127: Chapter 127 Gene Resonance Resounds, Planet-Destroying Weapons Target Blue Star

What emerged from within were "people".

Or rather, they had once been people.

Their bodies had mutated, their skin a deathly gray, their eyes vacant.

A glowing triangular mark was branded on each of their foreheads.

They moved with swift agility, surrounding Chen Fan and the others from all sides.

"The self-defense protocol has activated!" David screamed. "Doctor, stop them, quick!"

"I can't control it!" The Doctor's face was ashen. "The protocol was set directly by the 'Sower'. Once triggered, it cannot be stopped! Damn it, I knew we shouldn't have let him see those..."

Lei Zhen suddenly moved.

His mechanical arm deployed an energy blade, shielding Chen Fan. "...Go. I'll... cover you."

"Captain Lei, you..."

"Memories... are returning." Lei Zhen's voice was halting. "The 'truth' they showed me... was false. Humanity... doesn't need this kind of evolution."

His mechanical eye flashed red. "Go!"

Before his words faded, the first wave of mutants had already rushed before them.

Chen Fan had no time to hesitate.

He grabbed David and simultaneously activated his protective suit to maximum power.

"Follow me!" He pulled David, charging toward a wall.

The wall appeared solid, but Chen Fan's "Energy Vision" could see through it—behind it was an emergency passageway, its energy flow pattern different from elsewhere.

"There's no way through there!" David shouted.

"Trust me!"

Chen Fan concentrated his Mental Power and slapped his palm against the wall.

The Amplification-enhanced protective suit glove released a high-frequency vibration. Spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the wall's surface before it crumbled.

Behind it was indeed a narrow passageway, leading downward.

The two rushed into the passage, with Lei Zhen close behind.

The Doctor hesitated for a second, then followed as well.

The passage spiraled downward, growing deeper and deeper.

The surrounding walls transitioned from metal to ice, within which were frozen... things.

David leaned in for a closer look and gasped. "This... are these prehistoric creatures?"

Frozen within the ice were mammoths, saber-toothed tigers, and even some bizarre creatures never seen in the fossil record.

All the creatures were preserved in terrified postures, as if instantly frozen.

"More than that." Chen Fan pointed deeper in. "Look there."

In the deepest part of the ice, the vague outline of a city could be seen—not a modern city, but the ruins of an ancient civilization with pyramids and strange sculptures.

At the center of the ruins also stood a tetrahedral structure, only more ancient and crude.

"They don't just harvest this era." Chen Fan murmured. "They've harvested... every civilization cycle of Earth."

The Doctor's voice came from behind, laced with bitterness. "Do you understand now? The 'Sower' isn't a philanthropist; they are Reapers. They return to Earth periodically to harvest mature life energy. The last cycle was Atlantis, the one before that was Mu... This time, it's our turn."

"Then why did you help them?" David demanded.

"Because..." The Doctor gave a bitter smile. "I thought this time would be different. The 'Sower' promised that if we assisted the harvest, a portion of humanity could be preserved as their 'allies' in the universe. I thought... we could win."

The passage ended in a circular hall.

In the center of the hall, a massive black stele floated. Its surface was carved full of that triangular symbol and countless characters Chen Fan couldn't understand.

And kneeling beneath the stele were three people.

They wore clothing from different eras—one a primitive in animal skins, one an ancient in ornate robes, and another... in an early 20th-century explorer's suit.

They all had their eyes closed, their bodies already petrified, but their faces retained the terrified expressions of their final moments.

"These are..." Chen Fan approached.

"The previous 'Gardeners'." The Doctor said quietly. "Or rather, the 'Gardeners' who tried to resist. The 'Sower' sealed them here as a warning to other 'Gardeners'."

Chen Fan's gaze fell on the object tightly clutched in the explorer's hand—a leather-bound notebook.

He carefully extracted the notebook from the petrified hand. On the cover was written in English: "Frederick Cook, 199."

199, that explorer who claimed to have reached the North Pole but was doubted.

Opening the notebook, the last page bore scrawled writing:

"They are not gods, but thieves. Cosmic thieves who steal life energy. They fear one thing—resonance. When all life frequencies align, harvesting cannot proceed. Find that frequency, awaken all life... Hurry, time is running out..."

Resonance. Frequency.

Chen Fan suddenly understood.

The reason Stellar Core Energy could Amplify objects was that it could resonate with an object's "fundamental frequency," strengthening its essence.

