Hui Tian Ch36

Chapter 36

Is it possible that Rong Qi and Su Jiqiao have an old grudge?

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Excruciating pain.

Shaking.

Zhang Zongxiao forced one eye open, thinking in his daze that he was on a ship swaying in a storm. Only then did he realize he was jolting in a car, and outside the window was a vast, dark, and rainy night.

“…” He tried desperately to call for help but only managed to produce a sticky, unintelligible sound of blood. He wanted to raise his hand, but found himself tied securely to the back seat. In the dim car, there was only him and the girl in the school uniform.

The girl skillfully drove with one hand, the other propping up her cheek in boredom. Her lips were slightly pouted, giving her a hint of innocence, but in Zhang Zongxiao’s eyes, that coquettish demeanor was no different from a demon’s. “…Spare…me…I’m begging…”

“Awake?” The girl shot him a lazy glance.

Zhang Zongxiao began to tremble violently, trying to claw at the car door with no regard for anything else, but in reality, he could do nothing but shake uncontrollably.

How did I provoke this plague god?! This was the only thought in his mind.

She was clearly a weak and helpless little girl!

“Oh, right, I didn’t get to tell you something,” the girl said faintly, gazing at the rain-drenched road ahead while cupping her chin. “The person who gave away the stray cat you tricked wasn’t me. It was a seventy-year-old lady.”

Zhang Zongxiao’s remaining pupil instantly constricted.

“She’s just a lonely old woman who runs a small rescue shelter. She doesn’t know how to use the internet, doesn’t know how to ask for help from the public, and doesn’t understand the little hobbies you people have.”

The girl raised an eyebrow. “Luckily, she knows me.”

“…I’m such an old fool, a useless old thing! How could I have believed that monster? He said he loved cats, but he’s a pervert who scalds them with boiling water!…”

The old woman, her hair white, squatted on the stone bricks of the small courtyard and sobbed, her wrinkled hands slapping the muddy ground. A few dogs circled her anxiously. The volunteers were at a loss; some wiped away tears, some cursed, and some stamped their feet, wanting to call the police but had no evidence. Just as everything descended into chaos, a clear, calm voice came from behind the crowd:

“Give me his contact information.”

The volunteers all turned around. An auntie blurted out, “Xiao Yan? Do you have a plan?”

“Yes, yes, Xiao Yan is the smartest. Xiao Yan will definitely think of something!”

“No matter what, we have to find that person and get Xiao Mi back first!”

…

The girl in the blue dress walked forward and took the copy of the “adopter’s” ID from the old woman’s trembling hands, though most of the information on it was photoshopped.

“Perverts usually flock together. This person is just a contact; even killing him won’t do any good.”

The girl slowly, bit by bit, crumpled the paper in her palm, the veins on her knuckles bulging, but her voice was low and calm:

“I will slaughter them as a group.”

“I… I was wrong… Spare me, spare me…”

Tears of blood rolled from Zhang Zongxiao’s empty eye socket, but his mouth, with half its teeth knocked out, couldn’t form a complete plea. The girl smiled, her brows raised mockingly. “Don’t worry, I won’t take your life just yet. The bait’s value hasn’t been used up.”

Before Zhang Zongxiao could understand what “bait” meant, he saw the girl brake at a red light, pull his phone from the storage compartment, and unlock it with a glance at his face. She then expertly logged into a chat group.

As if she had already drafted the message in her mind, she quickly edited and sent it.

“!”

Witnessing this, Zhang Zongxiao instantly realized something and began to struggle frantically, but all his efforts were in vain.

The girl casually tossed the phone back into the compartment. Just then, the light turned green, and the jeep sped forward into the vast rainy night like a lone boat.

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Central District Hospital.

In the central district, at the specialized hospital for Evolutionist abilities.

“I’m telling you, I hope nothing goes wrong,” a guard on shift said, checking the time with some concern in front of the special care ward. “I heard that Supervisor Shen had a really bad relationship with Section Chief Su back in the day, yet Chief Yue is bringing him to visit this ward…”

His older, more experienced colleague replied, “It’s fine. If the sky falls, the supervisors will hold it up. We just stand here and guard the door. What does it have to do with us?”

