Evil As Humans

Chapter 210: Visitors

While Yin Ren wandered outside and Zhong Chengshuo was consulting psychologist Qi Xin, the other people in the white room naturally couldn’t stay quiet.

After practicing continuously for several hours in the room, everyone could subconsciously imagine its existence and then had the freedom to move around comfortably. Fu Tianyi held Dr. Cat while everyone else gathered around him.

When the environmental pressure was high, having a soft and fluffy cat curled up in one’s arms was also a way to relax. Since this cat was their colleague and the most educated creature present, everyone could only watch attentively and dare not touch it.

“How did you come in?” Lu Xiaohe approached, her eyes fixed on her colleague’s fluffy tail.

“When the emergency situation was approved, you all were already rushing in.”

Qi Xin’s authority still held sway, and the black cat, unusually, didn’t show any strange behavior.

“While Qi Xin was holding the entrance, I jumped in by myself.”

“Emergency situation?”

As teammates, Fu Tianyi stroked the warm cat fur. Under normal circumstances, Dr. Cat would definitely swipe at him, but now it lay with its ears flattened, behaving obediently.

“Things have been unstable recently. The leaders of Yandu and Linnan haven’t left, so I’ve been staying at the Municipal Hospital…”

The inpatient department of the hospital was relatively quiet, and the garden was nice. Whenever Dr. Cat wanted to think quietly, it would always stroll around nearby.

“Recently, I’ve been considering matters related to the Primordial Elementals. Thanks to this kid Fu Tianyi, I also obtained higher browsing privileges.”

The black cat purred and explained.

“Do you know the essence of the abilities corrupted by Evil Force?”

Everyone looked at each other. Gaining special abilities from the influence of Evil Force seemed like a natural consequence. Apart from the science post that wasn’t busy, no one would contemplate such a question.

And this scientific post was not only not busy but not even human.

“Using Zhong Chengshuo’s analogy to the internet, if the biological brain is an independent device—the ‘Ghost Eye*’ branch is a mutation of observation ability. It’s like installing Windows or Android on an Apple system, which allows it to receive and process information that it couldn’t handle before.”

*Sixth sense, (or the ability to see ghosts).

“This is the most common corruption type caused by Evil Force. You have obtained the outermost perception ability of the ‘Elementals’, although they are only various incomplete fragments.”

Ge Tingting couldn’t help but nod. She, Huang Jin, and Liang Shan all belonged to this type. Those who possessed the ability of the “Ghost Eye” were the most numerous. They could gain strong clairvoyance or perceive information that didn’t belong to this world.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have any combat power at all.

“The ‘Resonance’ branch that affects others’ emotions and the ‘Obstacle’ branch that distorts cognition are the basic abilities of Elementals. It can be said that when organisms are corrupted, they develop superpowers. In essence, the organisms merely absorb the fragmented flesh of Elementals, gaining a diluted version of their abilities.”

“What about the ‘Infinite’ and ‘Charon’ branches?” Lu Xiaohe keenly sensed the missing pieces.

The “Infinite” branch, with its skyrocketing information processing ability, and the “Charon” branch, capable of traversing between realms, were extremely rare in numbers but also belonged to the corrupted abilities category.

“Charon is the most special one. Elementals cannot directly operate in the mortal world, just like fish can’t stroll on the road. But what if an animal that lives on land unexpectedly acquires the ability to breathe underwater?”

“…The abilities are still the same, but the adaptability of these animals surpasses that of fish.” Lu Xiaohe suddenly realized.

“Yes, that’s why Elementals dislike Charons.” Dr. Cat licked his paws. “Now, only the ‘Infinite’ branch, to which I belong, remains.”

“I know. People from the Infinite branch have particularly strong computational abilities, and their intelligence experiences great leaps,” Fu Tianyi interjected.

“The principle is simple.” Dr. Cat’s pupils narrowed into slits, and its tail swayed. “The physical structure of my brain hasn’t changed, but through this network called the Other Side, I can access other devices—meaning, I can access human brains.”

“During this process, I can retrieve or input simple information to the connected devices.”

Huang Jin was dumbfounded.

