The Infinite Path of Evolution

Chapter 4: The Hunting Plan

Chucheng was built against the mountains, nestled among lofty peaks. Because the southern face of the mountain was steep while the northern side was more gradual, the southern part of the city naturally became the main access point for the outside world when it was constructed. The eastern, western, and northern sides, in contrast, were completely sealed off with tight defenses—so strict not even a bird could fly through.

The city was divided into four districts, of which the northern district was reserved for the nobility. It had the largest area, the best terrain, and the strongest defenses, making it the safest part of the city.

Chu Xun’s so-called “home” was located in the northern district. However, due to the death of his parents and his failure to awaken any abilities for a long time, his status within the family had fallen repeatedly. Now, his “home” was nothing more than a small single room of less than ten square meters. Though it wasn’t completely bare, it only contained a few pieces of furniture and appliances—very simple, to say the least.

Upon returning, Chu Xun immediately locked the door behind him. Carefully, he opened his wardrobe and took out a palm-sized metal box.

When he saw the blue metallic container, a hint of excitement appeared on Chu Xun’s face. He took a deep breath and opened the box. Instantly, a soft blue light radiated out from within.

Inside were ten standard crystal cores—his monthly allocation. Each was about the size of a coin, clear like blue crystal, and glowing with a soft, soothing light. These cores, beautiful enough to capture anyone’s gaze, were the result of a combination of viral and life energy. After being refined by biological hosts and processed with advanced technology, they were gentler and easier for the human body to absorb.

According to the memories in his mind, these standard cores could not only enhance the physical strength of ordinary people but also strengthen the powers of awakened ability users. Their value was incredibly high.

In fact, for a typical family, earning even one crystal core in a year would be extremely difficult. But as a direct descendant of the Chu family, Chu Xun had been entitled to receive at least ten of these cores per month before the age of sixteen—proof of the massive divide between nobles and commoners in Chucheng.

Fortunately, to prevent internal power struggles from going too far, the Chu family’s laws strictly forbade any intrusion into a noble’s private territory. If not for this rule, Chu Qing wouldn’t have bothered blackmailing Chu Xun—he could have simply stormed in and ransacked the room.

“These standard crystal cores are really beautiful…” Chu Xun murmured in admiration, staring at the glowing items. Even without their mysterious properties, they’d be worth fighting over just for their appearance.

“I wonder if these crystal cores are useful to me now…” he muttered. Since his insect-based ability had been activated by the Super Savior System, he wasn’t sure if these crystal cores would have any effect on him.

Driven by curiosity, he picked up one of the crystal cores, closed his eyes, and began channeling his energy according to the method in his memory.

Buzz!

The core in his hand began to tremble and emit a low humming sound. Then, it suddenly dissolved into a streak of blue light that merged into the center of his palm.

Ding! Host has received bio-energy supplementation. Insect-based ability has been strengthened. Gene Lock unlocked: 10%.

As the light entered his body, a warm stream of energy surged through his veins before finally settling in his mind. Chu Xun felt his spirit lifted and his body overwhelmed with comfort. At the same time, a cold, mechanical voice rang out in his head.

“Gene Lock?” Chu Xun frowned slightly at the term. Without hesitation, he took a deep breath, grabbed the remaining cores, and held them in his hand.

As he did, the soft buzzing and gentle blue light lit up again and again. Before long, all the crystal cores had vanished into his body, and the voice spoke again:

Ding! Host has received bio-energy supplementation. Insect-based ability has been strengthened. Ant Gene enhanced. New Gene Lock unlocked.

Warning: Before gaining sufficient bio-energy and a strong enough body, do not attempt to absorb a third gene. Doing so may cause collapse of the host’s gene chain.

As the message concluded, Chu Xun felt as if a shackle inside his body had been broken. Powerful strength surged through him, and he felt an urge to punch something—anything—just to release it.

A faint blue glow spread across his body. Under the shimmer, his previously thin frame visibly grew stronger. Though he wasn’t muscular, he no longer looked like a gust of wind could knock him over.

