Chapter 403: Destined Destruction

Adam, a product of a gene-editing project for a "perfect human" experiment with a perfect genetic sequence, went berserk. He not only annihilated the entire lab but also massacred a large number of people.

"He must have unleashed incredible potential then, perhaps tearing through armor with his bare hands. Otherwise, he wouldn't have caused such extensive damage," remarked the Ocean Sovereign, Hailan Dong, slowly.

"You know?" Caroline's expression hardened.

Adam had displayed terrifying combat power, transforming into something non-human. His body flowed with black, pus-like cellular fluid, and he even grew a tail, as if regressing to an ape-like state. It was as if his genes had collapsed, turning him into a licking monster that scurried along walls and floors.

Hailan Dong, utterly calm, pointed at the plankton outside. "Life possesses potential! An elderly person, seeing their grandchild fall from a balcony, will run at speeds surpassing an athlete's to catch the infant.

A mother might lift a car with her bare hands to save her child... This is life's potential! Incredible power can erupt with emotional surges. So, where does this potential come from? From the gene-edited sequence!

When humans unlock their gene locks, their life's genetic code becomes unstable. It can then completely unleash the body's potential based on emotional states... Of course, the price of such an outburst is genetic collapse and a shortened lifespan."

Caroline fell silent.

Perhaps that was Adam's condition at the time.

"Caroline, a long time ago, for the sake of human morality, you used C language to edit the life's genetic code within the human brain, sealing humanity's gene locks. That's why such situations haven't occurred since. You also imposed a ban on such research. But does 'not involving' mean it will never appear again?"

Hailan Dong calmly removed all his clothes, pointing to the terrifying, grotesque scars on his body. "Do you know why Fenba was so terrifying? It took seven Emperor-level sea beasts, including myself, to finally kill him. After studying him, I discovered he had unlocked his gene lock and could perfectly control the full outburst of his potential! From then on, I understood what a forbidden life zone truly meant."

"What do you mean?" Caroline's face grew serious.

Hailan Dong explained, "After you engineered the new humans, you closed their gene locks and set up a C-language access denial to prevent further self-modification. But among the current Ishudal people, could there be individuals, perhaps one in a billion like Levi, who are naturally missing the 'guilt-death mechanism'?"

"After all, this is a neural reflex written in our DNA, an amplified 'guilt' response within human genetic emotions. Are there humans who lack this DNA segment for guilt? People who kill as easily as butchering a pig, without remorse? Bear in mind, in normal human society, and in our Naga society, there are naturally occurring individuals with missing genetic emotional components who become unrepentant murderers, feeling no guilt when killing their own kind!"

"Impossible."

Caroline stated, "After the Human Optimization Project, every infant is strictly screened at birth to ensure no genetic defects. Furthermore, they are incapable of harming themselves or others intentionally; the 'guilt-death mechanism' activates if they attempt to breach those limits. This is morality."

"Heh," Hailan Dong chuckled, "What about those who, due to some accident, lose this bodily function later in life? Humans are unique animals; after an injury, who can say what might happen?"

Caroline's expression turned utterly cold. "Every human is monitored. If someone breaches the limits, the core monitoring system, 'Skynet,' will report the anomaly, leading to their apprehension."

"Will it truly report them?"

Hailan Dong smiled, shrugging. "Your civilization has reached such a level that the brain holds no secrets. If I were to break through the limits, I could directly modify my own brain at will. Naturally, I could then make the brain's monitoring mechanism send false neural feedback signals, evading 'Skynet's' surveillance and making you believe this 'computer' is functioning normally."

Caroline became completely silent, a sudden chill running down her spine.

The advancement of civilization to such a height also implied many terrifying hidden dangers that could lead to instant destruction.

If someone were to bypass the "guilt-death mechanism" she had put in place, it would cause extreme devastation.

Moreover, escaping her imposed restrictions would mean reaching a level equal to her own!

"Only the Ishudal people can destroy the Ishudal people, by dismantling themselves from within, through self-destruction."

