Hui Tian Ch30

Chapter 30

The first eater

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“Relax, deep breaths, deep breaths—” Chen Miao encouraged in a guiding manner. “Good, now you’ve forgotten everything you just saw. Your mind is as empty as a clear blue sky, filled with only the chirping of birds and the fragrance of flowers…”

“—No, I still can’t do it.” Yang Xiaodao’s face was full of anger as he loudly protested, “How could they do that kind of thing, and that kind of thing, in broad daylight!”

Chen Miao sympathized. “Yes, the adult world is so dirty. To be honest, I saw it last time too. I had to do a lot of psychological self-construction afterwards…”

On the huge white sofa in the living room, Shen Zhuo and Bai Sheng sat far apart at either end, both with their arms crossed and heads in their hands, their movements unusually synchronized, but their inner thoughts completely opposite.

“The little swan I just caught in my hands, not even warmed up yet, just flew away like that…” After a long while, Bai Sheng sighed and murmured.

Shen Zhuo lowered his hand and asked Chen Miao with a blank expression, “Why didn’t you call me first?”

Captain Chen, who had already tried every bubble tea shop near the Supervision Office, felt very guilty. He thought to himself, of course it’s because a new bubble tea shop just opened at the intersection only a five-minute walk from Bai-ge’s building, and at the time of the incident, he was standing at the counter about to order a cheese and fruit puree fresh peach tea. But luckily, he had a shield and wasn’t completely without a valid reason. He cleared his throat, avoiding the important points:

“Uh… Senior, I did call you once, but you didn’t answer…”

Shen Zhuo felt his pocket; it was empty.

He looked back and saw his phone on the shoe cabinet in the entryway, where he had casually placed it with his coat when he came in.

“You’re really relaxed around me now, aren’t you, Supervisor?” Bai Sheng’s butt inconspicuously scooted closer, and he whispered from the corner of his mouth.

Shen Zhuo moved away from him indifferently and asked Chen Miao, “What exactly happened?”

“Oh, it’s like this.” Chen Miao half-covered his ears, not daring to listen to his Bai-ge’s wild words. He took out his phone, unlocked it, and said, “It was Director Wang who suddenly called me, saying there was a trending video on Weibo. The content was a suspected mental patient exhibiting aggressive behavior at the Shenhai City high-speed rail station. He wanted us to see if it was related to abilities.”

He then opened the video and handed it over. “I’ve already sent a few supervisors over, but there are many suspicious points. Take a look.”

The video had been mostly blocked, but the one Chen Miao had was relatively complete. The first few seconds showed a bustling crowd and noisy discussions, seemingly watching some unusual event. Then the screen went black for a few seconds. When it lit up again, the person filming had squeezed to the front of the crowd. The screen showed a corner in front of the high-speed rail station’s security gate.

A pale-faced middle-aged man in his forties was leaning against the ground, his mind in a daze, as if sleepwalking, his mouth covered in blood.

The next scene surpassed imagination. The man, as if oblivious to everything around him, stiffly brought his bleeding arm to his mouth—

Then he tore off a large chunk of flesh from his own arm and swallowed it whole!

“Ahhh!” “Madman! Madman!” “Call the police, ahhh—”

The crowd scattered, screams erupted, and the screen shook violently. Through the gaps in the crowd, it was clearly visible that the middle-aged man huddled in the corner seemed to feel no pain at all, wolfing down his own arm and even leaning down to bite his own calf, eating mouthfuls of his own flesh until the white bone was exposed…

With a smack, Bai Sheng covered Yang Xiaodao’s face with his palm and said without a doubt, “Bloody violence, R-rated. Minors are not allowed to watch.”

“?!” Yang Xiaodao, caught off guard, was slapped into the sofa. His rebellious self-esteem was severely wounded, and he struggled in disbelief and fury. “Are you crazy? You’re talking to me about bloody violence? What kind of bloody violence is this to me?!”

Bai Sheng turned to Shen Zhuo and whispered, “Don’t listen to his nonsense. This child has always been shy and timid, never seen any fighting or killing. He’s been clean and hygienic and loves flowers and plants since he was little…”

The acting skills of the great actor Bai had reached a state of perfection, but unfortunately, Shen Zhuo had already developed a resistance. He paused the video with a blank expression. “A shy and timid 11-year-old child’s home would not have been ‘robbed.’ As for the scene, I’m sure it was handled cleanly and hygienically back then.”

Bai Sheng: “…”

“Alright,” Shen Zhuo rescued the rebellious teenager’s face from the S-class’s demonic claws and signaled for Yang Xiaodao to sit up. “I hope that in the future, he will love not only flowers and plants, but also only engage in correct and necessary fighting and killing. Otherwise, I will personally put a collar on him.”

