The Three-Hundred-Million-Year Gene Lock (Please Keep Reading)

He slipped his phone into his pocket.

Jicheng.

May.

The weather was growing warmer, and quite a few lovely sights had appeared on the streets. Every so often, alluring curves entered Jiang Shu's view.

His dad, Jiang Yongyi, had taken a big order and needed to drive a customer to the neighboring city. He would not be back anytime soon.

His sister, Jiang Yan Yue, was browsing the mall with her best friend.

Jiang Shu strolled through downtown, heading straight for his mother's clothing store.

"Sister Xu, has your rent gone up too?"

"It has. Everything's going up these days except wages. Fewer and fewer people are buying clothes, too. Well, that's just how it is. At my age, it's already pretty good to sit in the shop without having to brave wind, sun, or rain. I don't make much, but as long as it's enough for the family, that's fine."

"Ah, same here. Ever since online shopping took off, nobody comes to my place to buy clothes anymore. Oh, right, I heard your son is taking the College Entrance Examination this year? What university is he planning to apply for...?"

"Oh, his dad and I really don't care about that. As long as the child is happy, he can go wherever he wants. Kids nowadays aren't like we were back then—they all have their own ideas. As long as he's happy, that's enough."

"You can't put it that way. If he graduates from a good university, won't you get to enjoy life a little more later on? My son did quite well on this mock exam. He says he might even have a shot at a Key University! I think he's just blowing hot air. Usually, he's only around the top ten in his class. How could he possibly get into a Key University? He'll probably only manage a first-tier university."

"A first-tier university isn't enough? I'd be over the moon if my daughter got into one. I told her before that she could take it easy with school—Ji City University would be pretty good. It's close to home, so she could come back and sleep whenever she wanted. But look at her—without saying a word, she didn't even take the high school entrance exam and got herself a guaranteed admission spot at First High School. Now it's great. She might end up getting into a Key University and have to attend college in another city. Sigh..."

Listening to his mother's ostentatious counterattack, Jiang Shu, who had yet to enter the clothing store, nearly burst out laughing.

It had to be said that Jiang Yan Yue's existence had indeed given their parents plenty to brag about.

Ever since she was little, whenever anyone tried talking about schoolwork or grades in front of their parents, bringing up Jiang Yan Yue would basically kill the conversation instantly.

Guaranteed admission to Ji City First High School.

With that kind of academic ability, as long as she did not sabotage herself in high school, getting into a Key University was a sure thing.

As for himself... he had never brought his parents much.

But that was in the past. It would not be that way in the future.

Sure enough, once his mother said that, the other side was left with nothing but awkward laughter.

"Mom."

Jiang Shu stepped inside and called out to Xu Lizhi.

"Sister Guo, let's not chat anymore. My son's here."

The moment Xu Lizhi saw Jiang Shu, delight lit up her face. She said something to the middle-aged woman beside her and immediately walked over to him.

"Who was that just now?" Jiang Shu casually chatted with his mother as he glanced over the racks packed full of clothes. After the middle-aged woman left, he asked.

"She's from next door, a new tenant selling children's clothes. Business is bad for everyone, so when we have nothing to do, we sit around and chat to pass the time. Xiao Shu, why didn't you go practice Martial Dao today?"

"I got tired from training, so I came to see you. Business isn't good anyway, so how about your son takes you out for a stroll? You've worked hard for so long. Take a break."

Xu Lizhi froze for a moment, then nodded. "Okay."

Business was important.

But business could never be finished.

For parents, though, there was never enough time to spend with their children. Especially after she opened her store—she had made some money at first, but the children had still been young then, and she could not manage both sides. Even now, she still felt guilty toward Jiang Shu and Jiang Yan Yue.

Since her son had taken the initiative to ask, she certainly would not refuse.

After tidying up the store and putting all the cash into her bag, Xu Lizhi shut the door and followed Jiang Shu toward Yingtai Mall.

The first floor of the mall was mostly gold and silver jewelry, luxury goods, and expensive cosmetics.

Without giving anything away, Jiang Shu used the excuse that Xu Lizhi had never been there before to take his mother around the entire first floor.

"Xiao Shu, Yan Yan told me a few days ago that there seem to be some Martial Dao-related movies out recently. How about we go upstairs and watch one? Just a movie—I should keep up with the trends too."

"Sure. I haven't really been following movies lately. Let's ask Yan Yan what it's called."

Jiang Shu silently noted the areas where his mother's gaze had lingered, then took out his phone and sent Jiang Yan Yue a message.

Long Cao Yan Tuanzi: "Shocking! Watching a movie!!! Jiang Shu, you single dog, what movie are you watching? Hurry up and tell me, which pretty girl are you with... sob sob sob..."

Jiang Shu: "Your mom."

Long Cao Yan Tuanzi: "?!! Scratching my head—do you think you're funny?"

Jiang Shu: "Really."

Jiang Shu raised his phone, took a selfie with his mother, and tapped send.

Long Cao Yan Tuanzi: "..."

"Of course. I knew it. For a ten-thousand-year single dog like you, the only one who could watch a movie with you is Mom. Tsk tsk, you really picked the right time. 'Martial Arts Era' is Xia Kingdom's hottest movie right now. The special effects are maxed out, and the cast is packed with award-winning actors and actresses."

"It's just a pity Ye Zhenzhen was born at the wrong time. She's too young and only just became famous, so she could only make a few-minute guest appearance. Otherwise, I'd definitely go to the cinema and feast my eyes on her!"

"Low emotional intelligence: I have no money and can't afford a movie ticket. High emotional intelligence: My idol was born at the wrong time and only made a guest appearance, so I'm not watching it."

"???"

Inside the theater.

The seats were eighty percent full, and Jiang Shu sat in the corner with his mother.

Before long, the movie officially began.

On the screen, a gigantic cruise ship sailed steadily across a calm sea.

From a bird's-eye view, the camera gradually focused and moved closer.

Following the tourists on deck, it entered the ship's interior.

A huge crystal chandelier hung from the center. The decor glittered with gold and jade, while the aroma of food on the tables seemed capable of passing through the screen and reaching everyone's noses.

Men and women chatted, singing and dancing filled the air—it was like a paradise on earth.

Beneath the soothing piano music, not only the characters in the movie, but even the audience outside it gradually relaxed.

Time passed. Outside the cruise ship, the sea stretched for thousands of miles beneath a bright moon.

The camera turned, descending from the tranquil surface of the water.

Twenty meters underwater, familiar fish searched everywhere for food. Coral reefs flourished here, dazzling with color.

Sixty meters underwater, a pod of killer whales swam past.

One hundred and twenty meters underwater...

Two gigantic deep-sea octopuses were mating.

Yet after mating, the male octopus did not immediately leave.

Nor did the female octopus devour the male, as some scientists had discovered happened among octopuses.

With their eight tentacles spread out, the two giant octopuses—each five or six meters long—coexisted harmoniously, as though nothing had happened.

In the corner, Jiang Shu, who had not cared much about the movie's plot to begin with, suddenly clenched his fist.

Zheng Yanbo's words from that day rang in his ears again. "Some wild animals seem to have entered a channel of rapid evolution."

At that moment, he finally understood those words.

Jiang Shu stared fixedly at the screen, all his earlier ease gone.

Those two giant octopuses had very likely already...

Opened the Gene Lock that had trapped their species.

For a full three hundred million years!