William Carter had no idea that his deliberate attempts to avoid the cameras and kill the mirror image had been noticed by someone. No wonder—despite having gone through 1,080 nightmares and technically having “killed,” giving him a strong psychological fortitude, he was, after all, just an 18-year-old boy, still unable to compare to a battle-hardened special forces soldier!

At present, he was still very immature, like a sapling just planted in fertile soil; only with enough time could he grow into a towering tree.

As for now... he was still far from it.

At this moment, the “sapling” was still with David Bolton in the parking lot, rolling and holding the ball in various ways. After a round of experimentation, he had gained some understanding of his deskmate’s mutated ability:

It was just strength—nothing else!

It seemed... there was still a ways to go before reaching “destructive level.”

Back in the classroom, David Bolton seemed to have become a hero, surrounded by many people.

What everyone cared about most was whether he had already mutated and gained special abilities!

Upon receiving a definite answer, everyone was filled with envy.

Even the girls who had previously looked down on him now took the initiative to sit nearby, their eyes sparkling. As students, they might not flirt openly, but the goodwill on their faces was obvious.

In an instant, the vanity of “Immortal Zhang” was greatly satisfied—he was even more excited than when he gained his powers.

William Carter was speechless.

On the way, he had specifically told him to keep it a secret, and he had agreed. Although he thought the other wouldn’t be able to hide it for long, he never imagined he’d surrender so quickly.

Ten minutes? Or five minutes... What a letdown!

But, thinking about it, it made sense—what teenager doesn’t love a bit of vanity?

Did you really think he was one of those middle-aged people who’d been beaten down by society?

After sulking for a while, he let it go. To be honest, even if he didn’t admit it, it wouldn’t matter!

Yesterday, he’d slammed his head into a wall, and the ambulance had come to the school. With such a big commotion, who would believe it wasn’t...?

Rather than trying to cover it up and making it more suspicious, it was better to admit it outright and see if the authorities would take any further action.

After all, with so many mutants appearing, there was no way the authorities would just ignore it.

Not to mention, what exactly was the special operations team that Captain Miller belonged to doing?

Were they just guarding patients in the hospital?

Obviously not!

During the afternoon extracurricular activities, Class Seven was like a marketplace. Students from other classes all wanted to come and see what a mutant looked like and try to build a relationship. David Bolton was surrounded so tightly that not even a drop of water could get through.

As his deskmate, William Carter became an invisible person, squeezed out with nowhere to sit, so he had to leave.

The mirror in the sky still hung high above. In the reflection, his own eyes revealed a trace of exhaustion.

The toll from killing the mirror image had mostly worn off after two naps in class, but the pain in his soul wouldn’t heal in a short time—it would take slow recovery.

On the playground, some were playing soccer, some basketball, some rehearsing dances, some skipping rope... The air was filled with the energy of youth.

The gentle breeze from all around was intoxicating. Standing on the lawn, William Carter took a deep breath and was about to sit down and relax when he saw a girl holding books walk by.

Her curvy figure, long straight legs, fair face—sunlight shining on her made her skin look like jade, drawing the shy glances of many adolescent boys.

The school beauty, Emily Harris!

Class monitor James Parker and deskmate David Bolton had both secretly had crushes on her.

It had to be said, this girl truly had a special aura and appearance. Even in the same school uniform as everyone else, her inner and outer qualities were impossible to hide.

Like a princess, just standing there made people hesitate to approach.

William Carter looked as well—who doesn’t like a beautiful girl? Even if you can’t do anything, it’s nice to look!

He looked up with a smile, but after just one glance, his pupils suddenly contracted.

In the sky’s reflection, the girl’s image appeared, completely different from the youthful, charming girl before him. Her face was dark, her eyes lifeless, her skin ashen, and her exposed skin was covered in brownish spots...

Lividity!

And the kind that appears at least seven or eight hours after death.

In other words, this beautiful girl with a gentle smile before him was very likely a corpse!

Chapter 13: The Self That Was Once Killed

How could this be possible?

William Carter felt a chill all over.

Could it be... she was a mutant too?

But even if you mutate, it shouldn’t bring a corpse back to life!

Could this thing... mutate too?

If that were the case, wouldn’t the morgue be a scene of utter chaos?

Besides, among the rumored mad people at school, she wasn’t one of them!

Mutating without going mad... what was going on?

As if sensing his gaze, the girl looked over and smiled slightly. Her beautiful eyes were clear and captivating, but in the mirror, her eyes were deathly white, without pupils, and even... still bleeding.

The stark contrast between her rosy beauty and the corpse was suffocating.

Awkwardly scratching his head, William Carter pretended to be shy and turned his head away.

“Hehe!”

With a light laugh, Emily Harris paid him no more attention.

To her, plenty of boys acted like this every day—she was long used to it.

Being pretty... there’s nothing you can do.

Seeing her walk away, William Carter finally breathed a sigh of relief.