I gradually became more frustrated with the Hōgyoku.
Every time I obtained a primitive beast soul, the Hōgyoku absorbed it automatically.
I could not stop the process.
No matter what I tried, the result remained the same.
The primitive beast souls disappeared directly into the cracked grey-black orb inside my Sea of Consciousness.
At first, I thought it was acceptable.
But after repeatedly losing primitive beast souls for months…
the feeling became painful.
Primitive beast souls were valuable.
Very valuable.
Even ordinary primitive beast souls could greatly improve a hunter's combat ability.
But for me, every discovered primitive beast soul simply vanished into the Hōgyoku.
Still…
I continued hunting.
Because the only thing I could do was become stronger.
So six months passed quietly inside God's Sanctuary.
During those months, I continuously hunted isolated primitive creatures around Steel Armor Shelter.
Black Horn Pigs.
Stone Claw Wolves.
Red-Eyed Monkeys.
Primitive creatures that ordinary beginners avoided completely.
I survived carefully by:
scouting territories
isolating targets
avoiding groups
retreating whenever necessary
Inside the sanctuary, recklessness killed people faster than weakness.
And eventually—
my primitive geno points finally reached the limit.
Inside my room at Steel Armor Shelter, I quietly looked toward the translucent panel floating before me.
[Sanctuary Panel]
Name: Chen Yu
Age: 16
Ordinary Geno Points: 100 / 100
Primitive Geno Points: 100 / 100
Mutant Geno Points: 0
Sacred Geno Points: 0
Super Geno Points: 0
Compared to when I first entered the sanctuary, my body had changed greatly.
My strength was far beyond ordinary humans now.
My reaction speed had improved drastically.
Even fighting lone primitive creatures no longer felt difficult.
But I remained calm.
Because I knew:
primitive creatures were still only primitive creatures.
Inside God's Sanctuary, stronger existences always existed.
Mutant creatures.
Sacred-blood creatures.
Super creatures.
The deeper one traveled into the sanctuary, the more dangerous the world became.
I slowly sat on the bed while thinking about Super Gene protagonist Han Sen.
Compared to him, my growth speed felt slower.
Han Sen could keep his beast souls.
I could not.
The Hōgyoku continuously absorbed every primitive beast soul I obtained.
Only after the primitive capacity became full would it finally stop.
That thought alone annoyed me slightly.
After calming myself, I decided to leave the room briefly and walk around the shelter.
Steel Armor Shelter remained as crowded as always.
Hunters moved constantly through the streets while preparing weapons, trading materials, or discussing hunting routes.
Newcomers arrived almost every day.
Some survived.
Some disappeared forever.
As I returned toward my room later that night, sudden movement caught my attention nearby.
A young woman stood in the hallway holding a knife nervously.
Farther ahead—
a small black animal quietly walked through the corridor.
The woman's hands trembled slightly.
She was clearly a newcomer.
And from her expression…
she genuinely believed the creature was some dangerous escaped animal.
But I immediately recognized the situation.
Shape-shifting beast soul.
The black animal was actually human.
The newcomer slowly raised her knife.
Her movements were cautious and sharp.
Not like a trained assassin.
But her instincts felt strangely similar to one.
At that moment—
I moved instantly.
Before she could stab downward, I grabbed her wrist tightly.
The woman jumped in shock.
"What are you doing?!" she asked nervously.
I lowered her knife calmly.
"That's not an animal."
She froze.
"What?"
Before she could react further, grey light suddenly flashed around the black creature.
Moments later—
the animal transformed into a beautiful woman with cold eyes and long hair.
The newcomer beside me widened her eyes completely.
"H-Human?!"
The transformed woman glanced toward us briefly.
The moment I saw her face clearly—
my expression changed slightly.
Qin Xuan.
One of the most famous figures in Steel Armor Shelter's military faction.
Before either of us could speak, Qin Xuan calmly walked away through the corridor as if nothing had happened.
The newcomer beside me still looked stunned.
"I… I almost stabbed a person…"
I released her wrist slowly.
"Transformation beast souls are rare. Most newcomers can't recognize them."
The woman lowered her head awkwardly before speaking quietly.
"Thank you…"
Several moments of silence passed.
Then she looked toward me again.
"My name is Han yan."
The moment I heard that name—
my expression changed again.
Han Yan.
Why was someone connected to the Han family appearing here already?