Meng Chao and Lu Siya looked at each other.
Both of them did not expect that Dragon City before the Survival Committee was formed would have such a secret.
So, this was how the ancient ruins were discovered by humans.
"There were two main goals for forming Blood Alliance," A 'Ji continued.
"First, it was naturally to work together to stop other people from touching the ancient ruins and ensure that no superhumans other than Blood Alliance members would appear. Then, they would help Blood Alliance completely control the power in the apocalyptic Dragon City and create a brand new civilization with Blood Alliance members as the core.
"Second, and more importantly, Blood Alliance captured a lot of innocent citizens and threatened and tempted them to start a new exploration of the ancient ruins.
"Most of the innocent citizens didn't have good endings. Just like I said, they either died a violent death or were turned into something neither human nor ghost by the power in the depths of the Primordial Ruins that humans couldn't bear.
"There were also a handful of lucky people who obtained supernatural abilities.
"But they were alone and unarmed. How could they possibly be Blood Alliance's opponent when they were prepared for battle? Even if they were really strong, could control water and fire, or had rapid self-healing abilities, the moment they left the ancient ruins, they were immediately captured by Blood Alliance members who were armed to the teeth. They could not fight back at all.
"Next, Blood Alliance will start selecting the new superhumans.
"If they are like-minded, they will go through a series of trials and have the new superhumans slaughter innocent citizens on a large scale. It's called Blood Alliance, and it's also the proof of allegiance of ancient bandits. With this method, they will twist and destroy humanity. Once they complete the ritual, the new superhumans will naturally become new members of Blood Alliance.
"But there are also a handful of people who managed to get through the dangers of the ancient ruins and awakened to supernatural abilities, but they still retain their humanity and are unwilling to kill the innocent. They don't manage to pass Blood Alliance's trial or are believed by the Blood Alliance members to be too wild and rebellious, which makes them too dangerous to the organization.
"These people were sent back to the ancient ruins and had to go through even more dangerous explorations. They were also locked in labs and had to endure torture worse than death.
"I remember that my younger sister … No, Saber Jin Wanhao's younger sister and Lei Zongchao belonged to the latter group."
The corners of A 'Ji's eyes twitched violently.
A thin layer of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
He didn't realize that he was trembling slightly, as if he was immersed in a nightmare that he couldn't tear apart or forget.
"I've already forgotten just what sort of terrifying torture Saber Jin Wanhao went through in Blood Alliance's lab."
A 'Ji said faintly, "There are only fragmented memories in my mind. I only remember blurry, mottled images.
"When researching the ancient ruins, Blood Alliance fearlessly used up the lives of innocent people, and their research progress is very fast.
"They discovered that some humans have great immunity and adaptability toward the ancient viruses released in the ancient ruins or the zombie viruses born in the Other World. Even if they were infected with seventeen or eighteen types of viruses, they wouldn't die. They could still maintain their human form and consciousness. At most, they would go through some small changes, such as growing silver eyes and sharp fangs.
"There are also people who can adapt to the environment in the ancient ruins. When others touch the floating will-o '-the-wisps, they will instantly combust, but some of the lucky ones can absorb the will-o' -the-wisps and turn them into spirit energy to be stored." When others see the profound and unfathomable runic symbols on the walls, their souls will be sucked into them, and they won't eat or drink for a few days. In the end, they will turn into skeletons. "Some of the lucky ones will stare at the runic symbols and think about it for a few hours. At most, after one day and one night, they will gain enlightenment and understand the amazing martial arts that come from the ancient era." Others will be torn to shreds by demonic creatures infected with the ancient viruses in the complicated underground maze, but some of the lucky ones will be able to carve out a path of survival among mountains of corpses and continuously unlock brand new spirit energy martial arts while fighting, and their fighting strength will increase by leaps and bounds.
"Blood Alliance will naturally want to understand the secrets of these lucky ones.
"Just what is it that makes these lucky ones so different from normal people?
"Me, Jin Wanhao's sister, and Lei Zongchao are these kinds of lucky ones.
"Heh, the term 'lucky ones' is really filled with mockery, because when we manage to escape from the ancient ruins time and time again, what awaits us isn't a beautiful tomorrow, but Blood Alliance's lab. We're faced with cold, shining experimental equipment, and we suffer great pain that makes us feel like we're being cut by a thousand blades.
"Sometimes, the people from Blood Alliance will intentionally cut a lot of wounds on our bodies to test the gene medicine they developed and the speed at which our wounds heal.
"Sometimes, they will lock us together with demonic creatures infected with the ancient viruses so that they can explore a brand new way to deal with the demonic creatures.
"Sometimes, they will force us to practice mysterious and unfathomable runic symbols to form an incredibly dangerous spirit energy magnetic field in our bodies.
