Xu Dengming continued reading, and the author of the book began to elaborate on some of their ideas about how to assemble life.
The author of “The Origin of Life” stated that, as intelligent beings, humans should not have too many taboos about creating new life.
Similar practices have existed since ancient times and will continue to exist.
This is a custom that runs through history like a backbone, spanning the entire progress of human civilization.
Humans inject new blood into their bodies, filling damaged parts with new flesh and organs, hoping to revive a better existence.
The body is merely a vessel for the mind, so creating life is essentially no different from crafting a vessel.
If a human is willing and possesses the necessary talent, they can create the source of a new life.
Such statements were not explicitly laid out throughout “The Origin of Life” but were subtly scattered across various chapters, gradually influencing the reader’s thoughts.
One chapter, at first glance, seemed to be about making vegetable puree, but the expression was oddly peculiar.
“Break different lives into their most basic forms, recombine them into a desired shape. If it fails to come alive, it’s just a bowl of food. If it gains new potential, then life has been created.”
Xu Dengming rubbed her temples.
Before Zhao Bainiao’s explanation, Xu Dengming might have thought Guo Jiajia had simply bought a pirated book filled with the author’s absurd musings.
But now, a term surfaced in her mind-
“The God of Flesh and Life.”
Creating new life-isn’t that also the domain of the God of Life?
If Guo Jiajia’s book came from her elders, then this family might very well be the fanatical believers Zhao Bainiao had mentioned.
However, Xu Dengming couldn’t yet confirm whether the content of the book was a coincidence or if this family truly held unique beliefs about life.
As she flipped further, the text on the pages grew increasingly convoluted, and Xu Dengming felt a slight dizziness while reading.
Xu Dengming wasn’t sure how much exploration time the game had left for the players.
She quickly finished examining the book in her hands and returned “The Origin of Life” to its original spot.
Then, she jumped back onto the chair and, unsurprisingly, found that the diary she had just taken out had disappeared once again.
Xu Dengming paused for a second, then looked up at the top of the bookshelf.
She had taken out “The Origin of Life” earlier, and when she put it back, it protruded slightly from its spot, though not enough to be noticeable unless one looked closely.
At this moment, “The Origin of Life” indeed seemed to protrude a bit, proving that Xu Dengming had indeed taken it out and returned it.
The diary had returned to its original position, but “The Origin of Life” had not.
So, was there something special about the drawer?
Xu Dengming felt a sharp pain in her temples, and her gaze shifted back to the diary.
The diary she retrieved from the drawer for the third time was no different from the previous two.
Xu Dengming flipped to August.
There weren’t many entries left, and Xu Dengming had a premonition that she was approaching crucial information.
“August 21st.”
“Nothing worth recording happened.”
“I found a flyer; there’s a badminton competition at the gymnasium on September 6th.”
“The gymnasium is far away, and Dad won’t let me go out to play badminton.”
“August 22nd”
“Nothing worth recording.”
“Mom promised she would talk to Dad.”
“August 23rd”
“Nothing worth recording.”
“Did Mom talk to him?”
“August 24th”
“Nothing worth recording.”
“August 25th”
“Nothing worth recording.”
“Dad got really angry, but he didn’t say I couldn’t go to the gymnasium.”
Xu Dengming read Guo Jiajia’s diary and sensed something amiss in her family.
She wasn’t sure if the “Dad” in this household had agreed to Guo Jiajia’s request, but the child clearly felt that the parents’ attitude was tacit approval.
The evidence was in the later entries, where Guo Jiajia kept counting down the days until the competition.
Guo Jiajia had high hopes for this and even sought her mother’s help to achieve her goal, something that had never appeared in previous records.
“August 31st”
“Nothing worth recording.”
“Six days left until September 6th. I need to pack my bag early.”
“September 1st”
“Nothing worth recording.”
“Five more days.”
“September 4th.”
“Nothing worth recording.”
“Two more days.”
“Dad got really angry.”
“She was torn apart, and I couldn’t sew her back together. Mom couldn’t help either.”
“Save her.”
“September 5th”
“Nothing worth recording.”
“September 6th”
“Nothing worth recording.”
Guo Jiajia’s diary only went up to September 6th, with everything after that left blank.
From the diary, it seemed that today was the day of the badminton competition.
In the children’s room, there were two calendars, one large and one small, both marked on September 6th.
Guo Jiajia had been eagerly anticipating the competition and didn’t hide her emotions.
Xu Dengming put the diary back and began searching the entire children’s room.
Finally, in the innermost part of the bottom drawer of the cabinet, she found a red suitcase.
