Chucheng is built on the side of a mountain, standing at the peak's base. The city is structured such that the southern part is an access point for the outside world, while the eastern, western, and northern sides are heavily fortified and closed off, making it nearly impossible for anything to pass through.
The city is divided into four districts. The northern district is the noble area, the largest and best situated in terms of both geography and defense. It is the safest place in the entire city.
Chuxun's "home" is located in the northern district, but due to the death of his parents and his failure to awaken his abilities, his status in the family has continually dropped. What he considers "home" now is just a small room of barely ten square meters. While not quite a bare, empty shell, it contains only a few pieces of basic furniture and appliances—very simple and modest.
Upon returning home, Chuxun immediately locked the door behind him. He cautiously opened his wardrobe and took out a small, palm-sized metal box.
Seeing the blue metal box, Chuxun's face lit up with excitement. He took a deep breath and opened the box. Immediately, a soft blue light radiated from inside.
Yes, inside the box were the ten standard crystal cores Chuxun had received this month. These crystal cores, about the size of a coin, were translucent like blue crystals and emitted a soft glow, drawing people's gaze and making it hard to look away. The gentle light felt calming and soothing.
These crystal cores were a combination of viral and life energy. After being refined by biological organisms and processed with advanced technology, they were much milder and easier for the human body to absorb. According to the memories in Chuxun's mind, these standard crystal cores could not only strengthen an ordinary person's body but also enhance the abilities of an ability user, making them extremely valuable.
For an ordinary family, earning even a single crystal core through an entire year's hard work was almost impossible. However, as a direct descendant of the Chu family, Chuxun received a minimum of ten standard crystal cores every month as part of his family's benefits. This stark contrast between the nobles and commoners in Chucheng could not be overstated.
Fortunately, in order to prevent internal strife within the family from going too far, the Chu family's law enforcement department had stipulated that the private estates of the nobles were sacred and inviolable. Otherwise, Chu Qing wouldn't have needed to go through the trouble of extorting Chuxun—he could have just barged into his room and taken them.
"This is the standard crystal core, it's really beautiful..." Looking at the crystal cores glowing softly inside the box, Chuxun couldn't help but marvel. Even without their strange powers, these beautiful crystal cores would be enough to incite a rush of people trying to snatch them.
"I wonder if these crystal cores will work for me..." Suddenly, Chuxun thought about his insect-based abilities, which had been activated through the Super Savior System. He wasn't sure whether these crystal cores would have any effect on him.
With that thought in mind, Chuxun took out one of the crystal cores, held it in his hand, and began to focus, using the method he remembered.
Humming!
Soon, the crystal core in his hand began to vibrate slightly, emitting a soft humming sound. Then, the coin-sized core suddenly transformed into a beam of blue light that merged with Chuxun's palm.
"Ding! Host has received biological energy supplementation. Insect Body ability enhanced, gene lock opened 10%."
As the blue light entered his body, Chuxun felt a warm current flow through him, ultimately merging with his mind, bringing a sense of comfort and mental clarity. At the same time, an icy voice echoed in his mind, giving him a prompt.
"Gene lock?" The sudden prompt in his mind made Chuxun furrow his brows. He decided to test it further. Without hesitation, he took out all the remaining crystal cores, holding them in his palm.
Immediately, the blue light from each core began to shine in pulses, and before long, all the crystal cores disappeared, and the icy voice spoke again.
"Ding! Host has received biological energy supplementation. Insect Body ability enhanced. Ant gene enhanced. New gene lock unlocked."
"Please note: Do not consume the third gene until sufficient biological energy has been acquired and the body is strong enough to avoid gene chain collapse."
As the system's voice ended, Chuxun felt as if some invisible shackles had been broken inside him. Waves of powerful energy surged through his body, making him feel as if he could punch through anything.
At the same time, a faint blue light surrounded his body. Under the shimmering glow, his previously slender and weak body noticeably gained strength. While not yet muscular, he was no longer as frail as before.
"My strength has increased a lot!" Chuxun clenched his fists, feeling a notable increase in his strength. However, to gauge the exact improvement, he would need to test it further.
In addition to the increase in strength, the so-called gene lock also caught his attention. It seemed that the Insect Body ability couldn't be enhanced endlessly. Otherwise, his gene chain would collapse, turning him into a creature neither human nor monster.
Fortunately, this limitation wasn't permanent; it could be overcome, but it required enough crystal cores.
"Well, that's true. To get stronger, there must be a price. There's no such thing as free gains." Shaking his head, a glint of excitement flashed in Chuxun's eyes. "Next, I can swallow a new insect gene. But which one should I choose?"
Thinking about it, Chuxun began to ponder.
After his battle with Qing Yi, Chuxun had a solid understanding of his strength. Having absorbed the ant gene, his muscles were already filled with strength, and the recent enhancement from the crystal cores made him even more powerful. He could easily kill an adult with strong muscles now, and his strength should have increased by 10 to 15 times compared to an ordinary person. This was certainly enough for now.
However, despite his increased muscular strength, his body's toughness hadn't improved proportionally. His bones, which were still relatively fragile, hindered the full expression of his strength. Just like when he fought Qing Yi—though he had the strength to kill him with a punch, it had caused severe damage to his arm, almost incapacitating him. Now that his strength had increased again, his body still hadn't shown significant improvement, which meant that things weren't quite balanced.
Moreover, his defensive ability and reaction speed were still poor. If he had been able to avoid Qing Yi's attack, he wouldn't have been stabbed in the stomach.
"It seems the next insect I absorb should either be fast or tough in terms of defense," Chuxun muttered to himself, recalling the nearby creatures that could be potential candidates for his next gene absorption.
Due to the virus, most creatures in this world had either evolved or mutated, and even the ants Chuxun had absorbed were not exempt from this change, becoming terrifying mutated ants. Very few had remained as they were.
And just as with humans—only a few had mutated to gain abilities while the majority had remained ordinary.
Mutated ants were just a glimpse of the changes other creatures had undergone. So, Chuxun knew that to find suitable insect genes to absorb, he would need to venture outside the city into the wilderness.
"Dammit, fortune favors the bold. I'm going for it!" After pondering for a moment, Chuxun took a deep breath, clenched his fist, and made his decision.
The student assessment was just around the corner. With his current strength, he could barely handle someone like Qing Yi, let alone the other noble students. If he failed to secure the top spot, the punishment would be death. So, instead of hesitating and waiting for death, it was better to risk it all. At least he wouldn't regret it!
After all, he had already died once.