Shackles of Humanity

Knowledge was severely lacking in this world. Luo Kai had scoured the entire physical education school library, searching for any information on electricity. Unfortunately, he found nothing. He couldn’t even find the word "electricity"—no, the character for it simply didn’t exist in the new written language.

This struck Luo Kai as unbelievable. Electricity was the key that propelled human civilization into the information age, and the great technological boom was born from it. Without electricity, the ladder of civilization’s progress had been completely shattered!

That night, back home, Luo Kai lay in bed, wracking his brain to recall his scientific knowledge.

Since the dawn of human civilization, humanity’s exploration of the outside world has never ceased. After the Second World War, scholars synthesized and built upon past knowledge, giving birth to two new schools of thought: one was materialism, and the other was Idealism. These two schools could be simply divided into science and Theology.

Science needed no further explanation; it emphasized dialectical materialism. In other words, every substance has its own set of principles that merely need to be explored and discovered. Heart Study, however, was completely different. It emphasized that everything in the universe revolves around humanity. That is, humanity’s perception of all things stems from the "self." Or perhaps the world itself doesn’t exist; only the "self" does. This "self" isn’t one’s own person in a narrow sense, but a form of will. Ancient China called it the Celestial Dao, while Westerners called it God!

’The absence of electricity can’t be explained by science, because the world itself is fundamentally a complex electromagnetic network. My only guess is that before the Great Cataclysm, electricity was an observable form of Energy, just like light, fire, heat, and wind—things humans could detect. But after the cataclysm, this Energy suddenly transformed into a latent form that humans can no longer perceive, becoming a type of Dark Matter.’

His head throbbed from the effort. It was like pondering the questions, ’Where do I come from, and where am I going?’—the kind of thing that beings at humanity’s current level of existence could never hope to comprehend.

For some reason, as he reached the end of this train of thought, the image of a beautiful woman with long, wavy hair suddenly surfaced in Luo Kai’s mind. She was clearly an advocate for Heart Study.

Luo Kai shook his head and began to gradually slow his heartbeat. He needed to find a frequency that would relax his body and mind without letting him drift off to sleep just yet.

Just as he hovered on the verge of sleep, a faint tapping came from the eaves of the roof. The sound was incredibly soft. Had Luo Kai not been in an indescribable state of tranquil clarity, he surely would not have perceived it. The faint noise vanished in an instant—a clear sign that someone was running swiftly across the roof.

Luo Kai opened his eyes, casually threw on some clothes, and gently opened the door. Under the cold, clear moonlight, a figure in the distance was dashing along the eaves, their form incredibly agile and their speed extremely fast.

His curiosity piqued, he climbed onto the roof as well, hunching his form slightly as he gave chase. His control over his body had ascended to another level since he mastered the Turtle Breath Technique; he could even constrict his pores to prevent his presence from leaking out.

In the Darkness, Luo Kai leaped across the eaves like an ape. The Darkness was no hindrance to him; his heightened senses constantly fed him feedback on his surroundings. His body, as nimble as a cat, found the perfect foothold with every leap. Soon, he began to close in on the figure. He was surprised to see that the person had a long tail. It was a Mutant! ’No wonder he’s so nimble!’

The chase led him into the South District. The South District had a lane called Xinluo Lane, specially designated for Mutants, where a large number of deformed people congregated.

The rate of birth defects had become astonishingly high since the Great Cataclysm. Some called it an atavistic phenomenon, while others believed it was humanity self-regulating and evolving.

One’s appearance, beautiful or not, directly influenced how they were perceived. Deformed people were ostracized by normal society, but they were still human, after all. They couldn’t just be left to their own devices. Thus, every human city had designated residences for Mutants.

Upon arriving at Xinluo Lane, the environment changed entirely. It was lined with dilapidated brick houses. The cement road, long neglected, was riddled with potholes. The Fluorescent Stone Lamps had long ceased to function, plunging the entire street into pitch-black Darkness. Only the candlelight from a few homes offered a little warmth in the night.

The figure delved deep into the lane, weaving left and right before stopping in front of a modest little courtyard. He knocked on the door with a peculiar, gentle rhythm. A middle-aged man in his forties opened the door. After a brief exchange of words, they both went inside.

Luo Kai hesitated. ’I feel like I’ve seen that middle-aged man somewhere before. No, not his face, but his eyes are very familiar.’ He racked his brain but couldn’t place him. ’I was only drawn here by the Mutant’s agility; I’m not really interested in what they’re up to.’

