Chapter 48: Surviving Eternally

In a residential home of a city within Hanming Country, a young man with his eyes obscured, appearing somewhat somber and reserved, suddenly flinched. The water cup he was holding slipped from his hand and crashed to the floor.

Ignoring the mess on the ground, the pale-faced young man hastily entered his study. Inside the study, rows of display cabinets stood, each containing ceramic figurines modeled after him. Strangely enough, several cabinets also held fully furnished LEGO houses, where the tiny figurines moved about like ordinary people within them.

The young man rushed to the first display cabinet. Within it, a ceramic figure had been lounging in a recliner, reading a book. Now, the book had fallen to the floor, while the ceramic figure clutched its chest in agony, writhing on the ground.

Under the anxious gaze of the young man, cracks rapidly appeared on the ceramic figure’s body, starting from the area over its heart. These cracks grew wider and deeper. After four or five minutes, with a sudden crack, the entire ceramic figure shattered into pieces, falling completely silent.

“Oh no.”

The moment he witnessed the Substitute Death Ceramic Figurine’s demise, the young man also clutched his chest, curling up on the ground and writhing in agony.

Soon, a crack appeared at the spot over his heart, with copious amounts of blood seeping through his clothes. If someone could have seen beneath, they would notice his heart pounding rapidly before abruptly disappearing altogether.

Despite his heart vanishing, the young man continued to painfully roll around without dying. After approximately ten minutes, the wound on his chest spontaneously closed, and he slowly crawled back to his feet.

“The Substitute Death Ceramic Figurine is gone… Is the other owner of the door symbol in An City?” Yue Fei glanced down at the symbol on the back of his right hand, a conflicted expression crossing his face.

His name was Yue Fei, formerly just a recent university graduate turned intern. How the door symbol chose him, he didn’t know; all he understood was that he had been granted this mystical golden opportunity.

One of his door symbol’s abilities was ‘Body Adjustment.’ By accumulating sufficient energy, he could essentially modify his body arbitrarily without any adverse effects.

This ability proved highly useful.

For instance, Mao Qisheng’s vermilion brush seemed unusable by others for some unknown reason, indicating that he possessed specific traits necessary for its use.

With this ability, Yue Fei could effortlessly modify himself, even transforming completely to resemble Mao Qisheng identically, down to undetectable changes at the DNA level.

Initially, as a modern individual, Yue Fei followed a cautious path similar to Jing Rui’s, prioritizing stability and prudence. However, he later discovered that his door symbol could absorb energy from various mystical events occurring in the present era. As the symbol continuously absorbed more energy, his ability to transform grew stronger, compelling him to forcibly involve himself in numerous mysterious incidents.

At one point, Yue Fei believed he was unique, akin to a destined protagonist, and set his goal to transform his body into something akin to the ‘immortals’ depicted in movies.

Coincidentally, while traveling to another city by bus, Yue Fei encountered Wan Ling. Door symbols have the ability to sense each other, and without exchanging words on the bus, they both disembarked simultaneously upon its stop.

Wan Ling, at the time, had a noticeable limp, making walking difficult, and her appearance was somewhat unattractive due to mild polio she’d suffered since childhood, leading to a challenging life.

Upon their first interaction, they realized there were additional gate symbols, and these symbols could also absorb energy from each other.

Wan Ling’s abilities were not as potent as Yue Fei’s, but her door symbol power involved a ceramic substitute, making her exceptionally skilled at evasion. The Wan Ling encountered on the bus was merely her ceramic substitute.

Due to extreme self-consciousness and insecurity, Wan Ling herself rarely ventured outside.

Given the unique nature of her ceramic substitute, before it was completely destroyed, Yue Fei could extract an incomplete version of her door symbol from it. However, half of the original symbol still remained with Wan Ling. If she hid or even directly alerted the authorities, Yue Fei would be powerless against her.

Nevertheless, after learning about Yue Fei’s gate symbol ability, Wan Ling voluntarily proposed a deal.

She offered to relinquish her entire door symbol to Yue Fei, under the condition that he help transform her. She desired to become a normal person and, moreover, the most beautiful woman in the world.

Yue Fei had never attempted transforming others before, but upon absorbing Wan Ling’s symbol, he not only gained the ceramic substitute ability but also developed the capability to alter others’ appearances.

At this moment, Yue Fei’s expression showed signs of inner struggle. Ever since acquiring Wan Ling’s door symbol, he became extremely cautious. The ceramic substitute not only allowed him to evade death, but it could also perfectly replicate any aspect of his being, including part of the door symbol. Consequently, the ceramic figure could venture out and absorb the necessary energy for the door symbols on his behalf.

Since then, Yue Fei’s journey had been remarkably smooth, with one significant challenge: many mysterious regions were under constant surveillance by Hanming Country’s satellites, making it nearly impossible to escape detection. Once discovered, immediate security measures were implemented, preventing him from accessing these areas.

To date, he had acquired some mysterious items, but their quantity and quality were far from impressive. Regarding his own transformations, while he could modify himself at will, each change required a plausible theoretical foundation.