"There are also a lot of things … I-I don't remember them …"
Thick veins popped up on A 'Ji's head.
Like a flood dragon baring its fangs and brandishing its claws, it tightly coiled around his head, causing his skull to emit cracking sounds and causing him to be immersed in extreme pain.
"Enough."
Meng Chao quickly went forward. Two spirit tattoos appeared on his palms, and he used gentle spirit energy fluctuations to calm A 'Ji's twitching brain.
"It's fine if you can't remember them. There are some things that are better forgotten than remembered," Meng Chao comforted him.
He believed that A 'Ji was telling the truth.
After all, he and A 'Ji were in the same predicament and could empathize with each other. In a sense, they were both people who had returned to the past.
When he had just returned to the past, he did not remember most of the details of Dragon City's struggles and destruction.
He did not remember his life as a Ghost Assassin, which was filled with hatred and resentment.
The human brain's self-protection mechanism automatically helped him block out the great pain and unbearable memories. Even to this day, he still could not remember all of them.
There were plenty of things that were better for him to never remember.
If he remembered everything clearly, his brain might have been burned a long time ago.
It was the same for A 'Ji, right?
No matter what, his brain was the brain of a nine-year-old child.
If all the pain Saber Jin Wanhao had to endure surged into his young brain, his brain cells might all die the moment they were born.
Meng Chao's mind raced, and he understood why Saber Jin Wanhao became a brand new A 'Ji after he returned to his youth.
Because being Saber Jin Wanhao was just too difficult, and he was in too much pain.
If he looked at it from the perspective of a bystander, he would have to say, "My sister and I were captured by Blood Alliance and forced to explore the ancient ruins. Even if we managed to survive, we couldn't escape. We were still experimental subjects and had to accept endless torture."
If he looked at it from the perspective of a bystander, he would have to say, "Saber Jin Wanhao and his sister were captured by Blood Alliance …"
The two types of pain were not on the same level at all.
A 'Ji instinctively cut all ties with Saber Jin Wanhao. Even when he mentioned his sister, he referred to her as Jin Wanhao's little sister because he wanted to distance himself from the former pain.
When he thought of this, Meng Chao sighed and said, "You don't have to remember the details so clearly. Tell me what happened after that."
"After that …"
A 'Ji's eyes sparkled, and he finally calmed down from his shuddering. "Many people were tortured to death by Blood Alliance, but there were a handful of people who managed to survive the dangerous explorations and brutal experiments. Not only did they not die, they obtained even greater power.
"I wasn't the strongest among my companions.
"Lei Zongchao's immunity toward the ancient bacteria, the viruses of the Other World, the radiation from crystals, his digestion of spirit energy, his understanding of the ancient runic symbols, and his instincts during critical moments were all ten times stronger than mine.
"Even though I couldn't accept it, I had to admit that he was a natural genius in martial arts. No, he was a martial arts legend!
"But no matter how strong he was, there was someone even stronger than him, and that was Jin Wanhao's sister."
When Meng Chao heard this, he asked, "Is it the woman who popped out of the bubbles on the Vortex's carcass after it died?"
"That's right. It's her. I haven't seen her for decades, but she's still the same as before. I can recognize her at first glance …"
A 'Ji composed himself and continued, "My sister, Lei Zongchao, and I are the strongest iron triangle among all the experimental subjects. We were forced to venture further and further into the ancient ruins. We ran into countless near-death situations, and we saved each other's lives countless times.
"When we returned to the lab, we went through the cruelest torture together. We relied on holding each other's hands and sensing each other's heartbeats and heat. It was only when our blood blended together that we gained the courage to continue living.
"We sympathized with each other in the same predicament and relied on each other through life and death. Hmph, our relationship naturally grew stronger day by day!"
"Wait."
Meng Chao raised his hand. "Why did you grit your teeth when I heard you talk about how your relationship with your sister and Lei Zongchao grew stronger day by day? It's as if the cabbage you worked so hard on was eaten by a wild boar."
"Did I?"
A 'Ji's expression was clearly a little unnatural. After remaining silent for a while, he said in slight embarrassment and anger, "I just didn't expect that Lei Zongchao would still have the heart to … talk about love with my sister while living in hell. He even tricked her away!"
"Um …"
Meng Chao understood now.
Even though A 'Ji was only nine years old, he was the real Saber Jin Wanhao.
But the real Saber Jin Wanhao had just celebrated his seventieth birthday.
Half a century ago, when he, his sister, and Lei Zongchao fell into Blood Alliance's hands, they should have been younger than Meng Chao. They should have been around sixteen or seventeen years old.
They were at the time when they were full of vigor and vitality.
When they were constantly at the brink of death, humans would have incredibly strong emotions and the desire to continue living in their genes.
Lei Zongchao and Jin Wanhao's sister falling in love was a matter of course, something that happened naturally when the conditions were right.
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