Chapter 296: Chameleon

Yang Bo and Annie were chatting as they walked, and Yang Bo noticed that Annie’s current look was more in line with his aesthetic. She now had a vibe somewhat like a lady from next door.

Last night’s sexy outfit had been too hot. As they walked, Annie said to Yang Bo, “Thank you for hosting us yesterday. We were originally targeting that old man. You know, given our circumstances and being monitored by the Alliance, we can’t bring people of the opposite sex home.”

Yang Bo understood what Annie meant. The Alliance had strict supervision for same-sex marriages receiving subsidies. If they found you hanging out too much with someone of the opposite sex, they’d investigate and stop your assistance.

In short, there’s no free lunch. Free lunch always comes at a price.

Hearing the word ‘supervision’ made Yang Bo wonder. Could there be cameras in his home too? Could his Optical Ability detect them? “I know, they’re from out of town,” Yang Bo casually said, but inwardly he thought, ‘If it weren’t for me, who knows how that old man would’ve dealt with you two…’

This reminded Yang Bo of the last time he saw that waiter at the hotel. If he hadn’t arrived quickly, that Red Earl group would’ve used the waiter for their purification ritual.

There were lots of cults in this world, too much freedom. Yang Bo remembered how the Beautiful Country across from them in his previous life was filled with such cults.

“Anyway, thanks for treating us. John, what do you do for work?” Annie asked while looking at Yang Bo again.

“I saved enough money to retire here. I joined the New Immigration Plan, so I enjoy tax benefits in many aspects,” Yang Bo answered.

Hearing this, Annie said with a hint of envy, “I didn’t expect you to have saved enough for retirement already. We can only rely on Alliance subsidies to get by.”

“To be honest, I envy your life. Living alone can get lonely sometimes,” Yang Bo added, unsure what else to say.

They soon arrived at the supermarket, a budget-friendly one where items weren’t too expensive.

“I love these fruits, but they’re too pricey,” Annie said, picking up some Stardrop Fruit. The supermarket’s discounted items had quantity limits.

Yang Bo picked one up too. This fruit didn’t taste all that special to him, kind of like lychees from Earth. Its black peel had some white spots, but such a fruit still had a fancy name.

He remembered when they called cherry tomatoes ‘sacred fruit’ back on Earth. The first time Yang Bo heard that name, he really thought it was something high-class.

At checkout, Yang Bo paid for the fruit but gave it to Annie.

“Thanks! Next time, I’ll treat you to my home-made dessert,” Annie smiled sweetly at Yang Bo and said.

During their supermarket trip, Yang Bo learned that Annie had turned eighteen just a year ago. Like Yang Bo, she also grew up in a welfare institution. But during her studies, she got involved with the Same-Sex Association, then joined their activities. Even the same-sex marriage subsidy was something she learned about from the Association.

“Lucky me,” Yang Bo thought with relief as he clenched his fists. Thankfully, his earlier self didn’t join any of those chaotic associations. It’d be hard to imagine how things would’ve turned out.

After dropping Annie off at her apartment, Yang Bo left under the watchful eye of someone upstairs.

“Seems like I’ve been single too long… This Annie is not bad, at least she’s not using a Camouflage potion,” Yang Bo thought as he returned to his villa, realizing that spring seemed to have arrived.

“In comparison, though, Zhou Rui is still better. It’s just the impression she gives isn’t great.” While Annie looked sexy and charming on the surface, Yang Bo’s superhuman eyes could see every fine hair and makeup residue in her pores.

He could even see the tiny flakes of dead skin falling off her face. Maybe ordinary people wouldn’t notice, but for those with Gene Evolution, it was crystal clear.

He could even faintly pick up her body odor. This is why Gene Evolvers usually lived separately from regular people.

Gene Evolvers had far more heightened senses compared to regular people. Even without enhanced smell powers, their regular sense was multiple times sharper.

If you amplified your sense of smell five times and got thrown into a subway or elevator, it would become a living hell.

Back at home, Yang Bo logged into the game. Xiao Huang, Xiao Hong, and the rest had been waiting for a long time.

“Captain!” As soon as Yang Bo logged in, his teammates greeted him.

“Captain, I found a turtle farm!” Xiao Hong said excitedly, pulling up a map.

Yang Bo looked at the map and waved, “Then let’s go!”

“Captain, do you know any assassins?” Xiao Hong initiated a private chat while they were on their way.

Yang Bo replied casually, “Of course not, I’m a law-abiding citizen of the Alliance.”

“Captain, I’ve got some insider info on a big company. You could profit if you bought their stocks. But if I ever need an assassin, you’d have to help me get in touch,” Xiao Hong continued, seemingly unfazed by the previous reply.

Yang Bo was a bit puzzled, “I already said, I follow the law!”

“Captain, I’m not a cop. Have you been following the news?” Xiao Hong tried to reassure him, deciding to reveal a bit more.

“Yeah, what’s the deal?” Yang Bo asked, curious.

“You saw that group of rich kids beating someone up? I’m in that crowd. We were out for drinks during a gathering, took a spin in the car, and ran into some protesters blocking the road.”

“They broke traffic laws, so we taught them a lesson. But one of them turned out to be from another family, and now they’re using the incident to boost their fame. We’re grounded because of it,” Xiao Hong explained the situation.

Yang Bo was taken aback, not expecting three of his teammates to be from major families.

“Shouldn’t be a big deal. Just a simple assault case, right?” Yang Bo said, though it was clear even to him that he didn’t sound very confident.

“That Anti-Radiation Association is just seeking attention. Now that they got beat up by a group of rich kids, they’ve blown it out of proportion. Hard to say where this thing will end,” Yang Bo thought.

