Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

So, she made no secret of it, smiling gracefully and saying, ”Good eye. I’m a forensic doctor from the city district—or at least, I was. Now I’m a member of the Combat Defense Department’s Law Enforcement Team. My colleagues and I came here to confirm an execution.”

Upon hearing this, Su Chen couldn’t help but find it intriguing. ’What a coincidence. After all that, this matter actually involves me.’

According to her, after the malicious murder committed by Qian Biao and his accomplice was reported to the Security Committee, a three-person Law Enforcement Team was dispatched. As long as the witnesses and evidence were all in order, a trial would be held immediately, followed by an on-the-spot execution.

In the doomsday era, everything was expedited. They wouldn’t even give a prisoner a single precious ration.

Within the three-person team, besides the Judge representing the judiciary and the executioner responsible for carrying out the sentence...

”As for me, the forensic doctor, I’m responsible for technical supervision and issuing the death confirmation report. I just didn’t expect the death row inmate to die ahead of time.”

Lin Wanqing sighed. This sudden fungal parasite disaster had caught them somewhat off guard as well.

There were also some things she hadn’t fully explained. According to the information reported by Manager Shao, a clever murderer was also lurking at this border base. Weeding them out would be incredibly difficult, and the team only had a one-night window before they had to return and report back at dawn.

At the same time, they were to write an investigative report on this border region, a place so remote it was beyond any central authority.

”Hey, handsome. Are you interested in joining the Law Enforcement Team? We’re still recruiting. I can get you an internal referral for your application,” Lin Wanqing said with a smile.

Currently, the entire Combat Defense Department had recruited the vast majority of retired soldiers, but there were clearly still many powerful individuals among the civilians. As long as they had an internal recommendation, they could be given certain benefits.

”No thanks. I’m used to my freedom,” Su Chen immediately refused.

This was a reflection of his past life and his current mindset. He had long since exiled himself to the wilds and was unwilling to be tied down by any rules or restrictions.

”That’s a real loss,” Lin Wanqing said with regret.

She hadn’t given up, mentioning indirectly, ”You should know about the class system, right? We’re returning to the city tomorrow morning. Why not come with us?”

’A powerhouse of his caliber probably needs to return to the Sanctuary to get his class, too. Maybe I can convince him on the way.’

”I’m not planning on it. There’s a bounty structure in the forest where you can acquire the Authority of a hidden class. You can report that to your superiors,” Su Chen said.

Ah...

Hearing this, Lin Wanqing didn’t think he was bluffing. The allure of a hidden class was so great that it even made her consider staying behind for a while.

’Who’s recruiting whom here, exactly?’

...

The second floor of the clubhouse was a bloody mess. Given that multiple people had been brutally murdered, Forensic Doctor Lin had to perform a purification to handle the aftermath.

To speed things up, Su Chen simply used his Strong Will to move the corpses into a pile, allowing the holy radiance to envelop them completely.

In fact, this was necessary.

A ball of spores had been injected into their brain cavities.

If left untreated, the spores would inevitably use the flesh and blood to grow and develop.

”Is the city holding up?” Su Chen was a little curious about this.

”Not really.”

Lin Wanqing answered honestly.

With this parasite plague, she couldn’t bear to imagine the hardships and dangers that would befall the more numerous and densely populated urban districts.

Compounded by the unreceded floods and the threat of a potential plague outbreak, Dongfu City was facing its darkest hour.

Even more worrying, the power station in their district had been partially damaged by the beast tide. Although the power grid had never been fully restored after the apocalypse began, she’d heard that researchers had found a type of energy-storing ”Thunder-Vine” with superconductive properties.

The preliminary plans for the first phase of an unconventional power project had already been drafted.

But the beast tide had reset its progress bar back to zero.

However...

”There’s another plan for power restoration.”

Lin Wanqing seemed to have a lot to get off her chest. ”Just as equipment can be modified with Enchantment,” she explained, ”the power engineers had a bold idea: why not fully embrace Elemental Power? They want to generate electricity by having the Thunder Element infuse the power facilities.”

