Chapter 36: New Human Evolution Chapter: Initial Chapter

A genius biologist, a top-tier medical talent, a young scholar, Xing Tianyang—wherever he went, he was held in high regard; when had he ever suffered such grievances?

For a split second, he was stunned. Of course, it wasn't just Liu Mu's terrible attitude; he had also seen clearly that the stone vanished when she touched it, but his brain hadn't immediately believed or processed this information.

The strange birds flew toward the sea in unison. Tan Ziyan, who had fallen onto the rubble, fired a few shots symbolically, only to see one that was already injured drop at the canyon entrance, while the rest flew away.

Liu Mu couldn't be bothered with them. She was in a bad way right now; as the "Giant Sun" vanished, the force inside the others also disappeared, and people and stones fell to the ground with a thud, thud, thud.

Yet the energy within her remained, even more than what the others had endured. Direct contact meant she couldn't break free from the Energy Field in time. Right now, she only felt her blood rushing wildly throughout her body, every cell expanding, seemingly about to break free from the constraints of her bodily tissues.

The people outside the canyon were also affected by the energy burst from just moments ago, though to a lesser degree. Once they realized everything had returned to normal, Luo Sanlin was the first to scramble over the rubble, searching for Liu Mu's figure. Behind him, Lv Ping and several soldiers followed.

Compared to those inside the canyon who were too busy to care for themselves, those of them lying outside had seen more clearly how Liu Mu had sacrificed herself to save everyone.

"Liu Mu! Liu Mu!"

Luo Sanlin slipped several times, shouting anxiously. Shattered stones fell with a rustle in the air, once again forming a significant black dust cloud, and the view was chaotic amidst the sea breeze.

Fortunately, these stones had enough weight and were almost all shattered; otherwise, they could have given someone a head full of bumps. The rubble made the path down much easier to traverse.

When he saw Liu Mu, Luo Sanlin thought she was dead.

The tall girl's clothes were torn in many places, fresh blood seeped from the visible skin, and she lay on the ground like a tattered quilt. Her face was almost unrecognizable, smeared with blood and black ash, motionless, and barely distinguishable from a corpse.

When Luo Sanlin rushed over, he kicked up quite a few stones. Liu Mu wanted to tell him to be careful, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she spat out a mouthful of blood, followed by a gurgling flow of bloody foam.

"Liu Mu, how are you? Don't be afraid, I'll save you right now!"

Luo Sanlin was truly panicked. His training in the police force and the military came into play; he didn't recklessly move Liu Mu, but instead pulled out the Binding Strap from his tactical backpack to quickly secure her limbs with minimal movement.

"Don't be afraid, old classmate, you're tough as nails, hang in there!" Luo Sanlin supported Liu Mu's neck, letting her spit out the blood in her throat to prevent her from choking to death.

"Can you talk? Aren't you going to be a great philanthropist? If you kick the bucket here, you won't be doing a damn thing!"

"You, *cough cough*," Liu Mu was provoked by this person, "Why do you always talk nonsense after the fact? Are you the police officer who shows up at the very end?"

"Damn you!" Seeing her speech was clear and she could still be this cheeky, Luo Sanlin knew the problem wouldn't be too severe, and he smiled.

"Alright, I'm going to carry you out now. Is there anywhere that hurts particularly badly?"

Liu Mu shook her head slightly, "Be careful, don't press on my pride and joy, my 36D..."

"Shut up!" Luo Sanlin wasn't embarrassed. After all, he had rarely thought of Liu Mu as a woman, nor as a man. Now, she was just too formidable; he would barely consider her a human being.

Xing Tianyang, who had just been pulled up by Tan Ziyan: "Send her back to the Base, my research..."

Luo Sanlin: "Get lost!"

Liu Mu: "Research your mother!"

Xing Tianyang was verbally assaulted for the second time. This time he didn't stand there stunned; he pushed Tan Ziyan away and tried to follow. But he had no rope on him, and his physical fitness was trash—he tripped three times in two steps, and in the end, Tan Ziyan had to haul him up.

"Doctor, you'd better stick with me," Tan Ziyan only had scrapes, but his face was as dark as this canyon. Damn it, why didn't this brat just trip and kill himself?

An hour later, everyone was settled onto the Truck, and the few Researchers who could still move diagnosed everyone's injuries.

This time, besides Liu Mu, the most seriously injured were several soldiers from the special operations team; the Researchers who had been protected only had minor injuries.

