"You… How dare you touch Young Master Wang!"
"Do you even know who the fuck he is, you little shit!"
Cheng Youyou's parents stumbled out of the bedroom. The second they saw the gruesome, bloody scene, their eyes went wide with shock. But in the next breath, regret hit them for yelling—this kid was obviously out of his mind, courting death!
"Quick! Close the door, Youyou!"
Before Cheng Youyou could process her father's words, the doorknob was wrenched from her grasp. Chen Xiao locked the door behind him, hurled Wang Qi into a corner like a discarded sack of trash, and scanned the room with a frigid, predatory gaze.
"Your talents. Now."
"Chen Xiao, it's my fault—I never should've mentioned breaking up."
"Deaf? Can't hear me?"
Tears glistened in Cheng Youyou's eyes. She'd never seen Chen Xiao this merciless—this side of him was terrifying.
"I have [Digging]."
Cheng Youyou let out a weary sigh, answering with a defeated seriousness.
"What about you two?"
Chen Xiao's face stayed stone-cold as he fixed his glare on the two old fucks, his tone laced with ice.
"Chen Xiao, you can't just break the law like this…"
Slap—!
A vicious strike sent the woman flying. A streak of blood and a few teeth arced through the air. Chen Xiao glanced at his stinging palm, a sick satisfaction settling in—he'd never felt so alive. You screwed me over in my past life? Today, I'll beat you within an inch of your life!
"You… You're going too far!"
How could a man stand by and watch his woman get hit? The man lunged forward, fist raised to swing.
Bang—!
Chen Xiao moved first, landing a crushing kick. He nearly sent the man flying from the front of the house to the back. After a dull thud, the man went limp.
[Evolution Value +1]
That was the game's notification sound—one Chen Xiao knew all too well.
Killing animals or "new humans" earned this Evolution Value. It directly impacted how fast you evolved, and that was critical. Never thought his first kill would come on the very first day after time-traveling.
Cheng Youyou burst into tears: "That's enough! Stop it!"
Chen Xiao: "It's never enough. The second you schemed against my Chen family's ancestral home, 'enough' ceased to exist."
At his words, the few people collapsed on the floor lost all will to fight. They knew—their last shot at survival was gone.
"I'll ask one last time—what are your talents?"
"[Dawn]… My talent is Dawn…"
Wang Qi writhed his way to Chen Xiao's feet, forcing a grin on his grimy face, desperate to suck up. He looked every bit like a sycophantic lapdog.
When Chen Xiao heard that, he howled with laughter. All that trouble he went through to "deliver chickens"—it was all for this talent! Wang Qi would be incredibly useful come dawn!
Chen Xiao patted Wang Qi's head like he was petting a dog.
Cock-a-doodle-doo—
Wang Qi let out a crisp crow, as if proving he still had some use.
Chen Xiao didn't expect Wang Qi to be so spineless just to stay alive. He laughed and said:
"Good! Hahahaha—good!"
Cheng Youyou's face drained of color. Young Master Wang—the only one she could lean on—was now no better than a stray dog.
"Chen Xiao! I'll do anything you want. Just spare me… please?"
Chen Xiao shot Cheng Youyou a frigid look but didn't reply. Instead, he hefted the big iron cone and stalked forward, step by step.
"Chen Xiao… You can't kill me! Were all those feelings you had for me fake?"
"Chen Xiao, I'll be your dog! Please, spare me, okay!"
"Did you forget? You promised me you'd make me the most…"
Slap—!
A brutal slap jerked Cheng Youyou back to reality. Not a single tooth was left in her mouth.
Her head rang with a dull buzz, her cheek swelling up before her eyes. The searing pain made her scream.
Slap—!
Slap—!
…
Jiangbei City, Villa District.
After finishing off the Cheng family, Chen Xiao re-buckled his belt and leaned against an alleyway entrance.
Talent? He hadn't gained one. He'd slaughtered Cheng Youyou's entire family. Now, all she felt for him was hatred. But hey—Chen Xiao felt damn good. He made sure the last thing Cheng Youyou saw was his face. And his slap.
Coming back to his senses, he was faced with a bustling street, teeming with people. Chen Xiao slung a sack over his shoulder and scrolled through news on his phone.
