Chapter 11
S-class Biopheromones
“He said, ‘Let’s just forget whatever I said last night. We’re both adults, after all.'” Bai Sheng collapsed onto the sofa, his whole body shaking with laughter. “You really can’t judge a book by its cover, Supervisor Shen. I never expected your views to be so open, hahahahahaha—”
Shen Zhuo sat at the other end of the sofa, head in his hand, not saying a word.
Chen Miao was trembling with fear, wishing he could throw himself at Shen Zhuo’s legs and howl. “Senior, I didn’t see anything just now! Senior, I’m begging you to spare my worthless life! I’m your direct junior, only seven years apart! A single seedling passed down for seven years! You promised the old dean on his deathbed that you would take care of me!”
Bai Sheng asked curiously, “You two are only two years apart in age. How can you be separated by seven years of school?”
Chen Miao choked out, “Is it my fault I waited until I was 18 to take the college entrance exams?”
Bai Sheng: “…”
Shen Zhuo finally looked up, his voice hoarse. “Why did you bring me here?”
Bai Sheng had at least seven or eight residences in Shenhai City. This one was a lavishly decorated, large flat, likely an entire floor knocked through, judging by its size. The numerous supervisors huddled silently outside the door, not daring to make a sound, wishing they were invisible.
“Senior, you’ve forgotten,” Chen Miao said, his voice thick with tears. “Global General Regulation 8.11 of the Supervisor’s Handbook: When a district supervisor is confirmed to have lost their capacity to act, the entire district’s security level is automatically downgraded by one level. However, if an S-class evolutionist is present within the district, the security level within a 500-meter radius of their location remains unchanged…”
Shen Zhuo fell silent.
“So, Shenhai City’s security level has already been downgraded. We either had to send you to Bai-ge, or we could only send you to the central district.” Chen Miao sniffled emotionally. “Although Director Yue usually takes good care of me, you’re my direct senior. How could I not know which thigh is the real one to hug? Of course, I hurried up and sent you to Bai-ge!”
…Truly a good junior, seven years apart, a direct one at that.
Shen Zhuo was speechless for a long moment before finally asking, “How did he go from ‘Mr. Bai’ to ‘Bai-ge’ overnight?”
Chen Miao immediately perked up and took out his phone, opening the photo album.
“It’s a long story. After that Liu Sanji was rescued by his accomplices, we spent the night analyzing the remains of the corpses on the overpass. The current theory is that Liu Sanji has likely undergone a second evolution, but we don’t know how he broke through his genetic limits yet. We only know his rank might have reached A after evolving, and now he can use a special ability virus to control corpses…”
Chen Miao held up his phone, a video playing on the screen.
“Hello everyone,” the background was a shaking ambulance cabin. Bai Sheng, his face radiating a spring-like breeze, waved at the camera. If one ignored the shocking bloodstains all over his body, his handsome face with its natural glow could have been taken straight for a fashion magazine cover. “We have just completed a full-body blood purification for Shenhai City’s Supervisor Shen at the hospital. However, the process of clearing the residual virus is a bit stimulating, which has caused Supervisor Shen to become very agitated…”
The camera panned, and on the stretcher, Shen Zhuo abruptly sat up, the bandages around his waist stained red with blood. He was struggling unconsciously from the intense pain, and five or six people simultaneously jumped on him to hold him down.
Bai Sheng’s strong elbow pressed against Shen Zhuo’s throat, easily pinning him back onto the stretcher. “Speaking of which, I’ve noticed that Supervisor Shen’s reaction is always very agitated whenever he sees me. Although he doesn’t say it, I can feel his leaping heart…”
“Mr. Bai! Mr. Bai! Bai-ge!!” Chen Miao, drenched in sweat, squatted by the stretcher. “Are we really not sending the Supervisor back to the ICU?! Are you sure you don’t want to get a couple more restraints?!”
Bai Sheng said, “The ICU is so uncomfortable, the beds are so cramped. Besides, we’re not outsiders, what do we need restraints for? With me here, do we still need restraints? When we get back, I’ll personally sleep in the same bed with your Supervisor…”
The camera panned again, to a brightly lit bedroom.
“Careful, careful, careful…” “Gently! Even more gently!” “Hey—ho!”
A group of people clumsily settled Shen Zhuo onto the large bed. In the chaos, they might have disturbed his rapidly healing wound. Shen Zhuo suddenly sat up and was quickly pushed back down by the crowd.
“Bai-ge, you’re my own brother, can’t you really let us stay at your place?” Chen Miao turned back, on the verge of tears. “Look, you’re the only one here. What if they come back for a surprise attack…”
“That’s right,” Bai Sheng replied amiably, holding his phone. “If they come back for a surprise attack, I won’t have to protect that entire hospital of people, I’ll only need to protect you guys.”
