At night, by the bay of Coney Island.
Brian and Darwin sat on the ground, summarizing the previous test results while eating the sea fish caught by Darwin.
With the long-term ability tests, Darwin became more trusting of Brian.
Maybe it was an illusion, but he always felt that his survival of the fittest ability had become stronger through the repeated ability tests.
Although this feeling was very faint, it made Darwin feel the growth of his ability.
This was enough to make him grateful to Brian, the "Professor of Genetics."
"Professor, I feel great now. My body has automatically adapted to the darkness, allowing me to gain night vision."
Darwin eagerly shared the changes in his ability with Brian. Just now, he had gained the ability to see in the dark.
This was something Darwin had never experienced before.
Before meeting "Professor Sylar," he had never gained night vision in darkness.
But now, he had that ability.
There was no doubt that all of this was thanks to this young professor.
"Darwin, you said you have gained the night vision ability now?"
Brian's eyes turned cold and dangerous as he looked at Darwin.
It was as if a hunter was staring at his prey.
"Yes, Professor."
Darwin, who was excited, did not notice Brian's unusual expression.
He was immersed in the night vision ability brought by adapting to the dark environment.
His eyes were emitting a faint glow, as if they could dispel the darkness, and everything he saw was as clear as day.
Darwin looked at the bay in front of him. The night vision ability not only allowed him to see in the dark.
At the same time, it strengthened his visual nerves, allowing him to keenly capture changes in the surrounding light.
This even allowed him to see the fish swimming in the water.
Suddenly, Darwin caught a glimpse of Brian from the corner of his eye.
He was surprised to find that Brian was pointing a gun at him at that moment.
"Huh? Professor?"
Darwin turned his head to look at Brian in confusion, wondering why Brian was pointing a gun at him.
"Relax, Darwin, this is just a simple little test."
Brian reassured Darwin with a smile on his face.
Darwin's ability was too powerful.
Brian was concerned that if Darwin couldn't be killed, he would still have options for further action.
After saying that, Brian pulled the trigger directly.
Bang, bang, bang.
The dull sound of gunshots rang out, and just to be sure, Brian emptied the entire magazine.
"Uh, this... what's going on? Why isn't my ability working?"
Darwin looked down at his chest in surprise.
At this moment, streams of blood were flowing out from his chest.
Darwin couldn't understand why his survival of the fittest ability wasn't activated.
Bang.
In Darwin's confused eyes, his body fell straight to the ground.
Although his heart and lungs were shattered by the bullets, Darwin did not die immediately.
His mutant ability, survival of the fittest, was passively activated and began to adapt to the injuries on his body.
It started trying to enhance cell regeneration to repair the damage to his body.
Darwin's shattered heart began to heal slowly.
At the same time, Darwin's body began to adapt and evolve rapidly, forming a new oxygen-absorbing organ inside.
"It's truly worthy to be called the so-called survival of the fittest ability. He's not dead yet."
Brian walked up to Darwin and watched as Darwin's body constantly adapted to his injuries, unable to help but marvel.
Then Brian raised his gun again and shot at Darwin's new organ.
"Sylar... Sylar, why?"
It was only at this moment that Darwin realized that Brian wanted to kill him intentionally.
"Poor fool, there has never been unprovoked kindness or selfless help in this world. Everything has a price, marked in secret."
Brian's cold answer made Darwin extremely angry.
But at this moment, he didn't even have the strength to speak.
He could only hope that the survival of the fittest ability would help him adapt to the current predicament.
However, it was evident that Darwin's wish was destined to fail.
Brian took out the dagger he had prepared long ago from his pocket.
Then, in Darwin's horrified eyes, he placed the dagger on Darwin's forehead.
"Fuck, Sylar... what are you going to do..."
Darwin felt the cold touch of the dagger, and goosebumps appeared all over his body.
At this moment, Darwin felt like a lamb to be slaughtered.
"Darwin, take a deep breath. It's normal to feel a little pain."
Brian glanced at Darwin, and then without wasting any time, he drove the dagger into Darwin's forehead.
Amid Darwin's screams, Brian opened his skull.
At this moment, Darwin's brain was exposed.
His brain was completely visible in front of Brian.
As Darwin's mind was open, the mechanical ticking sound in Brian's mind played again.
At the same time, there were sounds similar to the operation of mechanical parts.
"Finally, I've been waiting for this moment. Let me see what the operational rules of your ability are."
Brian's face showed excitement.
He couldn't wait as he squatted down and began carefully observing Darwin's brain circuitry.
At this moment, Darwin's brain, in Brian's eyes, was quickly divided into independent functional component areas.
These functions corresponded to various parts of the human body's functions.
There was the memory center, nerve center, language center, and so on.
A minute later, Brian found the ability center in Darwin's brain.
"So, Darwin's ability works like this."
The mutant ability to see through the operational laws of everything allowed Brian to instantly understand all the secrets of the mutant ability in Darwin's brain.
Tick, tick.
As Brian understood Darwin's mutant ability, his brain began to function like a complex machine.
His brain and body began to adjust themselves.
It was like adding DLC to his body.
In just a moment, Brian's body had already acquired Darwin's mutant ability.
Brian stood up and carefully felt the changes in his body.
At this moment, Brian's eyes were glowing, and his pupils kept shrinking and adjusting. The originally dark environment was as bright as day in his eyes.
Right after Brian obtained the survival of the fittest ability, his body adapted to the night vision ability instantly.
Not only that, Brian walked to the edge of the bay and then jumped in.
The moment he touched the seawater, both sides of Brian's neck automatically adapted by developing gills.
At the same time, his limbs grew fins like those of a swordfish, and golden fish scales formed on his skin.
At this moment, Brian looked like a graceful merman.
Whoosh.
Brian exerted a slight force with his arms in the water, and his entire body shot through the water like an arrow leaving a bowstring.
His speed in the water was faster than that of a swordfish.
This is the terrifying aspect of the Sylar template.
The ability to see through the operational laws of all things can automatically optimize and upgrade acquired mutant abilities.
One-click full level, as if using an arm.
That's why, after Brian obtained the survival of the fittest ability, his mutant ability level automatically upgraded to level 5.
Yes!
After plundering Darwin's mutant ability, Brian went from being an ordinary mutant without any ability to a powerful level 5 mutant.
In the water, Brian clenched his fists slightly.
He could feel that his body was still undergoing adaptive evolution.
It's not just survival of the fittest, but adaptive evolution.
His body could adapt to various extreme environments and continue to evolve.
This adaptive evolution would not stop until he evolved into the most perfect creature in the current environment.
"I can feel that nothing can kill me except time."
Brian jumped out of the water, as agile as a carp.
When Brian landed on the shore, all of the adaptive evolution organs on his body disappeared rapidly.
"It's a pity that this adaptive evolution disappears once I'm out of the extreme environment."
After taking a look at his body, Brian shook his head helplessly.
He turned his head to look at Darwin on the shore. At this moment, Darwin was dying, but he was still not completely dead.
It must be said that survival of the fittest gave Darwin incredible vitality.
"I will carry forward your ability. You can rest in peace."
Brian looked down at Darwin, then raised his hand and shot Darwin in his exposed brain.
The bullet hit the ability center of Darwin's brain accurately, directly destroying his mutant ability.
Darwin's eyes widened, and he couldn't hold on any longer—he was finally dead.
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