150: exercise

Charging required time. Shen Mingyuan walked to the window, gazing at the brilliant yet cold city lights below. His thoughts didn't wander far but focused on the most immediate and practical mystery at hand.

He picked up his phone, unlocked the screen, and tapped on the only contact in his messaging list with the nickname '.' and a starry sky profile picture.

Shen Mingyuan: How much do you know about 'Zhu Zicong'? What organization is behind him?

After a brief pause, the reply came. .**: He belongs to an organization called 'Prometheus'.

Shen Mingyuan's finger hovered over the screen for a moment.

Shen Mingyuan: Prometheus?

.**: They adhere to a radical view of evolution. They believe humanity's current form is a 'remnant of the old era,' and the true future lies in actively breaking natural constraints to guide life toward higher forms.

Their goal is to eliminate individuals they deem 'lacking evolutionary potential,' shaping a new order dominated by 'new humans' or what they see as 'superior life forms.'

You could say they're trying to play god, using evo factors and related technologies as their 'spark.'

Shen Mingyuan frowned slightly. Such paranoid 'eugenics' or 'ascension theories' have never brought anything good in history.

Shen Mingyuan: Sounds like a very dangerous group. What's their modus operandi?

.**: Extremely utilitarian. To achieve their goals, they can treat any life as experimental Materials or expendable resources.

In their view, sacrifices during the process, ethical collapse, and even the monsters they create are necessary, even praiseworthy, costs on the path to 'great evolution.'

They operate covertly, possess considerable technical capabilities, and have a strong desire to capture or study special individuals. Be very cautious.

Shen Mingyuan: Understood. I'll be careful.

The conversation ended. Shen Mingyuan put down his phone, his index finger unconsciously tapping the desk.

'Prometheus'... an organization intent on stealing the authority over life's evolution and appointing itself as judge. Zhu Zicong's coldness and the phrase 'experimental subject' now had a clear origin.

Go directly to Wild Fox Ridge to search for that possible lab? The thought still lingered, but now it seemed particularly reckless. Facing a covert organization that views human lives as expendable Materials, any rash investigation would be like walking into a trap.

'Need to prepare. More thorough preparation.' he muttered to himself. Power came from the armband and 'twin stars,' but ultimately, it was he who wielded that power.

The foundational qualities granted by the armor needed consolidation, and certain long-unused skills needed to be relearned and elevated to a level matching potential threats.

Over the next few days, Shen Mingyuan's life fell into a regular, low-key rhythm.

Through online screening, he found a high-end gym with professional equipment and good privacy, and got a membership card.

During the initial fitness test and basic training, the coach was surprised by the strength, endurance, and core stability displayed by his seemingly slender frame. Shen Mingyuan vaguely brushed it off as 'having some foundation.'

Only he knew that the fatigue and regeneration after each transformation and battle were performing deep-level enhancements far beyond regular exercise. Systematic training was to better control this growing physical capital.

Meanwhile, he reconnected with a members-only, strictly managed live-fire shooting club in the suburbs, scheduling regular practice sessions.

As a former shooting enthusiast, his skills were solid, but the combat style of 'shadow' demanded insane precision.

He needed to retrain his muscle memory, even surpass past levels, imprinting as much as possible the sniper-like, intuitive feel experienced with the armor's assistance onto his normal body.

During the day, he was Lawyer Shen of Mingli Law Firm—logical, meticulous, occasionally taking on 'tricky' cases.

At night and in spare time, he sweated it out at the gym or focused intently amid the gunpowder scent at the shooting range, repeatedly adjusting his posture, breathing, and trigger pull.

The fully charged 'twin stars' lay quietly on the charging dock on the workbench, dark red veins occasionally glowing faintly in the dark, like the steady breath of a sleeping beast.

The armband on his left wrist was silent, yet faintly resonated with his increasingly keen bodily awareness.

A few days passed quietly in regular, fulfilling preparation.

The rhythmic clang of gym equipment and the sharp whistle of bullets at the shooting range temporarily replaced the verbal sparring in court.

Shen Mingyuan enjoyed this process of tangible improvement in physical ability and skill, making him feel more solid in his control over himself and the power of 'shadow.'

Until that morning, a somewhat unusual consultation appointment, forwarded by the front desk, was placed on his office desk.

The client was named Zhao Dayou, a man in his early fifties with a dark, honest face and thick finger joints. Sitting across from Shen Mingyuan, he seemed uneasy, constantly rubbing an old work cap, his eyes filled with confusion, reluctance, and a hint of barely concealed panic.

'Lawyer... Lawyer Shen, you have to help me... I really didn't know that thing was a protected animal!' Zhao Dayou began, his voice dry. 'I just found an egg in the back mountain, looked pitiful, so I took it home and hatched it with a light bulb. Who knew... who knew it would grow so fast, turning into a big snake!'

