Hui Tian Ch17

Chapter 17

“I’d better go back to the three-meter-wide bed in my 100 million mansion and prepare for the civil service exam with tears in my eyes.”

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“—His name is Rong Qi?” Nielsen asked, narrowing his eyes.

In Basel, Switzerland, at the International Supervision General Administration’s office, Nielsen gazed at the distant snow-capped mountains outside the floor-to-ceiling window as he listened to Shen Zhuo’s calm and steady voice from the other end of the line. “Yes. I’ve already had someone look into it. No household registration, no origin, and no identity documents can be found. Three years ago, he was burned to death on a hospital bed in an abandoned sanatorium. His body was completely carbonized, with only some cellular residue remaining. The speculation is that a complete body was regenerated from that residue.”

Nielsen’s cold, gray eyebrows furrowed. After a moment, he murmured in a low voice, “A gene-resurrection type evolutionist…”

The International Supervision General Administration had detailed classifications for every direction of evolution. The strongest were undoubtedly the destructive-attack types, to which both Nielsen and Yue Yang belonged. But it was common knowledge that the most difficult to deal with were the gene-resurrection types, because they were nearly impossible to kill and often mutated to develop extremely bizarre, unimaginable abilities that defied common sense.

“That’s the speculation,” Shen Zhuo said. “If he truly is a gene-resurrection type evolutionist, then his abilities, ambition, and destructive power have no predictable upper limit. I can’t even determine his level right now, because he’s still in a wheelchair, which clearly indicates his evolution is not yet complete.”

Nielsen toyed with the cap of a fountain pen on his desk and fell silent.

“We captured his subordinate, a broker named Liu Sanji. According to his confession, this Rong Qi appeared suddenly not long ago. He likely has a number of meteorites in his possession and also has a special ability similar to ‘bestowal,’ which can allow a D-class evolutionist to skip ranks to A-class. As a result, he has attracted a large number of followers in a very short time.”

Shen Zhuo paused, then said, “My recommendation is that we must eliminate him as soon as possible. We absolutely cannot give him time to complete his final evolution. Resurrection-type evolutionists are too unique. I’m afraid that if he mutates some kind of super S-class ability, he’ll be uncontrollable by then.”

Nielsen’s hand stilled. After a long moment, he spoke. “You’re right.”

He stood up from behind his desk, picked up his silver-gray suit jacket from the coat rack, and strode towards the door. “This person must be eliminated immediately, with no delay. I will personally travel to Shenhai in the near future.”

“…” Shen Zhuo seemed a little surprised. “That’s not necessary. Mr. Bai is still temporarily residing in Shenhai City. He should be able to…”

“Shen Zhuo.”

“Yes.”

Nielsen said flatly, “We don’t actually know Mr. Bai’s combat capabilities.”

Every S-class had their own ultimate ability, which the International Supervision General Administration simply and vividly called a ‘Fatal Strike’—the strongest, one-of-a-kind power, and also the main distinction between an S-class and an A-class.

Nielsen, as an S-class, possessed such a special move. Fu Chen had one back then as well. The dozen or so other S-class individuals had all, to varying degrees, displayed and had theirs documented. But strangely, Bai Sheng never had.

He seemed to know a little bit of everything, dabbling in a wide range of abilities, even having a rudimentary knowledge of healing abilities. But he didn’t seem to enjoy fighting and had never used any unique, ultimate moves. The impression many people had of him was that of a good-tempered, cheerful second-generation heir from a rich family.

“I don’t know why Mr. Bai’s genes allowed him to reach S-class, but if he is not a combat-attack type, his chances of winning against a gene-resurrection-type evolutionist are relatively small.”

Nielsen paused, then said pointedly, “Shen Zhuo, you are an ordinary person. An S-class can influence you through certain means.”

“…”

“Don’t be influenced by Bai Sheng.”

“I understand,” Shen Zhuo said sincerely after a long pause, his voice intimate and gentle, yet the floor-to-ceiling window of his office reflected the sarcastic curl of his lips. “You’re right. I am ready and waiting for your arrival.”

“I will do everything in my power to protect you,” Nielsen said, his tone heavy with solemnity. “Shen Zhuo, as long as I remain in this position, there will always be a place for you at the International Supervision General Administration.”

Shen Zhuo replied with a smile, “I understand.”

With a soft click, Shen Zhuo ended the call and gently placed the satellite phone on the table.

The large conference room was empty. Shen Zhuo looked down at the phone and, after a moment, let out an undisguised, cold laugh.

“…You should first pray you don’t get kicked out by that bunch from the Security Council. The nerve of you to talk about others behind their back.”

