Chapter 19
Bai Hewei subconsciously wanted to tidy his hair, but the moment he noticed what was in his hands, he instantly dropped them and held up both palms.
“Oh, thank goodness, my people! Are you here to rescue me? I… I didn’t do this. I just picked it up. Do you believe me?”
Bai Hewei rubbed his hands against his pants, trying to wipe away the bloodstains on his palms.
Huo Ling closed his eyes slightly, unable to bear the sight. He was just about to step forward and put on a show when he saw Wen Zhiyi already walking up to strike up a conversation with Bai Hewei.
“Comrade Bai Hewei, we received word that a suspicious individual was lurking nearby, suspected to be a psychopathic killer. You aren’t hurt, are you?” Wen Zhiyi lied through his teeth with a completely straight face, grabbing Bai Hewei’s hand and giving it a firm shake. “If you have any scrapes or bruises, you can apply to go to the hospital for a checkup. A comprehensive physical would be best. I happen to know a doctor who can perform a very thorough examination.”
Having just caught up, Huo Ling gave Wen Zhiyi a massive thumbs-up in his mind upon hearing him lie so brazenly to Bai Hewei.
Good grief, is this guy trying to trick him into a full-body examination already?
“Really? Then I’ll go get checked out when I have some time.” Bai Hewei’s eyes lit up. “Ac… Actually, I only resisted a little bit. By the way, I didn’t really do anything. That freak was struck by lightning inside the Forbidden Zone, and he severed his own arm to save himself. I just picked it up. I was thinking of turning it over to the public security bureau so they could identify him through a DNA test.”
“Of course, we understand,” Wen Zhiyi expressed, sounding exceedingly reasonable. “What you did counts as a courageous act of public service, Mr. Bai.”
“Ahem.” Huo Ling cleared his throat softly, signaling Wen Zhiyi not to overact. It was giving him goosebumps.
Wen Zhiyi had the nerve to accuse others of playing dirty, but was his own playbook any cleaner?
Tch.
You really are the best at tricking people and tearing them down. Absolutely terrifying.
“It’s true, I didn’t fight back much and I didn’t kill anyone. He ran away completely alive and kicking.” Catching sight of Huo Ling, Bai Hewei raised his voice slightly to sound more self-assured.
But seeing the insignia on Huo Ling’s shoulders, Bai Hewei instantly felt a wave of profound respect.
A Deputy Director-General!
And he’s this young?
Definitely can’t afford to offend him. Even if the mayor came, they probably couldn’t afford to offend him either.
Although Bai Hewei had started out sounding a bit defensive, by the time Huo Ling actually stood right in front of him, his guilt faded.
He couldn’t afford to lose face in front of such a top-ranking leader.
He really hadn’t killed anyone. Although he did harbor a flash of murderous intent for a split second, that freak had simply run away too fast.
In fact, Bai Hewei felt rather wronged himself. He had only given the guy a few light shoves during their scuffle, so who could have anticipated that Gentleman would draw a blade from his cane and hack off his own arm?
For a moment, Bai Hewei couldn’t even tell if the guy was a masochist or a regular killer.
The injustice was so immense it could make snow fall in midsummer inside the Forbidden Zone.
Little did he know, during the fight, Gentleman himself had found the entire situation even more mind-boggling.
With his spatial ability, he had almost never suffered an injury.
No matter what an opponent’s ability was, as long as it couldn’t hit him—or couldn’t hit the version of him existing in this specific space—everything was meaningless against him.
Gentleman’s spatial ability allowed him to not only tear through space but also construct an entirely new space layered on top of the existing one.
On the surface, he might look like he was standing right next to you, but in reality, you might have to cross through several spatial layers just to touch him.
It was precisely because of this defensive mechanism that Gentleman had possessed enough confidence to challenge the world’s strongest.
According to his plan, even if he couldn’t kill Bai Hewei, he would still be able to escape from his clutches entirely unscathed. It would serve as a formal debut for him in China, showing them that S-Class Evolvers were not all as dim-witted as the two they had previously killed.
But the real shock for Gentleman came afterward.
When Bai Hewei launched his attack, his movements appeared incredibly clumsy, resembling an eight-year-old child messing around.
Gentleman sneered inwardly; he had already laid out a trap.
