Chapter 108: 817

“Multiple bloodlines?”

The administrator glanced at him and shook his head. “Theoretically possible, but practically hopeless.”

“Theoretically possible?” Lin Qing asked. “What exactly does that mean?”

“Genes are selfish.”

The administrator sighed. “The higher the gene tier, the more true this is. Bloodline evolution serum only gives you the chance to use higher-tier genes to optimize your own—but it doesn’t mean those genes belong to you. They’re merely dormant.”

“If you introduce another bloodline, the two powerful ones will fight inside you, ultimately causing your genes to spiral out of control.”

He looked at Lin Qing. “If you’re lucky, you’ll just get cancer. If you’re unlucky, you might turn into a monster—or suffer genetic collapse on the spot.”

Lin Qing pondered. “What if I inject a weaker bloodline evolution serum instead? Like a primal-tier one? Wouldn’t that avoid conflict?”

“That’s correct.”

The administrator said, “But the weaker bloodline will still be directly optimized and consumed by the stronger one, to preserve the stability of the dominant genes.”

Lin Qing paused, startled.

“Actually, there’s only one way to accommodate a new bloodline.”

The administrator said, “You must push one bloodline to its absolute limit before injecting a new bloodline evolution serum. But if you miss the window before gene awakening, the cost of injecting a new bloodline serum becomes enormous—and nearly impossible.”

He paused, then shook his head. “After all, pushing a bloodline to its limit is absurdly difficult. Even if you reach the same tier as a bloodline lifeform, can you possibly extract every single gene ability across all energy levels? Never mind reaching that tier.”

Lin Qing slowly nodded, abandoning the idea of two bloodlines.

At least, not in the short term.

But he’d expected this.

If injecting bloodline evolution serum were easy, reaching a gene optimization index of 200% wouldn’t be hard at all.

“Are all these gene optimizations third-tier?” Lin Qing asked, pointing to the items on the tablet.

“Yes.”

The administrator nodded. “Only stable third-tier gene optimizations are feasible. To stabilize fourth-tier, only Zhi Star Group can manage it.”

Lin Qing nodded slightly. “I’ve already unlocked the bloodline gene ability ‘Enhancement.’ Is the enhancement from A-class high-energy radiation still useful?”

“No use at all,” the administrator said. “That ability fundamentally relies on higher-tier energy to boost physical attributes.”

He warned, “Since you’ve injected bloodline evolution serum, don’t bother looking at any of these gene-enhancement serums—they’ll all conflict. Normally, you inject only one gene-enhancement serum. Two already risk genetic instability.”

Hearing this, Lin Qing immediately thought of Luo Wu from the Primal Research Institute—his condition had been highly unstable.

Could Luo Wu have been in a similar situation?

Lin Qing didn’t dwell on it. He immediately resumed carefully filtering the options.

【C-class high-energy evolution radiation: Super Strength, Rapid Regeneration…】

【D-class high-energy evolution radiation: Laser Eyes, Hyper-Sense, Super Speed…】

“What’s the difference between A, B, C, and D classes?” Lin Qing asked.

“It’s a classification from the post-apocalypse era, still in use today.”

The administrator explained. “A-class evolution radiation is ‘Enhancement’—the most stable, all-around evolution. B-class is mutation radiation—you never know what’ll happen; it’s pure luck. C-class enhances traits you already possess. D-class generates entirely new gene abilities.”

Lin Qing understood.

He immediately said, “I’ll take Super Strength, Rapid Regeneration, and Hyper-Sense.”

He’d also really wanted Super Speed.

But before gene awakening, you’re generally limited to selecting only three evolution radiations.

Each radiation makes your genes more adapted to high-energy radiation; after three, they become largely ineffective.

Only a few can manage four.

Super Speed’s speed boost is good, but he already had Instant Light—he didn’t urgently need it.

“Confirmed?”

The administrator reminded him. “After three uses, you must wait until after gene awakening to try again—and the cost is enormous. You need three Special Merit Awards for one attempt.”

“Confirmed,” Lin Qing nodded.

