The Culprit

“You really don’t know? So, does that mean the T-virus wasn’t your doing either?”

Ning Yu furrowed her brow, realizing that things were indeed not as she had imagined.

“Some of your and William’s records were hidden in the metadata of the T-virus serum.”

She stated this fact but didn’t explain how she had decrypted it.

Upon hearing this, Lacy was momentarily stunned, then suddenly laughed in relief.

“So that’s how it is. It seems Lord William did some other things as well.”

“Now everything makes sense.”

Ning Yu also stepped closer to her, glancing at the screen beside her.

“Why don’t you elaborate?”

Lacy took a deep breath, the light wings behind her flickering twice before dimming.

She began to speak slowly.

“To bring happiness to all humanity—this has always been Lord William’s dream.”

“He wanted to eradicate sickness, disaster, and the inevitability of aging and death, allowing everyone to continue existing in some form forever.”

“The method he chose was cyberization.”

Lacy raised her arm, the sophistication of her body far surpassing what Ning Yu and Shen Yiyue could have imagined.

The skin on her hand spread apart in perfect arcs, revealing intricate structures beneath—delicate circuits and transistors arranged like stars in the night sky.

Then, all the structures in her hand rearranged themselves, transforming into a small, adorable mechanical rabbit before shifting back to her hand.

“However, in many voluntary human experiments on critically ill patients, cyberization encountered unprecedented failures.”

“It seems humanity is bound by a genetic shackle.”

Hearing this, Ning Yu blurted out:

“51%?”

“Correct.”

Lacy nodded, knowing that Ning Yu must have also obtained this information from the virus metadata.

“Then how were you able to break through this limitation?”

Ning Yu felt puzzled.

“This body of mine once belonged to Lord William’s fiancée.”

“She suffered from an incurable malignant disease. In a moment of utter despair, Lord William attempted the first human cyberization on her.”

“But this cyberization succeeded on the first try.”

“It was also the only successful one.”

Lacy opened her palm, lifting it and gazing at it with an unfamiliar expression.

“She? Aren’t you her?”

Ning Yu seemed to have noticed a detail.

“After the transformation, I completely lost all my previous memories. Sometimes, I wonder if I’m still her.”

“If you replaced a part of your body or some of your memories with something else, would you still be you?”

She murmured, as if lost in thought.

“But based on his gaze and reactions, my rational judgment tells me that Lord William doesn’t believe I’m still her.”

“No matter how much I wish…”

She was about to continue but suddenly stopped, her eyes returning to normal as if some mechanism had triggered a reset.

“Never mind, it’s not important.”

She shook her head, seemingly refocusing on the main topic.

Ning Yu, however, clearly sensed something unusual about Lacy. She recalled a recording in which William had once said to Lacy:

‘You will always be my beloved.’

Was this statement true or false? And who exactly did the ‘you’ refer to? Perhaps only William himself knew.

But judging from the current conversation, it seemed William had indeed…

“To solve the issue of humanity’s genetic shackle, William experimented and created the Utopia serum.”

Lacy pointed to a small vial that appeared on the screen, engraved with the letter “U.” The liquid inside shimmered with a faint, multicolored glow.

“Isn’t this…”

Shen Yiyue had a strong impression of this Mary Sue-like liquid, and Ning Yu also seemed to recall it.

“What you’re seeing now—the phenomenon of zombification—is what occurs when the Utopia experiment fails.”

She clicked on a video on the screen:

Inside a sealed laboratory, a creature that could no longer be called human wandered aimlessly.

Its face contorted grotesquely, its limbs flailing wildly under the shackles, its mouth agape as if trying to bite something.

Yet, it was far less terrifying than the current zombies. At least its skin didn’t have the sickly grayish hue, and its body showed no signs of decay.

“Utopia doesn’t have the horrifying effects of the current T-virus. Its primary purpose was to completely transform the human body to resolve the rejection effects caused by cyberization.”

“The T-virus was Leon’s creation, based on Utopia.”

At the mention of Leon’s name, Lacy’s eyes instantly sharpened, filled with unmistakable hatred and a desire to kill.

“He and Lord William were students of the same teacher, and Leon was the teacher’s biological son.”

“Although both were students, the teacher imparted all his knowledge to Lord William and sent Leon to the Clock Tower Magical Association in the Fog City.”

The screen displayed a man with long black hair, wearing round glasses, his features handsome and gentle—a classic image of a beautiful man.

He stood in front of a massive clock tower, dressed in a black robe, facing the camera with an expressionless face.

This was likely Leon.

“Unfortunately, in this era, magic has long since declined. Leon is the last student of the Clock Tower in Fog City.”

“He is known as the greatest magician of the present age.”

