My Gene Evolves Infinitely

Until the swarm of Ash Stone Beetles and the two Gnolls disappeared from the sight of the four creatures, they exchanged puzzled looks.

“…What was that all about?”

“Didn’t that human say earlier that he had companions? Could it be those two Gnolls?”

“It’s rare for humans to team up with Gnolls.”

“Don’t we have a Gnoll in our team? What’s so rare about that?”

The elf leader dismissed the idea nonchalantly.

Ah Huang, the Gnoll, and the human man exchanged glances and smirked.

“From their looks, did that human accidentally provoke a nest, and now those two Gnolls are helping him deal with the Ash Stone Beetles?”

“Our Gnoll kind is known for loyalty!” Ah Huang said, moved.

“Just like us!” agreed the slender elf.

“Alright, let’s not disturb them. Let’s go another way,” decided the elf leader, leading the way to a different path.

…

Time passed, and after more than an hour of intense running, the two Gnolls were panting heavily. They glanced ahead and saw even more Ash Stone Beetles joining the swarm—it had grown to over thirty, a formidable sight.

On the road, every Ash Stone Beetle they didn’t have time to kill just joined the large group. Any Gene Warriors they encountered steered clear of such a massive swarm.

Everyone watching Lu Yuan leading a horde of Ash Stone Beetles thought he was crazy. Was he not afraid of death?!

The two Gnolls watching the swarm felt a chill. Being surrounded by that many would leave nothing of them.

They looked past the beetles at Lu Yuan, who was still moving fast, not showing any signs of tiredness, which shocked and confused them.

The brown-haired Gnoll was so exhausted his tongue was hanging out.

Panting, he said, “Big brother, what’s up with that human?! His speed isn’t as fast as ours, so how can he keep going?!”

The grey-haired Gnoll furrowed his brows, his expression darkening. He couldn’t believe it as he watched Lu Yuan.

“This doesn’t make sense… We’ve used up almost all our spiritual energy. By all accounts, he should be more tired than us! How can he keep going without trouble?”

The grey-haired Gnoll was puzzled, unable to figure out what was wrong.

“Big brother, what do we do now? We don’t have much spiritual energy left. If this keeps up and we encounter an opponent, we’ll be in danger.”

The grey-haired Gnoll understood this concern. He watched Lu Yuan’s figure moving ahead, his eyes flickering.

After a long silence, he finally said, “Let’s just say that human has good luck! Let’s not chase him anymore… With so many Ash Stone Beetles following him, I doubt he’ll survive. He’ll probably be eaten up without a trace!”

“Right, big brother! I also think he won’t make it. We might as well let him off easy.”

“Let’s stop here.”

The two Gnolls stopped and watched as Lu Yuan, followed by the horde of beetles, disappeared from view. Only when Lu Yuan and the swarm were out of sight did they head off in another direction.

Lu Yuan occasionally looked back to check on his pursuers. When he looked back this time and didn’t see the two Gnolls, he paused, then smiled,

“Those two dogs finally gave up? How could they keep up that long?!”

Lu Yuan was speechless; those two Gnolls had chased him for over an hour! An hour!

Do you know how I’ve spent this hour?!

He’d run through a significant part of Ash Stone Forest, encountering numerous Gene Warriors along the way.

He couldn’t understand what drove those two Gnolls to persist.

Fortunately, Lu Yuan had kept a Spirit Crystal just in case, and with the one he had just obtained when he met the Gnolls, he now had two Spirit Crystals in his possession.

Relying on the spiritual energy from Spirit Crystals to sustain his body allowed Lu Yuan to keep running. He had already started using his second Spirit Crystal. Once this one was depleted, he would be out of options. Luckily, those two Gnolls had finally given up.

However…

Lu Yuan turned back and saw a dense swarm of Ash Stone Beetles trailing behind him, which caused his lips to twitch in dismay. He hadn’t anticipated gathering so many of them!

“Don’t you guys ever get tired? I’m not made of stone, go chew on some rocks!”

Fortunately, Lu Yuan was slightly faster than the Ash Stone Beetles. Previously, having them block the two Gnolls helped Lu Yuan conserve energy and avoid sudden attacks, allowing him to run a bit slower. Now, if he ran at full speed, he could easily shake off the beetles.

Lu Yuan picked up the pace, gradually increasing the distance between himself and the swarm of beetles behind him. Although new beetles appeared in front of him from time to time, Lu Yuan’s speed barely decreased, and he was gradually leaving these new threats behind as well.

After about fifteen more minutes, there were no more sounds of pursuit. Lu Yuan looked back; no beetles had caught up. He breathed out in relief, leaned against a rock wall, and slowly sat down, panting heavily.

He had used up the spiritual power of both Spirit Crystals, and his body was still very fatigued. Under the sweltering heat, his body felt as if it had been drenched in sweat. Lu Yuan took out a bottle of water and guzzled it down, then refreshed himself by pouring water over his head and body.

He ate two energy bars, felt warmth spreading through his body, and couldn’t help but smile. Feeling alive was wonderful.

After a brief rest, Lu Yuan stood up and surveyed his surroundings. He was in a location with four huge stone pillars, creating four passages and a small square about a hundred meters across at the centre. The area was quiet, with no sounds of battle.

After running blindly for a while, Lu Yuan had no idea which direction he had ended up in. Regardless of where he was, the most important thing was that he had survived. Now he could continue hunting in peace.

Lu Yuan chose a passage at random and walked into it. Soon, he encountered a lone Ash Stone Beetle. He charged at it and quickly killed it, collecting its Grey Stone Armour and a Spirit Crystal. Absorbing the Spirit Crystal, Lu Yuan felt his strength returning rapidly.

He continued along the path and after a while, he suddenly stopped, staring ahead in shock. In front of him was a dead end. About a hundred meters away, the path ended, but at the very end, he noticed two Ash Stone Beetles that were different from any he had encountered before.

They were about a meter tall, and the grey armour on their backs was marked with distinctive black stripes—the Black Mark Ash Stone Beetles, elite among their kind, far stronger than their ordinary counterparts and equipped with special combat abilities.

Not only was the presence of two elite beetles a shock, but behind them, there was a wooden chest sitting quietly. It appeared plain but caused Lu Yuan’s heart to race—the chests of Land of Origin, known to contain all manner of treasures from extraordinary genes and genetic weapons to powerful potions and precious knowledge.

For any Gene Warrior, finding such a chest was a stroke of immense luck.

This represents a huge opportunity!

Misfortune and fortune often go hand in hand, and Lu Yuan could hardly believe it. After being chased down for miles, to stumble upon a treasure chest was truly fortuitous! Is this luck not just so typical of me?

Now the challenge was… what to do about these two Black Mark Ash Stone Beetles?

Lu Yuan stared at the two formidable beetles and felt a headache coming on. Struggling with two ordinary Ash Stone Beetles was challenging enough, let alone elite ones like these Black Mark variants.

Handling one alone would be tough, but two at the same time? That’s practically asking for a double beat down.