Yang Xiaodao: “…”

Yang Xiaodao rubbed his reddened nose sullenly, glaring at the Grand Supervisor of Shenhai City, daring to be angry but not daring to speak, like a strong young wolf forced to tuck its tail between its legs.

Shen Zhuo ignored him and asked Chen Miao, “What’s suspicious about this?”

A normal mental breakdown or hallucinogen poisoning wouldn’t be this bloody. Judging from the video alone, it was indeed possible that it was related to an ability. Chen Miao spread his hands, meaning, you know what I mean.

“It’s like this. Director Wang said that for now, no hallucinogenic substances have been detected in the victim’s blood, so he hopes we can find evidence of an ability crime. But after the supervisors went to the station to take measurements, they didn’t find any abnormal energy fluctuations, which means there are no signs of any ability having been used…”

Whenever an ability was used, it would inevitably leave behind abnormal magnetic field energy fluctuations, just as a crime scene would inevitably leave behind the perpetrator’s footprints or fingerprints. Therefore, the main way to determine whether a crime involved an evolutionist was to use instruments to test the scene.

Of course, abnormal energy fluctuations would slowly dissipate over time, but that usually took several days. It wouldn’t disappear completely in such a short time.

Could it be that it wasn’t an ability crime from the beginning?

“It could also be that the instrument’s precision is not high enough.” Shen Zhuo stood up and straightened his collar. “Has the victim been sent for emergency treatment?”

Chen Miao also stood up. “Shenhai City Second Hospital. Senior, do you think we should first ask the Central District to lend us a more advanced and precise instrument…”

“No need. I’ll go take a look.” Shen Zhuo said lightly. “We have an instrument on hand.”

Bai Sheng: “?”

·

An hour later.
Shenhai City Second Hospital.

“The victim’s name is Wang Ping, 43 years old, a small stall owner.” Ding. The elevator doors opened, and Director Wang personally led Shen Zhuo and his group out, introducing the situation as they walked. “Although he didn’t die, the social impact is very bad, mainly because the scene was too bloody… It’s all over the internet, with people saying it’s an ability crime, and some even talking about a zombie virus…”

Director Wang was a thin, spry little old man in his fifties, always a trendy internet surfer for his age. He frowned and spread his hands. “If you ask me, that’s just nonsense. Even if it’s the T-virus, you still have to follow basic principles. What kind of zombie doesn’t bite others but bites itself first? It doesn’t conform to the principles of virus transmission at all. In my opinion, it’s most likely an ability crime. Don’t you have that, what’s it called, the psychic evolutionist—”

“Mind Control.” Bai Sheng politely interjected.

Director Wang: “Right, right! The kind where you get hit with one look from him and obediently hand over your family’s passbook and password!”

“With all due respect, those rumors are false,” Bai Sheng said regretfully. “The number of mind control type evolutionists is very small, and they are generally of a low level. Bending a spoon with their mind is their limit—but they are very good at emotional guidance. They’ve basically all been hired by the NBA to be cheerleading captains. The pay is very high, you know.”

A certain S-class surnamed Bai was complaining about no one reimbursing his travel expenses, but inwardly he was overflowing with the happiness of being personally invited out by Supervisor Shen, and he had even dressed up for the occasion. His style of clothing never revealed the brand, but it was well-tailored and of high quality, perfectly outlining his powerful yet restrained physique. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his elbows, revealing strong, sun-kissed forearm muscles and a watch with a price tag of countless zeros.

No matter what his inner personality was like, on the outside, this person was always very cheerful and easygoing. His young, handsome face always wore a three-part smile, making him look at first glance like a well-off college student who loved sports.

Director Wang, impressed but not quite understanding, sized him up a few times and couldn’t help but ask Shen Zhuo in a low voice, “This new comrade looks unfamiliar. Is he from your Supervision Office…”

“No.” Shen Zhuo, while flipping through the scene photos, said faintly, “He’s a civilian volunteer, Mr. Bai. An evolutionist, S-class.”

“!!” In an instant, Director Wang’s pupils quaked. He almost thought he had misheard. “SSSSSSS…”

Bai Sheng was very touched. “Only one S. You’re too kind, and you’re working so hard to boost my status.”

Behind him, Yang Xiaodao said expressionlessly, “He’s just stuttering. No one wants to boost your status.”

Bai Sheng didn’t believe him. “Ah, is that so?”

Director Wang: “…”

“Director Wang!” “Director Wang, you’re here!”