“You’re right.” The first guard felt more at ease, but then couldn’t help but gossip, “Hey, have you seen that Supervisor Shen? They say he was really famous back then. What does he look like?”

“…”

A mysterious expression appeared on his colleague’s face, as if he were searching for the right words. After a long moment, he said slowly, “He looks… like someone you’ll recognize at a glance.”

“Huh?”

“No matter how many people are there, as soon as you see him, you’ll know it’s him.” The veteran colleague shook his head, sighing with emotion. “That’s pretty much what he looks like.”

The young guard was very confused. Just then, the elevator light at the end of the corridor lit up, and the two metal doors slowly opened.

Both guards fell silent and stood up straight.

Chief Yue Yang was the first to walk out of the elevator with a grim face, followed by several subordinates from the Supervision Department and the haughty, glittering Witch Italdo. The group walked through the long corridor toward the special care ward. The curious guard’s gaze drifted to the back of the group, where he saw two people.

Bai Sheng walked with a casual swagger, his long legs covering the distance of two normal steps. He had his left hand stuck jauntily in his pocket. His right arm was draped over another person’s shoulder in a gesture that looked natural at first glance, but a closer look revealed that his fingers were curled inward with latent force—an unconscious action.

Only someone with an extremely strong possessiveness in his nature would betray such a detail, no matter how carefully he masked it.

The guard curiously glanced at the person beside him and instantly understood everything.

“As soon as you see him, you’ll know it’s him.”

The Great Supervisor Shen Zhuo, infamous among the Evolutionists, possessed an air and bearing that were difficult to describe with words. The first time anyone saw him, it was hard to carefully observe his features or the shape of his face because when he glanced at someone, it was like a lustrous pearl approaching with a soft glow, leaving only one thought in your mind: Ah, he saw me.

He sees you, but he isn’t looking at you. He never truly looks at anyone. He passes by in an instant, without leaving the slightest ripple of emotion.

“Chief… Chief Yue!”

The guard snapped to his senses and saluted. Yue Yang merely nodded and pushed open the ward door, and the group filed in.

The guard didn’t dare to sneak another peek at Shen Zhuo. He just watched the floor from the corner of his eye, seeing the Shenhai City Supervisor’s shoes pass by without the slightest pause and enter the ward.

“…”

Just then, a figure suddenly leaned out of the doorway, startling the guard. It was Bai Sheng, leaning back with his upper body and looking at him teasingly. “—You really can recognize him at a glance, right?”

“!!”

He heard me?! He heard me from inside the elevator?!

The guard was dumbfounded. He saw Bai Sheng give a playful wink, then turn back into the room with a grin, closing the door with a click.

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In the Ward.

The ward was a spacious, snow-white suite. Countless life-support machines surrounded the bed, where a figure lay quietly.

His facial contours were very soft, and his eyelashes rested peacefully on his eyelids. He looked as if he were just asleep, but the almost completely flat brainwave curve silently indicated a fact: he was in a vegetative state.

The former Section Chief of the Central Supervision Department’s Second Section, A-class Evolutionist, Su Jiqiao.

“We run a consultation for him every three months, with no signs of waking.” Yue Yang stood by the bed, his tone heavy. “When we spotted Rong Qi on the surveillance, I thought he wanted to wake Su Jiqiao up and urgently arranged a brain scan… but we found no abnormalities.”

“Perhaps he doesn’t need to wake Su Jiqiao up at all,” Shen Zhuo said faintly, then turned to give an order. “Itardo.”

Witch Italdo, carrying a Himalayan Birkin bag, had a noticeably friendlier attitude than last time, even sounding a bit open to negotiation. “What did you call me for? To kill someone? This kid? Sure, sure. Can I eat him after he’s dead?”

“This person is a key subject of the Central Supervision Department’s care; we can’t let him die,” Shen Zhuo scoffed. “Just reconstruct the scene. Rewind as close as you can to 8 PM four days ago.”