No wonder. During the previous competition, this cat could convey thoughts and calm everyone down. And now, it had never seen the white room before, yet it could still… It turned out that this cat treated its brains as mining rigs, constantly extracting bitcoins.

“Thank you for the enlightening knowledge.” Huang Jin pressed his temples, unsure if his intelligence would be reduced because of this. “So, after all these detours, what does this have to do with the ’emergency situation’ you mentioned?”

“Recently, when I was connecting, I noticed that many people’s brains were experiencing malfunctions.” Dr. Cat’s voice turned serious. “The cause is unknown, but they all see an ‘arm’ that ‘only they can see’.”

“This is different from the physical ailments and corruption caused by Evil Force that I’ve seen before. It makes me very uncomfortable. To investigate the situation, I had to come personally. I can’t rely on you people without the Infinite ability to investigate. You wouldn’t be able to see shit!”

In the end, its feline demeanor became stronger again, indicating that its spirit had recovered somewhat.

“You can look for your people, and I’ll investigate my matters. Let’s not interfere with each other.” It emphasized firmly.

“That being said, you shouldn’t wander around recklessly.” Fu Tianyi patiently held his teammate. “That Qi Xin doesn’t seem like a good-tempered person. She won’t care about your well-being. If you want to investigate, let us assist you.”

“Hmm.” When Qi Xin was mentioned, Dr. Cat’s ears pressed against its head.

With no cat to pet, Huang Jin squatted in the corner with dwindling interest, looking at Ding Lizi’s photos again.

He didn’t bother thinking about what abilities and operational issues were all about. Ding Lizi had Yin Ren, the powerful Elemental, protecting her, so she should be fine. If they could return safely this time, he would…

But in the next second, Zhong Chengshuo and Qi Xin suddenly appeared in front of him, almost stepping on him.

Huang Jin, let alone his thoughts, almost stopped breathing. His angry reprimand of “What are you doing!” got stuck in his throat, almost choking himself.

However, as he listened to their conversation, he wished he had choked for real just now—

“Let me have a taste.” Zhong Chengshuo stared at Qi Xin intently, like a person who had been hungry for three days staring at a bowl of steaming porridge. There was no familiarity, only “I need to eat.”

Ms. Qi’s expression was worse than the bottom of a pot, and if her hair hadn’t been tied up, it would probably have stood on end. “How dare you!”

With his “normal vision” suddenly restored, Huang Jin was still not accustomed to reading people’s expressions. But he could tell that this woman’s tone contained faint fear. It seemed that even if Zhong Chengshuo had lost power, his past aura of Fear still lingered.

Huang Jin slowly moved his body, trying to slowly leave the center of the storm. However, before he could move far, Zhong Chengshuo grabbed the back of his collar. “I’ll find you later.”

Damn it.

Huang Jin instantly slumped in the corner, too lazy to struggle. He couldn’t afford to offend King Yama, and the combination of Fear and King Yama was even more terrifying. He dared not defy it.

How did he let himself be blinded by money and not firmly transfer to another team?

“I only need the amount of six arms.” Zhong Chengshuo turned his head back and continued bargaining with Qi Xin. “And when I get what I want, I’ll also give you something in return.”

“Why don’t you ask Yin Ren?!”

“He wouldn’t like it.” Zhong Chengshuo fell silent for a few seconds. “And I’m not sure about the effect. This is just an experiment—now that we’re all on the Other Side, we need your protection. We won’t harm you.”

Qi Xin stared at him warily, while Zhong Chengshuo met her gaze calmly.

“…Fine.”

She squeezed out her response through her teeth.

“Just this once.”

Huang Jin had no interest in hearing any secrets or gossip about powerful Elementals. He was just about to cover his ears when the scene in front of him completely transformed into a vortex. The information overload unique to the Other Side hit him again, and Huang Jin’s brain buzzed.

But before he could imagine the white room, the scene stabilized once again—

It was a windowless, dim basement. Numerous metal cans shimmered on two rows of shelves. Various specimens were hidden deep within the shelves with their hollow eye sockets peering in all directions. A modified interrogation chair made of an armchair stood in the corner with its restraints hanging like candle tears.

It clearly wasn’t a legitimate place.

In this small basement, there were only Zhong Chengshuo, Qi Xin, and Huang Jin as living beings.

