Pain spread through Kai Ren's body like wildfire. Every nerve screamed as invisible forces tore through him from the inside. His muscles clenched uncontrollably while blue light from the metallic sphere continued pouring into his chest. The underground chamber trembled as the strange energy pulsed through the air.
Kai collapsed onto the cold stone floor, his fingers clawing against the ground as waves of agony crashed through him. His breathing became ragged and uneven while his heart pounded violently inside his chest.
Something inside him was changing.
Not slowly. Not gently.
Violently — as if his body had been forced into an evolution it was never meant to survive.
A mechanical voice echoed inside his mind, emotionless and cold.
[Binding Sequence: 9%]
The pain intensified. Kai's bones creaked under pressure while heat spread along his spine like molten metal. His muscles trembled as every cell in his body felt as if it were being broken down and rebuilt simultaneously.
He tried to move, but his limbs refused to obey. His vision blurred as darkness crept along the edges of his sight.
He had seen people die in the Rift Zone before. Sometimes their bodies simply failed when absorbing unstable gene fragments — their DNA collapsing under the mutation, turning them into lifeless husks.
If this was the same process...
Then he would die here. Alone. Buried beneath the ruins.
But the system continued without hesitation.
[Host DNA Restructuring: Initiated]
Suddenly a flood of strange information exploded inside his mind. Images appeared in rapid succession — spiraling strands of DNA, molecular structures rearranging themselves, streams of symbols and data that he somehow understood despite never having seen them before.
It was as if something ancient had awakened inside his consciousness.
The pain continued, but now it felt different.
Guided. Controlled.
[Compatibility: Confirmed]
[Ultra Gene Evolution System — Successfully Bound]
The moment those words appeared, the pain vanished.
Kai's body relaxed instantly as the overwhelming pressure disappeared. He lay on the ground for several seconds, breathing heavily while cold sweat covered his skin.
Then something strange happened.
A translucent blue screen appeared in front of his eyes. It floated in the air, glowing faintly like a hologram — but it wasn't projected into the chamber. It existed directly within his vision, connected to his mind.
Lines of information began scrolling across it.
[ HOST PROFILE ]
Name : Kai Ren
Evolution Rank: Gene Initiate — Lv.1
Strength : 12
Speed : 11
Endurance : 14
Neural React. : 10
Gene Slots : 3 / Available
Active Genes : None
System Status : Active
Kai slowly sat up, staring at the interface. He had seen similar displays before — not in reality, but in corporate advertisements and training simulations used by gene soldiers. The wealthy elites who could afford genetic upgrades often used neural interfaces to monitor their own bodies in real time.
But those systems required expensive implants.
This one was directly connected to his consciousness.
The mechanical voice echoed again.
[New Mission Generated]
The interface flickered and changed.
[ SURVIVAL MISSION ]
Objective : Absorb your first Gene
Requirement: Consume Gene Core
Reward : Gene Evolution +1 | Stat Increase
Failure : Death Probability Increased
Kai frowned slightly.
Consume?
His backpack vibrated faintly behind him. The sealed container inside had begun glowing.
Kai immediately understood.
The Gene Core — the one he had harvested from the Mutant Bloodhound.
[Compatible Gene Detected]
Mutant Bloodhound Gene — Rare Quality
Absorption Probability : 100%
Absorb this gene? [YES / NO]
Kai hesitated.
Every hunter in Helios knew the dangers of absorbing genes without preparation. Even trained soldiers with advanced stabilizers sometimes died during unstable mutations. Their bodies rejected the foreign DNA, and the result was always the same — a slow, agonizing collapse.
But the system displayed a perfect probability.
One hundred percent. Impossible.
Kai slowly reached into his backpack and removed the container. Inside it, the crystal-like Gene Core pulsed with faint purple light. The moment he held it in his hand, the glow intensified — as if reacting to the new energy flowing through his body.
His instincts told him something he could barely accept.
The system was controlling the mutation. Guiding it. Preventing the chaos that normally killed people.
Kai clenched the Gene Core tightly.
Opportunity like this might never appear again.
"Absorb."
The crystal shattered instantly. Tiny fragments dissolved into particles of light that flowed directly into his skin.
Kai gasped as a powerful surge of energy exploded through his bloodstream. His muscles tightened as heat spread through his limbs — but unlike before, the pain was controlled. Balanced.
[Gene Absorption: In Progress...]
Kai's heartbeat accelerated as his senses began changing.
His hearing sharpened first. The chamber around him suddenly felt quieter, yet clearer. He could hear tiny sounds he hadn't noticed before — the faint dripping of water somewhere deeper underground, the subtle shifting of loose stones beneath the tunnel walls, even the distant wind howling through cracks in the ruins above.
