Volume One

Chapter 1

Boom—

The sound of an explosion blared from the television news, followed by panicked pedestrians fleeing and calling for help, sharp police sirens drawing closer, and thick black smoke blotting out the sky.

"According to our reporter, at 10:30 this morning, a robbery occurred at a bank in Shenhai City, with an explosion at the scene causing multiple injuries. Of the four robbers, one has been apprehended, while the other three remain at large..."

The TV screen froze, the female anchor's report abruptly cut off.

The interrogation room returned to an unsettling silence. Then, with a loud smack, a thick file was slapped onto the table.

"William Bolton, male, thirty-two years old, registered as a Class B Evolver two years ago."

The interrogator read out the basic information from the first page of the file, then looked up at the man handcuffed to the electric chair across from him: "Five days ago, you and your accomplices robbed a bank and caused an explosion. Seventeen bystanders were injured at the scene, but fortunately, no one died."

All four walls were lined with explosion-proof steel panels, pinhole cameras were everywhere, and an inconspicuous metal plaque was set into the solid steel door—Shenhai City Radiation Evolution Monitoring Bureau, Interrogation Room 3.

In the center of the room, on a massive iron chair capable of delivering a million volts of electricity at any moment, William Bolton, hands cuffed, raised an eyebrow at the interrogator with undisguised contempt:

"So this is how you, an ordinary person, talk to me, an Evolver, Mr. Interrogator?"

The interrogator took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his emotions.

"Answer my question, William Bolton. You work as a partner at a consulting firm, earning a high income. Why would you risk being caught by our bureau to rob a bank?"

William Bolton seemed to have heard an amusing joke: "Why? Obviously because I was bored."

The interrogator thought he misheard: "Bored?"

"Isn't it fun to watch ordinary people scream in terror and scurry around like ants?"

William Bolton shifted to a more comfortable position, staring directly at the interrogator's darkening face, and smiled: "The purpose of the bureau is supposedly to manage us Evolvers, but in reality, most of the staff in the Shenhai bureau are incompetent ordinary people, with only a few of the lowest D and C class—what can you do with a precious Class B like me, hmm?"

"......"

"Execute me?" William Bolton raised his eyebrow even higher, his tone dripping with exaggerated mockery.

The interrogation room fell silent.

After a long moment, the interrogator snapped the file shut and said coldly, "What do you really want, William Bolton?"

A victorious expression appeared on William Bolton's face as he leaned back in the chair.

"You just want to know where my three accomplices are," he said lazily. "Come on, let's make a deal."

Countless wary eyes, both inside and outside the surveillance room, focused on this arrogant robber.

"On the day of the bank explosion, I saw a young man in black sitting in a car making a phone call. When I was caught, he didn't even spare a glance out the window—I know he's your boss, the Chief Inspector who rules over all Evolvers in Shenhai City." William Bolton looked up at the surveillance camera above and said, "My condition is that he comes to see me in person."

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

The interrogator's expression changed slightly: "Why?"

William Bolton's arrogant smile deepened: "Because I want to see him beg me..."

"I want to see a pleading expression on that cold face of his."

Meanwhile, downstairs.

A black sedan silently pulled up in front of the steps. Four armed Evolvers saluted in unison and stepped forward to open the car door: "Inspector, welcome back."

A slender figure wrapped in a black suit stepped out of the car.

He looked quite young, his face pale and smooth. Sunlight reflected off the glass windows of the bureau's gray building, casting a sharp light that outlined his clear, cold jawline.

"Inspector Sullivan." "Inspector!"

...

From the first-floor lobby to the elevator doors, every staff member along the way seemed to freeze, quickly standing at attention, greeting, stepping aside, and bowing their heads respectfully as the young man's polished shoes passed by. Then came the ding of the elevator.

The highest-ranking official of the Shenhai City Monitoring Bureau, Brian Sullivan, paused, his gloved hands folded in front of him, his face devoid of emotion, disappearing behind the closing elevator doors.