Chapter 31
“If one day my guardian and Director-General Nielsen get into a fight for you, whom would you help?”
Early morning.
The bedroom was quiet and dimly lit, with the large bedcovers in disarray. Faint, heavy breathing could be heard, and scattered clothes were strewn across the floor.
Everything felt hazy and ambiguous until—swish!
As the floor-to-ceiling curtains were pulled open, sunlight poured in. Yang Xiaodao, holding a spatula, turned around and looked down at the messy bed from a higher vantage point:
“Get up; have breakfast. I have to go to school.”
Bai Sheng was just wearing a pair of boxer shorts, lying diagonally at a 45-degree angle with his entire body propped up, covering the entire head with the blanket: “Stupid kid, you’re going to school this afternoon. Inspector Shen will come over in the morning to pick you up for registration and evaluation. Let me sleep a bit longer…”
Yang Xiaodao caught a glimpse of something by the pillow and was shocked: “What are you holding in your hand?”
Bai Sheng was hugging a pillow with his right hand while his left was pressing against a file. The file itself looked quite new; it seemed like he hadn’t flipped through it more than twice since he got hold of it. However, the photo attached to the first page had been caressed and flipped by him so many times that even the edges were raised. It appeared to be cut from a newspaper—Inspector Shen from the Shenhai City Supervision Office stood in the rain while holding a black umbrella, revealing only a pale and beautiful chin.
“Ah, yawn…” Bai Sheng, in a drowsy state, let out a yawn. “I’m begging you; let me sleep a bit more. I was lying in bed last night, looking at Inspector Shen’s photos. I missed him so much that I didn’t fall asleep until after three o’clock…”
Yang Xiaodao stood petrified in place, and after a while he blurted out two words: “…Miss him?”
Bai Sheng: “Mmm-hmm.”
An indescribable realization shocked the young and innocent heart of the teenager. After a while, he could hardly believe it: “—Miss him?!”
“Mmm-hmm.” Bai Sheng lazily replied, “Adults do miss each other; what’s wrong with that?”
The teenager was finally forced to face the harsh reality of the adult world. He stood there in a daze, opening his mouth and closing it repeatedly. After a while, he finally voiced the long-buried confusion in his heart:
“…I have a question.”
Bai Sheng, eyes closed: “Say your question.”
“You’re all adults now; can’t you think about something else in your minds, like solving global warming, climate change, energy crises, and education in impoverished areas?”
“…………”
Bai Sheng opened his eyes, looking at Yang Xiaodao expressionlessly. After a moment, he solemnly said, “Thank you, son. It’s really my fortune to have raised you.”
Ding dong! Ding dong!
“Oh, my object of longing has arrived!” Bai Sheng suddenly perked up, stuffing the file and photos under his pillow, and briskly walked into the bathroom without looking back, instructing, “Just say I was contemplating global warming until past five in the morning. Remember that!”
Yang Xiaodao: “…”
The teenager looked up at the sky in silence. Then, wearing slippers, he went to open the door. Outside the door, indeed, stood the slender and well-dressed figure of the supervisor from the Shenhai City Supervision Office. His uniform was crisp, his features were elegant and clear, and his hands were wrapped in black leather gloves, maintaining a poised and tranquil posture, folded in front of him.
Actually, it was a perfect and awe-inspiring image, but the first thing that popped into Yang Xiaodao’s mind was the unfortunate photo hidden under his guardian’s pillow.
“…” Yang Xiaodao’s inner feelings were mixed. “Good morning.”
Shen Zhuo gave him a once-over, a bit surprised: “What’s this…”
The sixteen-year-old rebellious youth, with a lean and vigorous build, was dressed in a black tank top and boxing shorts. Around his waist, he wore a supermarket-giveaway floral apron. On his feet were a pair of powder-blue kitchen anti-slip slippers. In his hands, he held a sizzling frying pan with two fried eggs, a few mushrooms, and a bunch of vibrant oil-salted baby spinach spread inside.
With a ding sound, two slices of whole wheat toast popped out of the kitchen toaster.
“Want some?” Yang Xiaodao expressionlessly handed the pan to Shen Zhuo.
***
Ten minutes later, Shen Zhuo and Bai Sheng were sitting on opposite sides of the dining table. Yang Xiaodao, holding the frying pan, served each of them a fried egg. The perfectly fluid egg yolk, adorned with green onions, emitted a tempting aroma.
In just a short moment, Bai Sheng had already groomed himself perfectly. Wearing a crisp shirt and trousers, he exuded a refreshing and youthful spirit. The rebellious tuft of silver hair on his head stood arrogantly, presenting a happy scene of him and Supervisor Shen having breakfast together. Bai Sheng tapped the porcelain plate with his chopsticks and said, “I want another egg!”
Skillfully, Yang Xiaodao swiftly served him another egg, silently asking Supervisor Shen if he wanted one too.
“…No, thank you.”
Putting down the bowl of oatmeal, Shen Zhuo watched as Yang Xiaodao returned to the kitchen. He personally prepared a lunchbox with steamed bass, sweet and sour spare ribs, boiled broccoli, and purple cabbage, methodically placing it into his backpack. At that moment, Shen Zhuo couldn’t ignore the growing perplexity and turned to Bai Sheng, asking:
“What has this kid been through?”
Bai Sheng modestly replied, “He has undergone rigorous and comprehensive personality training.”
Yang Xiaodao coolly added, “I’ve experienced a guardian attempting a suicidal cooking attack.”
When Bai Sheng was a teenager, his independent living skills were actually quite average because the Bai family had chefs, bodyguards, drivers, and gardeners who wouldn’t allow the young master still in school to do anything personally. However, five years ago, after adopting Yang Xiaodao, Bai Sheng suddenly developed a strong sense of duty as an alpha wolf, believing that in modern society, regardless of wealth, everyone should learn essential life skills. The first step was to train the child in cooking. In order to set an example, he personally cooked a dish of day-and-night-soaked wood ear mushrooms with yellow flower vegetables1, which sent both him and Yang Xiaodao to the emergency room. If not for the fact that both were evolutionists, that meal would have been enough to send each of them back and forth between life and death eight times.
