Life Dungeon Game

He paused for a moment, "Forty years ago, a 'mysterious businessman' bought this park and tried to turn it into a hospital. Coincidentally, the 'temple' that worships the Fountain of Youth is a circular hospital."

"Of course, the current Starry Sky Beauty Hospital is shaped like the temple of the Fountain of Youth, except that it was built twenty years ago."

"From this, I can deduce that the Fountain of Youth has indeed appeared in the world, otherwise there would be no such magnificent temple, and its appearance was most likely forty years ago."

"The person who was 'lucky' enough to encounter the Fountain of Youth bought the land of the Starry Sky Beauty Hospital, intending to build a temple there, but for some reason, he encountered some kind of 'accident'."

Heo glanced at Genos, "So this land has been abandoned for nearly twenty years."

He then continued, "But in any case, this mysterious businessman is likely the one who discovered the Fountain of Youth. However, I did not prioritize investigating this mysterious businessman. Instead, I went deep into the Starry Sky Hospital and entered the former location of the Fountain of Youth."

"For a long time, I thought the Fountain of Youth was hidden somewhere underground in this hospital,"

He Ao shook his head. "But apart from a strong life force, there was nothing else in this hospital. My investigation has reached a dead end, so I had no choice but to pick up the clues about this 'mysterious businessman' again."

"During the investigation of this mysterious businessman, I discovered that your family, the senator, may have taken over the abandoned park project from back then."

"So you had that FBI agent bring you to visit me, trying to find the files from back then?"

Genos asked with a smile.

“You did not leave any valid files. You should have already dealt with all the detailed information about the events of that year. Of course, there must be other documents mixed with information from that year, so you did not allow us to use computers in order to prevent us from searching for information.”

Heo smiled and looked at Genos, tilting his head.

"But my memory just happens to be better than normal."

The average person is 'better'.

“I wrote down all the relevant key information and then discovered something interesting. Of all the emails that mentioned this project to the outside world back then, there were only emails from the old senator arranging the project, but there were no emails from the old senator communicating with that ‘mysterious businessman’.”

“Of course, it’s possible that emails related to the mysterious merchant are also ‘missing,’ but there’s another possibility,” He paused, looking at Genos,

"The old senator is that 'mysterious businessman'."

"Why didn't that 'mysterious businessman' leave any clues? Because he didn't exist; he was just an identity fabricated by the old senator."

"Most of the construction projects in Limen City are handed over to the Senator's family, so it is reasonable for this construction project to be handed over to the Senator's family as well."

"Thus, the old senator spearheaded the project, but 'disassociated' himself from it."

"And there is another piece of evidence to support this line of thinking. Forty years ago, after the old senator was assassinated, the park project was halted. If there really was a 'mysterious businessman,' he could have simply changed contractors and continued the project."

"At this point, I had a rough guess that the old senator was probably the first person to discover the Fountain of Youth. But a new question arose: the old senator was dead, so who was the new person who was controlling so many projects related to the Fountain of Youth?"

"So you had me take you back to the crime scene from back then?"

Genos turned around completely and slowly approached Heo, the vines behind him swaying in the evening breeze.

“Yes, only by thoroughly investigating the assassination attempt from back then can I find out who the second owner of this Fountain of Youth is,”

He Ao remained calm. "You handled the entire scene very well. Forty years have passed, and almost all the clues from back then have been erased. So I managed to find the FBI's files from that time."

Genos was not surprised by this, after all, it was obvious that Heo had some kind of connection with the FBI.

"Then I discovered something interesting,"

He said softly, "The FBI's official definition of this incident was 'assassination,' but the old senator clearly performed some kind of 'ritual' in the underground garden."

"In fact, the FBI also believes that the old senator himself was involved in some kind of evil god ritual, but he did not make it public for the sake of the face of the federal congress."

At this point, He Ao changed the subject.

"But what the old senator was doing back then was not actually a 'sacrifice,' but a 'high-level sacrifice' used by wizards during the Great Cataclysm, which increased the connection between the sacrificer and the high-level supernatural objects by sacrificing their own cherished possessions."

"The more cherished and deeply connected the offering is to oneself, the better the effect will be. Based on my previous reasoning, I have reason to believe that the object of this sacrifice is the Fountain of Youth, and the offering..."

He paused for a moment, then stared at Genos. "You and your father had a very good relationship; the longing in your eyes back then was undeniable."

“Yes,” Genos said, revealing a slightly…

The smile that appeared in his eyes was the first time he had shown an expression that truly revealed his emotions. "He loved me very much."

He Ao had no doubt about the bond between the father and son.

He continued, "The FBI tracked and monitored all those associated with the senator's villa after the 'assassination,' but found no evidence of any further ceremonies being held."

"During the surveillance, the Mars Project, which is related to the Fountain of Youth, was also successfully promoted. I believe the FBI is cautious in such matters, so no one should have been missed at the time."

"So you're guessing that the ceremony was actually successful back then."

Genos picked up where Heo left off, gazing at him intently and waiting quietly for what he would say next.

"Yes, but my first thought was whether there was a third party who would 'profit from the situation.' However, I quickly realized a problem: such sacrificial rituals usually cannot change the offering midway. If the ritual was successful that year, then the offering must have been something important to both the old senator and the third party."

“It is difficult for two people to have one person they both cherish and who has a soul connection with both of them. The old senator’s wife passed away early, and I searched through all the FBI’s surveillance files but couldn’t find anyone who might have had some kind of resonance with the old senator.”

"So I tried to change my approach. What if there wasn't a third party present at the time? In fact, only you and your father were there in the whole incident. You would be the third party who 'profited from the situation.'"

