Chapter 17: Unexpected Events Occur Frequently

In the morning, he woke up on time.

Feng Mu habitually sensed the chill in his chest; that chill had already followed his ribs and spine, enveloping his upper torso, and was now extending toward his arms.

The arm he had strained pulling hard yesterday could now feel threads of coolness seeping out; it didn't hurt so much anymore.

"The coverage area has probably grown another finger joint's length," Feng Mu thought.

Dressing and washing up took no more than two minutes total.

And, for the first time in a long while, he graced the toilet, with a refreshing feeling of becoming human again.

"Looks like the half-rice, half-iron ratio is suitable; last night there was no hunger urging evolution into an E Corpse."

Feng Mu looked at the face in the mirror; it had changed somewhat compared to a week ago.

His face had lost a bit of flesh, his jaw revealed some angles, his complexion had turned especially paler, making his temperament seem colder.

He ate, went out, rode his bike, with iron beads in his mouth, swallowing one down from time to time.

The tires scraped scratches on the ground, braking urgently to a halt.

He raised his head; Feng Mu looked at the few half-grown kids blocking the way ahead.

Not tall, faces swarthy, wearing tattered clothes; across a meter of air the sour stench stained the atmosphere.

Feng Mu frowned: "What do you want?"

"Food!" The darkest, tallest one stepped forward, voice hoarse, "You gave a lunch box of food the day before yesterday."

Feng Mu recalled a bit; these few before him should be the scavengers who were fighting stray dogs for food back then.

Feng Mu didn't make a sound, got off the bicycle, shoved one hand into his pocket gripping a cold sensation, eyes full of vigilance.

"Food, how come it's gone, still want more!"

Another half-grown kid seemed like he hadn't spoken to anyone in too long; a single sentence stuttered three times, yet his gaze stared at Feng Mu with exceptional ferocity.

Feng Mu understood, only feeling it absurd.

He kept a cold face: "Gone."

The few half-grown kids exchanged a glance, then closed in.

The dark tall one took out an empty lunch box from his bosom, handed it back to Feng Mu while saying: "Tomorrow morning, bring it filled."

Feng Mu licked the iron bead in his mouth with his tongue tip; the absurdity in his heart shed away, cold ruthlessness rose, his gaze turning gloomy.

"Wrong. Wasting food isn't wrong; giving food to others as charity is the mistake."

"In a world where people eat people, kindness may attract gratitude, but is more likely to be treated as food and shared."

Feng Mu's thoughts raced; he gained a deeper understanding of this world's true nature.

He took the lunch box, threw it hard into the foul-smelling trash can, and said viciously: "I don't have any; if you want to eat, go dig in the trash can."

"You!"

The dark tall one flew into a rage, reached out to grab the bicycle; the surrounding half-grown kids also scrambled forward, pitch-black hands grabbing at Feng Mu's clothes.

Feng Mu drew his dagger, slashing in a circle.

"Get your dog paws off." Feng Mu shouted in a cold voice; the dagger flung a streak of blood, unknown which dog paw it had sliced.

All the closing hands scattered; a group of half-grown kids retreated in unison, all staring over with vicious eyes.

Feng Mu felt his scalp go numb, but his face showed not a trace of cowardice; instead he gripped the dagger tighter, pausing for an instant before each person's face.

He regulated his breathing, making his voice less turbulent, calm yet coldly threatening.

"You can all rush me together, but someone will definitely get stabbed by me."

"The one stabbed might not die today, but in a couple days the wound will rot, and then they'll lie in the trash can, becoming food for stray dogs."

"You won't think that once injured, you won't be abandoned, right."

Feng Mu finished speaking, paused for a long moment, then mounted the bicycle and charged straight at the guy covering the back of his hand.

The latter's expression was extremely resentful, but his retreating steps exposed his false bravado; the bicycle smashed open a gap, and he rode away.

All the way he pedaled frantically; a full quarter hour passed before Feng Mu slowly stopped by the roadside, gulping down the few iron beads coated with saliva in his mouth.

"Damn it, simply an undeserved disaster."

"No, ultimately it's because I lack bloody lessons on this world's rules; this world has made so many people live like ghosts."

"I must take this as a warning; I can't keep my past life's way of judging people; I must learn to view some people as ghosts; perhaps, it's not that people turn into E Corpses, but that E Corpses are people's true form?"

Feng Mu shook his head, then took out another handful of iron beads from his pocket and held them in his mouth.

This world is full of absurdity and threats everywhere; only a bloodstained dagger and cold iron beads can comfort his meager sense of security.

Passing by the No. 47 Middle School gate, Feng Mu discovered several tattooed men, each holding a stack of papers, comparing them against every passing student, occasionally stopping people to question them.

Feng Mu didn't dare linger; he whooshed away on his bike, only catching a fleeting glimpse of the papers in those men's hands.

Vaguely he saw some names and avatar photos; looked like a student roster for enrollment registration.

Feng Mu rode while his heart gave a heavy thud and sank.

He speculated those tattooed men should be from the Green Wolf Gang; so the Green Wolf Gang used some means to obtain No. 47 Middle School's student information and are now comparing and investigating one by one.

This sort of thing in his past life would be sheer fantasy.

But in this world it's nothing more than reasonable.

And the Green Wolf Gang's investigation purpose is obviously only...

"Looking for the culprit," Feng Mu mused inwardly, "Which means looking for me!!!"

The Green Wolf Gang clearly doesn't trust the conclusion given by the Patrol Bureau.

Feng Mu felt a bit irritated inside; he never expected the fabricated crime scene he made could so smoothly deceive the Patrol Bureau's chief constable, yet fail to fool a gang leader.

Why is a gang leader better at solving cases than a Patrol Bureau chief constable, just because he's the victim's father?

Damn it, somewhat unreasonable.

On the way riding to the Incineration Plant, Feng Mu's mind was full of pondering several questions.

First, what kind of suspicious attitude does the Green Wolf Gang currently hold — do they think Zheng Hang was framed and went missing, or do they simply believe Zheng Hang is already dead?

Second, whether the Green Wolf Gang's suspicion has any basis — is it merely his father's wishful subjective speculation, or have they found some evidence?

Third, what is the Green Wolf Gang's scope of investigation — are they only investigating the teachers and students of No. 47 Middle School, or have they also investigated outside No. 47 Middle School?

If only investigating No. 47 Middle School, are they investigating everyone, or have they already narrowed it down to a certain range?

In other words, is the Green Wolf Gang currently casting a wide net, hauling in whatever they can catch, or have they already focused on circling out some suspects?

What is the logic of suspicion? Most critically, am I also among them?

"Too few clues, can't figure out the answer. Need to think of a way to feel out the Green Wolf Gang's investigation progress."

Feng Mu originally thought that with the Patrol Bureau issuing a Wanted Order and Zheng Hang's corpse cremated by him, this matter was perfectly settled.

Didn't expect, things don't go as one wishes~

Today two things happened in succession; whether it was an unexpected disaster or the unresolved tail of a homicide case, both made Feng Mu's mood turn foul.

"One bad thing after another, like an omen that peaceful life is about to be shattered."

From the day Feng Mu activated the System, he had made psychological preparations, but he still hoped the collapse of peace would come a bit later.

"At least, let me scrape through Iron Eater First Rank to the max."

"Failing that, let me survive this week, wait until Iron Transformation covers the full body skeleton would be good too."

With each passing day, Feng Mu's ability to withstand risk grows a fraction stronger, but can worldly affairs really go as he wishes?

Feng Mu doesn't know either; all he can do is seize every gap of time, madly hammer-train the Body Forging Exercise...

End of Chapter