She opened it and found a few changes of clothes, a water bottle, and a small wallet.
The coins inside were the kind that had circulated after the Great Disaster, totaling about four yuan, equivalent to about twenty yuan in today’s purchasing power.
Guo Jiajia had mentioned in her diary that she wanted to go to the distant gymnasium for the badminton competition and had even packed her luggage.
If she had really planned to go out today, the suitcase should have been placed in a more accessible spot.
Something must have gone wrong with Guo Jiajia’s plan.
Additionally, starting from September 5th, Guo Jiajia had stopped counting down.
Xu Dengming had reason to suspect that on the 4th, “Dad” had explicitly refused Guo Jiajia’s request, leading to a conflict during which “Dad” angrily tore apart Guo Jiajia’s cloth doll.
Xu Dengming hadn’t found the cloth doll in the room; this toy, like The Essence of Food, had disappeared.
The clock on the wall pointed to 7:15.
Having explored the children’s room thoroughly, Xu Dengming was about to leave to gather more information when she heard movement behind the door.
The first voice to come through was that of an adult woman:
“Do you really have to go out? What time will you be back today?”
Her tone carried a hint of displeasure.
Then, a man’s voice responded to her:
“I’ll be back after work.”
The man’s voice sounded muffled, as if he had a piece of flatbread in his mouth.
Just by listening, Xu Dengming could vividly imagine a busy adult rushing to work, unable to eat breakfast properly, and instead nibbling on the bread while walking and swallowing.
Xu Dengming tiptoed to the door, intending to open it just a crack to peek outside.
She pressed her eye close to the doorframe but noticed signs of forced entry-the lock had been violently dismantled, leaving a finger-sized hole in its place.
However, the hole was filled with splinters, making it inconvenient for spying.
She placed one hand on the doorknob but, before she could open it, her legs suddenly gave way, and she collapsed weakly to the floor.
The world spun in her vision.
It took Xu Dengming a second to realize she was lying on the ground.
Her diary had told her that Guo Jiajia had been taking medication, and there were leftover pills in the desk drawer.
All the signs pointed to the child’s unstable condition.
But Xu Dengming hadn’t anticipated that the onset of the illness would be so sudden and severe.
Her strength was instantly drained from her body.
Xu Dengming couldn’t move her limbs at all.
Her senses became numb in an instant, and she couldn’t even be sure if she was still breathing.
-Was she really alive?
Was her heart still beating?
Outside, the man and woman were saying their goodbyes.
Just a door away, Xu Dengming lay motionless on the floor, her eyes feeling as if they were weighed down by heavy stones, unable to move.
She could hear the footsteps outside, the sound of the man leaving and the door closing, but she couldn’t make a sound to call for help.
Xu Dengming had to muster all her strength just to ensure she was still breathing.
Xu Dengming remained lying on the floor for about ten minutes before the tips of her fingers trembled slightly, and her lost senses began to gradually return.
After another five minutes, she gripped the edge of the bed and struggled to get up from the floor.
Xu Dengming felt extremely weak.
-If her physical abilities could be quantified in this game, Xu Dengming thought, her stats would likely be reduced to two-thirds of what they were at the start.
Xu Dengming slowly walked back to the desk, took out the pill bottle, and poured one tablet into her palm.
The bottle had no instructions, and the pill itself bore no distinctive features that could prove its effectiveness.
Before taking the pill, Xu Dengming had wanted to use her [Observer’s Eye] to see what changes her choice would bring—
But she failed.
Xu Dengming couldn’t see her own lifeline.
The ability that had become a part of her existence had vanished without a trace, like a healthy person suddenly losing a hand or a foot, leaving her with an indescribable sense of unease.
Without a guide and with insufficient clues, Xu Dengming couldn’t determine what consequences taking the pill in the game would have.
But she had no choice but to take the risk to find the answer.
Xu Dengming swallowed the pill.
The pill slid down her throat and into her stomach.
The feeling of weakness quickly subsided, and Xu Dengming’s guess was confirmed.
She felt…
Her stamina had returned to its initial state at the start of the game.
Xu Dengming no longer placed the medicine bottle back in the drawer but instead held it firmly in his hand-considering that the items in the drawer had the peculiarity of periodically resetting, she couldn’t even trust keeping the bottle in her pocket.
She had to keep it tightly gripped at all times.
“Click.”
The sound of the front door opening and closing came from outside again.
Another person had left the house.
Based on the diary’s contents, it was likely “Mom” going out to buy groceries.
Now, only Xu Dengming and his grandmother remained in the house.