Chapter 9 Ignite the Fire seed

After a hellish week, a girl couldn't hold on any longer. She collapsed and died from exhaustion on the very day the awakening serum arrived. Her still warm body brushed past the crate filled with the serums, a cruel joke played by fate. The boys felt a heavy weight on their hearts, knowing they too might meet the same end one day.

Alan's fiery red eyes fixed on the crate as it was carried into the lieutenant's quarters by two soldiers. He clenched his fists, vowing to survive at all costs.

Lani and Bai Fang's gazes flitted through his mind, the pain of their parting still gnawing at his heart. He swore he would not spare those who had taken those two from him, whether they were the Predators or the Black Widow Hunting Group—they all had to die!

But first, Alan had to crawl out of this hell. The flames of revenge burned in his eyes, and his first step began with those serums.

After the serums disappeared into their quarters, Lieutenant Ron addressed the boys, "I hope you've all read the manual. This afternoon, you will receive the awakening serum. You must follow the methods in the manual to awaken your genetic potential. A word of advice: try to ignite the fire seed within the first two injections. If you only succeed on the third try, your achievements will be limited, and your life will be short..."

With two hours until noon, the lieutenant was unusually lenient, allowing the boys to return to their quarters. Each one immediately picked up their manual, memorizing every word, striving to ignite the fire seedin a single attempt.

Alan was no exception. However, he only needed to read the manual once to memorize it. In this hellish training, besides rapidly growing in survival skills, physical strength, and various abilities, he discovered he now possessed an extraordinary memory. It was as if Lieutenant Ron's harsh training had awakened something dormant within him.

Compared to when he first arrived, Alan's physical condition had at least doubled.

The manual from the lieutenant detailed the procedures to induce genetic potential and ignite the spark, developed by the Federation over centuries. It was widely used in the military, resulting in many source energy users each year. However, the aristocratic families on the floating islands had their own methods of awakening, disdainful of this textbook approach.

After thoroughly memorizing the manual, Alan did nothing else. In this rare moment of leisure, he lay on his bed, fully relaxing. The other boys, however, showed signs of tension and anxiety.

Time passed differently for each, and soon afternoon arrived. After lunch, the boys gathered in a hall within the mountain, resembling an air-raid shelter. It was spacious and silent. Once the two steel doors shut, the outside world was completely cut off. Besides the boys and Ron, only a few medics were present.

Alan and the others sat cross-legged as instructed. The medics opened the crate, loading the green-glowing serums into injector guns. Under Ron's direction, they injected the serum into each boy's arm vein, one by one.

As the cool needle pierced his skin and the serum entered his vein, Alan's mind began to blur. He knew this was the serum taking effect, enhancing human neural sensitivity to its peak. It also induced a hallucinogenic state similar to drug injection.

The manual stated that when the serum took effect, the user needed to focus their mind, meditating to calm their spirit, hoping to feel the resonance of the source energy and awaken it from their genetic fragments.

Universal source energy and life source energy—one was external, the other internal. Universal source energy was drawn from outside, as seen in the cube energy device. Life source energy, however, was internal. Without a calm spirit, one couldn't reach the power hidden deep within their genes.

Alan followed the manual, using long breaths to focus his mind, imagining himself sinking deeper and deeper. Under the serum's influence, his neural sensitivity multiplied. Soon, he could hear nothing but his rhythmic heartbeat. The heartbeat, like a drum, pulsed steadily. As Alan's mind merged with this beat, the world became strangely silent.

Past experiences played in reverse in his mind. He saw Bai Fang fall, saw himself leave with the wolf pack, saw the white finger on the charred black ground...

His brief life flashed before his eyes, frame by frame, until all scenes disappeared into silence.

In his mind's eye, the silent world began to glow faintly red. Something pulsed gently in the dim light. When Alan's consciousness touched it, he realized it was a fetus.

It was himself!

With the serum's aid, Alan's mind delved deeper into his soul, embarking on a journey to his origins. He relived his life from birth, even feeling himself as a fetus. As this journey continued, something shattered silently within him. Suddenly, he saw countless flickering lights, like stars in the cosmos, filling his entire mental vision!

Alan was overjoyed, knowing he had finally reached the depths of his genes and seen his life source energy. He cautiously extended his mental touch towards the nearest flicker, though it seemed infinitely distant. Refusing to give up, his mental tendril stretched thinner and thinner.

When it was as fine as a hair, it finally touched a light. Upon contact, the light flashed, flowing rapidly along the tendril. In an instant, the light turned into a brilliant radiance, shaking Alan's consciousness and causing him to collapse forward uncontrollably.

He opened his eyes, seeing a pair of sturdy military boots. Looking up, he met Ron's astonished face.

Ron stared at him for a full minute, making Alan uneasy, before breaking into a grin. He slapped Alan on the back, nearly knocking him down again. "You didn't disappoint me, kid. You ignited the fire seedon your first try. Well done."

Alan was slow to react, then he felt it—something was indeed flowing within him, circulating with his blood.

That was the first source energy vortex!

Forming a source energy vortex marked the ignition of the spark. From this moment, Alan had stepped into the ranks of source energy users. Ron handed him a notebook with a list of boys' names. Under Alan's name, Ron briefly noted the successful ignition and added, "Great potential."

If Ron knew Alan had seen his entire life, back to his fetal stage, and even a sea of source energy stars, his comment would have been "Exceptional talent." Most people, even if they managed to calm their spirit after using the serum, only saw fragmented past experiences, not the complete journey Alan had.

Moreover, they wouldn't see their fetal stage unless they had established consciousness back then! Finally, the amount of source energy lights visible in the genetic depths indicated potential. Seeing a stream of stars signified great potential.

But Alan had seen a sea of stars, like the cosmos itself!

Two hours later, the serum's effects wore off, and the boys opened their eyes one by one. They looked as if they had woken from a long dream, faces showing lingering wonder, but were quickly whipped back to reality by the instructor.

Ron shook his head, "You bunch of useless kids, except Alan, none of you ignited the spark. Wasted a chance. Remember, your chances are few."

The boys' resilience had improved; they could endure the instructor's whips. But learning Alan had ignited the spark, their gazes changed. As Alan walked out of the steel doors, he felt various eyes on his back. There was envy, jealousy, and resentment—all kinds of emotions.