The relative prevalence of Evolvers naturally leads to various social issues, such as... the fall of nations.
Okay, it's not quite that dire. While most Evolvers possess strength far surpassing that of ordinary humans, they haven't reached invincibility. Many choose to work for the government and have formed the current Bureau of Anomalous Investigations. Zhong Wanhong's entire team, for example, is composed of Evolvers.
Even those who don't join the Bureau tend to behave themselves. After all, they receive a monthly "social stability allowance" of ten thousand yuan even if they do nothing. Robin's monthly stipend of ten thousand yuan comes from this fund as well.
To put it bluntly, the less trouble they cause, the more stable society remains.
Additionally, many wealthy individuals hire Evolvers as bodyguards. As long as they don't break the law or violate regulations, Evolvers can live comfortably.
However, there are always exceptions. Some are antisocial or even misanthropic, driven by a desire to disrupt society. Once they acquire power, they feel compelled to make a grand, destructive statement, as if failing to do so would be a waste of their abilities. Dealing with these individuals naturally falls under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Anomalous Investigations.
Dimensional Rifts weren't an everyday occurrence, so the Bureau of Anomalous Investigations spent most of its time handling criminal cases involving Evolvers.
Lü Heng sighed, "That guy wasn't some antisocial maniac. He was just working out at the gym when he got into an argument with another guy. The other guy shoved him a few times, and he completely lost it, throwing a barbell—with the guy still attached—off the fourth floor."
There was a wide range of power among Evolvers. As a frontline agent for the Bureau, Lü Heng was naturally quite strong. When he first approached the man to talk, the man angrily tried to throw a punch, only to be taken down in two moves by Lü Heng, ending up with a black eye.
Then came the scene Robin witnessed.
"Oh, geez..." Robin was speechless, but it made sense. There were plenty of hot-tempered people in the world; normally, it wouldn't be a big deal. But when that hot-tempered person was an Evolver with no sense of restraint, things could easily spiral out of control.
After buying the computer and returning home, Robin remained largely silent, lost in thought about Evolvers.
Although Robin had learned yesterday that this was a world plagued by disasters, it had felt abstract, like reading news or history. In her mind, aside from slightly higher prices than in her previous life, there seemed to be little difference.
But today, witnessing such an incident firsthand served as a harsh wake-up call, instilling a profound sense of urgency and danger.
I need to complete my objective as quickly as possible, she thought. If only I could unlock a more combat-capable identity. Having already died once, Robin had no intention of meeting another untimely end without knowing why.
"Just leave everything here; I'll take care of the rest myself," she said to Lü Heng after he had placed her belongings by the door. "Thank you so much for your help. I really appreciate it."
He had gone to so much trouble. If she were still a man, she would have at least treated him to a meal. But now that she was a woman, that seemed inappropriate.
"It's no big deal. It's part of my job anyway," Lü Heng said, scratching his head awkwardly. His gaze darted left and right, avoiding direct eye contact, but the barely suppressed grin betrayed his satisfaction at her gratitude.
Lü Heng glanced at the pile of computer components by the door. "Are you sure you don't need me to help you assemble it?"
"I've got this myself," Robin replied, pulling out her keys to unlock the door. "No need to trouble you." She carried the parts inside one by one. Though she didn't recognize the brands, she figured the assembly process couldn't be too different from her previous life.
After all, building a computer wasn't exactly rocket science. Even a complete beginner could learn the basics in just a few minutes by watching a tutorial video.
She'd agreed to let Lü Heng handle the purchasing because she was genuinely clueless about the brands in this world. But for tasks she could handle herself, Robin preferred to do them alone.
After saying goodbye to Lü Heng, Robin moved everything to her bedroom and began assembling the PC. It didn't take long, and she didn't even bother looking up any guides. Gazing at the finished desktop in front of her, she let out a relieved sigh, feeling a bit of her earlier confidence restored.
The first thing she did after turning on the computer was search for and download the world's most popular video editing software, then start learning how to use it.
Of course, Robin didn't need to master advanced video editing skills. She only needed to learn how to insert audio, add a few images, and quickly package a video.
She understood her strengths perfectly. There was no need for flashy gimmicks; she simply needed to focus on making her singing sound as good as possible.
While she was at it, she logged into her Kuaishou account on her computer and checked the analytics for her first video. The video had already amassed an absurd 500,000 views, and her account was closing in on 100,000 followers, currently standing at over 96,000.
Keep in mind it was only Tuesday, and barely noon—meaning all these gains had occurred in a single morning.
"Good grief," she muttered, "aren't any of you working properly? Watching videos in the middle of the day?"
However, Robin was actually misjudging her fans. Her a cappella cover video, lacking both an eye-catching thumbnail and a distinctive title, would have been unlikely to attract many clicks even if promoted on Kuaishou's homepage. Its explosive growth was entirely due to organic sharing: viewers recommending it to friends, who in turn shared it with their own acquaintances, and so on.
In other words, nearly all of Robin's followers had been drawn in through recommendations; there were virtually no casual viewers among them.
Regardless, Robin couldn't help feeling a surge of quiet satisfaction when she saw the data. For a fleeting moment, she even considered joining a Kuaishou content Group, posting a screenshot, and asking:
"Hey everyone~ I'm a newbie content creator, and this is my first video. Do these stats look normal?"
But it was just a passing thought; she'd never actually do something like that.
After composing herself and ordering takeout, Robin threw herself back into her studies. Once she'd mastered the basic operations of the video editing software, she began researching popular songs for her second cover.