“But you were only eight years old then. A child’s perspective is different from an adult’s. It’s almost impossible for you to have anything that you both cherish in the same way as the old senator, and for that thing to have a spiritual connection with both of you at the same time. My thinking is stuck here.”

Heo looked at Genos, "And at that moment, I saw my daughter."

He spoke in a low voice, stating his final conclusion: "You and the old senator are each other's 'treasured possessions'."

“The ancient texts my father obtained were not complete,” Genos said calmly, his expression revealing neither joy nor sorrow. “Theoretically, this sacrificial ritual requires the immediate family member to be killed before the sacrifice is made, because the offering will first connect with the supernatural object and gain supernatural power. At a critical moment, it may turn against the sacrificer and make the sacrificer the one who was sacrificed.”

“It could be,” He Ao patted his coat pocket, adding another possibility, “He couldn’t bear to.”

Genos fell silent.

Vines stretched through the air as he approached He Ao step by step. "I appreciate that you are the only 'insider' of this story, but it's time for you to stop stalling for time."

Layers of terrifying pressure acted on He Ao again, causing his originally straight back to sag slightly. But this time, he was not pressed to the ground; instead, he continued to keep his back straight.

“From the moment you entered the villa, you were trying to get me to believe that you were an FBI agent with a ‘sense of justice,’ and that you were trying to make me think you were a ‘good person.’”

Genos smiled and said, "Following this lead, I naturally concluded that you disapprove of the research institute's behavior."

"Having reached the conclusion that you're trying to counter Stars Pharmaceuticals, I naturally won't take you seriously. I'll only see you as a hot-headed brute who can be killed at any time, thus giving you the opportunity to buy time."

His smiling face gradually turned cold as countless vines flew out from in front of him. "But from your description just now, your understanding of the Fountain of Youth far exceeds what someone who is merely concerned with the Mars Project should know."

His face was icy. "Your goal is not Stars Pharmaceuticals, nor Project Mars, but the Fountain of Youth. Since you know so much about the Fountain of Youth, you must know its power. So you should have prepared a backup plan to counter the Fountain of Youth. The delay is to allow this backup plan to take shape."

"And the fact that you're still stalling for time proves that you haven't prepared your backup plan yet."

The emerald green vines flew towards He Ao, who drew his sword to parry, and his figure vanished in an instant.

"It's no use. Everything here is under the watchful eye of the Fountain of Youth."

Genos raised his hand.

A new vine suddenly stretched out from the flowerbed, piercing through a nearby shadow.

Bright red blood gushed from He Ao's already injured left shoulder. A flash of silver sword light appeared as he swung his sword, severing the vine that had pierced his left shoulder, and emerged from the shadows.

Suddenly, countless vines rose from the flowerbed and attacked He Ao one after another.

He Ao tried to hide in the shadows, but found that the shadows around him were already locked by vines.

Genos was unwilling to give him any more time and wanted to finish him off in one fell swoop.

Meanwhile, piercing evacuation sirens echoed throughout the city.

Genos was briefly drawn to the alarm.

"Let me emphasize,"

He Ao glanced in the direction of the FBI with some surprise, then chuckled, "I am indeed a law-abiding good person."

"Secondly, how did you know?"

A dazzling light suddenly shone brightly in the middle of the building.

"I haven't prepared my backup plan yet?"

Something came up today and I was delayed. It's a long chapter of over 5,000 words. The story will end tomorrow.

Chapter 489 The Ultimate Secret of the Fountain of Youth (Long Chapter, Requesting Monthly Tickets)

He held the short sword horizontally in front of his chest.

"I have heard it, the eternal night is desolate and silent, only life sings and cries out."

A vast and boundless gaze pierced through endless time and space, causing the stars in the sky to tremble like a curtain.

In the enhancement potion research area on the middle floor of the building, in laboratories filled with monster corpses, the World Tree pattern outlined by pure white blood emitted a dazzling light.

Outside the windows of these laboratories, the assembly line for hanging the carcasses of alien beasts was still running, but it had deviated from its original operating procedure. Hooks were used to hang the carcasses and fix them in random spots.

If you cut this entire area apart and look down from above, you can see that these World Tree patterns, which are oriented in different directions, outline a more abstract giant tree pattern on a larger scale.

The scattered remains of those strange beasts formed the branches that connected the World Tree patterns.

This is a massive magic circle that cuts across the entire building, with a diameter of several hundred meters.

The massive mechanical hook was controlled by the main computer to move and swing, and the dancing beasts outlined a bizarre dance.

The boiling pool of blood was ignited by pure white light, burning with a vast radiance.

Like the brilliant sun shining here, dispelling the endless fog.

The light shone from inside the building to the rooftop, and the blooming flowers stopped swaying. The bright petals fell from the branches and decayed in the wind.

The sharp vines drooped their branches, showing signs of aging.

The curtain of stars in the sky swayed, as if some terrifying force was about to tear it open from behind it.

"The Goddess of Life?"

Genos's expression finally darkened as he stared at Heo. "Are you a lackey of the goddess of life?"

The pure white light also enveloped He'ao, from which a faint, gentle life force emanated.

At this moment, his mind was filled with twisted and insane ramblings, driving him to absorb all powerful life force and then sow the seeds of life.

He gripped the hilt of his sword, his expression calm, and gazed at Genos.

He was well aware that his words would make Genos realize that his goal was the Fountain of Youth, thus shattering the image he had cultivated and causing Genos to quickly strike.

But he also knew that Genos wouldn't make a move before he finished his analysis.

It's difficult for humans to be completely rational. Even though reason tells Genos that he should make his move while Heo is telling his story, his emotions will still make him listen to Heo's story.