Barkley's hands trembled slightly. He looked at the decoder in his hand and felt a tension he had never felt before. The surface of the device shone with a metallic luster and felt cold to the touch, as if it were some kind of technological product from another world. It was not big in appearance, but the complex lines and embedded tiny components showed countless sophisticated designs.
"Is there really no other way?" Buckley asked in a low voice, with a hint of hesitation in his voice.
Dr. Irene White stood in front of him, her expression serious and calm. "No. Unlocking these genetic codes is our only choice, not only for yourself, but also to stop the Shadow Council." She paused, with complex emotions flashing in her eyes, "However, this process will be very dangerous. You must be prepared to face anything that may happen."
Barkley took a deep breath and realized that he could not turn back. This was not only about his own destiny, but also about the future of the entire multidimensional universe. Irene mentioned that these codes may cause instability in the universe and may even cause dimensional collapse. And he is now standing at the critical point that triggers everything.
Nora stood behind Buckley, her face hidden in the shadows, but her eyes were firm. "We have no choice, Barkley. If the Shadow Council gets this information, the consequences will be disastrous. They have proven that they have no moral bottom line. If these powers fall into their hands, the world will become a nightmare."
Barkley knew she was right. The pursuit, conspiracy and danger along the way all proved the ambition of the Shadow Council. They don't care about the cost, they just want to control these powers beyond human understanding. And he, as the key to his parents' experiment, is destined to be involved in this war.
"Okay," Barkley said, with determination in his voice, "Let's get started."
Erin nodded, walked to the other end of the room, and took out a syringe-like device from a hidden drawer. "This is a gene activator, which will work with the decoder to activate the hidden genetic information in your body. The process may be very painful, but it is the only way."
Barkley looked at the syringe, and his heart beat faster. He had never experienced anything like this before, and he rarely even got injections when he was sick, let alone this device that directly acts on genes.
"How painful is it?" he asked, trying to keep himself calm.
"It's hard to describe." Erin's voice was still calm, but Barkley felt a hint of worry from her tone. "It will activate some potential functions in your body, which are related to the multidimensional universe. You may feel the impact from different dimensions, and you may even briefly "see" images from other dimensions. This experience is very taxing on the brain, so you must do your best to stay awake."
Barkley didn't ask any more questions. He knew that there was no way out now, and the only thing he could do was to face it all. He sat down, took a deep breath, and nodded.
"Let's get started." His voice was calm, but with an unshakable determination.
Erin slowly brought the syringe close to Barkley's arm, and the cold metal touch made him feel a little uncomfortable. As the device pierced the skin, a stream of cold liquid was quickly injected into his body. At first, Barkley didn't feel any special changes, but after a few seconds, a sudden and severe pain instantly swept through his body.
His muscles began to twitch violently, as if every inch of nerves under the skin were burning. The pain spread from his arm to his whole body, like thousands of needles piercing into the body at the same time. He couldn't help but let out a low growl, and his hands tightly grasped the armrests of the chair, his knuckles turning white.
"Hold on!" Nora's voice came from the side, but at this moment Barkley could hardly hear her words. His consciousness began to blur, and the scene in front of him gradually distorted. The walls in the room seemed to start spinning, and the furniture became blurry in front of him.
Then, suddenly, Barkley's vision suddenly tore apart, as if he was pulled into another space by an invisible force. He saw - or rather, he "felt" - countless overlapping images appeared in front of his eyes, like a series of rapidly flashing pictures, and like fragments of countless parallel universes.
He saw himself standing in an endless sea of stars, with gorgeous nebulae above his head and empty darkness under his feet. He also saw countless figures similar to himself, doing different things in different timelines and different universes. Some of them he recognized as himself, but some were completely unfamiliar, as if he came from another time and space.
These images flashed by quickly, faster and faster, and more and more blurred, until finally they all merged into a chaotic mass of light and shadow. Barkley felt as if his consciousness was being torn apart by countless forces. He tried to grasp everything in reality, but he seemed powerless to resist.
Just when Barkley felt that he was about to lose himself in these images, suddenly, a strong impact pulled him back to reality. His body twitched violently, and then he fell heavily on the chair, breathing rapidly, as if he had just woken up from a nightmare.
"Barkley!" Nora rushed forward to support him, with worry in her voice.
Barkley gasped and felt that cold sweat had soaked his clothes. His head was still in severe pain, and the scene in front of him was still shaking slightly, but he realized that he had returned to the real world.
"You did it." Irene's voice sounded in his ears, "The genetic code has been activated, and now the decoder can read your genetic information."
Barkley nodded with difficulty and tried to sit up straight from the chair. His hands were still shaking slightly, but his heart had calmed down. He knew that the hardest part was over, and the next step would be the moment to uncover the mystery.
Irene walked over to him and carefully placed the decoder on the table. The screen on the surface of the device began to light up, emitting a faint blue light. She pressed a few buttons, and the decoder began to work, emitting a low hum.
"It will automatically scan your gene sequence and gradually decode the hidden information in it." Irene explained, "The whole process may take a few minutes, and you may feel some discomfort during this period, but it will not be as severe as before."
Barkley nodded, staring at the decoder screen, his heart still beating fast. He knew that this device would reveal all the answers, and he would soon know the secrets hidden in his body.
The data on the screen began to scroll rapidly, and the complex gene sequence was displayed line by line. As time went on, Buckley felt that his consciousness was slightly disturbed again, as if an invisible force was wandering in his mind. But this time he did not feel pain, but more of a strange resonance, as if his body was connecting with some invisible existence.
"It's going well." Irene whispered, her eyes fixed on the operation of the decoder. Her expression was still serious, but Buckley saw a hint of expectation in her eyes.
During this process, suddenly, the decoder issued a slight alarm, the data on the screen suddenly stopped scrolling, and a red warning message popped up.
"What's going on?" Barkley asked nervously.
Erin quickly checked the screen, frowning. "Oh no, the Shadow Council may have locked our location." She quickly turned to Nora, "They have begun to interfere with the decoding process, we must leave immediately!"
Barkley's heart sank suddenly, and the mood that had just calmed down was brought to the peak of tension again. He looked at the screen, the data had stopped scrolling, and the decoding process was forced to be interrupted.
"What should I do now?" Barkley asked anxiously.
"The decoding process is not completely over yet, we need to take the equipment and continue it somewhere else." Erin quickly turned off the decoder and put it in a small portable box, "We don't have time anymore, the Shadow Council may appear here at any time."
Nora quickly walked to the door and vigilantly observed the movements outside. "We must evacuate immediately, they may have tracked here."
Barkley clenched his teeth, his inner tension and fear intertwined. But he knew that the escape was far from over, danger was approaching, and he could only embark on an unknown journey again.
"Let's go," he took a deep breath and looked at Nora and Irene firmly, "We must complete the decoding before they find us."
The three of them quickly packed up their things and rushed out of the dilapidated house. The night once again enveloped their escape route.