He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was peculiar.
Shen Jie stared at the glass door for a while, then lifted his hand to cover his eyes.
His knuckles also had scales, extending all the way to the joints, leaving only a soft fingertip resting at the corner of his eye.
It seemed like only these eyes were somewhat real.
As people slowly entered the research institute in line, he swiped his identity card at the card reader and saw his job title and name.
【Grade C Researcher: Shen Jie】
【Work Area: District Seven】
【Position: Superpower Coordinator, ID Number 077】
Entering the research institute, he and Steven parted ways at the entrance of District Seven, then headed to his own office, number 77.
The windows in the office were closed. He pushed the wheelchair to the desk, flipping through today’s files of scheduled appointments.
The first appointment in the morning, number 1, was a pig-man gentleman.
The pig-man gentleman had a fat head and big ears, with a large gold chain swinging around his neck. He wore sunglasses, held a cigarette between his hooves, and waddled in through the door, then sat opposite Shen Jie with his legs crossed, sticking the cigarette into his pig nose and puffing away.
Shen Jie smiled and reminded him, “Hello. Smoking is prohibited in the coordination room.”
The pig-man exhaled a puff of white smoke and said, “Professor Shen, let me finish this one, just one.”
He took a deep drag, inhaling the smoke directly into his nose, then patted his belly, letting out a satisfied belch.
Shen Jie frowned.
Maintaining a good service attitude, he calmly said, “Mr. Zhu, according to the form you filled out for the appointment, your superpower coordination request indicated that you wanted to install an evolution device to address digestive problems, correct?”
The pig-man nodded, patting his remarkably fat belly, “I’ve gained 180 pounds recently, and even my wife finds me repulsive.”
Shen Jie handed over the pre-prepared round evolution device from the table, saying, “Just swallow it directly.”
The pig-man scooped up the evolution device with his hoof, without hesitation, and swallowed it in one gulp.
The evolution device began to work, stimulating a significant surge in the numerical values associated with the pig-man’s abilities. His belly expanded and contracted a few times, noticeably firming up.
Shen Jie said, “If you have any problems, feel free to come back to me.”
The pig-man beamed with a smile, “I trust your work. My wife made an appointment for me a long time ago just to get your number.”
He stood up, his steps light and brisk, his pig tail wagging on his buttocks.
After the pig-man gentleman happily bounced away, Shen Jie turned to open the window.
The lingering smell of smoke in the room was carried away by the warm breeze blowing in from outside, and he locked eyes with a white bird on the lawn.
The bird had an overall white skeleton, with a few feathers embedded in its head and wings. Two empty eye sockets burned with small crimson flames the size of red beans.
In this world, such a bird’s appearance was quite normal.
The bird wasn’t shy either, tilting its head to stare at him.
However, Shen Jie only glanced at it before looking away, pushing the wheelchair back to the desk to prepare for the next task.
The second appointment, Number 2, was a lady octopus.
She moved in with suction cups, her footsteps swift. As soon as she sat down, she extended her hands, and ten soft fingers rested on the edge of the table, her gaze earnestly fixed on him.
“My partner said my roasted fingers are too tough to eat, Professor Shen, do you have any way to help me?”
Shen Jie remained expressionless. “Sorry. The coordination room can only adjust the intensity of the activation of your internal abilities, and cannot make your fingers taste better.”
People came in waves, and he sent them away in waves.
At lunchtime, he and Steven went to the cafeteria.
Steven went to get the dishes, while he got the rice and soup.
The rice was white, the grains were irregular, and they seemed to have been cooked for a little too long, as the outer layer had turned pale and shriveled.
The soup was blood-red, steaming hot.
Steven returned with the tray.
There were two dishes on the tray.
Cold seaweed salad. Red sweet and sour pork.
“The exotic meat today looks quite fresh, so I got a portion. The seaweed is also good; the chef said it was just harvested from the farm,” Steven said. “Try it.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Lf tjv jigfjvs vgecx wbgf atjc 12 ilafgr bo kjafg atlr wbgclcu.
Dea tf kjr ralii atlgras, ecjyif ab defcmt la.
Steven was devouring his meal, and halfway through, he looked up at Shen Jie. “Don’t like the food today?”
“It’s okay. Just had a big breakfast this morning,” Shen Jie said, looking up at the small TV hanging from the cafeteria ceiling.
On the television, scenes of humans conquering alien cities were playing, accompanied by the announcer’s commentary: “This morning, another alien city was conquered by our hunting team! After the cleanup operation, the construction of a new farm will begin the day after tomorrow, which will effectively alleviate the city’s food crisis…”
After finishing lunch, they returned to their respective work areas.
As evening approached, Shen Jie finished with the last appointment and concluded his day’s work.
He left the research institute, took the subway home, and once again saw the white bird. It was perched on a tree, overlooking him.
Shen Jie glanced at it, then pushed his wheelchair past and arrived at the subway station less than a hundred meters from the research institute.
He swiped his card to enter the station and waited for the train.
He boarded the oceanic signaller-exclusive carriage.
An alien with a bomb strapped to its body initiated a suicide attack hidden inside the subway carriage.
