Zheng did not make any rash movements as he observed the angel. Despite being out of its direct line of sight, Zheng could feel a set of eyes upon him. The malice contained within once again reinforced his theory of Eden's hostility towards all non-residents.

The angel didn't have any reaction toward Zheng at all, whether he moved forward or backward. Picking up a stone, Zheng threw it past the angel. The angel didn't react at all.

When Zheng threw the rock at the angel, it was as if the angel didn't exist at all and phased through the angel. With a patter, the rock skidded across the ground. 

Still, Zheng didn't immediately try walking towards the angel. He even started to walk away, attempting to find another pathway to the tree around the angel. No matter where or which way he walked, there was only one path to the tree, and the angel guarding it.

It wasn't that Zheng had been stuck in the same spot. Unlike outside Shamayin, where nothing happened, Zheng could clearly see the surrounding changing as he walked aside from the giant tree and the angel. 

Taking a deep breath and preparing himself, Zheng stepped towards the guardian angel.

Five meters

No reaction

Three meters

No reaction

One meter

No reaction

The moment Zheng attempted to step past the angel, he felt a powerful gaze upon him. The gaze contained no emotion and simply was, like a human looking at an ant. His vision changed as if he had been submerged in a sea of flames. There was no way out, and within mere moments he would be burnt in cinders. 

After what seemed to be an eternity, Zheng found himself kneeling on the ground, sweat completely drenching him. He was several meters from his previous position, away from the angel. The prior malice filled gaze on him had disappeared along with the divinelike gaze of the angel.

Earlier, he had thought it was the angel's gaze on him, but having experienced the sea of flames, he was certain that the anger was not the owner of the malicious eyes upon him. Why would a being so powerful enough to see him as an ant hold any malice towards him? It was just like a human would not direct any negative emotions aside from annoyance towards a bug.

And he, Ying Zheng, was that bug. 

After settling down his pumping heart, Zheng stood up and imprinted the image of the angel into his mind before walking away. He had not given up. He was even more sure of his goal now. 

When he walked away from the tree, the angel guardian disappeared, and the colossal-sized tree returned.

The angel and whoever was behind Eden did not want anyone to attain the forbidden fruit. This just made him want to devour the forbidden fruit even more!

It was like a child having been told not to do something, but because the child had been told not to, the child would.

And it wasn't like Zheng had no plans to proceed. It seemed that there was someone else aside from himself nearby. Since there was one, there would be more. If he cannot do it alone, then he would enlist the help of others. 

Zheng had already checked himself, and there was no sign of burning or singing on his body. That meant the sea of flames he saw earlier was not real and more of an illusion or hallucination. He didn't think it was impossible to run past the angel. But he was unsure of whether or not the angel would pursue anyone who got past it.

But first, he needed to strengthen himself so that he wouldn't be rendered immobile just from stepping near the angel. That was a simple and clear path. He simply needed to devour the resources inside Eden. Aside from eating and fighting the wild beasts that came at him, there was nothing else that would explain the rise in his status. 

If just eating normal fruits would allow a rise in his status, what would happen if he could eat the forbidden fruit? 

Zheng raised his head as the sound of battle entered his ears. Tracing the source of the sound, he moved towards the origin of the sound. Upon reaching it, he saw a man battling a bear-like creature. Zheng described the beast as bear-like because despite possessing the body type of a bear, it had long floppy ears on it.

The man fighting against the beast had short, wavy honey-brown hair, a peak physique, and wore a red suit in the same style as Zheng's. The man was fighting barehanded and seemed to be reaching his limits soon.

Zheng only considered it for a moment before he started to circle around the beast, careful to make sure he wasn't noticed. But with how focused the bear-like beast was on the other man, Zheng didn't need to do much to be overlooked.

Zheng's black eyes met with the man's emerald green eyes. The two shared a silent acknowledgment and understanding in that short instance.