Knock, knock, knock. Just then, the ajar door was knocked on urgently. “Supervisor, Supervisor!”

Shen Zhuo glanced over.

The supervisor outside the door had rushed up from downstairs and was still a bit out of breath. “Captain Chen says Liu Sanji’s condition is very bad. He might not make it through the night. He’d like you to take a look!”

Although it wasn’t unexpected, he hadn’t thought it would be this fast.

Shen Zhuo stood up, walked out of the conference room, and headed towards the elevator at the end of the corridor.
·

With a ripple-like sound, a soft white light submerged into Bai Sheng’s ten fingers, and the last trace of the scar disappeared. His battered fingertips were completely restored.

Injuries caused by abilities were different from ordinary ones and were generally difficult to heal. But Witch Italdo was indeed an extraterrestrial creature, and her healing ability was far stronger than that of an average evolutionist. Bai Sheng leaned back on the sofa, repeatedly examining his hands. After a moment, he exclaimed emotionally:

“Your Supervisor Shen, he has me in his heart!”

Witch Italdo: “…”

Chen Miao: “…”

That Noda Shunsuke, who could appear and disappear anywhere at any time, was simply too difficult to guard against. Chen Miao had been worried sick ever since leaving the health center. He immediately had someone retrieve an anti-ability shielding device from the storage room for Shen Zhuo to wear on his wrist. When activated, it prevented spatial tunnels from opening within a twenty-meter radius.

In addition, to ensure the safety of the entire Supervision Office building, the ever-fretting Chen Miao had also brought two cans of yellow peaches to find Bai Sheng, hoping to invite Mr. Bai to help guard the Supervision Office. However, he was met with a polite refusal from Mr. Bai, who said:

“You see, I’m just a volunteer doing unpaid labor. I have no official position, no salary, and nowhere to get reimbursed for the thirty-eight yuan and sixty mao for my taxi ride home after working overtime at night. I really can’t bear such a heavy responsibility. I’d rather go back to my one-hundred-million-yuan mansion and my three-meter-wide bed to weep tearfully while preparing for the civil service exam.”

Chen Miao: “…”

Chen Miao’s heart felt like it had been savaged by a dog. Just as he was about to lead a group of his underlings (note: all of whom had official positions) to throw themselves at Bai-ge’s legs and cling on shamelessly, a supervisor came running from a distance, carrying an imperial edict. The moment the edict was opened, it deafened everyone’s titanium alloy dog ears:

By the grace of Heaven, Supervisor Shen proclaims: Bai-ge’s hand is injured. Tell Bai-ge not to go home yet, but to first go to the Supervision Office and have Witch Italdo help heal his hand. This is my command.

In the next second, everyone saw Bai Sheng’s face blossom with joy. The salary was forgotten, the taxi fare was no longer mentioned, and the one-hundred-million-yuan mansion was like a passing cloud. Cradling the two cans of yellow peaches, he happily got into the Supervision Office’s car.

Everyone prostrated themselves in admiration, unanimously agreeing that Supervisor Shen was brilliant. If he used these tactics to be a player, the entire Three Gorges Dam couldn’t hold all the fish he’d have on the line.

“I have a question,” Witch Italdo finally couldn’t help but say.

Bai Sheng answered sincerely, “Yes, we men are just that superficial and easily satisfied.”

The innocent young Chen Miao protested in a small voice, “I’m not, I’m not!”

Shui Ronghua’s office was on the first basement level. To the left was the special care ward, and to the right was the morgue—a very logical layout. If someone on the left died, you could just push them to the right. Quick, convenient, and time- and effort-saving.

Through the one-way glass, they could see the unconscious Liu Sanji in the next room. He must have been personally interrogated by Shen Zhuo in the warehouse, as his body was almost unrecognizable. The life monitor emitted regular beeps.

“Your taste is really something special,” Witch Italdo remarked, popping a sunflower seed into her mouth. Suddenly, her eyes lit up as a plan came to mind. “Handsome, how about this, let’s cooperate.”

Bai Sheng: “?”

“I’ll have Shui Ronghua drug that Shen fellow. You take him home, lock him to the bed, and from then on, we can do whatever we want in Shenhai, reign supreme, be as tyrannical as we please, eat as many people as we want. How about it?”

Chen Miao: “?!”

“I’m very tempted, beautiful,” Bai Sheng chuckled, crossing his legs and lounging lazily on the sofa. “But we outstanding domineering CEO-types who’ve graduated from the School of Male Virtue are no longer into that whole forced confinement thing. First, it’s easy for the domineering CEO to tragically transform into a legal case. Second, we still aspire to a sincere love. We generally focus on cultivating feelings, and only resort to force after courtesy fails.”

