Unconventional security

Chen Bei's lips twitched.

So they're already thinking about using themselves as slides for research?

But... I don't think I've just had an episode and haven't shown anything strange, right?

Why did you target me?

Chen Bei looked on in confusion, but he was too weak to speak.

He looked at Dr. Zhou with a deep gaze, and the latter seemed to understand his meaning, coughing twice.

"Some gadgets I made before can detect signals similar to brainwaves in the vicinity, since these signals are related to unlocking genetic potential."

Dr. Zhou took out a pocket watch from his pocket and opened it to show it to everyone.

Inside are various data indicators that are constantly fluctuating.

"From the moment you started having a headache, these data began to fluctuate dramatically; there's definitely a treasure trove in your brain!"

"By the way, you remember you unlocked two genetic locks, right? One was power, and the other was what?"

Dr. Zhou pressed on relentlessly, but Chen Bei just watched him silently without saying a word.

"Oh, I forgot you're completely exhausted right now. You should get some rest."

Dr. Zhou scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and turned to look at the three androids.

Seeing this, Chen Bei breathed a sigh of relief. Should he tell Dr. Zhou about his strange condition?

Ultimately, we've only known each other for three days. Although the shared identity as cryogenic chamber members gives us a sense of belonging, to say we completely trust each other...

Chen Bei's level of trust in them was far less than that in Gu Mengyao and Chen Cha.

......

"The signal was lost on the road outside the 57th city."

"Can Star Eye detect this?"

"It's difficult to investigate. Recently, human councilors have been conducting inspections, which is a sensitive period."

"In a few years, it won't be able to be kept secret anymore. We need to speed up the plan and put more pressure on the restricted area."

......

The day and a half of trekking passed in the blink of an eye.

City 57, District D.

Qian Feng found a spot to set up camp and put up his stall.

They will rest here for a day, sell some goods along the way, and replenish their food supplies.

Chen Bei of City 57 doesn't know much about the city. Due to his status, he can't show his face in public. People in the upper city don't care about the lower city. Except for those in necessary positions, no one else knows anything about the people's livelihood in the lower city.

Therefore, even though Chen Bei was the head of the police station in District 103, he faced almost no risk of exposure when he arrived in Shangcheng.

But it's different in the lower cities. The city lords and police chiefs of the several cities are all familiar faces, and everyone is afraid of offending them by being careless.

Chen Bei originally planned to stay in the car for two days, but Ye Zhixue said that there was a unique underground utopia in 57 City, and the finals were just around the corner. There was a segment in the finals called the off-site challenge, and those who performed well in the challenge could receive the prizes listed by the organizers.

This prize may contain the key to unlocking the next genetic lock, attracting people from many nearby cities.

"If you're going, you can bring the mask I developed."

While listening to Ye Zhixue's introduction, Dr. Zhou suddenly spoke up.

As he spoke, he took out a mask from his suitcase. The mask fit his skin color but was not intact, or rather, it was a torn mask.

"Uh, don't look at me like that, I designed it specifically."

Dr. Zhou tossed the mask to Chen Bei and said, "Previous masks covered and replaced the entire face, but to truly make it indistinguishable from the real thing, it has to be half real and half fake."

"In addition, this material adapts well to most types of light and has a good fit. Unless you wash it with a lot of water, it won't affect your appearance even if you sweat."

Chen Bei tugged at the mask; it was quite resilient and had no odor.

Now that things have come to this point, he would have gone anyway even without being persuaded.

For Chen Bei, his first genetic lock might not necessarily be bad, but at least for now, it's a disadvantage.

Although those white dots can be used to draw creatures based on the parts, they can sometimes also reflect fragments of the creatures before and after their death.

But he still lacks combat capabilities!

Ye Zhixue's other active ingredient has more than just beauty and longevity benefits; it also greatly enhances physical resilience and cell regeneration, keeping the body at its peak at all times.

Even with significant energy expenditure, the duration would be much longer than that of Chen Bei, who had also awakened his power.

Not only does one's own brain disease not help in combat, but it may also cause sudden pain. In critical moments, a flare-up of the disease can be a matter of life and death.

Now that there's an opportunity to unlock the next genetic lock, he has to go and see it no matter what.

Chen Bei put on the mask, and his face only looked about three-tenths the same as before, which greatly reduced his good looks.

"Let's go get some tickets first."

The group left the convoy. Yang Xiu led two others to place the androids, while Chen Bei and Ye Zhixue headed for the underground utopia.

"The final of Underground Utopia requires an admission ticket, but not at other times, since the final includes a challenge segment."

"Everyone in this city who has unlocked two or more gene locks will receive one admission ticket. The remaining spots will be distributed through purchase and lottery."

"Some people don't want to go, so they sell the tickets at a high price. The main target customers are outsiders like us. One ticket costs 10,000 city-state coins."

Ye Zhixue led him around, introducing things as she went. Unlike Chen Bei, they had already established an organization and had traveled back and forth between various cities to collect a lot of information.

The amount of information stored up was much greater than that of Chen Bei. Even though Chen Bei had read through all of Dr. Zhou's notes, he only gained a broad understanding of the world, not of the urban area.

Ye Zhixue led him to a shop that was packed with people. The shop had no name, but it was the most popular one.

"Boss, two tickets to Utopia."

When Ye Zhixue spoke, everyone turned to look, their gazes all falling on the two of them.

Those watching the play either observed or simply enjoyed the performance.

The owner of the nameless shop was a beautiful woman with heavy makeup, but it didn't look out of place at all; she was at least an 8 out of 10 beauty.

"Two cards, totaling 200,000 city-state coins."

The woman took out two admission tickets and placed them on the counter, then held up two fingers.

"20?"

Ye Zhixue was taken aback. "Weren't they all 1 yuan each before?"

The beautiful shopkeeper smiled slightly, her face radiant with color.

"Little beauty, your information is a bit outdated. This year's Utopia has some truly exceptional items."

"It's normal for outsiders like you not to know. There's only one prize in this year's finals, and the competition rules remain unchanged."

Upon hearing this, Ye Zhixue was slightly moved.

Whoever takes this prize will become the target of everyone's anger. Even if others don't care, what about the contestants who have worked so hard to get to the finals?

"To succeed in the arena, you must overcome three challenges. The first challenge is still a test of strength, and those who haven't unlocked their power gene lock can basically forget about it."

"The second challenge tests your knowledge: guess what kind of creature it is based on its joints and parts..."

Upon hearing this, Ye Zhixue frowned. Just as she was about to tell Chen Bei to give up, she saw a hand reach out from his waist and place a black card on the counter.

Ye Zhixue glanced sideways and saw that the person reaching out was Chen Bei, who had been silent for a long time.

"Two, swipe your card."