Super Gene

Han Sen followed Mister Li closely, as they all entered and ventured between the narrow pathways of the shelter. They said that as long as they did not approach that one construct, their passage would mostly be fine.

Still, that was no reason to shirk caution. Everyone was on high-alert, and their eyes remained peeled for the slightest foreign motion, intently scanning every new viewpoint they could. This was not a place they could afford to let their guard down.

The mist was encroaching on their right, so they sidestepped to skirt a few buildings on their left.

They eventually got within ten meters of the tower.

Just like the scroll had depicted, the mural upon the construct displayed ten humans.

“Well, he may have been scant on details, but at least Qing Le wasn’t outright lying to me.” The worry in Han Sen’s heart lightened a bit, and his pace quickened, upon learning that the authenticity of the drawings checked out.

When they saw the other side of the tower, though, they were all struck with a gut-punching shock. There were three people in a sitting position, except they were dead. Eerily, it was as if they had been placed there.

Han Sen was easily able to understand why Mister Li had told them to exercise caution around the base of that tower now. Whoever approached might have very well been killed.

Han Sen examined their bodies the best he could, from the distance he was standing. He was unable to determine a cause of death, and the bodies hadn’t been ravaged in any way. But there they were; lifeless and sitting.

Han Sen did not know why they were in such a position. And while it would have been a ghastlier sight to see a few corpses mutilated or decapitated, it would’ve at least been easier to suspect what sort of foe might be awaiting them. This was unsettling, and it made the group even more wary for what might lie ahead. Their stomachs were churning.

Eventually, his eyes turned to the mural above. He studied the images carefully, hoping to glean as many details as he could.

He was viewing another side of the tower now, and there was text just like what he had seen in the drawing. The text, however, did not offer an excerpt from Life Door as the first did.

“My life is my life. Your life is my life. Your life is forfeit to me,” Yu Zhiyou read aloud.

Han Sen did not know what it meant, but when he looked at the carvings, he was given a shock. Ten people were shown, all lifeless and sitting like the three bodies they had just seen.

Then, suddenly, before the sight of that could settle in their minds, Wang Zhao shouted, “What are you doing? Get back!”

Han Sen didn’t know why Yu Zhiyou was walking towards the tower, but he had begun to do so in a trance-like state. Yu Zhiyou reached the wall, turned around, and smiled at them. Then, he sat down and closed his eyes.

A chill ran down the spines of all who watched this act. A living person had just approached the construct and died, with no genuine cause to be discerned. It was as if, like a zombie, he had accepted death.

Yu Zhiyou was not the strongest amongst them, but he had a gold geno core. For him to merrily die in such a way was strange, to say the least.

He was sitting in a position just like the ones shown on the mural, and just like the three they had passed.

“Whatever you do; do not read the writing!” Mister Li said, to everyone.

It was then that everyone realized Yu Zhiyou was the only one who had read the words written in the text. It couldn’t have been a coincidence he was the first to kick the bucket.

Wang Zhao then said, “Be careful! For once, illiteracy might be a boon. If you read any text here, it could lead to your death, and none will be able to save you.”

Everyone was afraid following that freak occurrence, and no one dared to look at the tower now.

People believed that if you were strong in the Fourth God’s Sanctuary, death never came easy. Seeing someone die in such a simple, strange manner was unnerving. It was by some magic none had witnessed before, and it was the inability to know and understand that always scared mankind the most.

Han Sen, however, made sure to take a mental photograph of the murals he had seen thus far.

With haste, they managed to pass the tower by. But from that position, if they chose to turn around, they could view the back of the mural.

Only Han Sen dared to stop and get a good look at it, an action that displeased the rest of his company.

There were no words written on that side, just the depiction of a congregation of humans. Many of them were sitting, while many others were standing.

Han Sen made a note of it, and then felt desperate to see the fourth and final side he had yet to get a look at.

“What are you doing?” Mister Li believed Han Sen had read something and been robbed of his will to live as had just occurred. He quickly grabbed Han Sen’s arm to pull him back.

The tug was strong, and he was sent staggering a few meters back. Everyone stared at Han Sen with wide open eyes, thinking he might have been possessed.

“I’m fine. I just wanted to take a look at the other side of the mural. It may have information we’d be better off learning. It is obviously a construct of great importance to the shelter,” Han Sen explained.

“Why can’t you just shut up and follow us? You’ll get Mister Li and the rest of us killed,” Xu Yanmeng sternly said.

“I want to take a look. You can stay here, but do you mind waiting a moment?” Han Sen asked, addressing Mister Li directly.

Mister Li answered, “Okay. You might be correct, and examining it might indeed prove useful.”

“You can go there, but we’ve already been told what’s on the other side. I’m not risking things any more than I have to,” Zhong Sanxiao said.

Wang Zhao chimed in, agreeing. No one else wanted to risk venturing there.

“Then I will go there with Little Han,” Mister Li said.

Xu Yanmeng blurted out, “You’re crazy! Don’t listen to him. We’ve already cleared the tower, and now you want to return to it?”

Mister Li patted him on the shoulder and said, “I just want to take a look. I’ll be fine, okay? We both will.”

“Me and Old Qiu can come, then,” Xu Yanmeng said.

“It’s fine. Stay here where it’s safest,” Mister Li said, already walking away alongside Han Sen.

When Han Sen reached the other side of the mural, he was delighted at what he saw.