Chapter 74
Last meal
Early morning, bathroom.
The shower stopped, and Shen Zhuo casually wiped his hair dry, stepping out with a towel wrapped around his waist.
The mirror, fogged with steam, reflected his bare upper body. The lines were graceful and smooth, with lean, tight muscles. His long neck tapered into deep-set collarbones; at the vulnerable spot of his carotid artery, there was a clear bite mark.
As he turned to squeeze toothpaste, the mirror distinctly showed four finger marks on his narrow waist. Despite the night having passed, the dark red imprints showed no signs of fading.
Whoosh—
The bathroom door behind him was pushed open. Bai Sheng, still half-asleep and wearing only a pair of loose pajama pants, naturally lunged forward:
“Baby, why are you up so early…”
The muscle strength and impact force of a certain Mr. Bai were terrifying, and this lunge almost knocked the bent-over Shen Zhuo into the sink. Bai Sheng, flustered, hurriedly supported his supposedly delicate and helpless wife, seizing the opportunity to bury his face in Shen Zhuo’s neck and act coquettish:
“Baby, my old classmate is coming to Shenhai tonight. Can you accompany me—”
Shen Zhuo, while brushing his teeth, raised his index finger with a swoosh and shook it firmly from right to left.
It was a pre-agreed safety gesture for the bed, and its meaning was simple: Get lost.
Bai Sheng was like two different people in bed and out of it. While he had a great personality outside the bedroom, his true terrifying nature emerged once he got into bed. Many times, even when Shen Zhuo bit his shoulder until it bled, it wasn’t enough to calm him down. Eventually, Shen Zhuo had to agree on a safety word with him, only to find it was still too naive because, many times, he couldn’t make any sound at all. In the end, it evolved into a safety gesture.
As long as the index finger was raised and swayed from right to left, even if a tyrant descended, he had to calm down and get out of bed, or else it would lead to serious consequences.
“Why!” Bai Sheng suddenly lifted his head, his face, capable of masquerading as a pure college student, full of shock and grievance: “What did I do wrong? I didn’t even unleash the tyrant last night!”
Shen Zhuo ignored him, finished brushing his teeth, rinsed his mouth, turned off the running water, and stood up to wipe his especially reddened lips with a towel. He then stepped back half a step to avoid Bai Sheng’s openly admiring gaze, calmly saying:
“Not turning into a wolf doesn’t justify you going crazy in human form.”
Bai Sheng wanted to argue, but when his gaze fell on the purplish finger marks on Shen Zhuo’s lower back, the repeated bite marks on the back of his neck, and the large patches of hickeys on his back, he uncharacteristically paused for half a second.
Shen Zhuo turned around and went back to the bedroom to get dressed, while Bai Sheng followed suit:
“Baby, I was wrong. Let me heal you with my powers now, okay? I promise to be more careful next time, okay? Can we try that way you kissed me last night again tonight…”
One of Bai Sheng’s notable merits was that, although he never really changed, he was at least quick to admit his mistakes. In fact, he was quicker than Yang Xiaodao, making solemn vows to score 90 in math under Chu Yan’s cane.
The iron-hearted Supervisor Shen stood in the walk-in closet, dressing in his shirt and trousers, while listening to Bai Sheng’s thorough self-examination. Standing before the dressing mirror, he buckled his belt, only to find that Bai Sheng, standing tall at 1.9 meters, was still blocking the closet door:
“…My dear, listen to me. You must come to supervise me tonight. That little foreigner has been coveting my beauty since college, often sneaking glances at me with a flushed face. This time he’s on a business trip to China, and he’s been emailing and calling insistently, wanting to take me out for dinner…”
Shen Zhuo, nonchalantly slipping on a pair of black deerskin gloves, said, “Then go eat. You’re an adult; why do you need supervision?”
Bai Sheng was shocked: “How can there be no supervision! Even Yang Xiaodao needs Chu Yan to stand by with a folding ruler to supervise while he does math homework. How can such a big thing as having dinner with an old classmate not need supervision?!”
Shen Zhuo almost laughed, asking, “What does he do?”
“Manager of a multinational bank.”
