Family

How do I even begin...

Ji Zhixing stood outside his front door, paused for a few seconds, then took out his key and slid it into the lock.

Click.

The door opened.

"You're back!" a bright voice called out at once.

A girl in faded pink loungewear came over from the living room. She was his younger sister, Ji Zhiyu.

She had just started eighth grade that year. Still small and a little skinny, she had yet to reach her full height, but her eyes were bright, and shallow dimples appeared when she smiled.

"Give me your bag." Ji Zhiyu held out her hand as naturally as ever.

Ji Zhixing instinctively handed over his shoulder bag, but his gaze passed over his sister's shoulder into the apartment.

The living room was small and simply furnished, but it was kept very clean.

His father, Ji Guodong, was indeed home already, sitting on their decade-old sofa and watching television.

Hearing the door open, he looked up with a smile. "You're back, Zhixing. They've locked down the streets. You didn't run into any trouble, did you?" His voice was slightly hoarse, roughened by smoking.

"No, we came straight home after school." Ji Zhixing changed his shoes and stepped inside.

The dishes were already on the table.

A plate of stir-fried seasonal vegetables, a plate of pickled vegetables with dried tofu, and a small plate of braised pork.

Tomorrow was the big day when he would choose his gene. His mother had clearly prepared something extra for the occasion.

The kitchen exhaust fan hummed. His mother, Zhang Yulan, poked her head out, a light sheen of sweat on her forehead and a gentle smile on her face. "Go wash your hands. The last dish is almost ready. I bought ribs especially for you today and made some soup."

"Have you decided which gene to choose tomorrow?" Ji Zhiyu put away his bag and came over, her eyes shining. "I think a bird-of-prey gene would be best. You awakened a second-order gene aperture, so if you choose one, you might gain the ability to fly without having to wait until you reach Fourth-Order Morning Star Rank."

Ji Zhixing stiffened.

Ji Guodong looked over as well, his eyes full of hope. "Don't be nervous, Zhixing. Choose what you want. Compatibility matters most."

"Dad..." Ji Zhixing opened his mouth, but the words caught in his throat.

"Dinner's ready!" Zhang Yulan came out of the kitchen carrying the steaming rib soup. "Come sit down, everyone. Hurry, Zhixing. This soup has been simmering for ages. Even the bones are tender. It'll really build up your strength."

"Okay." Ji Zhixing nodded.

The family gathered around the small square table. The moment Ji Zhixing sat down, a pair of chopsticks placed a thick slice of braised pork in his bowl.

"Here, Zhixing. Eat more. Tomorrow is the biggest day of your life. Fill your stomach and get your strength up." Zhang Yulan smiled at him, the crow's-feet at the corners of her eyes easing.

Fragments of memory rose in his mind.

For the past two and a half years, scenes like this had played out almost every day.

Nearly all the good food the family made had ended up in his stomach.

He had always taken the best portion for granted.

Though his sister sometimes watched with longing eyes, she was considerate enough never to fight him for it.

I'm such a bastard! Ji Zhixing cursed himself bitterly.

If I really had awakened a second-order gene aperture and could give my family a better life someday, that would be one thing. But all of this...

His grip tightened around his chopsticks.

All of this was built on my lie!

He lifted his chopsticks, picked the largest rib from the bowl nearest him, and placed it in Ji Zhiyu's bowl.

The other three froze.

Ji Zhiyu stared in surprise at the rib that had appeared in her bowl, then looked up at her brother.

Zhang Yulan and Ji Guodong also paused, looking at their son in surprise.

"My gene aperture has completely stabilized. I won't need as much nourishing food as before."

Ji Zhixing tried to make his voice sound natural. He put another rib in his mother's bowl, then one in his father's.

"Zhiyu, you're still growing, and you're too skinny. Eat more meat from now on. You too, Mom, Dad. Stop saving everything for me."

The table fell silent for a few seconds.

Ji Zhiyu glanced at Ji Zhixing and said softly, "Thanks."

Zhang Yulan looked at the rib in her bowl, then at her son, her eyes growing moist.

Ji Guodong looked at his son, a gratified smile spreading across his careworn face. "Good, good. Our boy's grown up. Yulan, Zhiyu, let's eat."

It was an especially warm family dinner.

Watching the smiles on his parents' and sister's faces, Ji Zhixing nearly blurted out the truth. But when the words reached his lips, he swallowed them again.

Wait a little longer!

Tomorrow, I'll go to the Gene Bank and find out what's happening with the gene furnace inside me... See if there's a chance to turn things around...

He wrestled with himself, then finally decided to wait until he returned from the Gene Bank tomorrow.

If the transforming Eight Trigrams Furnace inside him really could work a miracle, perhaps he still had a chance to live up to his family's hopes.

If it could not...

Then he would confess and admit his wrongdoing.

Then he would face all the consequences.

Boom!!

Just then, an impossibly deep blast seemed to rise from far beneath the earth. The entire old apartment building shook, and the dishes rattled on the table.

Everyone's expression changed.

Ji Guodong immediately stood and strode to the window. He lifted a corner of the curtain and looked warily toward the southeast.

That was where the Sky Tyrant Dragon Beast had appeared.

Zhang Yulan instinctively pulled her daughter close.

Ji Zhixing's heart tightened as well.

The terrifying silhouette of the dragon, blotting out the sky, flashed through his mind again.

He looked toward the horizon, where bursts of light flashed in the distance.

Fortunately, nothing had gone wrong in Jade City Base City.

The shaking continued for around a dozen minutes before finally subsiding.

"The Sky Tyrant Dragon Beast has been driven back and is now well beyond Rain City Base City's boundaries. The alert will be lifted in one hour. Residents may then resume their normal activities."

"Repeat, the Sky Tyrant Dragon Beast has been driven back..."

The broadcast repeated three times.

Cheers and excited chatter erupted throughout the building and the entire residential complex as people celebrated surviving the danger.

"It was Garrison Commander Xiao! He must have stepped in!"

"Incredible! That was a Seventh-Order Glory Rank Gene Beast!"

"With Lord Xiao here, our Rain City is safe!"

Ji Zhixing slowly released his grip on the window frame. His palms were slick with sweat.

He gazed out at the dark wilderness, now quiet once more, but the flashes of light on the horizon kept replaying in his mind.

That kind of power...

That level of strength...

He took a deep breath and turned to his family.

"It's been driven back..." Ji Guodong's tense shoulders relaxed. He let out a long breath and sat back down on the sofa, relieved. "A Glory Rank Gene Beast. Terrifying."

"Yes. Thank goodness Garrison Commander Xiao was here."

Zhang Yulan also breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's all right now." Ji Guodong patted his daughter's shoulder, then looked at Ji Zhixing. "You have to get up early tomorrow. Go to bed early tonight."

"Okay." Ji Zhixing nodded.

That night, many people in Rain City Base City struggled to sleep.

Ji Zhixing lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.

Inside him, the gene furnace's transformation continued.

He could feel the Eight Trigrams symbols circulating faster, the furnace's structure growing increasingly stable, and a mysterious rhythm taking shape.

Whatever it becomes, I'll find out tomorrow.

He closed his eyes and forced himself to sleep.