Chapter 35: A Person’s Race, Section 10

The gold color was very faint, almost hazy. Yet under the intense lighting in the combat room, it still held firm, striving not to be drowned out. The core could see clearly—that glimmer of gold was actually strands of gold.
Very thin strands of gold, so fine that they were barely discernible. These strands clung densely to the heart of the black-haired man, like a web. Under the light of the combat room, the core was shocked to discover that some of these strands had even penetrated deep into the heart.
What is this!?
A hint of surprise appeared in Fat Henry’s eyes as well. He could hardly believe what he was seeing.
The examination was thorough, so Henry obtained a relatively detailed result. Aside from the black-haired man’s left arm being highly unusual, everything else was no different from that of a normal human. He had thought that was all there was to know about the black-haired man. But he never expected to see something like this in the end.
The golden strands were deeply embedded in the heart, surrounding it like a web. Could this enhance his abilities?
No!! In Henry’s view, this was nothing but restraint!! These strands were firmly binding the power of the black-haired man’s heart!!
But for an ordinary human, with the heart bound in this way, shouldn’t he have died long ago? How could he still be alive and strong, possessing powers beyond what ordinary people could achieve?
Henry was utterly confused. He glanced again at the stone slab beside him. Countless flowing data points indicated that the man was perfectly normal.
Damn it! How can this be considered normal? The golden strands had already penetrated deep into the heart; with even more pressure, the heart might be torn into countless pieces. With such restraint, not to mention intense exercise, even daily survival would be difficult. A slight carelessness could lead to heart failure. How can this be called normal?
Shaken and puzzled, Henry still had to continue. He carefully reached out with his finger above the black-haired man’s heart and gently grasped it. The faint golden light seemed to be pulled by some force, trembling slightly. But instead of being pulled as Henry had expected, it began to contract slowly.
“Huh?” Henry was astonished. Could these golden strands be alive?
“What on earth is this?”
Henry murmured to himself. The core beside him could only ask it. It hurriedly replied in a low voice, “I don’t know. But this must be the secret of the black-haired man. I never dared to touch it before. But now it seems not that serious. I can’t sense any energy fluctuations.”

“Nonsense. If there were energy fluctuations, would I still need to be so careful?” Henry shook his head in dissatisfaction. As a Descendant, mastering cell manipulation was incredibly simple. Especially with cells that had energy fluctuations—there were always patterns to follow; he could easily spot their weaknesses with just a quick glance.

Yet, it was precisely these cells with no fluctuations, seemingly ordinary, that were the most difficult. Even Henry had to use his Gourmet abilities to investigate such cells. But now, with those golden threads tightly wrapped around the Black-Haired one’s heart, how could he obtain even a sample?

Having difficulties didn’t mean he could avoid them. Descendants weren’t a race that gave up easily. With a quick thought, Henry decided to try a different method.

As the sole member of the Descendants, he inherited the abilities of every generation. But out of habit, he preferred using his Gourmet abilities. So despite those stubborn golden threads, they posed no challenge to him. The Descendants had plenty of ways to deal with such cells.

After some thought, Henry suddenly slapped the platform. The lights in the chamber instantly changed from pure white to a dim pink. At the same time, the platform transformed again—two exquisite jade arms emerged from its base and slowly rose above the Black-Haired one’s heart. Within the dim pink glow, two eerie green beams shot out from these arms, landing precisely on the heart. Meanwhile, the display slab beside it emitted a shrill sound, like the wail of a ghost.

Just as Henry had expected, as soon as the green light touched the heart, the tiny golden threads stopped contracting. Then the golden light quickly dimmed. Visibly, a section of the golden threads lost their luster and became transparent. The data on the slab also surged dramatically.

The secrets of the Black-Haired one were finally revealed to Henry.

Rows of data flashed across the screen at lightning speed. The deeper he scanned, the more the data multiplied, like an endless sea. In just a few seconds, it became impossible to keep up. Normal vision couldn’t keep pace with the flow of data! Henry’s mouth hung open in astonishment!

