Infinite Horror: The Strongest Zhongzhou Team

After all, this "Zhao Yingkong" is not easy to get along with.

Moreover, Li Xiao had always had a question.

In the original work, Zhao Yingkong and Zhao Zhuikong both belong to Asian assassin families.

It also exists within a genetic modification project codenamed "Empty".

In simple terms, this plan involves cultivating assassins by implanting gene fragments from individuals with fourth-tier gene locks.

However, the drawback is that these experimental subjects generally suffer from mental incompleteness, so the more powerful they are, the more easily they fall into their inner demons.

Zhao Zhuikong is a family genius, while Zhao Yingkong is the daughter of the clan leader. The two of them, along with Zhao Ruikong (Zhao Yingkong's younger sister), were once close companions.

Later, Zhao Ruikong's inner demons went berserk due to prolonged use of the incomplete fourth-order gene lock, causing her to kill several members of the project.

Even after going mad, Zhao Ruikong came to stand before her own sister.

Having experienced a life-or-death crisis, Zhao Yingkong was unable to accept reality, and she also unlocked the fourth-order gene lock and entered a state of inner demon rampage.

After the great battle, Zhao Zhuikong, who was hiding in the shadows, was forced to kill Zhao Ruikong with his own hands.

At the critical moment, Zhao Ruikong regained her true self and was willing to die. She also used the unique mental power of the fourth-order gene lock to seal the memories of the other people on the island, leaving only Zhao Ruikong with the truth.

Then he gave all his remaining mental energy to Zhao Yingkong to eliminate her inner demons.

This also caused Zhao Yingkong's main personality to fall into a deep sleep, while her secondary personality (currently Zhao Yingkong of the Zhongzhou Team) was implanted with false memories, thus harboring hatred towards Zhao Zhuikong.

But now Li Xiao is thinking about a problem.

Is the person next to me now, who is skilled in controlling the fourth-order gene lock, still Zhao Yingkong?
Or rather, is it Zhao Ruikong?
If that's the case, then it raises another question.

What is the basis of human existence?

memory?

Or what?
On the small island, deep in the forest.

Looking at the black bear carcass lying in the valley.

Zhao Zhuikong, panting heavily with his hands on his knees, while Zhao Yingkong directed a group of children who should have been in elementary school to quickly clean up and tidy up the battlefield.

After all, the strong smell of blood would put them in danger, but fortunately there was a river in the valley that could help them cleanse themselves.

These nimble children are all only eleven or twelve years old, and the shortest one is only 1.2 or 1.3 meters tall, meaning they haven't really grown up yet.

However, despite their youthful faces, they now stared fiercely at the outside world.

To prevent attacks from other carnivorous animals.

Moreover, it's clear that this isn't the first time this group of children has done something like this.

Each of them was extremely quick and agile, their movements swift and decisive.

Most importantly, all of these children had blank stares in their eyes.

Without exception, they all appeared to have unlocked the first stage of their genetic lock.

However, this is also a choice for survival; otherwise, how could a group of children like this hunt an adult black bear?

In other words, those who haven't unlocked the first stage of the genetic lock have already been eliminated.

"Let's go, Sakura, hurry back and rest. We owe you a lot this time."

"If you hadn't held the black bear back, I might have been in danger."

As always, Zhao Zhuikong walked ahead, clearing away various obstacles in the forest.

But this time, when Zhao Zhuikong turned around, he suddenly realized that Zhao Yingkong had not followed.

Instead, they stood still.

The girl had her head down, her small head drooping over a certain high, soft spot.

It's hard to imagine how someone of that age could have such a figure.

It can only be said that he is gifted.

"Brother Zhuikong, I can't go in your direction this time, but can I ask you a question?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhuikong stopped swinging his sickle, his expression one of astonishment.

It was still that gentle smile, but because of the battle just now, there was a lot of blood on her cheeks.

It's unclear whether the blood belongs to the black bear or to him.

"Ask away, any question I can answer."

He finally turned around and walked up to Zhao Yingkong, released the sickle, and wiped away the tears that were about to fall from the corner of her eyes.

He still smiled and said:

"Since you don't want to go home, then take good care of yourself..."

"I will always be your Zhui Kong brother, and that will never change."

After saying that, Zhao Zhuikong opened his arms and wanted to hug Zhao Yingkong.

