Chapter 290

Zhao Yang's hand was still trembling; the crack in his palm had stopped bleeding, but it felt as if something was crawling under his skin. He lowered his head and saw blue light seeping out from between his fingers, then slowly sinking back in.

Zhao Xing leaned against the wall, his breathing a little rapid, his forehead covered in sweat. He was about to raise his hand to wipe it when he noticed a trace of purple mist on his fingertips that dissipated at the slightest touch.

Zhao Chen sat before the operation console; the screen had just rebooted, the image flickered a few times before stabilizing. He stared at the data stream on it, his fingers unconsciously tapping the keyboard, "Heartbeat Frequency Sync Rate… ninety-seven point three percent."

"What sync?" Zhao Yang walked over.

"The vaccine sample and our three heartbeats." Zhao Chen pulled up the waveform diagram, "It's no coincidence. Since the energy reflux just now, it has been changing in tandem with our rhythm."

Zhao Xing stood straight, "So that metal ring didn't send us away; instead, it drew something out?"

As his words fell, the culture chamber in the corner of the laboratory suddenly emitted a soft sound.

The three turned their heads simultaneously.

Dong Xu stood outside the isolation zone, holding a notebook, his brows furrowed. The antiviral vaccine before him, which had been a clear liquid, had turned dark purple, with a fine layer of granules on its surface, as if breathing slowly.

"Something's off," he said, "Just half an hour ago it was fine—temperature and pressure were normal—and then it suddenly started replicating itself."

Zhao Yang moved closer to the observation window, "It's moving."

"Not just moving." Zhao Chen pointed at the monitoring curve, "Every three pulses, the interval matches exactly the energy fluctuation we just experienced."

Dong Xu flipped a page in his notebook, "Do you know what this means?"

"It means this thing recognizes us." Zhao Xing said.

"Preposterous." Dong Xu shook his head, "This is a medicine I formulated myself, an experiment I conducted personally—how could it—"

With a "boom," the lid of the culture chamber sprang open.

Purple mist surged out, spreading along the floor, bouncing back when it hit the wall corners, as if consciously avoiding the spot where the three stood.

Dong Xu stepped back two steps, bumped into an instrument rack, and let his pen fall to the floor without picking it up.

Zhao Xing didn't move; he simply raised his hand, palm facing the mist. The mist halted, condensing in midair into a line that trembled slightly.

"Is it afraid of you?" Zhao Yang asked.

"Not afraid." Zhao Chen suddenly said, "It's waiting."

"Waiting for what?"

Before he could finish, the air shuddered.

A figure stepped out of the data projection, his steps light, making no sound on the floor. He wore a tattered protective suit, his mask cracked, revealing a grayish-white face within.

"You've finally opened the door." He said, his voice hoarse, "I've been waiting for this day."

Dong Xu raised his walkie-talkie, "Who are you? How did you get in? Why didn't the alarm system react?"

The man ignored him, only gazing at the triplets, his eyes settling on Zhao Xing's face, "I thought you'd awaken much later. I didn't expect… it to happen so quickly."

"Do you know us?" Zhao Chen asked.

"More than just knowing." The man gave a slight smile, "I've survived to this day by relying on your gene sequence."

Zhao Yang frowned, "What are you talking about?"

"Antiviral vaccine?" The man raised his hand, pointing at the culture chamber, "You think that's the cure? It's a key. A backdoor I left, meant specifically for you to open when you arrived."

Dong Xu snapped his head up, "You say you designed this medicine? Impossible! I developed it independently based on the system prompt!"

"System?" The man scoffed, "You think the system was built by someone else? Without our buried original code, it couldn't even boot up."

Zhao Xing took a half-step forward, "So you're the virus carrier."

"Yes and no." The man removed his mask, revealing his whole face. His eyes were pale purple, pupils swirling like a data stream. "I am the First Infected and also the Last Survivor. My sole mission is to find you."

"Why?" Zhao Yang asked.

"Because of your genes." He stepped closer, "It's not the result of natural human evolution. It's the original design template of the mother program. You're not fighting the virus… you are the virus's source."

