Titan Blood

Storm Abyss - A7 District frontline, advanced to the 41-kilometer mark.

Although the main force had surged forward like a flood, frantically scrambling for territory and the naming rights for beacons, the five-man squad led by Feng Xing Tian Xia had uncharacteristically come to a halt.

On a calcified highland that had just been cleared, Thunder King and Data Maniac were staring nervously at their experience bars.

"99.9%..."

The staff in Thunder King's hand was trembling, "Just one monster left."

"Don't rush, I'll leave this one for you."

Dali Chu Qiji grinned, using his massive Lava Gauntlets to grab a crippled [Flame Poison Larva], holding it out in front of Thunder King like a chick.

Thunder King took a deep breath, and a bolt of electricity shot out.

Zzzzt!

The larva turned into white light.

[Congratulations! Level increased to LV.10!]

[Congratulations! Level increased to LV.10!]

Two golden lights of leveling up shone in the party simultaneously.

"Finally..."

Data Maniac pushed up the non-existent glasses on the bridge of his nose, his voice betraying a trace of imperceptible trembling. Watching his teammates change classes one by one and achieve "rebirth" in reality, this waiting was simply torture for him.

"Let's go, back to the city."

Feng Xing Tian Xia didn't waste words, "Do you both have enough money?"

"Enough! With the dividends from that regional boss earlier, plus what I've accumulated over the last few days, I have 3800 points!" Thunder King said excitedly.

"I have 4000." Data Maniac was calmer, but his fingers gripping his staff were white from the pressure.

Coordinates: Sighing Corridor - Watcher station.

Watcher Zero remained standing in the cold wind.

Thunder King and Data Maniac were both Spirit Pivot Envoys; one was preparing to advance to Thunder Lord, and the other was preparing to advance to Mind Hacker.

When these last two unadvanced elite members walked up to the Watcher, Gu Yuan smiled slightly from his high-dimensional perspective, tailoring a trial specifically for them.

[Thunder King's Perspective]

Zero's ghostly blue soul fire stared at him: "Spirit Pivot Envoy, you harness the nerve impulses of a Titan. But mortal nerves are too fragile to bear the thunder of a god."

[Advanced Trial: Overload (Thunder Lord)]

[Objective: Head to the "Heart-Pacemaker Node" (High-Voltage Zone), connect yourself to the "Bio-Electric Grid," and maintain consciousness for 3 minutes under a 500-volt-per-second electrical shock.]

"Electrotherapy?"

Thunder King looked at the mission description and gave a wry smile, "Fine, I'll just treat this as special training from Professor Yang!"

He was teleported to an area near the heart dense with blue electric arcs. This was the edge of the Titan's sinoatrial node, where massive bio-electric currents surged like a waterfall.

Thunder King gritted his teeth and inserted his conductive staff into the node.

Boom!

Blue lightning instantly swallowed him whole.

[Data Maniac's Perspective]

Zero looked at Data Maniac: "Your mental power is different from others; you always try to parse the operating logic of this world. Then, let me show you the true 'Mind of a God'."

[Advanced Trial: Mind Maze (Mind Hacker)]

[Objective: Infiltrate the "Nerve Fiber Cluster," and within 5 minutes, navigate through the chaotic "virus interference signals" using logical decryption to find the correct neural pathway.]

Data Maniac's vision blurred, and the world transformed into an ocean of code composed of countless green and red lines.

"This isn't magic at all..."

He looked at the complex waveforms, a fanatical glint flashing in his eyes, "This is clearly biological algorithm! This is exactly what I excel at!"

Ten minutes later.

Two brand-new pillars of light rose in the Sighing Corridor.

Thunder King was wrapped in violent purple electricity, and his original staff had transformed into a hovering [Thunder Magnetic Floating Cannon] (bio-electromagnetic structure).

[Class Advancement Successful: Thunder Lord]

Data Maniac's eyes had turned into eerie, flowing streams of data. He held no weapon in his hands, but the air around him seemed to distort under his telekinesis.

[Class Advancement Successful: Mind Hacker]

"Buy potions."

Feng Xing Tian Xia had been waiting nearby for a long time.

The two of them rushed to the Gene Shop, and seeing that the stock of [Titan Blood (Diluted Version)] was down to only 2, they clicked to purchase without a moment's hesitation.

"Logging off. Same rules as always, see you in half an hour."

Feng Xing Tian Xia's voice carried a hint of anticipation, "I hope you all get to see a miracle too."

Blue Star, the real world.

Shen City, Dragon Kingdom, in a high-end technology park.

Inside a futuristic apartment, countless complex lines of code scrolled across a massive curved screen.

Li Zihan (Data Maniac) took off his helmet, his eyes clear and devoid of any sickly pallor.

