Chapter Thirty-Seven: Rebirth in the Face of Death

Time passed little by little. Because Li Ying chose to join Sand City, the lean, ill-tempered ability user from Red Hawk left early, his face full of gloom. The remaining people found places to rest, quietly waiting for the others to emerge.

In the slightly tense atmosphere, another two hours slipped by. Suddenly, a deafening crash echoed through the air; a surge of wind spread outwards, and countless eyes immediately turned toward the source. The gene pod where Li Ying was located had opened.

He exited the pod with lingering fear etched on his face, but quickly composed himself, stepping out with calm steadiness.

“The higher the original gene assimilation rate, the longer it takes. Looks like Li Ying’s assimilation is average,” someone remarked. All present paused, and then their gazes toward Ding Wei grew oddly complex.

The higher the assimilation rate with the original gene, the less residue remains, the smaller the rejection reaction, and the better the chance of subsequent injections succeeding. In some sense, it reflects an ability user’s potential.

Ding Wei frowned, but felt no regret. No matter how mediocre Li Ying’s potential, he was at least an ability user, so this trip would not end fruitless.

Li Ying’s senses were now exceptionally sharp; he naturally heard the comment. He snorted, offered no rebuttal, and silently walked to stand beside Ding Wei.

Seeing his silence, no one pressed further. The crowd settled into quiet.

This time, they didn’t have to wait long. Just over ten minutes later, Liang Wu’s gene pod opened as well. He stepped out in high spirits, semi-coagulated blood trailing with his movements, leaving a trail of red footprints.

“Congratulations, Brother Liang. We’ll be colleagues from now on.”

“Thank you, thank you.”

Ability users from New Southport City immediately stepped forward to welcome him, the treatment starkly different from Li Ying’s.

Several hours later, as dusk crept in, Lei Junming’s gene pod finally opened. He strode out, blood-soaked, brimming with energy. The ferocious fangs he once bore had vanished.

With the gene lock released, the body’s tolerance for the original gene increased, and those mutated organs disappeared.

“I must be the last one out, right?” Lei Junming was confident—his assimilation rate reached ninety-four percent.

He reflexively glanced at the gene pod where Ji Cheng had entered. Ji Cheng had snatched the first slot from him, and now Lei Junming found him increasingly irksome.

His gaze swept across the opened pods; all doors had been unlocked, yet the pod Ji Cheng entered—the first one—remained sealed.

Lei Junming was startled. When Ji Cheng produced ten communicators earlier, Lei Junming had assumed Ji Cheng was just lucky to rob an injured strongman. Based on Ji Cheng’s age, his assimilation rate couldn’t possibly be high.

“At his age… how could his assimilation rate be higher than mine?”

He asked the waiting crowd incredulously, “Where’s Ji Cheng? Did he leave?”

“He’s not out yet,” an ability user from New Southport replied casually.

---

Lei Junming’s only remaining arm trembled, bloodshot veins appearing in his eyes.

“How could this be? When boarding, I was among the last to receive a communicator; none of those ahead had a higher assimilation rate than me, and I remember the faces of the few after me—none matched this person!”

Unless—

“Unless he’s that person, the one whose file is marked top secret everywhere.”

Suddenly, Lei Junming recalled—the masked man’s name was indeed Ji something.

“No wonder New Southport classified his information as top secret…”

Understanding dawned, filling his heart with bitter defeat. He sighed deeply, silent and dispirited.

At that moment, thunder cracked in the sky. Rain, thick as soybeans, poured down, darkness gathering in concert with the mood.

The waiting crowd grew restless.

After some time in the rain, the ability users from Rift Valley City departed with their team. The leader from Anxi City and Li Ying also wanted to leave, but Lei Junming refused. Now that he was an ability user, his status was equal to theirs, and with considerable potential, the team leader dared not offend him. So they, too, stayed.

“Why isn’t he out yet?”

The surroundings grew hushed, only the sound of rain filling the air. Many from New Southport had left, but some remained, steadfast in their vigil: Zhou Ze, Huang Long, and Lu Shangbai stayed put.

Ding Wei, for reasons unknown, also waited with Li Ying.

Inside the sole unopened gene pod, Ji Cheng’s body had lost all warmth, his heart stopped.

“Please, persist,” the intelligent life repeated tirelessly.

...

Lu Shangbai paced back and forth, exhaling. “Do you think something… happened to him?”

In theory, the higher the assimilation rate, the greater the gene stability, but also the heavier the physical toll from breaking the gene chain. Lu Shangbai knew just how high Ji Cheng’s assimilation rate was.

“Impossible,” Zhou Ze murmured, shaking his head. “There’s never been a case of failure or death during advancement before.”

“There’s also never been… anyone with such a high assimilation rate,” Lu Shangbai’s expression tightened, his words strained.

He was genuinely worried for Ji Cheng—not just because Ji Cheng’s talent meant much to New Southport, but because he truly liked the man. That call of ‘Brother Ji’ was heartfelt.

...

Within the gene pod, blood had dried, air grown still, blue light pulsing rhythmically like a heartbeat.

“Please, persist.”

---

A faint voice seemed to echo from the depths of the universe.

At that moment, a peculiar energy stirred inside Ji Cheng, a force akin to the budding vitality of spring, unstoppable and steadfast. Countless cells, once dying, suddenly burst with new life.

His consciousness awakened from chaos; he felt life returning to his body.

“You are coming back to life,” the intelligent life’s speech now quickened.

Ji Cheng felt his body lighten, as if a heavy burden had been lifted. His genetic code translated in perfect order, core genes unobstructed, expressing sequentially.

“Core genes have been correctly expressed. This will fully unlock the original potential, reshaping your cells, even altering your very level of existence.”

Countless raw materials flowed to every cell; core genes transcribed new chains, transforming each cell like a vast factory. Old components were stripped, split, and recombined into new ones, strengthening the cells rapidly.

Ji Cheng endured a pain unlike any before—as if every patch of skin was torn, every muscle severed, every bone shattered, every cell pierced.

Yet he felt more invigorated than ever, power surging from every corner of his body. He could almost control every bone, every strand of muscle.

His body convulsed, pores exuding layer upon layer of impurities. His skin smoothed, bones hardened, his heart pumped vigorously, flooding his body with power.

“If your cells were once a disorganized, unruly mob, now they are a disciplined iron army, fierce and obedient,” the intelligent life’s speech accelerated.

Ji Cheng felt heat throughout his body, an internal blaze tinged with tearing pain.

“From a microscopic perspective, you are not stronger—you are simply more orderly, more efficient.”

The intelligent life rattled off words like a machine gun, almost ten per second.

Ji Cheng yielded to the core gene’s transformation, relaxing his body, not resisting the sensation of rupture.

He didn’t know how much time had passed. Suddenly, a surge of air rose in his throat; Ji Cheng cried out.

He was astonished to find that his shout triggered a faint explosion within the cramped pod.

With that rush of air, the tearing sensation faded; power filled every cell, and his state was better than ever before.

“Gene lock successfully released. Congratulations…”

The intelligent life’s tone relaxed, offering gleeful congratulations.

“To you, master ability user.”