Cellular Essence

Thirty minutes after meeting Nina.

Nina, dressed as a mechanical apprentice, finally calmed down. She never imagined her "brother" would survive.

On the way home, Nina finally asked the question that had been on her mind for a long time:

"You... aren't 'Brother,' are you?"

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

"How did you figure it out?"

"Brother Valen is completely 'different' from you. He was lazy, a scoundrel... nothing like a 'brother' should be. He didn't want to do anything, just stayed home idly all day.

When he was forced to participate in the 'Destiny Space' and put on the clockwork device, he had already given up all hope in life.

On the morning the Destiny Space was about to open, he ran out of the house alone. I thought he had committed suicide out of fear."

"He did commit suicide... I happened to run into him, and that's how I became like this."

Han Dong decided to be honest after careful consideration.

From Nina's words, it was clear she didn't like this Valen Nicholas at all, and even looked down on him as a brother.

Han Dong currently had the identity of a 'Returner.' Nina would never do anything detrimental to Han Dong, and would most likely accept this reality.

"Suicide... You are?"

"Don't worry, I'm human at my core. Since I've taken over your brother's body, I'm a member of your family now."

A flicker of worry flashed in Nina's eyes. After a moment, she nodded slightly:

"Actually, this is good... at least Mom won't have to worry about Brother anymore. Thank you... I'll keep your secret safe."

"Mm."

As long as Nina fully trusted him, the possibility of his identity being exposed would be minimized.

Just then.

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

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

"Mm... By the way, does my 'Returner' status help your family?"

"Of course. At the very least, I won't have to enter the 'Destiny Space' under duress anymore. I'll have plenty of time to prepare.

Also, once you start studying at the Knight Academy, the school will assign us a special apartment across the [Moslaby River]. Mom and I can move out of the slums and live a life without worries about food and clothing."

As she said this, Nina secretly giggled, filled with joy.

"Okay! In that case... later tonight, come to my room... I have a lot of things I want to ask you."

"Sure, no problem! I'm also a half-mechanical apprentice, and I've learned a lot from my master, information that ordinary people don't know."

Thus, with his identity issue resolved, Han Dong followed Nina back to a tightly packed collective housing building in the slums.

It was as dense and chaotic as the Kowloon Walled City.

Nina, who had walked this path countless times, navigated through numerous branches in a serpentine alleyway that only allowed one person to pass, finally finding a damp, dark staircase leading upwards.

The seventh floor.

A simple two-bedroom, one-living room apartment.

As no sunlight entered from any direction, the room was lit by a few small kerosene lamps.

Unlike the outward appearance of the 'Steam Mechanical City'... in these lowest-level civilian homes, metal was extremely rare, and most furniture was made of wood.

Hearing the sound of the door opening.

A slightly hunched-over 'mother,' with brown hair interspersed with some white, emerged.

Unlike the plump Western women Han Dong remembered, Nicholas's mother looked prematurely aged and gaunt... This family struggled even to secure basic sustenance... Only Nina's health seemed slightly better.

"Oh my god! Valen... am I seeing things? You're alive?"

Although it was a bit strange to hear such words from his birth mother, no one would believe that a sickly spendthrift like Nicholas could return alive.

Han Dong simply nodded slightly in response: "Mm... Mom, we'll be able to move out of here soon. I'm very tired today, so I'm going back to my room to rest."

"Rest well, dinner is ready. Nina will bring it to you."

The 'mother,' who was weeping with joy, and her concerned gaze made Han Dong uncomfortable.

He lowered his head and quickly walked back to his room.

When he had uttered the word 'Mom' earlier, Han Dong felt a subtle fluctuation in his heart... After all, Han Dong had been an orphan since childhood and had never known the word 'parents.'

"The family issue can be set aside for now.

Since I've been honest with Nina, the risk of my identity being exposed is minimized.

Moreover, given the national mandate for young people to enter the Destiny Space and the urgent need for talent, my status as a 'Returner' should not be a major issue, even if it becomes known that I'm an outsider who has taken over Nicholas's body."

This country wants talented people. As long as their stance is completely in favor of the Holy City, they should all be accepted.

Of course... it would be best if I didn't have to reveal my identity.

Han Dong lay on the relatively comfortable wooden plank bed, preparing for his next major undertaking.

Having just returned from Destiny Space, he figured Nina and his mother wouldn't disturb him.

He activated the "Faceless Head."

Han Dong appeared in the prison area... but this time, he wasn't here to see Miss Chen Li.

Opening the door to the sterile laboratory, Han Dong's objective this time was to examine the collected "Cellular Essence."

As expected, the injection within the central platform already contained the "Cellular Essence" that Han Dong had gathered from special life forms' corpses during this incident.

He took out a syringe and approached the ultra-clean workbench.

Even though Han Dong had conducted countless cell inoculation experiments on such a workbench during his life, he felt a bit nervous and worried about damaging this "Cell Cluster," which symbolized his true self, due to improper operation.

"The first step is always the hardest... as long as I succeed once, that's enough."

Han Dong focused his hundredfold mental energy on the "Cell Cluster" on the operating table.

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

However, things turned out to be simpler than Han Dong had imagined.

As the syringe approached the "Cell Cluster," the plasma membrane contracted, opening a pore just large enough for the needle to enter...

Inject!

He slowly pushed the plunger, and the essence was gradually injected into the "Cell Cluster."

Upon completion of the injection, a prompt sound was heard:

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

"Five Plague Monsters only gave 5 points... but one Evil Spirit gave 20 points!"

Han Dong was startled.

The Load Limit had indeed increased!

This meant he could now search for new bodies or body parts to gradually repair or replace this frail physique.

"I'll start with the [Hand]..."