Chapter 1177
The Old Man lifted his gourd and took a swig, his voice heavy. “Now that this thing has seen the light of day, your peaceful days are officially over p>
Serena glanced down at the box, then looked back up at him. “Old Man, do you know what’s inside p>
He didn’t answer.
Walking over to the stone stool, he sat down and took another gulp of alcohol. “Tell me. What exactly did you run into on that private island p>
Serena hid nothing. She gave him a full account of her recent encounters with the Obsidian Sun and everything that had transpired on the island.
The Old Man listened, tossing back drink after drink.
When she finished, a heavy silence lingered. “Old Man,” she finally asked. “Did Grandma Aria have a history with the Obsidian Sun p>
The Old Man remained silent.
Serena pressed further. “Was her death connected to them p>
The Old Man’s expression darkened.
He stayed quiet for a long time.
The mountain breeze swept through the Ancient Oak, its leaves rustling softly.
After an eternity, he set his gourd aside and looked at her. “Us old fossils… none of
us ever wanted you to have anything to do with the Obsidian Sun p>
His gaze grew sorrowful. “Aria never wanted you to open that box either p>
“But she also knew this day was inevitable p>
“She dreaded the day you would open it, yet she hoped you would do it sooner rather than later p>
“Because what’s inside… holds the entire future of Elyndor p>
Serena tightened her grip on the box, pressing her lips together as she stared at him.
The Old Man took another hit of booze, sighed heavily, and finally pulled back the curtain on the buried past.
“Your grandmother was never some ordinary country woman p>
“Thirty years ago, she was the Chief Architect of Elyndor’s most classified initiative: Project Genesis p>
The wind seemed to stop entirely. Even the distant chirping of insects faded away.
Serena could only hear the absolute disbelief in her own hushed voice. “Chief Architect p>
The Old Man nodded.
His eyes turned exceptionally sharp. “And the Obsidian Sun is a terrorist syndicate obsessed with engineering artificial humans and metahumans. Their ultimate goal to mass-produce an army of pamless, monstrous supersoldiers to conquer the globe p>
“You should already know just how utterly deranged they are p>
“But Aria… your grandmother’s genius in cellular restructuring and neural engineering was unparalleled. You wouldn’t find a second mind like hers in Elyndor, let alone the rest of the world p>
“Which is exactly why the Obsidian Sun targeted her p>
He took a deep breath, closing his eyes in pain. “Thirty years ago, there was a mole
in the Elyndor National Lab. A spy planted by the Obsidian Sun, right by Aria’s side p>
“They found out your grandmother had achieved a major breakthrough. If that research fell into their hands they could hyper-advance their modification technology. They be able to chuth out even more of those… Obsidian Augments.” Cóntent
Remembering the carnage, his voice turned rough. “To steal her work, the Obsidian
Sun unleashed a massive swarm of Augments and ambushed the National Lab p>
“Back then, their Augments were just flawed prototypes, but they were still lightyears beyond regular humans p>
“Those prototypes were like mutated zombies. They didn’t feel pain. You could blast them across the room and they’d just crawl back up. Blow off an arm, and they’d try to tear your throat out with the teeth. They just kept coming, wave after wave p>
“The casualties were catastrophic. Over half of our elite forces at the lab were wiped out p>