The moment Bai Hewei drew near, he would plummet straight into a camouflaged spatial rift. When that happened, the spatial folding would be more than enough to crush Bai Hewei to death!
Yet in that exact instant, a bizarre anomaly occurred.
Bai Hewei’s fist shattered the space right in front of him.
Those layered spaces were like sheets of fragile glass before Bai Hewei, shattering completely into tattered shards.
Worse yet, Bai Hewei’s hand reached through and grabbed his hand directly.
“Ah—”
The moment Bai Hewei’s hand made contact with his body, Gentleman felt the evolutionary particles inside him suddenly erupt into a violent frenzy.
Meanwhile, in the underground research facility far across the ocean, the metrics on the micro-detector inside Gentleman spiked past maximum, completely filling the massive display screen with flashing red warning symbols.
“Oh no, the detector exploded.”
“What’s happening to Gentleman?”
“Why is his condition fluctuating so violently?”
“This is bad!”
By the time the screen in the underground facility went completely black, the executives could barely catch their breath from the sheer shock.
“Even Gentleman was no match for him?”
“…How can an Evolver like this exist in the world?”
“The plan has completely failed.”
“You all better figure out how to explain this to Mr. President and the Secretary of State. Is this what you called an absolutely foolproof plan?”
Some of the individuals seated in the room seemed to have found an outlet for their rage.
“It turns out Gentleman wasn’t anything special either.”
“Useless trash.”
“If you fail like this again, perhaps we will have to reconsider your funding allocation.”
…
Gentleman had made a split-second decision, snapping his cane to draw a slender, sharp rapier from the center and hacking fiercely at the arm Bai Hewei was holding.
Following the severing of his arm, the physical contact with Bai Hewei was broken, and Gentleman finally found the evolutionary particles inside his body stabilizing.
He deployed his ability on his stump at maximum speed to prevent himself from passing out due to excessive blood loss.
“You… what kind of monster are you?!” Gentleman entirely forgot to speak Chinese, demanding an answer straight in English.
“Hey, I barely touched you! You hacked off your own hand, and now you have the nerve to call me a monster, you psycho?!” Bai Hewei found it entirely absurd. He reaffirmed once again that he truly could not comprehend these foreigners.
Good grief, this guy stepped up, sliced his own arm off, and then insulted him by calling him a monster?
Even if he had returned most of his English knowledge to his school teachers, he could still understand basic English, okay?
Gentleman no longer had any desire to keep fighting Bai Hewei.
He had to escape first.
To kill a monster like this next time, they would likely have to deploy every single top-tier Evolver in existence.
Gentleman shifted rapidly through the Forbidden Zone’s space, attempting to leverage the zone’s chaotic energy to hinder Bai Hewei’s advance.
“Hey, wait up! You don’t want your arm back? The cut is so clean, you could probably get it reattached if you hurry!” Bai Hewei picked up the arm, calling out out of the goodness of his heart.
Hearing Bai Hewei’s words, Gentleman only fled even faster.
“Hey, I told you to stop! Are you deaf?!” Bai Hewei shouted loudly.
The evolutionary energy within the Forbidden Zone seemed to respond to a command at that exact moment.
The sound of Bai Hewei’s voice resonated with the zone’s energy instantly. Gentleman’s body froze mid-air, with half his form stuck inside another spatial layer, making him look half-invisible.
A verbal ability?
No, Bai Hewei doesn’t possess that kind of power.
Did he subconsciously manipulate the Forbidden Zone’s energy, causing the zone to manifest this specific ability on his behalf?
How is that possible?
This was a high-level technique that top-tier Evolvers could only execute within a Forbidden Zone after extensive experimentation and training. It was currently still in the research phase, so how did Bai Hewei know how to do it?
Had he studied it somewhere, or was it pure instinct?
Cold sweat poured down Gentleman’s face.
Ever since his awakening as an Evolver, he had participated in countless perilous missions and encountered numerous brilliant, formidable Evolvers.
But only this time did he feel as though he were staring directly into a bottomless abyss.
“You actually stopped?” Bai Hewei gathered the severed arm and picked up the broken cane from the ground. “Both the witness and the evidence are right here. You cut yourself. Once I turn you in, you can explain your actions properly to the police. Hurry up and open an exit for me. I don’t have the time to deal with your nonsense.”
