Chapter 638 - 409: Mysterious Remains, the Truth of the World

Chapter 638: Chapter 409: Mysterious Remains, the Truth of the World

·

Star Association, Emergency Ward.

"Zero residual radiation in your system. Organs and cells show no signs of cancerous growth or failure. Your genetic makeup is normal, no mutations. You don’t have so much as a scratch on you... Son, you sure don’t look like someone who took a nuke at point-blank range."

The old physician from the medical department flipped through Zhou Chen’s physical exam report, an expression of pure disbelief on his face.

"Are you a student athlete or something?"

"Wow, you really know your memes."

"Got to keep up with the times." The old physician said, finishing his review of the medical report. "Are you feeling any discomfort anywhere?"

"Nope," Zhou Chen replied honestly.

"Alright then." The old physician declared with a wave of his hand. "You’re discharged."

And just like that, Zhou Chen was discharged at light speed.

He then took an elevator to a hall deeper underground, where he waited for Jiang Che to finish her interrogation.

The space around Liushan Prison had been completely sealed off. After killing Dupe, she had nowhere to go and was ultimately taken in by the Star Association for investigation.

As the leader of the Star Association’s Jinzhu City Special Operations Team, she wasn’t supposed to be in Hai City and would now face severe disciplinary action.

Acting without authorization, abandoning her post... either offense was enough for her superiors to strip her of her title as leader of the Special Operations Team. She might even face jail time.

"How did it go?" Zhou Chen asked nervously.

"Waiting for the verdict," Jiang Che replied succinctly.

"Will you have to serve time?" Zhou Chen asked, concerned.

Jiang Che looked at him, her face impassive. "Can’t you try to be a little more optimistic?"

After all, she had distinguished herself several times with major accomplishments, and some of her superiors admired her greatly. The punishment probably wouldn’t be too severe. At the very least, jail time was likely out of the question.

Personally, she was indifferent to the disciplinary action. Everything she had done was to avenge her family. Now that her vengeance was complete, it didn’t matter if she was stripped of her post and kicked out of the Star Association. If worst came to worst, she would just find a regular job.

’Of course, not getting fired would be for the best.’

"I’m tired. I’m going to get some rest," Jiang Che said, rubbing her temples.

She wasn’t Zhou Chen. She couldn’t fight in back-to-back battles, take a nuke head-on, and still be bursting with energy. Then she had to deal with an interrogation; her mind was groggy with exhaustion.

"Okay," Zhou Chen nodded. He could tell she was exhausted.

"And..."

Jiang Che gazed at him and said earnestly, "Thank you."

"Don’t mention it," Zhou Chen said with a smile.

·

After Jiang Che left, a young American girl with round-rimmed glasses and freckles hurried over.

"The Prophet wants to see you."

"Alright. Lead the way."

Led by the freckled girl, Zhou Chen arrived at a secret department in the Stars Association Headquarters. Inside a vast, pristine white laboratory, he met the Prophet. A crowd of scholars and Alchemists in white lab coats were also present.

Zhou Chen’s expression went slack. He saw three Great Sages of the Alchemy Realm. Beyond that, the identities of the scholars were even more astonishing; they were all titans in their fields who had won top international awards. There were even a few towering figures who had single-handedly pushed human civilization forward.

A group photo of them would have to be titled ’When the Stars of Humanity Shine.’

’They all look so excited,’ Zhou Chen thought. ’What could possibly be so important as to assemble such a dream team?’

Zhou Chen’s gaze shifted. In the center of the laboratory was a spherical structure composed of countless Alchemy Matrices. Endless streams of light surged and flowed within it, as powerful as the tide.

Suspended within were two crystalline eyeballs, as magnificent as gemstones. The light they refracted was mesmerizing.

’Those are the Evil God’s eyes!’

Zhou Chen recognized them at a glance, feeling no great surprise. The preparations had been too thorough, and they had a Godslaying Weapon wielding the Godslaying Sword; there was no way the hunt could have failed. He just hadn’t expected so many of these titans to be gathered here studying the eyes.

The Prophet saw him and walked over, pointing at the glowing sphere.

"This was our objective."

"What is it?" Zhou Chen asked.

The Prophet slowly explained, "You can call it the ’Eye of God.’ It’s a genuine antique. According to our initial analysis, it dates back approximately 542 million years."

"And we’ve found a total of three other such remains."

As Zhou Chen stood there, stunned, three images appeared on a large screen to the side: a skull, the bone of a left arm, and the bone of a right leg. Just like the Eye of God, they were all as translucent and magnificent as gemstones. And all of them were recognizably human bones.

"The skull was found in the Silent Sea Abyss of the Endless Sea," the Prophet explained. "The left arm bone was in the Kunlun Mountains, and the right leg bone was in a subterranean ice cave in Antarctica, where it had been frozen for hundreds of millions of years."

Zhou Chen remained dazed. It took him a good while to come to his senses, his voice rising in pitch. "Wh-what was that? H-h-how many years?"

"542 million years," the Prophet replied.

Zhou Chen’s mouth hung open. After a few seconds, he rubbed his eyes and pinched his own cheek, making sure he wasn’t dreaming.

’542 million years... Holy hell, that’s ancient!’

"Wait a minute, that timeframe..."

Suddenly, Zhou Chen realized something. "Isn’t that the same time as the Cambrian explosion?"

The Cambrian Period, the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, took place approximately 542 to 485 million years ago. During this time, biological diversity appeared to emerge explosively. Marine invertebrates, arthropods, mollusks, brachiopods, echinoderms, gastropods... an enormous number of multicellular organisms, including the ancestors of nearly every modern animal phylum, suddenly appeared. This event formed the so-called explosion of life, also known as the "Cambrian Explosion."