“Human or evolutionist?”
“C-class evolutionist.”
“Where are you eating?”
Bai Sheng named a Michelin restaurant.
This place was very close to the Shenhai City Supervision Office. It seemed Bai Sheng had chosen it. Given his character, it was impossible for him to let an old classmate travel a long way to treat him to a meal as a host.
Shen Zhuo, fully dressed, turned and tapped Bai Sheng’s firm shark muscles with two knuckles, speaking earnestly:
“Handsome, being as good-looking and charming as you are, it’s normal to be coveted. The organization understands and approves of you going to meet your old classmate tonight.”
Bai Sheng futilely protested: “Reporting, my beauty only belongs to the organization. I still want to continue offering my beauty to the organization tonight…”
“But the organization has to work overtime tonight and meet people.” Shen Zhuo patted Bai Sheng’s disappointedly handsome face, smiling: “The organization has only one request for you.”
Bai Sheng’s spirits lifted.
“The funding for extracurricular activities exceeded the budget by 1.8 billion last quarter. Don’t bring back the dinner bill for reimbursement; the most the organization can give you is 50 yuan for pocket money.”
“…”
A certain wealthy Mr. Bai nearly choked, watching helplessly as his beloved calmly left for work.
***
For Shen Zhuo, weekends simply didn’t exist. Working around the world seven days a week was the norm. The salary paid by the Global Supervision Office wasn’t just a salary; it was his emotional compensation.
Unable to find any other solution, Bai Sheng went to deliver a luxurious sushi lunch at noon. After lunch, he delivered a cake and fruit for afternoon tea. Despite these efforts, he couldn’t meet the deeply engrossed-in-meetings Supervisor Shen. In the evening, he had no choice but to drive to the airport alone to pick up his old classmate, feeling a deep loneliness akin to that of a divorced man.
“—Sheng!” A young British man with blond hair and blue eyes came running with a suitcase, his cheeks flushed and arms outstretched, seemingly on the verge of tears with excitement: “Finally, I see you again! I’ve missed you so much!”
Bai Sheng discreetly stepped back, avoiding the oncoming tight hug, and only gave a gentlemanly, polite air hug: “You’re still so easily excited, Joseph.”
The young British man was rather handsome, with fair skin and thick hair, giving off a somewhat literary and shy vibe. He would probably be quite popular in circles with a special orientation.
Although Bai Sheng was generally overconfident to the point of bursting, he hadn’t misjudged this particular British classmate. Back in the day, Joseph had indeed made various hints at him and even followed Bai Sheng into the Round Table Society when Bai Sheng went there as an observer for a while.
However, Bai Sheng really didn’t have any feelings for this person, viewing him as no different from a passerby on the street, and he consistently rejected him, both overtly and covertly. It wasn’t until he graduated and returned to China recently that he managed to finally muddle through this situation.
“Didn’t you say you were already married and that your partner would be coming with you today?” Joseph looked around expectantly, his face full of anticipation of catching Bai Sheng in a lie: “Why didn’t he come?”
Faced with this straightforward questioning, Bai Sheng fell into a moment of melancholy silence before slowly replying, “He… had to work overtime.”
“Really?” Joseph’s face plainly expressed his skepticism about working overtime on a Saturday. “You said he’s very good-looking, and if I see him in person, I’ll be very impressed. Can I at least see a photo?”
Given that one of the top ten global supervisors had their photos blurred even in news reports, Bai Sheng was even less likely to casually show Shen Zhuo’s photo to another evolutionist. His inner bitterness deepened as he replied, “Uh, that’s not very convenient.”
Joseph’s doubts were almost palpable: “What’s his name, then?”
Finally, a question he could answer. Bai Sheng immediately perked up, solemnly pronouncing two words:
“Shen Zhuo.”
“…”
“His name is Shen Zhuo.”
“…”
The two stared at each other.
Joseph asked cautiously: “Do you mean Shen Zhuo, one of the top ten global supervisors, who caused several global protest waves, allegedly conducted inhumane experiments on evolutionists, and is now revered as a god by the Western Human Salvation Army… that Shen Zhuo?”
