After the global solar flare storm, electronic devices like mobile phones became useless.
Now, people used communication devices developed by the research department, which mimicked a Carlos-created creature called the Thousand Sound Bug to establish communications within the same city.
Due to work needs, although it was expensive, Wang Shan still provided one for himself.
"Yes, yes, that material is a rare monarch-grade item. When you handed it to me yesterday, it was fine, but I don't know what happened—it shrank considerably, and its color has faded a lot."
Wang Shan's voice came through the door. It seemed like he was discussing business.
Ye Qingqing turned her attention back to the boy in the hospital bed, her beautiful eyes full of concern. The next day was the high school entrance exam, and she hoped her brother could recover in time.
"Mm... Water, water."
"Brother!"
Ye Qingqing looked joyfully at Ye Yun lying on the bed.
The young boy's eyes were dull, his face pale, and his lips cracked, like a dry riverbed that hadn't seen rain for a long time. She hurriedly poured a cup of water and carefully fed it to him.
The cool water was soothing. After drinking a full cup, Ye Yun's throat, which had felt like it was on fire, finally calmed down. Only then did he start to regain a bit of his consciousness, his eyes still blurred, looking at the person in front of him.
For a moment, he felt that her rose-like, delicate lips were somewhat familiar. He raised his eyes, first seeing a small and delicate nose, then his gaze shifted to a pair of sparkling eyes, as clear as autumn water.
He could clearly sense the emotions behind those eyes—all of them filled with uncontrollable joy.
"Qingqing?"
"Brother, you finally woke up!"
The little girl finally broke into a smile, but immediately after, her eyes glazed over with tears.
"Do you know how worried I was about you?"
"Qingqing, don't cry, it's my fault. Don't cry, okay?"
Ye Yun immediately panicked, unable to bear seeing Qingqing cry. He couldn't help but reach out to wipe away the tears from her face, but inadvertently pulled at his chest injury, causing him to furrow his brows and let out a muffled groan.
"Brother, are you okay?" Ye Qingqing stopped crying and looked at him in panic.
"It's nothing."
Ye Yun looked at her beautiful face, still wet with tears, and couldn't help but smile. "You're all grown up, and you're still crying like that."
"I'm not crying! I'm just worried about you!"
Ye Qingqing blushed, turning her face away and hurriedly wiping away the tears with her hand.
Ye Yun could clearly see a layer of unusual blush spreading from her white neck up to her ears, turning her earlobes pink. It was so cute.
"By the way, I'll go call the doctor. You stay put and don't move around!"
Ye Qingqing mumbled quickly, not daring to look Ye Yun in the eye, and almost ran out of the room.
Ye Yun smiled gently as he watched his sister leave, his eyes full of warmth.
But as soon as her figure vanished, another person's face suddenly appeared in his mind. Instantly, the warmth in his eyes disappeared, replaced by a surge of violent anger filling his chest.
"Liu Yang."
The two words seemed to almost spit out through gritted teeth.
"Host, don't worry. With my Peak Evolution System's assistance, you'll definitely get what you want."
A slightly naive, synthesized electronic voice suddenly rang in Ye Yun's mind, almost scaring him out of his wits.
"Who are you?"
"Answering the host: I am the Peak Evolution System. (Is this how people treat their saviors now? Heh heh.)"
"Heh, your sister! Don't go blabbing your inner thoughts out loud!" Ye Yun said with a black line on his face. "So you're saying you saved me, right?"
"Answering the host: Yes. (Of course, if it weren't for this system, you'd have been dead a long time ago, weakling.)"
"I said, keep your inner thoughts to yourself!" Ye Yun facepalmed. Although his mental fortitude was strong from a young age, allowing him to accept the existence of the system, something about it felt... off. Why did the system seem so out of touch?
"By the way, how come you speak Mandarin?"
"Answering host, this system possesses a language acquisition and learning function. (Being fluent in eighteen languages? Please, in front of me, that's nothing.)"
"Then what's the use of your 'Peak Evolution System'?" Ye Yun asked, curious.
"Answering host, as the name implies, this system allows the host to continuously acquire and modify their own genes by 'plundering' the genes of other creatures, granting the host the abilities of those creatures, ultimately making the host the most perfect existence.
This system was developed with this very purpose in mind. (This system is full of divine grace; weak little host, you'd better bow down and worship.)"
"So you're saying, the reason I survived is that my body was modified by the genes of some creature with strong regenerative abilities?" Ye Yun asked, intrigued. He'd already started to ignore the system's usual snarky remarks.
"Is it the gecko's genes? Or maybe some other animal's genes?"
Ye Yun felt a sense of anticipation. If it was a gecko, did that mean I could regrow my tail if it got cut off?
"Answering host, it's the gene of the Red Gold Lion King—a monarch-level Carlos species." (Tsk, tsk. Really, such a poor imagination.)
"Ca... Carlos' gene?" Ye Yun gasped. "Monarch-level?"
There was no doubt that Carlos was the strongest species on this planet. Even powerful awakeners had to be cautious when facing a Carlos. For the system, it was undoubtedly the perfect creature to 'plunder'.
"Answering host, yes. (With this system, the host must have grand ambitions—fight the strongest enemies, drink the strongest wine, and mate with the most beautiful human females.)"
"Wait, what was that last part?" Ye Yun blushed.
Before he could even respond, a 3D, holographic character attribute panel suddenly unfolded in front of him:
Host: Ye Yun (First Modification)
Strength: 2.1 (Standard value for a healthy adult male on Earth: 1)
Speed: 2.3 (Standard value for a healthy adult male on Earth: 1)
Cell Activity: 2.0 (Standard value for a healthy adult male on Earth: 1)
Mental Strength: 1.8 (Standard value for a healthy adult male on Earth: 1)
Elemental Affinity: Fire (Superior), others are inferior.
Elemental Resistance: Fire (Medium), others are inferior.
Bloodline: Monarch-level Carlos—Red Gold Lion King (Initial Fusion)
"This is… my physical condition?" Ye Yun stared at the panel in shock. So my strength, speed, and cell activity are all at least twice that of a regular person?
He flexed his wrist, and felt confident that if another Flame Bullet from Liu Yang came at him, he could dodge it with ease now.
"What does 'Elemental Affinity' mean?" Ye Yun noticed the last line on the panel.
"Answering host, Elemental Affinity refers to the host's compatibility with a given element. The higher the affinity, the better the host can resonate with that element, making it easier to cultivate magic related to that element. (The host's original talent was really pathetic, but it's all thanks to this system.)"
Ignoring the system's jabs, Ye Yun was overjoyed. This was like winning a million in currency—it felt far better than anything he'd experienced before. "So, you're saying I can become an Awakener?"
"Answering host, if by 'Awakener' you mean a human who controls elemental powers, then yes. (Hehehe, it's all thanks to this system. Come on, praise me!)"
Ye Yun rolled his eyes. "You're so contradictory! You're not a little fairy, why would I praise you?"
Ye Yun opened his hand toward the air, and then clenched it tightly, feeling a strange, but invigorating sense of strength. At that moment, he'd never felt more alive. Even if the future was uncertain, he wasn't afraid anymore.
"Yesterday's grudge, I Ye Yun will return it tenfold. Liu Yang, just wait!"
"Thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west, don't bully a poor youth! Wahahahaha!" The system's voice in his mind rang out, a ridiculous, unsophisticated laugh filling his thoughts.
"I'm not Xiao Yan! Don't just randomly assign voices to people!" Ye Yun had no energy left for the system's absurdities.
He strongly suspected that the reason the system was acting so off-track was because it had absorbed too much internet information when it descended. Ye Yun had figured it out.