A pale, pot-bellied middle-aged man shakily stepped forward from the crowd.
The cult member, who harbored deep hatred for these damned rich people, couldn’t help but smirk. The thought of soon “purifying” the man filled him with dark satisfaction.
No longer interested in the pot-bellied man, the irritable cult member turned his attention to selecting other “sinners” who displeased him.
His gaze soon landed on a strikingly handsome man with bright yellow hair and emerald-green eyes. Pointing at him, the cult member barked,
“You, the blond guy—are you gene-modified?”
The world Yan Qi now lived in was far more technologically advanced than her previous life, especially in genetic engineering. Cutting-edge and reliable gene-editing technology had brought tremendous benefits to society—not only drastically reducing the incidence of hereditary diseases but also granting the wealthy the freedom to customize their children’s appearance, hair color, and physical abilities.
Knowing his natural features couldn’t be passed off as dyed hair or colored contacts, the blond man reluctantly answered, “Yes, I am gene-modified.”
Satisfied with the admission—proof of the man’s inherent “sin”—the irritable cult member snapped, “Then step forward.”
“Why?”
“What, you refuse?” The cult member gestured toward a nearby fire demon watching them, his tone laced with threat.
Having already witnessed the horrors these demons were capable of, the blond man didn’t dare argue. He quickly moved out of the crowd.
Before long, the two cult members—authorized by their priest—had selected twelve “sinners” from the trapped crowd in the waiting area, including five gene-modified individuals.
Observing the twelve trembling figures standing before them, the more calculating cult member turned to his irritable companion.
“Twelve should be enough, right?”
“Not quite.”
“Not enough? How many more do you want?”
“At least one more. Thirteen is a sacred number for our order.”
“Fine, thirteen it is. But since it’s your idea, you pick the last one.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t disappoint you.”
With that, the irritable cult member scanned the crowd, searching for the thirteenth sinner in need of “purification.”
Then, his eyes landed on a little girl with a glimpse of white hair peeking out from under a sun hat and dark sunglasses, clutched tightly in the arms of a beautiful black-haired woman.
Pointing at them, he shouted, “Hey, woman! Take off the hat and glasses on that kid.”
Hearing his command—and recalling how he had just called out five gene-modified individuals with unnatural hair colors—Li Caifeng panicked. Her youngest daughter had albinism, giving her snow-white hair and red eyes, traits that could easily be mistaken for genetic modification. Desperate to protect her, Li Caifeng considered lying.
But before she could speak, Yan Qi—aware of her mother’s thoughts and fearing it might put her in danger—acted first. She removed her hat and sunglasses, revealing her white hair and crimson eyes.
“What are you doing, Xiao Qi?” Li Caifeng asked anxiously.
Ignoring her mother, Yan Qi calmly addressed the cult member staring at them.
“I’ve taken them off. Anything else?”
Her composure surprised the irritable cult member, but he brushed it off. He’d seen plenty of people who pretended to be calm while secretly terrified.
“White hair, red eyes—another gene-modified freak?”
“No. I just have albinism.” Yan Qi answered smoothly. Her family wasn’t wealthy enough to afford genetic modifications.
The cult member scoffed. “Albinism? Since when does albinism only change hair and eye color?”
“Since me, apparently.” Yan Qi pointed at herself.
“Enough smart talk. Get over there with the other twelve sinners.”
The cult member jerked his thumb toward the trembling group, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Yan Qi remained unfazed, but her mother, Li Caifeng, was terrified.
“Please, sir,” she begged, “let me take my daughter’s place.”
The cult member smirked. “Oh? So she’s your daughter? You look young enough to be her sister.”
“Th-thank you. So, can I go instead?”
“No.”
“Why not? I’m her mother!”
“Exactly. That’s why you should stay here… and watch your daughter be purified.”
“Purified?!”
The word sent a chill down Li Caifeng’s spine. Memories of the station square massacre and the priest’s ominous words flooded back—now she understood what they intended to do to her daughter.