"Sob… sob..."
A female soft sobbing sounds could be heard from the small alley around the corner. Although she sounded like she was trying to control herself, the night was quiet, so her voice rang out clearly. The crying sounds went further and further until they were nothing more than a murmur which faded into the darkness.
Some distance away, under the orange glow of the lampposts which lit the street, two soundless shadows walked out.
"Brother Gong, she should be just up ahead," a slim man looked at the card in his hands and whispered softly to another man hidden in a long robe.
"Don’t tell me it’s that weepy woman?’
Even though that was a rhetorical question, the man sounded very certain. He quickened his pace and turned into the alley. Someone had covered the single lamppost in the alley with a coat, and light barely streamed through its fabric. In the dimly lit alley, a woman sat on the ground sobbing spasmodically with her back against a vending machine. When the robed man showed himself, she was shocked. She scrambled up, trying to run, but stopped as if she remembered something. She turned back and asked with a shaky voice, "Are you Mr. Gong Daoyi?"
The robed man nodded his head quietly and walked closer. He looked at the vending machine, then at the woman. The woman lowered her head in embarrassment, clenching her fists. There were many small shining balls on the ground, lying just by her feet. There were dozens of them and were indeed anti-radiation gummies.
Gong Daoyi lowered his eyelids as he looked at the petite woman in front of him. He laughed quietly before using his hand to wipe off the patches of sugary evidence on the woman’s face. Using a deep voice, he gently said, "Since it had already been set in stone, eating so many of these sweets won’t change a thing… Look, you’ve made quite a mess."
His sudden actions caused the woman to freeze but she quickly relaxed once he drew back his hand calmly. The moment she let down her guard, tears poured from her eyes. She covered her mouth while she sobbed, "I... I really don’t know what to do…"
Gong Daoyi pulled down his hood slowly, revealing a fair, handsome face. The reddish reflection off the sweets on the ground highlighted his beautiful jawline. His pair of star-dusted eyes were unusually clear and warm. The woman looked up at him and was momentarily a little stunned. She then wiped off the tears on her face, a little bashfully.
It was rare to see such a good-looking, handsome man in the Garden of Eden. Most importantly, his gaze was so warm and sincere that she just felt safe looking at him. He was nothing like the other men there. When those men stared at her, her goosebumps would appear immediately.
She had almost forgotten that the man she was looking at was someone that most people would be wary of, as he was a smuggler of Special Items.
"What’s your name?" Gong Daoyi asked her amiably, probably with the intention to calm her down.
"I am Xueqin."
This woman called Xueqin was in her early twenties. Though she was in a sorry state, her features were exquisite. She composed herself before turning her attention to the slim man, looking at him with unease.
"This is my companion, Lei Ming. You don’t have to worry." Gong Daoyi smiled. The laugh lines at the side of his mouth were very beautiful.
Lei Ming nodded his head hurriedly as a sign of acknowledgment. As he stood quite far from them, the light from the anti-radiation gummies couldn’t even reach him—he felt rather relieved because of this, and quickly hid his left hand which was covered with blood.
"Mr. Gong, I secretly left my husband’s house, so I can’t stay long…" Xueqin didn’t know why, but she felt a little inferior standing in front of Gong Daoyi. She held her collar tightly, trying to hide the bruises on her chest, "I heard that you have some
thing that could help me. Is it true?"
Gong Daoyi nodded, "When did you find out about your condition? How did this happen?"
Xueqin shuddered when she heard his questions. Facing someone like Gong Daoyi, she did not want to lie—Xueqin turned away her head as though the action could suppress the memories flooding to her head, "Once... I was unconscious for half a month. When I woke up, I couldn’t move. I could only lie on the bed to recover, so I didn’t eat any gummies for a long time... but after my wounds recovered, there was nothing wrong with my body. I became much stronger, so I didn’t think of it…" Her tone suddenly changed, "until I realized—"
Gong Daoyi showed an expression which seemed to convey his pity and he quickly patted her shoulder gently and comforted her, "This isn’t something serious. You don’t need to be scared." When he noticed that she was calming down, he casually took out something black. He swept the item around her temples.
"Beep". A neon number appeared on the device. Xueqin wiped her tears as her eyes were filled with confusion.
Gong Daoyi sighed when he saw the number. "Your Potential Growth Value is 177, you’ve really evolved," he said apologetically.
Xueqin let out a loud sob when she heard the numerical value only associated with Posthumans and quickly forced herself to stop. Being a woman in the Garden of Eden was unlucky enough—the only thing worse than that was probably becoming a Posthuman.
