The Natives of This World Are Fierce

Shortly after Huang Jiutian and the others left, the Monkey King on the indoor platform quietly cracked its eyelids open a sliver.

The Monkey’s brownish-yellow chest rose and fell a little faster than before.

’That human just now... he felt extremely dangerous!’

Instinctively, the Monkey King felt it probably hadn’t fooled that man.

The Monkey looked at the bowls of fruit on a nearby platform, all prepared for it to eat after it "woke up."

’Why didn’t these damn humans put them a little closer? My tail can’t even reach!’

In another laboratory, Huang Jiutian followed the research institute staff to the side of the dying wild boar.

"Just as I thought!" he exclaimed.

"Captain Huang, did you find anything?"

Hearing the research director’s question, Jiutian gazed at the wild boar inside the room and nodded lightly.

In his Perception, a black energy pulsed on a patch of the boar’s neck, though it was weakening at a nearly imperceptible rate as time went on.

"It’s a strange energy. I’ve sensed it more than once, but I’ve never been able to be certain what it is!"

"Does it appear in all mutation events?"

The research institute’s technicians quickly recorded Huang Jiutian’s words, not missing a single detail.

"No, it doesn’t appear in all mutation events. So far, it has only appeared a few times in incidents we’ve experienced that were suspected to be security level two or higher!"

Level Two!

That was an incident level capable of destabilizing an entire city-level region.

Although many of the previous high-level crises were suspected to be misjudged due to excessive caution, the fact that they could be misjudged at all spoke to their unique nature.

"And the last time I had such a direct sense of danger was in Shen City!"

Shen City?

"Was it those rats?"

The research director asked subconsciously, then immediately corrected himself.

"No, wait. Was it that mysterious organization? Could the thing on this Monkey be something they left behind?"

Huang Jiutian smiled at him.

"What you’re suggesting is one possibility, but it’s highly unlikely. The energy on the Monkey is completely different from what I sensed back in Shen City. I suspect this is a special power that only emerges when a lifeform’s strength reaches a new level."

"As for that mysterious person who appeared at the end in Shen City, the power emanating from him was so strong I could barely breathe, and that was likely with him deliberately holding back."

The research director’s expression showed intense interest. This was the first time Huang Radar had spoken about this, probably because his second evolution in France had allowed him to confirm certain things.

"Captain Huang, do Evolvers have similar energy?"

Huang Jiutian gave a helpless smile.

"None of the Evolvers I’ve come into contact with have it. However, after I evolved in France, I’ve started to show similar signs, but unfortunately, I can’t yet see the path forward."

The research director excitedly recorded the information about the special energy.

"Captain Huang, if it’s convenient, we’d like to draw a vial of your blood later!"

Huang Jiutian’s eye twitched violently. He felt like he had just dug his own grave.

"Fine... Let’s talk about the matter at hand first."

"This wild boar won’t live much longer. It will probably die within one or two hours. Its Spiritual Power, or Soul Power, is far weaker than a human’s or the Monkey King’s. In other words, its ’immunity’ is too poor, and it won’t be able to withstand the corrosion for long."

Huang Jiutian made a warning gesture to the few Special Security Team members behind him.

"Its body is undergoing a transformation. It doesn’t look like it’s just going to die."

"But you just said it was about to die..."

The research director was a little confused. The ever-calm and clear-spoken Huang Jiutian wouldn’t contradict himself, would he?

"Yes, the wild boar will die..."

Huang Jiutian looked at the research director very seriously, his expression solemn.

"But it might not stay quiet after it dies!"

Jiutian bypassed the research staff’s authority and issued a direct order.

"Lock down this laboratory. No one is to enter from this moment on. Everyone, maintain a distance of at least 10 meters from the containment wall. Authorization is granted to initiate the incineration protocol in an emergency."

"Yes, sir!"

The response unit in the back immediately took control of the laboratory, which included resetting the keycard access for the door and establishing a secondary security cordon.

Given Huang Jiutian’s speculation, this was likely the first time the Special Security Team had to deal with a mutation event in one of their own home bases.

Of course, since it was already inside an isolated laboratory, the danger wasn’t that great—unless someone decided to be an idiot and get themselves killed.

As for the collected poison blood, by the time Jiutian observed it, its toxicity had already deactivated, turning it into ordinary contaminated blood.

The special power on it had probably dissipated.