“This… This is…” Huang Jin tried to make his voice tremble less.

He didn’t know what the hell kind of place this was! Could this also be an ability of an Elemental?

“Just consider it a private little room,” Qi Xin responded lackadaisically. “Hey, can we get started?”

Zhong Chengshuo silently walked to the table in the center of the room. He drew out the Evil Fruit, and the circulating red light almost blinded Huang Jin. However, this talented spirit smith had experienced many hardships. Even if Zhong Chengshuo pulled out Fu Xingchuan from his pocket, Huang Jin wouldn’t be surprised.

Hmm, the legendary Evil Fruit, and then?

Then, Comrade Zhong Chengshuo firmly grasped the legendary spirit weapon and stabbed it into his left shoulder.

Huang Jin: “???!!!”

He recoiled and almost sat on the ground.

Zhong Chengshuo’s brow furrowed slightly. Like a skilled butcher, he smoothly disassembled his arm along the joints in just two seconds. When the fair and sturdy arm was placed on the table, the blood belatedly seeped out.

“Qi Xin,” Zhong Chengshuo said.

Qi Xin’s face tensed, and the corners of her mouth turned downward. She hesitated for a while before a mist-shrouded gray-black limb emerged seemingly out of thin air. She gestured for a while, then snapped it directly, followed by mashing it into minced meat. Clumps of minced meat were manipulated by her, suspended in the air, and floated near Zhong Chengshuo’s shoulder wound.

Just like a sponge absorbing water, they were quickly sucked clean by the wound.

Then, a short and thick baby’s arm protruded from the wound. It unnaturally expanded up and down, quickly transforming into an adult’s arm. Shortly after it fully regrew, Zhong Chengshuo, using the Evil Fruit again, disassembled it cleanly and placed it neatly next to the previous arm.

This cycle repeated six times.

As Huang Jin looked at the neatly arranged six left arms on the table, he stopped thinking.

Qi Xin was cutting her own body and using her flesh as food for the elderly, which he didn’t want to dwell on that matter. But Zhong Chengshuo’s style of eating-and-regrowing made it… difficult for him to accept.

After the seventh arm fully regenerated, Zhong Chengshuo moved his shoulder for a while. He looked up and down at the six arms on the table, and the Evil Fruit spun between his fingertips. “Huang Jin.”

“Here,” Huang Jin replied dazedly.

“As a spirit smith, you know techniques to maintain the vitality of limbs,” Zhong Chengshuo said with confidence. “I would like to ask for your help in preparing the procedure.”

Huang Jin struggled to turn his rusty mind.

Indeed, he knew those techniques. It was one of the fundamental skills of a spirit smith. Maintaining the vitality of biological material was essential to creating high-quality spirit weapons. But…

“But I’m a proper spirit smith,” Huang Jin said tremblingly. “Using human body parts to make spirit weapons… It’s still… a bit…”

“Not directly.”

Zhong Chengshuo lowered his eyes, and the glint of a knife flashed.

His movements were extremely swift. In an instant, the bone of that arm was smoothly removed. Before Huang Jin’s mind could fully react, only several piles of pristine white bones remained on the table.

Zhong Chengshuo skillfully sorted all the bones by size and rough categories. The human bones were neatly arranged together, resembling assembled parts to some extent. The peeled flesh and blood were piled on one side, clearly showing the structure of human fingers and wrists. Even Huang Jin, who had experienced many hardships, felt his scalp tingling.

This Zhong Chengshuo guy was truly not human.

While Huang Jin was desperately suppressing the urge to vomit, the fresh meat and blood were packed into a bag by Zhong Chengshuo. He handed it over to Qi Xin. Qi Xin had never encountered “leftover food” from Fear, so she took the bag and tightly held it in her hand.

“Animal bones are commonly used materials.”

Zhong Chengshuo turned to Huang Jin.

“These bones, could you please take care of them?”  

“Ah… Uh… Ah…” Huang Jin struggled not to look at the pile of bones while he remained tongue tied. “Wait, wait… Aren’t we unable to use spells here… I…”

“If it’s just a small area, I can adjust the environment.” Qi Xin hugged the bag. “Hurry up.”

