If you even think of using me for a demonstration—

“Twenty-six years‌​​‍​⁠​‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‍​‍⁠⁠⁠⁠‍‌​ ago, the Great Catastrophe came and humanity proposed a joint bill, also known as the Spark Act. Under its provisions, we first created the Oath of the Protectors to define the relationship between humans and the Rational Aberrants, followed by the Gemstone Act that divided the Capital City and the Bait Cities. From then on, all humanity sacrificed certain freedoms and rights to resist disorder; none were spared in this torrent.

“Today, we were originally going to propose a third major regulation—the Seed Act. This proposal sought to use genetic profiling to produce more stable offspring, prioritizing this goal over any personal fidelity, both romantic and physical.

“Ultimately, however, we decided to abandon this proposal. Genetic profiling research will be permanently discontinued, and the human gene bank will be destroyed. In the future, humans will still face separation from loved ones, but at least reproductive freedom will remain—whatever lies ahead, we have chosen to keep a non-negotiable baseline of dignity for humanity, especially for women.”

An Yu turned off the television.

Once again, High Peak had sent Joseph to speak with him.

“The higher-ups have been grappling with the ethical issues surrounding genetic profiling, and what happened in District 84 was the final push for them to abandon it,” Joseph said cautiously. “After we compile your mission report and those of other Protectors, we’ll gather evidence and formally press charges against the Huang Group.”

An Yu asked, “And Huang Zhou?”

“He’ll also be handed over to the justice system. High Peak only has jurisdiction over crises and aberrants, but this case is centered on industries in the gray area, so jurisdiction will revert to the standard judicial department.”

An Yu considered this for a moment. “So, the parts involving aberrants are handled by High Peak, but the rest are handed over?”

“Exactly!” Joseph grinned sheepishly. “Though you didn’t attend school, your comprehension is top-notch!”

An Yu replied calmly, “That makes it even more necessary for us to handle Huang Zhou ourselves. The super-aberrants are still waiting for an answer.”

Joseph’s smile faltered. “Aren’t the super-aberrants resolved? Where are they now?”

An Yu reached into his pocket and pulled out a coin. “Here.”

Seeing Joseph’s face gradually go blank, An Yu realized his surprise.

“Th-that’s just a coin, isn’t it?”

“Oh, the super-aberrants are locked inside. I learned a new method for folding space, which I call Space Confinement.”

Read at Mizushi Novels

Visit Mizushi Novels

“…”

Support the original translation

Read on Mizushi Novels

Other Protectors’ reports were filled with observations and speculations about An Yu’s abilities, but they only described the powers that High Peak already knew about. The crucial part—what exactly happened during the four minutes when An Yu was unconscious—remained a mystery.

Don't scrape

Don't copy

His golden eyes fixed on Joseph, gazing deeply, though his expression was unchanged—An Yu’s gaze was always like this, intent yet detached, like that of a small creature.

Read at Mizushi Novels

Visit Mizushi Novels

“Got it!” Joseph closed his small notebook with a snap. “I’ll take my leave then. Yan Xi will pick you up shortly for your gene test. Law already briefed you on this, right?”

Support the original translation

Qin Zhilu had returned from the Equality Zone with a new, mysterious aberrant, codename “Codex
.” The arrival had kept both the Black Tower and the Brain up all night—rumor had it that Codex had undergone not a biological aberration but a fusion of human and object, making them a true “superpower.”

The Brain begged An Yu and Law, who were immune to contamination, to receive a gene injection from Codex to confirm that there was no biological infection at the genetic level.

Read on Mizushi Novels

After Joseph left, An Yu sighed. When he had fused with the will contained within the shattered red light in District 84, he had experienced a surge similar to what he felt during his deliberate infection in District 53. The possibility of triggering a new ability had crossed his mind. However, when he just attempted to access Joseph’s memory, nothing had happened.

An Yu opened his terminal and saw a message from Xu Shuangshuang. Survivors from District 84 had forgotten everything that happened there; Xu Shuangshuang couldn’t even remember being in District 84.

– Boss, during the five days I mysteriously passed out, your assets fluctuated, but overall the balance remained stable.

An Yu, a bit disappointed, replied, “Oh.”

– Did you hear the news about the Huang Group CEO using female factory workers to bear high-genetic-entropy offspring? People suspect it’s related to that. Business was pretty good today!

An Yu quickly asked, “How much did we sell?”

– A full fifty loaves of bread!

“…”

Is this what Poet meant by getting rich overnight?

– Oh, by the way, did you see the new product ideas from Maddie?

Maidi was brainstorming a fifth product for Corner Bread. Inspired by nostalgic mung bean cakes, this time she was aiming for a classic, simple flavor. An Yu opened her email, hesitated between the Sugar-Fried Dumplings and Red Bean Fish Cakes, and replied, “Let’s go with the fish cakes. There’s some kind of connection between us and fish.”

– Connection? How come I don’t know about it? Oh, and could you write a product intro for me? I’ll post it on social media.

An Yu was already a little disappointed with the bakery, so he typed a few lines of text.

“Circling Fish Cake”

“Shaped like a koi, this fish cake grants peculiar wishes. If you have a deep desire, take a bite, circle the bakery a few times, and maybe you’ll let go of that wish.”

“It is said Main City folks don’t believe in this kind of thing, so after eating this fish cake, get back to whatever you were doing.”