Next came his vision. The darkness inside the chamber seemed to pull back as his eyes adjusted instantly to low light. Every surface appeared sharper, clearer.
His body felt different. Lighter. Faster. More responsive — as though his muscles had been rewired to react before his mind even gave the command.
[Gene Absorption: Complete]
Mutant Bloodhound Gene — Acquired
Abilities Unlocked:
> Predator Instinct
> Enhanced Smell
> Reaction Speed +20%
Stat Increases:
> Strength +2 (Total: 14)
> Speed +2 (Total: 13)
> Endurance +3 (Total: 17)
> Neural React+5 (Total: 15)
Kai slowly stood up. His body moved effortlessly — the difference was immediate and unmistakable. Before the mutation, he had relied on experience and careful movement to survive the Rift Zone. Now his reflexes felt almost instinctive, sharpened to an edge he had never known.
He inhaled slowly.
And froze.
Scents. Dozens of them. Dust. Metal. Old blood embedded in the stone floor. But beneath those familiar smells, another signature emerged.
Humans. Multiple humans. Not far away.
Kai's head turned toward the tunnel entrance.
At the same moment, faint mechanical pulses echoed through the ruins above. His enhanced hearing caught them immediately.
Scanning equipment. Corporate hunters.
[WARNING]
Host detected by external Gene Scanners
Threat Level : Moderate
Recommendation: Relocate immediately
Kai's mind raced. Corporate hunters never entered Rift Zones without purpose. Their equipment could detect unusual genetic energy signatures — and the moment the sphere had activated, it must have lit up their sensors like a beacon.
His gaze shifted toward the metallic sphere still embedded in the chamber floor. The strange object continued glowing faintly, humming with residual energy.
If those hunters found it...
They would never allow him to leave alive.
Footsteps echoed above. Several people. Heavy equipment. Armed. His enhanced hearing carried their voices through the cracked tunnel ceiling.
"Signal's coming from below."
"Confirm. Unknown gene activity detected."
"Prepare containment."
Containment. That meant capture. Corporate scientists loved experimenting on anything that broke genetic limits. People included.
Kai glanced at the system interface again. His rank was still only Gene Initiate Lv.1. Against trained corporate hunters, that was nothing.
But he had something they didn't expect.
The system.
Kai crouched beside the metallic sphere. The object hummed faintly, as if waiting. The system responded immediately.
[Unknown Artifact Detected]
System Integration: Possible
Warning: Integration will destroy artifact
Proceed? [YES / NO]
If the corporations found this artifact, they would control it.
They would control him.
That wasn't an option.
Kai raised his combat blade and slammed it into the sphere with everything he had.
The blade shattered instantly against the surface — but the sphere reacted. Its casing cracked open as streams of blue light poured outward like liquid energy, rushing toward Kai with sudden, violent purpose.
[Artifact Integration: Initiated]
[System Core: Upgrading...]
Energy surged through the chamber as the sphere dissolved into thousands of glowing fragments that rushed directly into Kai's body. The light vanished seconds later. The chamber fell completely silent.
Above the tunnel, the corporate hunters suddenly stopped moving.
Their scanners flickered violently.
"What the—"
"The signal just disappeared."
"That's impossible."
Inside the chamber, Kai slowly opened his eyes.
[Ultra Gene Evolution System — Core Upgrade Complete]
New Function Unlocked:
> DEVOUR EVOLUTION
Host may now absorb genetic material from
defeated organisms to directly strengthen
existing genes and gain Evolution Points.
Note: "Devour" replaces standard Absorption.
This function carries no instability risk.
Kai stared at the message. A faint smile crossed his face.
Above him, footsteps began descending into the tunnel. The corporate hunters had decided to investigate anyway. Their flashlights swept through the dust as armored figures slowly approached the chamber entrance — rifles ready, sensors scanning.
They expected to find an artifact.
Or a corpse.
Instead, they found Kai Ren standing quietly in the center of the empty room, his broken blade still in his hand.
One of the hunters lowered his weapon slightly.
"Kid... what are you doing down here?"
Kai didn't answer. His senses swept across the group — their movements, their breathing, the rhythm of their heartbeats.
The predator instinct was no longer a theory.
[New Mission Generated]
[ FIRST HUNT ]
Objective : Survive hostile encounter
Bonus Objective : Devour enemy gene fragments
Reward : Evolution Points
The first hunter stepped closer.
"Drop the bag. Hands where we can see them."
Kai's eyes moved slowly across the group. Three hunters. Armed. Trained.
But something inside him had changed.
For the first time since entering the Rift Zone years ago, he didn't feel like prey.
Kai Ren finally understood one thing.
His evolution had only just begun.
But tonight — he would test it.