Zheng Zha continued to groan in pain, his eyes still tightly shut. Yet, unlike before, having broken through to the second stage of unlocking the Gene Lock, he could now exert absolute control over the muscles, blood, nerves, and even the flow of some of his energy. This was the innate ability granted by reaching the second stage; thus, the furious surge of Vampire energy was completely suppressed once he entered this state.

The total volume of the Vampire energy was nearly ten times greater, and its quality was significantly more condensed and powerful. Under the governance of the unlocked second stage, this massive reservoir of Vampire energy still seemed restless, boiling, clamoring, and lingering near the edge of his consciousness, unwilling to retreat. Only when Zheng Zha meticulously forced this energy deep into his mind did nearly ten hours of external time pass. Following that, he stabilized the Vampire energy within his skull, forbidding it from easily leaving the confines of his brain. How much more time elapsed after this, he couldn't say, but when Zheng Zha finally awoke, the other seven people were gathered around a campfire, grilling food and eating.

Loli was the first to notice Zheng Zha stirring. She let out a joyful cry and flung herself into his embrace. The little girl, midway through devouring a lamb skewer, her mouth slick with grease, didn't care about the mess as she tackled him, instantly smearing a large patch of grime onto Zheng Zha’s clothes, which left him utterly speechless and amused.

The others looked over with concern. Zheng Zha then noticed Zhang Jie and his classic beauty sitting by the fire. The man was delicately sipping a bottle of beer. When he saw Zheng Zha looking, Zhang Jie smiled faintly and raised his bottle, a trace of ineffable melancholy lingering in his expression.

Xiao Honglü spoke first, asking, "How is it? No serious damage, right? Is the Vampire energy and your internal force still intact?"

Zheng Zha carefully assessed his internal state, remarking as he felt around, "Mm, both energies have finally calmed down. In previous enhancements, both energies were strengthened together. I didn't expect that strengthening only one this time would cause such a conflict. Wait, wait... what is this?"

Zheng Zha directed his attention strangely toward the internal force seated in his Dantian. What startled him was that his internal force, usually intangible and formless, now possessed a quality akin to the Vampire energy. To put it figuratively, the internal force now carried a faint tint, as if it were a lingering side effect of merging with the Vampire energy.

Without another word, he picked up a discarded beer bottle from the ground. He channeled his internal force into his hand. The tin-alloy bottle immediately began to melt, as if subjected to extreme heat. But Zheng Zha knew this wasn't high temperature; instead, it strongly resembled a power he had once possessed—the essence of 'Burning Gold'—where the internal force was infused with the Vampire energy, imbuing immense strength with potent corrosiveness, elevating its destructive capability to a terrifying degree.

Everyone witnessed the transformation of the beer bottle. Seeing that the others had clearly been eating and drinking for some time, Zhang Jie laughed heartily, "What? A new power suddenly manifested? Why don't you show us in my basement?"

Zheng Zha nodded without hesitation. In fact, had it not been for Zhang Jie's timely intervention, he might have exploded and died. More likely, however, he would have exhausted a large number of Reward Points to have the 'Main God' repair his body, as death was quite difficult to achieve in the 'Main God' space, provided one had sufficient points.

Zheng Zha only then realized how famished he was upon seeing the meat roasting over the fire. He had no idea how long he had been sitting there. His stomach felt both empty and bloated. He snatched up the dozen or so skewers of meat on the grill, swallowed several large bites, and then rushed toward his own quarters; he desperately needed to relieve himself—that was the very first direct sensation he had upon opening his eyes.

After Zheng Zha cleaned himself up and grabbed some ready-to-eat food, he realized Loli had rushed off toward Zhang Jie’s house, where the others were already waiting.

Before Zheng Zha lay a granite slab, over twenty centimeters thick. These slabs were exceptionally sturdy. While perhaps not as robust as armor plating of the same thickness, their resilience was only slightly inferior. Regardless, it was absolutely impossible for an ordinary person to break this slab with their bare hands.

Zheng Zha took a deep breath, condensing the internal force from his Dantian into his fist. Faintly, his fist began to glow with a pale reddish light. This light was so subtle that the naked eye could barely perceive it. Among the onlookers, only Zhao Yingkong frowned slightly. Then, everyone watched as Zheng Zha struck the center of the granite slab with a single punch. This new energy, a fusion of internal force and Vampire energy, punched straight through the twenty-centimeter-thick granite. To say it 'punched through' was slightly inaccurate, as there was no dramatic explosion or scattered debris; rather, Zheng Zha’s fist passed straight through the granite as if a red-hot iron brand pierced a wooden board—a testament to powerful corrosive force.

