[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-chasing-the-criminal-case":3,"chapter-chasing-the-criminal-case-chasing-the-criminal-case-chapter-243":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Chasing the Criminal Case",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2329011,4554,"Chapter 243: Mutation","chasing-the-criminal-case-chapter-243",243,"\u003Cp>“Those useless, low-grade trash! They’re just wasting resources existing in this world—better to use them for practice!” Fang Yuan’s voice was cold and heartless, as if the people he referred to were not humans but cats or dogs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve never killed anyone before! I just picked a factory girl to try on...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Listening to his detailed account of the murder of the first victim, Yang Xiaoli, Gu Changzheng felt a wave of nausea rise in his chest, when beside him, Gao Ye gagged—luckily his stomach was empty, so he only spat out a bit of acid, but it still made him frown deeply, his gaze at Fang Yuan as if wanting to tear him apart!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What about Xiao Hualing?” Gu Changzheng asked, forcing down his revulsion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who?” Fang Yuan blinked, then seemed to suddenly understand: “Oh! That factory girl! After killing the first one, I reviewed it for days and realized the details weren’t good enough—too fast...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Too fast? What do you mean?” Gu Changzheng suddenly asked, a bad premonition rising in him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh!” Fang Yuan glanced at his own hands, speaking lightly: “I still haven’t mastered it well—they die too quickly!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Monster! Are you even human?” Gao Ye could no longer hold back, blurting out the curse!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Heh!” Fang Yuan sneered: “This officer clearly grew up in a greenhouse. What’s a monster, what’s a human—it doesn’t matter! Maybe being a monster is better!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You!” Gao Ye tensed, ready to explode, but Gu Changzheng cleared his throat and said: “Xiao Gao, control your emotions.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Ye glared angrily at Fang Yuan, who responded with a mocking smile. Seeing this, Gu Changzheng asked directly: “You’re impotent, aren’t you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Yuan hadn’t expected such a remark—he thought he’d misheard, tilting his head: “What did you say?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Changzheng spoke slowly, with utter contempt: “I said—you’re impotent!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His words were slow but clear; Fang Yuan heard every syllable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instantly, Fang Yuan’s face turned crimson. A killing intent flared in his eyes, fixed straight on Gu Changzheng. Gu Changzheng remained calm, his sharp gaze steady. The killing intent in Fang Yuan’s eyes met Gu Changzheng’s and dissolved like a punch thrown into a cotton-filled sack—with no purchase at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time froze for thirty seconds. Then Fang Yuan suddenly let out a shrill “Jie-jie-jie!” laugh, slumping back heavily in his chair, laughing as he spoke: “You’re wrong! You’re finally wrong! Hahahaha! Don’t think you know everything!” He lowered his head, murmuring: “When I was eleven, my family suffered a great tragedy—I became an orphan with both parents alive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Changzheng paused, listening as he continued: “Later, I was adopted by that old witch. I thought I’d found a kind soul—but I never imagined this was the true start of my nightmare. That seemingly harmless old witch had two completely different faces—front and back! She was a complete pervert!... Later, I learned she was the director of an orphanage!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By coincidence, one day the old witch brought back a little boy, about seven or eight. Later I learned his name was Zhang Shaodong—he was a real orphan. As for why she brought him back... I really don’t want to say.” Fang Yuan’s face showed a flicker of fear—his childhood memories still haunted him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But even though Xiao Dong was young, I felt he was stronger than me in some ways. His arrival brought me a sliver of vitality. When the old witch was away, she locked us in the room—then we could talk through the walls. That’s when I learned Xiao Dong’s life was even worse than mine. Though I had irresponsible parents, at least I knew what they looked like, who they were. But Xiao Dong didn’t even know where he came from. Future? Hah—if there was one, where would he go?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At that time, I was utterly broken. The wound from my parents’ abandonment hadn’t healed, and now I was in the hands of this old monster! I lived every day in dread. But Xiao Dong was like a tiny flame in the darkness—weak, yet giving me hope.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I didn’t know how a child so young could understand so much. Whenever we were alone in the room, unable to see each other, only speaking through sound—he influenced me. He taught me that to escape the old witch, I had to first obey her; otherwise, I might never live to adulthood.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Later, with Xiao Dong’s help, I gained the old witch’s trust. She allowed me to go to school. On the day I heard the news, I cried secretly in joy! Later, I learned—it was Xiao Dong who gave me that chance! After I got into the Provincial Medical University, I secretly asked him why he gave me this life-changing opportunity. He smiled and said I was smarter and had a better foundation—he’d have a better chance of succeeding. He also said he believed I’d never abandon him, and that we’d both escape this place someday.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But! But...” Fang Yuan’s voice choked. His lips trembled, tears welling in his eyes as he continued: “I never imagined that when I returned home for summer break in my first year of college, everything had changed!” At that moment, Gu Changzheng no longer saw the monster who treated murder as practice—the man before him had become a pitiful creature!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Yuan trembled violently, his voice shaking: “When I came back, I didn’t see Xiao Dong. The old witch said he’d been adopted. I didn’t believe it—who adopts an orphan nearly grown? Later, someone secretly told me—I learned Xiao Dong had been burned into a cripple in an accident!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I found out where he was hospitalized. One day, while the old witch wasn’t paying attention, I slipped away to the hospital and saw Xiao Dong on his bed. I realized the fire hadn’t just destroyed his handsome face—it had destroyed his pride as a man. Looking at his entire body wrapped in white gauze, his frail form, I wept uncontrollably. But Xiao Dong comforted me: ‘Don’t let the old witch know you’ve seen me. Keep studying. Then we still have a future.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“After that, we never saw each other again. To avoid the old witch, I stayed at school as much as possible—turns out, that also helped me succeed. After seven years of hard work, I finally became a real surgeon! Just when I thought everything could start anew, the old witch shattered my dream again!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Yuan clenched his fists tightly. Gu Changzheng saw a thin trickle of red seeping from his palms—his fingernails had pierced his skin, drawing blood.\u003C\u002Fp>",1092,"2026-06-20T19:35:31.675Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","b6e58773b609fba13c20c18585fc21b77dc32083650d3078bf759b5acff411fe","chasing-the-criminal-case-chapter-244","chasing-the-criminal-case-chapter-242",276,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fchasing-the-criminal-case-cover.jpg"]