At the door of the special care ward, several subordinates stood up to greet him. The little old man finally came back to his senses from the shock of subconsciously wanting to pull out a pen and paper for an autograph. “Ah… that… how… how is the situation?”

“He’s temporarily out of danger, but he still needs restraints. The people from the Supervision Office are already inside.”

Bai Sheng leaned on the ward door and looked inside, letting out a “yo.” “So it’s this brother?”

On the hospital bed, the middle-aged man in his forties named Wang Ping was tightly bound by restraints, his eyes wide open, his expression dazed. His arms and legs were torn to the bone in places, covered in messy, blood-soaked bandages.

His mouth was smeared with his own blood. Even more terrifying was that even while being so tightly bound, his limbs were still struggling upwards rhythmically, trying to reach his own mouth.

“Supervisor!” “Bai-ge!”

The two supervisors in the ward were holding instruments. Seeing them, they turned to greet them. Shen Zhuo put down the stack of scene materials in his hand and asked, “Still can’t detect anything?”

The two supervisors shook their heads in unison, their expressions a bit incredulous. “We can’t detect the slightest energy residue on the victim. We’ve really tried everything. There are no signs of any ability having been used…”

“Our equipment can’t be any more precise. Why don’t we call the Central District first and borrow a more advanced detection device?”

Shen Zhuo stopped in his tracks. “No need. I’ve already brought one.”

The supervisors: “?”

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Shen Zhuo, unperturbed, turned sideways and made a “please” gesture to Bai Sheng:
“Go on, have a sniff.”

Everyone: “…”

An eerie silence fell. After a long moment, Bai Sheng said slowly, “The ‘world’s top high-precision detection instrument’ you described to Chen Miao on the way here was referring to me, wasn’t it?”

“Some studies have shown that S-classes are extremely sensitive to abilities, with a precision that even instruments cannot match,” Shen Zhuo said with approval. “So, yes.”

“You know that even police dogs have official positions, while I’m just a civilian volunteer with no salary, right?”

“Talking about money hurts our feelings. We’re all so familiar with each other, don’t say such hurtful things.”

“…………”

Bai Sheng took a deep breath, knowing that the boomerang he had thrown in the Supervision Office that day would sooner or later come flying back. He nodded and said solemnly:
“Alright, let’s just say it’s for the… feelings… between me and your Supervisor Shen.”

Everyone’s extremely strange gazes shifted back and forth between the two of them, but Shen Zhuo was clearly completely immune to this kind of coming-out occasion, not even bothering to give any reaction.

Wang Ping’s soul seemed to have already gone to some unknown place. This body was left with only the instinct to gnaw on its own flesh and blood. Bai Sheng stood by the hospital bed, his long index finger pressed on his throat, frowning in contemplation for a moment.

He didn’t actually go around sniffing with his nose, but he closed his eyes and sensed for more than half a minute before opening them. Under the expectant gazes of the crowd, he withdrew his hand and shook his head:
“Nothing. No energy residue at all. It shouldn’t be an ability crime.”

The supervisors all let out a sigh of relief, while Director Wang’s expression tensed up.

“It might be some new type of drug or hallucinogen. It has nothing to do with the Supervision Office anymore.” Shen Zhuo handed the scene materials back to Director Wang and said, “But the Supervision Office is allowed to assist before the case is solved, just in case.”

Director Wang was helpless. “Ah, thank you, thank you…”

“Let’s go,” Shen Zhuo said to Bai Sheng, turning his head.

Bai Sheng hummed twice, seeming to feel that something was still not right. His gaze was still fixed on Wang Ping’s horrifying face, full of blood and flesh. Suddenly, his eyes flickered slightly, and he reached out and picked something from the corner of his mouth.

It was a short, black-brown hair, somewhat like animal fur.

Shen Zhuo was being surrounded by a group of subordinates reporting to him in a jumble of voices as he walked out of the ward. Just as he was about to leave, he stopped and turned his head. “Bai Sheng!”

“Hey!”

Mr. S-class felt that he probably had an instinct to respond to Shen Zhuo in his bones. The moment he heard Shen Zhuo call his name, his heart would itch unbearably. He casually handed the hair to a nurse and quickly instructed, “Check if this person has some kind of mutated rabies.” Then he strode over the bed rail with his long legs and happily chased Shen Zhuo out of the ward.

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Author’s note:

Just like Rong Qi described to his subordinates in the previous chapters, Bai Sheng’s causality law weapon can only erase existence, it cannot turn back the timeline (otherwise, he would have directly turned back the timeline to before the meteorite hit the earth, rushed into the Quanshan County Clinic, and stabbed Rong Qi to death with one blow, and the whole novel would be over =v=

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