However, Cui Ying and Mo Shaoge’s conditions were unexpectedly severe.

It looked nothing like a "graze." Unlike Lü Bing and the Monkey King, the skin on Cui Ying and Mo Shaoge that had come into contact with the poison blood was severely ulcerated and worsening rapidly.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

The research director knocked on the door a few times, then led Huang Jiutian and the others into Cui Ying’s hospital room.

Cui Ying’s hands were wrapped in medicated bandages. She sat listlessly on the bed, her arms feeling like they didn’t belong to her, completely devoid of strength.

Hearing the door open, she looked up and saw Huang Jiutian and the research staff enter.

"It’s you?"

"We meet again, Reporter Cui. It seems your curiosity and luck are as consistent as ever!"

Because this was a special facility, friends and family weren’t allowed to accompany patients, so only a nurse from the research institute was with her.

"Let me see your hands."

At a signal from the director, the nurse at her side began to unwind the bandages from Cui Ying’s arms and hands, layer by layer.

A foul odor gradually overpowered the smell of disinfectant.

Jiutian’s brow furrowed. His Perception told him that the tissue in Cui Ying’s arms was severely corroded. There wasn’t any of that strange, black Magic Power on her hands, yet it didn’t seem like simple poisoning either. The corrosion was clearly abnormal, and even he couldn’t be sure what it was.

The research report stated it wasn’t contagious, yet the effect on the individual was growing more and more severe.

"You don’t feel any pain?"

Cui Ying shook her head.

"I can’t feel any pain. I’m even starting to lose feeling in my arms altogether."

Jiutian couldn’t give her any reassurance. He could only tell her to get some rest before heading to Mo Shaoge’s room.

And the optimistic young man’s condition was even worse than Cui Ying’s.

The corrosion covered a larger area, including a critical spot on his chest. Now, the organs inside his thoracic cavity were in danger of being corroded as well.

’I have to ask the Association for help!’

This was Huang Jiutian’s first thought after seeing Mo Shaoge and Cui Ying. Only a true Magic Controller would likely have a solution.

...

In Tao Xingzhi’s room in France, Huang Jiutian’s call came in while he was sleeping groggily.

"Jiutian? What’s the situation? Is that so!"

He sat up in bed.

"How serious is it? Can’t we control it?"

Back in the research institute, Huang Jiutian recounted the current situation.

"We can control it, but I still hope we can find the people from that mysterious organization and ask for their help. Otherwise, Cui Ying and Mo Shaoge might not make it."

The method Jiutian proposed to Tao Xingzhi was to use the news: insert a segment into the evening broadcast describing Cui Ying’s and Mo Shaoge’s conditions as a special medical case, state which hospital the two patients were in, and then simply wait for the other party to show up.

Tao Xingzhi didn’t doubt that the mysterious person would know the connection between this matter and the mutation, but the intent behind Jiutian’s method was too obvious. There was no guarantee they would show themselves.

After thinking it over, he decided that rather than waiting to bump into them by chance during a future mutation event, it was better to take the initiative with this clumsy method.

"Alright, let’s do as you say for now. Set up an intensive care unit at the Kyoto Military District Affiliated Hospital and allow their families to visit and stay with them. We’ll post all our people out in the open. I’m returning to Kyoto immediately."

"I think they should be aware of my identity. As long as I’m always present at the hospital, it should count as a show of sincerity!"

Tao Xingzhi made his decision within a few minutes on the phone.

Given the current situation, Mo Shaoge could hold on for a week at most, while Cui Ying probably had less than ten days. He could just live at the hospital for ten days.

That night, every local television station broadcast the central news at its usual scheduled time, and it included a segment of twenty-odd seconds about a new type of ulcerative skin disease.

It didn’t show Cui Ying’s or Mo Shaoge’s faces, but it featured close-ups of the ulcerations on their hands and chests. The report stated that because it was discovered too late, medical experts were temporarily unable to alleviate their symptoms, and reminded the general public to seek immediate medical attention at a hospital if they discovered similar conditions.

Huang Jiutian also appeared in the background of the news report more than once, which served as another reminder to the mysterious person he had once met. This was a special incident, and the intention of seeking help was abundantly clear.

Outside a television store window on a street somewhere in Kyoto, Qin Xiaoxia and Su Su stood and watched the entire news program.

"Jiutian is quite photogenic!"