Chapter 362 Buried History III

The man’s voice came out low, almost tired, but every word cut sharp.

"Your father was left with no other option," he said. "So he came to me."

Liam’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t move, didn’t even breathe too loudly.

The man’s gaze didn’t waver. "He begged me to help him save you. I forgave him for disappearing before—because now I knew why. I agreed to help him."

Liam frowned. His chest tightened at that word—begged. He had never once thought of his father as the type to beg anyone for anything.

The man leaned forward slightly, voice steady. "So I started working. I tried to create something—anything—that could suppress the overwhelming power that was ripping you apart. You were dying, boy. That energy wasn’t strength back then, it was poison. And no matter what I built, it wasn’t enough. It slipped through my fingers every time."

He stopped, rubbed his jaw like the memory still pissed him off. "Until I took the serum myself."

Liam blinked. "Wait—what?"

The man nodded once. "Your father had figured it out by then. How to divide it. How to take specific powers from the bottles instead of unleashing everything at once. He gave me the choice. I chose one. The ability to speak to machines." He smiled faintly, not proud but grim. "With it, I built your system."

Liam’s mouth parted. He almost laughed, but it came out as a sharp breath. "You really ... you made it? The system?"

"Yes," the man said simply. "We placed it in you. And finally... it worked. It suppressed the power enough to keep you alive."

Liam leaned back against the desk. He had to sit before his legs gave out. His voice cracked. "So I’ve had this thing inside me since I was a kid?"

"Yes." The man’s eyes hardened. "But dormant. It stayed silent. It didn’t wake until the accident."

Liam shook his head slowly, staring at the floor, his mind dragging up the memory. Screeching tires. Lights. Pain. And then that first [Ding]...

"The car crash," he muttered. "Almost a year ago."

The man nodded. "That’s when it activated."

A bitter laugh escaped Liam’s throat. He looked at the man, his voice sharp. "So all this time... I’ve been walking around with it buried inside me. And nobody said a damn thing?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "Would it have mattered? You were a child. You wouldn’t have understood. Hell, even now you’re barely holding onto it."

Liam’s jaw tightened. He wanted to argue, but he couldn’t. Not when he knew the man was right.

The man leaned back again, exhaling like he’d just dropped a weight he’d carried too long. "But that’s a story for another day. I didn’t come here to dump history on you. The reason I came here..." His voice lowered, heavy. "...was to make sure you’re ready."

Liam straightened. "Ready? For what?"

The man’s eyes darkened. "For the darkness. The one your father and I unlocked. It’s moving again. And I’m afraid everything now falls on your shoulders."

Liam froze, his heart thudding once, hard. He searched the man’s face for a lie, for some kind of trick. Nothing. The guy looked dead serious.

"What darkness?" Liam asked, his voice sharper now.

The man stood, his back straightening. The frailty of his disguise slipped away. He stepped closer, every movement calm but weighted. "In three days," he said, "you’ll understand. You’ll see it with your own eyes. Be ready for what’s coming to this city."

Liam’s pulse kicked harder. "Three days? What the hell does that even mean?"

But the man’s voice rolled over his like a wave, drowning him out. He didn’t even give Liam space to argue.

"Also," the man said, turning slightly, his tone shifting into something strange. Almost mocking. "Have a lot of sex. You haven’t been doing that lately."

Liam blinked, stunned. "What the—" He stepped forward, almost tripping over his words. "What did you just say?"

The man smirked, didn’t answer. He simply turned and began walking away, his footsteps echoing through the lab.

"Hey—" Liam barked. "Hold on! You don’t just drop shit like that and walk away. What’s happening in three days? What do you mean by darkness? What the hell does sex have to do with anything?"

The man didn’t stop. His silhouette grew smaller, swallowed by the shadows at the far side of the lab.

And then—gone.

Not a door opening. Not footsteps fading. Just—gone. One second he was there. The next second, nothing.

Liam spun in place. His heart pounded so hard it hurt. He searched every corner, checked behind the machine, even glanced toward the stairwell. Nothing.

"What the hell..." he muttered. His voice echoed back at him, sounding small in the vast room.

He rubbed the back of his neck, unsettled. First, the story about his father. Then the system. Now this disappearing trick. And three days? Three days until what?

The lab suddenly felt colder, emptier.

Liam dragged a hand down his face and let out a rough laugh, humorless and strained. "What the actual fuck just happened?"

The last line kept circling his mind, no matter how hard he tried to shove it away.