"Bullshit!" Dong Xu roared, "Those three are ordinary kids! I've watched them grow up!"

The man glanced at him, "Have you ever wondered why they can understand the system language? Why, whenever a crisis erupts, their bodies react a step ahead?"

No one spoke.

Zhao Xing lowered his gaze to his hand; the crack began to heat up again.

"I don't believe it." Dong Xu gritted his teeth, "Even if what you say is true, I won't let you touch them."

"I don't need to touch you." The man stood firm, raised his arm, and a string of rotating symbols appeared on his wrist, "Just activate the authentication protocol, and the truth will surface on its own."

Zhao Chen suddenly shouted, "Don't let him connect!"

Too late.

A purple beam shot from his arm straight for the main control console. The triplets simultaneously raised their hands, blue light exploding from their palms to meet it.

The two beams collided in midair, emitting a piercing screech.

Dong Xu was thrown by the blast, slammed into the wall, and couldn't get up for a while.

Zhao Xing clenched his teeth, "He's reading our memories."

"Not reading." Zhao Chen pushed himself up from the desk, "It's awakening something."

Zhao Yang closed his eyes, veins throbbing on his forehead, "I saw… that dream from childhood. The man in the white robe, the picture he gave me… it was a DNA structure."

"Not ordinary DNA." Zhao Xing opened his eyes, "It's an encrypted life program. That's what he wants."

The man's lips curled, "Clever. No wonder you've survived this long."

"You're wrong." Zhao Xing suddenly laughed, "You've forgotten the most important point."

"Which point?"

"We are not passive receptacles for information." Zhao Xing looked at his two brothers, "We can rewrite it."

As his words fell, the three simultaneously raised their hands, palms together, blue light converging into a ring that surged forcefully toward him.

The man's face changed; he tried to pull back, but it was already too late.

Blue light coiled around his arm, tracing his blood vessels inward. He grunted, fell to his knees, fingers twitching, black blood seeping from his mouth.

"Impossible…" He lifted his head, the data stream in his eyes gone chaotic, "You shouldn't have this kind of permission… you're merely carriers…"

"But we've already activated it." Zhao Chen said coldly, "And we don't need your approval."

The main control console screen suddenly lit up, lines of characters scrolling rapidly, finally stopping on four large characters:

Origin Code Certified

Immediately after, a golden prompt floated in the air: 【Crack Virus Essence, reward 【Virus Study Specialization】】

All equipment in the laboratory restarted simultaneously, the light stabilized, the purple mist condensed into crystals, which fell in chunks to the ground and shattered into powder.

The man lay on the ground, his protective suit began to peel off, revealing the withered body underneath. He panted, his voice broken, "You…… thought you won? This is only the beginning…… there are more…… people like me…… waiting for you to open the door……"

"Then go back and tell them." Zhao Xing squatted down, looking directly into his eyes, "Next time you come, remember to bring the key. Because we won't let you in again."

The man's mouth twitched, his body gradually faded, and finally turned into a gust of wind, disappearing into the air.

On the monitor screen, the residual biological signal waveform jumped twice, its frequency exactly matching the triplets' heartbeat.

Jia Dongxu leaned against the wall and stood up, his legs still trembling. He walked to the operation console, repeatedly playing back the "Mother Authentication" footage, his finger pressed on the pause button and not releasing it for a long time.

"What…… exactly are you?" he asked softly.

No one answered.

The triplets stood before the main control console, glanced at each other. Zhao Xing raised his hand, palm upward. The blue light appeared again, this time not restless but flowing calmly.

Zhao Chen reached out and touched the light, "It recognizes us."

"Not just recognition." Zhao Yang said, "It is waiting for us to make a decision."

Zhao Xing looked at his own hand and said softly, "Next step, should we tell Zhao Jianguo?"

Before Zhao Chen could speak, the main control console suddenly emitted a prompt tone.

A new message arrived.

The three gathered around, and the screen displayed an encrypted email, sender unknown, subject only two characters:

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