"'Treaty on the Restriction of Superpowers'"
"'How Goat Awakened Ones Unleash Demonic Power'"
"'Fish Awakened Ones Might Become the Ultimate Winners'"
Looks like people were already daydreaming about a superpowered world—like something out of an anime. Chen Xiao shook his head wryly.
Behind him, a human head poked out of the sack, filthy and chattering nonstop:
"Chen Xiao, let me explain—"
"Young Master Wang, from now on, do exactly as I say. Don't worry, I'll let you go… eventually."
Wang Qi was already a limbless mess. Stuffed into the sack by Chen Xiao, he looked like a backpack with a head attached. It was a bizarre, unsettling sight.
Chen Xiao checked the time—finally, the main event was about to start.
Buzz—
The train in his mind roared to life again, its thundering hum making his heart race, as if it were summoning the deepest dread.
Cars on the road ground to a halt. Pedestrians froze in their tracks. Everyone looked to the sky, as if sharing a silent pact.
The sky was a void of darkness, with only a blood-red moon hanging, so red it looked ready to drip.
Then, that icy voice echoed again.
[Hunt]
[Abduct]
[Sell]
[Perform]
[Abuse]
[Torture]
[Imprison]
[Slaughter]
[Swallow Whole]
[Flay Alive]
…
[This is your karma]
[This is also your destiny]
[Animals]
[Prepare to meet the end of your lives]
[The future]
[Belongs to the new humans]
The voice in his mind slowly faded.
"What the fuck was that?"
"Who do you think you are, telling us to welcome death? You're nothing but a rat hiding in the dark!"
"Baka! Whose sick conspiracy is this!"
"Animals and new humans—show me where these 'new humans' are, then!"
"Earth will always belong to us!"
The pedestrians on the street were scared, sure—but since they hadn't been hurt yet, they talked big.
Then, the sky stirred again.
A rustling sound drew everyone's gaze. Pedestrians on the street, drivers in their cars, shopkeepers stepping out—all stared, transfixed, at the pitch-black sky.
As black as ink, as still as death.
Then—
A cacophony of manic laughter erupted out of nowhere! It came from the depths above every living creature!
The next instant—
Countless "people" leapt down from the sky!
They were naked, their bodies a sickening, powdery white—as if coated in grave-dust. And then the laughter began. Not from one source, but from everywhere—a shrill, mindless cackling that seemed to tear right through the air.
No one knew how high they'd fallen from—they came from the endless darkness above, after all.
Beneath the gloom, their forms twisted into horrifying shapes:
Some had backs bent backward, heads jerking wildly as if controlled by an invisible force;Some were limp, paralyzed on the frigid cement, twitching helplessly;Some had arms bent the wrong way, heads twisted 180 degrees, scurrying across the ground at a freakish, rapid pace—like demons from the abyss;Others walked on their hands, thighs contorted into spine-chilling poses that defied human physiology;But worst of all were the ones whose heads rotated in full, unnatural circles, their bodies slithering with a serpentine grace. Their eyes bulged from their sockets, glowing with a faint, milky light, and in their pure white pupils was a void of utter madness.
For all their grotesque variety, they shared one thing: They were all laughing maniacally. A harsh, ear-splitting cackle. Their mouths stretched so wide they looked ready to split, yet they didn't care.
"Aaaaaaaaah!"
A scream cut through the street, drowning out the eerie laughter.
The scream came from a young girl who looked like a student. She'd never seen anything so terrifying—it was a thousand times scarier than a horror movie.
No—ten thousand times scarier!
After her scream, more and more people on the street snapped out of their trance. Mad dashes and hysterical wails erupted! The street descended into total chaos!
Puff!
The screaming girl was the first to be attacked. One of the "people" pounced on her, rending her open with razor-sharp nails. She was utterly powerless to fight back.
Puff!
"Aaaaaah! Help!"
"Holy shit, scram!"
"Murder!"
"It's all blood… all blood…"
This scene wasn't just playing out on Chen Xiao's street—it was happening across the entire world!
Chen Xiao could have chosen to save people. But he didn't.
He could save one now. He could save ten. But that was a path he had already sworn not to take.