My Gene Evolves Infinitely - Chapter 20

TL: Fiend Star
Editor: Sakifcena

Nothing eventful happened that night.

When Lu Yuan next opened his eyes, it was morning. He got out of bed, stretched, and after freshening up in the bathroom, he left his room. He planned to visit a shop to sell the Grey Stone Armour he had collected yesterday and make some money.

As he left, he noticed Li Qinghe hadn’t come back, likely working overtime as had happened on several mornings before. Lu Yuan didn’t think much of it.

The morning in the poor district was bustling.

Many people dressed in tattered clothes were already scavenging through roadside trash. Lu Yuan arrived at a breakfast stall, greeting the gaunt, dark-skinned owner with a smile, “Boss, two meat buns and a packet of sweet soy milk, please.”

“Alright, just a moment,” the owner responded with a humble smile, bowing slightly as he spoke.

While Lu Yuan waited, two gangsters with flamboyantly dyed hair and wearing leather armour approached. “Boss, five fried dough sticks! Quick!”

“Yes, right away!” The boss nodded and bowed, moving swiftly.

Lu Yuan glanced at the two gangsters. In the past, he would have avoided such types, as Li Qinghe had once warned him about the gangs backing these small-time thugs.

These gangs were involved in all sorts of nefarious activities—drug dealing, organ trafficking etc. and many of the disappearances in the slums were attributed to them. Lu Yuan, unable to confront them, would have stayed away.

Now, however, Lu Yuan wasn’t as concerned. He was a Gene Warrior, after all, with an Elite Gene encoded. He wasn’t about to start avoiding every thug on the street.

Suddenly, one of the thugs, the one with red hair, exclaimed, “Man, that thing yesterday was freaking weird!”

The other, with green hair, chimed in, “Yeah, I heard from Xiaoman that he saw Old Blade get possessed by a ghost, then just drop dead all of a sudden.”

Hearing this conversation, Lu Yuan paused, a look of surprise crossing his face. Ghosts? Sudden death? It reminded him immediately of the shadow from the previous night. Could others have encountered that same ghostly entity?

He continued to listen quietly as the conversation went on.

“Damn, Old Blade sold his daughter a few days back; could this be some kind of karma?” the red-haired thug speculated.

“What karma for such a small thing?” the green-haired one scoffed.

“Yeah, but did he stir up some real trouble with something supernatural?” the first countered.

“I dunno. The boss and the others checked it out themselves; they said it should be fine. They’re powerful Gene Warriors, after all.”

“Hope the boss figures it out soon, though; it’s seriously creepy,” the other agreed.

As they spoke, the vendor finished packing up Lu Yuan’s order and handed it over, saying, “Here you go, young man. Your buns and soy milk.”

Lu Yuan smiled and took the food, “Thanks, how much do I owe you?”

“Wait a minute!” The thug with green hair suddenly interjected, squinting at Lu Yuan and the vendor, “Hey, didn’t you see we were still waiting? How dare you serve him first? Are you blind? It looks like you don’t take the Black Rat Gang seriously!”

“Oh… um…”

The vendor stammered, his forehead beading with sweat as he flashed an ingratiating smile, “Little brother, this…”

Bang!

“Is little brother what you called me? Call me big brother!”
A red-haired thug slammed his hand down on the stall, shaking it violently and causing many of the condiments to spill over the counter.

The vendor’s mouth twitched into a forced smile, still maintaining his obsequious demeanour, “My apologies, big brothers… it’s my fault. Your breakfast is on the house, I’ll make it right away.”

Upon hearing the vendor’s response, the thugs snorted with satisfaction and nodded in approval.

“You know your place.”

Then, the green-haired thug turned to Lu Yuan, smirking, “Look pretty young, huh? Boy, have you grown up yet? Not bad-looking at all, which club are you from? Maybe I’ll patronize you next time.”

As he spoke, he reached out and patted Lu Yuan’s face.

Lu Yuan remained expressionless and casually caught the thug’s hand. The thug was taken aback, a vicious look crossing his face, “You’ve got some nerve!”

He tried to pull his hand back with force but found that no matter how hard he tried, Lu Yuan’s grip was like iron tongs, firmly holding his hand in place. The thug strained against the grip, his face turning red with effort.

Seeing his companion struggling, the red-haired thug got uncomfortable.

