After the Global Evolution, I Stand at the Top of the Food Chain - Chapter 40

This chapter is translated by Hoenimochi, translation checked by Rin, edited by Bluburry, and proofread by Kris Xian.

[Here’s the thing. Your chief instructor is indeed good-looking, and it’s only natural to desire him.]

[Dream Intrusion, this kind of thing, you seem to have experienced it once — in Lu Jiahe’s dream world. You know what to do.]

[But don’t be so stunned anymore. When you go out more, you can see enough.]

“I won’t have the energy after going out.” Lu Yan felt inexplicably regretful.

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He raised his hand towards Tang Xun’an, and the tattoo on the back of his hand gave off burning heat.

[99th Ability — Dream Intrusion] 

Lu Yan opened his eyes, feeling slightly dizzy.

Tl zssjle esod yde qswde bkxplzq olyakdt y obkvl nsyv yde bszekdt y esnwxldv kd bkp byde.

Uyzzkdt kv y esnwxldv oyp dsv iwkvl aktbv, kv pbswze cl nyzzle y nypl qkzl, yde “Fryaj Vasflnv: Psnwxldv Ls. 19” oyp oakvvld sd kv.

“Fupvlx?” Tl nyzzle psqvzu.

Mbl Fupvlx eke dsv alprsde, kvp nsddlnvksd rascyczu qwnjkdt easrrle ytykd.

G pzktbvzu nbwccu sze xyd nyxl kd, bszekdt bkp pvsxynb. Ebyv xyel Nw Zyd qllz pvaydtl oyp vbyv bkp qynl oyp czydj, zkjl y ewxxu xselz.

Xd vbl dyxlrzyvl, bkp dyxl yde vkvzl olal oakvvld, Vasqlppsa Ew*.

“Dkys Nw, usw yal yzps y tayewyvl sq Zyd Bdkhlapkvu, aktbv? Fwal ldswtb, usw alyzzu zssj vyzldvle.” Vasqlppsa Ew’p vsdl oyp qwzz sq yexkayvksd, “Mbkp vkxl, vbl Rdpvkvwvl kp alnawkvkdt dlo rlsrzl, yde usw yal vbl sdzu sdl nbspld. Psd’v zlv Pkalnvsa Ckys cl ekpyrrskdvle.”

Pkalnvsa Ckys?

Lu Yan calmly opened the document in his hand.

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Inside was a surgical record, written in a mix of English, Chinese, and Japanese. Fortunately, Lu Yan could understand it all.

[Year ****, February 11]

Tang Xun’an passed the physical examination, see the appendix for details. It was initially confirmed that the mutation course was the combat system Enlightened.

He had been exposed to Pollutants, and the distortion was obvious. It was estimated that the probability of becoming an Enlightened was less than 30%.

Tang Xun’an has become an adult and signed an informed consent to confirm the operation time.

[Year ****, February 18]

The 1st Pollutant fusion surgery was performed on Tang Xun’an.

The fusion object was Human-Faced Spider, the mutation course was Alienation, and the preoperative consent has been signed.

The degree of postoperative rejection was mild, and the transformation can be continued.

(Note: Surprisingly, the operation was a success. We were very worried about this child before he went to the operating table. He has tenacious willpower, which means that he would be able to take on more pain during the operation. However, he wasn’t even an Enlightened. Director Qiao has been so stressed lately that he couldn’t eat.)

[Year ****, March 11‌]

2nd Pollutant fusion surgery.

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The fusion object was Viper’s Fang, and the mutation course was Toxication. The preoperative consent form has been signed.

The degree of postoperative rejection was severe, and the Toxication transformation was abandoned.

…

…

[Year ****, May 21‌]

103rd Pollutants fusion surgery.

The fusion object was the Nidhogg Dragon Wings. Mutation course, Dragonization.

(Note: I don’t know what the result will be this time… He was the youngest transformation synthetic human in our entire experimental group. Maybe it’s time for me to leave. My mental state has gone bad, and I feel endless pain and guilt whenever I see him. By my design, I transformed people into… weapons.)