Huang Jin pulled at his hair frantically. “But these are still human materials, and you’re a science post, so…”

“No. Although I am a science post, I’m also not human.”

Zhong Chengshuo’s face showed a subtly complex emotion that Huang Jin couldn’t decipher for a moment. All he could discern was a faint sense of melancholy and a peculiar determination.

“Animal bones are commonly used materials, aren’t they?”

Zhong Chengshuo adjusted his glasses. His newly grown arm was now covered by a phantom sleeve, and the bloodstains had been absorbed by the skin. His whole body was clean, as if nothing had happened.

Huang Jin dumbly responded in acknowledgement. In the illusory room created by Qi Xin, he instinctively dealt with the pile of bones.

Glistening white, hard, jade-like bones.

…Right, Zhong Chengshuo was a unique life form, a mixture of an Elemental and a human. His bones could still be used as materials. But what could they be used for? Huang Jin couldn’t think of anything, nor did he dare to imagine.

He just stared blankly as Zhong Chengshuo categorized the bones, leaving a segment of finger bone while packing the rest into an illusionary backpack. Bones stacked upon bones until they formed a small package.

“Alright.” Zhong Chengshuo nodded in satisfaction and slung the bag over his shoulder.

Qi Xin let out a breath and stuffed the bag of meat into her abdomen. Then, a sticky chewing sound came from beneath her clothes. After Huang Jin finished his eighteenth shiver, he wiped away the nonexistent cold sweat. “Is that it?”

“Remember to keep it a secret from Yin Ren.” Zhong Chengshuo nodded and stowed away the Evil Fruit. “If all goes well, I may need your help again.”

“But… What exactly are you planning to do?” Huang Jin once again pulled his hair frantically.

“I can no longer revert to ‘Fear’, and the combat power of a human body won’t help Yin Ren. And regardless of the human world or the Other Side, there is no knowledge that can guide me.”

“So, I need to research personally and find a way.”

Zhong Chengshuo opened his palm, the translucent white finger bone still warm, gently rolling in his hand. It resembled an ordinary lifeless object, much like Zhong Chengshuo himself, completely withdrawn.

Huang Jin released some of the tension in his breath. “That’s good, that’s good. No wonder you’re doing all this. It’s good to have a direction.”

“No,” Zhong Chengshuo solemnly replied.

“Huh? …Have you gone mad?!”

Huang Jin choked on his own saliva and coughed uncontrollably.

“You don’t even know if your own bones are useful, yet you did all this? You… at least should have a viable plan!”

“How can you wait until you know it will be successful before taking action when exploring the unknown?” Zhong Chengshuo looked at Huang Jin with some astonishment. “Even in the case of trial and error, there has to be a beginning. Everyone has to explore step by step.”

“Where did this ‘everyone’ come from?” Huang Jin covered his forehead, his tone fluctuating. “What kind of theory is this…”

“This is science,” Zhong Chengshuo replied.

“At this stage, it is my most powerful ability.”

Huang Jin opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to argue, but he couldn’t find the words to refute.

“Dr. Meiqiu is right. There are some experiments that only we ‘special researchers’ can do.”

Seeing that Huang Jin no longer spoke, Zhong Chengshuo tightened his grip on the segment of finger bone.

“To fight against the Primordial Elementals, this is an excellent scientific research site.”

……

“Hey, why did you bring a shoulder bag?” Yin Ren wondered.

He proudly dragged along a long string of Elementals, returning with a full load. However, as soon as he returned to the white room, he noticed that his lover had an eye-catching shoulder bag. The bag wasn’t large, holding at most three bottles of mineral water. Judging from its style, it seemed like the kind of bag science posts would use during field studies.

Here, items could be constructed based on concentrated imagination, but specifically creating a shoulder bag seemed a bit excessive.

“For storing the Evil Fruit and materials,” Zhong Chengshuo explained, opening a corner of the bag and letting Yin Ren see the red light of the Evil Fruit.

Indeed, Zhong Chengshuo needed samples. There was a chance that this person had already gone out to collect them in his absence.

Yin Ren nodded and eagerly picked up the string of Elementals. “Look at this! Can it be used as a sample?”

