Chapter 5: Overnight Journey into the Mountains

The Coastal Plains wasn't actually a plain, but the most luxurious villa community in Luoh River City, and the wealth of each resident there was no less than ten billion.

Because each villa owned a plot of grassland measured in the tens of acres, the area was also called the Coastal Plains, truly a gathering place for the wealthy.

Ding Jie, the de facto ruler of Baiyu Group, resided here. At the moment, a skinny tall man stood respectfully in front of him, reporting the events of the day,

"Mr. Ding, the mission failed. Our people didn't see the kid."

This skinny tall man was Shen Quan, Ding Jie's most loyal subordinate. All the dirty work that couldn't be exposed was carried out by Shen Quan for Ding Jie.

Ding Jie frowned, "Didn't you say to wait for him on the only road when he leaves the university? How could you not see him?"

Shen Quan was also somewhat puzzled as he spoke, "Based on our surveillance, he was definitely not going to escape today. In fact, he didn't take the usual route.

It was only after I checked the cameras that I learned he'd taken another road, a path he had almost never taken before. I don't know why he got the urge to take it today."

"Now that you know, what reason did you have for not completing the mission?" Ding Jie's tone chilled.

Shen Quan hurriedly replied, "He took a cab to the Qianjiang Gate Restaurant because there was a graduation party for his class there today.

However, I checked the private room where his class was gathering, and he never showed up. He got out of the cab halfway, but I suspect there's only one place he could go."

"Where?"

"Yujiang University. He was originally assigned to Luoh River Shangwu University as a counselor, but since someone took his place, he could only go to Yujiang University."

"Then what are you waiting for? Remember, don't kill him. Just gouge out his eyes, break his legs, and toss him in a secluded spot."

"Yes..."

Shen Quan answered and quickly retreated.

After Shen Quan had left, Ding Jie stretched out his hand and rubbed his temples. To be honest, after taking over Baiyu Group, he had no intentions of continuing to kill Ding Huan; Ding Huan's life and death were irrelevant to him, and secondly, it was because of the Bo Luo Pledge.

Unfortunately, the person supporting him from behind explicitly wanted Ding Huan dead.

Helpless, he could only agree to gouge out Ding Huan's eyes and break his legs, so that the human traffickers would take him away. That shouldn't count as killing him, right?

...

Qianluo Mountain was seventy kilometers from Luoh River City. Despite securing an old motorcycle, Ding Huan didn't arrive at the outskirts of Qianluo Mountain until two or three in the morning.

Ding Huan hid the old motorcycle in a thicket and, carrying his large bag, cautiously set off toward Qianluo Mountain. With his small stature as it was, the last thing he wanted was to encounter a Fierce Beast.

Even in the dead of night, Ding Huan could always hear the roar of beasts. However, he knew that this time was actually the safest; he needed to get into Qianluo Mountain before dawn.

Ding Huan was fairly lucky; by six in the morning, soaking wet, he had already made it deep into Qianluo Mountain. Not only that, but he'd also found a cave.

Exhausted and dizzy, Ding Huan didn't continue deeper into the mountain. Despite the many Fierce Beasts, in Ding Huan's view, this was far safer than being among people.

He tidied up the cave a bit, found some stones and dry branches to block the entrance, and ate something casually. He was so tired that he practically fell asleep as soon as he lay down in his sleeping bag.

...

As Ding Huan slept soundly in the mountain cave, a major event occurred worldwide: a new Genetic Potion called "Selu Gene" was launched.

Earth was in the Genetic Era, and almost every few days, or even daily, new gene potions emerged. But most of these genetic potions were either eliminated as soon as they appeared or had no practical significance.

A genuinely effective gene potion appearing every few years was considered good, like the Half-Gamma Gene developed by Ocean Life—an age-extending gene.

This single gene potion alone made Ocean Life a global powerhouse.

And then there was West Wind Gene Company's Shi Yina Gene, Yongtang Gene Company's Endurance Gene...

The emergence of each of these genes caused a world of change, furthering the progress of Earth's Genetic Era.

Selu Gene also belonged to the category of potions that could stir up the world. It was a gene potion designed to delay human aging and even reverse it.

Consuming the Selu Gene Potion could make a person look ten to twenty years younger.

But if you think the Selu Gene Potion was just about keeping people young, you'd be very much mistaken.

The true purpose of this gene potion was to rejuvenate the body's organs, increasing one's lifespan.