While the beast was distracted, Zheng snuck up right behind it while its guard was down. He jumped on top of it with a mighty leap and stabbed the boar tusk into its skull.

The beast gave a giant roar of pain and lashed out, causing Zheng to be launched off its back. 

Using the momentum, Zheng rolled away and back onto his feet. He and the unknown man both watched as the beast rampaged as if mad. It was a unique quirk that Zheng had noticed for the animals of Eden. The animals of Eden were extremely vulnerable to pain as if they had never experienced any manner of pain before.

There was silence as Zheng and the unknown watched quietly as the life slowly drained out of the bear-like beast. When the beast finally breathed its last, Zheng pulled out the boar fang still nailed into its head.

"You have my thanks, stranger." The unknown man said as he walked over. His clothing was a bit roughed up, and there were some lacerations on his arms that were already healing up, but he was fine otherwise.

"My name is Gaius Octavius," Gaius said as he stretched out his hand.

Zheng took the hand. "Ying Zheng, surname Ying, given name Zheng." 

"That was close. If it wasn't for you, I don't know what I would have done." Gaius laughed goodnaturedly. 

"I'm sure you would have thought of something. You also made it into Eden, after all." Zheng said. 

"Haha, probably. But I wouldn't be unscathed as I was. Still, my luck was quite bad. When I was preparing to skin my earning, that bear appeared and chased me." Gaius said with a sigh. His tone carried a trace of longing as he looked at the bear-like beast's carcass.

"If you help me skin it, I'll give you half," Zheng said.

"Really? You helped me, but taking half is a bit much." Gaius said, refusing.

"Just take it. It just so happens that I don't know how to process the animal. Think of it as a commission fee for your work. If you really don't want it, I do have something I need your help on." Zheng said, his mind already turning out plans as he looked at Gaius.

Gaius accepted after deliberating Zheng's words. He moved towards the carcass and began to dissembling it with a handcrafted stone knife.

Zheng felt that he really made the right call by giving Gaius half of the spoils. Not only could Gaius process the beast, but he could also start a fire and cook it. 

Taking the offered fire-roasted meat, Zheng unhesitatingly bit a chunk off. The meat was tender and full of juices, not gamey at all. The sheer depth of flavor was exquisite, better than anything he ate before, including the fruits of Eden. 

Even more, was the sheer energy coursing through him. It felt like the energy from the fruits, but it was much purer and greater. Zheng could see that he wasn't the only one surprised; Gaius was also showing an expression of elation.

Thinking back to Gaius's words, he must have been hunting animals in order to upgrade his own status. Compared to eating fruits, eating animals seemed to be a far better option.

Zheng's heart dripped with regret. He had killed three beasts on his journey towards the central tree, but he just left the corpses out in the open and only took the claws and fangs. Just thinking about the wasted meat made his stomach ache with pain.

There was no medicine for regret, and Zheng could only swallow the bitter pill of his mistakes.

Between the two, against all logic, they ate the majority of the creature's flesh, leaving only organ and inedible portions. 

Before Zheng talked about his request towards Gaius, the two first moved to Gaius' base of operations. Calling it a base was incorrect as it was way underqualified to be even called a shelter. 

Gaius's base was just a hole under a tree's roots with only a single opening in and out. Inside there were several primitive tools and a bed made of gathered leaves and grass.

It seemed that earlier, Gaius did indeed have bad luck. His weapons and tools must have been lost or spent when the bear creature chased after him, leaving him with only a stone knife.

"It's not much, but this was the best I could do with the time I had." Gaius said as he gestured Zheng to sit on the "bed."

Zheng nodded. "I understand. It's better than what I've been doing. Besides, we're going to be forced out in a few days anyway. No point in doing anything too elaborate."

"Speak, your request, what is it? With your skills, you shouldn't have any problems that would need my help." There was a reason that Gaius accepted half the spoils.