Lu Yan glanced at the electronic watch hanging on the wall, June 2nd.

Professor Wu said, “Director Qiao Yu is still operating. Hai, we advised him to pay attention to his body. He is only in his 40s and already has gray hair, but he just doesn’t listen. And you know, he was also frequently exposed to those Pollutants during surgery, and his mutation degree is already high…”

Lu Yan knew that if he said too much, he was bound to slip up at some point, so he just responded with a sigh.

“Professor Catherine, who was in charge of Tang Xun’an, has opted out of the Spark Project because of her depression. Now, the project is seriously short of people. You happen to have awakened into an Enlightened this year, and Director Qiao wants you to be in charge of Tang Xun’an’s daily data records.”

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This position was similar to that of a nurse, but it did not require much knowledge of pollution disease.

“I think you have signed a non-disclosure agreement and a liability notice. This is a high-risk job, and we do need your help, but if you’re not willing to, you can quit at any time.”

Lu Yan didn’t know much about the Research Institute.

However, right now, the main force of the Research Institute was in different hands…

Lu Yan thought for a moment and asked softly, “I do it voluntarily. Professor, who is the researcher with the highest spiritual power threshold in the Research Institute now? Are they all Enlighteneds?”

Professor Wu replied without hesitation, “Of course, it’s Director Qiao. I heard that he has passed 6,000. You are not bad either. You have more than 400 spiritual power threshold when you just awakened. The data among the Enlighteneds who joined the Institute is good… Besides, how can ordinary people get exposed to Pollutants, isn’t that just waiting for distortion?”

Very well, it seemed that in the early days of the establishment of the Research Institute, both the experimental subjects and the researchers were actually Enlighteneds.

Professor Wu took Lu Yan and walked forward all the way. The researchers who came over were all faceless. Only when passing a silver-haired middle-aged man, Lu Yan could see his facial features clearly.

It was someone he had seen in the textbooks, Qiao Yu.

He looked younger than in the textbook, but his face was full of weariness, with an expression of urgency.

When Qiao Yu passed by Lu Yan, he stopped.

“Are you the new researcher?” He asked, “Have you read all the information? Tang Xun’an’s mental state is not stable. In addition to that, because he has just been transplanted dragon wings, he’s prone to infection after close contact. You must pay attention to the protective measures.”

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After speaking, Qiao Yu hesitated for a moment.

“If he… shows a sign that he wants to commit suicide, I remember that your abilities are [Affinity] and [Psychological Counseling]. If the psychological counseling doesn’t work, then let him go.

“Sometimes, death is also a type of comfort.”

After he said that, Qiao Yu nodded and turned to leave.

There were no windows in the Research Institute, and the elevators all went from top to bottom because it was underground.

It was said that it was built like this in order to avoid the impact of pollution sources as much as possible in the event of a leakage in the experiment.

Tang Xun’an’s ward was on the 10th basement floor. Lu Yan heard that he was the only one on the whole floor.

Accompanied by Professor Wu, Lu Yan learned how to open the four big doors leading to Tang Xun’an’s ward. Every layer of defense had to be locked so securely similar to a vault or a tomb.

“There’s nothing we can do about it, we don’t want to…” Professor Wu was helpless, “But before, he had already crippled three staff members.”

Behind the four big doors, the layout inside was no longer ice-cold, and there was a breath of life.

“This is a 1:1 replica of Tang Xun’an’s house.”

From the décor, Tang Xun’an’s family background should be well-off.

Seemingly noticing Lu Yan’s doubts, Professor Wu smiled, “This child is from a great family background, so he insisted on pestering Director Qiao to join the Spark Project. He had the idea since he was 16 years old, but the fusion surgery was delayed until he was an adult. 

“Director Qiao often asks me if he has done something wrong.” Professor Wu stopped in front of the last door and whispered, “He should have spotted me, so I won’t go in.”

