"This is your final awakening ceremony. If you still cannot awaken successfully, then you will spend the rest of your lives as ordinary people. That may be somewhat regrettable for you, but you will also stay far away from most dangers. That may not be a bad thing..."
The voice entered Lu Yuan's ears, shifting from illusory to real.
He jolted and woke up.
Lu Yuan raised his head and looked around, his eyes filled with uncertainty and alarm.
He was in a classroom, packed with roughly forty students.
At the podium, a teacher past middle age braced both hands against the lectern as he spoke.
...Where is this?
Lu Yuan was stunned.
Wasn't I dead?
Lu Yuan had originally been an office drone who had graduated from university two years ago, enjoying the blessings of 996 every day and the blessings of 007 from time to time.
Competition was too intense these days. It felt as though not working overtime meant letting down the entire world.
In the end, because he stayed up too late, ate takeout every day, and maintained an extremely unhealthy lifestyle, Lu Yuan got cancer.
After receiving the diagnosis, Lu Yuan had not actually felt much of a reaction.
Wasn't life just about getting another surprise when you thought things could not possibly get any worse?
Although this surprise was a huge one, he had already become somewhat numb to life.
By the time he was diagnosed, it was already terminal. To lessen his family's burden and his own suffering, after tearfully deleting the study materials he had accumulated for so long, Lu Yuan ultimately chose to end his own life.
Although running away was shameful, Lu Yuan felt it was quite useful.
He still had a younger brother, so he did not need to worry about his parents having no one to care for them. He had gone peacefully.
Still, his parents would probably be heartbroken, right?
Lu Yuan was dazed for a moment before returning to reality.
So the question was.
Who was I?
Where was I?
Lu Yuan could understand every word the teacher said at the podium, but when they were put together, he could not understand what they meant.
Awakening?
What awakening?
Just then, Lu Yuan's head swelled with pain as a flood of information merged into his mind.
The confusion in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a measure of clarity.
It turned out that he had arrived in another world and become another young man also named Lu Yuan.
In this world, everyone had one chance to awaken each year during the three years from age sixteen to eighteen.
If they awakened successfully, they could activate their own Gene Chain, become extraordinary Gene Warriors, and enter a place called Origin Land to adventure and obtain strange treasures and great power.
Lu Yuan was not an awakened person and knew little about Origin Land or awakened people. The information he had was very limited.
He was an orphan. During a Mutation Event when he was young, he became the only survivor of his family. Only through the Empire's support had he been able to grow into adulthood.
As he recalled the Mutation Event buried in the deepest recesses of his mind, Lu Yuan's pupils contracted and his body began to tremble.
It was this body's instinct. The body was afraid.
Lu Yuan was already eighteen this year. If he could awaken and activate his Gene Chain, then he could attend Gene Warrior Academy in the future.
If he could not awaken, then he could attend an ordinary university. Of course, the Empire would no longer cover his tuition and living expenses.
After all, the Empire's support only lasted until he became an adult at eighteen.
The original owner's memories vanished before this class began. At the end of those memories, his body had collapsed onto the desk and lost consciousness.
It seemed he had died?
Because the original owner had been too withdrawn and did not have a single friend in class, no one had noticed he was dead even when class started, until Lu Yuan transmigrated over.
That left Lu Yuan somewhat dumbfounded.
Judging from the original owner's memories, although the Mutation Event and the loss of his parents had made him extremely withdrawn, he had still been physically healthy.
How could he have suddenly died?
He had not even stayed up late.
After thinking it over, Lu Yuan decided it might have been a lingering effect of the Mutation Event. After all, mutation was the most incomprehensible thing in this world. Nothing that happened because of it would be surprising.
Lu Yuan did not pursue the matter further.
For him, having another chance at life was already fortunate enough.
Since he was here, he would peacefully accept this new life.
He just hoped this life would not be so cutthroat. He truly could not take it anymore.
"Alright, anyone whose name is called, come to the podium. The awakening ceremony begins. Wang Yi."
The teacher's words pulled Lu Yuan back from his thoughts. He looked up at the podium, anticipation in his eyes.
Awakening.
It was not as if he had never read novels before. Naturally, he longed for this kind of supernatural power.
The first two attempts had failed. He hoped this time would succeed.
The boy named Wang Yi went up to the podium, looking at the teacher with a hint of nervousness on his face.