What Zhao Yingkong didn't see was...

The gentle smile on Zhao Zhuikong's face was distorted and shattered like water rippled by a stone thrown into it.

Blood still lingered on his handsome face, but the warmth that belonged to "brother" in his eyes was being quickly replaced by an inexplicable emotion.

But it was at this time...

Upon hearing the reply, Zhao Yingkong bit her tongue hard.

The brain pauses for a moment after blood spurts from the mouth.

Then, a series of clicking sounds rang out.

Then the surrounding scenery suddenly changed drastically.

Wait until you can see it clearly again.

They were back in that underground palace of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry once again.

Li Xiao, who had been an observer from beginning to end, immediately stepped forward to help Zhao Yingkong up.

However, after such behavior fell into the eyes of another Zhao Yingkong, Li Xiao always felt like he had been caught in the act.

Fortunately, they weren't the only three people there.

A straight figure, gripping a short sword, opened his eyes in front of the magic mirror in the center of the palace.

The figure murmured with deep emotion:
"It's such a long-lost memory, it brought back all those memories."

"However, Sakura-sensei, haven't you told her what happened yet?"

"That really surprised me."

"Haha, hahaha!"

Compared to Zhao Zhuikong, who laughed like a madman.

Li Xiao and Zhao Yingkong, whose expression remained unchanged, were carefully observing their surroundings.

Although this place is exactly the same as the previous underground palace.

But there's neither Harry Potter nor Zheng Zha and his friends here.

It seemed like there were only the three of them.

Before long, Li Xiao found out what had happened.

Because the words on the Eris Mirror behind Zhao Zhuikong were reversed.

Or rather, it should be described as a mirror image.

Inside and outside the mirror.

If Li Xiao and Zhan Lan were to be able to contact each other, they would find out.

At this moment, the two Zhao Zhuikongs looked exactly the same, even their postures and positions were identical.

Zhao Zhuikong's perspective at this moment is very strange.

It's not left and right, or up and down.

Instead, it's an overlapping inner and outer layer.

From these two perspectives, Zhao Zhuikong could see both Li Xiao and Zhao Yingkong, who understood their situation.

You can also see the Neos Honda outside.

And Zheng Zha, who stood motionless in the same spot.

The outside world.

Zhao Zhuikong stared at Zheng Zha, making no attempt to hide the admiration in his eyes:

"Although I don't know what method Chu Xuan used to suppress that impulse in you, you must be in a lot of pain right now."

Meanwhile, within the territory, Zhao Zhuikong looked at Zhao Yingkong, whose expression remained unchanged:
"Sister, I am truly surprised. I never expected that you would use the flaw from back then to separate your inner demons as well, and then use this to gain initial control over the fourth-order gene lock."

"However, this has one drawback: the path to the genetic lock is completely closed, and you can't go any further, my dear sister."

Compared to Zhao Yingkong, who was unconscious in Li Xiao's arms.

The other Zhao Yingkong did not react at all to Zhao Zhuikong's words.

She even gave a smile as she looked over.

"You talk as if you can break through, but aren't you also stuck on the path of the fourth-order gene lock?"

"What I didn't expect was that you, the one left among us, actually survived."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhuikong's expression finally turned ugly.

"And they're doing quite well!"

They seemed to have sensed the sarcasm in those words.

A short sword slashed out without warning.

The "Zhao Yingkong" who was being held in Li Xiao's arms and appeared to be unconscious suddenly opened her eyes at that moment!
Without a trace of confusion, those clear black and white eyes held only pure, icy killing intent and sharpness, like the deep waters of a frozen pool!

At this moment, her body displayed extraordinary flexibility and explosive power, breaking free from the "support" formed by Li Xiao's arms in a bizarre and twisted posture, like a serpent, and completely escaping from his embrace!
Zheng!
A golden thread appeared silently and unexpectedly from her sleeve!
This golden short sword, like a venomous fang with life, weaves a deadly net that carries a chilling aura and almost freezes the air!

Then, the four remaining figures in that space started moving at the same time.

Li Xiao, with his body radiating golden light and his muscles bulging, was a sight to behold.

Two Zhao Yingkongs with very different styles.

And Zhao Zhuikong, who acted first.

Four figures, breaking through the air barrier, collided one after the other.

