Chapter 32: Evolution

Early the next morning, Chen Meng instructed Mouse Beibei not to run around. If his parents came in, the mouse was to hide. Enduring his pain, he then left for school.

A new week had begun, and only ten weeks remained before the college entrance exams.

As soon as Chen Meng left the residential complex, he noticed Ma Yiqun waiting for him. When Ma saw him, he waved.

“I went to the school to study yesterday, and there were more than twenty students in the classroom. Only now do I realize why others get such good grades—while you’re playing, they’re quietly working hard,” Ma Yiqun said, as if he’d discovered something extraordinary.

Since he’d set his mind on enrolling at Jiangzhou University, he seemed to have become a different person and even dared to go to school for self-study sessions.

“That’s right. Those with better grades than you are working hard, and those with more privileged backgrounds are working hard, too. What right do you have not to make an effort? In this era, there’s no future for those who don’t strive,” Chen Meng nodded. This was his conviction as well. Even with a system at his disposal, he was pushing himself to the limit.

“I thought you’d be there too, but noon came and you still hadn’t shown up. By five or six in the afternoon, most of the class had left, so I went home,” Ma Yiqun continued, knowing Chen Meng’s goal was Jiangdu University and assuming he was also a secret academic overachiever.

Chen Meng chuckled. When he returned to school from the flying disc shooting range, it was already seven-thirty. No wonder the classroom had been empty—everyone had long since left.

Chatting, the two walked toward the bus stop.

But as they passed the old, derelict neighborhood, Chen Meng saw that a section had been cordoned off with white tape.

Ma Yiqun, ever drawn to commotion, grew excited. “Let’s go see what happened!”

Chen Meng knew at once: Wang Jie’s body had been discovered, and law enforcement was investigating the scene. This was no time to be evasive—he had to remain calm, for the area might already be under police surveillance. Any sign of abnormal behavior could make him a suspect.

“Wait for me,” he called, jogging after Ma.

A crowd of more than twenty onlookers had already gathered, peering from behind the tape and pointing at a corpse covered by a white sheet.

“Someone died?” Ma Yiqun asked in surprise, gesturing toward the scene.

Chen Meng nodded. “Seems so. This is still part of the city—who would dare commit murder here?”

Ma Yiqun shook his head in disgust. “The public safety in Jiangzhou is really slipping. Just a couple of weeks ago, a vice dean at Jiangzhou University was killed in his own home—rumor has it, it was the work of a cult.”

Chen Meng smirked inwardly. Clearly, Ma Yiqun had been paying attention to the Qian Yanjiao case. Usually indifferent to the news, he must have set his mind on acquiring the advancement serum developed by Qian Yanjiao.

As they spoke, a man in a black wool coat emerged from the transformer room of the derelict complex, his brow furrowed. Behind him came two doctors in white coats—likely forensic pathologists.

“Captain Han, the perpetrator must’ve entered the transformer room. Wang Jie’s backpack is missing, but there are marks where it used to be. We also found footprints that don’t belong to Wang Jie—most likely the killer’s. Judging from the prints, the murderer is about 1.8 meters tall, weighs around 70 kilograms, and is a young man,” one of the forensic doctors reported.

Captain Han frowned. “That’s not much to go on.” He glanced at Wang Jie’s body. “What about here? This should be the primary crime scene.”

The medical examiner shook his head. “There was a heavy rain last night—it washed away all traces. There’s no surveillance in the area either, so it’s difficult to find anything useful.”

Captain Han nodded. He’d examined the rain-soaked scene himself and found it equally uninformative.

He crouched down and lifted the white sheet covering Wang Jie’s corpse. “Something feels off. The fatal wound is clearly the gunshot to the forehead, but what about the bite marks on his hand? Did the killer bite him? That’s strange—conduct a thorough examination of this mark.”

The two forensic doctors nodded. It was indeed odd.

Just then, Captain Han’s phone rang. A voice on the other end said, “Han Hao, Wang Jie’s death has caused a serious impact. A professor from Jiangzhou University will be there soon. Brief him on the situation, and most importantly, try to recover the advancement serum Wang Jie took.”

Han Hao—Captain Han—hesitated for a moment, then replied, “I’ll do my best.”

Chen Meng and Ma Yiqun lingered for a few minutes among the spectators. Chen Meng could sense the scrutiny of someone’s gaze, but he acted perfectly normal; his composure was greater than he’d realized.

“Let’s go—it’s almost time for class. We’ll be late if we don’t hurry,” Chen Meng urged.

“Right, right! School, let’s go!” Ma Yiqun quickly responded, and the two slipped out of the crowd and walked away.

Once at school, Chen Meng replayed yesterday’s events in his mind and realized he might have forgotten to erase his footprints in the transformer room. He’d been too rushed at the time.

Unless they had reason to suspect him, the authorities wouldn’t use footprints to identify him. Still, it was a warning—when he got home, he’d have to destroy the shoes he wore yesterday, leaving no evidence behind. That way, even if suspicion fell on him, there’d be no proof.

All this, ultimately, was for the sake of the divine body advancement serum.

Otherwise, he could turn himself in and perhaps even earn the title of Honorary Citizen.

Because the pain in his body was so intense, Chen Meng was distracted all morning. At lunchtime, when he went to fetch a meal for Tang Wenjing, he nearly collapsed from the pain.

Fortunately, in the afternoon, Mo Xiaoyi’s package arrived. To make sure he got it right away, Chen Meng had secretly brought his phone to school.

He checked his schedule—it was a runes class. Having already mastered all high school-level runes, there was no need to waste time there.

He went to the rune teacher, Yang Shu, to ask for leave, claiming he felt unwell.

Since witnessing Chen Meng’s remarkable rune achievements, Yang Shu’s opinion of him had changed dramatically. Not only did he grant the leave, but he also offered to take Chen Meng to the infirmary.

Chen Meng couldn’t help but sigh—this was the treatment reserved for good students.

After being excused, Chen Meng met the courier at the gate, received Mo Xiaoyi’s package, and went straight home. He canceled his evening tutoring session as well.

Getting off the bus, he saw the old neighborhood was now deserted and Wang Jie’s body had been removed. He didn’t linger—he simply walked past as if nothing had happened.

At home, his parents were out, but he knew there was a certain large rodent waiting for him.

As soon as he opened the door, he headed for his room. But the moment he entered, he was stunned.

The cabinet where he usually kept his snacks was open and completely cleaned out. Then he noticed the lock on his medicine cabinet—it had fallen to the floor, marked with several bite marks.

Most alarming of all: the box that had contained the azure serum had been opened. The serum was gone.

“Mouse Beibei!”

Chen Meng roared in fury. There, sprawled on his bed, was the culprit—sound asleep.

You’ve got some nerve, you damn rat—after stealing my serum, you’re sleeping as if nothing happened.

He reached to grab Mouse Beibei, but as soon as he touched it, his hand recoiled as if scalded by a kettle. The heat was intense.

Something was wrong. Chen Meng quickly understood: the mouse had drunk the azure serum. It was about to evolve.