As for why several of them couldn't move... they were just scared stiff.

Luo Sanlin stood guard by Liu Mu's side, watching Xing Tianyang vigilantly, "Doctor Xing, she's a girl, there's no need to go poking around."

"... I am a professional!" Even the always rational and calm Xing Tianyang wanted to throw the soldier in front of him out at this moment. He had only taken some of Liu Mu's blood samples and hair, and this brat had actually come up and grabbed his throat. If Tan Ziyan and the others hadn't stopped them in time, he might have lost his life.

Now the examination was also tedious. In a doctor's eyes, gender was just a biological classification of humans. Liu Mu was a research subject—well, she was also a casualty, I suppose!

Having clarified the team's situation, Tan Ziyan, who was preparing to depart, also climbed up, "How is it?"

He wanted to ask if Liu Mu's condition was serious. Xing Tianyang shook his head solemnly, "It's gone. Such a large stone, it's impossible for her to have absorbed it..."

"Then what about her injuries?" Tan Ziyan had to ask again. After several encounters, he realized to some extent that the brat in front of him didn't really take human life seriously.

If their research wasn't so critical, Tan Ziyan wouldn't want to deal with such a "rare specimen" at all.

"Skin lacerations, seepage, blood loss isn't significant, she's fine," Xing Tianyang said, putting away his medical kit and ignoring her completely.

"No, Doctor Xing, you should at least treat her, right? Disinfecting and bandaging the wounds is necessary, isn't it?" Luo Sanlin grabbed Xing Tianyang's arm, not letting him leave.

Xing Tianyang shook him off and straightened his clothes, "Her wounds require a large amount of povidone-iodine for cleaning, preferably in a sterile environment. This place isn't suitable. Her own blood clotting will better protect the wounds from external infection."

He explained it this way, and while Luo Sanlin understood, he couldn't really support it, "So we're just going to leave it like this?"

Tan Ziyan asked, "Should we put her in a sterile bag?"

A medical sterile bag equals a corpse bag, second only to the sealed "coffin" Xing Tianyang brought. Luo Sanlin watched as Liu Mu was placed into the pitch-black bag; although he knew the bag was brand new and indeed clean, he still felt a sense of sadness, as if he were sending an old classmate to the funeral home.

The measurable data and samples to be taken back had been organized, and the team set off to return to the city.

Unlike when they arrived, everyone was very silent in the mid-afternoon, either resting with their eyes closed or gnawing on dry rations; no one wanted to talk, all looking like frost-bitten eggplants.

Although the team hadn't suffered any casualties, having witnessed the things in the canyon, negative emotions like crisis, worry, and fear lingered in everyone's hearts; no one felt good.

Luo Sanlin guarded the stretcher holding Liu Mu, his stomach empty, but he had no appetite at all.

At this moment, Liu Mu looked serious, but in reality, these were all superficial wounds. The reason she was closing her eyes and pretending to sleep was simply to fully digest the energy within her body.

The bad news was that this massive amount of energy had even damaged her internal organs.

The good news was that the energy had caused her to undergo an inexplicable Evolution and upgrade, and while upgrading, her body was repairing itself extremely quickly.

Of course, the ability upgrade and bodily repair had no causal relationship; the latter was because the system had absorbed most of the energy from the "Giant Sun" burst and fed it back as a user benefit.

【Heitao A is online. Congratulations to the host for evolving to Level 1. Awakening ability: Shatter. When encountering an attack with power the body cannot bear, the body can shatter and regenerate. Using it once requires 1 unit of system energy. If energy is sufficient, the interval between uses shall not be less than 360 hours. Please use with caution.】

【What exactly is this Mutation, no, Evolution of mine? An ability? Or something else!?】

Liu Mu roared in her mind. She didn't understand; she truly didn't understand. She had stared at the attribute panel for a long time, and the ability "Merchant" she had drawn previously was still stuck at "Peddler."

This Evolution was categorized under the same section as the mutation caused by inhaling the Red Mist last time, directly displaying Evolution Level 1, with no name at all.

Not being able to understand it was as uncomfortable as having unclear accounts; she didn't even know if she had lost or gained, and if she had gained, how much?

Regarding accounts, Liu Mu always wanted them to be crystal clear, with a firm grasp on the numbers.

Heitao A: 【Perhaps I can name it: "New Human Evolution Chapter: Initial Chapter." Host, do you think this name is acceptable?】