Chapter 2 He's Dying

Qingcheng City, in the eastern district.

The Jiangshan Shijia apartment building, 12th floor.

Two police officers and Chen Yu exchanged glances, and the room was silent as a graveyard.

"So," the male officer took another look at the "Dead Body" label above Chen Yu's head, his gaze deep, "you are already dead."

"But as you can see," Chen Yu spread his hands, "I'm not dead."

The female officer standing behind the male hesitated, "But you obviously are dead."

Chen Yu: "...I'm obviously not dead."

"Is that why you dare not go out?" the male officer asked.

"Yes," Chen Yu nodded vigorously, "I just took off my hat, and both of you were scared out of your wits. If I went out, it would cause a panic."

"Do you think... could he possibly be a 'malevolent entity'?" the female officer squinted and whispered to the male officer, "The title and the person don't match, it's too weird."

"So you really do want to treat me like a 'wolf' and hunt me down!"

Chen Yu suddenly grew tense, quickly took a big leap, and retreated one meter, "Which 'malevolent entity' would sit here and chat with you guys in good faith? They would've dismembered you by now! Look at how smoothly I move, do I look like a 'malevolent entity' in any shape or form? Hey! Look, I can walk quickly, see, I can even jog, watch me jog. And I can jump! Hey, jumping! Hey, jumping..."

Watching Chen Yu running wild around the room, the male officer slowly nodded, "This state of mind, indeed, bears the hallmark of a 'malevolent entity'."

"..." Chen Yu immediately froze in place. After a moment of silence, he quickly took off his shirt, revealing a clean upper body, and yelled, "Can't you see my human features?! Arms and legs, a belly button, even armpit hair! Right, it's common knowledge that 'malevolent entities' lack reproductive functions, so let me show you..."

"That's enough," the male officer quickly interrupted Chen Yu, who was eager to prove his identity, stepped forward, and with a "click," snapped the silver handcuffs onto Chen Yu, "Come with us back to the station, for a thorough investigation."

"...I'm really not a 'malevolent entity'," Chen Yu felt like he was about to cry.

Malevolent entities are the common enemy of all humans in this world.

Putting aside their "beast-man"-like appearance, their most distinctive "feature" is the ability to change the "title" above their heads, covering up and hiding among human society.

Apart from lacking 'transcendent powers' and the craving for blood, his current situation was actually a bit similar to that of a 'malevolent entity.'

Therefore, for the past year, he hadn't dared to step outside his home for fear of encountering a 'Transcendent' or 'undercover officer' with a temper as bad as the dismal weather, who might see him—this "walking piece of rotten meat," this "walking dead body"—and shoot him from a distance...

"I... I really am a good citizen!" Chen Yu opened his mouth wide and howled.

"Shut up. Once we get to the station, we'll be able to judge," the male officer bent down, picked up the hat Chen Yu had removed, and placed it back on his head, covering the word "Dead Body" above.

Of course, he also knew that Chen Yu was not a "malevolent entity."

After all, the appearance of "malevolent entities" differed greatly from humans.

But as a police officer, upon encountering such a peculiar discrepancy between a "title" and "true identity," he still had to take him back to the station for investigation.

Five minutes later.

Accompanied by the squeak of a door opening.

Chen Yu, now wearing his jacket and handcuffs, was escorted out of the house by the two officers, one male and one female.

The chubby neighbor standing not far away was revitalized at the sight and gleefully exclaimed, "I knew he was a criminal."

"..." After a moment of silence, Chen Yu roared, "It was obviously you who snitched!"

"Yes," the fat neighbor said proudly, stepping forward to examine Chen Yu's handcuffs, "Any problem with that? Are you angry? Fighting crime is the duty of every citizen."

"Cough," the male officer gave a light cough as a reminder, "you should keep your identity as an informant hidden."

"No problem," the fat neighbor waved dismissively, "Once he's sentenced, what can he still do to me."

Chen Yu: "...You just wait."

"He's threatening me!" the fat neighbor said sternly, "Officer, he's threatening me, he should be punished for multiple offenses."

"Shut up," the male officer glared at Chen Yu and pulled him to keep moving.

"Oh, right, comrade police officer, what crime did he commit?" the curious fat neighbor followed and asked.

"He hasn't committed any crime," the male officer turned back and said, "There are just some matters that we'd like to bring him in to consult about at the station."

"..." The plump neighbor's smile slowly faded.

"..." Chen Yu's smile, on the other hand, slowly emerged.

...

He got into the police car and returned to the station.

A male police officer found a room for Chen Yu and told him to wait for a while before leaving.

As the iron door shut tight, Chen Yu began to relax, looking around, he realized he was in an interrogation room.

In the center was a conspicuous, stainless steel 'regret chair' that shone brilliantly under the incandescent light, radiating an inexplicable allure.

Almost uncontrollably, Chen Yu took a seat on it voluntarily.

Not long after, the iron door opened.

A middle-aged police officer with the title "Deputy Director of the Police Station" walked in, followed by a middle-aged woman with the title "Director's Assistant."

Behind them followed two young police officers, a man and a woman.

A total of four people.

Upon seeing Chen Yu seated in the interrogation chair, the middle-aged police officer was visibly taken aback, "Young man, quite proactive, aren't we?"

Chen Yu: "..."

"Chen Yu, take off your hat. Let our director have a look," said the male police officer.

"Sure."

Chen Yu sighed, obediently took off his hat, revealing the glaring words "DEAD BODY."

"Well well," Even prepared, the middle-aged police officer was still surprised, hurriedly stepping forward and circling Chen Yu a few times, clicking his tongue in wonder, "This is eye-opening, truly eye-opening, goodness gracious."

Chen Yu: "Deputy Director, if your eyes have had their fill, could you let me go now?"

The middle-aged police officer: "...You can call me Director."

The male police officer behind him stepped forward, asking, "Director, do you see what's going on?"

"Mhm," the middle-aged police officer nodded, taking out a cigarette from his pocket, lighting it up, and while taking a drag, he said, "Typical 'anterograde appellative'."

"What is an anterograde appellative?" Chen Yu and the male police officer asked in unison.

"As the name implies, it refers to a title that changes ahead of time," the middle-aged police officer explained leisurely, "Aren't the titles above our heads changing with identity, occupation, age? An anterograde appellative changes before the actual event."

"Like, I have the title 'Police' even before I graduate from the police academy?" the male police officer asked, surprised.

"Right."

The middle-aged police officer nodded, "Such people are extremely rare, no matter the job or social status, their title changes ahead of time. There were research teams who studied this before without much result. They could only speculate that for such a person, the objective passage of time regarding their 'title' is accelerated."

"So that's it." The male police officer squinted, scratching his chin, "Anterograde appellative... What a strange phenomenon."

"Director, you know so much!" The female police officer looked at him with admiration, "So learned."

"The world is full of wonders. The more you see and hear, the more you understand," the middle-aged police officer said carelessly, exhaling a thick puff of smoke, quietly observing the "DEAD BODY" above Chen Yu's head.

Chen Yu also quietly watched the other party putting on airs.

Bullshit "anterograde appellative."

The "title" on his head was entirely fake...

"Eh?" The middle-aged woman who stood behind the three police officers and had been silent suddenly realized something, exclaiming in shock, "So you mean, he..."

"Right." The middle-aged police officer stubbed out his cigarette butt and looked at Chen Yu seriously, "He is going to die."

Chen Yu: "..."

...