“Greenie, what’s going on? Stop messing around.”

“I… let go, kid, or I swear I’ll kill you!” The green-haired thug managed to speak through gritted teeth, glaring fiercely at Lu Yuan, who simply raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly.

With a slight increase in pressure, the bone-chilling sound of breaking bones echoed.

“AAAHHH!!!”

The green-haired thug’s face twisted in agony as he screamed sharply. The intense pain shook him, turning his face pale and drenched in sweat. He collapsed to his knees, weakened by the pain.

The screams drew the attention of everyone on the street, their eyes widening in horror. Adults quickly scooped up their children and moved away, while others watched curiously or fearfully.

The stall owner stood frozen, dumbfounded by the scene unfolding before him.

Lu Yuan released the thug’s hand, now grotesquely twisted and clearly broken. Lu Yuan’s expression remained unchanged. Based on his predecessor’s memories, he had no sympathy for members of criminal gangs and thus, did not hold back.

The scream startled the red-haired thug, who, upon seeing his companion’s mangled arm, his eyes reddened with rage.

“You bastard, you trying to get yourself killed?!”

He pulled out a folding knife and lunged at Lu Yuan’s stomach, stabbing with a motion as casual as if he were at home.

Lu Yuan caught the hand of the red-haired thug, squeezing it without hesitation. The dense sound of cracking bones filled the air as he increased the pressure, almost completely crushing the thug’s hand.

The red-haired thug’s screams were even more pitiful than his companion’s had been. He dropped the knife and fell to his knees, just like his partner.

The intense pain cooled his anger, and fear spread across his face as he looked up at Lu Yuan, “Little… little brother, please don’t…”

Before he could finish, Lu Yuan slapped him across the face, knocking him to the ground.

He glared fiercely at the red-haired thug:

“Little brother, is that what you called me? Call me big brother!”

The red-haired thug was knocked to the ground, stunned for a few seconds, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

He hesitated for a moment, then, with a sorrowful expression, he cried out, “Big brother! Big brother, stop hitting me! I was wrong, it was my fault!”

Lu Yuan nodded in satisfaction and turned to the still-trembling green-haired thug.

The green-haired thug was holding his twisted arm, already in tears.

Seeing Lu Yuan looking at him, he cried out, “Dad! No, no, big brother! Big brother! I was wrong!”

Lu Yuan nodded approvingly.

“Not bad, pretty obedient. Why are you still kneeling? Get up, you’re making it seem like I’m bullying you. Stand up.”

The two thugs struggled to their feet, their bodies still trembling from the pain.

Lu Yuan glanced at them, then turned to the breakfast stall owner, who was still frozen in shock, and smiled:

“Boss, you haven’t told me how much my breakfast is yet.”

The vendor shivered, his face almost ready to cry.

He shook his head as if it were on a swivel, “No, no, no… Little brother, no, big brother, how could I possibly take your money?”

“I insist on paying. How much? Don’t worry, I’m a good person.”

Seeing the vendor’s frightened expression, Lu Yuan’s mouth twitched slightly, unable to resist explaining himself.

He was just displeased with the two thugs, not some demon.

Why was this vendor so afraid of him?

The vendor still refused to take his money.

After some back and forth, Lu Yuan finally paid ten Yuan via a QR code.

“Alright, I’ve paid now, don’t refuse. Or else I might have to ‘convince’ you.”

The vendor looked at Lu Yuan, opened his mouth to speak, but ultimately bowed his head, too intimidated to say anything.

Lu Yuan then turned to the two thugs, “Have you two thought about compensating for knocking over this man’s stall?”

The two thugs, now pale-faced, tugged at the corners of their mouths and nodded repeatedly.

“We’ll pay! We’ll pay!”

They compensated the vendor right there, under his incredulous gaze.

Finally, Lu Yuan smiled and said, “Come on, follow me.”

The two thugs watched Lu Yuan’s departing back, almost bursting into tears.

They exchanged glances, reluctantly following him.

The vendor, left behind, watched Lu Yuan walk away with a touch of admiration in his eyes.

He wiped a tear from his eye and quickly cleaned up the spilled condiments, continuing his work.

If he didn’t work, he couldn’t afford rent; without rent, he’d be homeless.

In the slums, a homeless person could disappear at any moment, and nobody would care.