The Witch immediately asked, “When do you plan to resort to force?”

Bai Sheng earnestly promised, “Right now, I’m rather enjoying the feeling of being a dumb fish fed bait every day. I’ll definitely let you know when I feel like resorting to force.”

The Witch could only sigh and give up, saying resentfully, “I’d advise you to make your move sooner rather than later. Don’t end up like Fu Chen, who messed it all up in the end. What a pity, I was actually quite optimistic about him.”

Bai Sheng’s interest was immediately piqued. “So, Senior Fu and Supervisor Shen back then…”

“Ahem!”

Chen Miao immediately puffed out his chest and clarified solemnly, “Fu-ge wasn’t that sordid! Fu-ge, just like Senior, only had a noble pursuit of scientific exploration!”

The room fell quiet for a moment. Both of them had very hard-to-describe expressions on their faces.

After a while, Bai Sheng raised his hands and gave Chen Miao a solemn round of applause.

“?” Chen Miao felt as if he’d been insulted. “It’s true! I was still a graduate student back then, suffering by Senior’s side writing my thesis day in and day out. How would I not know? Senior never even went out to have a single meal with Fu-ge!”

Bai Sheng patted him encouragingly. “Yes, we believe you. Senior Fu was merely engaged in the great exploration of human science.”

Chen Miao: “…”

The fact that Chen Miao could thrive by Shen Zhuo’s side for so many years showed that he was naturally immune to all sorts of sarcasm. He blinked his innocent eyes at his Bai-ge, and after a moment, nodded blankly. “Oh.”

Just then, the alarm in the special care ward beeped. Liu Sanji’s IV bag was empty.

“I’ll go change his IV bag.” Chen Miao stood up from the office sofa and reminded him worriedly, “Bai-ge, once your hand is healed, please have Senior Sister Shui come back quickly. The hospital bed we moved from the health center is still in the bio-lab next door, waiting for us to extract Rong Qi’s DNA.”

Bai Sheng gave him a reassuring “You can count on me” expression.

Chen Miao thus left, feeling at ease. But the moment the door closed behind him, Bai Sheng shot up, plopped down next to the Witch, and got straight to the point without any pretense:
“How did that Fu guy die?”

“…” the Witch said. “Handsome, I just love you acting types who can change faces faster than flipping a book.”

“You flatter me, you flatter me. If I didn’t think a daily salary of 2.08 million was too little, I would have already thrown myself into the entertainment industry. I’d have at least won an Oscar for the motherland.” Bai Sheng lounged against the sofa cushion without any sense of being an outsider, picked up the cigarette pack on the table, and took one out, offering it to the Witch. “Beautiful, it’s just the two of us here. Leak me some background info on my love rival, and I’ll buy you a Chanel later. Deal?”

The Witch didn’t know what Chanel was, but she loved talking trash about Shen Zhuo behind his back. She craned her neck to look out the window, then pulled back, took the cigarette, and crooked her finger, a gesture of “you know what I mean.”

Bai Sheng immediately understood, flicked on his lighter with a snap, and dutifully lit it for her.

“—Fu Chen, Asia’s first S-class, died of being a romantic.” The Witch casually tucked her hair behind her ear, her crimson lips exhaling a puff of smoke. “Do you know what his Fatal Strike was?”

Bai Sheng put on an expression of one who was all ears.

“Cross Coordinate.” The Witch gestured with her palm. “When this ability is activated normally, a positive cross appears on Fu Chen’s hand, representing an infinite health bar and absolute defense. Any attack coming at him is automatically reflected and evenly distributed among everyone present, friend or foe. Which is to say, when the explosion happened, Fu Chen wouldn’t have died at all as long as he activated the upright cross.”

Bai Sheng asked, “Then why didn’t he do that?”

“Because what he activated was the Inverted Cross.”

The Witch’s tone was a mix of disdain and complexity. “The effect of the Inverted Cross is the complete opposite. It can pull all damage from the entire field, regardless of friend or foe, onto the user. This means Fu Chen was willing to bear the full impact of the explosion alone in exchange for everyone else’s safety… In other words, he was willing to die himself to save Shen Zhuo’s life.”

The office was quiet for a moment.

A subtle change came over Bai Sheng’s expression.

“What about Su Jiqiao, then?” Bai Sheng asked after a moment. “Why was Su Jiqiao so seriously injured in the blast?”

