"Curse …"
Meng Chao remembered the memories from his previous life. His younger sister, Bai Jiacao, whose hair had turned into burning purple flames and who looked very unconventional, domineering, cool, and whose personality had changed drastically.
He shuddered.
"So, this means that as long as we run into dangerous situations in the ancient ruins and survive, we'll be cursed?"
Meng Chao quickly asked. He wanted to find a way to help his sister avoid the curse.
"That's not it either."
A 'Ji thought about it and shook his head. "The core members of Blood Oath Alliance have moved through the ancient ruins multiple times. They've run into dangers that are on par with ours, but not all of them obtained the X-shaped eye.
"Blood Alliance naturally wants to research the secrets of the X-shaped eye. After all, this tattoo means endless danger, but it also brings with it mysterious and unfathomable power.
"The people with the X-shaped eye usually awaken to more abilities than normal superhumans. They also have better comprehension, self-healing abilities, and other aspects. As long as they don't die, they have a higher chance of surpassing the limits of their lives.
"The problem is, no matter how much Blood Alliance researches it, they can't find the pattern of the appearance of the X-shaped eye.
"Sometimes, they don't care about the cost and send exploration teams of more than one hundred people deep into the ancient ruins. Just as expected, they run into all sorts of terrifying dangers, and the teams are practically wiped out. Only one or two survivors survive.
"Those one or two survivors might be powerful people with both courage and intelligence, but they just can't find the X-shaped eye on them.
"Sometimes, even though they're normal people who are powerless and are sent into the ancient ruins as cannon fodder or control group, they only manage to survive due to pure coincidence, but the X-shaped eye appears on them.
"It seems like the descent of the curse doesn't just depend on the explorers' performance in the ancient ruins. It also depends on their physical fitness, cell activity, willpower, adaptability, and even astonishing luck. There are all sorts of strange factors.
"Also, there's something strange. When the ancient ruins have just been opened, the chances of the curse descending on them are the highest. At that time, three out of ten explorers who barely survive will have the X-shaped eye on them.
"But as more people with the X-shaped eye increase, the number of new cursed people will gradually decrease.
"Once Blood Alliance completely occupies the ancient ruins, it's just as I said just now. Even if one hundred explorers take the risk, they might not be able to find a new X-shaped eye owner.
"The experts in Blood Alliance analyzed that there should be a limit to the number of X-shaped eyes. This thing is like the tag the ancient civilization uses to choose their successors. When the ancient civilization noticed that the explorers who entered the ruins had a certain amount of potential to obtain all the ancient legacy, they would put this tag on the explorers.
"The so-called 'potential' isn't just about strength and intelligence.
"The current combat power and intelligence of Earthlings are not even worth mentioning by the standards of the primordial civilizations. It's just like how in the eyes of humans, what's the difference between the strongest ant and the weakest ant?
"If humans really want to find some suitable ants to inherit our civilization, they naturally have another set of standards and testing methods.
"And when enough 'heirs' have been tagged and taken the test, the primordial relic will not give out any more tags until a certain X-shaped eye possessor dies, which means that he has failed the test. Only then will a new curse appear."
"I see."
Meng Chao nodded. It was only then that he understood. In his previous life, his younger sister had inherited the X-shaped eye owner's curse after he died and became the new inheritor of the ancient civilization, or rather, the tester.
Based on his sister's experience of turning into the Dark Witch and traveling through the Other World, the ancient civilization was truly terrifying!
"So, Saber Jin Wanhao and Battle God Lei Zongchao are both X-shaped eye possessors?"
Meng Chao stared at A 'Ji's chest and asked with great interest, "Are there any other supreme fighters in Dragon City who are X-shaped eye possessors?"
"Lei Zongchao is indeed one, but I don't know about the others," A 'Ji said honestly.
"The companions who explored the ancient ruins with Jin Wanhao and Lei Zongchao in the past either died in the fight against Blood Alliance or died in the arduous war in the decades after. Even if they were X-shaped eye possessors, their curses had long since been transferred to the new generation.
"Besides, this X-shaped eye is really strange. It's usually hidden in the depths of my blood, and it only appears when I'm angry, lose control of my spirit energy, and my vitality magnetic field is activated to the max. As long as the X-shaped eye possessor wants to hide it, it's very difficult for others to discover his identity.
"As for me, it's because after I regained my youth, Saber Jin Wanhao's great strength couldn't be coordinated with the young body of a nine-year-old child. His vitality magnetic field often goes out of control, which is why the X-shaped eye would appear on its own.
"Once I cultivate for another year and a half, I'll be able to control this brand new body, and it should disappear."
"Is that so?"
Meng Chao nodded with a contemplative expression. He keenly caught the underlying meaning in A 'Ji's words. "What? Do the X-shaped eye possessors not want others to know their identities?"
"… Yes."
A 'Ji hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he nodded and explained, "First, since the X-shaped eye contains mysterious danger and power, it might represent the legacy of the ancient civilization. It's also Blood Alliance's core research project. That's why Blood Alliance uses the X-shaped eye as their emblem.
"In the past, Blood Alliance used the X-shaped eye as their flag and did all sorts of insane evil deeds. They provoked the wrath of the world, and the X-shaped eye turned into a symbol of bloodshed, murder, and evil.
