Chapter 3: Ancient

Shen Ren, now 22 years old and in his final term before graduation, found himself torn between listening to his heart and his mind. But this time, he decided to take Ying Yue's warning seriously. Her strange words kept replaying in his thoughts, gnawing at his curiosity.

He needed answers—why had she mentioned another world? What could she possibly mean? "Does the Ying family know something that ordinary people don't?" he wondered, suspicion growing in his mind.

Screech!

After crossing the security gate, Shen Ren parked the car in the garage beside the villa he called home.

In the living room, his mother was seated on the couch, absorbed in watching the news about the unsettling changes happening around the world.

"Mom, Dad's not home yet?" Shen Ren asked as he entered, the eerie quietness of the house unsettling him.

His mother, Rong Hua, a graceful woman in her late 40s, glanced over at him with a tired smile. "No, son. Your father's been having a lot of problems at the office lately. His logistics business is facing major setbacks due to the recent events, and the company's stock price is dropping every day," she said, her expression faltering.

"I see. Don't worry, Mom, everything will be alright," Shen Ren reassured her gently. "And you really shouldn't watch the news all day. It'll only stress you out."

Switching topics, he asked, "By the way, has Meimei come back from school yet?"

Rong Hua sighed. "No, that girl called to say she's going to a birthday party for one of her friends. That lass is going to be the death of me."

Shen Ren frowned slightly but relaxed, recalling his sister's cautious and sensible nature. He decided to let it slide for now.

"Alright, Mom. I'm heading down to see Aunt in the lab," he said, making his way toward the underground lab beneath the house.

His mother watched him leave, worry etched on her face, her thoughts clouded with concerns she couldn't voice.

As Shen Ren descended into the underground lab, he was greeted by the familiar sight of a pristine, sophisticated space. The white walls gleamed under the bright lights, and the air was filled with the soft hum of machines. His Aunt, Dr. Shen Lin, stood at a sterile white lab bench, engrossed in her research alongside another woman who was analyzing data on a nearby computer.

They both looked up as Shen Ren entered, the room buzzing with focus and precision. "Ren, you're just in time," his aunt greeted, her tone casual but her eyes sharp with the intensity of her work. "We're in the middle of some rather critical findings."

"What new did you find aunt?" Shen Ren asked, curious.

As Shen Ren approached, his Aunt Shen Lin waved him over to a holographic display hovering above the lab bench. The intricate, glowing projection revealed a close-up of a cell tissue sample, magnified thousands of times. Several diagrams and streams of data surrounded it, all flashing with unusual activity.

"We've discovered something… fascinating," she began, her voice tinged with both excitement and concern. The woman beside her, Dr. Li, nodded in agreement, still intently studying the data on her tablet.

"What is it?" Shen Ren asked, stepping closer to the display.

Dr. Shen Lin pointed to a specific part of the magnified cell, an area pulsating faintly with an eerie glow. "This… right here," she said, zooming in further. "It's an energy signature—something we've never encountered before."

Shen Ren stared at the screen, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. "Unknown Energy? Moreover, Inside a cell? That's not possible, is it?"

His aunt shook her head, still in disbelief herself. "Not according to everything we know about biology and physics. Cells shouldn't have this kind of energy—at least not in the natural world. But this… this is different. It's like the very structure of the tissue is holding onto an unknown energy source."

Dr. Yi chimed in, tapping on her tablet to bring up more data. "It's not just any ordinary energy, either. It's incredibly potent, and it's interacting with the cell in ways we don't understand yet. It could be the key to something far bigger than we've imagined—perhaps even tied to the recent global changes we've been witnessing."

Shen Ren frowned hard, the warning from Ying Yue echoing in his thoughts. Could this be what she was talking about? Another world? Another source of power that no one else knew about? Or something else entirely?

"Did this sample come from those mutated trees and animals?"

"Yes," his aunt and Dr. Yi confirmed with determined nods.

"I see." Shen Ren decided to reveal what Ying Yue had shared with him.

"Aunt, I recently broke up with Ying Yue. She mentioned something about a new world coming and said I would be ordinary then, which is why she ended things. Do you think it could be connected?"

At first, Dr. Shen Lin frowned at the mention of the breakup, but then she began to ponder the words deeply.

"A new world? A new age? Where had she heard those phrases before?" Her mind raced as she searched her memories.

Then, a realization struck her.

"Wait a moment, Ren. I might have a clue." She quickly adjusted her glasses and rushed to the storage archives, eager to find something.

His aunt, a single mother after her husband's unexpected death, had devoted herself to her research, earning numerous awards for her contributions. Despite her busy schedule, she had always given Shen Ren love and care.

"Found it!" She exclaimed suddenly, holding up a few tattered, ancient pages. They looked as though they could crumble with the slightest touch.