He briefly recounted what had happened earlier and the car accident today. The other end of the phone fell silent in thought, then soon a voice sounded: “Alright, I’ll mention this to the deputy chief later. I’ll come by tomorrow.”

William Carter laughed: “Thanks a lot, Olivia Smith big brother.”

“Don’t get too happy just yet, kid. Fights like this can be a big deal or a small one. If things get out of hand, you might end up locked up for two years.”

William Carter lowered his head in thought, then suddenly smiled and said:

“How about this, tomorrow I’ll first…”

After listening to William Carter, the other end of the phone was silent for a moment, then a surprised voice came: “How do you have so many sneaky ideas, kid? Alright, let’s do it your way. I think it’ll work.”

William Carter smiled: “Then thanks again, Olivia Smith big brother.”

“What are you thanking me for? All these years, everyone at the station has gotten their medicine from Dr. Lu, and Auntie has taken care of us whenever we caught a cold or cough. Besides, those two really are pieces of work. If this had happened on my watch, I’d make sure they paid for it.”

Olivia Smith yawned sleepily: “Alright, that’s enough. I’m exhausted and have to patrol tomorrow. Make sure you handle things properly, kid.”

“Mm.”

William Carter nodded, and only after hearing the call disconnect did he put away his phone.

With that, both matters were settled.

Although Ruoshui’s parents had passed away, the connections they left behind still remained. Even though people tend to drift away after someone’s gone, those ties could still be useful at times.

After finishing the call, William Carter saw that dinner wasn’t ready yet, so he went upstairs to tidy up Ruoshui’s parents’ room. After all, he couldn’t just leave it looking like a typhoon had swept through.

Once he finished cleaning and had dinner, it was already past eleven.

William Carter sent the little girl off to bed first, then washed the dishes by himself, carefully locked the front door, tidied up the messy living room again, lit a few sticks of incense for Ruoshui’s parents, and finally returned to his room.

Closing the door, he suddenly leaned against it, and only then did he finally let out a relieved breath.

Sliding down to the floor in exhaustion, William Carter couldn’t even move a finger—his whole body was wracked with searing pain.

In just a few hours, so much had happened that his body had been pushed to the brink of collapse more than once.

If not for some unknown reason, he would have become a corpse under the impact of that truck.

Even though he looked fine, it only meant he could still move; the excruciating pain threatening to tear him apart never left his body for a moment.

And with so many things still to come, William Carter had truly reached his limit.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, he unzipped his jacket and fumbled in his shirt pocket.

Only when he pulled his hand out did he let out a helpless sound.

Looking at the black string and the blood-stained fragments in his hand, he had to face the reality—the pendant that meant so much to Ruoshui was now shattered beyond repair.

He angrily knocked himself on the head, and the pain from his arm and neck muscles stretching almost made him groan.

He didn’t know how long it took before he regained a bit of strength, struggled to his feet, and turned on the bedside lamp.

Facing the mirror, he slowly took off his jacket. Even though he tried his best to avoid stretching his muscles, the process was still agonizing, as if countless tiny blades were scraping through his flesh with every movement.

Then, staring at his reflection, he fell into a daze.

Chapter 6: Mutation

Standing in front of the mirror, William Carter stared blankly at himself, unable to help but mutter under his breath:

“Damn… did I just go through a meat grinder?”

As he took off his jacket, the blood-soaked shirt finally came into view in the mirror.

The once pure white shirt was now stained with large patches of crimson, as if it had been soaked in red ink.

After the blood dried, it turned into a strange color somewhere between dark red and black, with the edges tinged with a sickly yellow-brown.

A strong, metallic smell of blood finally filled the air.

Let alone William Carter standing here seemingly unharmed, anyone would believe he was a victim at a murder scene, looking like this.

He really did look like he’d been smashed to pieces!

Staring blankly at his blood-soaked reflection, William Carter finally snapped out of it, swallowing dryly.

He suddenly felt a surge of fear—what if, under the shirt, he’d actually been gutted and was unrecognizable?

He didn’t know how long he hesitated before finally gritting his teeth and tearing off his shirt. The fabric, stuck to dried blood, peeled away, and William Carter’s upper body was finally exposed.

Large patches of purple bruising covered his torso, with streaks of dried blood marking his skin in a disturbing dark red.

And under all this carnage, even William Carter could hardly believe he was actually unharmed.

Suddenly, William Carter noticed a strange color on his chest, beneath the bloodstains.