Chapter Twenty-Nine: Number 172, Starlight Road

“Wait for me, Doggy!”
“Woof!”
“Woof woof!”
“Giggle giggle!”
...
In a daze, Chen Nian felt as if he were running.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself once more in that familiar garden.
Not far ahead, a small black and white dog was wagging its tail at him while playfully running away.
He chased after it without any control over himself, laughter bubbling from his lips.
It was only then he realized he had become that little boy from before again.
Before long, a blurry figure appeared at the end of the garden path.
Upon seeing the silhouette, the little boy immediately abandoned the dog and rushed towards the figure.
The black-and-white puppy followed tightly behind.
As they drew closer, the figure became clearer—it was the same handsome young man as last time.
“Daddy! You’re back!”
The boy’s clear, childish voice rang out. The young man scooped him up and spun him around.
It was a heartwarming scene, but as an observer, Chen Nian sensed something amiss.
The young man’s expression was no longer the indulgent affection from before, but rather a strange complexity.
“My good boy, Daddy brought you a present again.”
The young man’s smile was forced.
The little boy’s face lit up with delight.
“What present?”
“This one is a bit special this time!”
With that, the young man took out a black box from the satchel at his side.
At the sight of the box, Chen Nian felt his hair stand on end, an indescribable terror welling up inside him.
Looking at the young man again, for some reason, countless streams of black mist suddenly coiled around him. His smile twisted, becoming monstrous, like a demon out of hell.
At the same time, what had been a bright sky grew dim, clouds hiding the sun. Dark shadows spread out from the flowerbeds on either side, lurking behind the little boy, their claws outstretched as if ready to devour him at any moment.
The little boy remained oblivious. In that moment, the whole world seemed reduced to a single ray of light, shining gently upon his innocent face.
He carefully opened the black box.
Inside lay a single syringe.
The syringe was filled with a red liquid.
At the sight of it, the little boy jumped, instinctively pulling his hand back.
The young man now seemed like a devil, his voice tempting: “Don’t you watch Superman cartoons every day?
If you take this, you’ll become Superman too.
Then you can fight bad guys and save good people.
This is Daddy’s gift to you.”
Hearing this, the boy finally mustered the courage to look at the red syringe again and asked in a small voice,
“Really?”

“Of course it’s true. When has Daddy ever lied to you?
But it might hurt a little.
To become Superman, you have to pay a price, don’t you think?”
“Y-yes.”
“Are you scared?”
“Baby... isn’t scared!”
The little boy tried to look brave, stubbornness flickering in his eyes.
“Then close your eyes.”
“Okay...”
The little boy slowly closed his eyes, and the last ray of light in the world faded away.
As the light ebbed, Chen Nian could faintly see the man thrust the syringe toward the boy’s neck.
Suddenly, the scene shifted—the syringe was now pointed right at him, less than ten centimeters from his throat. He could feel the chill on his skin.
“No!”
“Don’t!”
Chen Nian screamed in his heart. He knew all too well that this was the source of his pain—the damned gene serum!
He frantically tried to retreat!
He tried to push the syringe away!
But no matter how he struggled, it was all in vain.
From the shadows, the lurking demons leapt out, pinning him down so he could only watch as the syringe plunged into his neck!
A wave of agony crashed over him, wracking his body with tremors.
The world blurred before his eyes.
Chen Nian collapsed to the ground, the world spinning madly.
He could only vaguely see the endless darkness rushing toward him, slowly swallowing him whole.
...
In the darkness, a spark flared.
Chen Nian slowly opened his eyes.
Little Hu was standing before him, holding a torch, looking at him anxiously.
“Brother Chen, you’re finally awake! Are you alright?”
“I’m fine...”
Chen Nian answered softly.
“You have no idea—you were shaking really badly just now! If I hadn’t been watching you, someone would have woken you up already.”
Little Hu breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank you, Little Hu.”
Chen Nian sat up slowly, though his mind was still blank.
Not far away were the five-colored beams of light; people were testing the teleportation function, and Old Li had just returned through the teleportation array.
“Little Hu, I’m going to sit by the tree for a bit on my own.”
“Uh... alright.”
After greeting Little Hu, Chen Nian stood up and walked toward a big tree nearby. When he reached it, he sat down leaning against the trunk.

“Number 172, Starlight Road, Imperial Capital.”
In truth, as soon as the dream began, he had noticed the address of that garden.
Last time he dreamed of it, he thought it was just some park.
Now it seemed clear—it was no ordinary park.
Moreover...
If these dreams truly reflected his lost memories, then the one who injected him with the gene serum must have been his father.
How that serum came to be, he didn’t know.
Nor did he know why he ended up in the orphanage.
...
“Don’t you have anything to say?” Chen Nian asked in his mind.
“What is there to say?
No one in this world knows you better than I do.
You think you’re strong. You think you can bear all suffering.
You want to use all your strength to resolve my obsession.
All of this I know.
I also know that you don’t really care what I say.
Even if I told you my obsession outright, you wouldn’t believe it immediately.
You’d keep investigating, bit by bit, leaving no detail unchecked, until you found the best solution.
You’d never throw yourself into it just because of my side of the story.
So what is there for me to say?
Go ahead and investigate.
Follow the plan you’ve made in your mind.
It won’t be long before you know the truth.
Only after you uncover it with your own hands will you be able to empathize with me, to bear the pain this world has inflicted upon us both.
Honestly, I truly hope you can resolve my obsession.
Then I can finally leave this wretched world.
Really, if you can manage it, I’ll applaud—I’d be all too happy to go.”
Hearing the voice in his head, mocking and sincere at once, Chen Nian replied softly, “I’ll do my best.”
“I know. You don’t need to say anything—I can feel your resolve.
Let’s wait and see.
Oh, there’s one more thing I should mention.
If we’re talking about a nine-tier system, then I’m at least a Tier Two Gene Warrior.
Ordinary firearms might not be able to do anything to me.”