“Captain, do you believe your own words?”

“We’re leaving ourselves an out. We don’t want to end up in prison,” Xiao Hong replied bluntly.

“I have my methods. As long as there’s money, anything’s possible.” Yang Bo recalled his multiple identities, thinking he could probe about each family’s dark secrets and maybe score some rare abilities.

“What kind of methods, Captain?” Xiao Hong excitedly asked from his side of the game.

“Anything you need: Brotherhood, Bounty Hunter Guild, Free Mercenary Guild,” Yang Bo said casually.

Xiao Hong wasn’t sure if Yang Bo was bluffing. These weren’t small-time organizations.

“Captain, we’re short on cash right now. How about this: we give you some funds, and you help us buy stock in the real world. You take a 20% cut from the profits,” Xiao Hong proposed.

“I’ll think about it. I need to discuss it with my team first,” Yang Bo decided, thinking of Zhou Rui. He didn’t know much about stocks.

“Okay!” Xiao Hong relaxed, figuring that if Yang Bo had instantly agreed, it would’ve been suspicious.

“Captain, there’s a report about a super zombie in the city!” Xiao Hong announced in the group chat.

“Is that so?” Yang Bo asked in surprise.

“Yes, after a bunch of bombs went off in the city, all the zombies were howling. Then, after one big roar, they all went silent,” Xiao Hong explained.

Yang Bo’s curiosity was piqued. If there was a super zombie, what kind of power might it offer? The group continued to the turtle farm, only to find no zombie turtles there.

But Yang Bo and the others didn’t stick to one target. They moved deeper into the farm to a bullfrog farm.

Once again, it was a bust. Just overgrown vines and no sign of bullfrog zombies either.

“Our luck’s bad today,” grumbled the Smaller Girl in the group chat.

Yang Bo smiled at the complaint but had a lightbulb moment—should he use the game’s network to check out what his teammates looked like?

As they headed for their third target, Yang Bo began using his Optical Ability to trace the game’s signal to the server room.

The server room was on an unknown warship in the Void, with the planet below it handling the remote control.

Yang Bo followed the signal from the server room and traced it to the network path used by the Smaller Girl.

He found her signal’s IP address, but she hadn’t enabled her video. Yang Bo had the power to access her camera, but that would trigger security alerts.

“Definitely from a rich family,” Yang Bo thought as he withdrew his ability, having discovered her coordinates led to a large private estate. Private lands didn’t show on Alliance maps but were clearly marked as personal property.

“I wonder if there’s more to my Optical Ability I haven’t tapped into yet…”

“I also picked up some hacking skills recently,” Yang Bo thought, realizing how much of his superpowers remained untapped.

With no templates available and no one to guide him, Yang Bo had to learn through continuous exploration and experimentation.

Even when two superhumans had the same power, their abilities could vary. Each person had to develop their own way of using their abilities.

He then checked on Xiao Hong, Xiao Huang, and the Older Miss, and found both the Older Miss and Smaller Girl came from the same large private estate.

Xiao Huang and Xiao Hong were also from private estates. Yang Bo now had a general idea which families they were from.

Yang Bo realized his Optical Ability wouldn’t trigger security alerts unless he tampered with their Central AI Systems.

In the game, Yang Bo and his team had to return empty-handed. Two out of three hunting spots came up empty, and the last one was blocked by a landslide cutting off the main passage.

“This game’s such a letdown.”

“Can’t believe the marked spots didn’t have any monsters,” his teammates grumbled on the way back.

The route was difficult. They had to clear obstacles while staying alert for zombies, mainly pigs, rabbits, and chickens, none of which were worth much.

“You guys scout the slaughterhouse first. Tomorrow we’ll hunt near the city where the roads are better,” Yang Bo said as they logged off.

Everyone in the team agreed.

“That’s five hours wasted!” Yang Bo sighed, checking the time. Five hours spent and little reward—just clearing paths was too time-consuming.

Back at his underground bunker, Yang Bo admired his reduced giant form while doing some brief training.

After training, he went to the Internet room and saw Zhou Rui had sent him messages, asking about his well-being.

Yang Bo replied coolly, saying he was studying hard as always.

They exchanged texts for a bit before Yang Bo left home under the guise of his Invisibility power.

He then reverted to his John persona and returned to his apartment.

In John’s apartment, Yang Bo stared at the network cable on the wall, wondering, “Can my Optical Ability pass as hacking?”

But now wasn’t the time to test that theory, being in someone else’s apartment, and who knew if interfering with the network would trip security?

He’d need to experiment in his bunker first before trying elsewhere.

That evening, Yang Bo took both women to a bar for drinks.

“Third Master, we’ve got news from the other side,” Zhou Rui said as Yang Bo arrived at their information drop point.

Before Yang Bo could respond, Zhou Rui added, “The top assassin is involved, the one known as ‘Chameleon.’ Nobody knows who they are, nor has anyone ever seen them—because whoever does is already dead.”

“This Chameleon is a lone wolf. No one knows how to contact him.”

“He’s incredibly arrogant. Before killing someone, he always sends them an email, usually ten days in advance.”

“A high-ranking officer in the military recently received such an email. The military traced the email and found it came from abroad, proof that this guy’s a master hacker,” Zhou Rui explained further without needing prompting from Yang Bo.

“Could it be a superpower similar to my own ability to Camouflage?” Yang Bo thought, becoming both nervous and excited. A killer with such a twisted power was exactly the kind of ability Yang Bo craved.

“Is his hacking really that advanced?” Yang Bo mused, though he outwardly expressed shock.