Upon seeing her arrive, the two stopped talking and immediately looked over with concern.
What happened?
Dean Bai asked directly through the Mental Link.
Wen Jing stopped hiding it and went straight to the point. "I just experienced Genetic Collapse."
Upon hearing this, both men's expressions changed, and they immediately stepped forward.
"What?!"
"I'm fine now." Wen Jing spread his hands, indicating that he was unharmed.
She's really okay now.
Genetic Collapse happens in an instant. To describe it, it's like a complete container suddenly breaking. For other Awakened, higher-dimensional energy loses its restraint. If they don't enter the Ancient Wilderness, life and energy cannot be preserved, leading to death.
As for Wen Jing, although the current container has ruptured, there is still an invisible container functioning, so it was a close call without any real danger.
However, this unexpected event still brought about a somewhat complicated change in her feelings.
In the panel within his consciousness, Wen Jing originally had two panels.
One is a human attribute panel, and the other is an insect attribute panel.
Although after becoming Awakened, her characteristics and attributes are mainly reflected in her insect body panel, her human body panel is at least always there.
However, after the Genetic Collapse that occurred, the body panel simply disappeared.
Now all she has left is a panel with the species being insects.
Wen Jing didn't know if this meant... she was no longer human.
Although Xie Ming could tell that Wen Jing was in good condition and full of energy, he still said, "No matter what, you should have a check-up first."
"That's right." Dean Bai nodded from the side.
Wen Jing naturally cooperated and entered the instrument next to him.
Xie Ming, at the control panel outside, channeled energy into fine threads, analyzing the feedback from the instruments.
"There's definitely no problem, everything is normal... but we can't rule out the possibility that the accuracy of this fluctuation meter isn't high enough..."
After several rounds of testing, he reached a conclusion.
"What happened with the Genetic Collapse?" Dean Bai paced back and forth.
Xie Ming frowned and looked at Wen Jing, who came out from inside. "Are you sure it's Genetic Collapse? Could it be some other misunderstanding? Did anything unusual happen to you before this, like what you encountered in the Ancient Wilderness?"
Based solely on the test results, it's fair to say there's absolutely no indication that she experienced any Genetic Collapse.
However, he also believed that Wen Jing would not speak without reason, and there was also Dean Bai's intuition to corroborate this.
Wen Jing shook his head. "I had just finished class when it happened. Entering the Ancient Wilderness was a day ago, and the others in my team didn't seem to be acting strangely..."
Her biggest move recently was devouring the Gear World on her own a few days ago, which granted her two special abilities.
But if there was a problem, why didn't it happen immediately after her return, instead of after a few uneventful days?
Since the Genetic Collapse occurred, Wen Jing has naturally reflected on many things.
There are only two possibilities in this situation.
One possibility is that it's a natural law; she was just unlucky, and even with her frequent explorations, she still randomly collapsed.
Another type is caused by some kind of human intervention or control, like a time bomb that was already buried in the body and then detonated.
Wen Jing intuitively felt that the latter was more likely.
If we extrapolate in this direction, and Genetic Collapse is the second leading cause of death among Awakened, then the implications are far greater...
"I'm certain it's Genetic Collapse." Wen Jing looked at the two and explained, "I survived the Genetic Collapse because of a Ancient Wilderness encounter in ancient times."
She didn't mention the Clone.
The more you interact with Wen Jing, the more you understand him.
In the history of the Federation, there has never been a talent like hers that truly allows her to Clone.
Previously, in order to upgrade her Consciousness Diversion, she had also considered finding an Empowerment Stone with the ability to Clone, absorbing it to upgrade, and thus saving Skill Points.
However, after investigation, Wen Jing discovered that, both now and in history, the Clone of Awakened with the ability to Clone are essentially illusions or phantoms.
To be precise, what's truly extraordinary isn't her ability to Clone, but rather her capacity to split into two consciousnesses, each capable of independent thought.
Perhaps it's because the Consciousness Diversion, like the Gravity Silk that can locate the Ancient Wilderness, was something Wen Jing created 'out of nothing' using the Evolution Panel.
The Evolution Panel and the memories of his past life are Wen Jing's deepest secrets.
It wasn't that she didn't trust the two elders in front of her, but rather that if she told them, the secret would become a burden for them.
She doesn't intend to tell anyone until she has grown to the point where she has the absolute power to protect this secret.
Furthermore, the Clone also involves the question of identifying one's own identity.
If the two were told about the Clone, would they believe that the Wen Jing before them was merely a monster who inherited ' Wen Jing's' memories, and that the real Wen Jing was trapped in the Spacetime Amber?
