I Spread my Genes to Level Up in the Apocalypse

"Hee, so you are not regretful even a little bit?" Ray spoke with a pause, his eyes looking at William.

"Yeah, old man, do you have a problem with it?"

William spoke with a smile.

"You have lots of courage for someone who is going to die soon."

"Would you kill me? Wouldn't your daughter be sad then?"

Ray silently looked up at William and couldn't help but mutter to himself, "He reminds me of the classic protagonist in every tale there is."

He was still an avid reader of novels and also watched a lot of anime in his time; actually, ever since he started the Gene Empire, there has been lots of anime and manga being constantly pushed.

He still liked to watch anime, manga, webtoons, and even novels. They were all his past activities, and they have been improved so much that they could be felt even in normal life.

But the stories always went the boring route of underestimated or slave protagonists who gradually went up the scale; this William felt like the prime example of it with finding something unique about himself; he gradually slaps everyone, then he springs himself to the top.

"The only difference is that he met me too early." Ray sneered in his heart, "And messed with my daughter."

Without even realising it, Ray slowly started to release malice from his body by a slight margin.

This caused William, who was in front of him, for his smug face to rapidly turn pale, then he almost fainted on the spot, with his pupils going round in circles with a cry of pain.

"What a weakling."

Ray coldly watched this with not even a slight pity in his heart; he then slightly pushed his hand forward.

The black background that surrounded them slowly faded into the background, revealing a short girl whose eyes were filled with tears.

Her fist was knotted together and her nails deep, until blood slowly seemed to bleed out of it.

"Is this the boyfriend you chose, my dear daughter?" Ray asked expressionless, neither cold nor warm.

"I… I…" She trembled, her entire body shaking rapidly in disbelief. Slowly, veins started to appear in the whites of her eyes.

"This couldn't be true."

Trix shook her head, trying to deny reality itself.

At first she was excited when a maidservant came informing her that her father had called, so she quickly arrived at the place.

When she saw the fainted William and her father standing there, countless scenes had flashed in her mind, and she knew she was exposed. So she wanted to beg for mercy for whatever that William did for her, but the subsequent conversation was all heard by her, making her worldviews collapse on the spot.

She didn't even dare to try to imagine such a scenario until she met the truth.

Trix's legs wobbled, and she almost fell to the ground, but a large hand caught her, giving her support to lean on.

"Father." She looked up at the face of Ray with pitiful eyes and then immediately embraced him, crying softly with stinging eyes.

"It's fine."

Ray let her embrace him, softly curling his big arms around her and then raising one of his arms to pat her head.

It was his duty as a guardian to make her go the right path; even if she makes some mistake, it's fine; everyone makes mistakes, but learning from the mistake was the greatest thing for a human, and Ray wanted to see that happen.

He could teach her forcefully as well, but if he does, then his daughter might hate him and have an aversion towards him. This was actually always true; the reason the sons and daughters stricter parents were even more rebellious was because of this same reason.

All the snouts and tears of Trix all stained his clothes, making them very rough and dirty.

After a long time, Trix finally separated from Ray; her eyes were bloodshot, but she seemed to have stopped sobbing.

"Thank you, father."

Ray patted her with reassurance, "Don't mention it."

"So, what should I do with him then?"

"Umm, I don't know." She said tentatively.

"Hmm."Ray touched his chin, a little contemplative and thoughtful.

"Should I kill him?"

Trix didn't even flinch, looking at William with cold eyes.

"Hahaha, my daughter is all grown up now." Ray pinched her chubby cheeks and chuckled, "You are still too thin, though; you should eat more."

"Father, I am already sixty kg and I am fat; why should I eat more?"

"So that I can pinch even more, little princess." Ray rubbed her cheeks with a smile, moulding it to his liking.

"..."

Trix looked at Ray with an aggrieved look and stomped her feet like a child.

"Haha."

Ray glanced at William with his true eyes, his two pupils glinting in the mixture of gold and red.

Then he walked forward, "Let's leave now."

"What about him?"

"He will be taken care of soon."

With that said, Trix and Ray fully left the dark room, leaving the fainted William behind.

After Ray settled Trix with some consoling, he appeared in the dark room again with a mysterious expression on his face.

"I didn't expect you to be a pawn," he whispered in his own mind, and his figure disappeared with the fainted William disappearing as well.

…

Golden light spilt across the towering peak, the morning sun casting long shadows over its rugged, forested slopes. The mountain rose, its summit crowned with wisps of white clouds that clung stubbornly to the jagged rocks.

To one side, a crystalline river snaked its way downward, its surface glinting like liquid silver under the sun's gentle warmth.

Near the riverbank, soft grass stretched like a lush carpet, damp with dew and kissed by the first rays of light.

Here, amidst the tranquillity of nature, lay William—his body sprawled limply, his face pale against the earth. His golden hair clung to his damp forehead, and his chest rose and fell faintly, each breath shallow but steady.

A light breeze swept through, rustling the leaves of the surrounding trees and carrying with it the cool scent of the river.

At this time, a little rabbit appeared from the bushes, jumping in the beside of the river and spotting William. Immediately with a smirk, the rabbit jumped up to William and then sat on his face.

Then in one moment, the faint sound of running water rang, and the rabbit expression became relieved.

William felt the disturbance and slowly opened his groggy eyes; his mouth slightly opened, and salty water tasted his tongue.

"Hmm, what is this salty thing?" His headache and his face felt heavy.

These warm, salty liquids made him instantly gulp instinctively.

"This…" William's eyes immediately as he stood up from the place with disbelief in his eyes.

"You fucking rabbit, I am going to kill you."

He jumped at the rabbit, but it only hoped and miraculously escaped him and ran away, blending into the forest.

William vomited and coughed with eyes full of venom, trying to throw up.

"Fucking hell!?"

He shouted towards the sky. Walking up to the river, he slowly cleaned his mouth free of these salty tastes.

After recovering for a bit, he slowly remembered all the things that happened to him.

"I am going to kill you, bastard Ray."

He shouted with a tone of injustice, especially with all the humiliation he suffered; all he wanted was to take revenge, his mind filled with anger and burning vengeance.

At this time, a ding rang in his head, buzzing.

[Hello]

A cold voice rang in his ears.

"Eh?" William was stunned on the spot; he looked around in panic but couldn't find anything, which made him even more confused.

"Who are you? Where are you?"

He asked two questions almost simultaneously.

[Relax, kid, I am here to help you get strong.]

The voice rang in his ears again, sounding deep and cold.

"First tell me, what are you?" William pulled his own hair, thrashing around in panic.

Sensing this, the voice seemed to pause:

[Do you want revenge, kid, against Ray?]

William immediately stopped thrashing around, he felt a lump in his throat and asked with an excited grin:

"Are you saying that I can get revenge on Ray?"

[Yes]

William's smile gradually enlarged, turning even more joyful, and hitting the sky with his fist.

"How will you make me stronger than him though?" he asked doubtfully.

[... You just have to follow my instruction and then you will have the power and strength to defeat Ray soon]

"Then hurry and say instructions, as long as I can kill Ray. I am willing to do anything and everything."

William smirked, excitedly while jumping around with a silly smile on his face, dreaming about killing Ray already.

[He is stupid]

A small shadow was inside William and looked at him, [but it is better that way, a perfect pawn to invade.]