“My strength has increased again!” Chu Xun clenched his fists. His power had clearly grown, though he still needed to test how much it had improved.

But aside from physical strength, what caught his attention most was the concept of the Gene Lock. It seemed this insect-based ability wasn’t something he could just strengthen without limit—his body and gene chain had to be able to handle it.

Thankfully, this restriction wasn’t unbreakable. What he needed, evidently, were more crystal cores.

“Well, that makes sense. Power always comes with a price,” Chu Xun murmured with a glimmer of excitement in his eyes. “Now that I’ve unlocked a new slot… what insect gene should I absorb next?”

He began to consider carefully.

From his fight with Qing Yi, Chu Xun had developed a clearer understanding of his capabilities. After fusing with the ant gene, his muscles were filled with strength. Now, with the added boost from the crystal cores, he could likely kill a strong adult male with ease—his strength was probably ten to fifteen times that of an average human. More than enough for now.

But this strength came with a problem: his body’s toughness hadn’t caught up. His relatively fragile bones actually hindered his ability to unleash full power. During the battle with Qing Yi, although his punch had been deadly, it had also severely injured his own arm, rendering him unable to continue fighting.

Now, with even greater power but still a weak frame, he was clearly imbalanced—borderline deformed.

His body’s defense and reaction speed were also lacking. If he had reacted faster, he might have avoided Qing Yi’s dagger and the resulting serious injury.

“It seems the next gene I choose needs to either improve speed or defense,” Chu Xun muttered as he rubbed his chin and began to think about suitable insect candidates near Chucheng.

Thanks to the virus, most life forms on Earth had evolved or mutated. Even the ants he had absorbed had some that mutated into terrifying variants—only a few retained their original forms.

In this, they resembled humanity: a few evolved, gaining powers, while most remained ordinary.

Natural creatures were now incredibly rare inside the city, where only genetically-modified animals were raised. Insects were even rarer.

This meant if Chu Xun wanted to find a suitable insect gene to absorb, he’d have to leave the city—and take a risk.

“Damn it. Fortune favors the bold. Let’s do it!” After a moment of hesitation, Chu Xun took a deep breath and clenched his fists, making up his mind.

The Student Trials were coming soon. If he was nearly crippled just fighting someone like Qing Yi, how could he compete against the noble students? If he failed to rank first, the outcome would be execution. Rather than sit and wait to die, he might as well risk it all. Even death would be better than regret.

After all, he was already someone who had died once.

The next day, after a night of rest, Chu Xun packed some basic supplies and a standard alloy combat knife, then left his home to head for the city gates.

Chucheng was classified as a Level-One city. Though it was the lowest tier of cities, it was still much more advanced than any wilderness outpost. With a permanent population of 300,000, the city spanned over 10,000 square kilometers—making it the largest human settlement in the area.

Built within a mountain range that had been blasted and compacted by the Great Cataclysm centuries ago, Chucheng had earned the nickname “Stone Fortress.” From the sky, it looked like a perfect square embedded in the mountains. Its eastern, western, and northern flanks were extremely steep and mined with traps—nearly impossible to traverse. Only the south had a smooth mountain road.

The ten-meter-high city walls were built from massive stone blocks. The structure was easy to defend and hard to attack. Inside, residents were generally safe.

But outside the city, the story was very different. The wilderness was filled with zombies, mutated beasts, and countless dangers. To keep them out, Chucheng’s defenses were nearly impenetrable. Thousands of elite soldiers were stationed on the walls, alongside cannons, missiles, and automatic turrets. Each wall even had two enormous crystal-core energy cannons—weapons that could level mountains, each shot costing over a thousand crystal cores.

There was only one gate in Chucheng, located on the southern wall. Made from special alloy, it was several times tougher than the walls themselves—strong enough to resist even a Tier-3 zombie.

The gate was only opened for high-ranking officials or during the monthly arrival of merchant convoys. So if Chu Xun wanted to leave the city, he’d need the guards to lower him down the ten-meter wall using a winch.

However, just as Chu Xun arrived at the southern wall, ready to begin his hunt, an unexpected problem suddenly appeared...