Chapter 36: The Impossible Task – Section 1

The golden threads were being peeled away bit by bit. Henry’s forehead was covered in sweat drops. Yet his hands remained steady and dry, showing no sign of hesitation. This was a highly delicate task that required extreme care. That’s why, just thirty minutes in, he had already expended most of his energy. The sweat even soaked his clothes.

It wasn’t that Henry lacked skill—it was that he set the bar too high for himself. Removing those threads, ten times finer than hair, would have been a trivial task using the methods of his ancestors. But adding the requirement to ensure the Black-Haired man’s heart remained unharmed made it far more difficult.

The golden threads were deeply embedded in the heart, with some parts even fused with it. Over time, a symbiotic relationship had formed. Removing the threads would inevitably disrupt this balance, causing the Black-Haired man’s heart to fail. Of course, if his ancestors’ methods were used to create a new heart for him, such losses could be ignored. But Henry couldn’t do that—because he respected the man before him.

There had only ever been one member in his ancestors’ line, yet they still possessed vitality and faith. The Black-Haired man’s sacrifice had deeply wounded Henry’s heart. In the ancient First Universe era, there had been countless heroes, but no one had ever made such a sacrifice. To Henry, though the Black-Haired man still appeared human on the surface, his actions were anything but…

That was a sacrifice only a god could make.

So Henry could only rely on the life energy accumulated over countless years by his ancestors, using it to remove the threads while forcing the Black-Haired man’s heart to heal!

With each tiny thread removed, Henry had to exert great effort. On the jade platform, the Black-Haired man’s blood flowed steadily, like a small stream. It poured onto the platform and gathered in the intricate, mysterious patterns, quickly forming a huge and eerie design. Though it was bright red in color, it emitted a faint golden glow in the end. Strangely, no matter how quickly the blood flowed, its volume remained constant, as if it would never run out.

Henry knew this was the wonder of life energy. With the energy accumulated over countless years by his ancestors, it could not only sustain a human’s life indefinitely but also create tens of thousands of angels without issue. So there was no need to worry. His only concern was whether this might trigger some change in the Black-Haired man.

Because of his exceptional martial skills, Dark Hair’s face had shown signs of pain many times. Sometimes, he even let out dull groans. With his eyes tightly closed, sweat droplets glistened on his forehead, and blood streaked his clenched teeth. Clearly, he was enduring unimaginable pain!
Seeing this, Henry couldn’t help but wonder. With his family’s methods, Dark Hair shouldn’t have felt anything at all. So where did this expression of pain come from? Could it be that even in a coma, Dark Hair could still sense his own actions?
Of course, Dark Hair couldn’t sense Henry’s movements. Because he was dreaming.
People say that sleep without dreams is the highest quality sleep. But little do they know that in this world, there are those who also experience dreamless sleep. It’s not that they can’t dream, but that they’re not allowed to. Dreaming might lead to talking in one’s sleep, or it might expose their secrets. So they never dare to dream throughout their lives. And such people usually have a special profession—what people call…
Agents.
Dark Hair wasn’t an agent. But he set even stricter demands on himself than an agent. In the days of Earth, his rules could have served as a textbook for any agent training. So he too dared not dream.
But today, he dreamed.
He had his first dream since he became aware of things.
A nightmare.
……………………
The sky was pitch black, covered in dark clouds. Over the military base in California, the United States, it was like a thick black veil, with not even a hint of starlight visible. Howling winds swept through, like raging demons. The world was in chaos.
This was a precursor to a tornado. Yet it couldn’t cause panic at the military base. In fact, as Earth’s foremost military power, the base was already as impregnable as a bucket. Three massive warships floated above the base, while the outer walls were brightly lit. Giant steel humanoid figures slowly and meticulously patrolled every corner.
High alert. Such a state was rare in this relatively peaceful era. But today, that’s exactly what the military base in California looked like. Inside the base, all soldiers were on high alert. Advanced mechs were polished to such a degree that they reflected shadows. The cold barrels of their guns emitted a faint blue glow.
They were waiting for one person.
A general from China.

Lin Hao. A first-class general of Huaguo, with countless military achievements throughout his life. He led his country’s forces to complete victories in numerous external conflicts. His reputation was unmatched across entire Huaguo. His most notable trait was his bravery—unlike the kindness promoted in Huaguo for thousands of years, this general employed extremely ruthless tactics. His troops were fierce as tigers in battle, determined to fight to the death without regard for casualties. He even committed several acts of killing prisoners. His notorious reputation was so fearsome that it could make even servants cry. In many battles, enemy troops lacked the courage to fight at all; upon hearing of this general’s arrival, they would scatter in panic.