Wen Jing knew perfectly well that she was still herself, only now she was a 'disassembled' life, but she couldn't guarantee that the two people in front of her would think the same way.
Although the chances are slim, there's no need to gamble...
As expected, Dean Bai and Xie Ming were not surprised to hear Wen Jing say that.
Both of them were veteran Awakened, and seeing her standing there unharmed, they automatically filled in the blanks in their minds.
So Wen Jing continued, offering his speculation. "Teacher, didn't you say that in the Empire, alien nobles were controlling the Genetic Collapse of the Awakened?"
"So... is it possible that someone in the Federation also possesses the means to cause rapid Genetic Collapse?"
She didn't believe that the assassination attempt by the Empire had left behind any hidden weapon. If the Empire's assassins had that kind of ability, they would have detonated the Genetic Collapse long ago when Wen Jing survived and returned.
"For example, human trafficking factories." Wen Jing looked at Dean Bai: "Professor, your mother was also born in a human trafficking factory, so could her disappearance back then...?"
Unexpectedly, Dean Bai only paused slightly before shaking his head in rejection.
"No, S-rank abilities involve 'rules.' Genetic Collapse can affect Awakened below S-rank, but it cannot affect S-rank Awakened Ones."
Wen Jing was taken aback upon hearing this.
Xie Ming, standing nearby, added, "The population factory is operated by the Kewo Life Group. If they had truly mastered this technology eighteen years ago, they should have already applied it to the newborns of other groups."
At this point, he explained, "Even in wealthy families, very few children are born naturally; most are conceived using artificial wombs, a technology that is basically monopolized by the Kewo Life Group."
As soon as he explained, Wen Jing immediately understood.
The chaebols can afford to raise their children, but they still value efficiency.
In matriarchal chaebol families, would they choose to conceive a child every ten months or use an artificial womb to conceive a child every month? This is a question that doesn't even need to be considered.
While patriarchal conglomerate families can conceive naturally, artificial wombs are still more cost-effective with the help of technology.
If Kewo Life Company were to master this technology, it certainly wouldn't be applied first to population factories that create ordinary people, but rather directly to the other nine major corporations.
Wouldn't it be better to first wipe out the newly Awakened of other groups, and then dominate one group?
Xie Ming continued, "Not to mention that technologies are interconnected. If there were technology that could remotely control Genetic Collapse, then those who benefit from it could likely reduce the probability of their own Genetic Collapse."
"But in reality, the probability of an Awakened's Genetic Collapse is the same regardless of whether they are in the Kewo Life Group, one of the other nine major groups, or someone of ordinary origin."
"In fact, because Awakened from wealthy families are more inclined to a comfortable life and dare not explore the Ancient Wilderness, they are slightly more likely to lose control."
Xie Ming's words were reasonable and well-founded. The three major academies are responsible for containing the out-of-control Awakened on this planet, and they have a very clear grasp of this data.
Wen Jing frowned upon hearing this, feeling as if he had fallen into a dead end.
"If it's not a human trafficking factory, then what kind of person or force has recently come up with this method?"
From the perspective of any faction, possessing the means to cause the genes of Awakened to Genetic Collapse should elicit some action or signs. So, if her is their first target, what would be the reason?
At this point in time, she figured she hadn't done anything that would attract attention.
Dean Bai had a sudden thought, "Could it be because of the re-evaluation of your Wilderness Body?"
Wen Jing: "Uh, this shouldn't affect anyone's interests, right..."
Whether her Wilderness Body rating is raised or not, it doesn't threaten anyone. If the Wilderness Body rating were really that important, no matter how strong Dean Bai is, the reformists would have a hard time getting ahead.
"However, whatever the reason, at least we now have an early warning." Xie Ming said, looking at Dean Bai, "But you—"
"What's wrong with me?" Dean Bai asked, bewildered.
Xie Ming: " Wen Jing is fine now, I'm fine, and you're fine too... Do you still have that ominous feeling?"
Upon hearing this, Wen Jing also looked at Dean Bai.
If she had simply experienced Genetic Collapse without the teacher's premonition, she would have taken it seriously, but wouldn't have thought so deeply or suspected so much.
As a result, Dean Bai sighed and reached into his hair, pulling it out several times in frustration.
"Yes, I have."
"And it's getting stronger and stronger, it's like a death star is shining wildly!"
Wen Jing and Xie Ming looked at each other in bewilderment.
However, almost immediately, Dean Bai and Xie Ming both changed their expressions as they received an urgent message on their smart terminals.
After quickly skimming through the contents, the two exchanged a glance, their expressions turning serious.