Chapter 27: Evolution and Demons

"I'm sorry, I don't understand at all. This... when will the teacher arrive? When can we start the class?" Ye Yang asked. He was truly impatient to seek answers.

"Class? Oh, learning here is different from a normal school. Teachers don't come to give lectures. See those bookshelves over there? Just go read the books yourself," the girl explained.

"The teachers are in the faculty office next door. If you don't understand something, go ask them yourself. Besides, it's not just about reading. We spend most of our time not in the classroom, but training in other rooms on the third floor. I'll take you to see them tomorrow. For now, you should read."

"Oh... thank you. May I ask your name?" Ye Yang smiled. This girl, who had previously teased him, was actually quite nice; she was warm-hearted, enjoyed talking, and had cleared up many of his doubts. Compared to Gao Ting's coldness, she was clearly much better suited to be a friend.

"My name is Chen Yun. Hee hee, ask me if you don't understand anything in the future. I'm a veteran here," Chen Yun said with a giggle. As she spoke, she grabbed a book from the shelf and sat down directly beside Ye Yang.

"Umm... thank you... pfft..." Ye Yang pinched his nose tightly and turned his head away. He... he had almost sprayed blood from his nose.

Chen Yun was actually quite cute, but this girl... Ye Yang didn't dare to look too much. Although she was dressed conservatively and wasn't very tall, giving her an average build, what was up with that massive chest? The way she sat to read was truly ambiguous, as she was literally resting her bust on the desk. Could it be due to the excessive burden...

Ye Yang didn't even dare to lift his head. He wasn't a pervert, but after being frozen for twenty years without female company, this scene was truly too stimulating. Blood was already seeping through his fingers as he pinched his nose, and worse... he was shamefully aroused.

Ye Yang's arrival caused quite a stir in the classroom. From time to time, girls would run over to take a look—some were plain-looking, some were "dinosaurs," and of course, there were a few who could be considered quasi-goddesses. Gao Ting was the highest-rated in terms of looks, but Ye Yang disliked her coldness. Beyond that, Chen Yun was relatively outstanding, her personality was easy to get along with, and most importantly, her... *ahem*.

The only others who caught Ye Yang's eye were a pair of twin sisters. He didn't know their names yet, but their identical, innocent, and cute expressions were quite attractive. Of course, just as Wang Feng said, he wasn't here to pick up girls; learning to be a Hunter was the priority, so Ye Yang just watched and wouldn't do anything indecent.

The classroom soon returned to calm, and the crowd thinned out. Chen Yun had said that people didn't just bury themselves in books; training various abilities was the main focus. However, it was still early for Ye Yang; he had to get a general overview of the books here and understand the basics before thinking about anything else.

Ye Yang soon found an introduction to "Evolutionary Cell Seeds." He frowned deeply; he was now completely certain that he had never undergone the process of planting evolutionary cells.

The invasion of interdimensional creatures destroyed the Earth, but it also brought many different things. First, the terrifying zombies and various monsters; second, many things that had never existed on Earth began to emerge. The so-called evolutionary cells were a type of DNA component refined by human scientists through experiments on these interdimensional creatures. This DNA was the reason those mutated monsters were powerful, and it was the foundation for Hunters. Through the evolution of these cells, they could gain supernatural abilities and become stronger, thereby gaining the strength to contend with those monsters.

"Why is this? When did I ever have evolutionary cells planted in me?" Ye Yang felt bewildered, but as he continued reading, he began to understand the gist of it.

The creator of the evolutionary cells—Ye Lingyun!

"Oh..." Ye Yang had a sudden realization. Ever since he killed that mutant, he had suspected that his old man might have modified him, turning him into an Ultraman. The facts proved that was indeed the case.

"No wonder my Demon Power value is so high! So that's why." Ye Yang muttered to himself. It seemed it wasn't that he hadn't had evolutionary cells planted; rather, they had been planted by his father back when he was frozen, he just hadn't known it.

Continuing to read, what caught Ye Yang's attention was an explanation regarding "Demon Power." Just as he had thought, this actually had something to do with *Journey to the West*.

The interdimensional monsters were divided into five levels, from LV1 to LV5. LV1 were the most common zombies, who became infected through bacteria that drove all non-similar organisms mad. This infection speed was extremely fast, completing within minutes. Subsequent zombies biting people would also spread the bacteria, but much more slowly—taking several hours to mutate—which was why serums could be effective. These bacteria were the moving snowflakes he had seen on the day of the apocalypse. Ye Yang could still recall the corrosive feeling of those snowflakes, like sulfuric acid; they were actually countless terrifying bacteria... Ye Yang shivered at the thought.

LV2 Mutants and LV3 Predators were formed similarly to zombies through infection. The difference was that over time, these monsters had evolved by combining with the human body's own cells, turning into even more powerful creatures!

What truly caught Ye Yang's attention was a monster called LV4, known as "Demons." The name was strange and somewhat rustic, but after reading the explanation, Ye Yang understood its significance.

LV4s were not infected by bacteria; they were a type of terrifying, sentient spore organism from another dimension. Once these spores invaded a human body, they would rapidly seize the brain and occupy the body, turning the human into a monster. These monsters possessed high intelligence—intelligence not a bit inferior to humans. They could even speak like humans and hide among crowds without being detected. Furthermore, they had another characteristic: although they mostly maintained a human form, during combat, they could instantly alter their muscle structure, transforming into monsters far more terrifying than Mutants or Predators!

This ability to change was so similar to the demons in Chinese mythology that these LV4s were called "Demons." Similarly, LV5s were also called Demons; they shared the same traits but possessed even greater strength because their Demon Power values were terrifyingly high.