When the witch heard she couldn’t kill or eat anyone, her basic needs unmet, she instantly lost interest. “Ugh, fine.”

She reluctantly put down her Birkin bag and placed her hand on Su Jiqiao’s forehead. Just like last time at the Quanshan County clinic, she once again recited the awkward, hoarse incantation.

The images of time reversing rushed forward like a flood.

Day and night alternated rapidly outside the window, and shadows flipped past. On-duty medical staff members mechanically entered and exited. The clock on the wall spun backward in circles until it came to an abrupt halt—

The wall clock pointed to 8:11.

Scene reconstruction has a random element; the further back in time, the harder it is to control precisely. To pinpoint a scene from four days ago with only an eleven-minute difference was already quite good.

Two people appeared by the hospital bed. One was a slender young man, Rong Qi, while the other figure, in a blue dress, was a short-haired girl with a fair and beautiful face that was very familiar.

It was the same young girl who had beaten up Zhang Zongxiao and dragged him away.

Shen Zhuo had already anticipated this. He looked up and met Bai Sheng’s gaze; both of their eyes held a hint of understanding.

“—Then, it’s settled.”

Rong Qi was looking at the girl, his tone very gentle. “I will lend you this person’s, Su Jiqiao’s, ability. In exchange, you will try to do me a favor, alright?”

The supervisors from the central district were puzzled. “Lend?” “Can abilities be lent?”

“He said a favor. What kind of favor would someone named Rong ask for?”

…

Yue Yang made a gesture for silence, and the crowd immediately quieted down. They heard the girl’s clear reply: “I understand.”

She was only about fifteen or sixteen, yet she maintained her composure in front of an evolutionist who was clearly higher-level than her. Her tone was respectful but not subservient. “Although my own abilities are limited, to thank you, I will do my best to try.”

Rong Qi nodded with satisfaction, then reached out toward the hospital bed, his palm hovering over Su Jiqiao’s heart.

—Although it was just a scene reconstruction, with his action, a powerful, indescribable suction force that seemed to touch the very soul suddenly struck. All the Evolutionists present, except for Bai Sheng, felt their hair stand on end. Several even retreated several steps, clutching their chests as if electrocuted.

“Wh-what is this—”

It felt as if some power deep within their bodies, even in their marrow, was about to be forcibly sucked out!

Bai Sheng, who had been lazily draping his arm over Shen Zhuo’s shoulder, suddenly changed his expression. He strode forward and commanded in a deep voice, “Back off.”

He then swung his hand down, and a transparent barrier slammed down from the void, instantly dissipating the terrifying suction!

The pressure on everyone eased. Someone stumbled to a steady stance. “What was that just now?!”

Bai Sheng’s expression was somewhat stern as he gestured toward the bed with his chin.

—A few wisps of faint blue light broke free from Su Jiqiao’s body and gathered in Rong Qi’s palm, forming a coin-sized, rapidly spinning orb of light.

“…An ability,” Shen Zhuo murmured.

Su Jiqiao’s ability had actually transformed into some kind of high-purity energy, absorbed by Rong Qi. He then turned and patted the girl on the head, as if an elder lovingly stroking a child’s hair.

The faint blue orb of light then broke into countless specks of light, which instantly entered the girl’s body.

Someone gasped in shock. “He… he can transfer other people’s abilities!”

“No, it’s only because Su Jiqiao himself possesses the ability to ‘lend’. Rong Qi just forcibly completed the act of ‘lending’ for him,” Bai Sheng said softly, pinching his chin. “Evolutionists who don’t have the lending ability wouldn’t have their powers sucked away; they would just feel very uncomfortable. However…”

However, to be able to cross time and make so many Evolutionists who arrived four days later feel suffocated, what kind of terrifying power was that?

Rong Qi hadn’t been lying. He was indeed still evolving; his power was actually still growing!

“Su Jiqiao’s ability is actually very simple. It’s called ‘Daydream’.”

