Clone Ascension

Evan logged into Dongli’s internal government network the moment the notification arrived.

His reward had been issued.

B‑Rank Merit.

Fifty thousand contribution points.

Five billion credits’ worth—

not insignificant, but still far less than the value of the beasts he had slain.

Still, Evan understood.

The government needed to compensate injured soldiers, support families of the fallen, and maintain morale.

He wasn’t the only one who fought.

And honestly, money wasn’t what mattered anymore.

Authority. Access. Merit.

Those were the real treasures.

He checked his updated profile:

Name: Evan Cole

Department: Covert Operations Division

Rank: C‑Rank Officer

A promotion.

Higher rank meant higher clearance—

and the exchange catalog immediately reflected it.

Dozens of rare materials, restricted manuals, and high‑tier extracts were now available.

His total contribution points: 220,000.

A fortune—

but still nowhere near enough for a Tier‑4 S‑grade extract.

Those started at a hundred billion credits.

He would need far more.

⭐ Breakfast & A New Rival

After washing up, Evan headed to the kitchen.

Wendy Lewis was already there, cooking dumplings.

She placed a steaming bowl of shrimp dumplings in front of him.

“You’re up early. Going to class?”

Evan froze.

Class.

Right.

He still technically had that.

But his counselor had approved a seven‑day leave, and today was only day six.

And after the official commendation?

No one could accuse him of skipping class for fun.

“Wendy,” he said, “I think I’ll stop going to class altogether. I want to focus on research with you. Oh—by the way, I brought the coral worm samples.”

Wendy raised a brow, amused.

“I figured you’d say that. I recruited Hannah Keane as my assistant two days ago.

If you join the lab, you two will need to divide the work.”

Evan stiffened.

Hannah?

A freshman?

Doing lab work?

That meant…

she was taking his job.

He suddenly felt a crisis.

If he didn’t produce results soon, he’d be reduced to a glorified errand boy.

He needed to contribute something real.

⭐ In the Lab

They arrived at the lab together.

Evan unloaded the samples:

Tier‑1 to Tier‑3 coral worms

Coral stones

The metal box containing the Tier‑4 tendril and stone

Wendy immediately focused on the Tier‑4 specimen, examining it under multiple instruments.

“Where’s the mutated eel extract?” she asked.

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Evan handed it over.

The machine scanned it:

Code

[Unknown Electric Eel Extract]

Tier: 3

Grade: S

Skill: Unknown Electric‑Type Ability

Only one skill.

Evan explained what General Storm had told him—

that the eel possessed a strengthened version of Thunder Rampage Body.

Wendy nodded.

“The machine caps at S‑grade. This is likely S+.

Another ultimate mutation.

Just like the mutated gator and the upright ape.

All ultimate variants only have one initial skill.”

Evan grinned.

“So my hypothesis was right.”

“Write a paper,” Wendy said.

Evan deflated instantly.

“You should write it. It’s our joint research, after all.”

Wendy laughed softly.

“Fine. I’ll handle it. But it’ll have to wait—I’m attending an Evolutionary Science Exchange in Linhua Nation in two weeks.”

Evan blinked.

“What’s that?”

“A high‑level academic conference hosted by the Sovereign Nation. Invitation only.

Four of us from Dongli were selected.”

Evan nodded.

He didn’t care much for academic politics.

Wendy stored the eel extract for further study.

Then she retrieved the Tier‑4 coral tendril from the analyzer and handed it to Evan.

“Seal it and put it in the freezer.”

Evan took the tray—

and froze.

The moment he looked at the tendril up close,

the urge hit him again.

A primal, instinctive hunger.

A thirst.

Like a dying man seeing water.

His vision blurred.

His hand moved on its own.

He pinched the tendril between his fingers.

⭐ The Touch

He snapped back to awareness—

but the tendril was already stuck to his skin.

Wendy reacted instantly, grabbing a scalpel.

She knew Evan had regeneration.

Cutting off the arm was the safest option.

Evan felt the same impulse—

better to lose an arm than be poisoned by a Tier‑4 coral worm.

But then—

A familiar phantom appeared behind him.

The same one he had seen in the Evolution Temple.

Only he could see it.

Light flared.

The tendril dissolved like melting ice,

vanishing into his fingertip.

A surge of heat shot through his body.

Energy raced through his veins, rewriting something deep inside him.

Wendy rushed forward, ready to amputate.

“Wait!” Evan shouted.

“I think—I think I’m okay!”

Wendy hesitated, eyes sharp.

“Are you sure? If we wait too long—”

“No. This feels like… like absorbing an extract.”

Wendy’s expression shifted through disbelief, suspicion, and reluctant acceptance.

Evan closed his eyes, focusing.

The energy settled.

And then—

His eyes snapped open.

“My skill… one of my skills just upgraded.”

Needle Strike.

It had evolved.

Wendy still forced him through a full medical scan,

checking every metric twice before finally relaxing.

Evan sighed dramatically.

“I don’t know what came over me. I couldn’t stop myself from touching it. Such a precious research sample…”

If he had known it would upgrade his skill,

he absolutely would have touched it anyway.

Wendy shook her head.

“As long as you’re alive.”

⭐ Secrets

Evan hesitated.

“Wendy… do you know what caused this?”

“That’s something you need to answer,” she said quietly.

“Your regeneration skill already evolved once.

One coincidence is luck.

Twice means something else.”

She had always known Evan carried secrets.

But she never pushed.

She waited for him to speak.

Evan fell silent.

He thought of:

His identity as a clone

Liam Zhao, the original

The Evolution God’s phantom

The mysterious skill Evolution’s Grace

Arden, the king who already knew too much

He couldn’t keep walking blind.

He needed answers.

He needed help.

Finally, he looked up.

“Wendy… do you believe two identical people, with the same memories and experiences, can still become different souls?”

Wendy froze.

Her mind went immediately to Evan and Liam Zhao.

She believed people were born different—

different talents, different minds.

Even identical experiences couldn’t erase individuality.

But if two people were truly identical—

same genes, same memories, same everything—

then logically, they should become the same.

Yet she looked at Evan.

And she smiled—

a smile bright enough to wash the world in light.

“If it were anyone else, I’d say no.

But if it’s you—

I believe it.”