At the tender age of eleven, Yang Xiaodao already had a very clear mind. He realized that one’s life needed to be held in one’s own hands. So, after returning from the emergency room, he wheezily dragged a small stool, stood by the stove, and, with clanging sounds, followed a recipe to cook four dishes and a soup. In a literal sense, he was forced by life to become skilled overnight. Thereafter, the unwilling Bai Sheng took Yang Xiaodao to learn baking, welding, woodworking, plumbing, appliance repair, and even cross-stitching. In the end, he successfully transformed Yang Xiaodao into a versatile household assistant. With these skills, Yang Xiaodao gained a significant advantage in the fiercely competitive dating market of the future. Being a virtuous husband and father posed no challenges for him.
“——I can even bake cakes!” Bai Sheng emphasized to Shen Zhuo with a heavier tone.
In the kitchen, Yang Xiaodao maintained a deadpan expression, saying, “I can even decorate cakes with frosting.”
Shen Zhuo: “…”
The wonderful day began with having breakfast with Supervisor Shen. After breakfast, Bai Sheng energetically headed out. He had a duty as the alpha—to spend money to get the foolish kid into a private high school. Today, he was going to sign the donation contract.
As an avid enthusiast of male competition, Bai Sheng absolutely couldn’t tolerate any shortcomings around him. Therefore, his greatest mission as the alpha wolf was to get even the most foolish of his peers into college. It didn’t matter which university, as long as it was reputable—even a major in postpartum care for mother pigs would suffice. Otherwise, as an S-class with an undefeated record in life:
“—Even if I die, I won’t rest in peace. A hundred years later, if my bones were to sit up from the coffin, I would dig my way into that idiotic kid’s grave just to give him a slap.”
“He’s doing his evaluation today; aren’t you going to the supervision office with him?” Shen Zhuo lowered the car window and asked.
At the entrance of the residential community, two cars were parked side by side. One was the supervision office’s special vehicle, driven by Shen Zhuo himself, and the other was Bai Sheng’s family car from the garage. Mr. S-Class, with one hand on the steering wheel, leaned his entire head out of the car window, smiling as he propped his chin with one hand, appreciating Supervisor Shen. It seemed as if he wanted to make up for the regrets of only being able to look at photos last night. After a moment, he casually waved his hand and said, “It’s fine; can I not trust you with this foolish kid?”
“Don’t you want to know Yang Xiaodao’s evolution level as soon as possible?”
“Hmm, what evolution level?” Bai Sheng dismissed it, “I can tell his level by just smelling him. The IQ is D at most; it can’t be any higher.”
Yang Xiaodao sat in the back seat with his school bag, ignoring this cheap dad.
Shen Zhuo shook his head with a chuckle, stepped on the accelerator, and drove out of the residential community.
***
Five years ago, when the sudden evolution began, the Central Research Institute laboratory under Shen Zhuo’s command was the first to invent the gene testing method. Evolutionists had to have their blood drawn for genetic analysis. The laboratory would then use recombinase enzyme proteins to infer the type of supernatural ability. The blood sample would be mixed with a sensing reagent and then reintroduced into the evolutionist’s body.
After the sensing reagent reacted with the DNA recombinase, it would determine the evolutionist’s evolution level based on the genetic strength, automatically generating letters A, B, C, D, and S, which would appear on the back of the evolutionist’s left hand or below the left collarbone.
The half-life of the sensing reagent was extremely long, so the letter indicating the evolutionist’s level would not fade throughout their life. It was impossible for it to be removed or tampered with artificially. Even if the flesh was cut away, it would reappear from the scar. This eliminated any possibility of forgery.
Over the past five years, there has been continuous friction between humans and evolutionists, leading to an increasingly tense global situation. As a result, some evolutionists sought to hide their identities and evade registration. However, under the watchful eyes of the various supervision offices, hiding one’s identity had become extremely difficult. Cases like Yang Xiaodao, who had been protected by an S-class alpha wolf and still hadn’t been registered to this day, were extremely rare. It took Shui Ronghua half a day of searching in the laboratory to find a vial of sensing reagent.
“The evolution in terms of physical fitness is already quite evident. I guess this child’s ability should be related to strength,” Shui Ronghua said as she infused the sensing reagent into Yang Xiaodao’s body. She watched the bright red liquid gradually advance through the veins in his arm and casually asked, “How old are you, little friend?”
Cool guy Yang Xiaodao seemed quite timid in front of women. Sitting upright, he lowered his head and replied in a muffled voice, “Sixteen.”
Shui Ronghua then praised, “Very brave!” After administering the injection, she pulled out a lollipop from the pocket of her lab coat, and Yang Xiaodao obediently accepted the reward and started eating.
At that moment, there was a buzzing sound of electrical current, and the anomalous ability detection device in the laboratory began to react.
Everyone turned their attention at the same time, only to see that in the large transparent simulation box, a lead ball mounted at the top seemed to be suddenly propelled by an invisible force, and with a resounding “bang,” it mercilessly smashed down, causing the display to instantly shoot up to a high score of 856‰.
Chen Miao took a sharp breath, “Power evolution, not bad, Yang Xiaodao! Only about 50 points lower than Yue-ge back in the day!”
Shen Zhuo whispered, “It’s different. Yue Yang had already reached the peak, but he hasn’t.”
Chen Miao was momentarily stunned, then exclaimed, “Thunderstorm!”
In the simulation box, sparks crackled, almost blinding the eyes. Several people instinctively looked away. Following that, flames erupted, instantly swallowed by a torrent of water. The next second, black smoke roared like a poisonous dragon, lightning coiled like a giant serpent, and various detailed reports on supernatural abilities spat out from the identifier like paper.
“Changing gravity… geomagnetic weather… all natural elemental abilities…” Chen Miao eagerly reached out to grab the report, “Dao-ge! Our Dao-ge is amazing; he must be at least an A now!”
Normally, B-class evolutionists have at most two types of abilities at their peak, while A-class evolutionists, with increased intensity, could have five to six. An A-class evolutionist with the most abilities in the world was Yue Yang, with a total of 13 evolution abilities, including physical enhancements. When his ranking was revealed, it shook the International Supervision General Administration to its core.