Several people nearby were injured by the explosion, now grimy-faced as they wiped their faces. Many whispered to each other.
“Escaped from the farm, huh?”
“I wonder how it managed to pass through security… The City Defense Bureau is so unprofessional.”
“Dressed like a human, even wearing horns on its head…”
The homemade bomb made by the alien wasn’t very powerful, so the subway was able to continue running smoothly until the next station.
Shen Jie pushed his wheelchair off the train and went to a nearby large supermarket.
In the supermarket, there was a wide variety of meat, including fresh aliens kept in cages for sale.
He saw the pig-man gentleman who had scheduled a coordination session with him earlier that morning. At this moment, the pig-man was wearing a chef’s uniform and a tall hat, standing in front of the roast meat counter, wielding a cleaver with steady hands.
In front of him hung many different parts of aliens roasted to perfection, emitting a tantalizing aroma and vibrant red color.
Many people crowded around the roast meat counter, their expressions bathed in the red light, with mouths watering and hunger evident in their eyes.
He passed by the roast meat counter, intending to pick out a piece of lamb meat. He also planned to buy a pound of leeks.
Lamb meat was not alien meat, and it wasn’t easy to raise during the apocalypse. Fewer people ate it, and it was expensive, located in the innermost section.
He reached into the fresh meat display case, assessing the quality and selecting a piece with excellent fat marbling and texture.
His actions in selecting meat were no different from those carefully choosing frozen alien meat nearby.
The position selling leeks was even further away.
As he pushed his wheelchair, he felt thirsty again.
This thirst wasn’t just a dry mouth; it was an uncomfortable, pervasive thirst throughout his body.
So far, he had consumed 26 liters of water, all entering his circulatory system, seeping into the scales on his body, and then exposed to the air, evaporating.
With insufficient moisture, there was no lubrication between the scales, causing pain, dryness, and itching when they rubbed against each other.
So he hastened his pace, selected a pound of fresh leeks, queued up to pay, and then went home.
The residence in the outer city was purchased seven years ago, with funds contributed equally by him and Zong Lin, and their names were jointly written on the deed, considered their marital home.
The address was Building 17, Unit 1601, Gezhi Garden, in the outer city residential area.
Gezhi Garden was considered a high-end residential community in the outer city, with a dedicated passage for the convenience of oceanic and other special characteristic individuals to come and go.
The community boasts good greenery, with many birds perched in trees, singing chirpily in various colors—white, yellow, green, and purple.
Building 17 consisted of one unit per floor, with elevator access directly to each unit.
As the elevator chimed, he returned to his home.
Opening the door, a wave of damp moisture greeted him, making him truly feel the comfort and warmth of returning home.
The interior decoration of the room followed a minimalist black style, with no main lights throughout the house, micro-cement walls, and an open-plan layout without partitions. Positioned on the 16th floor, there was a 270° panoramic circular floor-to-ceiling window, offering a sweeping view of the vast landscape of the outer city.
Of course, most importantly, there was a surround-style large swimming pool indoors, connecting the living room, bedroom, bathroom, dressing room, kitchen, home theater, and gym.
He carried the ingredients to the kitchen, blanched the lamb in boiling water and stewed it, washed the leeks and stir-fried them with eggs, then placed them in the insulation compartment.
Accompanied by the bubbling sound of the lamb stew boiling, he felt very pleased. He took off his coat from the research institute, let down his hair tied behind his back, and then entered the pool.
The pool water was ice-cold. As soon as he entered, he felt his whole body cells and scales stretch out.
Unable to resist, he swam around the house for a few laps, completing the amount of exercise he hadn’t done while sitting in the wheelchair all day.
Finally, he stopped by the floor-to-ceiling window.
The edge of the pool and the floor-to-ceiling window seemed almost connected. At this moment, it was dusk, the sunset was blood-red, and the endless night and the continuous city lights enveloped everything.
People walk on the streets, vehicles rush by, and airplanes fly through the sky.
[What a normal and orderly world.]
[A beautiful, human world.]
[Isn’t it?]
Suddenly, a voice arose in his mind.
Then he saw a white bird perched on a nearby high-voltage pole, looking up at him.
The sound of keys opening the door came from behind.
He turned around, wet hair draped over his shoulders, and smiled at the newcomer.
“You’re back.”
Zong Lin was still wearing a black windbreaker, with white bone armor exposed. He took off his coat and hung it on the door, then walked over in large strides, stepped into the pool, and embraced him from behind.
The hard bone armor pressed against the scales on his back, causing friction.
They hadn’t seen each other for two months.
Zong Lin held him tightly and said, “I’m back.”
“Mmm.”
He reached out to touch Zong Lin’s white hair. The long spikes on his bone armor extended down to his waist, and the scales in that area were particularly sensitive.
They couldn’t be touched casually.
“Let’s eat first,” he said to Zong Lin.
Zong Lin paused for a moment, his suppressed breath brushing against his neck, and hoarsely replied, “Okay.”
He was lifted up with the whole fish and placed in the soft dining chair.
Zong Lin brought a specially wetted towel to drape over him, went to the kitchen to prepare the dishes, and set out bowls and chopsticks.