After he said that, Professor Wu shouted into the door, “Tang Xun’an, do you remember me? I’m Professor Wu. I still have something to do, so I won’t bother you today. The one who came to take care of you this time is the new researcher.”

Standing in front of the door of the bedroom, Lu Yan finally turned to the most recent page of information.

Tang Xun’an

Age: 19

Spiritual power threshold: 7,200

Mutation degree: 32.1-97.7

Abilities: Dragon Bone (fusion surgery transplant), unknown ability (preliminarily speculated to be Erosion, which can make creatures die quickly through contact)

Notes:

1. Because of the previous fusion surgery, his hearing was slightly impaired, and an artificial ear bone has been re-implanted.

2. While fusing the dragon wings, he suffered additional contamination and his eyes were in a state of blindness.

3. He was more aggressive due to obvious post-operative rejection. The research group discussed euthanizing him, but Tang Xun’an still retains some of his human sanity. Therefore, it was decided to adopt the “Stranger’s Contact Experiment” to test whether he still possesses rationality and sociality.

Experimental Subject: Lu Yan (signed informed consent form).

Lu Yan took a deep breath and opened the door.

The bedroom was quite large — in tones of gray and lighted with warm orange. The work and rest areas are separated, and there was also a private bathroom. There was even a cloakroom with its own full-length mirror, and there were plenty of nice pairs of sneakers in it.

On the desk, there was even a copy of the “Five-Three”1 spread out. Lu Yan walked in and looked at it. Inside, there was a high school chemistry question that had been answered. The words were beautifully written, and the accuracy rate was not low.

The quilt on the bed was a bit messy, indicating that someone had slept in it.

The pillow was stained with blood, Lu Yan glanced at it, and there were a few scales that had fallen off.

At first glance, he didn’t see where Tang Xun’an was.

Nevertheless, Lu Yan could hear something clearly; it sounded like the breathing of a beast.

The sound came from the closet.

He said from a distance, “Tang Xun’an… are you there?”

Lu Yan walked forward step by step.

The Kingfish inside him sent a frantic warning, struggling to urge him to escape.

Lu Yan opened the wardrobe door.

Almost instantly, the person inside rushed over, pinned him to the ground, and grabbed his neck with one hand.

The person in front of him… It was hard to say that he was still a person. He had a pair of hands that were ferocious and huge, like eagle claws, with sharp barbs growing on them, ferocious fangs, dark dragon scales covering his body, and a pair of bloody dragon wings piercing out from between his shoulder blades.

Particularly, there was no trace of human intelligence on his pair of iconic golden pupils. 

In his eyes, the color of the pupils was extremely light, and at first glance, it seemed to be completely white.

If the information was correct, Tang Xun’an should be blind now.

This was more like a half-human, half-dragon monster than a human.

The overly thick and enormous dragon’s tail pressed on Lu Yan’s body heavily.

Tang Xun’an didn’t exert any force, but when the hand pressed down on his neck, Lu Yan still had the illusion of being suffocated.

His neck, tethered to an iron collar, said to come from the Pollutants Thunder Eel, could instantly release 100,000 volts of high-voltage electricity.

Professor Wu once said that if Tang Xun’an lost control, he could find the button for the high-voltage electricity on his neck; he wouldn’t die but would temporarily incapacitate Tang Xun’an and give him a chance to escape.

Lu Yan saw the monitor on the ceiling, with a red light showing that it was working.

“Tang Xun’an,” he tried to keep his tone calm, “I’m Lu Yan.”

Tang Xun’an squeezed out two roars from his throat, like the chirping of some beast.

“Can you hear me?” Lu Yan raised his hand and touched his back, “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid.”

Many researchers were too flustered when they were attacked by Tang Xun’an, and, naturally, they were not able to observe carefully.

But Lu Yan noticed it.

Tang Xun’an’s hand that grabbed his neck was slightly trembling.

“I’m not here to hurt you, don’t be afraid.”

Proofreader’s Note