Normally, before gene awakening, the cost of evolution radiation is minimal—just one Special Merit Award grants three attempts.

But after gene awakening, your genes instinctively resist change, resisting radiation. The difficulty skyrockets.

So the cost becomes nine times higher.

“Which evolution radiation do you start with?” the administrator asked.

“Hyper-Sense,” Lin Qing said casually.

“Alright.”

The administrator nodded. “Follow me.”

…

Inside the sealed room, walls, ceiling, and floor were all lined with pure black, radiation-blocking material.

Lin Qing stood at the center, looking up. Above him hung a specialized instrument made entirely of transparent material, containing a slowly glowing, deep-blue polyhedral crystal that bathed him in soft light.

He knew the crystal was the key to evolution radiation—the instrument merely controlled it.

Since he hadn’t awakened his genes, the crystal needed to release only a small fraction of its energy to complete the process—minimal consumption.

A gene-awakened person would require ten times the energy.

“Feels like nothing…” Lin Qing muttered to himself.

Twenty minutes later.

The transparent instrument slowly rotated, gradually darkening into opaque black, then contracted.

“That’s it?”

Lin Qing stared at his hands, carefully sensing—no change in Hyper-Sense.

Outside the room, the administrator smiled. “Come back tomorrow and the day after. You should complete the evolution by then.”

Lin Qing finally understood. “So it’s split into three sessions?”

“You could do it all at once,” the administrator said, shaking his head. “But your cells are already saturated with radiation energy—efficiency plummets. You’d waste enormous energy and need at least half a day to succeed.”

Lin Qing nodded slightly. “Alright. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

…

That night.

Lin Qing closed his eyes. The mysterious energy within him trembled faintly, like ripples on water, striving to spread the vibration throughout his entire body.

He was attempting to enter the Star Refinement Art.

Dr. Chu Hui’s modified version, adapted for Earth humans, made it easier to absorb fourth-tier energy.

Its essence was using one’s own mysterious energy and body to generate a unique vibrational wave.

Fourth-tier energy was too hard to absorb directly—so the vibrational wave shattered and broke it down first, making absorption possible.

Like pureeing food for an infant so they can eat it.

Of course, the principle of Star Refinement Art was a million times more complex.

Suddenly—

A ripple spread through his body, like dominoes falling, causing every strand of his mysterious energy to ripple in unison.

“Star Refinement Art—entered,” Lin Qing opened his eyes, a faint smile touching his lips.

He’d sensed for days that success was imminent—just two or three more days. Tonight, it finally came.

Entering Star Refinement Art was indeed easy—he’d done it in under a month.

By comparison, even the simplified version of the original “Zizai Shen” had taken him two months to enter, despite gene modifications improving compatibility.

Star Refinement Art was far simpler.

“Order.”

Lin Qing thought, “Advance payment: Star Refinement Art.”

As a flood of unfamiliar information surged into his mind, he understood exactly how to successfully cultivate it.

—Form a perfect vibrational wave filling the entire body, maintain it for 215 hours. The body will naturally adapt to this vibration, freely adjusting frequency to suit different energies and changes.

“215 hours? Not too hard.”

Lin Qing nodded inwardly.

Just ten hours of daily practice—less than half a month would complete it.

He didn’t need to attend training anyway. Daily visits for gene optimization were enough. All other time, besides making up for the original “Zizai Shen” combat technique, he could use to repay his Star Refinement Art debt.

…

Three days later.

The blue light above dimmed. The instrument slowly contracted and fell still.

Lin Qing stood motionless, eyes closed, carefully sensing his changes.

Even before the radiation ended, his body had already undergone a strange transformation—his cells, even his genetic material, were undergoing astonishing changes.

—He gained a new sense.

At this moment, Lin Qing could sense not only the energy he emitted, but also the immense energy contained within the crystal inside the instrument above.

“This is Hyper-Sense?”

Lin Qing pondered.

Simply put, this sense allowed him to perceive abnormal energy aggregates.

Dispersed energy in the air or ordinary untrained people were hard to detect.

Unlike psychic perception of life field intensity, this was pure energy sensing—so it was still necessary.