It sounded like a wild fantasy to Su Chen, who could only wish them well. ”I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Of course, Lin Wanqing also had secrets she couldn’t disclose. The city discovered on the horizon of the Southern Border, for instance, was clearly not something to be publicly announced yet. With the current series of disasters, telling the public about a new city—one that could be friend or foe—would only make a bad situation worse.

Once everything was settled and the two went downstairs, they found the broadcaster still waiting anxiously below.

His concern for them was secondary; the main issue was the chaos outside, which made it unsafe for him to leave.

The rear lines, which the monsters hadn’t managed to breach, were now in an uproar thanks to a group of Parasite Bodies. The most terrifying part was not knowing if anyone was using the chaos as a cover for murder.

”I have to go.”

Just then, Forensic Doctor Lin picked up the crackling walkie-talkie. She had come here on a whim to help, but now a teammate was calling for backup, and she had urgent business to handle.

After saying goodbye to the Law Enforcement Team member, Su Chen turned and headed for the public campground, which was also in the direction of the border barricades. He wanted to check on the defenses, but a stir from his Jade Pendant made him realize that the current cycle of conversion and feedback was about to complete.

’Looks like I need to head back to where I parked the vehicle first.’

He hadn’t taken two steps before a Dark Array opened up and Xiaoye was summoned from it.

In the darkness of night, the newly transformed Netherworld War Dog no longer needed to rely on smell; its new Dark Vision ability alone allowed it to see its surroundings with perfect clarity.

He fed the Spiritual Dust Sand he had just obtained to the Shadow Summoning Rune. It would only take two more Spiritual Materials to upgrade it to Lv5.

”Whoa. Well, I’ll leave you to it, big bro.”

The broadcaster, who had followed him out of habit, couldn’t help but gulp at the sight of the massive dog. Overwhelmed by its intimidating presence, he stammered a quick farewell and ran off toward the shelter by himself.

A short while later, before he even made it back to his RV, a stream of energy erupted from the Jade Pendant and flowed into his body. In the next instant, Su Chen felt a chill between his eyebrows, as if cool moonlight were pouring down from the heavens and into his Celestial Spirit.

His thoughts suddenly became clear, and his consciousness extended invisibly.

Details he had previously overlooked now unfurled before him like a painted scroll. He suddenly recalled that when he had first entered the meeting hall, the silhouette of a figure turning away in the corner perfectly matched Qian Bin’s build.

’He had been deliberately avoiding me.’

At the same time, his own senses underwent a complete transformation.

Without relying on Telekinesis Perception, he could hear the rustle of ants in the grass six meters away with his ears alone.

His sense of smell pierced through the air, faintly catching the scent of blood from a distance. Closer by, he could distinguish the damp smell of the soil from the charred scent of campfire embers—a level of nuance he could never have perceived before.

His vision had also quietly improved, with a significant increase in clarity and detail resolution.

At that moment, a message arrived in his Sea of Consciousness.

’Memory Ability increased. Sea of Consciousness expanded. Sensory capabilities enhanced.’

’Intelligence +2, Perception +3!’

Body Attributes: Power 16 / Physique 17 / agility 16 / Intelligence 14 / Perception 14.

For half a day’s conversion time, this was a significant boost.

His Sea of Consciousness, which had been strained by the presence of nine Runes, had now expanded further, allowing it to accommodate even more.

And this increase in his Intelligence stat would also improve his spellcasting power and the recovery efficiency of his Rune Energy.

”Not bad.”

Now, he had a method of growth through conversion for all five of his body’s core attributes.

Considering the coming parasite swarm, Su Chen decided to first absorb both Plant and Mineral Crystals to further boost his Physique and immune system.

...

「Meanwhile.」

Qian Bin, still at the guesthouse, received some infuriating news: his cousin had actually returned to the campground.

The next second, cold sweat beaded on his forehead. That afternoon, after tipping him off, Qian Bin had specifically told his cousin to flee through the forest toward the town to escape arrest.

’So why on earth would he run back here tonight?’

’And are my men insane? Didn’t they sense that something was fishy? How could they bring him here?’

The footsteps outside the door were already approaching. Now, Qian Bin couldn’t hide even if he wanted to.