Chapter 29
Chapter 29: Chapter 29 Cell Essence
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Thirty minutes after meeting with Nina.
Nina, looking like a mechanic apprentice, finally calmed down⦠She couldnāt possibly have imagined that her ābrotherā would be alive.
On the way home, Nina finally mustered the courage to ask something she had been keeping to herself:
āYou⦠arenāt āmy brother,ā right?ā
Actually, Nina had expressed similar sentiments before Han Dong entered the
Fate Space.
āHow did you figure that out?ā
āValen, my brother, is just ādifferentā from you. Heās lazy and unreliable⦠Totally unlike what a ābrother should be. He was always unwilling to do anything, just idling his days away at home.
When he was forced to participate in āFate Spaceā and wear that wind-up device, he had already given up on life completely.
On the morning that Fate Space was about to start, he rushed out of the house by himself. I thought he committed suicide early out of fear.ā
āHe did commit suicide⦠By chance I found him, and thatās how things ended up this way.ā
Han Dong decided to tell the truth only after careful consideration.
From what Nina said, she didnāt like Valen Nicholas at all and even looked down on such a brother.
Now that Han Dong was a āReturnerā, Nina wouldnāt do anything harmful to Han Dong, she would likely accept everything.
āSuicide⦠You are?ā
āDonāt worry, Iām essentially human. Since Iāve taken over your brotherās body, Iām a part of your family now.ā
Ninaās eyes flashed with worry, but after a moment, she nodded slightly:
āActually, this is quite good⦠At least, mum wonāt worry about my brother anymore. Thank you⦠I promise I will keep your secret.ā
āYeah.ā
As long as Nina trusts him completely, the chance of his identity being exposed will be significantly reduced.
Just thenā¦
Nina, with her brown short hair and safety glasses, took the initiative to take
Han Dongās hand and said with a beaming smile: āLetās go home, brother⦠Mum could never imagine that you could come back alive.ā
Han Dong, an older man who had spent most of his previous life in the lab, felt a slight tremble in his body as the young girl took his hand.
āHmm⦠by the way, is my āReturnerā status helpful to your family?ā
āDefinitely, at least I donāt have to be forced into the āFate Spaceā. I can have plenty of time to prepare.
Also, once you start studying at the Knight Academy, the school will allocate a special school district house across the Moslabi River. Both mum and I could move out of the civilian area and live a worry-free life.ā
Upon saying this, Nina laughed secretly. She was overjoyed.
āOkay! So⦠this evening, come to my room⦠I have a lot of things to ask you.ā
āSure, no problem! Iāve learned a lot from my mechanic master that most civilians donāt know about.ā
With his identity issue resolved, Han Dong followed Nina back to a densely packed public building in the civilian area.
It was just as crowded and chaotic as Kowloon Walled City.
Nina, who had walked through countless times, weaved through the snake-like dark alleys that only allowed one person to pass through and found a damp and dark upward stairway after crossing several branches.
The seventh floor.
A simple two-bedroom and one-living room apartment.
Due to the lack of sunlight on all sides, the room was lit by several small paraffin lamps.
Unlike the āCity of Machineryā it appeared to be from the outside, in these lowest-class civilian homes, metal was scarce and furniture was mostly wood.
Hearing the door open.
A slightly hunched āmotherā with some white hair mixed in her brown hair came out.
Unlike the voluptuous western woman in Han Dongās perception.
Nicholasās mother gave off a frail and old feeling, this family had difficulty even meeting basic needs⦠only Ninaās body was slightly better.
āMy god! Valen⦠am I seeing things? Youāre still alive?ā
It was odd hearing these words from his birth mother, but no one would believe, Nicholas, this sick and needy spendthrift could make it back alive.
Han Dong simply nodded in response: āYeah⦠Mum, weāll be able to move out of here soon. Iām very tired today, so Iāll go rest first.ā
āRest soon, dinner is ready, Iāll have Nina bring you food.ā
The joy-tears of āmotherā and the concerned gaze made Han Dong feel somewhat uncomfortable.
He lowered his head and quickly retreated to his room.
When he just called out āMomā, Han Dong felt a tiny ripple in his heart⦠After all, he was an orphan since childhood and had never come across the concept of parents.
āLetās leave the family issue for now.
Since Iāve come clean with Nina, the possibility of my identity being leaked should be at its lowest.
Plus, considering this nationās desperate need for talent and the demand for young people to enter Fate Space, as a āReturnerā, even if people knew I snatched Nicholasās body, it shouldnāt be a big problem.
What this nation needs is talent. As long as the position of talent is completely inclined to the Holy City, they should accept it.
Of course⦠not revealing my identity is best.ā
Han Dong lay down on a somewhat comfortable wooden bed, preparing for the next major event.
Having just returned from the Fate Space, Nina and her mother probably wouldnāt disturb him.
Activating the āFaceless Skullā.
Han Dong had appeared in the prison area⦠However, this time, he wasnāt here to see Miss Chen Li.
He opened the door of the sterile laboratory, Han Dongās goal this time was to examine the āCell Essenceā he had collected.
As expected, the syringe placed on the central platform contained the āCell Essenceā Han Dong had gathered from the special lifeform corpse during the event.
He took out the syringe and came to the ultra-clean workbench.
Despite conducting numerous cell inoculation experiments on such a workstation previously.
He was somewhat apprehensive now, worried that he might damage the cell clump symbolizing his body.
āEvery beginning is hard⦠just need to succeed once.ā
Han Dong concentrated hard, observing the cell clump on the workstation.
If there was any discomfort in the cell clump during the injection, he would stop right away.
However, things were simpler than Han Dong thought.
Just as the syringe approached the cell clump, a pore opened by contraction from the plasma membrane, just right for the needle to extend intoā¦
Injecting!
He slowly pushed the plunger, a bit of essence was slowly injected into the cell clump.
When the injection was finished, an alert sounded:
āThe cell essence has been injected. āLoad Limitā increased by 25 points (5 points from the Plague Sample, 20 points from the Wraith Sample)ā
āOnly 5 points for five Plague Monsters⦠a single Evil Spirit is worth 20 points!ā
Han Dong was astonished.
The load limit really increased!
In this way, he could look for new body parts, slowly repairing or replace this weak body.
āLetās start with the [Hand]ā¦.ā