The next morning, Rain sat quietly after finishing his breakfast, reflecting on the events of the previous day. He had spent the entire day and night inside the pseudo domain, pulling bodies from the eerie cocoons. Yet, in reality, only two and a half hours had passed.
When he finally returned to his flat, exhaustion hit him like a wave. Without even bothering to shower or eat, he collapsed onto his bed, sinking into a deep, dreamless sleep. He was so worn out that he didn't even enter the dream space, a sign of just how utterly drained he had become. The weight of what he had witnessed still clung to his thoughts, a heavy cloud in the back of his mind. But now, the warmth and comfort of his morning meal brought a small sense of normalcy, helping him feel a little more grounded after the chaos.
He took the bag of poison he'd bought, his mind focused on the next step. He could now shape the outline of his Super Healing Lizard with his genetic energy, but his main concern was increasing his genetic energy reserve. First, he thought about how to use the poison effectively. He remembered the instructions sent to his BIT, so he sent a thought to it and closed his eyes as the BIT played the video.
In the video, a man filled his bathtub with water, tore open a small yellow pouch containing the poison, and slowly poured it in, turning the water a sickly yellow. Before entering the tub, the man swallowed an antidote pill, designed to stop the poison from affecting his internal organs, limiting its effects to the skin, muscles, and bones. Before stepping into the water, the man covered his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth with patches to prevent the poison from entering those areas. As the video ended, a black screen with white letters appeared, warning, "If you cannot handle the pain, exit the bathtub immediately."
Determined to test it himself, Rain decided to give it a try. He walked to his bathroom and began filling the tub with water. Once it was full, he opened the poison packet and found ten small yellow pouches, ten antidote pills, and patches for his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. After mixing the poison into the water, he put the patches on and held one antidote pill in his hand.
But instead of taking the pill right away, Rain hesitated. He wanted to test the true effects of the Super Healing Lizard genetic poison on his body without the antidote. With a deep breath, he stepped into the tub.
After fully immersing his body in the water, Rain felt a searing, burning sensation spread across his skin, as if he were being boiled alive. His muscles tensed as the pain surged through him, but he remained still, enduring it. He quickly instructed his BIT to alert him if the poison started affecting his internal organs. As the minutes passed, the burning sensation gradually subsided, and soon it was gone entirely.
Cautiously, Rain stepped out of the bathtub and removed the patches from his face. His eyes widened when he saw the remnants of his old skin and blood floating in the yellow water. He immediately checked his body, expecting the worst, but to his surprise, his skin was fully intact. Confused, he asked the BIT for an analysis. The BIT explained that what he saw in the tub was his old skin—three layers had been shed and dissolved by the poison. Remarkably, he hadn't been poisoned at all.
Curious if the procedure had changed anything, he asked the BIT for a detailed report. The reply was promising: his skin had become noticeably tougher, and his genetic energy reserves had increased by 5%. Encouraged by the results, Rain drained the tub, refilled it with water, and poured in another pouch of the poison. After applying the patches again, he climbed back in.
This time, there was no burning sensation at all. Confused, Rain asked the BIT what had changed. The reply made sense: his newly transformed skin had developed a heightened resistance to the poison, making him immune to its effects. Rain realized that his defence had significantly improved, but the poison would no longer have the same impact on him.
Rain considered purchasing a higher-order poison from the Gu Body Training Center but quickly realized it wouldn't be effective due to his growing immunity to toxins below the B-rank. Since the poison worked by burning his skin and muscles, he figured acids could achieve the same, perhaps more efficiently. When the skin regenerated, it would grow tougher each time. He inquired with his BIT about available acids that could melt away his body safely for training purposes.
The BIT responded that most acids were banned, but he could buy Type-1, Type-2, or Type-3 acids. Curious, Rain asked about the differences between them. The BIT explained: a tub full of Type-1 acid would melt a body and its bones in four hours, Type-2 would do it in one hour, and Type-3 in just ten minutes. Deciding to try Type-1 first, Rain asked how much acid would be needed to fill his bathtub. The BIT responded, "40 litres," and when Rain asked about the price, it told him that the 40 litres would cost only 400 credits.
Finding the price reasonable, Rain instructed the BIT to make the purchase. However, the BIT alerted him that the city required a reason for buying such a large quantity of acid. Rain, deciding honesty was his best approach, told the BIT to relay the true reason. After a brief pause, the BIT notified him that the city had sent a response. Rain, curious, asked, "What did they say?"
The BIT explained, "The city offers to supply you with all three types of acid whenever you need and will even grant you access to more powerful acids if you share data on your body's reactions to the experiment. If you decline, they will still supply the acid you requested this time." Rain contemplated the offer. It was clear the city wanted to study him like a test subject, but it worked in his favour—he would receive free acids and access to stronger ones. He decided to accept the city's proposal.
Half an hour later, the doorbell rang. Rain opened the door to find four men standing outside, with a large box behind them. One of the men spoke up, "We're here to deliver the acid." Rain glanced at the box. "What's that?" he asked. The man replied, "This is a special alloy tub. The acid won't be able to damage it." Rain nodded and motioned for them to come in.
The men brought in four barrels of acid and quickly set up the new alloy tub in his bathroom. Before leaving, they handed him a bag containing the necessary safety equipment. Impressed by their efficiency, Rain got to work. He carefully poured the acid from each barrel into the tub, filling it to the brim, preparing for the next step in strengthening his body. Opening the bag, he found patches designed to protect his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. Before fully submerging himself, he decided to test it on his hand first.
Taking a deep breath, Rain's thoughts drifted back to the previous day, when he had pulled countless bodies from the cocooned prison of the pseudo domain. He had lost count after 50, and among them were the bodies of children. It was a grim reminder that this world was perilous for ordinary people. Here, cultivation of strength was the only true defence, while others—those with power—saw people as mere data for their twisted experiments. Even now, the city had agreed to supply him with dangerous acid simply for some experimental data. In this world, Rain realized, safety could only be guaranteed if he became the most powerful, someone no one could threaten.
Without further hesitation, he submerged his right hand into the acid. Instantly, his skin began to melt, and a searing pain shot through his brain. Every fibre of his being screamed to pull the handout, to cry out in agony, but he forced himself to endure it. As the acid dissolved his muscles, he realized that his self-healing seemed to have halted. However, focusing inward, he sensed his genetic energy fighting back against the acid, though it was too weak in just his hand. He quickly channelled all of his genetic energy into the affected area, slowing the acid's progress, but not stopping it entirely.
The pain, however, was overwhelming. His head pounded, and his body began to sway from the sheer intensity of it. In desperation, he withdrew his focus from his body and retreated into his soul space through the spiritual gate. Inside the blank expanse of the soul space, Rain still felt the soul-crushing pain, but here, he could control his perception of it. Slowly, he began to dull the pain, even as the acid continued to melt away 80% of his muscles, exposing the bones in his wrist and hand.
With only 30% of his genetic energy remaining, Rain finally pulled his hand out of the acid and exited his soul space. The pain returned immediately, sharp and unbearable, but he watched in fascination as his hand began to regenerate. The muscles knitted themselves back together, but the process drained his genetic energy rapidly. As the regeneration continued and his energy dwindled, the combined toll of pain and exhaustion became too much. His vision blurred, darkened, and with one last breath, Rain collapsed onto the bathroom floor, unconscious.