Frost quickly covered the simulation box, and the borosilicate glass capable of withstanding extreme temperatures of 3 Kelvin emitted a cracking sound under the unbearable pressure. Following that—
Bang!!
Everyone instantly dove beneath the lab bench as the simulation box thunderously shattered, glass shards exploding throughout the room, officially rendering the measuring device useless.
“Thir-thirteen types…” Chen Miao, hands trembling, reached for the last report spit out by the identifier. “In-incredible, Yang Xiaodao. In two more years, you can challenge Yue-ge in the central district…”
Seated in the vast laboratory, Yang Xiaodao’s robust upper body was attached to electrodes. Colorless wires connected him to the supernatural ability detector, and on the back of his left hand, the sensing reagent rapidly revealed an A, turning so red it bordered on black.
Such a deep-level imprint, Yue Yang also had one on his hand, signifying the destruction of the suppression classification—an intense A.
Shen Zhuo stood up from beneath the lab bench, one hand on the tabletop, “Not just that.”
Chen Miao: “Huh?”
Following Shen Zhuo’s gaze, they saw a serene and faint light lingering within the now-ruined simulation box—the last supernatural ability of Yang Xiaodao.
“…I’ve always wondered why Bai Sheng didn’t place you in his abandoned building but kept you by his side. After Rong Qi forced out his law of causality, you returned to Shenhai shortly after.”
Yang Xiaodao mumbled but said nothing.
“So that’s how it is.” Shen Zhuo reached out to hold the faint light and said softly, “…I’m afraid describing Bai Sheng with eight hundred eyes might still be modest.”
With a few clicks, the identifier spit out Yang Xiaodao’s fourteenth supernatural ability report. Chen Miao looked at it in bewilderment—
[A-class evolution, Luck.]
An evolutionist’s luck value in a random direction was perpetually negative, including but not limited to losing money when going out, losing an umbrella when it rains, getting stuck in traffic whenever leaving, always losing at the gambling table, facing hardships in youth, and perpetually choosing the wrong answers in multiple-choice exams.
According to the law of conservation of causality, accumulated luck points could be used all at once for a specified event. Regardless of the actual success rate of the event, using the A-class luck ability could elevate the success rate to a minimum of 50% and a maximum of 99%.
Note: Due to the slow accumulation of luck points, activating this ability is not easy, with a difficulty rating of +++.
“…” Chen Miao looked at Yang Xiaodao in shock and said, “Little friend, well done! Are you the designated lucky koi of the causality?!”
***
“No problem, we’ll take care of the university entrance examination matters!” In the conference room of Boyi High School, the principal, slamming the thick stack of just-signed donation contracts on the table, declared loudly, “Although student Yang scored 85 in the three science subjects combined, he passed history, and his English grammar is also acceptable. Besides, he almost aced geography, except for the multiple-choice questions!”
Bai Sheng nodded in satisfaction and whispered, “Strive for self-improvement.”
The principal, with a resolute tone, exclaimed, “This perseverance and the spirit of self-improvement are exactly what we encourage and advocate for. His future is promising!”
Applause echoed as the director of the teaching department and other teachers stood up solemnly.
People rose, and a cheerful atmosphere filled both inside and outside the conference room.
Bai Sheng finally accomplished a significant task and was basking in the praise from the principal. Invited warmly, he decided to stay for lunch at the school cafeteria. Meanwhile, he quickly searched for the nearby Pink Pineapple on a food delivery app, calling Shen Zhuo at the same time, “Hey, dear, want to have lunch with me? If things go smoothly, we can leave the kid at school in the afternoon and then go hand in hand to see the Northern Lights in Iceland, feed pigeons in London, make wishes at the Trevi Fountain in Rome, and watch fireworks at Disneyland. If not, I’ll call you every half an hour… Hello? Hello, why did you hang up?”
Shen Zhuo ended the call with silence, pressing the accelerator as the light turned green.
In the afternoon, Yang Xiaodao was going to report to school. The boy sat in the back seat while holding his backpack. He couldn’t help but glance at the ‘A’ on the back of his left hand, clearly not accustomed to something so conspicuously prominent. After a while, he asked in a dull tone, “Why can Bai Sheng’s ‘S’ be hidden inside his clothes?”
“It’s random.” Shen Zhuo turned on the indicator and turned right, saying, “Only a very small number of people can have it above the heart.”
Yang Xiaodao was puzzled, “What kind of people?”
Shen Zhuo fell into silence, and for several seconds, he looked somewhat complex. After a moment, he slowly said, “Some information indicates… usually people with extremely hidden and introverted true personalities.”
“…”
The car fell into silence. The atmosphere was indescribable, and no one spoke for a long time.
“Have Bai Sheng and you analyzed the luck-valye ability?” After a while, Shen Zhuo turned the steering wheel, taking the main road leading to Boyi High School. He glanced at the young man through the rearview mirror.
“To activate the causality to 99%, you need enough luck to hit the Grand Lottery Jackpot three times.” Yang Xiaodao rested his elbow on his knee, supporting his chin with one hand. “Bai Sheng said there’s only one chance in a lifetime, so I save up my luck points and don’t use them recklessly.”
“You’ve never used them?”
Yang Xiaodao shook his head, but after a moment, he recalled something and said, “When I was a kid, I used a bit of it in a rock-paper-scissors bet with Bai Sheng on who gets the last chicken leg.”
Shen Zhuo couldn’t help but smile.
The supervisor’s smile was faint and passed in an instant. Yang Xiaodao couldn’t help but glance at the rearview mirror, and only then did he ask, “Did Bai Sheng ever mention Rong Qi to you?”
“Uh, he said he’s your fanatical admirer.”
Shen Zhuo said, “There’s really no admirer; this Rong Qi is…”
“…one of them,” Yang Xiaodao slowly completed the second half of the sentence.
Shen Zhuo remained silent for a long time under the young man’s pure, subtle, and somewhat critical gaze.
“…There’s really nothing like that,” Shen Zhuo finally said after a while.
Yang Xiaodao’s gaze was very straightforward, conveying the message that he didn’t believe it.
