Chapter 289 - 285: Category 2 or Category 3?

Chapter 289: Chapter 285: Category 2 or Category 3?

The commercial van sped through the city, heading first to the location where the suspect had withdrawn money.

"A message just came in from the Technical Investigation Division. Zhang Yi’s phone was on for five minutes a moment ago. He called his family."

The agent with the laptop immediately reported the news to Du Peipei.

"He’s at a noodle shop now."

"Alright. Head over there now."

Inside the van, some agents began to stretch their limbs, as information about Zhang Yi continuously streamed from the tech division to the laptop.

"According to recent records, Zhang Yi’s spending on food and drink, paid via mobile and credit card, has shown a significant increase. The frequency of his online food delivery orders on major platforms has also been rising. This all started about half a month ago..."

"Half a month?"

Generally speaking, according to the three established categories of evolution—excluding Category Two, Passive Anomalous Corrosion, and Category Three, Awakened Evolution—most conventional Evolvers belong to Category One: Natural Genetic Selection.

According to current research, with this type of Evolver, the individual usually notices the changes themselves within three days of the initial onset, from the first physical signs to a major increase in physical ability. Specific manifestations include increased strength, appetite, and auditory and visual Perception.

Even the most oblivious individuals would notice within a week.

During this process, the Evolver’s strength doesn’t manifest all at once. Instead, it undergoes a gradual increase influenced by food intake, proper exercise, and certain other mysterious factors.

Of course, this wasn’t an absolute rule. There had been a few cases where individuals experienced a massive surge of strength right from the start.

But for half a month to have passed, and for him to still kill his girlfriend by accident because he couldn’t control his strength... that seemed a bit of a stretch.

Honestly, it was just a kiss. While an Evolver’s enhanced Perception would heighten the pleasure, during a simple kiss, factors like breath control and the partner’s physical reactions should be easily manageable.

If things got more intense, say, during the crucial moments of intercourse, "violent sudden death" might be a possibility.

As if to confirm the agents’ suspicions, the one handling communications quickly relayed the latest update.

"Analysts at headquarters—both our evolution specialists and criminal psychologists—believe there’s a thirty percent chance this was premeditated murder and a ten percent chance of other factors. But there’s a sixty percent probability that Zhang Yi is a Category Two or Category Three Evolver."

The moment she heard this latest intelligence, Du Peipei’s expression changed instantly.

"Forget the red lights! Floor it!"

The moment he heard Du Peipei’s order, the agent behind the wheel slammed the accelerator to the floor. The van’s engine roared, pinning everyone to their seats as it surged forward.

Everyone in the van tensed up. Hearing that sixty percent probability, they all understood what was at stake.

A Category Three was something the Special Security Team desperately needed, but a Category Two was real trouble.

It wasn’t that Category Two Evolvers themselves were so terrifying; it was that their emergence was often accompanied by other anomalous events, making them a major destabilizing factor.

Just think about how those Flame-Ability Evolvers from the United States came into being. The Holy City Flame Demon incident was one of the most significant high-level anomalous events on record.

Right now, their job was to find Zhang Yi as fast as possible to help the team assess the situation. As for preventative measures, that was outside their purview.

"Can you still track Zhang Yi’s phone signal?"

"Negative. He must have turned it off."

As they tore through the streets, the van rapidly closed in on the target location. They naturally drew the attention of traffic police, but typically, just as officers were about to give chase, they would receive orders from high command to stand down.

In just ten minutes, the van screeched to a halt on Nanzhong Road. Up ahead, on a street lined with restaurants, they could see the bone broth ramen shop.

Du Peipei opened the car window and sniffed.

"The smell of death. He’s still inside. You guys set up a perimeter. I’m going in first to check him out."

With that, she threw on a wool coat to cover the pistol holstered on her thigh, smoothed her hair, and was the first one out of the van.

Of the other six, the driver and the tech specialist remained in the van. The other four agents split into pairs, fanning out to cover the front and back of the street.

The large noodle shop wasn’t packed. Places like this were busiest right after work. Now, at 8 p.m., the dinner rush was over. The nearby stir-fry joints and proper restaurants, however, were just hitting their stride.

Zhang Yi was alone, silently eating his second bowl of ramen, his eyes staring blankly outside.

The other customers were all using chopsticks; he was the only one using a fork.

He was torn by indecision and regret.

He knew he had been strange lately. His appetite was growing; sometimes eating a triple portion wasn’t enough to feel full.

’But that was fine, really. Big eaters exist—some of those livestreaming foodies were way more over-the-top than him. It was the subtle changes he’d felt in his body over the last day or two that made him consider seeing a doctor.’

But what he never expected was that earlier, right before he was supposed to leave for his shift at the bar, he had felt utterly exhausted, so he had called in sick.

By the time his girlfriend woke him up from the sofa, he had completely recovered and felt better than ever before.

The scent of his girlfriend’s hormones as she leaned close was intoxicatingly clear. He couldn’t help himself and started kissing her.

It started as normal foreplay, but when he wrapped his hands around his girlfriend’s neck, the nightmare began.

’He’d held his girlfriend tightly, sure, but not *that* tightly, right? Not with horrifying strength?’

With a sickening CRACK, her neck snapped. There wasn’t even time to react.

Zhang Yi was terrified.

’Murder! I’m a murderer!’

Even an idiot could see she was beyond saving. There was no point in calling an ambulance. Zhang Yi’s next reaction was to run. He didn’t want to go to jail.

By the time he calmed down, half an hour had passed.

As the regret, helplessness, and confusion washed over him, he also began to notice that something was different about him.

His senses of smell and hearing were suddenly sharper. His strength had skyrocketed. There was even a strange, indefinable feeling echoing in his mind, as if he were missing some kind of catalyst.

Living in the age of information overload, Zhang Yi’s mind naturally jumped to several possibilities.

’Was it a Superpower, or some kind of mutation? Either way, was his protagonist arc finally starting?’

’If only his girlfriend hadn’t died...’

He sighed again, torn between running and turning himself in. ’But honestly, I can’t stand the thought of going to jail now. And if they discovered my secret... that could be even worse than prison.’

A beautiful, mature woman in a wool coat walked through the door. The coat was fastened with just two buttons, revealing a white blouse underneath. It gave her a dignified air, yet couldn’t hide the firm swell of her chest.

A woman like that was intensely attractive to men of any age, especially when she seemed to intentionally exude that allure while maintaining a cool, aloof expression.

Even in his current depressed state, Zhang Yi couldn’t help but stare. She seemed to radiate a bright aura, and her scent was incredible. It was like she came with her own special effects.

’Is this the legendary ’love at first sight’?’

’Am I really that much of a monster? To meet my ’true love’ right after accidentally killing my girlfriend?’

"May I sit here?"

He was lost in thought for a moment and was startled to find the beautiful woman had walked directly up to his table.

Though his mind was racing with self-deprecating thoughts, only one answer could possibly come out of his mouth.

"S-sit wherever you like."

’Even though the shop was full of empty seats, I’ll bet she was drawn to my looks and charisma.’ He’d always been confident about his appearance.

At this distance, Du Peipei was absolutely confident that the man before her would not be getting away.

PS: Chapter two for Saturday.

A reminder to all my readers to take care and avoid catching a cold. There’s a nasty one going around, and I, your humble author, have already fallen victim to it!