Chapter 28
Early the next morning, Bai Hewei’s biological clock woke him up automatically.
He was here on a field mission, not on an actual vacation; Bai Hewei kept his priorities very straight.
After washing up, he placed the robot on his shoulder and cheerfully headed straight for the cafeteria.
The cafeteria breakfast was buffet-style, featuring morning dishes from all over the country. There were quite a few people dining, but Bai Hewei blending into the crowd didn’t stand out at all.
Carrying a bowl of beef rice noodles and holding a steamed bun, Bai Hewei found an empty spot, sat down, and dug in.
“Morning, Xiao Bai.” Guan Yan walked over carrying a similarly lavish breakfast and sat directly across from him.
He had been waiting here for quite a while, and finally, Bai Hewei had shown up.
Yesterday was to welcome Bai Hewei, and with so many people around, it wasn’t the right time to talk about specific details. If they wanted to discuss business properly, they needed to find a private moment.
Because of this, he had been waiting in the cafeteria since early morning, following Bai Hewei out the moment he left the dorms.
“Morning, Captain Guan.” Bai Hewei felt a bit bitter internally. He wasn’t particularly fond of eating breakfast with his leaders, but fortunately, the delicious beef noodles made up for his slight lack of enthusiasm.
Failing to appreciate such a delicious bowl of beef noodles would be an absolute sin.
As for the others at nearby tables, seeing Guan Yan walk over, they scarfed down their breakfast in short order and vanished without a trace.
Captain Guan Yan was clearly there to eat and chat with this unfamiliar newcomer. They had no desire to hang around awkwardly, let alone risk getting dragged in as extra muscle for whatever duty came up.
In the blink of an eye, the surrounding area cleared out completely, giving Bai Hewei and Guan Yan plenty of space to talk.
“Don’t be so rigid. You came out here to help us, so we have nothing but absolute gratitude for you,” Guan Yan said. Working as a captain at the border where international relations were highly complex, he was naturally sharp and easily picked up on Bai Hewei’s discomfort.
Because of that, he felt even more amazed.
Through just their two brief interactions, he could tell that Bai Hewei didn’t show a single shred of arrogance. Instead, he resembled those veteran slackers under his command—the ones who always complained about not wanting to work when clocking in and out, yet managed to maintain perfect attendance every single month.
If Bai Hewei were just an ordinary Evolver, this behavior would be normal. But as the strongest Evolver in the world, maintaining such a grounded attitude was incredibly rare and commendable.
“I forgot to introduce myself properly,” Guan Yan smiled. “I heard from Huo Ling that you came out to help us primarily because you wanted to uncover your true ability classification and understand your power. It just so happens I can tell you about our team’s abilities. Normally, this information is classified, but since [Sage] Batu has already perceived our data, there’s no point in keeping it hidden anymore.”
On the surface, the files regarding the squad captains’ abilities existed, but they were all half-truths; their core abilities were always kept hidden.
They just hadn’t anticipated that Batu’s sudden provocations would completely lay bare the information they had concealed for so many years.
Once Batu was taken care of, these squad captains would likely be rotated to other regional branches, while Evolvers from other branches would be brought to the border to ensure their information wasn’t entirely compromised by the enemy.
“I’m considered an A+ Class Evolver, slightly below S-Class but stronger than a standard A-Class. According to the Research Institute’s profile, with another year or two of accumulation, I should be able to upgrade to S-Class,” Guan Yan said, completely open about his status. “My ability is called [Puppet Transmission]. Hearing it like that might sound a bit vague, but a more precise description would be: ‘By making physical contact with an enemy, I extract their genetic data to forge a puppet, subsequently linking the puppet’s five senses to the enemy. Any damage inflicted upon the puppet will be transmitted to the enemy’s body accordingly.'”
Guan Yan chuckled. “Back then, I was among the first batch of individuals to cooperate with the Research Institute to study abilities. How to craft the puppets, the effective range between the puppet and the target, and how much force the sensory transmission can channel were all meticulously calculated. Before this, many people assumed my ability was [Telekinesis], but that’s not actually the case.”
Hearing this, Bai Hewei couldn’t help but observe, “Stabbing a doll to kill someone… that sounds a bit like witchcraft.”