He leaned back in the chair, his wet hair dripping down, watching Zong Lin bustling around.
In these seven years, their relationship seemed to be like any ordinary human couple.
Zong Lin ladled a bowl of lamb soup for him and handed it over, saying gently, “Drink it while it’s hot.”
He took the bowl and held it in his hands.
The aroma wafted up, and the rising white fog blurred his vision.
In the reflection of the lamb soup, he saw his own purple eyes.
… Purple.
It shouldn’t be purple.
He suddenly thought.
Human eyes shouldn’t be such intense purple.
…
…
Some scattered and distant memories suddenly floated in, accompanied by noisy echoes.
…
The blaring alarm bells and chaotic footsteps.
People rushing in, shouting at him as he reached out to the infected and mutated girl lying on the sickbed.
“What are you doing—stop!”
“Confirm the infiltration of the advanced alien, initiate area lockdown immediately!”
…
The broken voice of a gentle woman.
“Why did you let Xiao Ya get infected???”
“I just wanted her to live.”
“Live? Living as a monster is worse than death!”
…
The angry and hateful voices of his companions.
“I knew it long ago, you’re not human! How could an ordinary baby survive in the wild where aliens roam?”
“You’ve been silent since childhood, never interacting with others, you were born a monster! A monster pretending to be human!”
“Grandfather took you in and raised you, placing the hopes of ordinary people on you, it’s like feeding a dog with sincere hearts!”
“Get out! My knife can’t kill you, but you better leave!!”
…
…
He lowered his eyes.
He stared at the reflection of his eyes on the surface of the soup.
Purple eyes. No.
Golden intestines. No.
Pig’s head. No.
Bone armor. No.
Fish tail. No.
None of these are human traits.
Humans have two eyes, a nose, a mouth, four limbs, and intact skin.
And also.
Only humans have a heart that beats for their loved ones.
…
“Grandpa, what’s the biggest difference between humans and the aliens ? Is it their appearance?” He asked cautiously as he followed the old man across the desert terrain.
The old man gently patted his head with his weathered hand.
“No, physical appearance is not the essential difference.”
“The fundamental difference is that aliens are obsessed with destruction and conquest, while humans, even though they possess the ability to destroy, are still driven by love, standing in front of those they want to protect.”
…
Shen Jie looked at his face covered in scales.
It took him so long to learn and experience how to distinguish between humans and aliens.
Now, someone actually wants to confuse his consciousness.
Even if the instigator is Zong Lin’s split and mutated consciousness.
It’s just too presumptuous.
—-
Amusement park.
The figure in black robes held a dice with a crack running through it, smashing the arrow into the bone pile.
Suddenly, his body stiffened, and he turned abruptly to look towards the direction of the city in the sky.
“This is… the aura of the King…”
Thank you for the chapters! ❤
Fair bet: ML has zero idea his lover is a psychopathic sociopath. That and he just crossed a line.
10/10 TFTC
+1
Oh boy… i think Shen Jie is getting well and truly pissed off 😅
he’s MAD lmao
Ah it gets me excitedd ✨ Thank you for the update!
Thank you for the chapters! I hope there will be some spice when they’re free again🫣👀
I think I might miss the visuals of zong lins soul world. The character designs are all very fun
Go get your an back darling! And be a badass in the process!
On another note, this chapter felt like such a trip lol, experienced strange phenomenon without even touching any drug ever in my life wtf, the writing is quite good ngl.
Gracias por los capítulos!!!❤
Thank you for the chapters 😍 ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
This chapter got me feeling like I was on drugs hahaha it was so confusing, funny but at the same time interesting. They be getting Shen jie real mad
Thank you for the update ☺️
Thanks for translating!
Ooooohoooooo is it time for the kings Knight to figure out that their king is who they’re trying to kill? Well I think not sadly, its too early and I bet that it’s going to be long time before he reveals his strength to anyone. Can’t wait for mc to be pissed off and wack ml’s other soul.
Heheheh thanks for the chapter~~~
Thanks for the chapters! Oh no Ml crossed a line lol, can’t wait to see how mc puts him in place.
Thank you for the chapters !
Shen jie finaly manage to cook his lamb, even if its just in a illusion 😂
Thank you for the update ❤️💯
Eep! So his memory got confused by the pale bone king? *shivers * how scary would it be to get reality mixed up with false memories, it’s terrifying to know that what you thought was true was false and what was false was true 😰
Wow then he really isn’t human? From which dimension/universe did he came from? The body isn’t his right?
King is sngry ~
Angry *
Also, my theory on Shen Jie is that as King of the aliens, he seems like he was the originator as he seems to know much more. And since the superpowered humans are just infections that mutated regular humans, I’m guessing that the infections started from the aliens. So maybe as King of the aliens, Shen Jie is somehow the originator of the superpowered humans too? And considering there was an “Annihilation” category power, maybe Shen Jie is Rank One in that? Or has all those high class abilities like World Creation, World Travel, etc.
But I wonder who the old man is and if they were in his OG world or the memories of Shen Jie in this world? How interesting!