“This Rong Qi is a genetically resurrected evolutionist, posing a high level of societal threat. It’s likely he hasn’t completed the final evolution yet. Currently, the only confirmed way to eliminate him is through causality. Therefore, the supervision office highly suspects Rong Qi is currently lurking near Shenhai City, and all his activities are aimed at dealing with Bai Sheng.”
“This individual’s rank won’t be lower than S, and the possibility of being beyond S is still unknown.” Shen Zhuo signaled and turned into a side road at the intersection near Boyi High School, saying, “Director-General Nielsen has been doing his best to track down Rong Qi. Although I believe in the director-general’s combat capabilities, honestly, my expectations for him in this matter are very low because of his unfriendly attitude towards your guardian. In summary, thank you for using luck points to support causality. I hope we can quickly resolve Rong Qi together. I assure you that after this is over, you can freely go and buy lottery tickets. Any more questions?”
Yang Xiaodao immediately said, “Yes.”
“Go on.”
“If one day my guardian and Director-General Nielsen get into a fight for you, whom would you help?”
“…”
Shen Zhuo pressed the brakes, stopping in front of the school gate. He turned from the driver’s seat, his inorganic, beautiful eyes coldly fixed on Yang Xiaodao.
“If the brain circuits of you and your ‘father’ continue to be this abnormal,” he calmly stated, “I’ll revoke Bai Sheng’s guardianship and have you sleep on the floor in my office.”
Yang Xiaodao, with a resigned expression, got out of the car without saying a word, although from his expression, it was clear he still wanted to know the answer.
***
Shen Zhuo had no intention of going to Iceland to see the Northern Lights or feeding pigeons in London with Bai Sheng. He had an afternoon meeting at the military district, and bringing Yang Xiaodao for enrollment was merely a symbolic fulfillment of guardianship duties, plus it was on the way. After notifying Bai Sheng via text message, he planned to leave directly.
However, as he was reversing the car, he caught a glimpse of something not far away. Leaning over from the passenger seat, he looked out of the window on the other side of the street.
—Not far from the crossroads, in the midst of the crowd, stood the silhouette of a man. Whether he suddenly fell into a trance or was doing something else, he stood still right in the middle of the crosswalk, looking up at the sky.
This behavior was exceptionally unusual because there was clearly nothing in the sky.
Many people passing by would glance at him strangely. A short-haired girl in a Boyi High School uniform walked toward him, probably very curious. She stared at the man up and down, and as she passed, she got pushed by the flow of people crossing the road, almost bumping into the man’s arm.
“Ah!”
In that instant, the man moved as if he had been startled awake, twitching as if in some kind of awakening.
He turned slowly toward the girl and raised his hand.
With a thud of the car door closing, Yang Xiaodao, who hadn’t entered the school gate, turned sensitively. At a glance, he saw Shen Zhuo swiftly getting out of the car and striding toward the crossroad. He couldn’t help but say, “Hey, you…”
At the same time, the man not far away suddenly let out a sharp scream, lunging toward the girl!
“Ah!” “Oh no!” “What’s happening!”
Sudden exclamations erupted from the surroundings, and the open space immediately exploded with chaos. A middle-aged woman was about to rush over to help but was firmly held back by her husband. Soon after, the girl was knocked down to the asphalt by the man with a resounding “thud.”
“Help—”
Before the girl could finish her cry, the attacker was yanked up by an unquestionable force from behind—it was Shen Zhuo!
The man was still desperately convulsing and struggling, but Shen Zhuo’s single-handed strength easily restrained the frenzied assailant. With a crisp sound, he dislocated the man’s right hand, then lifted his face by grabbing the man’s hair. Shen Zhuo couldn’t help but make a soft “Hmm?” when he looked at the man.
The man’s face was deathly pale, and his expression was trance-like. His eyes were wide open but completely unfocused, resembling a sleepwalking psychiatric patient.
Shen Zhuo keenly realized something, but it was too late to react. The man suddenly bent over, opened his mouth, and ruthlessly bit into his own left arm, tearing off a large chunk of flesh with a swift motion!
In an instant, the scene overlapped with the madness of Wang Ping at the train station yesterday, blood and flesh splattering, revealing stark white bones.
“Ahhhh—!”
The surrounding crowd screamed and scattered, and for a moment, the situation completely spiraled out of control. No one noticed that the traffic light above turned from red to green at this moment.
A cement tanker truck just turned the corner at the intersection, sliding suddenly to avoid pedestrians. It instantly lost control, and the sharp horns resounded through the sky!
Shen Zhuo suddenly turned around, and his pupils reflected the rapidly approaching massive cement truck and the terrified face of the driver in the cabin.
Time seemed to stretch infinitely, and all the chaotic background became particularly blurry, like a montage of out-of-control scenes in a movie.
In that split second.
Before Shen Zhuo could react, a figure of a young man approached like an arrow, pushing him aside with his left hand and thrusting his right fist forward, facing the oncoming truck head-on—Boom!!
The young man’s fist dented into the steel, and the massive truck front deformed. The tens of tons of cement tanker came to a halt abruptly!
It was a scene beyond imagination, leaving everyone’s expressions and minds momentarily blank. Shen Zhuo blurted out, “Be careful…”
Bang!!
A speeding bus slammed heavily into the rear of the cement truck!
In an instant, the terrifying combination of mass and acceleration synthesized into an explosive and frightening impact. The cement beneath Yang Xiaodao’s feet cracked and splintered, and he was forcefully pushed backward so suddenly that he didn’t even have time to react. Just as he stumbled—
Gravity seemed to vanish momentarily, catching him off guard.
Yang Xiaodao staggered to regain his balance: “?”
“Hey, little brat, what are you doing?” A familiar and playful voice came from behind: “What the Inspector needs is me, you know?”
Yang Xiaodao turned around in bewilderment.
There, Bai Sheng stood with one hand shielding Shen Zhuo behind him and the other pressing against the deformed front of the cement truck. His posture seemed relaxed, yet the extraordinarily powerful force from his palm kept the two large vehicles firmly in place and immovable.
The bustling streets fell into a stunned silence, everyone wide-eyed and astonished.
Bai Sheng turned his head and teasingly blinked at Shen Zhuo: “This family really can’t do without me, right?”