The realization hit Chen Miao like a thunderbolt, and he was rendered speechless.
“Go on, go on,” Bai Sheng said, waving the supervisors away while continuing to film Shen Zhuo with great interest from various angles. “Go back to the scene, lock down the roads, disinfect for the virus, and try to find clues about Liu Sanji’s accomplices. When you come over tomorrow morning, I want to know three things. First, why did Liu Sanji want to kidnap your Supervisor Shen? Second, how did he manage a second evolution? And third—”
The group scrambled to jot it down on paper. Chen Miao asked eagerly, “What’s the third thing, Bai-ge?”
Bai Sheng stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“Third, how does your Supervisor Shen have back dimples with such a slender frame? It’s not scientific…”
The video cut off abruptly because Shen Zhuo had snatched the phone and turned it off.
The surroundings fell silent. Everyone’s eyes darted around.
“Keep watching,” Bai Sheng said, unable to hold back his amusement. “There’s more about how you sat up to torment me every ten minutes, how I painstakingly took care of you for three days, how Chen Miao came to my building every day, looking up at my window with tears in his eyes like a tragic little white flower…”
Chen Miao corrected in a small voice, “There were no tears…” then immediately fell silent under Shen Zhuo’s glare.
After a long silence, Shen Zhuo finally let out a silent breath and waved his hand.
As if granted amnesty, Chen Miao immediately led the others and fled.
“If it weren’t for your help that night, the final outcome might have been unpredictable, and my driver might have died.” Shen Zhuo fell silent for a moment before finally saying, “Thank you very much, Mr. Bai.”
Bai Sheng propped his long legs on the coffee table, crossed his arms, and leaned back on the other end of the sofa, smiling. “That wasn’t easy. This seems to be the third time I’ve heard you say thank you. Though only this time does it sound even slightly sincere…”
Shen Zhuo said, “But I still hope you will leave Shenhai City.”
“…”
Bai Sheng raised his eyebrows high, and after a long moment, asked, “Why?”
Shen Zhuo’s face was exceptionally pale from blood loss, the lines of his profile appearing serene and elegant. But everyone knew that beneath this refined exterior was a heart as hard as iron. He intertwined his slender, black-gloved fingers and, after a moment of contemplation, said, “You know of Fu Chen, right?”
Bai Sheng’s surprise was entirely genuine. “Who?”
Then he seemed to recall. “Oh, Fu Chen. I heard about him when I was abroad. I heard he passed away in an accident?”
Shen Zhuo glanced at Bai Sheng but didn’t expose his act. “Fu Chen was once my friend.”
Before he could finish, Bai Sheng let out a laugh.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.” Bai Sheng tried to hold it in but couldn’t, teasing, “I just didn’t expect someone like Supervisor Shen to have friends…”
Shen Zhuo said coolly, “If I wished it, the vast majority of people in this world would scramble to become my friends. Is that strange?”
Bai Sheng was taken aback, then sincerely had no retort. A moment later, he chuckled. “Not strange. If the person in question is you, Supervisor Shen, it’s not strange at all… So why do you wish for me to leave Shenhai so much?”
Shen Zhuo sat at the other end of the sofa, mere inches from Bai Sheng, and stared at him fixedly. “Because I understand you people.”
“There are no more than 20 S-class evolutionists in the world. Their numbers are too small, making them quite mysterious even among the evolutionist community. Therefore, I am perhaps the ordinary person who understands you the most. I know that you S-class individuals possess some extremely special, inexplicable abilities, one of which I still find very puzzling to this day.”
“Bio-pheromones.”
The smile in Bai Sheng’s eyes vanished.
“I first analyzed this unique S-class pheromone from Fu Chen. It conveys a biological message of ‘come submit to me, come obey me,’ and can strongly influence all evolutionists in an entire region. Even A-class individuals can hardly escape it. That’s why all the evolutionists in the central district back then were fanatically loyal to Fu Chen. Every S-class mutant is surrounded by many lower-ranked kin. The strong provide protection, the weak offer loyalty, forming a new social order similar to a wolf pack.”
“Because of the existence of this pheromone, there are almost no two S-class individuals who can live in the same city. Unless they form a marital relationship, they are destined to lose their minds and kill each other, just as a jungle cannot have two kings at the same time.”
Shen Zhuo paused for a moment, then slowly said, “What’s more serious is that I found this pheromone can even influence the self-will of ordinary people… through certain behaviors.”
Bai Sheng looked up at him, not speaking or moving for a good few seconds. A moment later, he suddenly laughed flippantly. “What, have you been influenced?”
Shen Zhuo said coldly, “No one in this world can influence my will.”