Moreover, he couldn’t possibly stay with Zhao Jiayi all the time.

Adding one more ability would perfectly compensate for his weakness.

……

Three more days passed.

As the emerald glow radiating boundless vitality above his head vanished, Lin Qing’s genes were optimized once again, granting him a new gene ability—

Rapid Regeneration.

His cellular activity and self-healing capability improved significantly.

After returning to his quarters, Lin Qing used Invisible Edge to cut himself—a small wound on his finger closed and scabbed over in just a few seconds.

Within one or two hours at most, the wound would vanish completely.

This was a highly practical survival ability.

As long as the injury wasn’t too severe, this self-healing power would let him recover swiftly.

“Good.” Lin Qing nodded slightly, satisfied.

“Zhixing Group has a similar Level Four ability called ‘Hyper Regeneration.’”

Chen Guang’s voice echoed in his mind: “It restores faster, and unless the brain is destroyed or the heart is completely shattered before blood can be supplied, even severe injuries or amputated limbs can regenerate.”

Lin Qing was stunned.

The gap between a Level Three ability and a Level Four ability was indeed vast.

This made him even more eager for the Level Four gene ability of the Celestial Orb Sovereign bloodline.

“Only those ‘geniuses’ who signed lifetime contracts with Zhixing Group can attempt Level Four gene optimization before gene awakening.”

Lin Qing sighed.

Without signing a lifetime contract with Zhixing Group, it was extremely difficult to become a Two-Star Elite Patrol before gene awakening.

Only a handful of anomalies—

such as those naturally adapted to Level Four energy, or those who risked death undergoing gene modification experiments, or those who stumbled upon Level Four abilities by chance through Type-B mutant radiation—could possibly achieve this.

But for Lin Qing, the Level Four gene ability was already within reach.

“More than ten years ago, my father’s adoptive father, Chu Hongjun, also attempted Level Four radiation evolution at Liming Group. I wonder how his progress went.”

Chen Guang murmured: “If Liming Group succeeds, Earth’s civilization won’t lag far behind Zhixing in gene optimization before gene awakening.”

“I hope so,” Lin Qing nodded slowly.

……

Three more days passed, and Lin Qing completed his third gene optimization: ‘Gigantic Strength.’

“After strengthening muscles and bones, strength increases by roughly threefold.”

Lin Qing stepped out of the radiation chamber and activated the Gigantic Strength state—his arm muscles swelled like inflated balloons, becoming immensely powerful.

If energy consumption weren’t a concern, he could activate Gigantic Strength across his entire body’s muscles and bones.

“Good.”

Lin Qing smiled faintly, then retracted the enhancement and returned his arm to normal.

He then used a biological scanner to check his current status.

【Gene Optimization Index: 81.7%】

“Over 80%…”

Lin Qing exhaled in relief: “Once I unlock a single Level Four ability, my gene optimization index will exceed 100%.”

Each Level Three gene optimization only increased the index by 10%.

But a Level Four gene optimization could boost it by as much as 20%.

“Lin Qing.”

Chen Guang’s voice suddenly echoed in his mind: “I’ve detected your cells haven’t fully adapted to high-energy radiation. Theoretically, you could undergo one more high-energy radiation gene optimization, though efficiency will be low—likely requiring two or three more sessions.”

“Oh?” Lin Qing’s eyes lit up: “I can do it again?”

Perfect—he’d previously regretted not being able to enhance ‘Supernatural Speed.’

“It’s probably because you’ve fully unlocked the Level Three ability of the Celestial Orb Sovereign bloodline, raising your body’s latent potential,” Chen Guang said.

“I still have one Special Merit Award. I originally planned to save it to exchange for the original ‘Shen Bian.’ I’ll exchange it for three high-energy radiation sessions instead.”

Lin Qing nodded inwardly: “None of the Shen Bian combat techniques have reached instinctive mastery yet, and I haven’t had any spare advance opportunities for Shen Bian series anyway.”

As long as his strength grows, he’ll have chances to earn another Special Merit Award later.

Strengthening what can be strengthened now is the way forward! (End of Chapter)