War is ultimately inevitable.

But outside the mirror.

The blood-red, liquid-like, glassy flames began to shrink, revealing the last demon before everyone's eyes.

Black and red fleshy wings behind him seemed to breathe.

But the eyes that should have lost their minds still retained a sliver of clarity.

Clearly, Zheng Zha was now standing on the steps known as the fourth level.

One month ago, inside the Demon Refining Pot.

“Zheng Zha, although you have unlocked the fourth stage of your genetic lock, you still cannot control your consciousness.”

"Once you enter the fourth stage, you'll lose your mind, right?"

Li Xiao and Zheng Zha looked at the smiling girl in front of them, and the two subconsciously moved a little closer to each other.

There's no way around it, this scene is indeed a bit scary.

After all, just a second ago this girl was sitting there, completely indifferent, reading a book.

Suddenly, it was a completely different person.

Li Xiao and Zheng Zha exchanged glances, both knowing what was going on.

Then he nodded.

Zhao Yingkong didn't react to the little commotion between the two.

He spoke again:
Do you want to solve this problem?

"I can help you."

Before Zheng Zha could nod, this person spoke directly.

"As you should know from before, the Supreme God named this stage Gene Control."

"Actually, that's not right. In my opinion, it should be called gene awakening."

"The reason why the fourth stage of gene lock is so powerful is that it far surpasses the previous three stages."

It's not the kind of unlimited enhancement of physical attributes or modification of bloodlines that you might think.

"It's because this stage can awaken more than 90% of the dormant genes in the body, then fill in and cut the powerful genes among them, and then piece them together into the genes that you are currently using."

"Changing your own genes is what you consider to be change."

"The real truth is that it is a retrospective, or you could call it an anti-ancient approach."

"This is an ability that living things should inherently possess."

Physical attributes, and even the attributes and bloodlines obtained from the main god, will be greatly enhanced due to the increase in the base stats.

"This is the main reason why people become stronger involuntarily once they enter the fourth-order gene lock."

There was a squeak.

The door was pushed open from the outside.

"You just mentioned the tendency of genes to move in a certain direction, and then what?"

“基于31.6亿碱基对序列分析人体当中的基因数量约为20，000至25，000个所有人类共享同一基因组框架，但每人平均携带 2.8个隐性致病基因变异。”

"Of these, 90% of the DNA does not directly encode proteins, but some can be transcribed into regulatory RNA, such as microRNAs, which can affect gene expression. I think this is what you mean by dormant genes, right?"

The monotonous, unchanging voice brought a sense of peace to Zheng Zha and Li Xiao.

"Ahem, well, how about I go out for a stroll first?"

As soon as Chen Zilong finished speaking, standing behind Chu Xuan, he saw a gentle, smiling gaze.

When Chen Zilong realized who was looking at him, he just wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, it was too late. Zhu Wen, who was further back, simply closed the door, looking as if she wanted to hear it too.

Zhao Yingkong looked at Chu Xuan, whose face revealed no thoughts, causing her to frown subconsciously.

This was also the only two people she could never truly understand.

"I think so."

Zhao Yingkong continued:
"What I just described is the principle of the fourth-order gene lock."

However, another question remains: how are the strengths of genes preserved during human evolution determined?

"Actually, there's no need to make a judgment, because all the genes were left behind by the saint who created this God Space, or by the genes left behind by the ancient saint's mortal enemies."

"As for the inner demons you've always thought of, they're nothing more than memories and instincts carried by those genes."

Zheng Zha's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously asked:

"Is it like you have to suffer harm in addition to gaining benefits?"

Zhao Yingkong nodded:
"Yes, that's it. Actually, it's not just you; most people in the first stage of the fourth-order gene lock will experience this."

Unless you're incredibly lucky, meaning you possess far more saintly genes than the genes of humanity's mortal enemies, you might be free from inner demons and directly pass through this stage.

Hearing this, Chu Xuan spoke again:
"How do you know this?"

Zhao Yingkong answered very directly, without any concealment:
"Relics, just like the relics you found in mummies, exist in the present world as well."

"And this site was discovered by the Zhao family."

"Otherwise, how do you think we unlocked the genetic lock in the real world back then?"

Zheng Zha touched his head:
"Wait, then why do we have other genes in our bodies?" (End of Chapter)