My setting is above yours!

Chapter 47 Ability Enhancement Plan (4k5)

Run! Run!

Once you get there, you're sure to escape!
There will still be time to return to the gang and get the power injection...

You won't die here, you absolutely won't!

The skinny thug reassured himself, mustered all his strength to take a step forward, and sprinted down the pristine white corridor, rushing towards the elevator.

The basement of the patrol bureau is rarely visited. Apart from a large elevator used for work and transporting corpses, there is only a small elevator with a capacity of twelve people, and there are no emergency staircases.

The large elevator is currently locked down, meaning that if he can get into the elevator before Ron arrives, he has a chance to shake Ron off...

After all, this elevator was old and in disrepair, and it took almost three or four minutes to go from the basement to the ground floor.

By the time Ron catches up with him again in the elevator, he might already be several kilometers away in his hovercar!

Seeing the elevator doors in the distance slowly open as the system sensed the approaching passenger, he was overjoyed and quickened his pace.

There's still time! As long as we can get there, as long as we can get there...

But then a gust of wind suddenly blew by.

He smelled the familiar, sweaty odor emanating from Fatty, who hadn't showered in a long time.

"This place is already full... Hmm, does this sound like something I've said before?"

He stared blankly into the distance and saw Ron standing at the elevator door, holding the lifeless and completely immobile Fat Boy in one hand and pressing the close button on the elevator door with the other.

The elevator doors closed with a click. Ron casually tossed the fat guy aside, looked at the skinny thug not far away, and said calmly:

“Violent assault on police officers and murder—the crimes you just committed are far, far more serious than trying to steal a body from the police station’s underground morgue.”

Ron looked with interest at the pale, trembling, and helplessly frail man in front of him, and asked curiously:

"Judging from your appearance, you must be a member of the gang in District D, right? To be honest, I was involved in gangs before I went to high school, but I've never seen anyone like you."

"Getting caught by the patrol bureau agents is commonplace. You only tried to steal a corpse, and didn't even cause the patrol bureau any damage. At most, this kind of crime will cost you a few thousand credits, and you'll be released after seven days of reflection..."

"I'm actually very curious... why would you rather kill your fat brother and have him stop me than not escape?"

As Ron spoke, he narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze sharp as a hawk's as he fixed on the skinny thug in front of him:
"What secret are you hiding..."

"I...I...I..." the skinny thug stammered, but seeing the body camera hanging on Ron's collar, he suddenly regained his courage and shouted:

"I have the right to remain silent!"

"Oh?"

Ron raised an eyebrow, and then heard the man say impatiently again:
"I am now turning myself in. Under the laws of Ideal City, even criminals have human rights, and I have the right to remain silent!"

As he spoke, his tone relaxed, as if he were quite confident:

"Arrest me."

Then, he added another sentence:
“I will not communicate with you again until my lawyer arrives.”

...Playing the rogue?
Ron looked at the skinny thug in front of him, who was as stubborn as a dead pig, refusing to utter a word, and couldn't help but feel a little helpless.

To be honest, as a patrol officer, Ron really had no choice but to arrest this kind of criminal, send him to the patrol detention center, and await trial...

But even a fool could guess that if this person were arrested and sent to a detention center through normal procedures, he would probably be bailed out during the court trial.

Or perhaps no one will protect him, but he will die at the right time in the patrol bureau's shelter, and no one will be able to glean any secrets from him.

Who exactly is trying to steal the bodies from the underground morgue of the police station? How did a Level 1 user manage to use the formula? And who turned him from a powerless person into a superhuman...?

These secrets will be buried completely, and no one will ever know them again.

but……

That's something that only happens when you're an officer in the patrol bureau.

Ron could not possibly give up on this man's secret...

The importance of the [Ability Formula] is now related to whether he can participate in the struggle for sector access to [Prometheus] in the future. It's just a job for the mere Patrol Bureau. Ron doesn't need it!

Moreover... he has only just started working. Even if there are deviations in his enforcement methods, he will at most receive a few punishments, and he might not even lose his job at the patrol bureau.

Thinking of this, Ron looked at the slender, fearless man in front of him and sneered:
"If you had run into someone else, you might have actually gotten away with it, but unfortunately, you ran into me..."

He muttered to himself, grabbed the body camera from his collar, and crushed it to pieces.