Chapter 31
“If one day my guardian and Director-General Nielsen get into a fight for you, whom would you help?”
Early morning.
The bedroom was quiet and dimly lit, with the large bedcovers in disarray. Faint, heavy breathing could be heard, and scattered clothes were strewn across the floor.
Everything felt hazy and ambiguous until—swish!
As the floor-to-ceiling curtains were pulled open, sunlight poured in. Yang Xiaodao, holding a spatula, turned around and looked down at the messy bed from a higher vantage point:
“Get up; have breakfast. I have to go to school.”
Bai Sheng was just wearing a pair of boxer shorts, lying diagonally at a 45-degree angle with his entire body propped up, covering the entire head with the blanket: “Stupid kid, you’re going to school this afternoon. Inspector Shen will come over in the morning to pick you up for registration and evaluation. Let me sleep a bit longer…”
Yang Xiaodao caught a glimpse of something by the pillow and was shocked: “What are you holding in your hand?”
Bai Sheng was hugging a pillow with his right hand while his left was pressing against a file. The file itself looked quite new; it seemed like he hadn’t flipped through it more than twice since he got hold of it. However, the photo attached to the first page had been caressed and flipped by him so many times that even the edges were raised. It appeared to be cut from a newspaper—Inspector Shen from the Shenhai City Supervision Office stood in the rain while holding a black umbrella, revealing only a pale and beautiful chin.
“Ah, yawn…” Bai Sheng, in a drowsy state, let out a yawn. “I’m begging you; let me sleep a bit more. I was lying in bed last night, looking at Inspector Shen’s photos. I missed him so much that I didn’t fall asleep until after three o’clock…”
Yang Xiaodao stood petrified in place, and after a while he blurted out two words: “…Miss him?”
Bai Sheng: “Mmm-hmm.”
An indescribable realization shocked the young and innocent heart of the teenager. After a while, he could hardly believe it: “—Miss him?!”
“Mmm-hmm.” Bai Sheng lazily replied, “Adults do miss each other; what’s wrong with that?”
The teenager was finally forced to face the harsh reality of the adult world. He stood there in a daze, opening his mouth and closing it repeatedly. After a while, he finally voiced the long-buried confusion in his heart:
“…I have a question.”
Bai Sheng, eyes closed: “Say your question.”
“You’re all adults now; can’t you think about something else in your minds, like solving global warming, climate change, energy crises, and education in impoverished areas?”
“…………”
Bai Sheng opened his eyes, looking at Yang Xiaodao expressionlessly. After a moment, he solemnly said, “Thank you, son. It’s really my fortune to have raised you.”
Ding dong! Ding dong!
“Oh, my object of longing has arrived!” Bai Sheng suddenly perked up, stuffing the file and photos under his pillow, and briskly walked into the bathroom without looking back, instructing, “Just say I was contemplating global warming until past five in the morning. Remember that!”
Yang Xiaodao: “…”
The teenager looked up at the sky in silence. Then, wearing slippers, he went to open the door. Outside the door, indeed, stood the slender and well-dressed figure of the supervisor from the Shenhai City Supervision Office. His uniform was crisp, his features were elegant and clear, and his hands were wrapped in black leather gloves, maintaining a poised and tranquil posture, folded in front of him.
Actually, it was a perfect and awe-inspiring image, but the first thing that popped into Yang Xiaodao’s mind was the unfortunate photo hidden under his guardian’s pillow.
“…” Yang Xiaodao’s inner feelings were mixed. “Good morning.”
Shen Zhuo gave him a once-over, a bit surprised: “What’s this…”
The sixteen-year-old rebellious youth, with a lean and vigorous build, was dressed in a black tank top and boxing shorts. Around his waist, he wore a supermarket-giveaway floral apron. On his feet were a pair of powder-blue kitchen anti-slip slippers. In his hands, he held a sizzling frying pan with two fried eggs, a few mushrooms, and a bunch of vibrant oil-salted baby spinach spread inside.
With a ding sound, two slices of whole wheat toast popped out of the kitchen toaster.
“Want some?” Yang Xiaodao expressionlessly handed the pan to Shen Zhuo.
***
Ten minutes later, Shen Zhuo and Bai Sheng were sitting on opposite sides of the dining table. Yang Xiaodao, holding the frying pan, served each of them a fried egg. The perfectly fluid egg yolk, adorned with green onions, emitted a tempting aroma.
In just a short moment, Bai Sheng had already groomed himself perfectly. Wearing a crisp shirt and trousers, he exuded a refreshing and youthful spirit. The rebellious tuft of silver hair on his head stood arrogantly, presenting a happy scene of him and Supervisor Shen having breakfast together. Bai Sheng tapped the porcelain plate with his chopsticks and said, “I want another egg!”
Skillfully, Yang Xiaodao swiftly served him another egg, silently asking Supervisor Shen if he wanted one too.
“…No, thank you.”
Putting down the bowl of oatmeal, Shen Zhuo watched as Yang Xiaodao returned to the kitchen. He personally prepared a lunchbox with steamed bass, sweet and sour spare ribs, boiled broccoli, and purple cabbage, methodically placing it into his backpack. At that moment, Shen Zhuo couldn’t ignore the growing perplexity and turned to Bai Sheng, asking:
“What has this kid been through?”
Bai Sheng modestly replied, “He has undergone rigorous and comprehensive personality training.”
Yang Xiaodao coolly added, “I’ve experienced a guardian attempting a suicidal cooking attack.”
When Bai Sheng was a teenager, his independent living skills were actually quite average because the Bai family had chefs, bodyguards, drivers, and gardeners who wouldn’t allow the young master still in school to do anything personally. However, five years ago, after adopting Yang Xiaodao, Bai Sheng suddenly developed a strong sense of duty as an alpha wolf, believing that in modern society, regardless of wealth, everyone should learn essential life skills. The first step was to train the child in cooking. In order to set an example, he personally cooked a dish of day-and-night-soaked wood ear mushrooms with yellow flower vegetables1, which sent both him and Yang Xiaodao to the emergency room. If not for the fact that both were evolutionists, that meal would have been enough to send each of them back and forth between life and death eight times.