“Probably because my family was in the funeral business. My grandfather was a funeral master, and my grandmother crafted paper effigies and gold ingots, so I’ve been interested in these things since childhood,” Guan Yan shared openly. “So when I awakened this skill that resembles cursing a doll, my mom actually cried, claiming she had ruined me. She wondered how a perfectly fine kid could end up with an ability like this, especially since local residents can be quite superstitious about these things.”
True enough—a perfectly normal kid awakening a doll-stabbing skill did sound rather bizarre.
But joking aside, Bai Hewei knew an ability like this was absurdly powerful, capable of taking lives completely undetected. If Guan Yan had been born in America, world leaders everywhere would probably be losing sleep over their personal safety.
“However, my [Puppet Transmission] can’t entirely bypass spatial and temporal distances, otherwise I’d be the strongest Evolver in the world. The greater the distance, the weaker my ability becomes. The optimal range is within one hundred meters; once the distance exceeds one kilometer, achieving an instantaneous lethal blow becomes exceptionally difficult,” Guan Yan shrugged. “That’s why after Batu perceived my information, he rarely shows his face in person anymore. Every time, he dispatches his subordinates and refuses to meet with us face-to-face.”
Batu was terrified of dying. He had everything he wanted right now and lived an incredibly lavish lifestyle; after discovering Guan Yan’s ability profile, how could he dare show his face before the Special Operations Department?
In fact, his current residence was swept every two hours—his clipped nails, stray hair, and shed skin cells were collected by specialized staff and incinerated immediately to ensure nothing fell into Guan Yan’s hands.
“We’ve received intel that several foreign organizations have deployed S-Class Evolvers who are likely already staying at Batu’s compound,” Guan Yan said, locking his gaze onto Bai Hewei. “The two of us can map out a solid plan to capture them all. Those Evolvers carry substantial bounties on the international market; when the time comes, we’ll split the cash half-and-half, and the same goes for the merits. I’m currently just one second-class merit away from a rank advancement. It just so happens a member of our branch’s leadership committee is retiring, so I can smoothly move up. As for you, I can recommend you to join our squad as the vice-captain; within three years, you’ll definitely rise to full captain!”
If anyone else said this, it would look like they were spinning an empty web of promises, but coming from Guan Yan, it sounded profoundly sincere.
Bai Hewei fully believed the man could pull it off.
“Captain Guan, I’ll do whatever you direct; I came out here purely to help,” Bai Hewei said, using a napkin to wipe his mouth. “But I probably won’t be staying. My parents are rooted back home; once the job is finished, I definitely have to head back.”
Hearing this, Guan Yan felt a bit deflated, but he didn’t give up. “That’s fine, we can take it slow. Once you spend more time around here, you’ll see how great our branch is.”
To climb the ranks within the establishment, one either had to grind out years of service, accumulate merits, or possess immense connections.
Out here at the border, earning merits was the absolute fastest track to promotion.
Bai Hewei didn’t even have a permanent post within the official establishment yet. He had no idea if Huo Ling had a screw loose or something, actually allowing a powerhouse like Bai Hewei to run around freely. If it were him, he would have anchored Bai Hewei to his Special Operations branch on day one and barred him from going anywhere else, ensuring no one could steal his prize.
After finishing breakfast, Guan Yan led Bai Hewei to the First Squad’s tactical room, where they began mapping out a blueprint to neutralize [Sage] Batu.
Nightfall.
“Is that the ‘Sage Tower’ where [Sage] Batu resides?”
A few foreign tourists stopped in their tracks upon seeing the towering building looming in the city center, raising their phones to take photos.
“No photos allowed here!”
“Put your phone down.”
“Taking pictures here… are you some kind of spy?”
Before the tourists could even lift their devices, they were swiftly intercepted by bystanders.
For the citizens of this nation, [Sage] Batu stood as their most vital symbol of faith. Several surrounding minor nations lacked an S-Class Evolver, but their country possessed one; to them, this was concrete proof of their rising national power.
Consequently, even though Batu indulged in every imaginable luxury, they viewed it as completely justified.
Batu is still remaining in our country and hasn’t abandoned us, so what if he enjoys a little luxury?
Seeing the locals’ fanatical devotion toward Batu, the foreign tourists didn’t dare press the issue.