What's more, people's bodily organs had rejuvenated, and if they practiced Martial Arts, then Martial Arts had a chance to progress further.

If they cultivated genes, it would allow their genetic path to become broader.

And the Shi Yina Gene was developed by the Baiyu Group in Luoh River City, Hua Xia.

Before that, Luoh River Shangwu University had developed an endurance gene, making the university renown globally.

Now, with Baiyu Group's development of the Shi Yina Gene, Luoh River City had once again come into the global spotlight.

Ever since the release of the Shi Yina Genetic Potion, countless people flocked to Luoh River City, which flourished like never before. As for the Shi Yina Genetic Potion itself, it was extremely hard to get.

Ding Jie, who had taken over control of Baiyu Group by posing as an adopted son, was previously the subject of gossip, but now he had soared to the skies. Let alone behind-the-back chatter, people were lining up outside Luoh River City just to ingratiate themselves with him.

Because the Shi Yina Genetic Medicine Liquid was in such short supply, many people were flocking to Luoh River City to curry favor with Ding Jie.

...

Ding Huan woke up to find it was already the middle of the night; he had slept for nearly twenty hours.

At this time, he didn't dare go outside. He simply washed his face with bottled water and ate some dried food as a makeshift meal.

He had far too many unanswered questions right now. First, almost no one knew about the leather scroll he obtained, so how did the Du Family find out about it?

Secondly, how was he able to return to Earth from two hundred years ago?

As for his questions upon returning to Earth, they only multiplied. How had his father, Ding Baishan, vanished?

Who wanted to kill him? Who was the scavenger that had sold him to an unknown institution? And how did Ding Jie manage to convince all the old subordinates of his father to take control of Baiyu Group?

Without an answer to a single question, Ding Huan heaved a sigh and simply began to practice Luo Shijin.

Luo Shijin would not increase his strength, but it made his mind clearer and his body feel lighter.

Hours passed, and Ding Huan opened his eyes to see that it was already bright outside.

He was secretly amazed. In his previous life, gene meditation was a daily practice, yet most of the time, he didn't lose track of time like this.

This made Ding Huan even more excited. He packed up and quickly left the cave.

Without a gene spiritual root, he could feel the great benefits of practicing Luo Shijin. What would happen if he fused with a gene spiritual root?

Ding Huan had originally planned to spend a week in Qianluo Mountain searching for various materials needed to refine the Wood Element Spiritual Root Gene.

What he did not expect was that as soon as he emerged, he saw a Yuan Song tree, which actually is a Five-needle Pine.

The leather scroll did not specify which part of the Yuan Song tree was needed for making the Wood Element Gene Spiritual Root. In Ding Huan's view, the roots were naturally the best.

So, he dug up the soil and took a segment of the root of the Five-needle Pine.

Qianluo Mountain looked serenely quiet, but Ding Huan knew this was just on the surface.

An incautious step here could lead to being devoured by a Fierce Beast. Not to mention Fierce Beasts, even some inconspicuous plants could trap you the next moment.

So, Ding Huan was extremely cautious. Relying on his experience, he moved bit by bit. Even an unidentified vine nearby warranted testing or simply being avoided altogether.

Even so, by the afternoon, he had already found four items including Bright Bamboo, Gongtong, Yuan Song, and Ba You.

As for Fukuai, Ding Huan was not worried. That was just silver fir. Silver fir might be valuable elsewhere, but it was common throughout Qianluo Mountain.

The only enigma was the Reincarnation Blood, but even if he couldn't find it, there was no issue; he could try using the genes of Mutated Gene Beasts.

He was an Allogeneic Affinity Body; in his last life, he frequently tested various defective Genetic Potions without much issue.

Before it even got dark, Ding Huan had already found a place to spend the night, a simple earthen den.

Besides having more experience, he couldn't overcome any Fierce Beast now. If discovered by one, even if it was just a Mutated Rabbit Beast, his chances were more dead than alive.

Ding Huan was awakened by the roar of a Fierce Beast. Sensing it was already daylight outside, he quickly scrambled up.

The roars of the Fierce Beasts continued unceasingly, even carrying a terrifying malice and frenzied restlessness.

Something had definitely provoked the Fierce Beasts. Ding Huan dared not linger; he quickly stuffed his belongings into his pack and moved to the mouth of the simple cave.

He had to judge whether the Fierce Beasts would pass by here; if they did, he had to leave immediately.

(Seeking recommendation votes to support, friends who haven't added the book to their collection, please do.)