Bai Sheng answered firmly: “Yes, that’s him!”
Five seconds of silence followed, after which Joseph burst into bell-like laughter.
“Oh, Sheng,” Joseph gave Bai Sheng a playful pat, his eyes sparkling: “You still love to joke with me, don’t you! Hahaha~”
For the first time in his life, Bai Sheng felt he had been wronged. Standing at the crowded airport arrivals gate, he wished he could strip off his clothes and show this little foreigner the bloody marks on his back left by Shen Zhuo’s scratches.
“—Achoo!”
In the conference room of the Supervision Office, Shen Zhuo sneezed unexpectedly. Yue Yang asked sensitively: “Did you catch a cold?”
Shen Zhuo shook his head, unperturbed: “Perhaps an evolutionist in the central district is cursing me behind my back.”
Yue Yang: “…”
Director Gao, along with a group of senior researchers, sat in the conference room, the table covered with several open classified file boxes. Yue Yang said: “These are what you asked me to bring—the materials left behind when the HRG project was moved from the central district to Shenhai three years ago, along with some frozen samples I’ve already handed over to Director Gao.”
Director Gao rose slightly from his seat at the end of the long table, expressing his gratitude to Yue Yang.
Three years ago, when HRG was forced to halt and Shen Zhuo’s life was in danger, the situation was perilous and unpredictable. Researchers fled the central research institute overnight, only managing to take core materials with them. Many things were left behind in the laboratory, later sealed and stored in the underground vault of the central district’s supervision office.
Shen Zhuo had always wanted to retrieve the items left behind at that time, but firstly, it was not easy to ask Yue Yang for help with this matter, and secondly, Yue Yang himself had not yet secured his position as the head of the central district, so the matter had been delayed.
For the past three years, there hadn’t been a good opportunity until now, with the global situation in chaos, the position of the new Director-General vacant, and Bai Sheng becoming the greatest deterrent hanging over the heads of hundreds of thousands of evolutionists across Asia. It was only now that Shen Zhuo could rightfully request Yue Yang to return the materials.
“And this.” Yue Yang opened a frozen box, and cold air billowed out, revealing two 500cc blood bags. “This is the ‘Mind Reading’ A-class ability you specifically requested. I had to spend a lot of money to persuade the newly evolved A-class evolutionist to draw this much blood.”
Mind reading is a rare type of mental ability. Although there were two individuals with this ability abroad, Shen Zhuo had always wanted to get hold of their serum but had never succeeded.
Fortunately, after the second wave of evolution, an A-class mind reader appeared in the central district, immediately catching Shen Zhuo’s attention.
Every dose of gene interferon required a large amount of serum for cultivation. Even 1000 cc of serum could only cultivate at most two doses of gene interferon. Shen Zhuo examined the two blood bags, clicking his tongue: “For the head of the Central Supervision Office, do you really need to spend ‘a lot of money’ just to persuade an A-class to draw some blood?”
“…” Yue Yang hesitated, wanting to speak but ultimately sighed helplessly: “Not everyone has the authority to casually give orders for a high-level evolutionist to lie down and draw blood, Shen Zhuo.”
Shen Zhuo shrugged indifferently, pushed the freezing box towards Director Gao, and gave a low instruction: “Cultivate one dose first, keep one bag of blood for a few days; I’ll need it.”
Director Gao, who had worked with Shen Zhuo for many years, understood exactly why Shen Zhuo wanted the mind-reading ability and immediately nodded in agreement.
After all the materials were handed over, it was already past seven, time for dinner. Director Gao and the researchers went back to the HRG laboratory, while Yue Yang stood up from the meeting table and asked, “Considering I personally ran this errand, could I have the honor of filling my stomach in the Shenhai City Supervision Office’s cafeteria before catching my flight?”
In fact, Yue Yang didn’t have much hope, knowing that Shen Zhuo could very well send him back to the central district with an empty stomach.