Hailan Dong chuckled, "I once wanted to wage war against you, but now I've chosen to escape and build a sanctuary to avoid being caught in your turmoil. Because I know that no matter how low the probability, if something can happen... then, with the passage of time, it inevitably will!"

He took a step forward.

"You should know this, Caroline! This is fated destruction!"

Mechanical City Valia.

Core Research Institute Exhibition, Animal Hall.

A cute creature wagged its tail, charming the visitors.

"Holy cow! This civilization is terrifying!"

Xia Naiming roared, his mind screaming, "Mecha suits! Consciousness transfer communication! And... life control and modification!"

"They're like a race of gods, understanding life's genes and all its code. Every human possesses terrifying cognitive and memory abilities, holding the vast knowledge of an entire civilization, capable of modifying and even fabricating the memories of beasts and animals!"

When he relayed all this to the forum, the entire forum erupted.

Akina Mountain Speed: "Damn it! This is too exaggerated! (Shocked)"

Cute Girl Evolved into Dragon: "Alien technology! It's more exaggerated than alien movies on TV, but it's right before our eyes—a meticulously detailed sci-fi society, even if it's just in a zoo. It's terrifying! (Drooling)"

Everyone found it utterly unbelievable.

Such a technologically advanced society was exactly what present-day Earth humans envisioned as the most perfect future technological form. Could their knowledge be applied on Earth?

At this thought, their breathing became ragged.

Scare Your Life 3000: "Don't panic, everyone. This is a hell-level dungeon, a super-world many times larger than anything before. Thanks to my months of charming people at the zoo, it's had a great advertising effect! My species has started to enter some privileged households and become pets for children! Plus, I've made a good zookeeper friend!"

Screenshot.

A little black-haired girl named Du Xue.

Those who could access the institute were either brilliant scientists or people with connections. Du Xue was the daughter of a high-ranking human official and often came to play there. He had used his charm to win her over.

Scare Your Life 3000: "She even talks to me verbally, speaking the ancient Ishudal language that has long been obsolete. She teaches me spoken language, so I'm no longer completely in the dark during our conversations! And she keeps our secret chats private! (In love.jpg)"

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately cried out in disgust.

"The little girl is too young. If she grows up and learns that this charming balloon creature before her is a vile, terrifying killer responsible for three hundred million deaths and the slaughter of countless of its own kind, she'd surely be scared away (dog-head.jpg)."

"Exactly! You're the dirtiest kind of creature! They're everywhere in school groves and park groves! (Serious face)"

Xia Naiming's face immediately darkened. Who were they cursing?

"Hmph! Those idiotic netizens above just can't stand to see this player doing well! If you ask me, he'll definitely be with the little girl for life, maybe even rescued by her and kept as her dearest pet!"

Xia Naiming burst into tears. Finally, someone was speaking common sense!

But the very next second, the same person continued, "Not only will she treat you as a pet, but you'll also be present when she and her future husband are intimate..."

Xia Naiming: ???

He was utterly stunned, almost spitting blood. He was completely dumbfounded! Was that a human thing to say? What a cuckold he'd be!

Wait, would I be the cuckold, or her husband...

When this thought crossed his mind, Xia Naiming was speechless. Their absurd thinking had really led him astray. The trolling skills of these 'sand sculpture' netizens were truly masterful.

Ignoring the jealous comments, he continued analyzing with the netizens. Although he had befriended this zookeeper and could communicate secretly, he would likely be stuck in the zoo for life, only able to experience the outside sci-fi society from within.

It was a future technological society that felt more real and tangible than any grand sci-fi narrative.

After a round of chatting, he opened his eyes and saw a little girl feeding him, speaking in the Ishudal language. She held a food bowl, much like someone feeding a puppy. "Kitty, over here! Time to eat!"

Although the Ishudal language was difficult to understand, he could learn it. He had already picked up some basic vocabulary, which was far better than communicating purely through consciousness, where he was completely in the dark and unable to learn anything.

This life was quite good.

