Without moving the coffin much, Brian Clark pressed the leaf pattern on his thumb pad against the coffin. With a flash of green light, the coffin was absorbed into the ring. Brian Clark could sense the position of the coffin inside the ring, and moreover, Brian Clark also knew there was still a lot of space in the ring, enough to store supplies for a long journey.

After arranging everything in the yard, Brian Clark gently kissed the pendant hanging from his neck, glanced at the leaf pattern on his thumb, and smiled, saying, “The three of us are off to explore!”

Chapter Five: The Chip’s Abilities

Because of the explosion, the sheriff personally came to oversee things. The people living around the blast area were questioned every day, causing widespread anxiety. Many shops in town remained closed, so Brian Clark’s absence from the bar went unnoticed. Besides, Brian Clark lived in the poorest area, and the patrols only asked a few people symbolically before leaving, never questioning Brian Clark.

Back on the town’s streets, Brian Clark didn’t plan to open the shop for business, but instead contacted Old David, since he needed to inform the boss about the shop.

Old David was currently in the throes of romance, his face glowing with happiness. Just as he had always dreamed, he found a suitably aged E-class genotype woman and was planning their future together. When he heard that Brian Clark was preparing to venture out, Old David thought Brian Clark just wanted to try his luck in a more prosperous place. After giving some advice as an elder, he didn’t say much more. Young people are full of drive, and having ambition is a good thing—after all, one can’t spend a lifetime in that poor, trash-like place. Brian Clark was only seventeen, after all.

Old David didn’t plan to return, so he gave the small shop to Brian Clark. The bar’s location wasn’t good, and even if sold, it wouldn’t fetch much. Old David didn’t have any connections in the city, so he couldn’t help Brian Clark in that regard. He wanted to give Brian Clark some more money, but Brian Clark refused.

After declining Old David’s offer, Brian Clark simply wished him well and ended the conversation. His own savings were far greater than Old David imagined. Brian Clark didn’t plan to sell the bar immediately, but instead sublet it to someone else living in the poor district, asking them to deposit the annual rent into his account.

Returning to his tiny, shabby room, Brian Clark packed his things. That night, he went once again to Field’s residence. Unlike last time, when he went openly, this time Brian Clark was very discreet, since this matter was crucial. Besides, the security and signal shielding at Field’s place were excellent, providing an extra layer of safety.

In the room, Brian Clark relaxed his body and began to guide the changes within. The chips integrated into his main genetic body had, through replication and spread in his blood, already permeated every cell in Brian Clark’s body. Now, Brian Clark’s goal was to selectively express these chips. Of course, since the chips weren’t fully activated at the start, any selective expression was limited.

He sent commands from his brain, each central signal transmitted to the chips in every cell. The chips began to express selectively, interfering with the expression of the original genome and causing changes—the most obvious being Brian Clark’s appearance.

The bones of his face began to shift, and the color of his hair, eyes, and skin all started to change—even his skeleton altered. This wasn’t temporary dyeing or cosmetic surgery, but a genetic-level transformation. Even advanced instruments couldn’t detect it, because the change was controlled from the source. This was Brian Clark’s trump card.

According to the data and information left by Henry Baker, in theory, the main body could control the chips to cause recombination, breakage, deletion, or mutation of the original DNA in the cells.

For example, if someone wanted to test Brian Clark’s DNA, Brian Clark could control the cells in his bodily fluids, hair, or other body parts to change at the very moment they left his body, making it impossible for anyone to detect his real DNA information.

But since the chips weren’t fully activated yet, after each major change, he needed a period of stabilization before he could control changes from the source again.

When the cracking of bones finally stopped and Brian Clark felt the other changes were complete, he looked at his reflection in the mirror and was a bit taken aback.

The originally black-haired, black-eyed, tanned, healthy, sunny-looking young man had become someone with light gray hair, deep blue eyes, pale skin, and a slightly thinner frame—looking just like one of those rich kids from the city. His face, though not extraordinarily handsome, was delicate and well-shaped. Overall, he no longer had the imposing presence of his previous appearance.

Brian Clark frowned, dissatisfied with this look, but since the chip activation was imperfect, there was nothing he could do about some of the changes. Oh well, this will have to do for now.

Field once said that only two kinds of people change the world: gods and madmen. Brian Clark felt that the old man Henry Baker belonged to the latter. Whether he could reach the level of “Glory” or “Cipher” remained to be seen, but there was no denying that Henry Baker was a genius. With such equipment—much of it handmade—he had managed to create something so extraordinary.