Rong Qi’s explanation was very detailed, showing no impatience despite the girl’s young age and low level. “The user can freely create the content of the dream. It can be a peaceful and beautiful illusion, a terrifying scene in an infinite loop, or the dreamer’s most unbearable life memories. When the dream becomes extremely painful and terrifying, the dreamer’s brain will suffer severe damage, even leading to self-harm, forever lost in a dream they can’t wake from.”

“This ability has a major advantage in its stealth. Its residue can’t be detected by instruments, so it’s easily mistaken for a hysterical fit or mental breakdown. Only a brain scan with a specialized ability detector can reveal the traces left by the mental attack, but by then it’s often too late for treatment.”

The girl looked down at her hands, her fingers trembling slightly.

“There are two things you need to pay special attention to,” Rong Qi said. “First, a borrowed ability can be used a maximum of four times, after which it will automatically become ineffective. Second, you are only B-class, so ‘Daydream’ will only have a B-class effect, but it should be enough for revenge against those abusers.”

The ward was silent.

“…Thank you very much for your help.” After a long moment, the girl clenched her fists tightly and looked up at Rong Qi. “In exchange, I will definitely do my best for the matter you mentioned…”

Unexpectedly, Rong Qi said casually, “No need, just give it a small try.”

The girl was taken aback.

“It would be best if you could help, but it doesn’t matter if you can’t. I wasn’t holding out much hope to begin with.” Rong Qi paused, then said gently, “Most importantly, I don’t want a child to take risks because of this.”

“…Why?”

“I’ve always been fond of children.”

Rong Qi smiled slightly under the girl’s confused gaze. “For several years, the only person in this world I could interact with and observe was a child. I later realized that time was the most precious. People change a lot when they grow up.”

The girl didn’t understand.

“Go on, Chu Yan. Just consider it me granting a child’s wish on a whim.”

So the little girl’s name was Chu Yan.

Shen Zhuo turned his head and quietly ordered Chen Miao, “Go look up this name.”

“Yes, sir!”

“…Thank you.” The girl hesitated for a moment, then bowed her head and repeated, “Thank you very much.”

Rong Qi waved his hand, signaling that she could leave.

The girl gave a small bow, then backed away step by step out of the ward, gently closing the door with a click.

Only Rong Qi remained in the quiet space.

Everyone stared at him, unconsciously holding their breath.

Rong Qi didn’t move. He showed no sign of leaving. Under everyone’s watch, he stood before the hospital bed, staring motionlessly at the unconscious Su Jiqiao, his eyes completely hidden in shadow.

Suddenly, Bai Sheng narrowed his eyes, sensing something was wrong. But before he could step forward, he saw Rong Qi extend a hand—

He grabbed Su Jiqiao by the throat.

This action finally exposed his eyes to the light, and they were flashing with disgust!

Everyone present was stunned. “What’s happening?” “What is he doing?” “Is he trying to kill Section Chief Su?”

Bai Sheng and Shen Zhuo looked at each other, both with surprised expressions.

Does this Rong have a grudge against Su Jiqiao?

The air seemed to freeze. A few short seconds felt incredibly long, until Rong Qi closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

As if using this action to restrain some unknown hatred within him, he slowly, inch by inch, forced himself to release his hand, then turned to walk toward the door.

It was a strange scene. The time rewind and the real-life ward intertwined. Everyone wanted to know why he suddenly wanted to kill Su Jiqiao, but no one could find an answer in Rong Qi’s actions. They could only watch as he walked through the crowd and reached for the ward door.

Just then, he seemed to sense something and paused his movement:

“…Are you the one watching me, Supervisor Shen?”

For a moment, it was as if time itself had stopped.

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping across the room, and he started to laugh. “Is this another time rewind?”

The crowd could hardly believe their ears. Even Witch Italdo herself was stunned. Shen Zhuo’s pupils silently constricted.

“You must be disappointed to see that I didn’t kill Su Jiqiao.”

The curve of Rong Qi’s lips deepened in the light and shadow. It was a strange-looking smile, and his tone was even comforting. “It’s fine. There will be opportunities in the future. I want him dead, too.”

