Chapter 1 - Fragrance

Xu Huo pulled open the door, and a woman dressed in a courier uniform stood outside, tugging at her collar which had three buttons undone, and said coquettishly,

“Hey handsome, my colleague went to the restroom, and the fridge you ordered is way too heavy.

Give me a hand, and I’ll help you move it in.”

Xu Huo took a drag of his cigarette and couldn’t help but swallow his saliva as he stared at her.

The woman seemed accustomed to it and bent down to push the cart’s wheels through the door.

After unloading the fridge from the cart, the woman had already made herself comfortable on the two-seater sofa in the living room.

Xu Huo put out his cigarette and poured her a glass of water, “It’s so hot out, must be tough on you.”

On the coffee table, his tablet was lit up with a conspicuous red headline that read,

“Newlywed couple goes missing in the mountains, the suspected perpetrator is a widow mother.

Is this the degradation of morals or the distortion of humanity?”

“At the head of the village, fifty sows scream night after night, the culprit turned out to be him…”

“Tigers do not eat their young, a septuagenarian suffocates his seven-year-old grandson, the reason is…”

With a “click,” the screen turned off, the woman looked up at Xu Huo, her face flushed, breathing heavily.

That vigorously pumping heart was delivering fresh blood; the rich scent seeping from the pores was mouthwatering.

“Why don’t you watch some TV for a bit?” Xu Huo avoided her gaze and turned on the television, the female presenter’s flat voice sounded,

“In recent days, there has been a sudden change in temperatures nationwide, with several cities that typically experience high temperatures of thirty degrees now encountering strange weather phenomena like hail and snowfall…”

Xu Huo changed the channel, “A hiker encounters a tornado in the deep mountains, live-streaming the last moments before his disappearance…”

He changed the channel again, “A black cloud hole appears in the sky above Sea City, with air being sucked in reversely, experts claim it’s a pressure phenomenon caused by a storm…”

“In Bin City, the number of children who have gone missing in the past month has reached double digits…”

“…During this period of high crime, a serial dismemberment murderer emerges in Ting City, with victims’ bodies incomplete…

The police warn all citizens to stick together; try not to go out after dark…”

Boom!

The previously clear skies suddenly turned dark, with clouds covering the firmament.

Xu Huo’s small one-bedroom apartment grew dim, the stifling view heightened his sense of smell, making the meaty aroma emanating from the woman beside him impossible to ignore.

“Gulp!” The sound of someone swallowing was exceptionally loud, but it wasn’t from Xu Huo himself; he turned his head to see the woman’s face pressing closer, her mouth gaping wide open.

Gone was the sweet and cute demeanor from just a few minutes ago, her teeth clamped with suspicious red residue, and her eyes wide with greed and hunger!

She opened her mouth, aiming a bite at his face!

Xu Huo quickly dodged, tilting his head and hopping away, then grabbed a standing fan and smashed it over the head of the woman who had jumped up at him!

“Bang!” The impact dented the fan, but the woman bounced back onto the sofa as if nothing happened, assuming a frog-like squatting position!

“You smell good,” saliva dripped from her mouth.

Xu Huo put down the fan and lit another cigarette, “Smells good, but doesn’t taste good.”

The woman didn’t expect him to be so calm and became wary, tentatively asking, “Have you been on that train too?”

Xu Huo’s eyes brightened, though he didn’t show any emotion on his face, the woman caught this slight change and immediately became furious with embarrassment, “You dare to deceive me!”

Her speed was far beyond that of a normal person, and her pouncing posture was not human-like; the force under her feet when she jumped kicked the sofa three meters away!

The old sofa scraped across the tiled floor with a grating noise.

Xu Huo quickly grabbed the insecticide from the short cabinet and sprayed it wildly at the woman, dodging her grasping hands.

He took the opportunity to kick her, then turned and ran toward the bedroom!

Behind him came the woman’s angry roar, not very distinct amid the thunder.