The book contained several illustrations of these Demons. They were figures humans had seen before; indeed, they looked no different from humans, but the pictures of them after transformation were... Ye Yang felt waves of nausea. Compared to LV3 Predators and LV2 Mutants, these things were far more horrifying.

At the bottom was an illustration of a black halo—a snapshot. Ye Yang froze when he saw it. The scene felt so familiar; it seemed to be...

The caption below stated that this was the scene of an LV4 spore organism invasion, appearing like a mass of black stardust descending from the sky. They would invade any human or animal they came into contact with.

Ye Yang clutched his right arm violently! He remembered. On the day of the apocalypse, he had been invaded by exactly this thing. That was why he had nearly died. So this was what was called a Demon spore organism, so...

Cold sweat poured down like rain. Ye Yang felt a lingering fear. If he hadn't desperately hacked at his own arm to stop the creature's invasion, he would have already become one of those terrifying creatures called Demons, right? If his father hadn't used cryogenics to kill that spore organism... Ye Yang didn't dare to think any further.

Next were descriptions of the power of LV4s, along with snapshots of combat. The strength of these guys was terrifying; there was simply no comparison to LV3 Predators. Ye Yang didn't know the exact strength of a Predator—although he had seen one, it was just a corpse killed by Yao Jun—but these LV4s thoroughly shocked him.

Bullets were completely useless. It wasn't that they couldn't pierce the skin, but the speed of cellular regeneration was simply inconceivable. Even cannons and missiles, unless they hit a vital point squarely, wouldn't cause much damage. It would take a continuous bombardment of hundreds of missiles to reduce them to ash.

The only thing that could counter these monsters was mercury toxin. This was also a discovery by his father, Ye Lingyun. While this toxin wasn't as lethal to LV4 Demons as it was to zombies, it could stop their cellular regeneration. That was the reason all Hunters were equipped with mercury weapons.

Below were several photos of Demons fighting humans. It showed three transformed, terrifying Demons attacking an aircraft carrier. With just two of them, no one on the carrier survived. Missiles, autocannons, assault rifles—those attacks were completely ineffective. The caption read: "Ten minutes. In just ten minutes of fighting, the three Demons slaughtered everyone on the carrier—three thousand soldiers armed to the teeth, the most elite soldiers! The result was only that one of the Demons was injured."

Ye Yang couldn't say a word. Three thousand elites! Elites with assault rifles, autocannons, and rocket launchers! Even a super aircraft carrier equipped with missile launchers hadn't lasted ten minutes? Was this possible? Could Hunters possibly contend with such powerful monsters?

Even if Ling Fengyan felt like a superman to Ye Yang, and even if Sang Shi's "Magic Cannon" had immense power, there was no way to compete with these guys! The photo labeled the levels of the three Demons: two were LV4, and one was LV5. It was a winged creature, massive and sturdy, with a face somewhat resembling a lion.

Ye Yang had always thought that being a Hunter meant learning some superpowers to zap zombies, or perhaps KO-ing a few Mutants or Predators like Ling Fengyan. Now, he was thoroughly shocked. This world was beyond his imagination; it had mutated to a terrifying extent.

"Scared, aren't you? Hee hee, I was scared the first time I saw it too." Chen Yun giggled and scooted over. Her "scooting" meant dragging that massive bust across the desk, but Ye Yang had no mind to look; he was already dumbfounded.

"How... how do you deal with things like this?" Ye Yang asked in a hoarse voice. Atomic bombs? Impossible; if they used any more, the Earth would be gone, completely barren. What were they supposed to do?

"Hunters! That's us! Through cellular evolution and long-term training, we can gain combat power that doesn't lose to the Demons. Umm... like superheroes, and then we can fight them," Chen Yun said, her face full of longing.

"Is that possible? These guys... they destroyed an aircraft carrier!! That was an aircraft carrier!!" Ye Yang's teeth were chattering.

Chen Yun curled her lip: "Of course it's possible, and it's already happening! Our leader, the Great Thunder King, Lei Di—oh, that's Boss Wang Feng—he has killed LV4s! Not just once, and always in one-on-one fights! He's an LV5 Hunter!"

"An LV5 Hunter? So the grading systems are parallel?" Ye Yang wiped his sweat. "Wang Feng can kill an LV4 Demon? Can he beat an LV5 Demon?" Although he had heard from Lin Tian that Wang Feng was extraordinary, Ye Yang hadn't expected him to be this strong—taking down a monster that could defeat an aircraft carrier in a duel!!

"He can't beat an LV5, but he should be able to handle most LV4s. The grading isn't exactly parallel; an LV4 Hunter has a hard time beating an LV4 Demon, but an LV3 can easily kill a Predator. Eh, you'll understand later."

Ye Yang nodded, but then asked a question that was asking for a beating: "What's your level? What's your ability?"

Chen Yun's face immediately turned sour. She pouted for a long time before saying, "Me? My ability is freezing. It's not bad, but I'm only LV2. I can't execute missions yet, not even participate in Hunter internships. Sigh..."

"Hunters have internships? What level do you need to participate?" Ye Yang asked, looking blank.

A voice interrupted his questioning. At the door, a man he had never seen before walked in, spotted Ye Yang instantly, and shouted: "Ye Yang? Are you Ye Yang? Go to the faculty office immediately for your grading, then prepare for your internship."

"..." Chen Yun's eyes went wide, and Ye Yang was completely stunned. This was his first day of school, he didn't even know what level he was, he didn't have any abilities, he hadn't even unlocked his attribute type—internship, my ass!!