Gong Daoyi sighed again as he took out a yellow sponge from his pocket. He placed it in her hand and explained how she should use it, "Remember, as long as you have this with you, your evolved abilities won’t flare up and you won’t continue evolving. However, when it becomes heavy, you have to squeeze the liquid out…"
Grabbing the piece of [Lu Xun Exclusive Similar Styled Sponge], Xueqin nodded her head to thank him profusely. She placed it carefully into her pocket. Noticing that she had been outside for quite some time, she gave Gong Daoyi a deep bow before she whispered her farewell, "Goodbye. If I don’t go now, my in-laws might discover that I left. Thank you, Mr. Gong."
Even though it was essentially a deal, Gong Daoyi’s gentle demeanor had been a great comfort to her. It was to the extent that she felt that she could continue no matter the hardships ahead if she just thinks back on what happened that night.
After he watched her wiping her tears and disappearing down the dark alley, Gong Daoyi took out a wristwatch that all residents of Garden of Eden owned and activated its screen. Lei Ming looked at him blankly, "Brother Gong, when did you…"
Gong Daoyi ignored him and pulled up his hood to hide his handsome face.
"You have reached the National Police Bureau, we are now connecting you to…" the mechanical sound from the wristwatch reverberated through the walls of the alley.
[Huh?] Lei Ming was so shocked that he couldn’t even feel the sticky consistency of blood on his hand.
"Hello Resident 49384, how may I help you?" a middle-aged man with an unconcerned face appeared on the projected screen.
"Um, I would like to provide a tip-off." Gong Daoyi’s voice had changed and lost its previous gentle, pleasing timbre. "I think that the woman on the same street as us is a mutate. Maybe, she had already infiltrated the city ages ago…"
The middle-aged man suddenly became interested, his face appeared larger on the screen, "Please provide me her name and more information!"
"Her name is Xueqin, 21. She is wearing a black jacket. I saw her eating a few handfuls of anti-radiation gummies on Sadema Street, and walking to the west…"
"Okay, she's headed west, right? How long was it since you last saw her? Ok, understood. Resident 49384, you have been a great help to our national security. Thank you for your contribution to the Garden of Eden. We will send men out to get her now!"
Lei Ming stood in a daze. He was unable to react even after Gong Daoyi switched off the screen, crushed the wristwatch and threw it into a flowerpot nearby.
"But... why?"
A smile appeared on Gong Daoyi’s handsome lips as he looked at Lei Ming with his crystal clear eyes, "Even though it is regretful, I need her to be caught."
Before Lei Ming could ask why again, Gong Daoyi had already started walking while explaining, "I don’t know how they deal with these things normally, but if they find a female mutate during this period with the Lunar New Year Tournament. Logically speaking, they would present her to the Tournament Committee… I don’t know where the Tournament Committee works, so I need someone to lead the way."
"But... But, she might die!"
Lei Ming felt that he must be too shocked to think normally because he found himself unconsciously following behind Gong Daoyi though he did not approve that man’s action.
"Who can avoid death?" Gong Daoyi’s gentle voice was like a welcoming spring breeze, "Considering her current way of life, death might be a relief."
Lei Ming stopped talking but huffed while he walked expressing his complicated emotions. Both men were Posthumans with high levels of Physical Enhancement, so they moved very quickly. They reached the entrance of the National Police Bureau in a short time. They hid and waited for a few minutes. Gong Daoyi listened carefully and suddenly smiled with delight, "Give me the eyeball."
Lei Ming handed over the eyeball that he had been holding.
After two teams of fully armed soldiers entered and exited the building a few times. The National Police Bureau team finally carried an unconscious woman out and set off. Her body hung limply over one of the soldier's shoulder while the wind tousled her hair. Her skin was covered with purple bruises and she was hardly recognizable.
Lei Ming couldn’t help closing his eyes when he saw her. But Gong Daoyi seemed totally unaffected as he tapped Lei Ming and followed the men. The fact that they could smuggle items from the Garden of Eden was enough proof that these men were quite capable—they followed the soldiers without anyone detecting them, and found themselves in front of the tournament arena.
"Oh, so the committee works upstairs?" Gong Daoyi mumbled to himself quietly noticing that the light from a small building beside the tournament arena had been switched on. After the soldiers left, he brought Lei Ming to the side entrance of the arena. He placed the eyeball in front of a biometric sensor. A green light swept across the eye and a 3D projection of a man’s head appeared and greeted them, "Welcome. Have a great day at work…" The door opened without a sound.
Gong Daoyi walked into the room before him with a tranquil expression. Just then, a woman’s scream pierced through the silent darkness within the arena.