At the tender age of eleven, Yang Xiaodao already had a very clear mind. He realized that one’s life needed to be held in one’s own hands. So, after returning from the emergency room, he wheezily dragged a small stool, stood by the stove, and, with clanging sounds, followed a recipe to cook four dishes and a soup. In a literal sense, he was forced by life to become skilled overnight. Thereafter, the unwilling Bai Sheng took Yang Xiaodao to learn baking, welding, woodworking, plumbing, appliance repair, and even cross-stitching. In the end, he successfully transformed Yang Xiaodao into a versatile household assistant. With these skills, Yang Xiaodao gained a significant advantage in the fiercely competitive dating market of the future. Being a virtuous husband and father posed no challenges for him.
“——I can even bake cakes!” Bai Sheng emphasized to Shen Zhuo with a heavier tone.
In the kitchen, Yang Xiaodao maintained a deadpan expression, saying, “I can even decorate cakes with frosting.”
Shen Zhuo: “…”
The wonderful day began with having breakfast with Supervisor Shen. After breakfast, Bai Sheng energetically headed out. He had a duty as the alpha—to spend money to get the foolish kid into a private high school. Today, he was going to sign the donation contract.
As an avid enthusiast of male competition, Bai Sheng absolutely couldn’t tolerate any shortcomings around him. Therefore, his greatest mission as the alpha wolf was to get even the most foolish of his peers into college. It didn’t matter which university, as long as it was reputable—even a major in postpartum care for mother pigs would suffice. Otherwise, as an S-class with an undefeated record in life:
“—Even if I die, I won’t rest in peace. A hundred years later, if my bones were to sit up from the coffin, I would dig my way into that idiotic kid’s grave just to give him a slap.”
“He’s doing his evaluation today; aren’t you going to the supervision office with him?” Shen Zhuo lowered the car window and asked.
At the entrance of the residential community, two cars were parked side by side. One was the supervision office’s special vehicle, driven by Shen Zhuo himself, and the other was Bai Sheng’s family car from the garage. Mr. S-Class, with one hand on the steering wheel, leaned his entire head out of the car window, smiling as he propped his chin with one hand, appreciating Supervisor Shen. It seemed as if he wanted to make up for the regrets of only being able to look at photos last night. After a moment, he casually waved his hand and said, “It’s fine; can I not trust you with this foolish kid?”
“Don’t you want to know Yang Xiaodao’s evolution level as soon as possible?”
“Hmm, what evolution level?” Bai Sheng dismissed it, “I can tell his level by just smelling him. The IQ is D at most; it can’t be any higher.”
Yang Xiaodao sat in the back seat with his school bag, ignoring this cheap dad.
Shen Zhuo shook his head with a chuckle, stepped on the accelerator, and drove out of the residential community.
***
Five years ago, when the sudden evolution began, the Central Research Institute laboratory under Shen Zhuo’s command was the first to invent the gene testing method. Evolutionists had to have their blood drawn for genetic analysis. The laboratory would then use recombinase enzyme proteins to infer the type of supernatural ability. The blood sample would be mixed with a sensing reagent and then reintroduced into the evolutionist’s body.
After the sensing reagent reacted with the DNA recombinase, it would determine the evolutionist’s evolution level based on the genetic strength, automatically generating letters A, B, C, D, and S, which would appear on the back of the evolutionist’s left hand or below the left collarbone.
The half-life of the sensing reagent was extremely long, so the letter indicating the evolutionist’s level would not fade throughout their life. It was impossible for it to be removed or tampered with artificially. Even if the flesh was cut away, it would reappear from the scar. This eliminated any possibility of forgery.
Over the past five years, there has been continuous friction between humans and evolutionists, leading to an increasingly tense global situation. As a result, some evolutionists sought to hide their identities and evade registration. However, under the watchful eyes of the various supervision offices, hiding one’s identity had become extremely difficult. Cases like Yang Xiaodao, who had been protected by an S-class alpha wolf and still hadn’t been registered to this day, were extremely rare. It took Shui Ronghua half a day of searching in the laboratory to find a vial of sensing reagent.
“The evolution in terms of physical fitness is already quite evident. I guess this child’s ability should be related to strength,” Shui Ronghua said as she infused the sensing reagent into Yang Xiaodao’s body. She watched the bright red liquid gradually advance through the veins in his arm and casually asked, “How old are you, little friend?”
Cool guy Yang Xiaodao seemed quite timid in front of women. Sitting upright, he lowered his head and replied in a muffled voice, “Sixteen.”
Shui Ronghua then praised, “Very brave!” After administering the injection, she pulled out a lollipop from the pocket of her lab coat, and Yang Xiaodao obediently accepted the reward and started eating.
At that moment, there was a buzzing sound of electrical current, and the anomalous ability detection device in the laboratory began to react.
Everyone turned their attention at the same time, only to see that in the large transparent simulation box, a lead ball mounted at the top seemed to be suddenly propelled by an invisible force, and with a resounding “bang,” it mercilessly smashed down, causing the display to instantly shoot up to a high score of 856‰.
Chen Miao took a sharp breath, “Power evolution, not bad, Yang Xiaodao! Only about 50 points lower than Yue-ge back in the day!”
Shen Zhuo whispered, “It’s different. Yue Yang had already reached the peak, but he hasn’t.”
Chen Miao was momentarily stunned, then exclaimed, “Thunderstorm!”
In the simulation box, sparks crackled, almost blinding the eyes. Several people instinctively looked away. Following that, flames erupted, instantly swallowed by a torrent of water. The next second, black smoke roared like a poisonous dragon, lightning coiled like a giant serpent, and various detailed reports on supernatural abilities spat out from the identifier like paper.
“Changing gravity… geomagnetic weather… all natural elemental abilities…” Chen Miao eagerly reached out to grab the report, “Dao-ge! Our Dao-ge is amazing; he must be at least an A now!”
Normally, B-class evolutionists have at most two types of abilities at their peak, while A-class evolutionists, with increased intensity, could have five to six. An A-class evolutionist with the most abilities in the world was Yue Yang, with a total of 13 evolution abilities, including physical enhancements. When his ranking was revealed, it shook the International Supervision General Administration to its core.