He gave a light wave of his hand.

With the sound of a rushing tide, the time rewind dissipated like a receding wave, sweeping away Rong Qi’s back and revealing the real walls and floor.

“…”

The ward was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. After a long while, someone asked with a trembling voice, “He… he can feel us watching him across time?”

“What on earth is this Rong’s background?”

“This is simply not human. How can we possibly oppose him? There’s no way to fight him!”

…

Although everyone present was a supervisor, the reverence, fear, and submission that lower-level Evolutionists felt toward top-tier ones were instinctual. Rong Qi’s display of illogical power had completely subverted the imagination of ordinary Evolutionists. For a moment, everyone was in a panic, and whispers broke out everywhere.

Even Yue Yang’s face was grim. He looked back at Shen Zhuo and had just opened his mouth to say something when Bai Sheng’s deep voice suddenly cut through all the chatter:

“—There’s nothing strange about it. He just guessed we would use the time rewind.”

Everyone turned to look. They saw the young S-class individual, contrary to his usual flippant demeanor, looking unexpectedly steady and calm, his tone carrying an irresistible force. “This Rong Qi has been to our Shenhai City and has some understanding of the Shenhai City Supervision Department. He has even crossed paths with Witch Italdo. He knows we have time rewind, so it’s natural he would guess we’d use it here. It’s not strange at all.”

The influence of S-class pheromones was almost irresistible. Although they knew it wasn’t that simple, a sense of illusory comfort rose in the crowd.

“…Is… is that so?” “Could it be he was just testing us…”

“Yes,” Bai Sheng said calmly. “Don’t overthink it. Suspicion breeds demons.”

Bai Sheng was someone who usually mingled and got along with everyone, even playing with kids skipping stones. Only when someone was truly needed to stabilize a situation would he shed his grinning facade and reveal the calm, true face of an S-class alpha wolf.

Although not completely relieved, most felt somewhat comforted, and the panicked discussions were completely suppressed for the time being.

Only Shen Zhuo’s lips were pressed tightly together, his expression cold in the light and shadow.

Bai Sheng’s hand on his shoulder tightened. Just as he was about to lean in and whisper something comforting in his ear, a rush of footsteps came from the corridor outside. It was Chen Miao, who had been sent out on an urgent order to check the files.

“Senior, while we were investigating the name Chu Yan, we received a call from Director Wang’s side. There’s been activity on Zhang Zongxiao’s WeChat!”

Zhang Zongxiao had been beaten half to death and couldn’t possibly be using his phone. The person logged into his WeChat now must be the girl, Chu Yan.

Bai Sheng asked, “What did she send?”

Chen Miao stopped, held up a screenshot of the message, his expression indescribable. “In the animal abuse group, she organized an offline event in Zhang Zongxiao’s name.”

“A live-streamed torture of a large animal, one meter seventy-five in length, eighty kilograms in weight. She’s inviting everyone to the scene to record and sell videos, free of charge.”

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Author’s Note:

There’s been a lot of discussion about the point where Shen Zhuo, upon first meeting, called Su Jiqiao a fake. I was wondering if my paragraph formatting makes it easy to read the lines incorrectly, because Shen Zhuo wasn’t talking about Su Jiqiao (￣.￣). It was his first time meeting Su Jiqiao, and he didn’t fully understand this student yet, so he wouldn’t have judged him. Shen Zhuo had produced a list and given it to the old dean, saying that, except for a few students on the list, the rest were fakes and should be sent back. Su Jiqiao was just a freshman in the office observing this scene at the time; he hadn’t even had a chance to apply to join HRG, so…

Maybe I should use more line breaks next time to make it clearer (￣▽￣)~ (I just went out and looked, and it seems my line breaks are indeed a bit tight).

But speaking of which, Shen Zhuo might prefer Su Su to be like Miao Miao or Jin Jin. After all, student Su Su’s extreme Darwinism is a bit too scary, whereas student Miao Miao just uses up the teacher’s blood pressure medication, and student Jin Jin just wears out his own legs (just kidding).

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