Free Is the Most Expensive of All

Inside the Medical Bay.

The Attentive Medical Staff watched the machine's red light turn green, momentarily dumbfounded.

Had it succeeded? Failed?

Or had the machine broken down?

"Impossible, how is this possible..." the researcher muttered, shaking his head as he checked the data.

"Reversing from mutation into evolution is far too rare."

Click!

The sealed metal panel rose. The machine hummed as it transported Wang Ye out.

"Prepare the anesthetic." The Female Doctor made a swift decision and switched on the operating light.

Whether the evolution had succeeded or not, treatment came first.

Leaning forward slightly, she lifted Wang Ye's eyelid. "Can you hear me?"

"They're huge..." Wang Ye failed to get out the last word.

The Female Doctor glanced down.

The Male Doctor's lips twitched slightly. He looked toward the researcher, who wiped the sweat from his forehead and said seriously, "There is no longer any Blood Crystal reaction in his body. His bodily functions are good, all indicators are steadily rising, his response is normal, and there are no signs of mutation."

"Begin the operation." The Female Doctor picked up the scalpel.

West Camp's main hall.

Yu Haitao was registering and collecting his apartment keycard and rookie equipment. Like the other students, he could barely hide his excitement.

He had finally become an evolver!

And his estimated physical evolution rate had exceeded 100%!

A sudden commotion broke out. Numerous researchers and white-coated staff hurried through the hall toward Assembly Square.

"What happened?" Yu Haitao asked.

"I heard a student suffered a rejection reaction while absorbing an Evolution Fruit." The staff member entered data without looking up.

An Evolution Fruit? Rejection?

"Which class?" Yu Haitao's heart stirred as he forced down his delight.

Not many students in the regular classes had Evolution Fruits.

And at this time of day, it was almost certain who it was!

"I don't know." The staff member activated the keycard and handed it to Yu Haitao. "After collecting your equipment, find your instructor. They'll help you quickly adapt to your new identity, teach you how to connect to Moon Web, and prepare you for the Rookie Trial in seven days."

"Alright." Yu Haitao put away the keycard, unable to conceal his smile.

Several staff members behind him were talking.

"It's a student from Class 23, Lao Zhang."

"What's the ID?"

"Let me check... Hmm, today really has been full of surprises. That girl from Class 2, Yu Shuiqin, directly awakened as an Esper upon evolving. Can you imagine that? Her potential is terrifying... Found it. IDW1012323, Wang Ye."

"Hahahaha!" Yu Haitao could no longer contain his excitement and burst into hearty laughter.

So this is your day, Wang Ye!

Inside the Medical Bay, several senior researchers and Chief Physicians had gathered.

After stitching up the last wound, the Female Doctor let out a light breath, removed her surgical gloves, and left, drenched in sweat.

She had never had so many chief physicians and doctoral supervisors observing her operation. She had been so nervous she nearly wet herself.

"What do the data show?"

"Everything is normal. His life signs are stable, his genome has undergone a complete breakthrough, and his blood contains Evolutionary Essence. Theoretically, he has evolved successfully. But the evolution result... is very strange. His physical evolution rate is under 50%."

"Impossible! A Gene Warrior's first evolution should have a physical evolution rate of at least 60%! Anything below 50% is mutation!"

"No, his genome has been fully examined. It is completely intact, without any damage or signs of mutation."

"Wait."

"Could it be... that he awakened as an Esper?"

"No. Although his brain-domain response is higher than that of an ordinary person, it is still some distance from the threshold. Besides, the odds of awakening as an Esper during one's first life evolution are extremely low."

"Perhaps his potential as a Gene Warrior is simply lacking. No matter what, successfully evolving is always a good thing."

"Yes, it is a miracle of human willpower, an excellent model case."

"Right! As long as you don't give up, there is hope!"

Night, West Camp Hospital.

Wang Ye slowly woke up.

This was the longest he had slept in over a month.

The anesthetic had been too strong.

"The injuries aren't serious. They'll heal in five days and won't affect the Rookie Trial seven days from now." Wang Ye made a rough estimate.

He was experienced when it came to injuries. Over the past month, he had hardly gone a day without one.

With a thought, the Light and Shadow Panel instantly appeared.

