Enhanced Humans

Yang Hao let out a heavy sigh, his face caught between anger and helplessness.

"Some 'great invention' cooked up by the Lyle Federation!"

"Now it's ruined every sport."

"For a Level 1 Enhanced Human, if your genes are compatible, all it takes is one shot."

"One injection can do more than half a lifetime of hard training."

Zhou Kai listened quietly. This was all beyond his areas of knowledge.

He couldn't help lamenting that he really had been living in an information cocoon.

As they were talking, Yuan Duo, a round, chubby fellow, came over too, clearly fascinated by the subject.

"I heard a Level 2 Enhanced Human can go toe-to-toe with a True Force Martial Artist. They're insanely powerful. The downside's obvious, though: it costs a fortune, and you have to keep taking drugs for the rest of your life."

Picking up the thread, Zhou Kai asked, "What about Level 3?"

Yuan Duo rubbed his chin, as if trying to recall something. After a moment, he said, "I once went on a trip with my family and saw one from a distance."

"Level 3... Those things barely count as human anymore. Do you know what flows through their veins?"

It was hard to tell whether Yuan Duo's tone held envy or fear.

"Compound solution."

"There are two kinds of Level 3 Enhanced Humans. One is experimental. They might not be as strong or fast as top-tier Level 2s, but their bodies have undergone the most thorough modifications."

"As long as they don't run out of compound solution, they can live up to the theoretical human limit—about two hundred and sixty years."

"Long life and eternal youth, folks."

"A man in his fifties or sixties could stand right in front of you and look no different from a guy in his early twenties."

"These days, lots of top tycoons in the Lyle Federation are Level 3 Enhanced Humans. As for Red Star... hard to say. I bet plenty of people here have secretly had it done, too."

At some point, Fischl had quietly wandered over, probably after hearing their conversation.

Her beautiful eyes swept disdainfully over Zhou Kai. "What? You think training in martial arts is too hard, too? Want to cut a few holes in yourself and install some parts?"

She'd picked up right where Yuan Duo left off, adding information about the other kind of Level 3 Enhanced Human.

"You're a martial artist. If you wait until you break through to True Force before undergoing the modifications, you'd end up as one of the strongest types..."

"Three times a normal person's lifespan, immense strength, and a mind that works faster than AI."

"They're not even the same species as us anymore."

Fischl chuckled. "It's definitely worth considering for someone like you. Martial artist-type Enhanced Humans are in high demand wherever they go."

"You could work as a bodyguard for any rich person and make millions a year, starting out."

"But I'd advise you to wait for another technological breakthrough. I, for one, haven't heard of any Level 4 Enhanced Humans yet."

"When something better comes along, you can still use yourself as a guinea pig then."

Zhou Kai gave a faint smile and shook his head. "No, I was just curious. Personally, I'd rather get stronger one step at a time. I don't want to take shortcuts."

Between martial arts and Scar, he already had enough to keep grinding away at for a long time.

Injections and lifelong medication?

Just thinking about it made him feel like his brain was turning pointy. What was the point of draining the pond to catch the fish? It would be a complete waste of his extraordinary intellect.

Fischl's bright eyes flicked across Zhou Kai's face. With a mixture of mockery and warning, she said, "You? You'd better master those few clumsy moves of yours first."

After that, they chatted about plenty more sensational secrets that broadened Zhou Kai's horizons.

When they were done, Zhou Kai leaned against a tree, lost in thought.

In a way, Fischl's arrogance wasn't entirely baseless.

In this world,

the world their circle saw and the one ordinary people saw really were two different versions.

Take the cutting-edge information that no amount of keyword searching could dig up online. To them, it was nothing more than casual dinner-table chatter.

After all...

Once the technology matured, they might transform into modified humans who could live for more than two hundred years, continuing to protect their own interests and the tangled web of interests behind them.

"Vested interests, huh?"

Zhou Kai narrowed his eyes.

For the wealthy and powerful to gain something close to eternal life was certainly no good news for a healthy society or the masses of ordinary people.

But he wasn't in a position to worry about such grand issues just yet.

Zhou Kai had more faith in the fists he had forged through hard work and sweat.

All day long, until dusk, the young masters and misses didn't seem to have much interest in practicing martial arts.