“I… I will open an exit and let you leave, but you must let me leave too,” Gentleman suggested immediately. “If the two of us continue like this, it will only cause the Forbidden Zone to grow stronger. What’s the point?”
“Heh, I don’t believe a single word out of the mouths of people like you,” Bai Hewei sneered. “I’m holding onto you. The Special Operations Department will definitely come to my rescue.”
“They might not actually treat you well either,” Gentleman said, anxiety clawing at his chest, though he forced himself to continue. “A powerhouse like you wouldn’t set any nation or high-ranking official at ease. Their researchers always want to use us Evolvers for experiments. If they ever develop a method to neutralize us, they will absolutely never let us off easy.”
“I am a law-abiding citizen, so I’m not worried about that,” Bai Hewei stated indifferently.
“You’re too naive. There is no right or wrong in politics; they only do what they deem necessary.” Gentleman laughed, seemingly mocking Bai Hewei’s innocence. “Evolvers and ordinary people are fundamentally different. Even if you want to pretend otherwise, it won’t work. Once those people realize how powerful you are, they will feel dread and terror, yet they won’t be able to resist trying to exploit you. They will spin web after web to tie you down completely.”
“Yeah, yeah, got it, got it.” Bai Hewei couldn’t help but yawn.
Ever since he started working his job, he had developed a habit of taking midday naps. Why did this guy talk so much?
Seeing that Bai Hewei was completely unmoved by his words, Gentleman couldn’t help but feel a surge of pure despair.
This monster might actually kill him.
No, he absolutely could not die like this!
Gentleman looked at the Forbidden Zone and suddenly began to channel his ability relentlessly.
From Bai Hewei’s perspective, the “dark clouds” on the man’s body were expanding outward as if they cost nothing, practically merging with the Forbidden Zone itself.
“You’re trying to pull a fast one on me, aren’t you?” Bai Hewei was furious. Although he didn’t know what the man was doing, he could tell this freak wasn’t planning anything good.
“Since you refuse to let me go, then let’s die together!” Gentleman roared.
The sheer noise left Bai Hewei’s brain feeling entirely numb.
How did we suddenly fast-forward to this stage?
Didn’t I already say it? I’m just taking you to see the police. I’m not going to kill you, so is there really any need to go this far?
Bai Hewei was deeply convinced that Evolvers generally had a screw loose. Perhaps when they awakened their abilities, they traded away their original intelligence. Otherwise, how could someone be so impossible to reason with?
In the future, when he went out, he definitely couldn’t tell anyone he was an Evolver.
The lightning bolts arcing down from the top of the Forbidden Zone grew larger and larger.
Driven by Gentleman’s actions, other abilities were constantly brewing, ready to strike at any moment.
Suddenly, ice began to form within the Forbidden Zone, yet flames were simultaneously dancing through the air, completely trampling over the laws of nature as if they were garbage.
“Can we please show a little respect for the laws of physics?” Bai Hewei couldn’t help but complain upon seeing the state of the Forbidden Zone.
Gentleman, however, clearly understood the true horrors within the zone.
As two massive bolts of lightning prepared to rain down from above, Gentleman braced himself to drag Bai Hewei down to the grave with him.
Right then, out of the corner of his eye, Bai Hewei spotted a black backpack on the ground.
!!!
Oh no, my bag!
My ID card, admission ticket, phone, house keys, and study materials are all inside!
He had been so occupied with being angry that he completely forgot he was still carrying his backpack when he stepped out of the previous exam session.
“Ah! Don’t blast it, don’t blast it! My ID card, my phone—” Bai Hewei lunged toward his backpack.
A trace of hesitation flashed through Gentleman’s eyes, but this was a golden opportunity.
Abandoning all thoughts of attacking Bai Hewei, he forcefully broke free from his physical constraints, tore open a spatial rift, and dove straight in headfirst.
At this point, two pieces of news lay before Bai Hewei.
The good news was that because that freak Gentleman had fled, the energy within the Forbidden Zone had stabilized significantly. Furthermore, the spatial ability Gentleman had repeatedly channeled before leaving had torn open several spatial rifts within the zone. Bai Hewei could simply pick one to walk out of, provided he paid close attention to where the rift led.
The bad news was that Bai Hewei’s backpack was ruined.
He had only managed to salvage his ID card and admission ticket; his phone had been blasted into tattered crumbs.