In their own home countries, there were plenty who worshipped top-tier Evolvers like real-life superheroes. Their personal biographies were even adapted into blockbuster movies that performed exceptionally well at the box office.
Meanwhile, in a corner across the street, Bai Hewei resembled a mundane backpacker, huddled in the shadow of a wall sipping a local specialty drink.
His backpack was thoroughly packed with signal shrouds.
Guan Yan and the other Evolvers from his squad were similarly scattered across various vantage points surrounding the Sage Tower, their bodies fully equipped with signal shrouds.
These devices had been engineered by the Research Institute specifically to counter Batu’s sensory capabilities. Provided they maintained a certain distance from Batu, he would be completely incapable of accurately perceiving their presence.
A sensory ability wasn’t actually as omnipotent as people imagined. Although they were essentially omniscient within a specific radius, if the volume of biological life within that boundary was too dense, the sheer influx of complex data was enough to drive an Evolver insane.
Because of this, Batu residing at the top of a high-rise was, from a certain perspective, a mechanism to protect his own sanity.
Bai Hewei and Guan Yan’s team had mapped out their play. Batu and his cohorts were bound to learn of his arrival at the border and would take defensive precautions against him. Instead of waiting for the enemy to fully establish their defense grid, it was better to strike preemptively and catch them completely off-guard.
Guan Yan’s squad would coordinate with Bai Hewei to abduct Batu directly.
Yes—capture him alive.
The Research Institute was incredibly interested in Batu’s wide-radius sensory capability, intending to bring him back to use as a living scanner array.
Only if things went sideways would they resort to terminating him.
Bai Hewei sat quietly in the corner, communicating with the robot on his shoulder.
“Tsk, this Batu really lives like an emperor out here, and he doesn’t even have to take responsibility.” Originally, Bai Hewei hadn’t harbored too many thoughts regarding Batu. But as he sat there quietly enjoying his drink, locals kept running over to preach about Batu’s greatness, asking if he wanted to join the [Sage] support club.
Adhering to the principle of knowing the enemy to guarantee victory, Bai Hewei had engaged them in a serious conversation to gather info.
But the moment the conversation wrapped up, Bai Hewei was practically dying of pure envy.
This guy Batu, residing in a country with such a heavily underdeveloped economy, pocketed a monthly stipend of one million USD, which didn’t even include other performance bonuses.
Furthermore, inside the Sage Tower, seventy-two of his girlfriends and thirty-six of his boyfriends lived alongside him, along with a dozen transgender lovers.
Word was, the government was preparing to construct a dedicated zoo and park for Batu soon, purely to facilitate leisure and enjoyment for him and his partners.
To join the Sage support club, one had to donate money first. The larger the donation, the higher one’s rank within the club hierarchy.
After processing this, Bai Hewei fell into a state of profound jealousy.
He generally didn’t envy people, unless he simply couldn’t hold it back.
This Batu’s luck was simply too spectacular!
Living a life like that, who would ever want to leave this country? Who would ever want to die?
Not only did he have an army of lovers and his own private tower, but he also pocketed a staggering amount of cash every month, with a specialized medical team dedicated entirely to his service.
If someone didn’t know better, they’d think he was the absolute sovereign of this nation.
In fact, it was safe to say that no remaining monarch in the modern world lived as comfortably as Batu.
A person like this truly deserved a thrashing.
As fellow Evolvers, hearing that this guy lived like this every single day gave Bai Hewei a powerful urge to beat him to a pulp.
He was thoroughly envious.
“This country has packaged Batu into a hero capable of delivering them from their plight,” Wen Zhiyi’s voice vibrated from the robot, indicating he had booted up. “This nation possesses almost zero strategic value; it merely continues to exist due to its geographical location. The mentality of citizens in a minor country like this is very easy to read. The more powerful they fashion their hero to be, the more they delude themselves into believing they are powerful as well. This falls under psychological anomalies akin to convert neurosis or Stockholm syndrome, which can be observed across plenty of regions globally.”
When dealing with a regularly powerful individual, people might experience jealousy or resentment, but when facing an exceptionally absolute powerhouse, that emotion transformed into pure devotion and worship.
Evolvers—especially top-tier ones—happened to be the prime objects of this kind of worship.