Someone once predicted Lin Hao’s fate, saying that his excessive brutality meant he was sent down from heaven to slaughter millions of lives before returning to heaven. Yet it was precisely this brutality that shortened his life; he never lived past fifty.

Today, General Lin Hao just turned fifty. At the beginning of this year, he received a mission. Huaguo had recently completed the genetic map of its people and sent him to retrieve it. This genetic map represented the foundation of the Huaguo people and the result of centuries of hard work by countless scientists. With it, Huaguo could gradually improve its own genes and enhance the quality of all its citizens, using human effort to accelerate the process of evolution.

The mission was crucial, so it required General Lin Hao’s personal oversight. He indeed took it seriously, deploying his best troops to retrieve the map safely. Yet no one expected that, although nothing went wrong during retrieval, problems arose once the map was in hand.

Dozens of small warships launched a near-suicidal attack on General Lin Hao’s base, seizing the map during a moment of laxity among the guards who had just completed their task. They also captured General Lin Hao. Although most of the attacking ships were destroyed, one managed to escape. This incident shocked Huaguo!

At that moment, the military base in California was waiting for the ship carrying General Lin Hao and the vital map. To that end, they even ignored the approaching tornado. The entire base was on high alert, with everyone staying awake and armed. Countless eyes watched anxiously the stormy sky, awaiting the appearance of that ship.

The commander of the base, Slok, was also very nervous at this moment. Yet he wanted to laugh even more. After all the hardships endured by Huaguo, it had now fallen into the hands of the United States. It felt utterly absurd. Surely the people of Huaguo never imagined that the genetic maps they used to improve their own genes would become the prey of their own country. With these genetic maps, control over the lives and deaths of all Huaguo people could be seized—just a small genetic weapon could erase Huaguo from the face of the earth without causing any environmental damage.
Stupid, truly stupid, Slok thought triumphantly, his smile growing wider. He knew that in another fifteen minutes, the ship carrying the maps and General Lin Hao would descend directly from outer space, delivering the greatest gift in the world right before his eyes.
What he didn’t know was that, fifteen kilometers outside the California base, in a small valley, another pitch-black ship was quietly parked. There were no lights aboard, making it look like a ghost ship. Inside the cabin, over thirty burly men sat or leaned around silently, none of them speaking, merely cleaning their guns. A slightly thin figure stood with his hands behind his back by the window, showing only his back to them.
The atmosphere in the cabin was oppressive, but no one seemed to care. If someone had observed closely, they might have noticed a faint, even somewhat amused, glint in the eyes of those burly men.
“It’s time…” After a long while, the thin man with his hands behind his back let out a deep sigh and turned his gaze away from the window. In response, the thirty-plus burly men in the cabin stopped what they were doing and stood up. The sound of gun safes being locked echoed continuously. In an instant, the atmosphere in the cabin became deadly serious!
Outside the window, a faint light finally broke through the cloudy sky and appeared before everyone’s eyes.
At the same time, General Slok was so excited he could barely contain himself. It was here at last…
Huaguo’s century-long achievements were about to fall into his hands. For this, the United States had paid the price of over fifty state-of-the-art assault ships and tens of thousands of special forces soldiers. It was all worth it. General Slok narrowed his eyes, staring at the light in the sky, unable to hide his excitement. He believed that soon he would become a hero of the United States, one who would be celebrated by everyone!
A hero… Americans were so romantic. Surely those beautiful women would pursue him wildly? Sorry, I’m still a virgin. Ah, the beaches of Australia—here I come… Beautiful women, here I come…

Wait! Hold on!! What’s that?
General Slok, lost in his fantasies, suddenly shuddered as his eyes widened in shock. He saw that as the light in the sky grew brighter, a pitch-black shadow appeared above the base. The shadow was so dim that it was barely visible unless one paid close attention.
The lights at the base reacted quickly, and within moments, dozens of massive beams of light chased after it, revealing the dark shadow to everyone’s eyes… The first thing General Slok saw was a delicate icon—a portrait of a beautiful woman. Beneath her hair as black as clouds, her icy gaze was utterly striking, as if mocking him.
With a deep groan, General Slok could barely control his body. He let out a shrill scream, the loudest and most fearful he had ever made, one that echoed throughout the base…
“Be careful!! It’s… a beauty with black hair!!!”