In the laboratory where the werewolf experiment had been conducted.
Dr. Hugo had long since righted the operating table. Stan had been arranged to sit on one side of it, while Li Wei and Dr. Hugo sat across from him.
"Mr. Khada Jhin..." Stan's nervous voice trembled slightly.
But Li Wei raised a hand and cut him off.
"Stan, you should call me Director Li Wei now."
Stan had not belonged to Arkham Asylum before, so it had not mattered what he called him. But now that he had entered Arkham Asylum, he naturally could no longer address him as Khada Jhin.
"Director Li Wei." Stan paused. "Can I know what exactly happened to me? How did I... become like this?"
The last thing he remembered was jumping from the rooftop of the hotel.
As for what happened afterward, he knew nothing at all. When he regained consciousness, he found himself standing in an alley littered with severed limbs and mangled remains. His hands were covered in blood, and his mouth was filled with a thick scent of blood.
Obviously, he had caused all those deaths!
And not only that, Stan could clearly feel that his body had undergone earth-shaking changes compared to before. He was no longer frail, and he was filled with strength!
All of it left him utterly lost and helpless.
"Stan, when you jumped from the hotel rooftop, you died..."
Li Wei had nothing to hide, so he directly told Stan everything that had happened to him from beginning to end.
Starting with releasing the Viper gas, then drinking a large amount of Viper Potion, followed by Stan's death, his body being brought back to Arkham Asylum, and finally the loss of control after his resurrection...
This was also the first time Dr. Hugo truly learned about Stan's life.
A tragedy—a tragedy through and through, and one of the most common tragedies in Gotham.
As an old Gothamite, Dr. Hugo's heart had long since ceased to be moved by such tragedies.
What truly made Dr. Hugo sink into thought was how Stan's former life resembled that of the werewolf Warwick in Singed's memories.
The same tragedy, and the same alchemical experiment that brought forth a Lethal Beast hidden beneath the appearance of a good man...
The resemblance was astonishing!
Could this really be a coincidence?
Dr. Hugo turned his gaze toward Li Wei, then immediately dismissed the thought.
A coincidence? Would this guy ever have coincidences in his hands? He had probably guided it deliberately!
Though Dr. Hugo harbored suspicions, he wisely did not voice them.
It had nothing to do with him anyway, and it might not necessarily be a bad thing for Stan.
Stan, meanwhile, did not have Dr. Hugo's complicated thoughts.
To him, Li Wei was a good man.
From the very beginning, Li Wei had helped him carry out his plan without asking for anything in return. Now, he had even resurrected him after his death.
Although his resurrected self would become like a beast because of his body's craving for blood, that was not Director Li Wei's fault.
After all, the dead could not return to life. That was common scientific knowledge, and as a doctor, Stan firmly believed it.
Now that he had miraculously come back to life, what more could he ask for?
"Stan, that's everything that happened." Li Wei spoke frankly. "What do you plan to do next?"
"A plan?" Stan gave a bitter laugh. "What plan could I possibly have? To the outside world, I'm already dead, and besides..."
Stan lowered his head and looked at his hands. The first time he had killed, he had killed so many people that his hands were still trembling nervously.
"Where else can someone like me go? Other than staying in your asylum, what else can I do..."
Stan's tone was full of bitterness.
Li Wei spread his hands, rose to his feet, and smiled.
"Stan, staying at Arkham Asylum is the right choice. But if you say there's nothing you can do, then you're wrong!
Now, Stan Topolsky, I formally invite you to join Arkham Asylum and join the Glorious Evolution!"
As Li Wei spoke, his body began to warp and shift. Once again, he transformed into Khada Jhin before Stan.
And that was not all. At Li Wei's signal, Dr. Hugo also changed shape before Stan, taking on Singed's appearance!
He wore ragged strips of cloth, held a massive shield nearly as tall as a man, and a huge green alchemical tank appeared behind him.
Stan's mouth fell open as he stared dumbfounded at the scene before him.
Although this was already the second time he had seen Li Wei transform into Khada Jhin, every time he witnessed something so contrary to science, it still felt unbelievable.
Not to mention that this time, there was a new figure—Alchemist Singed!
"Want a drink?" Dr. Hugo reached over, picked up a cup, and filled it with green potion from his alchemical tank.
"Thanks." Stan accepted the alchemical potion from Dr. Hugo on instinct. Only when he was about to bring it to his lips did he snap out of it. "Uh... can this stuff be drunk?"
Dr. Hugo shrugged. "Of course. You can drink it."
With a doubtful attitude, Stan tried a small sip. The taste was surprisingly good!
There was no longer any blood in Stan's body. All his bodily fluids were alchemical potion, and even his heart had been replaced with a pump-heart. Drinking Singed's alchemical potion was like an ordinary person replenishing water.
After draining the cup of alchemical potion, Stan set it down and looked at Li Wei.
"Director Li Wei, what did you mean when you said I'd be joining... the Glorious Evolution?" Stan asked uncertainly, though a trace of anticipation had also ignited within him.