Frost quickly covered the simulation box, and the borosilicate glass capable of withstanding extreme temperatures of 3 Kelvin emitted a cracking sound under the unbearable pressure. Following that—
Bang!!
Everyone instantly dove beneath the lab bench as the simulation box thunderously shattered, glass shards exploding throughout the room, officially rendering the measuring device useless.
“Thir-thirteen types…” Chen Miao, hands trembling, reached for the last report spit out by the identifier. “In-incredible, Yang Xiaodao. In two more years, you can challenge Yue-ge in the central district…”
Seated in the vast laboratory, Yang Xiaodao’s robust upper body was attached to electrodes. Colorless wires connected him to the supernatural ability detector, and on the back of his left hand, the sensing reagent rapidly revealed an A, turning so red it bordered on black.
Such a deep-level imprint, Yue Yang also had one on his hand, signifying the destruction of the suppression classification—an intense A.
Shen Zhuo stood up from beneath the lab bench, one hand on the tabletop, “Not just that.”
Chen Miao: “Huh?”
Following Shen Zhuo’s gaze, they saw a serene and faint light lingering within the now-ruined simulation box—the last supernatural ability of Yang Xiaodao.
“…I’ve always wondered why Bai Sheng didn’t place you in his abandoned building but kept you by his side. After Rong Qi forced out his law of causality, you returned to Shenhai shortly after.”
Yang Xiaodao mumbled but said nothing.
“So that’s how it is.” Shen Zhuo reached out to hold the faint light and said softly, “…I’m afraid describing Bai Sheng with eight hundred eyes might still be modest.”
With a few clicks, the identifier spit out Yang Xiaodao’s fourteenth supernatural ability report. Chen Miao looked at it in bewilderment—
[A-class evolution, Luck.]
An evolutionist’s luck value in a random direction was perpetually negative, including but not limited to losing money when going out, losing an umbrella when it rains, getting stuck in traffic whenever leaving, always losing at the gambling table, facing hardships in youth, and perpetually choosing the wrong answers in multiple-choice exams.
According to the law of conservation of causality, accumulated luck points could be used all at once for a specified event. Regardless of the actual success rate of the event, using the A-class luck ability could elevate the success rate to a minimum of 50% and a maximum of 99%.
Note: Due to the slow accumulation of luck points, activating this ability is not easy, with a difficulty rating of +++.
“…” Chen Miao looked at Yang Xiaodao in shock and said, “Little friend, well done! Are you the designated lucky koi of the causality?!”
***
“No problem, we’ll take care of the university entrance examination matters!” In the conference room of Boyi High School, the principal, slamming the thick stack of just-signed donation contracts on the table, declared loudly, “Although student Yang scored 85 in the three science subjects combined, he passed history, and his English grammar is also acceptable. Besides, he almost aced geography, except for the multiple-choice questions!”
Bai Sheng nodded in satisfaction and whispered, “Strive for self-improvement.”
The principal, with a resolute tone, exclaimed, “This perseverance and the spirit of self-improvement are exactly what we encourage and advocate for. His future is promising!”
Applause echoed as the director of the teaching department and other teachers stood up solemnly.
People rose, and a cheerful atmosphere filled both inside and outside the conference room.
Bai Sheng finally accomplished a significant task and was basking in the praise from the principal. Invited warmly, he decided to stay for lunch at the school cafeteria. Meanwhile, he quickly searched for the nearby Pink Pineapple on a food delivery app, calling Shen Zhuo at the same time, “Hey, dear, want to have lunch with me? If things go smoothly, we can leave the kid at school in the afternoon and then go hand in hand to see the Northern Lights in Iceland, feed pigeons in London, make wishes at the Trevi Fountain in Rome, and watch fireworks at Disneyland. If not, I’ll call you every half an hour… Hello? Hello, why did you hang up?”
Shen Zhuo ended the call with silence, pressing the accelerator as the light turned green.
In the afternoon, Yang Xiaodao was going to report to school. The boy sat in the back seat while holding his backpack. He couldn’t help but glance at the ‘A’ on the back of his left hand, clearly not accustomed to something so conspicuously prominent. After a while, he asked in a dull tone, “Why can Bai Sheng’s ‘S’ be hidden inside his clothes?”
“It’s random.” Shen Zhuo turned on the indicator and turned right, saying, “Only a very small number of people can have it above the heart.”
Yang Xiaodao was puzzled, “What kind of people?”
Shen Zhuo fell into silence, and for several seconds, he looked somewhat complex. After a moment, he slowly said, “Some information indicates… usually people with extremely hidden and introverted true personalities.”
“…”
The car fell into silence. The atmosphere was indescribable, and no one spoke for a long time.
“Have Bai Sheng and you analyzed the luck-valye ability?” After a while, Shen Zhuo turned the steering wheel, taking the main road leading to Boyi High School. He glanced at the young man through the rearview mirror.
“To activate the causality to 99%, you need enough luck to hit the Grand Lottery Jackpot three times.” Yang Xiaodao rested his elbow on his knee, supporting his chin with one hand. “Bai Sheng said there’s only one chance in a lifetime, so I save up my luck points and don’t use them recklessly.”
“You’ve never used them?”
Yang Xiaodao shook his head, but after a moment, he recalled something and said, “When I was a kid, I used a bit of it in a rock-paper-scissors bet with Bai Sheng on who gets the last chicken leg.”
Shen Zhuo couldn’t help but smile.
The supervisor’s smile was faint and passed in an instant. Yang Xiaodao couldn’t help but glance at the rearview mirror, and only then did he ask, “Did Bai Sheng ever mention Rong Qi to you?”
“Uh, he said he’s your fanatical admirer.”
Shen Zhuo said, “There’s really no admirer; this Rong Qi is…”
“…one of them,” Yang Xiaodao slowly completed the second half of the sentence.
Shen Zhuo remained silent for a long time under the young man’s pure, subtle, and somewhat critical gaze.
“…There’s really nothing like that,” Shen Zhuo finally said after a while.
Yang Xiaodao’s gaze was very straightforward, conveying the message that he didn’t believe it.