The Elemental he held resembled a black, worm-like carrot. The carrot wriggled frantically, and the “roots” at the tip swayed incessantly. It was even thinner than the intruders in the Archive, likely a species at the bottom of the food chain.

Zhong Chengshuo took the black carrot in his hands.

The touch of the small Elemental was peculiar, soft with a bit of resilience, somewhat like jelly.

As soon as Zhong Chengshuo grabbed it, the carrot seemed to be immobilized, instantly stiffening and not moving at all.

“Strange, why is it so obedient?” Yin Ren turned his head and stared seriously at the carrot. “When I released my aura earlier, these little things were the fastest to flee… Well done, Zhong Ge. You’re still as sharp as ever.”

“Its reaction is indeed interesting and worthy of study,” Zhong Chengshuo expressed sincerely.

In the palm of his left hand, the finger bone was held tightly, pressing against the body of the small Elemental, still warm to the touch.

Yin Ren was exhausted to the extreme, but he had no doubts. He piled up the small Elementals and lay down next to Zhong Chengshuo, like a fierce beast returning from a hunt. Yin Ren stretched out his limbs and soon closed his eyes.

His black hair scattered on the ground, emitting a faint aroma of sandalwood. Zhong Chengshuo lifted a strand of black hair and lightly touched it with his lips. The black hair hung naturally, slightly cool to the touch, just like real hair.

“Rest well,” Zhong Chengshuo said softly.

……

Shian Building, top floor office.

Li Nian and Fu Xingchuan sat at their respective desks, staring at each other for a long time.

“Is it just my imagination, or do you really despise me so much? What’s with that look?” Fu Xingchuan put his feet up on the desk. “It’s only been a few days, and you’re already missing that kid, Xiang Jiang?”

“I miss the days when we could catch him,” Li Nian said with a stern face. “Did you change your socks? There’s a strong odor coming from your feet.”

Fu Xingchuan quickly put his feet down from the desk. “Sorry, sorry. I’ve been busy lately and completely forgot.”

Li Nian snorted.

When Fu Xingchuan returned, his appearance was drastically different. His leg had healed, his back was straightened, and his dark circles were gone. However, shortly after starting his work, the dark circles returned to Minister Fu’s face.

There was no other reason but the troublesome corruption source case. Not to mention, right after they sent away Unit 9, they encountered new complications.

A few individuals claimed online that they had seen an “angel’s arm” and felt “comforting love”. They even claimed to have developed spiritual vision. Although most citizens were uninterested in such grandiose fantasy talk, Shian still dispatched people to investigate.

But they couldn’t find any clues.

Even the most advanced cultivators couldn’t see any “angel’s arm”. Even when the interviewees pointed frantically at certain places, indicating “right here”, the instruments only detected emptiness.

One wave subsided, and another wave arose—all these energy-consuming, time-wasting disputes.

Without uncovering the truth, they couldn’t close the case. At the moment, the desks of the two ministers were piled high with documents, enough to bury a person alive.

“Let’s go to the canteen for lunch. I want to eat braised pigeon,” Fu Xingchuan complained, shuffling through papers. “Lao Li, we’re at that age where we should take care of ourselves—”

He hadn’t finished speaking when the intercom phone rang.

“Hello?” Fu Xingchuan answered with one hand, activating the speakerphone.

“Minister Fu? There are people who want to meet with you and Minister Li,” the subordinate reported diligently. “They are two ordinary female citizens. I told them that they needed to register their visit, but they insisted on seeing you first.”

“Ah?” Fu Xingchuan took several seconds to react. “We don’t have time right now. Let them register according to the rules.”

The phone fell silent; presumably the subordinate had covered the microphone and gone to communicate with the two women.

“They said they originally wanted to find members of Unit 9 but couldn’t reach them, so they decided to contact you directly.”

In a moment, the voice of the subordinate returned through the phone. There was a hint of helplessness in their tone.

Fu Xingchuan and Li Nian glanced at each other. “Unit 9? …What are their names?”

“Wait a moment.”

A few seconds later, the subordinate cleared their throat.

“…It’s Ms. Lin Bei and Ms. Gao Mengyu.”

Kinky Thoughts:

For those who forgot, these are the two characters in the first arc (case 1, the cat case).