Xia Naiming smiled. There was no scheming here; this highly civilized society was filled with trust between people, much better than those 'sand sculpture' netizens outside! Whether it was a real world or an overly realistic game world didn't matter to him; he was seriously treating it as his second life.

"Let me tell you, Ms. Caroline is back, from another world..."

Du Xue stroked the back of the eating 'kitten,' chatting to herself as before. "Today at the coffee shop, a boy tried to pursue me. Hmph, he probably knows my parents and just wants to use me to get close to them..."

Xia Naiming listened quietly. He liked this tranquil life, being a pet, held by a little girl who chatted idly with him. It offered a sense of serene normalcy.

Suddenly, chaos erupted among the distant zoo visitors. A clamor arose, indicating something unexpected had happened.

All at once, people began to flee, but one was brutally stabbed and fell. A youth, bathed in blood, emerged with a gruesome smile on his lips, striding forward.

"Murder?"

Du Xue snapped her head around, her eyes wide. This was human society; she had never seen or heard of such a thing in her life.

"What kind of beast is that?!"

"A humanoid beast? I've never seen one!"

"He's killing people!"

"It looks like this young man is only Fourth Tier?"

Countless others were also panicking. Their minds went blank from this unprecedented situation. Brainwaves were transmitting the information: this person, possessing only the power of an average Fourth Tier adult human, was actually capable of massacring so many?

In less than twenty seconds, the nearby guard force quickly arrived. This was, after all, the central city of the Human Empire and a core research zone. They swiftly descended in their mechanical mechs. As their hatches opened, they saw the corpses on the ground, and their teeth gnashed in fury!

How long had it been?

How long since there had been large-scale deaths among the Ishudal people?

"Only Fourth Tier?"

A low divine thought spread. A handsome middle-aged man, full of rage, stepped out from the lead. His appearance caused a stir of exclamations from the crowd.

"It's Mr. Midal, a Sixth Tier combatant!"

"General Midal, a Seven-Star Meritorious General and a genius of mechanical mechs! Unbelievable that he's on patrol today!"

Countless faces were agitated.

The youth merely grinned, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. He pulled the stained knife from a corpse on the ground and watched Midal silently, his lips full of the excitement of slaughter, even joy.

He... felt no guilt.

"Whoever can kill is not human."

Midal frowned, looking at the nearby guards. "Eliminate him."

He was a quasi-Emperor, with invincible combat power, considered a high-level combatant in the human world. A mere Fourth Tier, which was the average strength of an adult Ishudal, could be easily crushed.

But the very next second.

He had only just ordered his subordinates to act, when his heart began to pound wildly... and his loyal subordinates, who had followed him for over a decade, slowly collapsed around him.

"This... this is... a human? A legally protected... human?" Midal's eyes widened. He stared at the blood-soaked youth, an unbelievable thought flashing through his mind.

His combat power was too strong. The intense guilt-death mechanism, deeply rooted in his genes, couldn't instantly kill him. He was about to scream in terror, to disperse the crowd.

But the next second, a sharp knife pierced his brain.

His consciousness slowly blurred. "I'm a Sixth Tier quasi-Emperor, and I was actually killed by a mere Fourth Tier ordinary human whom I could have easily crushed..."

"So killing a strong one isn't so boring after all!" The young man laughed, slowly pulling out the blood-stained blade. His eyes were as clear as a child's.

Ahh!!

He's killing people!!

The next moment, screams erupted throughout the entire zoo.

"He's hiding his strength; he's definitely not just Fourth Tier!"

"In an instant, he massacred the entire patrol team using some unknown method!"

"That was Midal, Seven-Star General Midal!"

People were fleeing everywhere.

Further away, Du Xue also began to panic. "Kitty, it might be a Seventh Tier beast that broke in. We'll be fine; a high-ranking official will come to capture him soon!"

Even Du Xue, like any ordinary person, didn't immediately suspect it was the guilt-death mechanism.

Xia Naiming watched the scene, then suddenly roared in a low voice as endless fear surged within him. "That's the guilt-death mechanism! The guilt-death mechanism! He's a true human, Du Xue, run!"