Mutation

While Luo Yifang was still observing the situation around him, Paqi suddenly said, "The [Book of Ten Thousand Worlds] has detected an uncontrollable change in the world. Please investigate it."

"What?!" Luo Yifang was somewhat surprised. They had only just discovered a peculiar corpse, and the [Book of Ten Thousand Worlds] had already issued something like a mission. It seemed this corpse really was a major problem.

But Luo Yifang suddenly thought of something else. "The [Book of Ten Thousand Worlds] doesn't seem to be forcing me to complete the mission?"

"Don't overthink it. The [Book of Ten Thousand Worlds] has always been like this. If you can't complete a mission like this, you simply won't get a reward. Punishments don't exist at all," Paqi said helplessly. "But what kind of contractor were the previous ones? You really are a complete freak."

Luo Yifang became curious. If they were not like him, then what were they like?

"Those higher lifeforms were all beings beyond individual will. They could be called truly omniscient and omnipotent gods. They didn't act based on personal likes or dislikes. Most of them were collections of consciousness, merely cosmic observers one level below the [Book of Ten Thousand Worlds]. How could any of them be a pure human like you?" Even Paqi could not understand why the [Book of Ten Thousand Worlds] had chosen a contractor like him.

"So there isn't any of that messy survival-of-the-fittest breeding nonsense?" Luo Yifang was equally puzzled. The [Book of Ten Thousand Worlds] had previously sought partners on the level of universes or world consciousnesses, so why had it suddenly chosen him? Unfortunately, he had no time to think about such currently useless matters. The things before him were far more important: first, the Absolute Ability User Project; second, the corpse the [Book of Ten Thousand Worlds] had asked him to investigate.

"You've read way too many infinite-flow novels," Paqi said speechlessly. Wasn't his persecution complex a little too severe? "Breeding insects? Why don't you go breed a Kun instead?"

To Paqi's surprise, Luo Yifang frowned when he heard that and said very seriously, "I don't play mobile games."

"&￥%#&*&@" Paqi had no idea what to say anymore. She felt that she simply could not hold a normal conversation with this bastard Luo Yifang.

Luo Yifang did not notice Paqi's near-exploding state of mind and continued investigating the surroundings. He even dipped a finger into the congealed blood on the ground. But the moment he touched the pool of blood, Luo Yifang sensed a considerable amount of energy within the already-clotted blood. This energy seemed deeply concealed; if he had not touched it himself, he would never have discovered it. That being the case, a Resident Evil-type situation could probably be ruled out. Luo Yifang needed to give more thought to where this corpse had come from.

"That energy is strange..." As Accelerator, Luo Yifang had undergone countless experiments during childhood. He could identify almost every kind of energy in the world, whether heat, light, electricity, or even cosmic radiation. Yet this energy gave him a long-forgotten sense of unfamiliarity.

"Hmm, it looks a bit like magic," Paqi offered as a hint.

Magic? Luo Yifang knew that magic did exist in this world, but logically speaking, magicians should not have entered Academy City so openly yet. Besides, magic capable of controlling corpses was probably nothing respectable. Would Aleister really allow someone like a necromancer to wander freely through his territory? Such magic was often like a plague. Even if different worlds had different varieties, magic that toyed with corpses was nothing worth noticing unless it possessed exceptionally strong assimilative properties.

On top of that, he had actually been unable to track where the corpse had gone. Luo Yifang would never believe there had been no supernatural assistance involved. Unfortunately, the trail had been completely cut off here. The only useful thing was that if he encountered this energy again, he would be able to identify it immediately. But for now, this was undoubtedly like searching for a needle in a haystack. Running into an existence that specifically moved through the darkness would not be easy.

"NO.2, have you still not found that intruder?" A man in black looked displeased as he faced the brown-haired youth in a casual suit. "That guy stole important experimental materials from the laboratory nearly two days ago, yet you haven't found a single trace of him? The Board of Directors is not pleased."

"Heh." The youth, NO.2 "Uncreated Substance," Kakine Teitoku, cast a contemptuous glance at the man in black. "You're not pleased? I'm sacrificing my valuable time to catch a petty thief for you, while your useless investigators can't provide a single clue. Who exactly should be dissatisfied here?!"

Seeing Kakine Teitoku's expression of "I'm already doing you a huge favor by agreeing," the man in black's face darkened. He said in a low voice, "Fine. But the Board of Directors asked me to inform you that you must find that person's trail within a week. Those experimental materials are very valuable."

After hearing him out, Kakine Teitoku waved his hand impatiently and turned sideways. "Alright, got it. You can leave now!"

"Hmph!" The man in black could not be bothered to say anything more to him. With a cold snort, he left. Kakine Teitoku glanced at his retreating back with a sneer on his lips, then turned and stepped into the darkness.

The departing man in black stood in an alleyway, holding a satellite phone as if speaking with someone. His voice was resentful. "Yes, sir. Ever since NO.2 came into contact with that project, he has become even more arrogant and frivolous than before. He no longer has any regard for the Board of Directors."

"..." The other end of the line was silent for a long while before an elderly voice slowly said, "Fine. As long as he is willing to put in the effort. But if there are no results within a week, you know what to do."

After hearing the reply, several beads of sweat appeared on the black-clad man's forehead. He hurriedly agreed and hung up. He then made several more calls and arranged a few matters. But when he put away the phone and prepared to leave the gloomy alley, he failed to notice that the moment he turned around, a pair of scarlet eyes lit up behind him, accompanied by what seemed to be the drip-drip sound of water falling to the ground.

After a muffled sound rang out in the alley, it returned to silence. Yet faintly, something could be heard dragging across the ground.