Chapter Twelve: The Radiance of Martial Arts

At this moment, the biochemical reactions inside the cells had completely defied common sense. Hormones, regulatory factors, and various proteins were being produced at such an overwhelming rate that their growth could almost be perceived with the naked eye. The young body that Adonsa had taken over, previously weakened by all-night vigils and years of irregular living, was rapidly transforming into a form so robust it radiated an oppressive strength, as if he had spent half a year in the gym eating protein powder for every meal.

Even though Adonsa was now capable of remodeling his host to possess immense power and speed, able to run like the wind, his evolution so far had remained in the first phase—the “enhancement” stage.

Adonsa’s so-called enhancement, though striking enough to wipe out several Special Security squads single-handedly, had not actually surpassed the limits of humanity; it merely approached those limits to an extreme degree. The strength, musculature, speed, and even reaction time that Adonsa possessed could, in theory, be achieved by a normal person undergoing the most scientific and rigorous electrical stimulation, hormone treatments, and training. Yet, in reality, such precision was nearly impossible. It was only a parasitic being like Adonsa, gifted with the talent for biological evolution, who could excavate the potential of the human genome to its utmost.

To reach the true second stage of evolution, the standard was to break through the inherent limits of human genes, to fully evolve into a superhuman—or even something beyond human.

Put simply, anything humans possess, Adonsa must possess; anything humans lack, Adonsa must gain. A second pair of arms, ultrasonic echolocation, venom secretion—traits utterly impossible for humans. To breathe underwater, soar through the skies, race against cheetahs, wrestle with grizzly bears: this was the essence of the second stage—reconstruction.

That stage was not far off.

After devouring all the meat with greasy hands, Adonsa glanced at the greens at his feet, considered for a moment, and, for the sake of a balanced diet, took up a handful of Chinese broccoli and began chewing.

Throughout, Adonsa paid no attention to the unconscious, fainted middle-aged couple.

From a purely nutritional standpoint, human flesh was far from optimal as food.

When one considers food, the first factors should be texture, flavor, and nutritional value. While unusual ingredients can sometimes, with proper preparation, become delicacies, Adonsa would not entertain such extravagant thoughts.

The flexible limbs and dexterous digits of humans indicated an excessive refinement of muscle and bone; in common terms, too many tough sinews and coarse, hard flesh, making it difficult to chew.

Flavor and nutrition could be considered together: as the apex of the food chain, humans accumulate more toxins than any other species in the ecosystem. Even fish from radioactive zones are healthier to eat than human flesh.

Furthermore, Adonsa had observed that cannibalism within a species led to a unique accumulation of a certain prion virus. Though no severe consequences were apparent yet, it was best avoided.

In summary, if conditions allowed, Adonsa would rather not eat human meat.

Previously, Adonsa had just awakened—his intelligence was low, and he understood nothing of human society. Like a wild beast released into a city, how could he know to dine at a restaurant? At most, he knew to forage through the trash.

Soon, every ingredient in this little shop had been consumed by Adonsa, swiftly converted into muscle and fat.

The black dog was sent out to hunt freely, while Adonsa also tested their maximum communication distance.

Currently, the two were ten kilometers apart. Their mental connection remained clear, both fields of vision perfectly coexisting in the same consciousness without conflict, as if they had always been so.

This was not simply multitasking, but a perfect parallel connection between two brains.

Adonsa let the black dog continue roaming, awaiting its next split and parasitic instance, for every new human host would greatly empower him.

Having successfully thwarted a siege, Adonsa felt no sense of achievement—only a profound sense of crisis.

Human society was like a sluggish behemoth, stirring only when pricked. As Adonsa’s destructive power grew, this giant would awaken more fully, pay greater attention to him, and mount ever fiercer rejection, until it crushed this troublesome mosquito with one mighty slap.

The machinery of the state, even when only slightly mobilized, could drive Adonsa to the brink. If fully engaged, Adonsa would have no chance of survival.

Thus, Adonsa had to seize the moment while the situation was still manageable, abandon his savage and ignorant way of living, and actively integrate into civilized society, becoming a deadly virus immune to any medication.

Just then, among the memories Adonsa had acquired from devouring various brains, he sorted out a highly valuable piece of information.

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Bai Jincheng gazed at the frail child, sunk in deep sleep, once again feeling a sense of loss, as if the entire world was drifting away.

That was his child—his only child. Yet now, a thick glass wall separated them, like a guillotine dividing two worlds.

As a father, he could never touch his child with his own hands.

The glass wall was both a cage and a sterile shield protecting his child.

Bai Jincheng was the self-made chairman of a pharmaceutical corporation, with a gentle and virtuous wife who stood by him through poverty, never wavering.

After his success, though he occasionally sought pleasure, he never considered betraying her.

Because he was often traveling, they had delayed having children. When he learned his wife was pregnant despite her advancing years, he had even considered persuading her to terminate the pregnancy, fearing the risk.

But she insisted on giving birth, out of love or perhaps to bind his heart to hers.

He felt happiness.

Everything went smoothly—they hired the best nutritionist, the best prenatal education, the finest delivery room, and the most skilled obstetrician. All should have been foolproof.

But as the due date approached, retribution struck.

Business was a battlefield, and in his rise from nothing, Bai Jincheng had crushed countless competitors. Finally, one, ruined and maddened, sought revenge: using a contaminated needle, he secretly injected it into her body.

Tragedy followed. The pregnant woman and unborn child were both infected with the world’s most dreadful disease—HIV, AIDS.

The virus acted swiftly. She passed away soon after giving birth, consumed by regret, and the child, with a shattered immune system, was sent to an isolation ward to eke out a fragile existence.

Because of a single needle, Bai Jincheng lost everything.

Even after he, in fury, destroyed his enemy utterly, both physically and socially, nothing could be undone.

The frail child was entangled in countless tubes, bound as if in Death’s web, slowly suffocating.

Bai Jincheng dismissed everyone, stood alone, watching his child so emaciated he was barely human, unable even to sigh, his heart numb with sorrow.

Suddenly, the door opened. Deliberate footsteps sounded in the hall.