“The evolution source explosion was too violent. A single Inverted Cross couldn’t contain it all; there was an overflow of impact. Fu Chen’s last act before dying was to put a vacuum shield on Shen Zhuo, but Su Jiqiao had nothing, you understand.”

The Witch shrugged, a slightly malicious expression on her face. “The most ironic part of this whole thing is that after Fu Chen had poured out his heart and soul to protect Shen Zhuo, that Shen fellow, upon waking up, pushed all the blame onto him, claiming it was Fu Chen’s careless operation that caused the explosion, while he himself came out completely clean. It almost made Fu Chen’s old band of brothers explode with anger… I heard that group once kidnapped Shen Zhuo and were planning to kill him. Do you know why Shen Zhuo wears gloves? It’s because on that occasion, in front of all the brothers, Yue Yang carved a humiliating mark on the back of Shen Zhuo’s hand to settle the score. Everyone in the world knows that Yue Yang despises him!”

“…”

Bai Sheng’s expression was very subtle. He remained noncommittal about her last sentence.

“So, when it’s time to strike, you strike.” The Witch patted Bai Sheng’s shoulder encouragingly, summarizing her argument. “That Shen fellow isn’t worth your courtesy. Be careful your courtesy doesn’t turn you into the next Fu Chen. Just go straight to force.”

Bai Sheng leaned back on the sofa thoughtfully, his long fingers stroking his chin. After a moment, he asked, “So how exactly did the evolution source explode? Didn’t you use your time-rewind ability to look?”

The Witch blew a smoke ring out of boredom. “Handsome, rewinding is a random, one-time thing, and it requires a very high degree of overlap with the original scene. A place like the Qinghai Experimental Site that was completely blown to smithereens…”

Beep beep beep!

Just then, the life monitor’s alarm blared urgently from the special care ward next door.

“Where’s Senior Sister Shui? Is Senior Sister Shui back yet?” Chen Miao burst through the door. Seeing Witch Italdo still on the sofa, he let out a cry. “Something’s wrong with Liu Sanji! Get Senior Sister Shui over here, quick!”

The Witch stubbed out her cigarette and stood up, displeased. “What’s wrong? Why don’t you just let me eat him? That Shen fellow is done interrogating him anyway, and I’m still hungry…”

Then she walked into the ward, and her words caught in her throat.

Compared to a few hours ago, Liu Sanji had almost transformed into a different person.

Lying on the hospital bed, he let out urgent, hoarse groans. Large patches of his skin were rapidly ulcerating. His limbs had become soft and elongated, his hands and feet dangling around his body like four red water pipes.

“Save… save me…”

With every word he squeezed out, bloody foam bubbled from the corners of his mouth, mixed with falling teeth.

“…” Bai Sheng fell silent for a moment, then turned back and asked the Witch in a low voice, “How about we forget it, and I take you to a Michelin restaurant for a lobster salad?”

“I was just out to take a call after changing his IV bag, and when I came back, he was like this.” Chen Miao didn’t dare approach the bed. “What on earth is happening?”

The Witch’s form rapidly receded. Flesh and blood grew over her bare bones, the blood spots on her skin disappeared, and her red curly hair turned black. In just a few seconds, she had retreated back into her host body, replaced by Doctor Shui Ronghua in a lab coat and flat shoes, her features capable and charming.

“Side effect of secondary evolution.” Shui Ronghua twisted her long curly hair into a bun at the back of her head, skillfully securing it with a pen. She instructed Chen Miao, “This person can’t be saved. Go inform Supervisor Shen.”

“Yes!”

Chen Miao immediately turned on his walkie-talkie and hurried out. “Special care ward, basement level one. Detained criminal in an unexpected situation. Get the Supervisor immediately, quick!”

Shui Ronghua strode to the bed and quickly checked various vital signs. Bai Sheng followed behind her, sizing up Liu Sanji’s miserable state, and asked doubtfully, “—’Side effect of secondary evolution’?”

“Secondary evolution shouldn’t exist in the first place.” Shui Ronghua, with quick and nimble hands, gave Liu Sanji a shot of painkiller. “This person’s genetic limit is D-class, but he was forcibly pushed up to A-class. The consequence of doing so is that his entire genetic makeup couldn’t bear the load, and the DNA double helix subsequently broke. It’s like stretching a rubber band to its limit; it will snap. Same principle.”

“…”

“Chromosomes in the body deactivate one after another, cells can no longer regenerate, then the skin ulcerates, the liver dissolves, organs melt… It’s like skipping the step of death and directly becoming a living corpse, which is what you see now.”

