Chapter 27: Modified Mutant

Chen Qingyu attended a music and arts school and always had good grades. She had loved singing since she was young, and her biggest dream was to become a great singing star. However, Chen Qingyu, who usually had more influence with her father than Chen Zili, saw her father’s face turn colder, his drooping eyelids seeming to weigh even heavier. "Come with me," Chen Jixian said as he walked over to Chen Gu, his voice indifferent. Chen Gu hesitated but then got up and followed him. Chen Zili and Chen Qingyu were both baffled, with the latter looking at Chen Zili. "Didn’t you say that Dad is a very filial son?" Chen Zili had guessed their father arranged the bulletproof car and bodyguards. Chen Jixian was so frighteningly serious that Chen Zili would never dare ask him to confirm it. But at this moment, the grandson suddenly had an epiphany: Since Chen Gu gets along well with someone of Gao Mengjiu’s stature, the bodyguards and car might not necessarily have been arranged by Father after all! His eyes darting around nervously, he said, "I... I just remembered something. I need to go to the basement..." Having just tripped up his sister and mother, he figured he wouldn’t get off lightly. He had a "safe room" in the basement and wanted to hide there for a bit. Chen Jixian led Chen Gu out the door, where two guards stood at the entrance. Chen Jixian suddenly turned around, his eyes bulging. Before he could even start his furious interrogation, Chen Gu had already guessed everything. He raised his hands, waving them. "Okay, okay, I didn’t plan on bothering your family. I know you warned me: take the money and live my own life." "This dinner, I genuinely thought you knew about it, which is why I came." "Don’t worry, there won’t be a second time." After saying that, Chen Gu turned and left without waiting for Chen Jixian’s reaction. He indeed felt a bit guilty towards Chen Jixian, but this tragedy was the previous owner of this body’s fault, and he didn’t have the patience to face his adult son’s accusations. Chen Gu stuffed his hands deep into his jacket pockets. He had taken only a few steps when a surge of discontent rose in him, and he grumbled, "Damn it, they’re my family too." His granddaughter was adorable, his daughter-in-law virtuous, and his grandson recklessly courting death... Although their meeting had been brief and awkward, it surprisingly felt a bit wonderful. Chen Jixian’s ears twitched; he had heard the muttering clearly. But he just watched dispassionately as Chen Gu walked away, his eyes slowly returning to their usual state. Chen Jixian watched his retreating figure. Chen Gu was almost at the street corner, about to turn. Only then did Chen Jixian turn to go back inside, but an odd situation suddenly arose within his perception. Everything around him turned gray and dark, except for one person approaching from his ten o’clock direction—radiating a glaring, blood-red aura. This person wore a loose hoodie, the hood pulled up, hands in their pockets, walking briskly towards them. The guards at the door immediately became alert and, without hesitation, raised their guns. "Stop right there!" The person ignored them. The two guards disengaged the safeties on their weapons and shouted again, "Stop! Don’t move!" The person slowly raised his hands. However, the way he raised his hands was strange: fingers pressed tightly together, backs of the hands facing forward. Most people, due to their physiology, would face their palms forward when surrendering. The two guards were Chen Jixian’s elite troops, seasoned in battle, and they immediately noticed this anomaly. They advanced in an assault stance, guns aimed at the target, shouting, "Turn your hands around!" After they shouted several times, a corner of the mouth of the person hidden under the hood curled into an eerie smile. He asked, "Are you really sure you want this?" As he turned his palms forward, with a sudden SHING, his two hands splayed open, blooming into four sharp, triangular blades each. Simultaneously, a CLICKING mechanical sound came from his wrists as the "palms" shot forward, connected by a metal flex shaft as thick as a thumb. The four-petaled blades spun continuously as they flew, hurtling toward the faces of the two guards. The target could deftly control his "hands" via the flexible metal shafts. However, the sudden attack didn’t catch the guards off guard. Pushing forward the arms holding their guns, the raised parts under their forearm sleeves burst open with a METALLIC RATTLE, unleashing a multitude of fish-scale metal pieces. Then, drawn together by magnetic forces, these pieces quickly formed a seamless shield, protecting the two guards behind it. SCREEECH! The target’s four-petaled hand-blades rotated rapidly, cutting against the shield, emitting an earsplitting screech and sending sparks flying, yet they ultimately failed to penetrate. Chen Jixian stood behind them, as firm as Mount Tai. These were all veterans he had personally trained, and as expected, they had not disappointed him. He shook his head slightly, a hint of disappointment in his voice. "Just an illegal body-modifier? Not a Mutant?" Chen Jixian issued an order nonchalantly, "Finish this quickly. I still need to go back and beat up my son!" The two guards quickly communicated. One adjusted his weapon—a standard-issue, full-function automatic rifle of the Confederation military—to "Suppression Mode." Instantly, the firing rate surged. Amidst a RAT-TAT-TAT of dense gunfire, a hail of bullets PINGED and CLANGED against the four-petaled hand-blades and flexible shafts, forcing the target back. The other guard switched his rifle to "Shock Subdual" mode, aimed at the target, and pulled the trigger. BOOM! The target’s body vibrated intensely at a high frequency, instantly dislocating all its joints, and some connections in its mechanical modifications came loose. CRACK! The target collapsed to the ground. The guards sighed with relief but remained on high alert, one covering the other as they quickly approached to make an arrest. Suddenly, an evil, potent aura burst forth from the fallen figure’s body. Chen Jixian’s eyes snapped wide open. "Careful!" he yelled. RRRIP— The hoodie was torn open as the target’s body rapidly swelled. Foul-smelling, mucus-covered black tissue continuously self-replicated, and in an instant, he transformed into a five-meter-tall monster with two heads (one large, one small), four arms, and three sharp, elongated tails! With a guttural roar and a mere swipe, it tore the approaching guard to shreds. The guard’s legs, which had undergone bio-metallic modification, CLATTERED to the ground as scattered parts. The high-polymer composite bulletproof vest worn by the guard was as fragile as paper against its sharp claws. WHOOSH— Another of its claws swiped at the second guard but missed, as Chen Jixian rushed forward and pulled the guard behind him. "A Mutant!" the guard cried out in shock. "I can’t believe the illegal body-modifier was also a Mutant! This Mutant is incredibly cunning; it only revealed its true capabilities just now!" The first guard had been too close. The magnetic shield, which had easily blocked the four-petaled hand-blades, was useless against the Mutant’s talons; a casual rake of its claws tore the shield apart. Chen Jixian was furious. There was nothing he hated more than someone killing the soldiers under his command! He stepped forward, taking a deep gulp of air. His body swelled in response, his powerful muscles tearing through his military uniform with a series of RIPS and SNAPS as he transformed into a colossus fully two point four meters tall! Chen Gu, standing at the street corner, was dumbstruck. My adult son... he’s actually a Professional? As expected of my own flesh and blood!