Xu Huo accurately sensed that she was following and, the moment he entered, he slammed the bedroom door!

With a “bang!” the thick door couldn’t withstand the force and, along with the lock, was torn off.

As the woman, furious and embarrassed, kicked away the broken door, Xu Huo had already grabbed the fruit knife-shaped spear hidden behind the door and stabbed her in the chest!

The woman was fast and strong, but in the end, she had a mortal body and fell to the ground, clutching her chest that was gushing blood.

“Ha…ah…ha…ah…” The fruit knife had pierced the woman’s lungs, and she emitted wheezing sounds, the ferocity in her eyes gradually replaced by sorrow.

“Save me…

save me…

you’re also an Evolver, you haven’t undergone the initial examination…

I can keep you alive…”

The narrow bedroom was filled with the strong smell of blood, and the pungent scent was dizzying.

Xu Huo took a deep breath, ignoring the “sweet” and “fragrant” sensations that spontaneously popped into his mind.

He stepped back, sat on the bed, lit a cigarette, and just stared at the woman.

The woman’s rosy complexion gradually turned pale, but she showed no sign of dying.

She stared urgently at Xu Huo, “Hungry, aren’t you?”

She wiped her hand in blood and stretched it out, “Smell it, doesn’t it smell nice?

An Evolver’s blood is better than that of ordinary people, sweet and delicious, more nourishing than breast milk…”

Upon hearing Xu Huo’s involuntary swallowing, the woman’s expression turned smug, “One sip and you’ll understand, my kind of Evolver is the strongest, with the highest survival rate on the train…”

In response to her, there was still silence.

The woman’s tone became urgent, “Aren’t you hungry?

Don’t you want to eat me?”

You don’t understand how dangerous the initial examination is.

More than half of the Evolvers die in the initial examination, you…”

Xu Huo exhaled a puff of smoke, crushed the cigarette butt, and interrupted her, “You’re getting more and more energetic.”

The woman’s expression froze, and when she saw him walking towards her, she looked frightened.

“What do you want to do!”

“Weren’t you the one tempting me?” Xu Huo countered.

The woman’s facial muscles hadn’t adjusted and contorted into a twisted smile as she offered up her pale arm willingly.

Xu Huo grabbed her wrist, slowly saying, “There’s been a serial dismemberment killer recently in Ting City, one of your kind, right?

You dare to offer yourself to me, showing no fear, meaning this hunger can be alleviated with just a little, or can you even regenerate lost limbs?”

“The former is more likely, yes.”

“The highest survival rate is on the train, so there are also missing…

Evolvers on the train?”

“Looking at you, so eager to drag the whole world into the muck, the consequences of getting human blood on you can’t be good…

You didn’t know before, did you only find out after undergoing the initial examination?”

The woman’s expression shifted from astonishment and surprise to shock and anger.

Her eyes trembled, teeth grinded, and turned into deep-seated hatred, “You Evolvers…

I’ll kill you!”

As she lunged at Xu Huo, another fruit knife pierced her throat.

Bloody bubbles gurgled out, and the woman convulsed, turning over.

The knife in her chest was inexplicably pulled out, and the wound was already healing.

Fatal injuries could heal by themselves.

Give her a few more minutes, and turning the tables wouldn’t be a problem.

Xu Huo checked his clothes but didn’t find anything resembling a potion or drug.

However, on the back of her shoulder, he found a red tattoo with a number: E33586.

He mused aloud, “With your intelligence, if I asked you where to find the train for the initial examination, you definitely wouldn’t know.”

The woman’s eyes bulged, and with resentment, she drew her last breath.

Xu Huo swallowed, no longer looking at the body by the bedroom door, planning to get some food from the kitchen.

As he passed through the living room, he saw the newly bought refrigerator, quickly tore off the packaging, and as soon as he opened the door, a head drooped limply out.

Indeed…

he sighed, then called the police.