"Just like us!" Li Wei spread his arms. "I'll give you even greater power and make you a deadly hunter in the night. The law cannot change Gotham. I said I would let you end evil with your own hands."
Although Li Wei's words were passionate and highly persuasive.
Stan fell silent for the first time in his life.
He knew very well what he had done, and he also knew very well what would happen if he continued living.
Perhaps if he died, many people could live.
But Li Wei's next words soon left Stan with no need to struggle any longer.
"The good man you once were was only a lie. Disaster has exposed that lie and revealed the naked truth. Although Weizhan Pharmaceuticals' Viper Potion project has been shut down, there is still far too much evil in this city. The city's nature will not change because of that..."
"Fine! I agree!" Stan finally made up his mind!
Weizhan Pharmaceuticals had killed him. The evil of this city had killed him!
They had killed Stan Topolsky, but they had left behind a beast!
His name was Stan, and he was a sinner.
Yet there were so many sinners in this world, waiting for him to hunt...
Zaun's Fury Warwick!
Hearing Stan agree, Li Wei nodded in satisfaction.
At least his words had not been wasted.
As for Stan, Li Wei did not want to use force unless absolutely necessary.
With a thought, Li Wei opened the shop system, selected Zaun's Fury Warwick, then clicked Grant...
A sphere of intertwined red and green light appeared out of thin air in Li Wei's hand. It was Warwick's Hero Template.
Though the two colors intermingled within the sphere, there was not the slightest sense of disorder.
Dr. Hugo watched from the side, utterly absorbed.
He had personally experienced the previous Hero Template fusion. All he could remember of it was panic and terror. This time, he could finally observe it properly!
Unlike the Singed Template within him, which was filled with evil, ominous, and poisonous energy, the most obvious thing about the sphere representing Warwick's Hero Template was the visible aura of blood.
It was also mixed with brutality, pain, and rage.
Simply looking at it made one feel as though a beast full of fury and suffering were lunging at them!
As for Stan.
He handled it far better than Dr. Hugo had back then!
Before entering Arkham Asylum, he had not even been worth mentioning in Gotham. He had absolutely no connection to power or influence. Perhaps the only things he could offer were that he was a good man and possessed professional knowledge of chemistry.
Now, faced with the sphere in Li Wei's hand, Stan was trembling with fear, yet he still tried his best to remain calm and did not scream or shout.
Perhaps because he trusted Li Wei, Stan forced down his fear and watched helplessly as Li Wei pressed the sphere into his body.
The sphere flowed into his body like water.
At first, there was no reaction. But immediately afterward, just as it had with Dr. Hugo, agonizing pain struck!
Because Stan's current body had already been thoroughly altered by alchemy, the pain was even more pronounced!
Yet Stan did not scream to vent his agony. Instead, he clenched his teeth and endured the pain of genetic transformation.
Even as his teeth pierced through his lips!
Seeing this, Li Wei could not help praising Stan inwardly. The man had guts.
He had never experienced such a transformation himself, but it was obvious that pain at the genetic level was not easy to endure.
Only Stan himself knew that perhaps his resurrection had changed not only his body, but also his personality and something deeper within him.
Pain would only make his will stronger!
The transformation and evolution were painful, but they also gave Stan immense power.
The incomparably sturdy metal operating table gradually warped beneath Stan's grip, leaving behind two deep handprints.
That was merely strength Stan had used unconsciously.
At the same time, Stan's body slowly began to change.
His originally muscular body gradually became leaner and more agile.
The lines of his muscles gradually disappeared beneath his skin.
That did not mean Stan's strength had weakened. On the contrary, it proved that his alchemically enhanced muscles had been strengthened once again.
A return to simplicity.
Greater strength, greater speed!
At the same time, the hair on Stan's body grew longer and longer, while his bones gradually shifted!
Until he became a true... beast!
Stan's head became a genuine wolf's head, with a row of sharp teeth gleaming coldly in his mouth. His scarlet vertical pupils seemed devoid of all emotion.
Fangs and claws that made one instinctively feel fear!
His body was completely covered in thick, long fur, yet one could still sense the immense power hidden within it!
Most notably, one of Stan's hands had transformed into a pneumatic mechanical steel claw. It merely brushed across the operating table, and the table silently split into two halves.
The transformation was finally complete!
In his werewolf form, Stan panted heavily as he half-reclined in the chair, his gaze vacant. He was absorbing the knowledge of hunting that had been instilled into his mind along with the Hero Template.
Now that Warwick's Hero Template had been installed in him, Stan could restrain his body's craving for blood!
Of course, it could only restrain it a little. If he smelled blood again, Stan would still lose control.
Not only that, Stan also discovered the power Warwick's Hero Template had given him.
It was a strange feeling, a Hunting Instinct that felt as if it had always been natural to him.
In addition, Warwick's Hero Template had five main abilities.
Blood Hunger: It further enhanced Stan's blood-draining ability. He could not only recover from injuries by consuming blood mist; as long as he injured a target, he could heal himself!
Beast's Maw...
Blood Hunt...
Ancestral Howl...
Before you continue