I'll also work hard to conquer the dungeon today.

Chapter 710, Section 2.6: The Truth About Genes
The dimly lit study was illuminated by only a desk lamp, which lit half of the young man's face, making the already inconspicuous mole between his eyebrows even less noticeable.

Beside him sat a steaming cup of hot cocoa and a pile of unprocessed documents.

He leaned back in his chair, his long, narrow blue eyes staring quietly at the ceiling. In his hand, he held a vial of clear reagent that faintly shimmered with silver light. It was the gene stabilizer that Mu Yegui had taken from Dao Lin and given to him during the meeting the day before.

Shui Qi lowered her eyes and glanced at the vial of reagent in her hand, her expression becoming even more obscure under the light.

"Liar...big liar..."

This morning, he took the reagent to Daolin, only to receive an answer he didn't want to hear.

8 hours ago.

"Daolin, this reagent..." Shui Qi took out the reagent tube as soon as she entered the room, wanting to say something to Daolin, but was interrupted by Daolin.

With his hands in the pockets of his white coat, Dao Lin sat in the chair in front of the lab table with his back to Shui Qi and said without looking up, "Gene stabilizer, didn't Mu Yegui tell you?"

"Didn't you tell me before that you couldn't make it?" Shui Qi's expression darkened as she spoke.

“Theories change after practical answers are obtained. I couldn’t do it at first, but after I saw your gene sequence, I was able to do it.” Dao Lin slowly turned around and glanced at Shui Qi, his expression slightly complicated.

Shui Qi asked in a low voice, "What do you want to say?"

He knew very well that Daolin was not someone who would make grand pronouncements, nor was he someone who would easily change his conclusions, so the problem must lie in his genetic sequence.

“Shui Qi, I’ve seen your gene sequence. Although I don’t have many memories of Gu Shurong, this gene sequence is like it’s engraved in my bones and I can’t forget it. I can hardly imagine that one day I would be able to see it again. Once... Gu Shurong lost it.”

Dao Lin pursed his thin lips and said again, "Shui Qi, you are indeed a responsibility that I should take on."

"How disgusting. Dao Lin, just say what you mean, don't beat around the bush." ​​Shui Qi sat down on the sofa next to her, looked up and stared at Dao Lin with disgust.

"Let me tell you from the beginning, since it's something you should know anyway. Back then, a noblewoman from the Empire contacted Gu Shurong, asking him to help investigate why she and her husband couldn't have children. At the time, Gu Shurong was very curious about what kind of situation could prevent them from having children even through scientific means. After investigating their genes, he discovered that both of them had genetic defects, and those defects just happened to create reproductive isolation between them."

Gu Shurong obtained reproductive cells from them, removed the incompatible genes using his own methods, and successfully fertilized them. But this wasn't the end; the cells were very fragile and almost couldn't leave the sterile room. Gu Shurong looked at the gene sequence every day, thinking about how to fill it in, until he obtained a completely blank gene sequence, which finally solved the problem. However, before he could complete it, the lab was robbed one day, and the cells were stolen, disappearing without a trace and never to be seen again.

Gu Shurong didn't tell the noblewoman about this, only that although the experiment had failed, they had found another way for them to have their own children. He used the blank gene sequence on the noblewoman, and she later successfully became pregnant, having three children, including a pair of twins. Unfortunately, the man's genes were stronger, so they could only have boys.

"Am I that thing?" Shui Qi asked, her face grim.

"I'm sorry, I lost you. You could have had a perfect family. That lady was a celebrity, and although the man never showed his face, he was easy to guess. After all, only one marshal in the empire married a movie star. Following the original trajectory, you would probably have become a soldier..."

Shui Qi interrupted, "That's not what I'm talking about! I just find all of this ridiculous—a ridiculous existence, a ridiculous life, even this so-called gene is ridiculous. I want to live, but I've never wanted any meaningless entanglements. Dao Lin, I didn't struggle to escape from the research institute for an apology, and I didn't serve the empire for honor. I'm just living for myself. I'm Shui Qi, and I have nothing to do with any of those other bastards!"

Dao Lin glanced at Shui Qi with a lingering gaze, then chuckled lightly, seemingly sarcastic, and said, "Is that so... Then why did you come to me in the first place? It was you who wanted to know the answer, Shui Qi. I didn't force you. Get out."

As he recalled this, his expression darkened further. Clearly, although he said he didn't care, he was still thinking about it a lot. "Does Shui Qi always like to stay up so late?" A soft, childish voice rang out in the room, interrupting Shui Qi's thoughts.

Shui Qi sat up abruptly and saw that the study door had been pushed open at some point, and the girl who had barged in was now standing in front of him, looking at him with a curious expression.

"I remember locking the door." Shui Qi casually put away the vial of reagent, picked up the Cocoa beside her but found it was already cold, and then put it back on the table.

Mu Yegui blinked her silver eyes and betrayed someone without hesitation, "Daolin broke in. I was just here to deliver something."

“Him?” Shui Qi chuckled, but didn’t say anything more.

“Although Daolin kicked you out, he later told me that you would definitely overthink things, so he asked me to tell you that only the three of us know about this. Mingjin and Mingxi don’t know either, so the thing you’re worried about won’t happen. Besides, Xiaojin’s countdown only has 30 days left. Even if you want to see her then, you won’t be able to.”

"Wait, what do you mean by 'you, me, him'? You know about this too?" Shui Qi looked at Mu Yegui with a pale face, thinking to herself, "Do you have as big a mouth as Mu Yin? If Mu Yin finds out, it's the same as everyone else knowing."

“That completely blank gene sequence was provided by me. Xiao Yin provided it back then, and I provided it this time. No matter what, it’s the same Samuro, so there won’t be any rejection. Don’t you know that only Samuro can possess this kind of completely blank gene?” Mu Yegui opened his mouth, putting on a surprised expression without any emotion.

"Who knows what the characteristics of you Samuros are?" Shui Qi said with a headache.

"Because Samuros don't have a prototype. They grow into whatever creature they see at birth. When I was born, I saw a 'human,' so I look like a human. Samuros are solitary creatures. Even if they are distributed in other places, no one can recognize them at a glance. Only their own kind can recognize them."

In other words, the statement that there is only one Samuro in the interstellar space is incorrect. It should be that, so far, humanity has only discovered one Samuro, a result that Xiao Yin herself has confirmed.

"After the gene sequence is completed, your physique will not only recover but also improve. You should be happier. After all... the unrestrained Shui Qi is the Shui Qi I know. You are just you. No matter what's added, you are still just Shui Qi. No one can disturb you unless you want to."

Shui Qi fell silent. Whether he had figured it out or not, he had to accept the reality he had to accept, because he couldn't deceive himself.

but……

"Tell Daolin not to worry, it's nothing serious. I wouldn't let something like this distract me," Shui Qi said in a low voice, but only he knew what he was really thinking.

He probably breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well... goodnight, Shui Qi." Mu Yegui took out a box of chocolates and a bottle of hot cocoa, placed them on the table, and then turned and left.

Shui Qi stared intently at the study door until Mu Yegui's figure completely disappeared and the door closed. Only then did his gaze slowly fall on the two pieces of food that could be called a gift of comfort.

In the silence, a soft laugh was heard, as if the speaker had already let go of the matter.

That concludes Shui Qi's background story. You've probably guessed it by now. Although it wasn't explicitly stated, I think it's practically the same as stating it explicitly.

Also, happy birthday, Shui Qi!
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(End of this chapter)