The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 947: Virus

Gao Yang played the video. War Tiger and Nine Frost leaned forward, their shoulders touching as they crowded around the screen.

The midnight desert stretched before them on the display, its dunes rising and falling like a turbulent gray-blue ocean frozen in time. Above, a deep dark sky cradled a river of twinkling stars.

The camera captured Dr. Jia, Qing Ling, and Nainai in frame. Dr. Jia stood in an undershirt and shorts, gripping a Black Gold cylinder that resembled a small flashlight. Qing Ling and Nainai flanked him, both wearing comfortable t-shirts and denim shorts.

Facing the heart of the desert, Dr. Jia raised his arms. "Take flight, Nainai!"

Without hesitation, Nainai leaped skyward. The video clearly showed they were at the Mist's border—Nainai's flight pattern revealed it. She soared and dipped like an actor on invisible wires, unable to progress despite her efforts to push forward.

"We've confirmed the Mist's presence," Dr. Jia addressed the camera. He gripped the Black Gold cylinder at both ends and twisted it in opposite directions.

The cylinder erupted with black and white energies—more accurately, forces that existed in a curious state between mist and light.

“Catch!”

Dr. Jia hurled the cylinder toward the sky. Nainai caught it and continued to fly forward.

Nainai’s figure began to shrink in a way that made sense from a perspective point of view, which meant that Nainai was actually getting into the magical barrier of the Mist.

Halfway through the video, Dr. Jia grabbed the phone and clicked pause.

“Hey, what the heck? Keep going!” War Tiger was impatient to learn what happened next.

“I know you’re curious. Well, stay that way.” Dr. Jia didn’t seem intimidated. “Before you keep watching, I have to explain how I did it.”

Gao Yang, War Tiger, and Nine Frost focused intently on his words.

Dr. Jia turned to Gao Yang with a cryptic smile. "The key is your vital energy."

He proceeded to detail his journey of trial and error. Initially, he had studied the Divine Scion's energy through orthodox methods, but as expected, it failed—the Divine Scion's vital energy proved too fragile and unstable.

Next, he collected vital energy from all twelve Rune Types, attempting to merge them with the Divine Scion's energy. Despite early promise, this approach also failed.

Near despair and depleted of Gao Yang's energy, Dr. Jia received an unexpected opportunity when Sir Jiang requested a spatial bomb, providing him with additional vital energy as a backup.

Before he could study it, Gao Yang had whisked him away. Fortunately, Dr. Jia managed to bring his crucial files and experimental materials, including Sir Jiang's vital energy.

In Ni Nation, when Qing Ling mentioned War Tiger's request for another spatial bomb, Dr. Jia had concealed the truth. He possessed the last of the pride monster energy from the Mist World and refused to waste it on a weapon.

After hastily rebuilding his laboratory, he embarked on his most ambitious experiment yet: merging the vital energies of the Divine Scion, twelve Rune Type awakeners, a pride monster, and a Spectre—one portion of each.

It was his final chance.

And this time, his effort bore fruit. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The vital energy of the Divine Scion embraced the energy of awakeners, a pride monster, and a Spectre. Instead of self-destructing, crumbling, or mutating, it combined to form something entirely new.

Without proper tools to study this unprecedented energy, Dr. Jia could only store it in a special Black Gold battery. Its potential remained a mystery, but he knew he had created something extraordinary.

He tried to hide it like a treasure, which proved to be his undoing. Qing Ling discovered it and, without a moment's hesitation, pressed her blade to his neck. She gave him two options: tell the truth or lose his head. After all, Genius wouldn't disappear—it would simply transfer to another person. The Nine Scions and the Twelve Zodiac Signs could easily afford to dispose of him.

Fresh from his breakthrough, Dr. Jia wasn't ready to die. He confessed everything to Qing Ling.

Though angry, she found his explanation satisfactory. Then, a thought struck her.

"Your better half is a genius, Gao Yang!" Dr. Jia's excitement bubbled over. "She suggested that if we didn't know what this thing was, why not test it on the Mist? Perhaps that would provoke a reaction."

"And it made perfect sense to me." Dr. Jia slapped his thighs. "I theorized that the Heavenly Way and the Mist are two distinct higher energy forms, while monsters are the products of their clash—the chessboard. The awakeners are merely the chess pieces."

"The origin of humans and monsters remains unclear, but there must be a source. All products come from a manufacturer and possess an initial configuration, right? That configuration serves as both our ID and protection, but it also constrains us."

"By combining the configurations of awakeners, Divine Scion, monsters, and Spectres into a new, independent product, would it be a chessboard or a chess piece? Would it answer to the Heavenly Way or the Mist?"

"A virus," Gao Yang said, finding the perfect analogy.

"Exactly!" Dr. Jia emptied his teacup in his excitement. "Just like a virus. Perhaps it could fool the immune system and grant us access to the central nervous system."

He turned to Qing Ling and Nainai, his enthusiasm mounting. "So we tested it. I modified the Black Gold battery to release the special energy gradually, and had Nainai carry it into the Mist."

"My calculations indicated the battery would last five minutes. To be safe, I limited it to four."

"If it successfully opened a path into the Mist, Nainai would explore for two minutes before immediately returning, ensuring she wouldn't be trapped when the battery's charge depleted."

"It's too dangerous." Gao Yang's face darkened with anger and concern. He turned to Qing Ling. "Why didn't you stop Nainai?"

"Don't worry," Qing Ling said. "I went with her."

The room fell silent.

"How could you?!" Gao Yang's growl thundered through the room, stunning everyone present.

It was the first time the leader of the Nine Scions had ever lost his temper with a companion.