Chapter 5 First Evolution

Primary Level Mutant!

Although Ji Xinghuo could confirm the success of the fusion himself, seeing the words "Primary Level Mutant" on the interface still filled his heart with unstoppable joy.

The 23rd century was the era of mutants.

A vast chasm existed between ordinary people and mutants; the disparity in individual strength affected all aspects of human society.

From culture, economy, and politics to science, sports, and entertainment, the advantages of mutants were everywhere, almost dominating all human activities.

Even though some countries tried to downplay the differences between mutants and ordinary people, stressing equality under the law and even restricting mutants' rights in some places, favoring ordinary people, in reality, ordinary people were always the weaker group.

Mutants possessed not only supernatural powers but were also stronger, smarter, and even lived longer.

Ordinary people naturally lacked confidence when facing mutants.

Even those mutants who had advanced far on the evolutionary path were practically a different species from ordinary humans.

In the feudal era, it was said, "All professions are inferior; only scholarship is high." Now, it was, "All professions are inferior; only mutants are high."

This saying might be somewhat exaggerated, but it wasn't far off.

No matter which country's citizen one was on Earth, regardless of the political system, everyone's first life goal from the moment they understood things, was to become a mutant!

Ji Xinghuo was no exception.

Now, he had finally done it, joining the ranks of the mutants!

"Doctor!"

Someone suddenly shouted in the observation room, a male youth with a pale face, loudly said, "My head is hurting so badly, what's happening?" Blood flowed from his nostrils, and his expression was both painful and panicked as he shouted in distress, "I haven't failed the fusion, have I?"

A doctor, along with two nurses, rushed over immediately, and after only a brief observation, shook their heads, "Take him to the medical room immediately; his conflict is quite severe, he may need emergency treatment."

"Have I failed my fusion?" the youth discerned the implication in their words.

"Yes," the doctor reassured, "It won't be life-threatening. At most, you'll recover within a year. You can try fusing with another Alien Species again."

The youth, helped up by nurses, had a devastated expression and mournfully said, "I fused with 'Beast Speaker,' next time I'll have to pay for the Alien Species myself, over two million Ya Yuan. How many years will it take me to save up that much money..."

Ji Xinghuo and the few remaining people in the observation room watched him being taken to the medical room, all with faces filled with sympathy.

Citizens of the Asia-Pacific Community only had one chance to obtain an Alien Species for free.

If the fusion failed, any attempt to try again would require purchasing the Alien Species oneself.

And almost all Professional Templates' core Abilities, at the very least the Superior Abilities, were valued no less than a million Ya Yuan. If there was no family support, young people simply could not afford it. Even with state-subsidized low-interest loans, it was a heavy burden.

A single failed fusion represented a huge blow to the vast majority of ordinary people, a loss both economically and in time, causing many to give up on becoming mutants.

Ji Xinghuo felt fortunate.

He continued to look at his interface. Aside from his [Rank] changing to Primary Level Mutant, his [Ability] was no longer blank, displaying possession of "Thousand Spirit Skillful Hand," with additional information: First Level 1/47.

"First Level."

Ji Xinghuo stroked his chin; this was easy to understand. Abilities could be upgraded through training, and his newly fused Thousand Spirit Skillful Hand was at First Level.

But what did the "1/47" mean after that?

"Ability upgrade progress?"

Ji Xinghuo couldn't help but speculate; was it like in virtual games where, as proficiency increased, reaching 47/47, the Thousand Spirit Skillful Hand could then advance to Second Level?

But if in games there were skill points used to upgrade, what would he use?

His gaze fell on [Spiritual Source Energy], which was still a zero, no change.

He had pondered long last night. The term Spiritual Source Energy was completely unfamiliar to Ji Xinghuo; he couldn't find any related answers online. Results related to mutants involved either Spiritual Energy or something akin to spiritual power, but there was nothing called Spiritual Source Energy.

However, Ji Xinghuo did not dwell on it for too long.

Even if he couldn't directly upgrade levels, just having a progress display was already a great help.

There were established methods for upgrading Abilities; countries had compiled extensive data for various Abilities. The Thousand Spirit Skillful Hand had more than a dozen training methods, downloadable from the Star Realm Department's official website.

However, training Abilities was a long, tedious, and difficult process, often taking years without advancing a level, making it quite torturous.

Thus, many mutants could not persevere, and their Abilities remained at very low levels, failing to unleash their full potential and power.

But knowing the upgrading progress gave him a clear goal.

Every training session for his Ability would receive positive feedback, and ineffective or incorrect training methods could be promptly corrected. Knowing that he would definitely upgrade, he could even calculate the exact date of the upgrade and plan his training schedule. His Ability would definitely level up much faster than other mutants!

Ji Xinghuo was full of confidence about this.

Next to the information on the interface, his body's virtual image also changed.

The most noticeable change was the fine lines that appeared inside his arms, extending from the neck along the shoulders and arms, all the way to the palms and fingertips, resembling a detailed network of nerves.

When he concentrated on the arms of the virtual body, the internal network of nerves would light up, very conspicuous.

At the same time, the information was marked: Thousand Spirit Skillful Hand, First Level.

Ji Xinghuo was somewhat puzzled; wasn't the Ability information already displayed next to it? Why repeat it on the virtual body image—could there be another use for it?