6: Wang Ye

Life Level: Elementary Star Seed Lifeform

Cultivation System: Reserve Gene Warrior, Awakened Esper

Technique: Life Evolution Method (Perfect)

Combat: Nine Forms of Elementary Blade Technique (Limit Breaking Skill: Square Circle)

Potential Points: 6

So it really wasn't an illusion.

Wang Ye grinned.

"Elementary Star Seed Lifeform should correspond to an Elementary Evolver."

"There's an extra Cultivation System section now."

Human evolvers had two cultivation paths.

Ordinary people cultivated the Life Evolution Method. After successfully evolving, they became Gene Warriors, classified according to physical strength.

A physical attribute score below 250 made one a Reserve Gene Warrior.

250–500 made one a First Order Gene Warrior.

500–1000 made one a Second Order Gene Warrior.

1000–2000 made one a Third Order Gene Warrior.

2000 was the physical limit of an elementary Gene Warrior, requiring another evolution.

As for Espers...

He knew absolutely nothing!

Who would have thought that one day, he would become an Awakened Esper, something even Elite Class Students dreamed of becoming!

"I need to look up information on Espers."

Wang Ye asked the Nurse for a laptop, connected to Evolution Camp's Intranet, and quickly began searching.

The essence of Esper cultivation was absorbing and utilizing Cosmic Energy, converting it into one's own unique "Esper ability."

They were divided into five major types: Enhancement Type, Emission Type, Control Type, Elemental Type, and Transformation Type.

The abilities in each type differed.

Beyond the five major types, there was also an independent Special Trait Type.

After connecting to Moon Web, every Awakened Esper would choose one type of ability to cultivate.

"Every Esper condenses a Star Core after awakening."

"With the Star Core as the core, they cultivate an Evolution Method to absorb Cosmic Energy, convert it into abilities of that type, and raise their Esper rank."

Wang Ye focused his mind.

His consciousness entered the depths of his brain domain, and he soon saw a patch of chaos.

At the center of the connected chaos was a glowing point—the Jade Sculpture Light Sphere he had seen when his evolution had previously failed.

Hm?

No Star Core?

Or was it the Star Core?

Wang Ye sensed the vast Life Energy within the Jade Sculpture Light Sphere.

It was exactly as described in the information.

But its form was entirely different.

"I'll try connecting to Moon Web." Wang Ye had been waiting for this for a long time.

Moon Web was known by the Earth Alliance as a gift from the gods, humanity's hope.

He looked toward the moon.

He could clearly sense a special presence, like an anchor not far away that his consciousness could easily touch.

It seemed to be at the center of the moon, yet also seemed to be the moon itself.

Ding.

At the movement of his thoughts, he connected to Moon Web in an instant, just like connecting to the internet.

It was that easy?

Wang Ye was somewhat surprised.

He entered a wondrous world, like a VR realm.

Three glowing illusory mirrors appeared before him, arranged left, center, and right.

But only the first mirror on the left shone brightly, rippling to indicate that it was unlocked.

The Technique Area, accessible to Elementary Evolvers.

After entering, he saw two doors, one for Gene Warriors and one for Espers.

Wang Ye pushed open the Esper door.

An invisible barrier blocked him.

?

What did it mean by not letting him in?

After trying several times, Wang Ye instead pushed open the Gene Warrior door.

Hmph. He preferred warriors who fought up close anyway.

"Evolution Methods, combat techniques." Two options appeared before him.

Wang Ye selected the Evolution Method category. Thirteen crystal spheres glowing in different colors then appeared, floating in midair.

The top row contained only a single white crystal sphere—

Basic Evolution Method.

When he placed his hand on it, the complete contents of the Basic Evolution Method instantly appeared in his mind.

Movements, breathing, rhythm—every detail was presented one by one, clearer and easier to understand than the Earth Alliance's online lessons.

The second row held six blue crystal spheres.

They were labeled Armor Barbarian Evolution Method, Water Bear Evolution Method, Thunder Leopard Evolution Method, Cloud Falcon Evolution Method, Diamond Evolution Method, and Crimson Sun Evolution Method.

They corresponded to the six physical attributes of Gene Warriors—

Strength, flexibility, speed, agility, toughness, and vitality.

The more outstanding an attribute was, the higher the compatibility.

