Aberrant Worm Hunter

By this time, the tactical police unit had pulled up the homeowner's information and sent it to Zhang Kai's phone. Looking at the screen, Zhang Kai frowned. "The owner is Zhang Heng, thirty-eight years old, living alone after a divorce. He has a son, Zhang Lei, who was placed in his ex-wife's custody following the divorce. "A little over a month ago, Zhang Heng's parents, the family of his older sister Zhang Ling, the family of his younger brother Zhang Qiang, as well as his ex-wife and son, were all killed in the aberrant worm catastrophe. He seemed to have taken an enormous psychological blow and became completely unhinged. Neighbors spotted him pacing the rooftop several times and suspected he was suicidal." How tragic. He was the only one left of his entire family. After hearing this, Yu Xian had a terrible premonition. It would have been one thing if Zhang Heng had no power, but now that he had consumed a Forbidden Fruit, he was an absolute loose cannon. Suddenly, the pillar of light began to contract. Within the beam, Zhang Heng's body was gradually coated in a crimson substance. Though his features contorted in sheer agony, a mad laugh tore from his throat. Amid that wild laughter, he morphed into a blood-red, two-meter-tall freak of nature. Dropping onto the floor, he rolled his neck, reached into his own abdomen, and drew out a massive, blood-colored scythe. His eyes locked onto Yu Xian and Zhang Kai outside the apartment. By now, his eyes were devoid of any normal human emotion, giving the impression of an icy, unfeeling hunter. He merely cast them a single glance. Then he pulled back his gaze, seemingly having zero interest in Yu Xian or Zhang Kai. Yu Xian remained remarkably calm, immediately casting Appraisal on Zhang Heng. —————— Name: Zhang Heng Codename: Aberrant Worm Hunter Race: Guiren Gender: Male Age: 38 Lifespan: 0 Rank: High Wolf Alignment: Lawful Neutral Abilities: [Insectoid Slayer: When facing insectoid enemies, battle desire increases by 200%. For every insectoid creature killed, strength increases by 1%.] [Insect-Hunting Scent: Can detect scents that provoke its rage and excitement, relentlessly tracking down targets until death.] [Body of the Guiren: A cursed vessel obtained by sacrificing everything. Before all target creatures are slain, it will never die.] [Furious Blood: In moments of rage, can burn its own blood to drastically increase strength until all blood is consumed.] [Summary: Though I am dead, I will kill. Kill them all!!!] —————— After reading the attributes, Yu Xian watched in silence as Zhang Heng headed down the stairs. "Yu Xian?" Zhang Kai asked with a frown when he saw that Yu Xian wasn't teleporting Zhang Heng away. With a complex expression, Yu Xian sighed. "Zhang Heng is already dead. All that's left of him is obsession. He won't harm innocent people—he'll only target aberrant worms. Just have everyone stay away from him." "What if it causes a panic?" Zhang Kai asked worriedly. Yu Xian gave a wry smile. "Do your best to guide the crowd. Unless every last aberrant worm is eradicated, Zhang Heng will never die." Unless Yu Xian kept watch over Zhang Heng around the clock, Zhang Heng would inevitably appear in other cities if not Silver City. Besides, Yu Xian felt this wasn't necessarily a bad thing—with Zhang Heng in Silver City, however many aberrant worms came, that many would die. By now, Zhang Heng had reached the ground level. He swept his gaze across the gathered crowd, and his eyes suddenly flared with light. He charged at a young man. Seeing this, the tactical officers on guard immediately opened fire on him. Yet Zhang Heng paid no mind to the bullets striking his body. Bypassing an officer, he raised his weapon and brought it down, bisecting the young man's head in a split second. A brain-hugging neural worm burst out of the split skull, flinging its tentacles toward Zhang Heng. In the next breath, Zhang Heng snatched it in his bare hand. Blood-colored flames enveloped the creature, burning the brain-hugging neural worm to ashes in an instant. Under the terrified, dumbfounded stares of the crowd, he turned and surveyed the distance. Seemingly locking onto something, he began striding off in a definite direction. "His hatred for aberrant worms... it truly knows no end," Zhang Kai couldn't help remarking after watching the entire scene. Yu Xian sighed. "When all is said and done, he's a pitiful soul." "..." Unable to refute it, Zhang Kai took out his phone and ordered the tactical officers not to attack Zhang Heng. Still, for safety's sake, he instructed three officers to trail Zhang Heng to ensure he didn't slaughter any innocents. Afterward, the two returned to the patrol car. Zhang Kai didn't start the engine right away. After a long pause, he blamed himself. "Zhang Heng's tragedy happened because our tactical police didn't do a good enough job. If we had detected and purged the threat sooner, perhaps his family wouldn't have died." "Don't blame the tactical police, and don't blame the country. The one who truly deserves to die is..." Yu Xian retrieved a bottle of soda from his storage ring and handed it to Zhang Kai, then took out another for himself. As he twisted off the cap, hearing Zhang Kai's words, he paused and spoke in a slow voice. He didn't finish the sentence, but Zhang Kai knew he meant Pengzu and that mysterious faction. A nationwide warrant was out for Pengzu, but the issue was that Pengzu had likely altered his appearance, leaving them with zero leads to this day. Finishing their sodas, the two continued their night patrol. Passing by a trash bin, they even stopped the car to see who could toss their bottle in with better aim. Unsurprisingly, both sank their bottles cleanly into the bin, ending in a draw. A man's joy was sometimes just that simple. Thanks to the little game, both felt considerably better. The next morning. Yu Xian returned home. He took a shower and put on his school uniform. The next moment, he appeared at the front gate. Sure enough, Nora came skipping over. "Good morning!" Seeing him, Nora broke into a radiant smile. Yu Xian answered, and the two walked to school together. As they walked, a box of steamed buns appeared in Yu Xian's hands. He munched on them as he walked, which made Nora's mouth water so much that she simply retrieved various vampire-safe pastries from her storage ring. She had never eaten on the street before, considering it unladylike, but ever since Yu Xian had regained his ability to eat, she had been led astray. "Nora, let me ask you something." Gulping down a bun, Yu Xian used a bamboo skewer to snatch a piece of pastry from Nora's box. Before she could glare at him, he quickly changed the subject. Pouting, Nora said, "Go ahead, ask." "What do you usually do at night when you don't sleep?" Yu Xian asked curiously. Vampires didn't need sleep, so he was genuinely curious about how other vampires passed the time. "I sleep, of course," Nora replied matter-of-factly, blinking at him. Yu Xian froze for a second, then probed further, "Wait, don't vampires not need to sleep?" "That's true for Embraced vampires, or wild vampires like you. I was born from my mother, and I'm still growing," Nora explained with a smile. While she could go without sleep, she was still in the habit of sleeping as usual. This would likely continue until she finished developing. Put simply, once she stopped growing, she would no longer need to sleep. Suddenly, Nora realized something. She would continue to grow, but what about Yu Xian?