The feeling of turning into a werewolf

The Unusual Cancer Patient

Since the night before last, after killing Youfu, Yan Feng hadn't eaten anything except drinking water, yet he didn't feel hungry at all.

Reflecting on the mutation process:

On the 25th of last month, his body began to exhibit unusual reactions. The strange itching, swelling pain, and hunger started last Thursday, May 7th.

By the morning of the 11th (the day before yesterday), when he saw the goats at the market, he first felt a predator-like urge—thoughts of knocking down the goat or devouring Youfu's dog meat crossed his mind.

It was clear that the loss of control that night was triggered by this abnormal hunger or perhaps an overwhelming desire to consume.

The inexplicable agitation he just experienced had never occurred before.

Considering the transformation he underwent from waking up yesterday morning until last night, Yan Feng guessed that his body had completed some sort of mutation, evolving and gaining remarkable new abilities.

This restlessness must be a byproduct of the mutation, or perhaps its aftermath. In other words, this agitation wasn’t necessarily a sign of losing control.

But if it’s not a sign of losing control, then what could it mean?

Yan Feng didn’t understand biology. All the biology lessons he learned in high school had long been forgotten.

With a world this vast, and over seven billion people, surely he wasn't the only one experiencing such changes.

With this thought, he got up, washed off the sweat in the bathroom, then sat down at his computer and began to search for information.

He first looked up knowledge about mutations.

In biology, the term "mutation" broadly refers to the various differences among species or individuals, including morphological, physiological, biochemical, and behavioral traits. Mutation is the root of biological evolution and human breeding, encompassing both heritable and non-heritable variations.

Due to the influence of various movies and novels, the general public perceives "mutation" as something strange and distant from everyday life. However, from a biological perspective, mutation is extremely common. The growth, development, and evolution of all living organisms depend on mutation.

Yet Yan Feng couldn't help but feel that his self-healing ability, which left no scars, was far too bizarre to be explained by a simple mutation.

He continued searching terms like "gene mutation," "abnormal cancer patients," and "gene mutations curing cancer."

Most of the results were from movies, sci-fi novels, or games, or they dealt with patients suffering from rare diseases. The rest seemed either mysterious, hard to verify, or scientifically unfounded.

Just as he was beginning to lose patience, a news article caught his eye.

"This year, there have been 18.1 million new cancer cases globally, with 9.6 million deaths. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization, cancer is predicted to become the world's leading killer by the end of the century, and it is the single largest barrier to increased human longevity."

The article particularly noted that among the 9.6 million cancer deaths, 108 were cases diagnosed only this year. These patients shared common traits: they lived in healthy environments, had regular diets and routines, no family history of cancer, and none of the early symptoms typically associated with the disease. From the time they were diagnosed with early-stage cancer to reaching the terminal stage, less than a month had passed.

These details were eerily similar to Yan Feng's experience (his body had only taken 20 days from showing signs of abnormality to being diagnosed with late-stage bone cancer). The only difference was that these people had succumbed to their illness, while Yan Feng had survived.

Seeing this, Yan Feng couldn't help but wonder: Could there be 108 others like him around the world who underwent an unknown mutation?

According to the article, these individuals may not have survived the mutation process, eventually succumbing to cancer. Unlike him, who was fortunate.

However, these were only death cases. Perhaps there were others, like Yan Feng, who had also survived the mutation process disguised as late-stage cancer.

Sadly, the report didn’t delve into such possibilities. It merely speculated that the genes of these 108 abnormal cancer patients might have undergone some unusual changes that led to their cancer.

As for the cause of these abnormal changes, the report did not provide any explanations.

After reading the article, Yan Feng became even more convinced that what he had wasn’t cancer but a genetic mutation or evolution. Bone cancer was merely a manifestation—or even a test of the process. If one survived, they would evolve and gain powerful abilities; if not, they became another cancer statistic.

From the abilities he had gained, Yan Feng realized that his mutation made him resemble a creature from Western folklore—a werewolf. The bite and claw marks on Youfu, along with his torn clothes, confirmed this suspicion.