Liu Sanji convulsed violently. When the needle was pulled out, it tore off a large patch of skin with a “shhhlick”.

Bai Sheng’s pupils constricted slightly. In that instant, the image of Shen Zhuo in the Quanshan County Health Center flashed before his eyes—stepping heavily on the windowsill, his figure taut like a bow, his features dark and cold, and on the back of his hand, a stark, blood-red ‘A’.

“…Why,” he murmured, “why was Shen Zhuo fine when he forcibly evolved to A-class?”

Shui Ronghua was busy with her tasks and didn’t make a sound.

“Did Shen Zhuo really get his abilities from a potion?” Bai Sheng’s sharp gaze suddenly shot towards the female doctor. “What exactly were you guys at the research institute doing back then? What kind of potion was that?”

After a long moment, Shui Ronghua finally looked up at Bai Sheng calmly, her voice steady as she emphasized, “Active meteorite extract.”

“Supervisor Shen has already told you. What he injected was an active meteorite extract.”

Bai Sheng stared at her, his eyes narrowing dangerously. He was about to speak but suddenly paused, sensing a cold, powerful, and unfamiliar presence from next door.

It was an ability.

An S-class evolutionist’s senses were extremely acute. Bai Sheng instantly looked towards the door. Shui Ronghua was baffled, but in the next moment, she saw him rush out of the ward, tossing a stern command over his shoulder: “Stay here and don’t move!”

“?”

The female doctor hesitated for only two seconds before taking a silver pistol from a drawer, expertly chambering a round with a click, and quickly following him out of the ward. Then, she froze.

Bai Sheng stood with his back to her in the middle of the basement corridor, his back muscles completely taut, facing a figure that had appeared out of thin air not far away.

—It was a young man in a wheelchair.

He looked to be in his early twenties, with no visible disabilities. His clothes were simple but neat and tasteful, and unexpectedly, his features were handsome, his eyes as soft and profound as black obsidian.

The change was immense compared to three years ago on that hospital bed in the health center, but Bai Sheng still recognized him at a glance.

“…Rong Qi,” he said softly.

“I heard Supervisor Shen sent a message, asking why I didn’t come in person.”

Rong Qi’s long fingers were interlaced as he leaned back in his wheelchair. It was a very peaceful and relaxed posture.

“So I came.”
·

With a dull rumble, the descending elevator came to a sudden halt, stuck between the 10th and 11th floors.

Just as Shen Zhuo was about to press the elevator’s call button, his hand was suddenly pressed down. It was the supervisor who had just come to notify him, smiling at him sinisterly. “Supervisor Shen.”

In that instant, Shen Zhuo had a bad feeling.

He slapped the alarm button, and a piercing alarm instantly rang throughout the building, but it was too late. The “supervisor’s” face tore in half, revealing a completely unfamiliar true face. He was a disguise-type evolutionist! He ripped the ability-shielding device from Shen Zhuo’s wrist and crushed it into scrap metal with his bare hands!

Everything happened in a flash. Without a word, Shen Zhuo drew his gun and chambered a round. Before the other man could pounce, he pulled the trigger. Bang! Bang! Bang! Three consecutive shots turned the disguise-type evolutionist’s head into a bloody mess. The body fell to the ground with a thud.

At the same time, with the surrounding shield gone, a black hole silently appeared behind the elevator. In a thousandth of a second, just as Shen Zhuo was about to turn and fire, a chill touched his throat. A sharp blade was already pressed against his neck from behind.

“We meet again, Supervisor.”

The elevator’s metal doors reflected the scene behind Shen Zhuo. A figure emerged from the black hole—it was Noda Shunsuke!

“…” Shen Zhuo’s neck was forced back. “What are you here for?”

Noda Shunsuke laughed.

The red emergency light flashed in the elevator, illuminating the two-inch-long, sharp scar on his cheek—the very one Shen Zhuo had personally whipped him with. It reflected the undisguised, dark, bloodthirsty look in his eyes.

“Relax, beauty, we’re not here to kill you.”

He traced the air twice over Shen Zhuo’s porcelain-like cheek, as if wanting to carve an identical scar in revenge. But after the two feints, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. His thumb swiped heavily across the side of Shen Zhuo’s neck, and the rough pad of his finger immediately scraped off a layer of skin and flesh. Warm blood gushed out!

Shen Zhuo gritted his teeth as blood trickled down, soaking the collar of his shirt.

“Today, we’re here to kill that S-class surnamed Bai,” Noda Shunsuke whispered in his ear, his smile filled with unconcealed malice. “And I’m taking you to watch it with your own eyes.”

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