Cellular Essence

Thirty minutes after meeting Nina.

Nina, dressed as a Mechanical Apprentice, had finally calmed down... No matter what, she had never expected her "brother" to survive.

On the way home, Nina finally voiced the concern she had kept hidden for so long:

"You... aren't my 'brother,' are you?"

In fact, before Han Dong entered Destiny Space, Nina had said something similar.

"How could you tell?"

"Brother Valen was completely 'different' from you. He was lazy, shameless... completely unlike the brother he should have been. He was unwilling to do anything and stayed at home all day doing nothing.

Once he was forced to participate in Destiny Space and put on the Clockwork Device, he had already completely given up on life.

On the morning Destiny Space was about to open, he ran out of the house alone. I thought he had been so scared that he killed himself beforehand."

"He did kill himself... I happened to witness it, and that's how things became what they are now."

Han Dong had only confessed this after careful consideration.

Judging from Nina's words, she did not like Valen Nicholas at all. She even looked down on such a brother.

With Han Dong's current status as a Returner, Nina would never do anything detrimental to him. There was a strong chance she would accept all this.

"Suicide... You are?"

"Don't worry. I'm human in essence as well. Since I accepted your brother's body, I'm also a member of your family."

A trace of worry flashed through Nina's eyes. After a while, she nodded slightly.

"Actually, this is pretty good... At least Mom won't have to worry about Brother anymore. Thank you... I'll definitely keep everything about you secret."

"Mm."

As long as Nina trusted him completely, the possibility of his identity being exposed would be reduced to the minimum.

Just then.

Nina, with her short brown hair and goggles, unexpectedly took Han Dong's hand from the side and said with a beaming smile, "Brother, let's go home... Mom definitely won't expect you to come back alive."

Han Dong, an old man who had spent most of his life in a laboratory, trembled slightly when this young girl took his hand.

"Mm... By the way, does my status as a Returner help our family?"

"Of course! At the very least, I won't be forced into Destiny Space anymore, so I'll have plenty of time to prepare.

Also, once you further your studies at the Knight Academy, the school will assign a special school district home on the other side of the Moslaby River. Mom and I can move out of the Slums and live without worrying about food or clothing."

As she said this, Nina secretly giggled, delighted beyond measure.

"Mm! Then... come to my room tonight. I have a lot of things I want to ask you."

"Mm-hmm, no problem! I'm practically half a Mechanical Apprentice myself. I've learned a lot from my master, things ordinary civilians don't know."

And so, having settled the matter of his identity, Han Dong followed Nina back to a tightly packed residential building in the Slums.

It was as dense and chaotic as Kowloon Walled City.

Having walked the route countless times, Nina passed through several branches of winding dark alleys barely wide enough for one person before finding a damp, pitch-black staircase leading upward.

The seventh floor.

A crude two-bedroom apartment with a living room.

Since sunlight could not reach it from any direction, the room relied on several small kerosene lamps for illumination.

Unlike the "City of Mechanics" outside... metal was exceedingly rare in these lowest-class civilian homes, and most furniture was made of wood.

Hearing the Door Opening.

A slightly hunched "mother," her brown hair streaked with a little gray, came out.

Unlike the plump Western women Han Dong remembered.

Nicholas's mother looked prematurely aged and emaciated, little more than skin and bones. This family could barely afford food and warmth... only Nina was in somewhat better condition.

"Oh my God! Valen... Am I seeing things? You're still alive?"

Though it felt somewhat strange for such words to come from his birth mother, no one would have believed that Nicholas, a weak and sickly wastrel, could return alive.

Han Dong merely nodded slightly in response. "Mm... Mom, we'll be moving out of here soon. I'm very tired today, so I'll go back to my room and rest first."

"Go rest quickly. Dinner is ready. I'll have Nina bring it in for you."

The tearful joy of his "mother" and the concern in her eyes made Han Dong uncomfortable.

He lowered his head and hurried back to his room.

When he had just called out the word "Mom," there had been a faint stir within Han Dong's heart... After all, he had been an orphan since childhood and had never known what it meant to have parents.

I'll leave the family matter at that for now.

Now that I've been honest with Nina, the risk of my identity being exposed can be reduced to the lowest level.

Besides, judging by how the country forcibly requires young people to enter Destiny Space and is desperately seeking talent, as a Returner, even if people find out that I'm an outsider who took over Nicholas's body, it probably won't be much of a problem.

What this country wants is talent. As long as that talent's stance is completely inclined toward the Holy City, they should accept it.

Of course... it would naturally be best if my identity remained hidden.

Han Dong lay on the fairly comfortable wooden bed, preparing to deal with the next major matter.

Having just returned from Destiny Space, Nina and his mother presumably would not disturb him.

He activated the "Faceless Head."

Han Dong appeared in the Prison Area... However, this time, he had not come to see Miss Chen Li.

Opening the door to the Sterile Laboratory, Han Dong's purpose this time was to examine the "Cellular Essence" he had collected.

Sure enough, the injection placed on the central platform already contained the "Cellular Essence" Han Dong had collected from special lifeform corpses during this incident.

He took out the syringe and walked over to the ultra-clean workbench.

Even Though Han Dong had performed countless cell inoculation experiments on such a workbench in his previous life.

He was still somewhat nervous now, worried that an improper operation might harm this Cell Cluster that represented his true body.

"Everything is difficult at the beginning... As long as I succeed once."

Han Dong focused with a hundredfold intensity on the Cell Cluster atop the workbench.

If the Cell Cluster showed any discomfort during the injection, he would stop immediately.

However, things were simpler than Han Dong had imagined.

As the syringe approached the Cell Cluster, its plasma membrane contracted and opened a hole just large enough for the needle to enter...

Injection!

He slowly pressed the syringe pump, injecting the essence into the Cell Cluster bit by bit.

When the injection was complete, a notification sounded:

Cellular Essence has been fully injected. "Weight Limit" increased by 25 points (5 points from Plague Sample, 20 points from Vengeful Spirit Sample).

"Five plague monsters only gave five points... Yet one evil spirit gave twenty!"

Han Dong was startled.

The Weight Limit had truly increased!

This way, he could seek out new bodies or body parts and slowly repair or replace this weak fleshly body.

"I'll start with the hands..."