Ning Yu and Shen Yiyue didn’t quite understand what magic was, exchanging confused glances.

“Magic, in essence, refers to artificially created mysteries or miracles that can be achieved with current technology.”

Noticing their expressions, Lacy added an explanation.

“These magicians spend their entire lives pursuing a single goal.”

Hearing this, Ning Yu’s heart skipped a beat.

“Could it be… reaching the Root?”

“Correct.”

Lacy confirmed Ning Yu’s guess.

“It is said that in that place, you and I are one, past and future coexist, and it contains all supreme knowledge and truth.”

“In a way, magicians are also pitiful philosophers. The Root, to them, is like a flame to a moth—irresistibly fatal.”

“If one could reach it, all questions would be answered, all worries and delusions would vanish, and ultimate happiness could be attained.”

“That’s how they describe it.”

Lacy’s tone was filled with disdain for what sounded like a lofty ideal.

Recommend Series

Vampire Freshman Caught by the Campus Female Demon Hunter

Vampire Freshman Caught by the Campus Female Demon Hunter

e school belle recognized by the whole school, a genius girl from the kendo club. She also has a hidden identity, the youngest legendary demon hunter. Chen Shuo just transmigrated and found himself turned into a weak, helpless little vampire. He was caught by Su Xiyen and taken home at the very beginning. Since then, Chen Shuo's life creed only had two items. "First, classmate Su Xiyen is always right." "Second, if classmate Su Xiyen is wrong, please refer back to item one." Many years later, Chen Shuo, who had turned back into a human, led a pair of twins to appear in front of all the vampires to share the secret of how he turned back into a human. "It's simple, I tricked a female demon hunter into becoming my wife!"

Twelve Volumes of the Professional Honor Roll, Each Bearing My Name

Twelve Volumes of the Professional Honor Roll, Each Bearing My Name

Explosive Plot Song Gua crossed over into another world, bringing along a whole crew of his doppelgangers—all of them mischief-makers. This was a world where everyone could choose a class. Song Gua became a "Bondweaver," capable of borrowing power, while his doppelgangers took on a wide variety of classes, covering just about everything. The number of doppelgangers grew day by day, each one a talented individual with a charming way of speaking. Under Song Gua's brilliant leadership, they would "greet" each other daily and engage in friendly "sparring," pulling off one major scheme after another on Earth. Sometimes they were bandits—stealing bosses, plundering mines, snatching resources. Sometimes they were saviors—descending like divine warriors to face world bosses threatening to massacre cities. Sometimes they even went undercover, infiltrating various major factions to stir up trouble from within, keeping their enemies constantly on edge. To prevent their doppelganger abilities from being exposed, Song Gua made them wear masks with mahjong tile patterns and don Taoist robes in various colors. "Remember, in front of outsiders, call me 'The Dice.'" "Got it! Boss!" "Not 'Boss'—it's 'The Dice.' Think about the vibe, pay attention to the vibe." "Yes! Boss!" "For crying out loud..." From then on, whenever they appeared, they would have their own theme song playing: ~Hey~ paying respects at the mountain stronghold at night~ whose arm is draped over whose shoulder~ gather your courage and follow along...

Getting Rejected Makes Me Stronger

Getting Rejected Makes Me Stronger

grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)

I’m Already a Great Emperor, Yet the System Makes Me Take Disciples

I’m Already a Great Emperor, Yet the System Makes Me Take Disciples

invincible power, Gu Changge transmigrates into a fantasy world, bound to a sign-in system that grants him cultivation rewards and various peerless treasures daily. While others struggle desperately to break through their cultivation realms, he has long since reached the pinnacle of the Great Dao, becoming a reclusive Emperor whose true strength even he himself cannot fathom. Originally planning to lie low and retire peacefully on Purple Bamboo Peak, the system suddenly issues a new task — take on disciples. With no other choice, Gu Changge casually picks up a few disciples: The eldest disciple, born with a War God Constitution, is thrown a copy of "War God Stratagems" by him, and ends up conquering the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, becoming a peerless War God who sweeps across the cosmos. The second disciple, possessing a Chaos Sword Body, can break all techniques with a single sword, his swordsmanship unmatched throughout history. He points his sword at the heavens: "My master said, the sword and the man stand together. If the sword perishes... my master will give me another one." The third disciple, a reborn Empress who returns to her throne, her elegance and grace overshadowing all beings. And without anyone noticing, his own sect, the Qingxuan Sect, has become the number one sect on the continent. Looking at these unbelievably formidable disciples, Gu Changge, holding the "Primordial Purple Qi" he just signed in for, falls into deep thought: — Wasn't this supposed to be a peaceful retirement? How did I become the ultimate master?!