nation, the rest of the world, save for Huazhang itself, did.

Yet, the threat posed by Nie Jia was far greater than that of the Oasis.

His organization, the Wanderers, was second in scale only to the Oasis, yet its ambitions were greater. They slaughtered anyone they encountered, be they human or Porcist, appearing as a bunch of bloodthirsty maniacs.

Nie Jia had barely arrived before being besieged by Shen Su and Kong Fei. It was because half a month ago, the original owner, Nie Jia, had ambushed key figures of Huazhang, tearing apart an Airbus carrying five government officials directly. And he had done this more than once.

The Oasis only sought independence and equal footing among the three nations, harboring far less animosity toward Porcists and ordinary people.

Nie Jia and his Wanderers, on the other hand, were increasingly radical and fanatical. Their goals were clear but lacked planning; they acted on impulse. Moreover, they were all third and fourth-order ability users with rare abilities, making eliminating Nie Jia and the Wanderers even more difficult than reclaiming the Oasis.

There was no personal vendetta between the original owner, Nie Jia, and the protagonist of this world. It was simply a case of good triumphing over evil. Yet this enmity had been sown by Nie Jia himself, starting with the killing of Kong Fei; no doubt, the protagonist, Shen Su, harbored deep hatred toward him.

Nie Jia regretted it deeply, his face turning pale with remorse. He had no idea how to face Shen Su now.

Lost in despair, Nie Jia didn't even hear the sound of the door opening until a prison guard shouted gruffly at him, "Mealtime!"

"How can I get out of here?" Nie Jia lifted his head, seeing three guards with guns coming to escort him to the cafeteria.

They used PPS material to confine him, so they must have thought they could keep him locked up indefinitely.

"As long as you use your abilities, the bomb in your neck will be faster than your actions!" One of the guards, his beer belly protruding, glared at Nie Jia with hatred, raising what looked like a plastic gun in his hand. "Also, this is a 3D-printed gun and ceramic bullets specially prepared for you. Nie Jia, your good days are over now."

"Is the firing pin of the 3D-printed gun also made of ABS material?" Nie Jia looked at the gun pointed at him, smiling indifferently but hitting the guard's soft spot accurately.

The three men quickly stepped back, holding their guns as if facing a formidable enemy, aiming at Nie Jia's head.

The firing pin of a gun made of ABS material couldn't ignite the primer of a bullet. Metal firing pins were indispensable and the only weakness for dealing with metal ability users on the battlefield.

This man before them was Nie Jia, after all, Nie Jia! The guards glanced at each other, their adrenaline levels soaring like sweat pouring off them.

"I'm hungry, lead the way." Nie Jia stood up amidst the guards' nervous gazes, raising his hands lazily in a stretch. He concealed his malicious intent and walked out first.

Even though the guns were ineffective, he still had a bomb in his neck. Even a slight release of electric current would be enough to incapacitate him. Thinking of this, the guards felt a little relieved and hurriedly followed Nie Jia.

Almost all the inmates in the rehabilitation camp were ability users, though there were also ordinary people who had committed serious crimes, discernible by the color of their prison uniforms. From white to black, the deeper the color, the more severe the crime. Guards were scattered everywhere, treating ability users with signal sources implanted in their necks the same as ordinary people.

Only Nie Jia wore a pitch-black prison uniform, escorted by three guards specifically assigned to him.

As Nie Jia entered the cafeteria, the once bustling and noisy room suddenly fell silent, as if plunging into the depths of the sea, eerily quiet and unsettling.

The prisoners stared wide-eyed, some in surprise, others in fear, as they looked up at Nie Jia. Some overturned their bowls, others sat directly on the floor.

Nie Jia walked over without glancing sideways, grabbed a tray, and smiled at the lunch lady cooking, "Auntie, could you give me some spare ribs?"

The auntie didn't seem to recognize Nie Jia but found this handsome young man's smile quite charming. She smiled back and filled Nie Jia's tray with a plate full of spare ribs. Nie Jia's mood improved considerably, seemingly oblivious to the strangeness of the entire cafeteria. He found an empty spot and sat down to gnaw on his spare ribs.

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