Zheng Zha exhaled, "That's basically it. That punch used about one-tenth of my current internal force. Twenty centimeters seems to be the limit for this one strike. However, its power is more than ten times greater than when I only used internal force before. It’s too strong; I have essentially imbued my internal force with a corrosive property. With this, I don't fear anyone in close combat, even without redeeming martial arts skills."

Zhang Jie shook his head. "No, you should still redeem a basic martial art. Don't you still have one C-Grade scenario and one D-Grade side scenario left? You can fully exchange the C-Grade side scenario for a movement technique. The cheapest one, which doesn't have a fancy name, just 'Qing Gong' (Lightness Skill). C-Grade side scenario, 2,000 Reward Points. You must have overlooked this enhancement skill, as it isn't a true martial art, but rather one of the simplest introductory skills."

Zheng Zha said with a strange expression, "Then I suppose there might also be introductory skills called 'Palm Technique,' 'Fist Technique,' 'Finger Technique,' or 'Swordplay'?"

Zhang Jie affirmed this with a definite nod, looking as if he wasn't joking at all.

Zheng Zha pondered for a moment, then suddenly suggested, "Let's all go upstairs and have something to drink. Zhang Jie, there are some things you can tell me now, right?"

Zhang Jie quietly nodded, then shook his head, but he still led the group out of the basement. Back on the first floor, he asked his classic beauty to fetch some drinks, including some expensive liquors directly redeemed with Reward Points. "Which part do you want to hear about? Some things I can tell you now. Some things must wait until the next horror movie. Don't worry, I will tell you everything completely when the time comes." Zhang Jie grabbed a bottle of Maotai, pulled the cork, and took long, deep gulps. He then set the bottle down and said bitterly.

Zheng Zha thought it over and said, "Then first, tell me what unlocking the Gene Lock means. Chu Xuan mentioned some concepts before, but they were too vague. It seems the Gene Lock holds some major secret I don't know about; this is what I most need to understand right now."

Zhang Jie nodded. "In a way, unlocking the Gene Lock is the key to utilizing Enhancement Attributes. Let me use an analogy: an A-Grade enhancement attribute. A normal person who redeems it can only manifest ten percent of its power, which is usually their limit. A person who has unlocked the first level of the Gene Lock, due to combat instincts and various factors, can use twenty to thirty percent. Second level can use forty to fifty percent. This continues; the Gene Lock is known to have five total layers. In fact, by the fourth layer, you can unleash one hundred percent of the attribute's power. The reason unlocking the Gene Lock is such a vital step in biological evolution is that at the fifth layer, you can actually enhance and change the attribute itself, optimizing it to be more suited for this world—that is the ultimate purpose of evolution."

Zheng Zha nodded. "What about my internal force and the Vampire energy? How do they fit in? I don't feel that unlocking the Gene Lock has put much restraint on them."

Zhang Jie replied, "It's not as you imagine. The fact that you can use the internal force so quickly is already an instinct triggered by unlocking the Gene Lock. In reality, when an attribute is initially enhanced, there is often a period of significant maladaptation to the change caused by the Gene Lock or the power itself. For example, Zhang Heng, after your enhancement, when you tested your archery, did you feel you had leaped to immortality?"

Zhang Heng pondered and shook his head. "Indeed, my body is much more agile, and my vision, hearing, and senses have all improved, but it doesn't feel like I've reached an incredible superhuman level. However, I only have a C-Grade enhancement, right? That level should be about right."

Zhang Jie smiled. "It's not as simple as you think. If you possessed the ability to unlock the Gene Lock, your strength would undergo a seismic shift dictated by combat instinct. I think Zheng Zha and Zhao Yingkong, you two have the clearest sense of this. It looks like it's all the ability of the unlocked Gene Lock, right? Actually, unlocking the Gene Lock is merely the catalyst. If a child unlocks the Gene Lock, they can still only fully exert the power of a child. If a grown man unlocks it, he can exert the power of an adult. In other words, the stronger your enhancement attribute, the more you must fully exert the power of an adult, which means the higher the level of Gene Lock unlocking required. This is the best path for evolution."

He paused, then added, "Actually, all these enhancement attributes, enhancement skills, or other enhancements are creations left behind by predecessors who achieved higher levels of Gene Lock unlocking. For instance, your internal force mixed with Vampire energy, Zheng Zha, essentially resembles the A-Grade internal technique, Profound Yin Art, as it possesses great corrosiveness. However, you synthesized yours through the fusion of Vampire energy and internal force, making it an original shortcut. It costs far less than directly redeeming the A-Grade internal art, but the improvement is significantly more obvious. Therefore, achieving higher levels of Gene Lock unlocking is the time to create your own power."

The surrounding people listened quietly. After a long silence, Zheng Zha finally murmured, "The other question: Who exactly are you?"