There’s a well-known dark story about Shen Zhuo: Back in the day, the central district’s supervision office mandated that evolutionists had to donate blood to Shen Zhuo’s research once a month. However, when they went to donate blood, they found a notice posted outside the laboratory saying, “We do not provide water here; if you want water, bring your own.” Yes, even after drawing their blood, he wouldn’t offer them a glass of water. Even for someone like Fu Chen, who had S-class serum, he only received a bottle of glucose after donating 1000 cc of blood. If someone donated just 800 cc, there wasn’t even any glucose offered!
“Cafeteria?”
Shen Zhuo glanced at his wristwatch, then suddenly seemed to remember something and chuckled teasingly.
“Why go to the cafeteria? Saying that makes it sound like I’m treating evolutionists harshly, not even willing to buy you a decent meal.”
“…” Yue Yang cautiously asked, “So what are you planning…?”
Without explaining, Shen Zhuo picked up the phone and dialed the secretary’s office: “Hello, help me book a restaurant for two, in fifteen minutes.” Then he named a Michelin three-star restaurant.
“W-wait a minute!”
Yue Yang couldn’t believe his ears. Shen Zhuo wasn’t going to brush him off with five-cent steamed buns from the cafeteria; he was actually inviting him to a high-end restaurant for a proper meal—this, from any angle, seemed like the last meal of a condemned man before heading to the execution ground!
Yue Yang stammered, “What did I do wrong? Y-you’re…”
Shen Zhuo lazily replied, “Why, do you think you’re not worthy of me treating you to a decent meal?”
I’ll be worthy. On the day you decide to poison me or give me a last meal before execution, I’ll certainly be worthy!
Yue Yang fell into an unprecedented panic. For a few seconds, he could almost see his own grand funeral and pristine tombstone, the mournful music playing as the coffin was lowered, and he could imagine himself being buried right next to Fu Chen: “…No, no, please don’t let Shenhai City Supervision Office go to any expense. How about I pay for this meal myself, I…”
To his surprise, Shen Zhuo laughed.
“No need.” His eyes twinkled with a mischievous glint. “Someone will be fighting to pick up the bill.”
Yue Yang, filled with suspicion but afraid to ask, saw Shen Zhuo gesture casually: “Let’s go.”
***
The restaurant’s piano played softly in the background, and the atmosphere was understated and elegant. Bai Sheng sat in a corner near the floor-to-ceiling window, eating a few bites of crab tartare absentmindedly, thinking it was far inferior to the spicy stir-fried king crab Yang Xiaodao had made at home last week. If all else failed, he thought about opening a restaurant for his kid; with Yang Xiaodao’s abilities in water, fire, and electricity, they could even save on gas costs for the kitchen. It seemed like a good deal.
“Sheng,” Joseph, sitting across the table, whispered, “Have you heard the news about the tragic passing of the Round Table Society’s bishop?”
No one knew more about the inside story than Bai Sheng, but he didn’t say much, just nodded with a hint of gloom.
“I know.”
Bai Sheng didn’t want to bring up anything related to the Round Table Society in front of Shen Zhuo and had even specifically reminded Joseph about it. However, seeing that the supposed “spouse” wasn’t present, Joseph had no reservations and sighed with a frown.
“After the bishop passed away, Mr. Pardes became the leader of the Round Table Society, but many of his ideas are completely opposite to the bishop’s… I feel that if things continue this way, the Round Table Society could be headed for trouble.”
“What do you mean?” Bai Sheng asked, sensitive to the implication.
“The situation in Europe and America is already very bad,” Joseph said, taking a sip of white wine without any hesitation. “The global economic environment is in decline, currency devaluation, rising unemployment, and of course, racial tensions are intensifying along with it. Evolutionists feel they are superior and deserve special treatment, while humans believe that evolutionists are taking up too many resources, leading to an unfair distribution of wealth in society… Both humans and evolutionists feel that the other side is encroaching on their survival space.”
He gave a self-deprecating laugh. “Maybe it’s because I work in finance that I’m particularly sensitive to this issue.”
Economic downturns are often the trigger for all social conflicts, which was not surprising. Bai Sheng frowned and said, “The situation in Asia isn’t good either. Just this month, there have been more than a dozen cases of evolutionists setting fires in public and injuring humans. Shenhai is considered the safest jurisdiction in Asia.”
