The blade was sharp. The pad of Ken's finger was immediately sliced open, and blood welled up, the sensation of pain swiftly traveling along his nerves. So much for being impervious to blades or bullets… wishful thinking.
He licked his finger. His own blood seemed to have no effect whatsoever.
Just as he was about to get up to find a bandage, a sudden thought struck him. He sat back down, carefully examining the wound under the light. After licking away the blood, the cut, about 6-7 mm long, was no longer bleeding. Only a faint line remained; it seemed to have already begun healing? He scraped a fingernail over it and felt no pain.
He pulled the edges of the wound apart; it reopened, oozing a clear tissue fluid. He pressed firmly around the cut with his thumb, and only then did fresh blood slowly seep out again.
Clearly, the rate of recovery was far beyond that of an ordinary person.
Ken didn't continue his "self-harm." He used his phone to photograph the wound, taking a picture every minute. After about 13 minutes, the wound was almost invisible. Though the cut was small and shallow, he was certain such rapid, complete healing would have been impossible before his transformation.
This accelerated recovery from external injuries must be part of his physical changes.
A while later, Ken picked up the knife again, selecting another finger for a similar 6-7 mm cut. This time, he didn't lick the blood but cleaned it with a cotton swab and alcohol—he needed to rule out any potential healing properties in his saliva. He started the timer. After roughly 15 minutes, the wound had again healed to near invisibility. If timed from the initial cut last time, it would have been about the same. So, the healing time seemed consistent.
He recorded this data in his document, then aimed the knife at his palm. This cut measured 3.2 cm and was deeper than the ones on his fingertips. The bleeding was still minimal. After cleaning the blood, Ken stared at the wound on his palm. He deliberately stretched the skin, keeping the wound open, preventing the edges from adhering.
To his astonishment, the tissue on either side of the wound began moving inward from deep within the cut, automatically bridging the gap. Minutes later, the epidermal layers were pulled together, leaving only a faint scar. Ken forcefully pulled it apart again, releasing more tissue fluid. He repeated this several times. The wound still completely healed within approximately 15 minutes and 17 seconds.
So, the healing speed wasn't related to the size or depth of the wound?
Gritting his teeth, Ken began "experimenting" on his thigh, making a deeper, longer incision…
He spent the entire night cutting and stabbing himself. Anyone witnessing these scenes would have thought him a self-destructive madman.
By 8 a.m., Ken had inflicted over thirty wounds of various sizes and depths on his body, losing a significant amount of blood in the process.
For the first few hours, regardless of the wound's nature, the healing time consistently fell between 14 minutes 50-something seconds and 15 minutes 30 seconds.
Once, steeling his nerve, he even stabbed the knife clean through his palm. It still healed completely in 15 minutes.
However, in the final two hours, the healing speed began to slow, extending to 17 or even 18 minutes, even for superficial millimeter-long cuts.
Ken speculated on the reasons: first, the repeated healing and blood loss throughout the night might have depleted his recovery capacity; second, after sunrise, his bodily functions were suppressed, likely limiting his regenerative ability as well.
He leaned more toward the latter explanation, as the slowdown began precisely after dawn.
Ken didn't continue his "experiments." But a new idea formed. Since he had already proven his body's transformations or evolutions could be guided through targeted training… perhaps he could also "tell" his body, through repeated trials, to prioritize and enhance this rapid recovery ability during the next post-feeding evolution? Maybe after several cycles, he could reduce wound healing time to within 5 minutes, or even 2?
This ability held immense allure for Ken. While seemingly useless in daily life, accidents were unpredictable. Any capability that increased his chances of survival deserved focused attention.
A little after 9 a.m., just as Ken was preparing to go out, someone knocked on his door.
It was a female journalist with a photographer. Upon inquiry, they were there for an interview about the previous night's incident. They had learned from the grocery store owner that Ken was the young man who intervened bravely and had tracked him down, accompanied by Ken's landlord.
Ken firmly refused the interview, initially downplaying it as a trivial act done without a second thought. Unable to shake off the persistent journalist and the landlord's urging, he finally said he feared retaliation from the attacker's associates and didn't want the publicity.
The journalist countered: they could blur his face, distort his voice, even avoid filming him directly, using only voiceover. She even hinted at a monetary reward.
Ken hesitated but ultimately refused again. He wanted to maintain a low profile, for people not to know he was involved.
The journalist persisted. "Mr. Ken, this is genuinely a commendable act worth promoting. Please rest assured, the assailant is already in police custody, facing a minimum sentence of three years. He has no opportunity to cause trouble for you. Furthermore, the video of your brave actions last night is already circulating widely online. It's reached the top ten trending searches on local forums."
Ken was taken aback. "Video?"
"You haven't seen it?" The journalist took out her phone, opened the city's largest social forum, and showed him. "Look. From last night until now, it's already garnered millions of views and thousands of comments. The popularity is still rising. Many have already reposted it on X . You might even trend on X soon..."
Judging by the video's angle, it was likely filmed by someone in a nearby building. It showed the attacker chasing the couple with a knife, the grocery store owner trying to block him with a mop handle but not daring to get too close. Then, a figure shot out from a side door of a building, delivering a flying kick that sent the attacker sprawling, losing a flip-flop in the process, immediately pinning him down, and knocking him out with a single punch.
The entire sequence lasted about two seconds—fluid, almost like an action movie. The figure, with his loose athletic shorts, bald head, and flip-flops, had an air of a reclusive master...