As a genius hacker, he was physically healthy, nothing like the stereotypical frail scholar. However, he felt weary of the "computing power" of this world.

He waited calmly for the changes in his body. There was no surge of heat, but rather a bone-chilling cold that instantly enveloped his brain.

It was like pouring a bucket of liquid nitrogen onto an overheating CPU!

Sizzle--!

Li Zihan snapped his eyes open.

The world had changed in his vision.

The ticking of the wall clock's second hand, the trajectories of the traffic outside the window, the floating of dust in the air... every piece of information was instantly captured, analyzed, and modeled by his brain.

"This feeling..."

Li Zihan sat up straight, his fingers resting on the keyboard.

Clack-clack-clack!

The sound of his typing became a blur.

Complex algorithms that used to take hours to run were now solved instantly by his brain, which provided the optimal solution. He felt as if his mind had turned into a quantum computer.

"If I had to use one word to describe it, it would definitely be overclocking."

Li Zihan watched as the firewall on his screen was breached in an instant, a fanatical smile curling his lips.

"Titan Blood... it is the key to evolution."

But then, he frowned slightly.

"Where does the power of evolution come from? And what is the price?"

Dragon Kingdom, outskirts of Jingdu City, Thunder Tactical Shooting Range.

In the empty shooting range, only the monotonous sound of gunfire echoed.

Lei Zhen (Thunder King) took off his helmet and walked out of the lounge.

His bare upper body was covered in scars, the medals he had earned while serving on the border. He was in peak physical condition, his muscles like iron; he was a standard tough guy.

"If this is fake, I'm smashing this helmet to pieces."

Lei Zhen never believed in ghosts or gods, but after spending several days in the game, he trusted Chen Feng's judgment.

Boom!

An overbearing surge of electricity instantly swept through his entire body, causing every muscle to tremble and contract.

Lei Zhen let out a muffled groan, his veins bulging all over his body.

This wasn't healing his scars; it felt more like forging them.

A few minutes later, the trembling stopped.

Lei Zhen clenched his fist, feeling as if a tyrannosaurus was lying dormant within him.

He walked to the firing line and picked up a pistol equipped with tactical accessories.

Deep breath.

Eyes open.

In his field of vision, the movement trajectory of the moving targets 50 meters away became incredibly slow, and even the flow of the air was clearly visible.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three gunshots rang out, almost merging into a single line.

In the distance, three high-speed moving clay targets exploded in mid-air.

[All ten rings.]

[Time elapsed: 0.21 seconds.]

Lei Zhen looked at the timer, a flash of shock appearing in his hawk-like eyes.

This was a reaction speed that no human could ever achieve.

"Is this the legendary breaking of the genetic lock..."

Lei Zhen lowered his gun and looked at his palms, where the tingling sensation of controlling lightning in the game seemed to still linger.

"Titan: Genesis, what kind of world is it exactly..."

A bloodthirsty smile curled the corners of Lei Zhen's mouth.

"Still, this feeling of getting stronger... it's not bad at all."

After closing his eyes to feel it for a moment, he picked up his phone and dialed a number.

"Old Ban, it's me."

Half an hour later. In-game.

When the five-person squad reunited, their aura had completely changed.

If they were previously a group of patients huddling together for warmth, they were now truly a team of superhumans.

Chen Feng had returned to his peak and far surpassed it, Li You had regained control of her nervous system as if reborn, Wang Daqiang's strength had increased significantly, Lei Zhen had transcended human limits, and Li Zihan's brain had been developed to a great extent.

"It seems everyone got what they wanted."

Feng Xing Tian Xia looked at the returning Thunder King and Data Maniac.

Lei Zhen's aura had become sharper, like a blade unsheathed; meanwhile, Li Zihan's eyes were deeper, as if he could see through the essence of data.

"How does it feel?" Feng Xing Tian Xia asked.

"My brain is faster than a supercomputer now." Data Maniac pushed up his glasses, "I've already started constructing a more efficient beacon network model."

"My reaction speed has broken through human limits." Thunder King flexed his wrists, "In reality, I could take on ten of my former self."

"Very good."

Feng Xing Tian Xia nodded, then looked toward the outside of the fortress.

At this moment, the front line had pushed deep into the A7 District.

Fifty thousand players were there, locked in a fierce battle with an endless army of viruses.

"Since everyone has finished their enhancements, we can execute the next step of the plan."

Feng Xing Tian Xia opened the map and pointed to the Crimson Route that had just been cleared.

"The system announcement says we need to guide the Crimson Boat into the front line."

"But the route is currently swarming with Corrupted Spore Flying Insects."

"Ordinary players are stuck in a bitter struggle there."

"We're going to go help them out."

Feng Xing Tian Xia drew Shadow Fang, his cape billowing without a breeze.

"Move out! Objective: Air superiority!"