I Spread my Genes to Level Up in the Apocalypse

"Hmm, not bad," Ray muttered.

In front of him, a hyperrealistic scene played out, so vivid it felt as if it were truly there. Yet, in reality, if one were to reach out and touch it, their hand would pass right through.

This was not a mere hologram projection but a system called T-MAS. It utilised the fourth dimension to articulate an environment capable of presenting anything before you, though, in actuality, it existed in an entirely different place.

The technology was extraordinarily complex and intricate, leveraging the fourth dimension to mirror time and space. Up until recently, Ray had been the only one able to access the fourth dimension, and even for him, manipulating it had been an exceptionally challenging and arduous task.

Not to mention, the maths involved in the equations was incredibly tedious—there was only a single device of this in the entire human race and created by Ray himself.

"Sigh, even thinking about it gives me a headache," Ray muttered as he fumbled with an old piece of leather inscribed in an unknown language.

He had gone through all this trouble primarily to aid his research, but this old leather wasn't part of his original plan. It was something he had obtained from an old man on Mars.

The leather was linked to techniques involving Totems, but what intrigued Ray even more was its connection to the manipulation of genes.

"Has it been scanned by Berry 12.0 already?"

"Yes, it has," a man replied promptly in a professional tone.

Suddenly, an arm appeared out of nowhere, materialising in front of Ray.

"Master Ray, I have already analysed all the Totems and mass-produced versions on a scale of millions. However, without the necessary energy, it is impossible to activate them," a mechanical voice from the arm spoke, transmitting directly into Ray's ears.

"So, you're saying they can't be activated with any known power?" Ray asked with an amused tone.

"Correct. They require an unknown energy that is not stored in my database," the voice replied.

"I see," Ray said with a casual nod. "Have you installed everything in the base, Berry 12.0?"

"Yes, Master Ray."

"Good," Ray responded simply, making a subtle hand gesture.

The hyperrealistic scene abruptly shifted, revealing the grotesque, rotting corpse of a human.

Ray's eyes lingered on the corpse for a moment as the mutation energy within his body began circulating slowly.

Suddenly, the scene changed, zooming in on an image of a gene. At first glance, it resembled the genetic illustrations often shown in commercial or educational materials, but...

The view continued to zoom in, passing the atomic particles and delving even deeper to the level of electrons, protons, and neutrons. Yet, it didn't stop there. The perspective zoomed out even further, revealing a blank, white expanse.

"Go even deeper," Ray ordered, a frown forming on his face.

"I'm sorry, Master Ray, but this is the limit of my current capability," Berry 12.0 responded in a mechanical tone.

"It's fine," Ray said, shaking his head.

Suddenly, his True Eyes began to glow with a radiant light.

With the sound of gears turning, a small telescope materialised before him, assembled by the mechanics. Ray leaned forward and looked through it, his glowing eyes intensifying.

For Ray, the white expanse in front of him seemed to zoom even further, the scene shifting and transforming with each passing moment.

Finally, his gaze settled on a temple-like structure, veiled in a white place. It was entirely covered in chains, bound tightly as though sealed for eternity.

"This... this..." Ray stammered, utterly flabbergasted and stunned. The sight left him momentarily speechless.

"What is this?"

He couldn't help but mutter, his throat dry and his saliva stuck as if caught mid-swallow.

Ray could feel an overwhelming, terrifying power emanating from the temple—something beyond anything he had ever encountered.

His heart pounded loudly, the sound ringing in his ears. A palpable sense of danger radiated from the chains binding the temple, freezing him in place with an almost paralysing grip.

Gulp!

Summoning every ounce of courage, Ray cautiously zoomed in on one of the chains in front of him. His hands trembled as he focused on it, his very soul crying out in anguish.

Fear!

This was a sensation Ray had rarely experienced, even with the immense strength he possessed. Not even the Universal Being had ever ignited such a primal instinct of terror as the chain now before him.

"What is this?" Ray muttered, his parched lips barely managing to form the words, his heart trembling as he spoke.

Closing his eyes slowly, he tried to steady his mind.

"What should I do? Open the chains or leave them sealed?"

Ray pondered the question for what felt like an eternity, his instincts screaming at him to stay away. It took considerable effort to suppress the primal fear threatening to consume him. Finally, he calmed himself enough to gather his thoughts.