It wasn’t that he couldn’t understand what the data meant. It was simply… because he recognized those data that he was so shocked. Because what they represented wasn’t some kind of power—it was…

A gene database!!! A vast gene database belonging to an entire race!!!

As is well known, genes are the blueprint of a race. As long as this race’s genetic blueprint remains intact, even if the race becomes extinct, it can be recreated at the right time and place. For Henry, possessing a race’s genetic blueprint meant he could create that race!!

Yet Blackhair was not Henry, nor was he a descendant of those at the pinnacle of the biological world. Why would he keep such a complete genetic blueprint within himself? And why store it in the weakest part of the human body—the heart?

In an instant, Henry understood. These golden threads were not restraining Blackhair’s heart but were trying to find a safe place. For this genetic database, the safest place was inside Blackhair’s heart. That’s why they kept tightening and contracting, trying to push themselves into that safe place.

But the tighter they tightened, the greater the damage Blackhair suffered. His heart had to endure pressure and restraint far beyond what an ordinary person could bear. And according to Core, Blackhair also had to participate in fierce battles, so the pressure he faced was unimaginable. Henry really couldn’t figure out what could make such a brave warrior endure such pain and cherish it as if it were his life, even forbidding those closest to him from touching it.

Why! Why would a human, an ordinary human, go to such lengths to preserve such a genetic database? What significance did this database hold to warrant such a heavy sacrifice!?

Storing the genetic database in the heart meant protecting it with one’s own life. As long as the person lived, the database remained; when the person died, the database vanished!!

Was this the secret Core mentioned about Blackhair?

Time passed slowly. The data in the genetic database grew more and more. Yet the room remained utterly silent. Henry stared blankly at the data flashing on the stone slab, remaining silent for a long time. It wasn’t until Core felt a bit bored that he finally let out a long sigh.

“Kid, I have to say you’ve encountered an amazing person.”

“Father God, I don’t understand.”

“You don’t need to understand. Even I can’t understand it. All I know is that this secret is very important to your companion—more important than you can imagine. Even I now think it’s time to stop.”

“Is that so? Then let’s stop. While he hasn’t discovered it yet, it’s still possible to restore things to how they were.” Core spoke calmly, seemingly unconcerned by Henry’s words, though a hint of secrecy flashed briefly on its crystal.

Henry forced a bitter smile. “It’s too late. If it were a normal storage method, I might still be able to hide it from this human. But he connected the database directly to his heart. With such a method, even if I had extraordinary skills, I couldn’t obtain that database without alerting him. Unless… I didn’t care about his life or death.”
After a pause, Henry’s smile stiffened. “But I can’t do that.”
“A person who is willing to risk their life and sacrifice their health to keep a secret—no matter how insignificant they may be—deserves admiration from any being. Though I am a descendant of the lineage, I still can’t bear to harm such a person. His dedication is something even I would fear.”
“Fear? Fear dedication?” Core seemed to not understand what Henry was saying.
“Yes, terrifying dedication…” Henry sighed deeply. “I was foolish not to listen to you. Now it’s too late. The gene database is connected to his heart; once he wakes up, he’ll definitely know I’ve tampered with his secret.”
“So… I can no longer back down. The lineage has been passed down to me for 5,700 generations. Young one, I can’t break the rules of the lineage. This task must continue. I’ve already given orders to the guards outside. If I die, you’ll become their leader. You must lead them to find the next generation of descendants and bring them to this platform. I’ll pass on everything to him. You can find the specific criteria in my database. Ah, it’s that stone slab behind you.”
“Understood, Father God. I will surely follow your orders and carry on the lineage,” Core replied calmly, his tone devoid of any emotion.
Henry smiled in satisfaction. He knew this cell would obey his orders. The lineage would not be severed because of his recklessness. Then he turned around again, facing those tiny yet crucial golden threads.
“Now, I’m going to reveal your secret, human. As a price, I’ll give you my life. But as a descendant of the lineage, I must understand—what exactly is this gene database that deserves you to risk your life to protect it?”