“This Rong Qi is a genetically resurrected evolutionist, posing a high level of societal threat. It’s likely he hasn’t completed the final evolution yet. Currently, the only confirmed way to eliminate him is through causality. Therefore, the supervision office highly suspects Rong Qi is currently lurking near Shenhai City, and all his activities are aimed at dealing with Bai Sheng.”
“This individual’s rank won’t be lower than S, and the possibility of being beyond S is still unknown.” Shen Zhuo signaled and turned into a side road at the intersection near Boyi High School, saying, “Director-General Nielsen has been doing his best to track down Rong Qi. Although I believe in the director-general’s combat capabilities, honestly, my expectations for him in this matter are very low because of his unfriendly attitude towards your guardian. In summary, thank you for using luck points to support causality. I hope we can quickly resolve Rong Qi together. I assure you that after this is over, you can freely go and buy lottery tickets. Any more questions?”
Yang Xiaodao immediately said, “Yes.”
“Go on.”
“If one day my guardian and Director-General Nielsen get into a fight for you, whom would you help?”
“…”
Shen Zhuo pressed the brakes, stopping in front of the school gate. He turned from the driver’s seat, his inorganic, beautiful eyes coldly fixed on Yang Xiaodao.
“If the brain circuits of you and your ‘father’ continue to be this abnormal,” he calmly stated, “I’ll revoke Bai Sheng’s guardianship and have you sleep on the floor in my office.”
Yang Xiaodao, with a resigned expression, got out of the car without saying a word, although from his expression, it was clear he still wanted to know the answer.
***
Shen Zhuo had no intention of going to Iceland to see the Northern Lights or feeding pigeons in London with Bai Sheng. He had an afternoon meeting at the military district, and bringing Yang Xiaodao for enrollment was merely a symbolic fulfillment of guardianship duties, plus it was on the way. After notifying Bai Sheng via text message, he planned to leave directly.
However, as he was reversing the car, he caught a glimpse of something not far away. Leaning over from the passenger seat, he looked out of the window on the other side of the street.
—Not far from the crossroads, in the midst of the crowd, stood the silhouette of a man. Whether he suddenly fell into a trance or was doing something else, he stood still right in the middle of the crosswalk, looking up at the sky.
This behavior was exceptionally unusual because there was clearly nothing in the sky.
Many people passing by would glance at him strangely. A short-haired girl in a Boyi High School uniform walked toward him, probably very curious. She stared at the man up and down, and as she passed, she got pushed by the flow of people crossing the road, almost bumping into the man’s arm.
“Ah!”
In that instant, the man moved as if he had been startled awake, twitching as if in some kind of awakening.
He turned slowly toward the girl and raised his hand.
With a thud of the car door closing, Yang Xiaodao, who hadn’t entered the school gate, turned sensitively. At a glance, he saw Shen Zhuo swiftly getting out of the car and striding toward the crossroad. He couldn’t help but say, “Hey, you…”
At the same time, the man not far away suddenly let out a sharp scream, lunging toward the girl!
“Ah!” “Oh no!” “What’s happening!”
Sudden exclamations erupted from the surroundings, and the open space immediately exploded with chaos. A middle-aged woman was about to rush over to help but was firmly held back by her husband. Soon after, the girl was knocked down to the asphalt by the man with a resounding “thud.”
“Help—”
Before the girl could finish her cry, the attacker was yanked up by an unquestionable force from behind—it was Shen Zhuo!
The man was still desperately convulsing and struggling, but Shen Zhuo’s single-handed strength easily restrained the frenzied assailant. With a crisp sound, he dislocated the man’s right hand, then lifted his face by grabbing the man’s hair. Shen Zhuo couldn’t help but make a soft “Hmm?” when he looked at the man.
The man’s face was deathly pale, and his expression was trance-like. His eyes were wide open but completely unfocused, resembling a sleepwalking psychiatric patient.
Shen Zhuo keenly realized something, but it was too late to react. The man suddenly bent over, opened his mouth, and ruthlessly bit into his own left arm, tearing off a large chunk of flesh with a swift motion!
In an instant, the scene overlapped with the madness of Wang Ping at the train station yesterday, blood and flesh splattering, revealing stark white bones.
“Ahhhh—!”
The surrounding crowd screamed and scattered, and for a moment, the situation completely spiraled out of control. No one noticed that the traffic light above turned from red to green at this moment.
A cement tanker truck just turned the corner at the intersection, sliding suddenly to avoid pedestrians. It instantly lost control, and the sharp horns resounded through the sky!
Shen Zhuo suddenly turned around, and his pupils reflected the rapidly approaching massive cement truck and the terrified face of the driver in the cabin.
Time seemed to stretch infinitely, and all the chaotic background became particularly blurry, like a montage of out-of-control scenes in a movie.
In that split second.
Before Shen Zhuo could react, a figure of a young man approached like an arrow, pushing him aside with his left hand and thrusting his right fist forward, facing the oncoming truck head-on—Boom!!
The young man’s fist dented into the steel, and the massive truck front deformed. The tens of tons of cement tanker came to a halt abruptly!
It was a scene beyond imagination, leaving everyone’s expressions and minds momentarily blank. Shen Zhuo blurted out, “Be careful…”
Bang!!
A speeding bus slammed heavily into the rear of the cement truck!
In an instant, the terrifying combination of mass and acceleration synthesized into an explosive and frightening impact. The cement beneath Yang Xiaodao’s feet cracked and splintered, and he was forcefully pushed backward so suddenly that he didn’t even have time to react. Just as he stumbled—
Gravity seemed to vanish momentarily, catching him off guard.
Yang Xiaodao staggered to regain his balance: “?”
“Hey, little brat, what are you doing?” A familiar and playful voice came from behind: “What the Inspector needs is me, you know?”
Yang Xiaodao turned around in bewilderment.
There, Bai Sheng stood with one hand shielding Shen Zhuo behind him and the other pressing against the deformed front of the cement truck. His posture seemed relaxed, yet the extraordinarily powerful force from his palm kept the two large vehicles firmly in place and immovable.
The bustling streets fell into a stunned silence, everyone wide-eyed and astonished.
Bai Sheng turned his head and teasingly blinked at Shen Zhuo: “This family really can’t do without me, right?”