For instance, if he wanted to transform into a pair of wings capable of unrestricted movement, that posed no issue. However, this would necessitate corresponding modifications to his skeletal structure, body weight, blood circulation, muscles, and more—all elements needing adaptation.

Originally trained in agriculture, Yue Fei lacked knowledge of human anatomy and physiology. Consequently, simple alterations like changing appearances were relatively easy, but adding complex features exceeded his capabilities.

He did consider collaborating with Hanming Country’s authorities, allowing their top experts to analyze his body data and create optimal transformation plans. By following these blueprints, it seemed the quickest path to enhancing his abilities.

However, Yue Fei ultimately decided against it.

Partly due to selfishness, but also out of genuine concern for potential repercussions.

As a recent university graduate in his early twenties, falling into the hands of such powerful figures would undoubtedly leave him at their mercy. Moreover, his body transformation ability already hinted at connections to immortality. When confronted with aging yet influential or immensely wealthy individuals, could they truly remain indifferent to the prospect of eternal life?

After much deliberation, Yue Fei decided to prioritize survival above all else, after all, enduring through cunning is timeless.

Currently, his survivability was remarkably strong, but his means for direct conflict were limited.

When his ceramic doppelganger encountered the door symbol wielder from An City, based on the opponent’s reaction, it was clear that they had already acquired another gate symbol. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have known immediately that symbols weren’t unique.

The most critical aspect was that the opponent’s gate symbol seemed to possess a peculiar attack type, capable even of overwhelming the ceramic doppelganger. After the ceramic shattered, the effects reached Yue Fei himself. Fortunately, he swiftly transformed his body, replacing his original heart with a hastily crafted temporary one.

However, due to his haste, Yue Fei now experienced persistent dull pain in the chest area. Later, he would need to search online for heart structure diagrams to create a more complete and refined replacement.

The throbbing pain caused Yue Fei to break out in cold sweat. After pondering for a while, he resolved to avoid An City. Until he found a way to counter its eerie attack methods, he would steer clear of not only An City but also nearby cities within its influence.

Under the influence of the Gate of Sin and Virtue, Wan Ling slowly stood up, unsteady.

“I’m still alive?” She immediately took out her phone to check her reflection. Seeing her face as remarkably beautiful as ever, she let out a sigh of relief.

The surroundings grew increasingly lively as Wan Ling noticed many people beginning to awaken. Instinctively turning her head, she saw ‘Yue Fei’, who had accompanied her, now torn apart into pieces. Strangely, there was no blood flowing from his body.

“The ceramic doppelganger ended up like this,” Wan Ling muttered under her breath. Without wasting any more time, she swiftly sprinted towards the exit off the highway.

Her speed was remarkably fast, showing no signs of slowing down. This was undoubtedly due to Yue Fei’s modifications—enhancing her muscle strength and increasing her lung capacity, which were relatively simple enhancements.

Duan Wenxuan swiftly got up from the ground, looking around. Li Dong and his accompanying personnel were also gradually awakening.

“What happened?” Realizing he was still alive, the genuine surprise on Li Dong’s face couldn’t be feigned.

During their encounter with Osiris, Li Dong and others had been somewhat influenced mentally. At that time, they appeared resigned to facing judgment as if comprehending the world’s mysteries. However, now they were jubilant over having survived.

”…There was a slight mishap. With Hu Fu’s assistance, henceforth within the Gate of Sin and Virtue’s influence, humans will continue to undergo judgment upon entry. But for those judged guilty, their souls will only return to Osiris after death.”

“Osiris?”

Duan Wenxuan dusted off imaginary dirt from his clothes. “That doesn’t matter right now. Shouldn’t we prioritize rescuing people first?”

Following Osiris’ release of the souls, everyone on the highway who had previously perished came back to life. However, most were injured and trapped inside their vehicles. Only a few managed to free themselves, while the majority were wracked with painful cries.

As a knight of the Universal Church, Hu Fu had already started aiding the ordinary civilians.

Li Dong glanced at Duan Wenxuan, signaling two officers behind him to accompany Duan Wenxuan. Meanwhile, Li Dong himself promptly exited the area covered by the Gate of Sin and Virtue.

Approximately half an hour later, a team of about thirty-something-year-old police officers entered the Gate’s vicinity. Naturally, they briefly lost consciousness but quickly regained it. However, upon waking, their expressions held a hint of unease.

Most people did not pass the Trial, indicating that their souls would return here after death. Although many modern individuals often dismissed beliefs about life after death, now facing this reality… it undoubtedly caused them some concern. However, those chosen for this mission were mentally prepared. Quickly, they began engaging in rescue efforts. Outside the Gate of Sin and Virtue’s vicinity, police cars and ambulances stood ready.

Hu Fu stayed behind, eager to participate in the rescues. As for Duan Wenxuan, he had already gotten into a vehicle, accompanied by Yang Kai.

“Can you provide more details about the Gate of Sin and Virtue, Young Master Duan?” Yang Kai appeared visibly exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes.

“Young Master Duan?”

Duan Wenxuan snapped out of his thoughts, slowly sitting upright and looking at Yang Kai. “Let’s make a deal - all the information on the Gate of Sin and Virtue in exchange for your help in finding someone.”