“Oh, no, no, that’s still much better than Europe,” Joseph said with a bitter smile. “Do you know that moderate groups advocating for friendly coexistence with humans no longer have any space to survive in Europe and America? Mr. Pardes’ extreme evolutionist ideology has actually gained him many supporters. His prestige is now even higher than when the bishop was alive.”
Bai Sheng squinted his eyes, a hint of darkness in his gaze.
After a moment of thought, he asked, “…I heard that under Mr. Pardes’ leadership, the Round Table Society’s membership has increased by more than tenfold?”
Speaking of this, Joseph’s bitter smile deepened. “Yes, but the vast majority of new members are actually human. Did you know that there are now three main viewpoints among humans in Europe and America?”
Bai Sheng had heard of them before but, true to his reserved nature, simply shook his head to feign ignorance.
Joseph explained, “The first group of humans is the ‘resistance faction,’ like the Salvation Army, advocating for all evolutionists to be put in concentration camps for dissection and research. The second group is the ‘submissive faction,’ willing to admit they are inferior to evolutionists. They believe the current racial conflicts are unmanageable because the resistance faction has angered the evolutionists.”
Joseph shrugged, as if finding it utterly absurd. “So the submissive faction hates the resistance faction. Many submissive faction members have joined extreme evolutionist organizations, swearing allegiance to high-level evolutionists and helping them resist the resistance faction by force… I don’t understand these people. They seem to think that if they don’t resist, the evolutionists will be willing to make peace and everything can be as if it never happened.”
Bai Sheng said flatly, “Isn’t that just internal strife?”
“Yes, it’s internal strife.” Joseph nodded despondently and said, “The Round Table Society’s rapid expansion is because Mr. Pardes absorbed many submissive humans, using them to violently attack the resistance faction—oh, by the way, did you hear about the shooting at the protest in the United States last month?”
Bai Sheng remained expressionless. “I heard a little about it.”
Some states had decided to pass the “Evolutionist Preference Act,” sparking large-scale protests from the resistance faction, which were then met with indiscriminate shooting from the submissive faction. Hundreds of people were reported dead, causing a significant shock.
It was an unjust law that encroached on human rights, yet it resulted in self-destruction among humans. It was impossible to believe that extreme evolutionist organizations were not manipulating things behind the scenes.
“…I suspect that this incident was actually a conspiracy orchestrated by evolutionists…” Joseph hesitated for a moment and then lowered his voice: “The Round Table Society should have also been involved. Mr. Pardes is very skilled at brainwashing.”
This was all too obvious.
For extreme evolutionist organizations to gain fame, status, and authority, the most direct way was to suppress the resistance faction. But for someone as adept at manipulating power as Pardes, it was more convenient to have humans fight against humans rather than committing mass killings himself. Using the submissive faction to this end was the easiest method.
But if the resistance faction were completely wiped out, would the extreme evolutionists be willing to make peace?
That was impossible.
Bai Sheng himself was a high-level evolutionist, and no one understood better than him how terrifying a sense of racial superiority could be.
Even a tiny bit of supernatural ability could nurture the greediest desires and the most terrifying ambitions.
The restaurant’s music was gentle and light as the waiter brought the main course with a smile. Bai Sheng politely nodded.
“So besides the resistance faction and the submissive faction,” Bai Sheng lowered his eyes as he cut his steak and asked, “What about the third group of people? What do they think?”
“The third group of humans? They are actually quite similar to weak evolutionists like me,” Joseph shrugged self-deprecatingly. “They just want a job, some savings, and a peaceful life, avoiding conflicts with either the resistance or submissive factions. But for people like us, the space to live in peace is already very limited. We never know when we might get dragged into becoming their cannon fodder.”
Bai Sheng wasn’t surprised by Joseph’s stance. This young man from the UK was always a romantic and artistic middle-class type at heart. Such people might initially feel a slight sense of superiority upon evolving, but they soon get swept up in the waves of hatred and chauvinism of the times. The small sense of superiority from before quickly turned into endless suffering, and they might even wish they had never evolved five years ago.