“Tch,” Bai Hewei curled his lip. “If they used the funds allocated to maintain Batu’s lifestyle to construct schools instead, who knows how many children they could educate.”
When he had slipped across the border, he noticed that many local children wore clothes that completely didn’t fit their frames. They were skin-and-bones, and one look was enough to tell they were still struggling on the absolute baseline of survival. Their emaciated frames carried eyes completely hollowed out by a desperate craving for food.
If this were back home and residents captured it on video to upload online, every single leader from their subdistrict office up to the district government would have to host a live press conference to apologize.
“The documentary crew has arrived; they are about to enter the Sage Tower,” Wen Zhiyi reminded him.
“Yeah. They’re waiting for us to blend into the crew to sneak in, but we’re going to do the exact opposite!”
Guan Yan had already informed Bai Hewei that this country had invited a top-tier international documentary crew to shadow Batu, aiming to package him into a superhero for global distribution. This served a dual purpose: displaying their national development while simultaneously hoping to attract other foreign Evolvers to take up residence in their country.
This documentary crew had been booked six months in advance, but because their team was exceptionally popular, they had to wait until now for their slot.
A production crew of this scale carried a considerable workforce, making it remarkably easy for someone to slip inside undetected.
The fact that Batu and his cohorts hadn’t halted the documentary crew’s entry at a time like this made it plainly obvious they were setting a trap. They wanted Bai Hewei’s team to infiltrate the crew so they could wipe them out in one fell swoop.
It was hilarious. With such a transparent plot, did they honestly take them for idiots?
When Guan Yan and his team discussed it earlier, their expressions had been quite sour. Being handled like simpletons didn’t put anyone in a good mood.
“What is the deal with that documentary crew anyway?” one of Guan Yan’s team members couldn’t help but complain. “Do they not check the international travel advisories warning people not to rashly approach this sector?”
“Their crew includes Evolvers; otherwise, how would they dare travel across the globe to shoot footage?”
Before long, under the watchful gaze of Bai Hewei’s team, the documentary crew filed into the Sage Tower.
Inside the penthouse lounge, Batu sat on the sofa, an arm looped around a lover on either side. Nearby, a squad of black-suited bodyguards stood fully equipped, training their firearms squarely toward the entrance.
The moment the elevator doors parted, the documentary director stepped out. Seeing rows of armed bodyguards aiming weapons at his chest, he subconsciously raised his hands.
“Mr. Batu, what is the meaning of this?” The director’s expression turned sour. He hadn’t anticipated that his very first face-to-face meeting with the subject of his documentary would look like this.
“Why are there Evolvers embedded within your crew?” Batu’s eyes were shadowed with dark circles. He had clearly barely slept over this period, looking very much like a bird startled by the twang of a bow.
The moment the documentary crew stepped into the Sage Tower, his sensory capability detected several hidden Evolvers within their ranks!
The only reason he hadn’t ordered his bodyguards to open fire immediately was because he realized the abilities and grades of these Evolvers were remarkably mediocre, completely failing to match the recruitment profile of the Special Operations Department, which was why he hadn’t acted rashly.
“Mr. Batu, our crew is massive, and we travel all over the world. How could we possibly get any work done without recruiting a few Evolvers?” Hearing Batu’s interrogation, the director felt completely helpless.
The Evolvers they intended to document were essentially walking nuclear warheads, each one a mobile munitions cache. If their production budget hadn’t been constrained, preventing them from hiring top-tier powerhouses, they would have preferred to staff their entire crew with Evolvers just to facilitate their filming process.
Otherwise, facing constant threats on a regular basis, how were they supposed to survive?
“Step forward and line up against the wall. Starting now, introduce yourselves one by one; no one is allowed to slip through. I will ask questions that only the real members would know to weed out intruders,” Batu’s gaze grew vicious. “An operative from the Special Operations Department has absolutely embedded themselves within your crew to assassinate me!”
Even though the director had documented plenty of eccentric Evolvers in the past, facing Batu’s extreme paranoia still left him thoroughly shocked.
If he harbored this level of distrust, why bother inviting them over in the first place?
Left with no alternatives, the director stood by the elevator entrance and began introducing his colleagues one by one.
“This is my cinematographer, Beth,” the director said, pointing to the next person. “Beth, when was our last team gathering?”
