Humanity, under the catastrophe, has gradually come to accept these facts.
Compared to rebuilding after the disaster, at least the life gene must be eradicated first.
Humans have never given up hope, nor have they given up on procreation.
And true hope appeared at this time.
People discovered that children born after the disaster generally possessed the ability to resist this unknown radiation.
However, this resistance ability was only slightly stronger than that of their parents, not enough to completely resist mutation.
But these newborns were born with strong physiques and possessed abilities more adapted to the post-apocalyptic world.
And the truly powerful ones were the third generation.
That is, the grandchildren's generation who personally witnessed the disaster.
They were born with even stronger physiques and a lower rate of erosion, surpassing the second generation.
After they grew up, they became the generation of hope to fight against the Life Gene Association and explore and reverse the world's disaster.
The Life Gene Association, therefore, officially entered an era of disadvantage.
However, their extensive recruitment before had left them with considerable resources.
As the saying goes, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse, let alone the fact that before the end of the world, the Life Gene Association possessed numerous high-tech achievements.
Moreover, among the third generation, there were quite a few rebels, or those who were deceived by the Life Gene Association.
Although the Life Gene Association was no longer at its peak, it had survived to this day and remained the undisputed overlord of this planet.
And the struggle between the two sides has continued until now...
"So, you tried to poison us earlier because you mistakenly thought we were from the Life Gene Association coming to capture people?"
Following the old man's story, Lin Feng quickly understood the cause and effect.
The old man nodded in agreement.
"Yes, the Life Gene Association is still too powerful to resist."
"And they possess many technologies, lacking nothing in terms of food and drink, and only people from there would have such clean clothing and attire..."
"Before, when I saw the two of you, I thought the Life Gene Association had started capturing test subjects again."
"After all, their so-called research has never stopped..."
At this point, Lin Feng completely understood the misunderstanding...
However, the information provided by the old man was of great use to Lin Feng.
It seemed that the entity called the Life Gene Association was likely a key element throughout the main storyline.
Therefore, if he wanted to complete his tasks, he couldn't avoid the Life Gene Association.
Among the side quests, there was one about acquiring more than fifty percent of the post-disaster technology of this world.
If he was lucky, he might be able to get a package deal from the Life Gene Association.
"Do you know what the research of the Life Gene Association is about?" Lin Feng asked.
The old man showed a surprised look.
"How could I possibly know that?"
"In fact, most people don't know, and we don't even know the purpose of the Life Gene Association's actions..."
"In short, just know they are the enemy..."
The old man revealed a carefree attitude.
He was old and no longer had the energy to strive; the future belonged to these young people.
"Alright, then do you know where the Life Gene Association is located recently?" Lin Feng changed the question.
The old man paused.
"Go north, about two hundred kilometers straight."
"Before the catastrophe, there was an underground research institute there, but after that, it belonged to the Life Gene Association..."
The old man was too lazy to ask why Lin Feng wanted to go to the Life Gene Association, assuming he wouldn't tell him anyway.
Afterward, Lin Feng asked a few more questions before preparing to set off.
Two hundred kilometers was not too far, nor too close.
Mainly, walking in the snow without any means of transportation, two hundred kilometers on foot would take several days.
However, to Lin Feng's surprise, the old man, who had previously tried to poison them, generously gave the two of them a two-person snowmobile.
This act left Lin Feng utterly perplexed.
In this icy, post-apocalyptic world, wouldn't a snowmobile be a precious heirloom to be cherished? He just gave it away?
Lin Feng couldn't figure it out, but he didn't refuse.
Mainly because in the current situation, a snowmobile was indeed necessary.
After weighing the pros and cons, Lin Feng left the old man a pile of supplies as an exchange, then rode the snowmobile with Ophelia, heading north...
"That old man is really a good person, giving us a snowmobile!"
Ophelia sat behind Lin Feng, her thick cotton coat making it a bit difficult to embrace his waist.
Lin Feng looked straight ahead and sneered.
"That old man is no ordinary person."
"I know, a mutant!" Ophelia replied foolishly from behind.
Lin Feng didn't want to bother with her anymore...
In his mind, he recalled every moment spent with the old man.
Indeed, he couldn't find anything amiss.
But he still felt something was off about the old man.
He just couldn't pinpoint where the problem lay, but with the mission at hand, he had to put it aside for now.
Behind them, the old man stood in the center of the village, smiling and watching the two leave.
When their figures disappeared completely into the snow and ice, the old man's smile vanished, and he returned to his small wooden cabin.
If Lin Feng were still there, he would surely notice that the old man's previously limping and injured leg had now mysteriously healed.
The old man appeared relaxed, sat at the table, and took a sip of his tea.
Then, he waved his hand over the table, and a transparent screen materialized out of thin air.
On the screen, the avatars of two people were displayed, undeniably Lin Feng and Ophelia.
Below them were various bullet points.
Personality index, crisis prediction, and special abilities.
Overall, it looked like a profile and a scoring sheet.
"Shanhai... hmm."
A sharp glint flashed in the old man's eyes as he pondered.
After a long while, he inputted some information into the screen.
Shanhai, it seemed, was different from the personality recorded in the background.
He possessed a conscience.
According to the recorded personality, he should have violently killed and stolen their treasures.
Yet, Shanhai had not displayed much killing intent in the village.
The only instance was when the old man tried to make a move with his knife.
Moving further down, in the crisis prediction section, the old man filled in "Excellent."
After a moment's hesitation, the old man added a line in the final remarks.
Suspected to possess spatial abilities or items that can mask detection.
In the second stage, the use of any self-brought abilities was strictly prohibited.
This was a built-in monitoring function when this planet was created.
If anyone used abilities beyond that of an ordinary person, they would be disqualified.
However, Shanhai pulled out item after item from his coat, clearly using spatial abilities.
The strangeness lay here: such blatant use of spatial abilities triggered no alarms.
Interesting...
Since no alarms were triggered, the old man couldn't be bothered to investigate.
The rules of this game were thus.