The brand-new equipment he'd just received that day crumbled in Ron's hands. He opened his arms, letting the shards of the unconnected body camera slide to the ground, calmly looking at the skinny thug in front of him:
"Now, nobody knows what happened in this underground morgue."

“I’m not likely to consider going back to normal law enforcement procedures until you give me something that satisfies me.”

As he spoke, he pointed to the fat man's corpse beside him, which had turned completely pale, cold, and stiff, and said:
"While I certainly won't make you end up like your brother... you'll still have to suffer."

"So? Are you going to honestly say something, or continue to play dead and not say a word? I think you should have an answer in your heart, right?"

As Ron spoke, a hint of ruthlessness crept into his tone, as if he were truly a cold-blooded master of torture, someone who had been immersed in the art of interrogation for many years…

But he was actually faking it all.

Before he went to high school, Ron had joined a small gang in District D to make a living, and he knew what those thugs who struggled in the lower rungs of society were like...

When dealing with this kind of person, you have to be a bit ruthless and let them know that if they don't cooperate, their lives will be in danger. Only then can you get anything useful out of them.

If you are too mild-mannered, people will perceive you as more law-abiding, and these people will instead put on a tough act, hoping that their thuggishness can overpower you and cause you to go against them.

Ron's assessment was indeed correct.

Sensing the coldness in Ron's words and seeing his clearly menacing, icy demeanor, the skinny thug shuddered, swallowed hard, and said:
"I, I said..."

As he spoke, a hopeful glint appeared in his eyes as he looked at Ron:

"If I tell you... could you please let me go, brother?"

Let you off the hook? A piece of trash like you who kills without blinking an eye should just go to the police station and jail to reflect on your actions...

Ron thought to himself, but his face remained fierce as he coldly said:
"Speak quickly! Stop with all this nonsense..."

"Who sent you to steal the corpse? What are your abilities? And what was that 'secret technique' you just used? Explain it all to me clearly!"

The skinny thug hesitated for a moment, but finally spoke:

"This is a mission issued by [Ark]..."

ark?

Ron was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood what the man was talking about.

【Ark】, an underground gang in District D. Ron had heard of this organization when he was still working as a errand boy in a small gang.

It is said to be one of the largest gangs in District D, controlling a part of the underground society in District D and having a considerable influence in this slum.

This influence doesn't stem from violence, but from money—[Ark] controls many black market transactions and frequently sells "ability activators" and other drugs that can awaken superpowers, satisfying the desires of many impoverished people trying to gamble on awakening their abilities…

To be honest, Ron had always suspected that there was a giant corporation behind the Ark. After all, even those low-quality ability activators shouldn't be something that an underground gang could reliably obtain.

Furthermore, given their intention to steal bodies from the underground morgue, Ron immediately realized something was wrong.

Could it be that... it was the giant corporation behind the Ark that created those hollow monsters?

Now, they want to steal the corpse back... to hide some secret hidden on the corpse?

When Ron recalled those hollow monsters, he immediately thought of Baker—no matter how you looked at it, this experiment should have been done by Noah Pharmaceuticals!
Noah Pharma, Ark... what exactly are they trying to do?
Ron seemed to be deep in thought, then heard the skinny thug in front of him say:
"But as long as we can complete the mission, bring these corpses back to them, and help them recover the experimental materials, they will consider letting us conduct another ability enhancement experiment..."

Experimental materials?

Upon hearing this, Ron frowned.

It turns out it wasn't to cover up any secret, but simply to "recycle experimental materials"?
Are those innocent high school students, transformed into hollow monsters, merely experimental subjects in the eyes of [Ark] and [Noah Medicine]?
Even the dead cannot find peace...

Ron frowned. "Then where did you get your abilities?"

"My abilities?" The skinny thug scratched his head. "Officer, don't you know about the 'Ability Enhancement Program' that's been secretly going viral in District D lately?"

"Ability Enhancement Program?" Ron paused, taken aback. "What's that?"

"It's a special plan that [Ark] suddenly announced, saying that it wants to change the entire landscape of Ideal City and that it plans to turn everyone in Ideal City into superpowered individuals within ten years."

"Now, for just 5,000 credits, you can buy a qualification for an ability activation experiment at [Ark]..."

"They claim that as long as you undergo the ability activation experiment, you will be 100% able to awaken your abilities and become a superhuman."