The concept of werewolves had appeared in countless literary works, and Yan Feng was no stranger to their powers.

The most terrifying thing about a werewolf is that, under normal circumstances, they appear no different from ordinary people. But on a full moon night, they transform, lose their rationality, and become violent.

However, Yan Feng's loss of control happened on the night of the 11th (the 19th day of the lunar calendar), which, although illuminated by moonlight, was not a full moon night.

He wasn’t interested in whether the legends were wrong or if something else was at play. All Yan Feng cared about was understanding the cause of his recent agitation.

"If I've truly awakened the genes of a wolf, perhaps learning more about wolf behavior will help me uncover the source of this rage."

Just as he was about to search for information on wolves, his phone rang—it was his mother.

"Mom, it's only a little after eight. Why are you calling so early?"

"What? Did I wake you?"

"No, I’ve been up for a while. What's the matter?"

"Nothing much. I just wanted to ask about the girl your aunt introduced. Have you been in contact with her lately? It’s been over a month, and you haven’t mentioned anything."

At this, an image of a burly figure instantly flashed in Yan Feng's mind.

"Mom, can we not talk about this? She operates a bulldozer. I couldn’t even match her arm strength with my leg! Do you really think we’re a good fit?"

A month ago, Yan Feng had been forced by his mother to take time off work and return home for a blind date. She’d told him about a great girl that he had to meet before someone else snatched her up.

Based on his mother’s description, he had been quite hopeful, but when he finally met her, it was a huge disappointment.

The girl wasn’t exactly unattractive, but she was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, stronger than most men.

"Stop exaggerating! I think she's perfectly fine, just not the type who knows how to dress up. A woman like that is good for raising a family, you know? Your aunt said she's very popular in her town. You’re lucky she even considered you."

"Mom, I don’t like this type, and we have nothing in common."

"Then what type do you like? Women who dress like vixens every day? You’ve dated beautiful girls before, but how many of those relationships worked out? You’re not young anymore, you know. Lulu’s son is already calling her ‘Grandma.’ Who else your age is still single in the village besides Shui Ming’s simple-minded son?"

In the countryside, being single at thirty meant you were either poor or had some physical or mental problem. Yan Feng’s lack of a steady partner had been a source of gossip, which in turn put a lot of pressure on his mother.

Yan Feng had dated several women over the years, but none of those relationships had progressed to marriage.

His most recent relationship had lasted a year and a half, and though things had been going well, it had ended because of her parents’ strong opposition.

Yan Feng also wanted to settle down and make his parents happy, but he refused to settle for just anyone. Marriage was a lifelong commitment, after all.

"Alright, Mom. I promise I’ll find a wife that’ll make you proud."

"I’ve heard that a thousand times already. My ears have grown calluses."

"Come on, these things can’t be rushed. You don’t want me to pick someone random just to end up divorced, do you?"

"So what if you get divorced? As long as you’ve had a child, it doesn’t matter!"

"..."

At this, Yan Feng was speechless. Did she only see him as a tool for making babies?

Sensing his silence, his mother realized she may have gone too far and softened her tone. "Fine, if you don’t like her, we’ll let it go. But your third uncle mentioned a girl yesterday—she used to work in Dongguan and is now a livestreamer. She can sing and dance. How about taking some time off again to meet her? She might be more your type."

"..."

Yan Feng almost rolled his eyes. "Mom, we’ll talk when I get back. I can't keep taking time off; my boss won’t be happy."

"Who cares if your boss is upset? What’s the point of earning all that money if you can’t even find a wife?"

"Alright, alright. Let’s discuss this after I finish my current work. I have a meeting soon. I’ll call you later."

"..."

The call had completely disrupted Yan Feng's train of thought. It took a while for him to settle his mind.

Women were never a shortage for him; they just weren't the right fit.

This wasn’t the time to rush into relationships just to satisfy a primal need. Besides, given his current condition, romance was the last thing on his mind.

After regaining his focus, just as he was about to resume his research on wolves, there came a knock at the door.