Bai Sheng subtly raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself, I see. So Fu Chen was a herbivore.
“Mr. Bai.” Shen Zhuo leaned forward, staring into Bai Sheng’s eyes. “Shenhai City is home to twenty-one thousand evolutionists. It is the largest evolutionist settlement in the world. My duty is to ensure its peace and stability. You currently seem like a helpful, enthusiastic citizen, but I cannot bet on your self-restraint. If one day you wake up on a whim and suddenly want to be the uncrowned king of Shenhai, then there is destined to be a bloody battle between you and me.”
He reached out and placed a hand on Bai Sheng’s arm.
It was a very gentle, irresistible gesture. Almost no one could refuse the gaze of those eyes. “I do not wish for you to become my enemy, Mr. Bai.”
“Leave Shenhai, and at least we can still be friends.”
Bai Sheng stared at Shen Zhuo without moving, his sharp eyes narrowing slightly.
Neither of them spoke or moved. In the vast space, there was no sound other than their own breathing.
After a long moment, Bai Sheng smiled faintly, reached out, and held the back of Shen Zhuo’s hand, a girlish shyness twinkling in his eyes.
“But Supervisor, if I stay in Shenhai, I might have the chance to develop a relationship with you that goes beyond friendship. How can you bear to let me leave?”
“…………”
They looked at each other for five seconds. Shen Zhuo, his face expressionless, forcefully pulled his hand back.
Knock, knock, knock.
The moment they sat back down at opposite ends of the sofa, the door was knocked on a few times. Then, Chen Miao cautiously poked his head in. “Se-Senior, Bai-ge.”
His timing was too perfect. This person had clearly learned his lesson from before and had been pressing his ear against the door listening for a while. It was a wonder he could still feign an expression of forced calm and innocence. “A message just came from the International Supervision General Administration. There’s a reply to the request for assistance you sent earlier. Would you like to see it?”
“Yoho!” Bai Sheng immediately became interested, as if he wasn’t the one possessed by an Oscar-winning actress just a moment ago. “Assistance with what? Are there clues about the sneak attack?”
The irresistible effect of the S-class pheromone was clearly confirmed by Chen Miao’s eager attitude. “Yes, yes, mainly about Liu Sanji’s two accomplices, that spatial ability user and that green-haired vine woman…”
Shen Zhuo put a hand to his forehead. “Bring it to me.”
Unexpectedly, Chen Miao took a tablet out of his briefcase. “Uh, Senior, what the Director-General sent wasn’t a fax, but a virtual meeting communication key.”
Such a small matter requires a meeting?
Shen Zhuo frowned but said nothing, only instructing Bai Sheng, “Don’t you leave.” Then he took the tablet, opened the new email, and his iris silently unlocked it. The screen suddenly projected countless beams of light, crisscrossing in mid-air to form a clear three-dimensional hologram.
Chen Miao quickly exited the living room.
The next moment, Bai Sheng found that he was no longer on his own sofa. Before him appeared the corridor of a classical European building.
This should be the building of some government agency abroad, very spacious and magnificent. The tall glass windows were decorated at the top with stained glass bearing religious motifs. At the end of the corridor was a closed office door.
The entire scene was as realistic as a dynamic model. Except for the two of them being physical entities, the surrounding walls, floor tiles, ceiling—everything was covered in the faint fluorescent glow cast by the virtual reality sensor technology.
Bai Sheng looked around. “This is…”
Shen Zhuo gestured for him to be quiet. “The International Supervision General Administration, Basel, Switzerland.”
He walked forward and knocked on the door. Just two knocks, and a very steady voice came from inside in German: “Please come in.”
The heavy brass door opened silently.
Behind the door was an extremely spacious office. A tall figure in a suit stood before the blinds. Hearing the sound, he turned around. He was a Scandinavian man in his thirties with a full head of silver hair, a very sharp profile, and a hint of a smile in his ice-blue eyes.
“Supervisor Shen.”
Shen Zhuo stopped and introduced briefly, “Director-General Nielsen.”
—The Director-General of the International Supervision General Administration, the world’s number one ranked supervisor, “Fritsch Nielsen.”
“No need for introductions.” Nielsen strode forward to greet them with a graceful and very polite smile, switching to fluent English. “The customs records for all S-class evolutionists in the world are filed with me. The one in Shenhai at this time must be Mr. Bai.”
The two men shook hands firmly, both looking exceedingly friendly.
From the corner of his eye, Bai Sheng glanced down and saw that on the back of the Scandinavian man’s left hand, the ability rank was clearly branded—
S.
Bai Sheng grasped the main point there HHAHAHAHDJSJ
love a gong who can act cute.
LOL not that old long-abandoned theory about wolf pack structure again 😂
Bai Sheng is so shameless 🤭