Ron couldn't help but retort, "One hundred percent? How is that possible!"

He knew all too well how difficult it was to awaken an ability... There were countless people in the world with less talent than him, so how could everyone possibly have the chance to awaken an ability?
They even turned everyone in the entire Ideal City into superpowered beings... 11 billion superpowered beings—Ron had never even dreamed of such a future.

Even if such an experiment with a very high probability of awakening abilities truly existed, it would definitely not be something one could participate in by spending a mere five thousand credits…

What kind of amazing advertising method is this?

But the skinny thug gave an awkward smile and said:
"Yes, yes, officer. Actually, I didn't really believe it at the time, but I happened to have some money on hand, so I gave it a try... and it actually worked."

...It's probably just good luck.

Ron shook his head, completely disbelieving that there was any five thousand credit point ability activation experiment that could make someone 100% a superhuman.

He put these less important things aside and earnestly asked himself about what mattered most to him:
"What's with your 'secret technique'...?"

"That secret technique, I don't really understand what it is..."

The gaunt man scratched his head: "This is what the leader of [Ark] taught me. He said that as long as you recite it like that once and then wave your hand like that, you can temporarily boost your abilities..."

"To be honest, I practiced for quite a while."

[Ark] Did the boss teach you that? Can he teach you formulas?

Ron couldn't help but chuckle. This mob boss could actually do the same things as the Central Intelligence?
However, Ron knew that this might not be the guy's fault... perhaps in his eyes, that was indeed how he used this "formula".

The secret to how he learned and applied the [Ability Formula] lies within the [Ark] faction...

Seeing Ron deep in thought and silent, the gaunt man was clearly getting anxious.

He glanced at the fat man's corpse lying on the ground beside him, and fearing that Ron's questions about the "secret technique" were meant to assign blame, he gave an awkward smile and explained:

"Officer... I didn't actually intend to kill Fatty. This... this secret technique is hard to control, who knew it would turn him into that state so suddenly?"

As he spoke, he tried to exonerate himself:
"And Fatty had promised me before that I was his older brother and that he would go through fire and water for me."

"Officer, you know we all believe in brotherhood."

"Now that the older brother is in trouble, it's only natural for the younger brother to take a knife for him..."

As he spoke, he looked at Ron expectantly:

"Officer, I've told you everything! Can you let me go now...?"

"If all else fails, you can arrest me now and get me into the detention center as soon as possible..."

Is this guy... in a hurry to leave?

Ron looked at the gaunt man and could clearly see the obvious anxiety in him.

It's weird... it just feels weird no matter how you look at it.

Now, nothing he's saying seems to explain why he'd rather kill the fat man than not try to escape...

After realizing that escape was impossible, he changed his attitude and wanted to be arrested normally and get into the detention center as soon as possible.

This person's motive is illogical... He's hiding something important!

I need to find a way to ask...

Ron seemed to be deep in thought, and after a moment of contemplation, he suddenly said bluntly:

"Why are you in such a hurry...? Is it to cover something up, or for something else?"

“I will arrest you…but only after you explain what you’re hiding from me.”

"I...I've told you everything I can, officer!"

The gaunt man was visibly sweating profusely as he tried to persuade Ron:
"I have nothing more to say, really, officer, please let me go..."

But Ron remained unmoved, simply watching the man silently without uttering a word.

After a long time, roughly an hour had passed, the skinny, parched rascal finally gave up in despair, having tried his best to persuade Ron.

He was so frightened that tears streamed down his face, and he said:

"I'm just... I'm just afraid there won't be enough time to get the power injection..."

"Officer, officer, I beg you, please let me go back, just once!"

"It's already too late—"

But before he could finish speaking, he suddenly froze in place.

The next moment, his body began to undergo an extremely incomprehensible transformation—

The chilling bone spurs pierced his body, and he quickly stopped breathing. Strange biological features appeared on his body, making him look extremely ferocious and turning him into a humanoid monster!

Ron could clearly see these illusory, grotesque organs suddenly sprouting from his body, making him half-illusory and transforming him into a mindless monster...

What's this?
Looking at the monster in front of him, Ron was momentarily confused, a storm raging in his mind.

This guy... actually turned into an empty monster in front of him!

Just like those high school students who were turned into hollow monsters!
(End of this chapter)