Deeply grieved, Bai Hewei didn’t even have time to mourn his phone. He gathered Gentleman’s severed arm and the broken cane (these were pieces of evidence to prove his innocence, so he couldn’t just leave them behind), picked a spatial rift that looked reasonably safe, and stepped straight inside.
Upon exiting, he found himself at the back gate of the Forbidden Zone.
And that was when he ran into Wen Zhiyi, Huo Ling, and the others.
“I really didn’t kill anyone, I didn’t even hurt him. That guy had a screw loose and chopped his own arm off,” Bai Hewei emphasized once more.
“The organization believes you.” Huo Ling had many questions he wanted to ask, but since Wen Zhiyi hadn’t set a good precedent, he felt too embarrassed to press for details. He could only resort to official jargon. “We can discuss these details later.”
With that, Huo Ling waved his hand, and specialized personnel immediately stepped forward to collect the severed arm and the broken cane, meticulously packaging them for analysis later.
Naturally, quite a few people stole glances at Bai Hewei.
“By the way, if this counts as a courageous act of public service, can I get some of it reimbursed?” Bai Hewei looked deeply sorrowful. “I was carrying my backpack, but it got destroyed. I only managed to salvage my ID card and admission ticket. My phone is completely broken, so I’ll probably have to buy a new one.”
At that moment, how could he have remembered he was carrying a bag? He had been entirely occupied with being angry.
Once he lost his temper, he completely lost himself in the heat of the moment and focused entirely on beating the guy up.
“Oh right, the exam! What about the exam?!”
Bai Hewei suddenly remembered that he still had one more test to sit for. He had been completely consumed by the loss of his phone just now!
What time was it now? What was the status of the exam?
Could he still make it?
Or was he about to receive his very first score of zero on the Essay?
“The exam doesn’t start for another half hour,” Wen Zhiyi smiled, glancing at his watch. “We’ll prepare the appropriate gel pens for you in a moment so your exam won’t be delayed. As for your phone, don’t worry. This was an exceptional circumstance, so we will apply for a sum of money from the higher-ups to be deposited into your account. However, considering market prices for phones, this sum will not exceed four thousand yuan at most.”
Four thousand?
Bai Hewei didn’t think it was too little at all; instead, he was absolutely overjoyed.
If he complained about that, what kind of ungrateful person would he be?
“Really? That’s wonderful.” The anxiety that had been clutching Bai Hewei’s heart finally dissolved completely. Looking at the handsome man before him, he even found him a bit more pleasing to the eye.
The man had an excellent personality and spoke so pleasantly. Bai Hewei could only grudgingly concede that the man was perhaps a tiny fingernail’s width handsomer than himself.
“Then… then I won’t disrupt everyone’s work.” Bai Hewei felt a bit dirty. “I’d like to go clean up first, so I can go into the exam looking presentable. Since there’s nothing else for me to do, may I leave now?”
“Of course,” Wen Zhiyi nodded.
“Oh, right, you may,” Huo Ling added, finally snapping out of his daze.
Only then did Bai Hewei set his mind at ease. He took a stationary pouch handed over by a bystander, feeling completely satisfied and cheerful as if absolutely nothing had happened, and strolled back toward the exam venue.
Halfway there, Bai Hewei noticed eight people wearing Special Operations Department uniforms, all with multiple stripes on their shoulders, staring at him in unison.
Bai Hewei offered them a smile and nodded gently as a greeting.
This was the first time the eight squad captains had ever laid eyes on Bai Hewei. Seeing his smile, they subconsciously smiled back, though their expressions were slightly stiff.
They had all heard of Gentleman’s reputation and had encountered him across various missions. He was an exceptionally troublesome and cunning opponent.
Yet in this clash with Bai Hewei, he could be considered to have suffered an utter defeat.
Bai Hewei’s strength was plain to see.
The eight squad captains watched Bai Hewei depart, feeling their hearts racing.
“How strong do you think he actually is?” Luo Chuan couldn’t help but mutter. “When he walked past just now, I felt like I could barely breathe.”
As high-level Evolvers, what they sensed from Bai Hewei was naturally different from what other ordinary Evolvers would feel.
They found it difficult to describe exactly what kind of sensation it was, but what they did know was that under no circumstances did they ever want to make an enemy out of Bai Hewei!