“…But what can we do?” Joseph muttered helplessly, poking at his steak with a fork, “For weak evolutionists and ordinary humans like us, what can we do but endure quietly…”
“That might not necessarily be the case,” Bai Sheng said calmly.
Joseph didn’t catch his meaning, “Huh? What did you say?”
Bai Sheng just shook his head and said no more.
Not all of the third group of people were weak and ordinary, he thought.
Among them were also true warriors, like the HRG researchers.
From Shen Zhuo and Director Gao, 90% of the HRG researchers were ordinary people, with only a few having very low evolutionist levels, not much different from regular humans.
Unlike the extreme resistance faction that shouted about putting all evolutionists into concentration camps, there were indeed some human struggles that were more arduous, remarkable, and protracted, deeply hidden in underground laboratories, unknown to the world.
“Shenhai is really nice; there are no protests or shootings in the streets.” Joseph sighed deeply, filled with a sense of desolation and longing. “If only I could get a visa to stay here long-term.”
Bai Sheng thought that would be difficult. Since the last time three S-class individuals broke into Shenhai to protest, Shen Zhuo had not accepted any long-term residency applications from evolutionists. He watched as Joseph listlessly cut his steak, then suddenly brightened up as he remembered something:
“—Oh, Sheng, I heard that Shen Zhuo used to conduct inhumane experiments on evolutionists. Do you think he still does that now?”
Bai Sheng responded, “Huh?”
Before Bai Sheng could clarify what exactly constituted an “inhumane” experiment, Joseph’s innocent blue eyes filled with anticipation:
“You think, if I volunteered to be a test subject, taking medicines and giving blood now and then, would he be willing to give me a long-term visa in exchange?”
“—Pfft!”
Bai Sheng nearly sprayed water all over the table. Joseph, feeling moved, said, “Oh, you don’t need to worry about me. I’m willing! I really don’t want to go back to Europe!”
I’m not worried about you. If you were to be a test subject, Shen Zhuo would probably think you eat too much!
Bai Sheng couldn’t help but laugh and cry as he quickly called the waiter for a napkin to wipe the water off his clothes. At that moment, Joseph looked up, his gaze going through the cascading water of the floor-to-ceiling windows, where he saw a black car stopping steadily at the back door of the restaurant. The manager and the head chef hurried to greet the newcomer.
It was likely a guest with a sensitive identity who didn’t want to be seen entering through the main door, so they were using a special passage.
Joseph couldn’t help but look twice. He saw the driver step out quickly, politely signaling the restaurant manager not to get too close, then personally opened the car door.
A shiny leather shoe stepped onto the ground.
Next, a tall figure emerged from the car, and the light illuminated his cold, pale chin.
Joseph’s eyes went wide, unable to find words, and for a long time, he muttered in a daze:
“Can someone… can someone really look like that?”
Bai Sheng turned his head.
It was Shen Zhuo!
The organization is here!
The organization is worried about me!
After much deliberation, the organization decided to come and assert its authority!
Bai Sheng was greatly surprised, and a wave of pride and joy surged through him. He quickly stood up, trying to conceal his excitement, with a look of pure happiness: “Ahem, I didn’t expect him to come after working overtime. Just in time for me to introduce you…”
But then his words came to an abrupt halt.
Another familiar figure got out of the car and looked up at the Michelin three-star, and for some reason, his expression was confused and frightened, as if he wanted to run away immediately.
It was Yue Yang.
The thunder in the sky ignited the fire on the earth, and there was crackling lightning in the vast expanse.
If Bai Sheng’s grudge list could be visualized, Yue Yang’s name would currently be flashing with fire and lightning, rushing to the top, and even pushing Rong Qi down to the bottom.
“Good evening, sir!” “Welcome, both of you!”
…
The waiter greeted them politely in a low voice as Shen Zhuo nodded and entered the restaurant.
Not far away, the double S-class aura of resentment almost turned into a black mist. Shen Zhuo, however, walked straight ahead as if completely unaware, with only a slight, hidden curve to the corner of his mouth.
For every Ko-fi received for a perticular novel, I will release a new chapter!