Have a lot of sex.

He shook his head. "Crazy old bastard..."

But even as he muttered it, he knew the man wasn’t crazy. Not at all. And that was the part that scared him the most.

——

Liam stood there in the quiet lab, his mind replaying everything the mysterious man had told him. His pulse hadn’t slowed since the moment the man vanished. Every detail about his father, about the tomb, about the powers — it all pressed down on him like a weight he couldn’t shake.

Finally, he let out a low breath and muttered under his breath, "System... do you have any idea what he was talking about?"

The familiar chime rang in his head.

[Ding!]

[If you are referring to the darkness he mentioned, then no. But if you are referring to the part about having lots of sex, then yes.]

Liam blinked, almost stumbling at the bluntness of the answer. "Wait—what?"

[Your confusion is unnecessary. I will clarify.]

Liam frowned, rubbing the back of his neck. "Fine. Explain. Why the hell would I need to have a lot of sex?"

The voice of the system came back, calm and clinical, as if it were explaining something as normal as breathing.

[The stronger you become, the stronger the power sealed inside you becomes. That power continuously seeks to dominate you, to overwhelm your body and mind. If left unchecked, it will eventually take control.]

Liam narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, I got that part. But what the hell does that have to do with sex?"

The system responded without hesitation.

[You are unaware of it, but every time you release semen, you discharge part of the overwhelming energy inside you. It stabilizes your body, reduces the risk of corruption, and prevents the power from overtaking you. Additionally, the women who receive it experience significant power growth. It strengthens them as well.]

Liam’s mouth hung open for a second. "You’re telling me I’m... venting dangerous power every time I..." He trailed off, rubbing his face with both hands. "Goddamn it."

[Correct. Your sexual activity is directly linked to maintaining balance. Without it, your body risks being consumed by the very force your father tried to suppress.]

He let out a short, sharp laugh that had no humor in it. "So what, if I stop fucking, I die? That’s what you’re saying?"

[In simplified terms: yes.]

Liam dragged his hand down his face and exhaled hard. His chest felt tight, but it wasn’t fear — it was exhaustion mixed with irritation. "Unbelievable. Just unbelievable."

Then something clicked in his head, and he looked up. "Wait... does that explain why Lilith’s powers improved so fast?"

[Ding!]

[Yes. Your release into her body passed fragments of your suppressed power to her system. The result was an accelerated increase in her strength. This is consistent with the improvement observed.]

Liam leaned back against the metal table behind him, staring at the ground. "So all this time... it wasn’t just training. It was me."

[Correct.]

His lips pressed into a thin line. To anyone else, this might have sounded like some kind of blessing. For him, it was a curse wrapped in a cheap disguise. The old man’s warning didn’t feel like a joke anymore. He was chained to this... condition.

"To be honest, this isn’t even a bad deal," he muttered bitterly. "But right now, after everything I just heard, it doesn’t feel like something to be excited about."

His thoughts were cut short by the faint sound of footsteps above. He snapped his head toward the stairwell. The old metal door creaked slightly, and a shadow stretched down the steps. A familiar voice followed.

"What are you doing? We almost forgot you were down here."

It was Vanessa. She stood halfway down the stairs, her figure lit faintly by the dull light from the upper floor. The way she looked at him carried suspicion, but also concern.

Liam straightened up quickly, hiding the frustration and confusion in his face. He forced his tone steady. "Vanessa... tell me something. When you were up there, did you see someone come out of this lab?"

She tilted her head, eyebrows pulling together. "Someone? No. Nobody came out of here." She stepped down another stair, her eyes narrowing. "Are you alright, Liam?"

He stared at her for a long moment, searching her expression for any sign that maybe she’d seen something and just didn’t want to admit it. But her confusion looked real. Too real.

"Yeah..." He exhaled slowly, his gaze sliding across the room one more time, scanning every shadow, every corner where the man could have been hiding. Nothing. Just the the faint smell of oil and dust. "...I’m fine."

Vanessa’s eyes lingered on him, like she didn’t quite believe it, but she didn’t push further.

Liam turned back toward the stairwell, his jaw tight. He felt the unease crawl under his skin like ants. Whoever that man was, he hadn’t just walked away. He had vanished. And if everything he said was true, then in three days, this city was about to see something no one was ready for.

He clenched his fists and muttered under his breath, almost to himself. "What the hell is going to happen ..."

And without another word, he walked past Vanessa, heading out of the lab, leaving behind only the echo of his footsteps.