“February 24th,” Beth answered without a moment’s hesitation. “My birthday.”
“Correct.”
Shortly after, the director moved on to the second individual.
“What is the name of my ex-girlfriend?”
“Who is the person I loathe the most?”
“Where did we agree to travel for vacation once this shoot wraps up?”
…
The director verified them one by one. Soon, the entire crew stood in a line, their expressions quite tense as they faced Batu.
“Mr. Batu, every single member of my crew is present right here. They are all my long-term partners; not a single one is a fake,” the director said, steeling himself. “If you harbor this much suspicion toward us, perhaps we should depart for now and look for an opportunity to collaborate in the future.”
Batu’s suspicious gaze swept across the group as his sensory ability continuously collected data streams.
Not this one, not that one either.
After scanning everyone and confirming that these individuals genuinely carried zero anomalies, Batu’s expression finally softened slightly.
“Do not be offended, Mr. Director. I merely acted for the sake of our collective safety,” Batu chuckled. “After all, there are plenty of people who wish to take my life; this was just a minor test.”
The production crew desperately wanted to turn around and bolt, but since they had already arrived on-site, they could only push through and stay.
When they were coordinating details previously, Mr. Batu had been exceptionally agreeable and enthusiastic. How had he devolved into this state within such a short window of time? For a split second, professional curiosity flared within the director’s mind, but it was thoroughly extinguished barely a minute later.
He still wished to stay alive; these Evolvers were completely unhinged!
“The personnel from the Special Operations Department actually didn’t hide within the crew to sneak inside?”
“What a shame, I was waiting for them to make a move.”
The Evolvers lurking on the upper floors felt a bit deflated. They had assumed they could launch a massive operation and transform this entire tower into a battlefield.
Knowing that he was temporarily safe, Batu relaxed visibly.
“Mr. Director, regarding this documentary, we’ll shoot it like this—”
Before the words could fully leave his mouth, the Sage Tower suddenly shuddered under a massive assault.
A dense swarm of autonomous drones materialized out of thin air, fully equipped with heavy ordinance, unleashing a torrent of concentrated firepower squarely toward Batu’s coordinates.
To everyone’s surprise, the documentary crew reacted even faster than Batu’s bodyguards. They smoothly and systematically curled onto the floor, allowing the Evolvers within their crew to manifest several massive shields that covered them with absolute density.
Batu’s squad of bodyguards, bound by their duty to shield Batu, were actually a step slower in their reaction.
“They’re here,” Gentleman opened his eyes, casting his gaze toward the exterior below.
Under the onslaught of the drones’ heavy firepower, the structural shell of the Sage Tower was instantly obliterated by half. The surrounding citizens and tourists caught sight of the destruction, screaming in terror as they scattered in every direction, completely empty of any desire to interfere in a clash between these powerhouses.
Even those support club members who worshipped Batu simply followed their baseline instincts to flee for their lives, providing nothing more than a brief chorus of cheers for him from a safe distance away.
“Number One, where did you manage to get so many drones? How did they pass through customs?” Bai Hewei’s eyes lit up, staring at the drone array. This setup looked spectacularly impressive!
“Gifted by a drone manufacturing corporation. I helped them resolve a minor technical bottleneck,” Wen Zhiyi stated matter-of-factly.
The Research Institute received an immense volume of donations from various tech conglomerates. On one hand, it served as a mechanism for tax deductions; on the other hand, they sincerely wished to leverage their capabilities to maintain the current era of peace as much as possible.
Ever since the Day of Awakening, many wealthy individuals who had resided abroad for years had returned to the country in an endless stream, pouring in massive donations purely to secure their personal safety.
“Wow. So Number One is actually a researcher from the Research Institute? No wonder you’re so hard to recruit,” Bai Hewei instantly understood why Number One was serving as his customer service agent.
Getting into the Research Institute was infinitely more difficult than passing their exams; it required stringent academic credentials and major projects. He had heard that they even randomly selected thesis portfolios for live defenses, leaving a mountain of PhD candidates cursing out of pure frustration online every single day.
Wen Zhiyi fell silent for a moment, completely at a loss for words.
Author’s Note:
Bai Hewei: Living such an excellent life… go to hell, go to hell!