"Don't be nervous. You've already awakened twice before, so you know what to do, right? Place your hand on the Awakening Crystal, then focus on sensing your own existence."
Wang Yi nodded and seriously pressed his hand against a crystal ball on the lectern before closing his eyes.
The air became heavy, and the atmosphere fell silent.
After a while, the teacher glanced at his watch and said flatly:
"Alright, one minute has passed. The Awakening Crystal showed no response. Awakening failed. You may go back."
When Wang Yi heard that, his eyes reddened slightly. Then he walked back in disappointment.
The atmosphere in the classroom became somewhat subdued.
The teacher swept his gaze over the students and said:
"The awakening probability for ordinary people is only ten percent, and the probability gets lower each time. If you didn't awaken during the first two attempts, the chance of successfully awakening on the third is very low. Don't get your hopes up too much, or you'll only be disappointed later."
Upon hearing that, the atmosphere in the classroom grew even more stifling.
Lu Yuan could only marvel. This teacher was probably a master at killing the mood.
Hearing those words made his heart sink halfway.
Did that mean he probably could not awaken?
Something was not right.
According to the usual novel logic, weren't transmigrators supposed to be protagonists?
If he failed to awaken, this world would lose a super powerful Gene Warrior, alright?
In the future, there would be one less pillar to resist mutation and deal with foreign races.
That was a loss humanity could not bear!
"Next, Li Xi."
The awakening ceremony continued.
Just as the teacher had said, the probability of awakening for the third time was extremely low.
After about half an hour, thirty students had been tested, and not a single one had awakened.
Lu Yuan's heart kept sinking.
"Lu Yuan."
The teacher called Lu Yuan's name. For a moment, everyone in the classroom looked over.
Lu Yuan was an outsider in the classroom, and no friends encouraged him or anything. Everyone simply watched quietly.
The teacher's attitude toward him was no different from that toward the other students, still as expressionless as ever.
Lu Yuan grumbled inwardly. There was none of the treatment a protagonist should get.
Normally, either lots of people should be showering him with concern, or someone should jump out to mock him, right?
Why was everyone's reaction so flat?
Was this reasonable?
Could it be that I really wasn't the protagonist?
Lu Yuan walked to the lectern, and the teacher repeated his earlier instructions:
"Place your hand on the Awakening Crystal, then focus on sensing your own existence. Don't be too nervous."
Lu Yuan nodded and placed his hand on the Awakening Crystal.
The surface of the Awakening Crystal was cool and felt comfortable to the touch.
Lu Yuan closed his eyes and sensed himself as the teacher had instructed.
Then, he sensed only darkness.
Time passed in silence, and Lu Yuan gradually began to feel nervous and uneasy.
I can't sense anything. Could it be that I really can't awaken?
This world was not safe. Having some strength was better than having none.
Just as Lu Yuan grew uneasy, a faint azure light appeared within the darkness.
The next moment, an azure translucent cube appeared in the darkness, constantly spinning in irregular patterns.
The instant the azure cube appeared, the darkness was torn apart and white mist spread outward.
A massive double-helix pillar of light stood within the white mist, its base rooted in white ground while its upper end disappeared into the mist.
After the azure cube appeared, it seemed drawn toward the double-helix pillar. It moved closer and revolved around it.
Gene Chain!
Lu Yuan was overjoyed. I awakened?!
As expected, I really was amazing!
But what was this cube?
Although he did not know much about awakened Gene Warriors, he still knew the basic knowledge of awakening.
He had never heard of anyone having a cube appear during awakening.
Lu Yuan stared at the cube. The next moment, as though by instinct, he understood the information contained within the azure cube.
The cube's function was simple, yet absurd.
Evolution.
It was said that Gene Warriors could imprint the genes of Origin Land monsters to gain Gene Combat Skills. Just as fish could swim and birds could fly, these were abilities engraved into one's genes.
Each time a Gene Warrior advanced by one rank, they gained an additional blank segment in their Gene Chain and one opportunity to fuse genes.
Yet once fused, those genes became fixed and could no longer be improved. Low-level genes did little to enhance the user, while carelessly imprinting high-level genes could cause backlash.
Therefore, one had to be extremely cautious when selecting genes. Every Gene Combat Skill imprinted had to complement the others.
However, this cube could continue evolving genes after they had been imprinted. It was equivalent to possessing limitless potential. Even if he imprinted the weakest ordinary gene, it could gradually evolve to the highest level!
This represented infinite potential and infinite possibilities!
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