“…He won’t be our enemy. On the contrary, he will become our most dependable ally, and that’s enough,” Team 3 Captain Zeng Qian said softly. “If he genuinely wanted to do something malicious, could we even stop him? His choice to keep living a normal life like this is his way of stating his stance.”
Deep down, Zeng Qian could fully understand Bai Hewei’s choice.
Five years ago, she had been nothing more than an ordinary college student. But back then, she was brimming with high spirits, completely oblivious to the precious value of a mundane life, and had chosen this flashy, exciting path instead.
And now, she was either working overtime or on her way to work overtime.
Money, housing, cars, a handsome boyfriend, dependable best friends, and caring parents—she had all of it.
But so what?
She had to work endless overtime, constantly defusing various crises, leaving her with absolutely no common ground to talk about with her friends, lover, or family.
What was the point of having a massive balance in her bank account? She had zero time to spend it.
“Alright, let’s clean up the aftermath,” Tan Wen spoke up, settling the matter. “Since we happen to be in the area, let’s find a way to disperse the Forbidden Zone’s energy first.”
In the restroom, Bai Hewei thoroughly washed his hands, washing away his terrible luck. He spent his remaining minutes frantically reviewing the government reports. Only when the announcement chime for the afternoon session echoed through the venue did he walk into the examination room as if nothing had happened.
Word of the Special Operations Department’s presence nearby had already spread like wildfire among the candidates.
But so what?
This group of candidates couldn’t care less about what was happening outside. Their minds were entirely consumed by the upcoming test. Gossip could wait until after the exam was finished; everything else was irrelevant.
When Bai Hewei walked into the room to undergo inspection, he discovered that the proctor had changed.
Although the man had changed his clothes, Bai Hewei recognized him instantly as the handsome guy from earlier who was an equal match for his own looks.
Under normal circumstances, someone might have tried to strike up a conversation with him.
But right now, it was an exam. Even if a top-tier celebrity were standing at the front of the room, the candidates could only focus on finishing this Essay first.
“Alright, all clear. You may go in,” Wen Zhiyi said to Bai Hewei.
Bai Hewei blinked his eyes and took his seat in the examination room.
Once the Essay papers were distributed, Bai Hewei lowered his head, focusing intently on the prompt.
Wen Zhiyi had come to proctor this exam for no other reason than a simple curiosity.
He merely wanted to see exactly how well Bai Hewei would perform on this test, especially after he had given him so much advice on exam preparation over WeChat.
For the sake of Bai Hewei’s exam today, Wen Zhiyi had put in just as much effort as anyone else.
Very quickly, the only sound left in the classroom was the rustling of pen tips moving across paper.
One hundred and fifty minutes later, the dismissal bell rang.
Wen Zhiyi and the other proctor began collecting the candidates’ answer sheets.
Bai Hewei was Candidate Number 12, so his paper was collected fairly early.
During the collection process, Wen Zhiyi cast a swift glance over Bai Hewei’s answer sheet, scanning exactly what he had written.
Wen Zhiyi fell silent.
By the time the exam officially concluded, Bai Hewei didn’t have a chance to say anything to Wen Zhiyi before departing the classroom along with the rest of the candidates.
Regulations dictated that they weren’t allowed to loiter after the test.
“How was it, how was it?” Very quickly, Huo Ling’s call came straight through. “Bai Hewei must have performed pretty well, right? He’ll definitely be coming to work at our Special Operations Department this time, right? I’ve already set up his desk for him.”
“…Call the District Party Secretary of Bai Hewei’s jurisdiction,” Wen Zhiyi’s voice sounded somewhat icy. “Tell him to delay the distribution of Bai Hewei’s five hundred thousand yuan bonus by a few days. Schedule it for the exact day the results of this municipal public institution written exam are released.”
“Huh? Did he bomb it?” Huo Ling froze. “You went there to proctor, and you literally just proctored?”
I thought you were going to sneak him some exam tips or something!
“The way he wrote this Essay… his answer sheet is only fit for wiping your backside,” Wen Zhiyi said coldly. “He completely missed the prompt!”
Author’s Note:
Wen Zhiyi: As the world’s strongest Evolver, he is incredibly formidable. But as an exam candidate, he is completely incompetent! He didn’t use a single thing I told him!
Bai Hewei: QAQ Essays are just too difficult!