They really did seem to have hired him just to keep them company.

Zhou Kai felt a strange emptiness and absurdity.

But then he thought about how he could earn ten thousand a week just by spending a little time fooling around with the chubby kid, the bespectacled kid, and this bratty girl, as long as he did it five days a week.

That emptiness vanished in an instant.

Sure enough, there was no problem money couldn't solve.

Ma Yifan was another story, though. That kid was genuinely driven and eager to learn!

But... he'd heard Little Ma had recently gone out of province with his father to negotiate a major deal. He probably wouldn't see him for a week.

Night fell, and everyone got ready to head home.

"Bye, weakling martial artist. See you tomorrow."

Fischl had one hand in her pocket and casually waved with the other as she said goodbye to Zhou Kai.

Yang Hao nearly dropped his jaw.

Since when had the young lady become so... polite?

There was more to you than met the eye, Zhou!

Keeping a straight face, Yang Hao gave Zhou Kai a complicated look that said, "Look at you, you sly dog."

Zhou Kai sighed inwardly. Ignoring the silent exchange, he set off for the boxing gym.

Senior Brother Chen Ping ought to be there at this hour.

Just after they left the campground, a hulking man in an oversized hoodie appeared in front of Fischl without warning, like a wall.

Fischl jumped and instinctively stepped back.

Yuan Duo and Feng Mingtai reacted at once, stepping forward to shield her.

At the very front was Yang Hao, already resting a hand on the gun case at his waist.

"Who are you? What do you want? Do you have any idea whose young lady this is?!"

Yang Hao's voice boomed as he fired off three questions in a row, each one more deafening than the last.

He deliberately showed the hand gripping his gun, making an unmistakable threat.

"Haha."

The man seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world and burst out laughing.

He reached up and lowered his hood, revealing a menacing head covered in dark blue-black tattoos.

"Yang Hao, it's been a few years. Looks like you found yourself a good employer... The Vitas Family's a famous name even across the ocean."

"Just wonder if this young lady still keeps in touch with her father and brothers."

Yang Hao stared at the gaunt, almost unrecognizable face. At last, he remembered who the man before him was.

His voice trembled as he asked in fear, "Qiu Ping... You're back in the country? What do you want?"

Qiu Ping's hawk-like eyes swept over Yang Hao. Lazily, he said, "Taking care of some business, and picked up a side job while I was at it... Don't worry, it has nothing to do with you or the Vitas family's young lady."

"Xiao Hao, why so tense? Can't an old friend stop by for a chat?"

Yang Hao didn't dare let his guard down for a second. The veins stood out on his hand gripping the gun as he shouted, "Get lost! Don't make me use force!"

Qiu Ping scoffed at the threat, a playful smile on his face.

Still, he raised both hands in surrender. "All right, all right. So much for old times... I'm going, I'm going."

His voice gradually faded, and his figure melted into the darkness at the exit like a ghost.

It took a full two minutes for Yang Hao's tense body to slowly relax. He listened carefully, then confirmed, "He should... really be gone."

Fischl's little face was utterly bloodless beneath the streetlamp. "Who is that guy?"

Yang Hao swayed slightly. They'd only stood there facing each other, yet he looked like he'd just run a half-marathon.

"He was the one who brought me into underground cage fighting. In the octagon, he was both my master and my senior."

"Of course, now..."

Yang Hao's throat bobbed as he struggled to force out the words: "He's an Enhanced Human, and a wanted criminal. He was one back then, too."

After hearing that, Fischl abruptly turned toward the direction Qiu Ping had vanished. Her expression was even worse than before.

She took out her phone and hesitated over the screen for a long while. In the end, she turned to Feng Mingtai. "You. Message Zhou Kai and tell him to be careful."

Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Feng Mingtai said, "Surely it won't come to that? How could Zhou Kai possibly get mixed up with someone like him?"

Fischl shook her head. She didn't know why she was so certain either; she just had an inexplicable sense of unease. Irritated, she said, "Just listen to me. It can't hurt to warn him."

After all, the direction Qiu Ping had disappeared in... was also the direction Zhou Kai had gone.

[Omitted watermark-only paragraphs per instruction]