"Many of the Blood Alliance members liked to tattoo the X-shaped eye on their bodies even though they weren't cursed. As time passed, all the people with the X-shaped eye tattoo were thought of as villains who committed all sorts of crimes. Decades ago, during the later stage of the apocalypse, everyone had the right to kill them.
"Second, and more importantly, some of the X-shaped eye possessors liked to kill each other and hunt other cursed people."
"Kill each other?"
Meng Chao was shocked. "What kind of logic is that?"
"Didn't I tell you just now? The experts in Blood Alliance believe that the X-shaped eye is a label used by the ancient civilization to mark the test-takers? As long as they complete the test, they can inherit all the power of the ancient civilization," A 'Ji said with a strange expression.
A 'Ji had a strange expression on his face as he said, "But have you ever thought about what the test is about?"
Meng Chao thought about it for a while before he asked, "Continue exploring the ancient ruins?"
"I don't think so."
A 'Ji shook his head slowly. "Plenty of people have explored the ancient ruins. There were plenty of explorers in the past, but not all of them had the X-shaped eye. Even now, there's still a ruins research center under the Supernatural Tower. Countless elites and an astronomical amount of resources are poured into the exploration, but I've never heard of any stronger X-shaped eye possessors appearing, much less pass the test and obtain all the ancient legacies.
"Therefore, some of the owners of the X-shaped eye, after thinking hard for a long time, suddenly came up with the idea that the so-called 'test' might actually be a 'parasite breeding'.
Meng Chao was a little stunned. "Rearing Gu?"
"That's right. There are quite a number of monster controllers in Agricultural University's monster controller course, and they're skilled in rearing and controlling insect-type monsters. The monster coliseums in the lair also use a similar method to choose the strongest monsters. They lock all the vermin or monsters in a small space and don't give them enough food so that they'll kill each other due to hunger. They'll kill each other and eat each other until their intestines are torn and blood flows in rivers. In the end, the only survivor will be the strongest king!"
"These X-shaped eye possessors believe that as long as they kill all the other X-shaped eye possessors, they will be the only ones left. Then, even if they pass the test, they will be able to inherit all the secrets and power of the ancient ruins. They will surpass the limits of humans and become literal Ancient Godfiends!" A 'Ji said.
"That's … That's ridiculous!"
Meng Chao felt chills run down his spine. He thought about it and said, "Wait, didn't you say that the total number of X-shaped eye possessors is fixed? If one possessor dies, a new curse will descend, and a new possessor will appear? If that's the case, how can they kill all of them?"
"What I'm saying is that a new curse will only appear when one possessor dies. It might appear, but it doesn't mean that it will definitely appear," A 'Ji said.
"Besides, this is just Blood Alliance's speculation in the past. Perhaps over the past half a century, the number of X-shaped eye possessors has indeed been slowly shrinking. What if their numbers have shrunk by half or even two-thirds of what they were in the past?
"You have to understand that many of the X-shaped eye possessors have tasted hell in the ancient ruins. They've also seen countless things that humans can't handle and can't describe. Even if they leave the ancient ruins in one piece, their minds have long since been twisted to the point that they no longer look human. Their way of thinking and moral principles are completely different from normal people.
"Even if there's only a one in ten thousand chance that they can obtain all the treasures in the ancient ruins, these people will do whatever it takes and pay any price for it."
Meng Chao gulped laboriously.
He was even more reluctant to let his younger sister join such a dangerous "Gu rearing".
"Are all X-shaped eye possessors as crazy as them?" Meng Chao asked tentatively.
"Of course not. I should say that only a handful of X-shaped eye possessors believe in the Gu rearing theory. The problem is, as long as this handful of people start a war, the other X-shaped eye possessors will have no other choice but to fight," A 'Ji said.
"Think about it. If two X-shaped eye possessors discover each other's identities, how will they know whether the other party is a lunatic who believes in the Gu rearing theory and doesn't want to kill the other party?
"You must know that the people with X-shaped eyes usually have greater strength and even more mysterious skills than normal superhumans. If they don't take the initiative to attack, they won't even know how they died!"
Meng Chao thought about it and found that it made sense.
The human heart was unpredictable.
The war between humans was usually much crueler than the war between humans and zombies or humans and monsters.
"Fortunately, that was decades ago," A 'Ji said.
"Over the past few years, I don't know whether the number of X-shaped eye possessors has really decreased or whether everyone has become smarter and knows how to hide their identities, but in any case, the number of times this picture appears in Dragon City has decreased. Most of the information regarding the X-shaped eye has been hidden or monopolized by the various factions of power. It's been a long time since I've heard about X-shaped eye possessors fighting against each other in the dark.
"Of course, as people who are cursed by the ancient ruins, we can't let our guard down no matter what.
"Once Saber Jin Wanhao noticed that his strength had waned, he immediately made the decision to go underground. Once I regained my youth, I didn't hesitate to abandon my past identity. One of the reasons was to avoid the gangs and mega corporations, but the more important reason was to avoid the other X-shaped eye possessors. If they noticed that I'd become like this, they would definitely jump out of their dark corners and kill me!"
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