Just as he was about to leave, another figure appeared on the empty street. The person was tall and stout, completely wrapped in a black robe, and carried a Strong Crossbow on his back. He also walked up to the house and knocked. A moment later, the middle-aged man welcomed him inside too.

Another black-robed person appeared right after, and then a third. In a short span of time, three black-robed people had entered the house in succession.

These secretive, black-robed figures aroused Luo Kai’s interest. ’Among the people I’ve met, only the Black-clothed Guards from Jiuyuan Farm Stronghold are fond of wearing black,’ he thought. ’Could these people be them?’

A thrill of excitement ran through Luo Kai. He nimbly leaped down from the roof, crept toward the house, and pressed his ear against the wall. It was completely silent inside—not a single sound. He thought for a moment, then stealthily climbed back onto the roof. These old-fashioned brick houses usually had a glass skylight to let in daylight.

Just as he prepared to look down through the skylight, a sudden sense of danger washed over him. He instinctively pulled his head back. A sharp crossbow bolt shot through the skylight, grazing past his face. Startled, Luo Kai scrambled back. He turned to flee, but three black-robed men had already leaped onto the eaves, surrounding him in a triangular formation with their crossbows aimed right at him.

"Who are you?"

’A crossbow isn’t as powerful as a bullet.’ Luo Kai remained calm and began to accelerate his heartbeat.

Just then, the middle-aged man also stepped out of the house. His expression became a bit peculiar upon seeing Luo Kai. "There’s no need to be alarmed, everyone," he said suddenly. "This young friend is also a guest I’ve invited. Please, come down so we can all talk properly."

The three black-robed men exchanged a glance, stowed their crossbows, and leaped down from the eaves.

Luo Kai let out a sigh of relief, though his mind was filled with questions. ’The man’s voice sounds even more familiar now that I’ve heard him speak, but I have no memory of him. Could he have known my body’s original owner?’

After a moment’s hesitation, he too leaped from the eaves and followed the middle-aged man into the house. With his growing strength, Luo Kai’s confidence had swelled. Even if these people intended to harm him, he wasn’t particularly afraid.

Though the courtyard looked dilapidated from the outside, the interior was furnished with surprising elegance. A thick carpet covered the floor, the tables and chairs were engraved with classic, antique patterns, and the light from the Fluorescent Stone Lamp was soft and bright.

"Please, everyone, have a seat," the middle-aged man said, gesturing for them to sit.

The six of them sat around a large, square table in the living room. No one spoke; they simply sipped their tea in silence.

The three black-robed men removed their hoods, revealing faces etched by hardship. The tailed Mutant was a young man about Luo Kai’s age, with sharp, monkey-like features that made him rather ugly. He didn’t sit normally, but squatted on his chair like a monkey, clutching his teacup with both hands. He darted his eyes around as he drank, his restless nature on full display.

The middle-aged man stared at Luo Kai for a moment, a faint smile appearing on his face as he said, "I’ve gathered everyone here today for a big job. Have any of you heard of the Elemental Coral?"

All four of them, aside from Luo Kai, looked shocked. The monkey-like Mutant was the first to blurt out, "You mean that strange substance that grows in the ocean? I thought the Fierce Beasts in the sea had already destroyed it!"

The middle-aged man nodded. "Correct. The Elemental Coral is an alien life form that grows in the deep sea. It’s a creature that exists on the threshold between life and non-life—to be precise, a semi-silicon-based life form. This organism is incredibly difficult to destroy. It was merely split apart and dismembered. While most of it was devoured by Fierce Beasts, some fragments were left to drift in the ocean. And according to my intelligence, a small piece of Elemental Coral is right here in Longyang County!"

Luo Kai was shocked as well. ’All known life is carbon-based,’ he thought, ’meaning organisms built on a foundation of organic carbon. Silicon-based life is a concept straight out of science fiction.’ Silicon is a metalloid element, an inorganic substance. Silicon-based life could be described as a metallic life form. To put it simply, a self-aware robot would be considered silicon-based life.

The middle-aged man took a sip of tea, his eyes flicking to Luo Kai before he continued, "The research value of the Elemental Coral far exceeds that of a Fierce Beast. To be specific, it can cause a living being to undergo a special kind of evolution, allowing it to master an Elemental Power!"