With a sudden snap, Ray's eyes flew open, revealing the striking mismatch of his glowing golden and crimson pupils.

"Fuck it," he muttered. His fists clenched tightly, his muscles surging with power.

In the real world, Ray threw a powerful punch into the air, his physical strength surging in unison with the radiant glow of his eyes. At the same moment, an invisible force, radiating from his peculiar pupils, struck the chains that bound the temple.

Bang!

The force from Ray's pupils caused a crack to appear in one of the chains. The fissure expanded gradually, splintering further until, bit by bit, the chain began to break apart.

By the next second, the entire chain shattered, fragments scattering like shards of glass.

Thump! Thump!

"This... this isn't my heartbeat," Ray murmured, his gaze fixed on the mysterious temple-like structure before him.

Rawr! RAWr!

A guttural roar erupted from within the temple, reverberating through the air. As the sound intensified, blood began to bleed out from Ray's eyes.

His pupil power, a force he had always commanded with ease, drained rapidly, leaving him weakened in mere moments. Before long, the power dissipated entirely, and chaos consumed him.

A searing pain tore through his being, as if his very soul was being ripped apart. The overwhelming strain forced Ray to shut his eyes as the bleeding reached its peak.

When he finally managed to open them again, his gaze revealed a chilling void—eyes without pupils, hollow and soulless.

In mere moments, Ray's eyes shifted back to their mismatched brilliance—one glowing crimson and the other radiant gold.

"This is..." he muttered, stepping forward. As he moved, the space around him curved, forming a portal that transported him to another part of the research room.

Before him floated an old piece of leather suspended in midair. Nearby lay the decayed, grotesque corpse he had seen earlier. Yet, something was different—the corpse had subtly shifted its position.

One question burned in Ray's mind:

"What the fuck is going on!?"

It was the only thought he could muster before the scene took a dramatic turn.

Right before his eyes, the corpse was suddenly ripped apart, and from its core, a terrifying beast began to emerge, its monstrous form slowly taking shape.

"A wolf?" Ray muttered, standing still for a moment before his figure vanished and reappeared in the exact same spot.

"I can't get close to it," he said bluntly, his gaze fixed intently on the wolf emerging from the torn remains of the corpse.

His brows twitched in irritation. If there was one thing Ray despised, it was waiting for an enemy to complete their transformation while standing idly by.

It was the epitome of annoyance—the most cringe-worthy and ridiculous scenario he could imagine.

If someone chose to wait for their enemy to fully power up, they might as well dig their own grave and lie in it, patiently awaiting death.

Fight, in Ray's opinion, often came down to fractions of a second—decisive, relentless, and without hesitation. This forced waiting grated on him, making him grit his teeth in frustration.

He took a step forward, his muscles straining as if about to burst from the sheer force Ray had to exert.

"Fuck you," he muttered under his breath.

The space before him had solidified, making each step feel like an impossible challenge—far harder than detonating an entire star.

With tremendous effort, Ray forced himself to take one step, then another, each one requiring every ounce of strength he could muster.

Step by step, he managed to reach the corpse. But by the time he did, the wolf had already fully emerged, standing on two legs, its bloodshot eyes locked on him as it let out a deafening roar.

Immediately, the space around them solidified even further, and Ray found himself face-to-face with a towering, three-metre-tall wolf, its bloodshot gaze fixed on him.

"Who... am... I?" the wolf whispered in a barely audible voice.

Bang!

Without hesitation, Ray moved in an instant, reaching the wolf and delivering a punch to its face with all his strength.

The wolf didn't budge as Ray's punch landed, sending it hurtling through the air before crashing into the wall. Debris exploded in every direction from the impact.

To Ray's surprise, the wall withstood the force...

No, the wolf had levitated in mid-air, halting its trajectory before it could travel further. The full force of Ray's punch had been nullified entirely.

Howl!

The wolf floated above the ground, its eyes burning with rage as it glared at Ray. It opened its jaws wide and unleashed a terrifying ball of darkness, hurling it straight toward him.

"Not so fast," Ray murmured softly, his mutation energy surging within him. In an instant, a blinding flash of light filled the room.

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