He was a man who did not like to owe anyone. But when Zheng asked for his aid, he accepted. He had seen the clean and efficient movement the man before him possessed. With those skills, for Zheng to ask him for assistance, it must be for something big, and the spoils would no doubt be even grander than the bear creature.

Zheng described the difficulties he had encountered at the path leading to the central tree. He needed support in order to get past the angel guarding the tree. Of course, Zheng also described the benefits of consuming the forbidden fruit. Although the serpent-headed man didn't explain the specifics, Zheng had a precise guess in his heart. He didn't say the benefits were guessed but stated them as facts to convince Gaius.

"The forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil," Gaius murmured. His eyes were glistening with a terrifying light as he heard Zheng's explanation. Once he learned of the matter, he too, wanted to taste the forbidden fruit.

If there were a chance to increase his power, he would take it, no questions asked. He was like Zheng in that way. He craved power. 

"I would like to join you, but I don't think it would be possible with just the two of us," Gaius said.

Zheng nodded. "You know the area better than me. If you know anyone you would recommend, I am not opposed to forming a team. We can discuss the exact details of splitting the spoils later. We need the forbidden fruit to split the benefits, after all."

"Alright," Gaius said. 

He explained that there were several people, each with their own territories nearby. The area near the tree was actually the best hunting ground for them. The people who made it into Eden were not idiots. Once they discovered that eating the fruits could increase their strength, then the next thought would be to eat the animals.

Zheng would have also reached the same conclusion, but he was more focused on the forbidden fruit. Could nameless animals compare to the legendary forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil?

The first one Zheng and Gaius sought out was Sigurd. Zheng had to contain his surprise at hearing the name. The first thought that came to Zheng was if Sigurd was that Sigurd of the Volsung Saga. Upon meeting him, Zheng found himself nearly certain that he was.

Zheng had known that heroes of yore would appear from the serpent-headed man's words, but that still didn't lessen the surprise he had heard. 

Sigurd was a man even taller than Gaius with icy-white hair and frost-colored eyes. He was a man of few words, but Zheng felt that it only added more weight to each of his words. 

Sigurd agreed to join the newly formed team after hearing Zheng's goals. "Idunn's apples, if I pass up this chance, it will forever haunt me."

The second person was Gilgamesh. Hearing the name of humanity's oldest king and hero, Zheng couldn't help but get his spirits up.

The protagonist of humanity's oldest epic shocked Zheng upon their initial meeting. He was grand. There was no doubt about that. But Zheng couldn't comprehend why Gilgamesh was a white man with golden hair and eyes. But like, Sigurd, Gilgamesh agreed to join.

"Hmpf, if the gods decree it is forbidden to eat the fruit, then it is my duty to overturn it, for I am the king above even the gods!"

The third person was a female, Hippolyta. Although Zheng did not know much about her, he did know she had been the queen of the Amazons and that Heracles had been required to steal her belonging as part of his twelve labors. 

Upon meeting the person, Zheng had been struck by her beauty. It wasn't a delicate type of beauty but one that boasted of strength. She had flaming red hair with amber-colored eyes and bronze skin. She wore a skintight sports uniform that did not hide her sublime muscles. Like Gilgamesh, Hippolyta joined upon hearing the details on the forbidden fruit.

"Despicable gods, if it is forbidden, then I will deliberately rebel and eat it!"

The fourth person was another woman, Sammu Ramat. Zheng hadn't heard of her before, but he didn't doubt Gaius's eyes. For her to be chosen with Sigurd, Gilgamesh, and Hippolyta, then she must also be extraordinary. 

Sammu Ramat was a woman of extraordinary beauty. Her hair was white like the wings of a dove, pale-skinned with a beauty akin to that of a rose. She bore golden eyes like Gilgamesh and wore a black suit. 

In contrast to Gilgamesh and Hippolyta, Sammu carefully pondered the pros and cons of the proposal before agreeing.

"I'll say it now if the situation worsens, I will focus on my survival first."

And finally, the last man Gaius recommended: Kang Woo-jin.