Based on Zhao Dayou's stumbling account and the limited photos he brought, Shen Mingyuan quickly pieced together the situation: about a year ago, while working on a suburban mountain, Zhao Dayou found a 'strange egg' larger than a goose egg with a hard shell.

Out of curiosity and pity, he imitated methods from TV, trying to hatch it with an incubator and light bulb, and surprisingly succeeded. What hatched was a small snake, golden all over with dark brown cloud-like patterns.

Zhao Dayou lived alone—his wife passed early, children were away—so he kept the snake as a rare pet, feeding it meat daily, even developing affection.

However, the snake grew far faster than normal, reaching nearly three meters long and as thick as a bowl in a year, coiled in his unused storage room.

The problem arose with his neighbor, who accidentally discovered it, panicked, recognized it as some kind of protected python, and reported it.

Forestry authorities and Forest Police intervened, preliminarily confirming that Zhao Dayou was raising a national first-class protected animal—a Golden Python.

Zhao Dayou was released on bail pending trial for suspected 'illegal acquisition, transport, or sale of precious, endangered wildlife,' facing criminal charges.

'I'm just a rough guy, don't know the law, let alone recognize protected animals... I watched it grow from a tiny thing, obedient, doesn't bite, I can't bear to part with it...'

Zhao Dayou said, his eyes reddening. 'The police said I might go to jail, I... I feel wronged! I didn't sell it for money, didn't harm it, fed it well...'

After listening, Shen Mingyuan quickly skimmed through the 'Seizure Decision' and 'Preliminary Species Identification Opinion' Zhao Dayou brought. The case facts were clear, evidence solid; Zhao Dayou's 'illegal raising of a protected animal' was legally hard to dispute.

But the case's peculiarities were: first, Zhao Dayou genuinely had no intent to profit or harm wildlife, purely out of ignorance and emotional attachment; second, the python was in good health under his care, causing no actual harm; third, Zhao Dayou cooperated fully, actively explaining.

'Master Zhao, don't panic yet.' Shen Mingyuan put down the Materials, his tone calm and professional. 'First, you must understand: raising a national first-class protected animal, regardless of knowledge or profit intent, objectively violates the Wildlife Protection Law and Criminal Code. That's a fact.'

Zhao Dayou's face paled further.

'But,' Shen Mingyuan shifted tone, 'the law also emphasizes 'unity of subjective and objective' and 'proportionality of crime and punishment.' Your case has room for leniency, even non-prosecution or conviction without penalty.

Our defense will focus on: lack of malicious intent, first-time offender, no harm caused, good care of the animal, and your full cooperation with the investigation.

Simultaneously, we need to actively facilitate transferring the python to a qualified Zoo or wildlife rescue institution. This is both legally required and shows your remorse and remedial attitude.'

'A Zoo... will they take it? Will it be...' Zhao Dayou was more concerned about the snake's safety.

'Proper facilities provide professional care and protection, which might be more suitable than your storage room.' Shen Mingyuan said objectively. 'Under current legal frameworks, this is the best outcome for it and a key step to reducing your liability.'

Zhao Dayou was silent for a long time, finally nodding heavily. 'I... I'll listen to the lawyer. As long as it's okay, doesn't suffer because of me... I'll do anything.'

'Good.' Shen Mingyuan started noting key points. 'Next, we need to gather evidence in your favor: testimonies from neighbors, Village Committee about your character and genuine lack of legal knowledge;

receipts or records of meat purchases for feeding; your full cooperation during the investigation. Meanwhile, I'll quickly contact forestry and Prosecutorial Authorities to discuss animal transfer and case classification.'

After seeing off the grateful yet anxious Zhao Dayou, Shen Mingyuan sat back in his office chair. The case itself wasn't complex, with a clear legal path, more like an ordinary criminal case clashing emotion and law. For him, pursuing 'truth' and confronting the grand shadow of 'Prometheus,' it seemed somewhat... mundane.

However, as he prepared to draft the legal opinion, his eyes scanned Zhao Dayou's blurry photo again—a dim storage room, a thick Golden Python coiled on old furniture, scales reflecting unusual light under the flash, those cold vertical pupils seeming to stare back through the photo.

A subtle, Detective-like intuition lightly tugged at his heartstrings. Golden Python... an albino variant of the Burmese Python, though protected, private keeping domestically isn't extremely rare.

But Zhao Dayou 'found' the egg locally in the suburbs? The local climate isn't native to Burmese Pythons; the chance of a wild individual appearing here is very low, let alone an abandoned, successfully hatched egg.

An abandoned pet? An accident during smuggling? Or... Shen Mingyuan shook his head, temporarily suppressing the overly speculative thoughts.

The priority was handling Zhao Dayou's legal issues.

He refocused, starting to type a preliminary legal analysis, contacting relevant departments to coordinate python transfer, and adding this new client to his busy schedule.