Corpse

"Overthinking again."

At 7:05 AM, Chen Feng woke up once more.

Unable to find a new light orb, he felt a bit helpless.

Then, he got up and pulled open the curtains.

Sunlight streamed in, revealing a sky of blue sky and white clouds, completely different from the dream world.

Tall buildings rose and fell in succession; the sound of the fruit shop downstairs opening for business drifted up one after another.

Snapping back to reality, Chen Feng quickly summoned his panel.

[Name: Chen Feng]

[Age: 22]

[Strength: 9.2]

[Agility: 8.8]

[Physique: 8.9]

[Willpower: 9.4]

[Skills: Sanshou (Proficient, 38%), Judo (Beginner, 41%)]

[Talent: Perception lv1 (11/100)]

Glancing at the panel info, he roughly sorted out all the logic.

"Martial skills can be practiced on my own, or their proficiency can be improved through limit breaking light orbs."

"Talents, on the other hand, can only grow through fixed special methods."

He thought back to last night's gains from killing two Faceless Ones in the dream world.

Two gray light orbs had caused his Perception Talent to strengthen to a certain degree.

But on ordinary days, no matter how he used his Perception Talent, the data after lv1 never changed at all—unlike Sanshou and Judo, which could still slowly improve.

"This is just the lv1 level. If I can raise it to lv2 in the future?"

"Then the effect would definitely more than double, wouldn't it?"

His eyes flickered; Chen Feng placed great importance on his Perception Talent.

After all, this is a special method different from Sanshou and Judo.

He even suspected that this was actually a supernatural ability, only he hadn't truly developed it yet.

"Take it slow."

"At least I've figured out how talents grow now."

"There might still be many secrets in the dream world. As long as I keep exploring, one day I'll make it even stronger."

With these thoughts flashing through his mind, Chen Feng clarified his future plans.

Buzz!

Then, his phone suddenly vibrated with a message.

Pulling his thoughts together, he tapped to open it.

[Chen Yun: Xiao Feng, about the job search last time, I told your idea to my advisor.]

[But he's a bit worried and wants to meet you. He hopes we can have dinner this weekend. Is that convenient for you?]

After reading the message, Chen Feng thought for a moment.

Chen Yun's advisor was a decent person. Back when the original body's parents passed away, he came to help handle the funeral and resolved disputes left over from the previous generation.

Over the past two years, he'd occasionally invite the siblings to dinner. Though he spoke in a lecturing tone like an elder, he'd privately helped out quite a bit.

"Alright."

Nodding, Chen Feng didn't want to make things difficult for the other party.

Anyway, he had one day off per week from the supermarket; having a meal was fine.

[Chen Yun: How about Saturday evening? Hotpot—your favorite. Smile jpg.]

"Alright."

Then, typing a few simple words, Chen Feng set the dinner for three days later, near the research institute.

With nothing else to do, he thought back to last night's encounter.

Changing clothes, he stepped out of the house.

A few minutes later, Chen Feng arrived again near that rundown alley.

"Heard someone died?"

"Yeah, it was brutal—his organs were all gone."

"Damn, that's terrifying. Whose family was it?"

"Liu Ping's dead drunk of a husband—probably came home blind stinking drunk in the dead of night again. Well, karma caught up."

Unlike last night's gloom and emptiness.

The street was now thick with people, voices buzzing in discussion.

Two long yellow caution tapes sealed off the alley entrance, with two blue-and-white Security Bureau vans parked nearby. Seven or eight Peacekeepers were maintaining order, coming and going.

"Hm?"

A little surprised, Chen Feng hadn't expected such a commotion in the alley.

He quickened his pace, catching fragments of the chatter.

"His organs are gone?"

Snagging that key phrase, he suddenly remembered the chewing sounds he'd heard passing through the alley last night.

Eating people?

A chill ran through him. Chen Feng instinctively tried to push through the crowd to look inside.

"The hell do you think you're—"

Someone annoyed at being shoved started to curse.

But turning around, they saw a sturdy young man, one meter eighty, with a calm gaze.

The unfinished words stuck in his throat. Their eyes met, and soon he grinned foolishly and stepped aside.

"Time of death, estimated around midnight last night."

"Deceased: male, age 49, name—"

Inside the alley, the concrete ground was pitted and uneven, about ten-plus meters long.

Flanked by walls and two old buildings of concrete and red brick.

The body lay half-reclined against the wall, partially obscured from view. Several Peacekeepers standing nearby all had pale faces, fighting back nausea.

The old-timers in the Security Bureau didn't blame them—even they were frowning.

Looking along the flow, the drunkard's corpse was split into two at the waist, as if torn apart by brute force.

Blood from the abdomen had stained his clothes completely red, leaving only scraps of organs inside.

A trail of blood stretched from the far end of the alley to this spot, it looked like he'd been dragged here along the ground.

"Team Leader Xiang, what do you think?" someone asked.

"This kind of injury isn't something an ordinary person could do." Xiang Jianjun shook his head, frowning as he surveyed the scene for a good while.

"Either a Martial Artist at Professional Grade or above, or a Modified Human."

"Or else—"

He didn't finish, but those nearby understood the implication.

Expression changed slightly, the atmosphere on-site growing heavier.

"How's the surveillance check going?" Xiang Jianjun dropped the subject, looking up at the others.

"Team Leader Xiang, it's a bit complicated."

"This is an old neighborhood—poor infrastructure, very few cameras."

A younger Peacekeeper looked embarrassed, quickly opening the tablet to explain: "There's only one electronic eye at the left exit of the alley, but the wiring might be old—it hasn't been working for a few days."

"As for the right exit, there's another one, but it's too far away to see the scene."

Xiang Jianjun frowned at that, but soon the man suddenly perked up: "No wait, Team Leader Xiang, we found something."

"At 12:08 last night, someone passed by nearby. Maybe we can ask them."

"Xiang Jianjun?"

At the alley exit, Chen Feng was already standing at the very front of the onlookers, pressed against the caution tape.

His tall frame blocked many people's view. The young man who'd given up his spot earlier could only keep his head down, cursing under his breath.

"What a coincidence, he's on scene again."

"Is the Security Bureau that short-staffed?"

The thought flickered through Chen Feng's mind before he turned his attention to other traces at the scene.

But unfortunately, he was too far away, and the Security Bureau was deliberately blocking the view.

So he couldn't pick up any useful clues.

"Move aside, please make way!"

Soon, two Peacekeepers came out carrying a stretcher, the body covered with a white cloth.

A faint smell of blood flowed into his nose. Chen Feng stepped back, watching the white-draped stretcher being loaded into a van.

A middle-aged woman got into the van with it, her face showing no grief, only numbness.

Chen Feng guessed she was the deceased's family member.

He shook his head inwardly and withdrew his gaze.

Soon, he saw Xiang Jianjun walk out as well.

Their eyes met, and the other man's gaze immediately showed surprise.

"It's you?"