Then, if he could find the common frequency of all Earth's life and use Stellar Core Energy to perform a global-scale resonant Amplification... "I can stop them." Chen Fan raised his head. "Doctor, you said the 'Sower' fears individuals with 'Resonance Overload'. What if I make all of humanity experience 'Resonance Overload'?"

"That's impossible!" The Doctor's eyes widened. "Stellar Core Energy requires an individual to reach a certain evolutionary threshold to withstand it. Ordinary people exposed to excessive energy will..."

"Will what?"

"Will break down. Cells disintegrate, consciousness dissipates." The Doctor said. "You have that key sequence within you, that's why you can withstand it. Ordinary people don't."

"Then what if I give it to them?" A light shone in Chen Fan's eyes. "What if I replicate the key sequence from within myself and inject it into everyone's genes via a vaccine?"

Dead silence.

A few seconds later, the Doctor slowly spoke. "You're insane. To do that, first, you'd need to disassemble yourself into genetic samples; second, even if it succeeded, all of humanity would become 'anomalous individuals' like you. The 'Sower' wouldn't allow that to happen, they would..."

"Would what? Destroy Earth?" Chen Fan laughed. "Then let them come. At least we'd be resisting as humans, not being slaughtered like livestock."

At that moment, a violent explosion sounded from the direction of the tetrahedron.

The modified humans had breached the passage entrance.

"No time to argue." Lei Zhen blocked the entrance. "Chen Fan, do what you think is right. I... will buy time."

His mechanical arm began operating at overload, emitting a piercing whine.

Chen Fan looked at this former comrade-in-arms and nodded. Then he turned to the Doctor. "Help me. Help me modify the key sequence into a form that can be mass-disseminated."

The Doctor was silent for a long time, finally sighing. "My lab's mainframe has a gene-editing system that can modify sequences via aerosol transmission. But..."

"But what?"

"But once activated, it cannot be stopped. Seven billion people globally would be modified within twenty-four hours. Some might not survive the process; they would die."

"Mortality rate?"

"According to simulations... 3%." The Doctor's voice was low. "Two billion people."

Chen Fan closed his eyes.

Two billion lives.

But if he didn't do this, after Christmas Eve, the death toll could be six billion, or even more. And the survivors would become slaves of the "Sower."

"I'll do it." He opened his eyes, his gaze resolute. "Give me system access."

The Doctor gave a bitter smile. "You're truly a madman. Follow me."

He walked to one side of the hall and pressed his palm against the ice wall. The ice melted, revealing a control console behind it.

"This is the 'Gardener's' final authorization interface." The Doctor called up the system. "I can authorize you to use the global deployment system. But once activated, there's no turning back."

Chen Fan looked at the activation button for the "Global Gene Resonance Protocol" on the screen.

His finger hovered above the button.

From outside came Lei Zhen's roar and the sound of explosions.

David grabbed his arm. "Chen Fan, think again! Two billion people!"

"I know." Chen Fan said softly. "But this is the only way to let humanity retain the right of self-determination. Either we evolve together, or we perish together."

He pressed the button.

[Global Gene Resonance Protocol Activated. Countdown: 24 hours.]

[Gene Modification Vector: omega virus Improved Version (Harmless)]

[Transmission Method: Global Aerosol Diffusion]

[Modification Target: Implant 137-Base Key Sequence into All Human Genomes]

[Estimated Completion Time: 12 Hours Before Christmas Eve]

At that very moment, the tetrahedral structure above the North Pole began to disintegrate.

Massive metal fragments fell from the sky, crashing onto the ice. The blue light pillar became unstable, flickering.

And on the far side of the Moon, that giant Stellar Core crystal suddenly erupted with dazzling light.

Xiao Zhi's emergency communication entered Chen Fan's consciousness:

[Anomaly Detected: Lunar energy source is overloading! Energy readings exceed threshold! It is speculated the 'Sower' has detected Earth's anomaly and is initiating... an Emergency Purge Procedure!]

[Warning: Large-scale energy concentration detected in the direction of the Kuiper Belt. It is speculated the 'Sower' Mothership is charging its weapons, target: Blue Planet!]

Chen Fan rushed out of the passage and looked up at the sky.

Above the curtain of the Northern Lights, he saw—

A new "star" brightening in the direction of the Kuiper Belt.

That was no star.

It was a Planet-Killer Weapon charging up.