"Is mine the Crimson Sun Evolution Method?" Wang Ye could clearly see that the Crimson Sun Evolution Method glowed the brightest blue. Next came the Cloud Falcon Evolution Method, while the Thunder Leopard Evolution Method and Armor Barbarian Evolution Method were about the same. The Water Bear Evolution Method, representing flexibility, was the dullest.

That proved his vitality was strongest, followed by agility, speed, strength, toughness, and finally flexibility.

He really was a true man.

He just didn't know whether he would go bald early...

The third row held six red crystal spheres, their light exceptionally dim. They were Advanced Evolution Methods suited for women.

They definitely did not suit him, unless he became a ladyboy.

Not in a hurry to choose, Wang Ye entered the combat technique interface.

It contained everything imaginable: all eighteen kinds of weapons, as well as fist and kicking techniques.

Unlike Evolution Methods, combat techniques could not determine compatibility. Only after using them... practicing them would one know.

After selecting the blade technique icon, eighteen crystal war blades of different styles appeared.

Including the Nine Forms of Elementary Blade Technique, there were eighteen sets of elementary blade techniques in total.

He gently gripped the hilt marked Thunder Blast Blade Technique. In an instant, he saw a figure performing the blade technique.

The moves, motions, and details were perfectly displayed in his mind. Thunder rumbled as if he were there in person, the effect far surpassing an instructor's guidance.

However, to truly master it and make it his own, he would still need extensive practice and Actual Combat Training.

"No wonder the instructor told us not to rush into learning formal blade techniques and to build a solid foundation first." Wang Ye released the hilt of the Thunder Blast Blade Technique.

In just a short while, he had already grasped a small part of the essence of the Thunder Blast Blade Technique.

Getting started would be quite fast.

Because his foundation in elementary blade techniques had already reached the Limit Breaking level.

Although cultivating this way was still far inferior to his talent, the Light and Shadow Panel.

It was already remarkable enough.

Most importantly, everything here could be obtained for free.

"But free is often the most expensive of all." Wang Ye silently grumbled.

He had always felt that the existence of Moon Web was strangely unsettling.

From the descent of the red light, to the rampage of Cosmic Monsters and the outbreak of the great catastrophe, to the emergence of human Evolvers, and then the discovery of Moon Web...

It was as if an invisible hand were manipulating everything behind the scenes.

"I hope I'm just overthinking it."

Wang Ye stopped dwelling on it and returned to the Evolution Method section.

He began cultivating the Crimson Sun Evolution Method.

There was no need to get out of bed and make a big fuss. Cultivating in Moon Web was just like Doctor Shu had said—it was fully automated.

He only needed to place his hand on the round sphere, and it immediately began...

It consumed a great deal of mental energy.

After cultivating for two hours, Wang Ye's head began to feel heavy.

The Crimson Sun Evolution Method was an Advanced Evolution Method, more than ten times harder than the Life Evolution Method meant for ordinary people.

Even with the greatly enhanced comprehension effects in Moon Web, it was still difficult.

Keep grinding!

Wang Ye roused his spirits and focused his mind.

He comprehended it over and over again until every detail of the Crimson Sun Evolution Method was deeply imprinted in his mind—

Crimson Sun Evolution Method, beginner level: Entry ↑

A familiar prompt appeared before his eyes.

In an instant, some changes occurred in Wang Ye's body.

His vitality was abundant. It was as if a small sun had appeared within him, filling him with drive and endless energy.

"So Advanced Evolution Methods have additional effects too." Wang Ye could clearly feel his physical attributes improving.

Especially his vitality—it was probably already the one stat that stood above the other six.

The Crimson Sun Evolution Method currently only had a beginner level. He would have to wait until he became an Intermediate Evolver before he could cultivate its intermediate level.

"It's here."

Wang Ye saw the beginner Crimson Sun Evolution Method (Entry) appear in the techniques section of the Light and Shadow Panel.

His consciousness immediately moved to the "+" behind it.

Consume 5 Potential Points to raise the beginner Crimson Sun Evolution Method's level?

Yes!

Wang Ye's body changed instantly!

His cells seemed to be activated, brimming with Life Energy.

Nice!

Wang Ye was thrilled.

The small sun within him blazed fiercely, his blood surging as he itched to rush straight to Doctor Shu's dormitory, hand her leverage, and give her everything he had.

Proficient level!

His physical attributes improved once more!

"Once my body recovers and I head into the wilderness, my strength will soar in no time." Wang Ye was brimming with confidence.